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Maine shooting brings conflicting ideas on solution to U.S. gun violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) -- Countries like the U.K., New Zealand, Norway and Australia quickly passed new gun laws after mass shootings.At an event this week, Vice President Kamala Harris pointed out those laws nearly eliminated mass shootings in those countries."Once again, routine gatherings have been turned into scenes of horrific carnage," noted Harris, who added that there is a solution to the gun violence problem in the U.S. In 1996, a mass shooting in Port Arthur, Australia claimed the lives of 35 people. In response, Australia severely restricted semi-automatic firearm and pump-action shotgun ownership and bought back nearly 700,000 guns.In the more than 25 years since, Australia has only had one other mass shooting."We look every time there is one of these events and are grateful that Australia did act in a bipartisan way," stated Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.After the deadly mass shooting in Maine this week, the White House wants to renew the federal ban on assau...

On-and-off wet weather continues as we await Sunday cold front

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Slow-moving heavy downpours are wetting some areas Friday evening, but will slowly taper off during Friday night football games. Warm, humid weather conditions persist on Saturday with a few scattered downpours as we await a taste of winter on Sunday. View your neighborhood rainfall totals Texas football fans can expect a warm, muggy day Saturday afternoon for the game in Austin. While there is a 40% chance of a passing shower or thunderstorm, the forecast Saturday looks a little drier than recent days.Sunday, temperatures start off warm, but plummet late in the day as our first Arctic cold front of the season plows through the area.By Sunday evening, gusty north winds drop temperatures into the 50s areawide. Monday morning, temperatures drop to near 40 degrees with biting north winds dropping wind chills below freezing in much of the Hill Country.In addition to the cold, windy weather behind the front, widespread rain is likely Sunday night through much of the da...

NWS confirms EF-0 tornado in Caldwell County Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Friday, the National Weather Service released its damage survey, confirming that an EF-0 tornado touched down early Thursday in Caldwell County.KXAN Chief Meteorologist David Yeomans said tornadoes don't get much smaller or more brief than this. The tornado hit four miles southeast of Niederwald, which is about 40 minutes southeast of Austin.Winds barely even met the threshold for EF-0 intensity, at only 65 miles per hour. The tornado was on the ground for less than half a mile and for only one minute. The tornado damage path was only 10 yards wide.There were no injuries reported in this tornado, Yeomans said, although one shed was damaged.While spring is our typical severe weather season, flash flooding and tornadoes are not unheard of in October. The autumn is Central Texas' secondary severe weather season.

How Paxton impeachment, education savings accounts could set up Texas GOP primary fights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking steps to get political revenge after his impeachment acquittal in the Senate. He's now seeking to push out Republican state representatives who voted to impeach him earlier this year. However, he may not be the only state leader trying to shake up who wins the GOP primary elections in less than five months. Since the Senate reinstated Paxton to his office, he rolled endorsements of at least a dozen people to take down House Republicans who voted for his impeachment. Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward's University in Austin, said Paxton is carrying out an earlier promise to support and fund primary challengers against opponents in his own party. He also recently announced he would file criminal complaints against the 12 state representatives who led his impeachment trial, accusing them of violating a new anti-doxing law. "His problem, of course, is he's still facing a litany of legal challenges that cou...

Retired teachers hope for long awaited pension adjustment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Joe Ramirez gave and received a lot of love across 28 years in Austin Independent School District.As a high school teacher of the year, two-time middle school teacher of the year and a beloved mentor for students decades after they graduate, Ramirez said he would still be in the classroom if a bad fall didn't force him to retire at just 48. That was 11 years ago, and the pension check of about $2,000 a month hasn't increased a penny, he said."People are basically living from month-to-month. And they need to have a little bit more security to make sure that their futures in their golden years are better off," Ramirez said.This month, retired teachers hope to get the first cost-of-living adjustment in nearly 20 years. Proposition 9 would give as much as a 6% increase to the nearly half a million annuitants in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas -- a needed cushion as retirees face rising prices and the need to pick up a second career."You don't go into it for th...

State girls tennis: Rochester Mayo completes sweep of Class 2A crowns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

Rochester Mayo junior Claire Loftus lost her first match of the high school tennis season this fall, falling to Eagan’s Cassandra Li.Loftus won her final match of the high school tennis season this fall, topping Li.The latter match was for the Class 2A individual state championship. Loftus, the No. 2 seed, scored redemption via a 7-5, 6-0 victory at Baseline Tennis Center.“Going up against (Li, the No. 1 seed who hadn’t lost this season), it wasn’t like, oh, I was supposed to win,” Loftus said. “And I think that helped me. I was able to play more relaxed and without the pressure and the stress.”But not without the fatigue. This has been a long, successful week for Loftus, who helped Rochester Mayo win its first-ever team state title on Wednesday.“It’s been a long week. Lots of matches,” she said. “So I was definitely feeling tired.”Loftus took her time between points to catch her breath, but also made a point to switch up her game plan and be aggressive in an attempt to play shorter...

After ugly loss to Flyers, Wild coach Dean Evason lets top line have it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

WASHINGTON — A night after benching Jujhar Khaira for committed a couple of bad turnovers in the Wild’s end during a 6-2 loss at Philadelphia, the winger was a healthy scratch for Friday’s game against the Capitals.Khaira essentially didn’t play after passing the puck to the opponent twice in one shift, and head coach Dean Evason was asked before a 6 p.m. puck drop at Capital One Arena if that was the reason he didn’t play Friday.“Nope,” Evason said. “Because we’d sit the whole team.”The Wild entered the second of back-to-back games with losses in three of their previous four games (1-2-1), and Evason saved most of his pregame ire for the top line of Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello. After combining for 10 points in a comeback victory over Edmonton on Tuesday, they were a combined minus-7 against the Flyers.“They were really bad last night,” Evason said. “They were awful.”The trio combined for 10 shots on goal, none of which found the net, and, officially, fiv...

Vikings list Ezra Cleveland as questionable. What does that mean for Dalton Risner?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

After missing last week with a foot injury, Vikings left guard Ezra Cleveland has been a limited participant in practice this week. He is listed as questionable heading into the rivalry game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.Asked how Cleveland has looked in practice this week, head coach Kevin O’Connell noted that he is slowly working his way back to 100 percent. He also acknowledged that left guard Dalton Risner has looked good in practice this week.It raises the question: Which player starts for the Vikings if Cleveland and Risner are at full strength heading into the game against the Packers?“We are working through that,” O’Connell said. “As we have said from the beginning of training camp, we are on the look for the best five, and that is ultimately is going to be what drives the decision.”It’s worth noting that with Risner starting Monday night’s game, the offensive line for the Vikings had arguab...

University City taxpayers to foot bill for Seafood City cleanup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. - University City officials say taxpayers will be on the hook for paying for some of the Seafood City cleanup costs after the owner left behind thousands of pounds of rotted seafood.The cleanup process for Seafood City costs about $7,000 a day. University City says the owner does not have enough money to pay for the bill, and the city had to step in due to a health hazard. After several weeks, a biohazard company has removed rotting fish inside the Seafood City Supermarket. The St. Louis County Health Department shut down the grocery store in December 2022 and then again last March, saying it was operating without a health permit. Sex offender charged after being found with missing North Carolina girl University City officials did not want to speak with FOX 2 on camera, but provided a memo from the city manager. The memo states that the board approved to pay the remaining balance   ($127,831.78) after the owners of the now-shuttered Se...

Homeland Security warns of increased threats amid Israel-Hamas conflict

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:12 GMT

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Department of Homeland Security is sounding the alarm as violence continues to grip the Middle East in the Israel-Hamas conflict. According to the agency, the United States remains in a heightened-threat environment.While the battles between Israel and Hamas rage in the Middle East, DHS emphasizes that the most likely threat comes from people driven by violent ideologies. Lawmakers are urging the public to stand united against hate.Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, made a strong call to action, saying, "We need to speak out loudly, clearly, and forcefully against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia." Sex offender charged after being found with missing North Carolina girl The Department of Homeland Security has reported a recent surge in threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities and their institutions. This is causing real fear among Americans.Congressman Ro Khanna has shared his concerns, revealing that constituents in his district a...