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Texas girl’s killer faces new murder charges, with more possible, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A man run out of multiple cities and towns across Texas after he served prison time for the slaying of an 8-year-old girl in the 1980s has been arrested in connection with two other murders, and police say they are reopening several cold cases that could be linked to him.Raul Meza Jr., 62, was arrested Monday in the deaths of Jesse Fraga and Gloria Lofton, Austin police announced Tuesday. He remained jailed Wednesday and is facing charges including capital murder.Travis County Clerk’s Office records list Russell Hunt as Meza’s lawyer. Hunt said they just got the case and are still reviewing the facts and declined to comment further.Police in the Austin suburb of Pflugerville said May 23 they were looking for Meza in connection with the death of his roommate, 80-year-old Fraga. Officers found Fraga’s body May 20 while doing a wellness check after loved ones hadn’t heard from him for several days.Austin police said Meza called them May 23 a...

Air Force picks Colorado for more Space Force missions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force announced the permanent location for many more U.S. Space Force units Wednesday — and none of them are in Huntsville, Alabama, suggesting the service may be moving ahead with at least part of the design it originally sought for the new force before it became entangled in politics.Four more Space Force missions will now be based in Colorado Springs, a notable choice during a larger and now politicized battle over where to locate the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command. Colorado Springs, which is housing Space Command's temporary headquarters, was the Air Force’s preferred location, but Donald Trump, in the final days of his presidency, selected Alabama instead. Biden arrives at Peterson Space Force Base before commencement speech While the Pentagon and White House have said the decisions are not directly linked, Alabama has strict anti-abortion laws, and its Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville earlier this year announced he would hold up all mi...

McConnell: Senate could pass debt bill as soon as Thursday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) says he hopes the Senate will pass legislation to raise the debt limit Thursday or Friday, as conservative Republican senators now say they won’t hold the bill up as long as they get to vote on amendments. The strong support among House Republicans for the deal negotiated between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has influenced the political calculus in the Senate, and right now there’s little appetite among GOP senators to drag out debate and votes through the weekend.  “I can tell you what I hope happens is that those who have amendments, if given votes, will yield back time so that we can finish this Thursday or Friday and soothe the country and soothe the markets,” McConnell told reporters Wednesday.  The prospective timeline for passing the debt limit bill sped up considerably Wednesday when Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) told reporters that he would not hold up the legislation — as he had previously threatened to — as ...

Young pregnant woman has stroke and now wants to raise awareness

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — Briena Grant was 24 years old and 24 weeks pregnant when she had a stroke. "I felt like I was having a migraine," she said.Grant doesn't remember much but said she woke up on the bathroom floor with a droopy face, unable to move her left side.  Police pose for silly picture to highlight serious staffing problem Somehow, she was able to call her friend for help. She was airlifted from her hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Swedish Medical Center in Englewood. "All I kept asking was, is my baby boy OK? Is he OK? Then I would go in and out of consciousness," she said.Stroke risk increases during pregnancyGrant had a blood clot on the right side of her brain and doctors were able to open the artery quickly."What we do is we snake a very small hollow tube up from the artery in the groin up into the brain and basically suck the clot out," said Dr. Richard Bellon, a neurointerventional surgeon at Swedish Medical Center. ‘Car surfing’ trend linked to 1...

‘The Flash’ star Sasha Calle reflects on being first Latina to play Supergirl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

DC fans, you’re in for some superhero-sized surprises. The Scarlet Speedster finally has his very own movie, “The Flash,” and boy, did it take long enough.Ezra Miller plays Barry Allen, but Supergirl went to Sasha Calle. She is the first Latina to play that character, and she plays it super well. You know how we say, back in a flash? Well, when Barry Allen does, he means it.In “The Flash,” he’s so fast, the Scarlet Speedster can literally time-travel. But just like a lightning bolt gave this forensic chemist his extraordinary power, the long-awaited DC comic book movie is giving actress Sasha Calle her dream role.Sasha Calle: “It was incredible. It was insane. It’s a lot of work, obviously, a lot of training. You look like you work out, yourself.”Alex Miranda: “Once a year, definitely. And it’s a good workout.”Sasha Calle: Well, you look great.”Alex Miranda: “Never. Literally never.”Kara, aka m...

New York’s Bondi Sushi opens up its exclusive spot in Miami Beach

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

Looking to spice up your go-to restaurant list? Then there’s a brand-new sushi spot you’re going to want to visit.Bondi Sushi from New York is opening its first location in Miami, and they’re ready to maki your meal plans. Soy, if you have a love for sushi, we got a peek at everything the new location has to offer.You don’t have to be afraid to try the sushi at Bondi Sushi.Aiden Carty: “Bondi Sushi is a neighborhood, fast casual, fresh sushi restaurant. We specialize in bringing affordable, high-quality sushi to local neighborhoods.”The new Miami Beach venue is the sushi spot’s first outside of New York, and the bar concept lets you get a prime view of your food.Aiden Carty: “Everyone is able to sit around a sushi bar and is able to watch the chef preparing the food, so it provides a real element of theater to your dinner.”That way you can let the good times roll.Aiden Carty: “Some of the most popular menu items at Bondi wo...

State investigating after healthcare company, Compass Medical, announces plan to close local practices

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

Healthcare company Compass Medical confirmed an “imminent plan” to close its local practices Wednesday, sharing a message on its website after patients complained that the company with several locations in Massachusetts had suddenly shut down.Compass Medical’s facilities include local sites in Quincy, Braintree, Bridgewater and Abington, among other locations. In its statement, Compass said “a steady stream of challenges” ultimately forced the company to close its offices effective immediately. “There is no good way to share this news,” Compass said. “We are heartbroken and truly sorry as we know the unprecedented impact on our valued patients.” State officials also responded on Wednesday, saying the state is launching an investigation into the matter.“Our administration is concerned by reports of Compass Medical’s closure,” a spokesperson for the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services said. R...

Red Sox notebook: Garrett Whitlock is living the Ted Lasso life

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

Early Sunday morning, after a strong first game back following more than a month on the injured list, Garrett Whitlock went for a hike wearing a royal blue T-shirt bearing a large yellow rectangle with the word ‘Believe.’ View this post on InstagramA post shared by Garrett Whitlock (@gwhit17)Any fan of the show “Ted Lasso” will recognize the iconic design, a motif throughout the show’s three seasons, which came to an end Tuesday night.As the shirt suggests, the young Red Sox starting pitcher counts himself among them, though Whitlock is relatively new to the Lasso-verse, a kinder, gentler version of the world as we know it. He started watching during spring training and has been binging the show whenever his frenetic baseball schedule allows. He’s currently a couple episodes into the third, and likely final season.“I just fell in love with the person, who he is, and everything,” he says.“To me, what resonates is like, there̵...

Mike Pence, Chris Christie jumping into 2024 GOP race

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

Former Vice President Mike Pence will launch his campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa next week — with Chris Christie doing the same in New Hampshire.Pence will hold a kickoff event in Des Moines on June 7, the date of his 64th birthday, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details ahead of the official announcement.Christie, who also ran in 2016, is planning to make the announcement at a town hall Tuesday evening at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics, according to a person familiar with his thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm Christie’s plans.Pence sees early-voting Iowa as critical to his potential path to victory and advisers say he plans to campaign aggressively for the conservative, evangelical Christian voters who make up a substantial portion of the state’s Republican electorate. Pence is an avowed social conservative and is staunchly opposed to ab...

North Korean leader’s sister slams US for criticizing failed satellite launch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:55 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean Kim Jong Un on Thursday accused the United States of “gangster-like” hypocrisy for criticizing her country’s failed launch of a military spy satellite and insisted a successful launch will be made soon.Kim Yo Jong said North Korea’s efforts to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities were a legitimate exercise of its sovereign right and restated the country’s rejection of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban it from conducting any launch involving ballistic missile technology.Her comments on state media came a day after the rocket carrying the satellite failed. North Korea said the rocket lost thrust after a stage separation and crashed in waters off the Korean Peninsula’s western coast.Washington, South Korea and Japan had quickly criticized the launch. Adam Hodge, a spokesperson at the U.S. National Security Council, said Washington strongly condemns the North Korean launch because it used banned ballistic ...