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LIVE: Key witness testifies against Paxton as impeachment court returns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Day two of the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is underway in the Senate, where senators are considering 16 different impeachment articles against the Republican, that accuse Paxton of bribery, misuse of office and corruption.Paxton did not appear in the Senate chamber for the second day, and left by the afternoon break on Tuesday. Proceedings kicked off just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, picking back up with the first witness, whose testimony began Tuesday. Jeff Mateer is one of prosecution's key sources for detailing Paxton's relationship with friend and campaign donor Nate Paul, who is central to many of the impeachment articles. As former first assistant attorney general, a hand-picked Mateer serves as Paxton's hand-picked second-in-command as former first assistant attorney general. Mateer took the stand in front of prosecutor Rusty Hardin Tuesday afternoon before proceedings abruptly adjourned over procedural disagreements between ...

'Scared...didn't want to go to jail': 6th Street Mass Shooting suspect testifies in murder trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — "I was just scared...I didn't want to go to jail," De'ondre White, on trial for murder told a courtroom on Wednesday. White is accused of firing at least eight times into a large crowd, killing an innocent bystander, Douglas Kantor in June 2021. This incident is now referred to as the Sixth Street Mass Shooting. Kantor was in town celebrating his recent grad-school graduation. White took the stand, as the final witness in a two-week trial on Wednesday. He admitted to trying to get away with firing into the crowd, even fleeing the scene and hiding his phone and gun after. However, White maintains he was mixed up with a person who had, "beef," with people from "Stretch Gang," a well-known group that promotes violence in Killeen. White testified someone from the gang, in a ski mask approached him and his friends and started to pull out a gun. White lied to the lead detective in the case about what really happened two years ago and admits to that. His decision to take th...

Man charged with arson connected to fire at under-construction Austin home, records show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A 25-year-old man is facing a felony arson charge and drug possession charge after he was located at the scene of a fire last Friday at a central Austin house that was under construction, according to court documents. The Austin Fire Department responded to the fire, which was in the 3100 block of White Rock Drive, around 4:43 a.m. Sept. 2. When fire crews arrived, the house was completely engulfed in flames, and the fire was spreading to nearby residences. The fire was extinguished but caused an estimated $802,500 in damages, according to the affidavit. Shahram Hadivincheh (Mugshot: Austin Fire Department) Police said a man experiencing homelessness, identified by AFD as Shahram Hadivincheh, was at the scene of the fire when investigators arrived. According to the affidavit, Hadivincheh admitted he was in the house when the fire started.KXAN reached out to an attorney connected with Hadivincheh. This story will be updated when we receive a response.Hadivincheh told...

Need a driver's license? Get in line

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) —The Texas Department of Public Safety announced all driver's license offices were closed Wednesday after issues with their updated system continued.Driver's license offices across the state closed Friday through Labor Day weekend for a system update and were expected to reopen Tuesday morning.The outage is impacting all driver license services provided by Texas DPS, including renewing or replacing licenses or identification cards, obtaining a driver record and verifying one's eligibility both online and at offices statewide."The department is working to identify the issue, which is related to the driver's license system update that took place over the weekend, and get it fixed as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience," said a spokesperson with the department on Tuesday. Texas drivers license offices closed Labor Day weekend On Wednesday, a number of people who had stopped by voiced their frustration over the issues."We are in from California and we...

Dakota County nonprofit to focus on Spanish-speaking, LGBTQ+ communities with new grant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

A Dakota County nonprofit is expanding outreach to better meet the needs of the Spanish-speaking and LGBTQ+ communities.“We felt we needed to do better to reach underserved communities,” said Ann Bailey, DARTS president. Based in West St. Paul, DARTS provides services for adults aged 55+ such as caregiver support, home services and transportation.Dakota county is home to an estimated 14,000 people who identify as LGBTQ+, according to the county’s 2018 Community Health Assessment. The Spanish-speaking community makes up five percent of the county’s population, with a large population of Spanish-speakers residing in West St. Paul, Bailey said.This summer, DARTS hired a full-time outreach advocate to work with these communities thanks in part to a $100,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services Grants, Equity, Access and Research Division.Culturally-relevant careJessie Martinez, the first bilingual staff member at DARTS, a Dakota County nonprofit that provides serv...

Saratoga County to host annual senior picnic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Saratoga County Department of Aging and Youth Services is hosting its annual Saratoga County Senior Picnic on Thursday, September 7, at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Lunch is provided by Mazzone Hospitality and will be served at noon. A $4.00 advanced meal ticket is required and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.There will be dancing, cornhole, and fun for all! The event will be held rain or shine. No takeout or animals are allowed.

Lake George seeks community input on DRI funding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The village and town of Lake George are coming together to apply for funding to bolster community centers and business involvement around the lake. This month, those with a stake in the lake can attend an open house and fill out a survey to join the conversation on how Lake George would spend Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding from the NY Forward Program, as the two municipalities prepare to submit an application. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! On Monday, Sept. 11, two sessions will be held at Lake George Town Hall, inviting residents to submit ideas for how DRI funding could be put to work. Sessions will be held at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at 20 Old Post Road. Following those meetings, the town and village will reach further into the community. A virtual survey will launch from Sept. 11-17, giving residents the chance to rate and comment on individual ideas for projects that Lake George could tackle with ...

Missouri man accused of dumping woman's body in the woods

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

DE SOTO, Mo. -- Police say a man dumped a woman's body in the woods after discovering that she had died in his home. Stephon Seidl, 62, is facing charges for abandoning her corpse and tampering with evidence. The death of Danielle Thomas, 35, of Park Hills, is still under investigation.A witness tells police that he received a message from Thomas on August 27 with a pin of her location. It showed her at Seidl's home.Seidl tells police that Thomas had been staying at his home for several days. She was using a spare bedroom. He says that is where he found her body on August 29. He says that she was non-responsive, cold to the touch, "stiff", and discolored. Fatal and officer-involved crash shuts down two I-70 WB locations Court documents state that witnesses found her body on August 30 about 30 feet west of Old Engledow Road in De Soto. The location is at the dead end of the road with no homes within a half mile.The Medical Examiner did not find evidence of trauma to her body. Her d...

Authorities uncover new alleged attack in Colorado rock-throwing spree that killed woman

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

The program from the April 29 funeral of Alexa Bartell, 20, killed during a rock-hurling spree in Jefferson County on April 19. (Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post)Two of the three men accused of killing a woman while throwing rocks through random Colorado drivers’ windshields are now facing additional charges in connection with a newly discovered incident in which the head from a statue was thrown at a car.Joseph Koenig, 19, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, 18, and Zachary Kwak, 18, already are facing murder charges in Jefferson County in connection with the April 19 death of 20-year-old Alexa Bartell, who was killed when police say the trio threw a rock into her windshield as their vehicle passed hers on Indiana Street near the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.The three teens also were charged with carrying out a spree of at least six other rock-throwing incidents that night across west metro Denver.But now, Koenig and Karol-Chik are each facing two new counts of ...

Meet Colorado’s new poet laureate: “I write about what I dream the world can be”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:53 GMT

Boulderite Andrea Gibson was named Colorado’s ninth poet laureate Wednesday, a position in which they hope to “redirect awe, astonishment and wonder back into people.”That’s “something we were born with, but culture takes out of us as we grow older,” Gibson said in a state news release. “I spent so much time writing about what was wrong with the world. Now I write about what I dream the world can be.”Gibson — a queer activist, author and four-time Denver Grand Slam poetry champion — writes about the LGBTQ community, spirituality, feminism, mental health and gun reform, among other topics. Much of Gibson’s current work centers on their journey after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer two years ago.Gov. Jared Polis announced Wednesday morning that Gibson will succeed Bobby LeFebre, who served as the state’s first poet laureate of color. Gibson will hold the title for two years.“I want to come up with new and inventive ways t...