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Man arrested in Washington state after detective made false statements gets $225,000 settlement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — King County will pay $225,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by a Black man who was arrested on drug charges after a veteran detective made false statements to obtain a search warrant, including misidentifying him in a photo.Detective Kathleen Decker, a now-retired 33-year veteran of the King County Sheriff’s Office, was looking for a murder weapon when she asked a Washington state judge for a warrant to search the car and apartment of Seattle resident Gizachew Wondie in 2018. At the time, federal agents were separately looking into Wondie’s possible involvement in selling drugs.Wondie was not a suspect in the homicide, but Decker’s search warrant application said a gun he owned was the same weapon that had been used to kill a 22-year-old woman a few months earlier.In reality, the gun was only a potential match and further testing was required to prove it. Further, Decker, who is white, falsely claimed that a different Black man pictured in an Instagram phot...

Former Iowa deputy pleads guilty in hot-vehicle death of police dog

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

AMES, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa deputy has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge after a police dog under his care died inside a hot police truck.Dallas Wingate was a sergeant for the Boone County Sheriff’s Department in September 2022 when investigators said the police dog named Bear was left inside Wingate’s truck for 22 hours. In an agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal neglect with serious injury or death, the Des Moines Register reported Monday. A felony charge was dropped.The plea agreement recommends 18 months of probation and an $855 fine.Wingate found Bear dead on the evening of Sept. 2, 2022. He told investigators he had put the dog in his truck around 10 p.m. Sept. 1 because the dog was barking at a deer, according to documents related to a search warrant.Wingate said he only remembered doing so after he went outside to feed his other dogs around 8 p.m. the next night and didn’t see Bear among them.The high temperature on Sept. 2...

Three gun dealers sued by New Jersey attorney general, who says they violated state law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s attorney general sued three firearms dealers Tuesday, alleging one illegally stored firearms that were visible from outside a store and that the two others tried to sell “ghost guns.” The suits mark the first complaints filed under a 2022 law passed last year.Attorney General Matt Platkin said he filed the lawsuits in state court to send a message to firearms dealers that run afoul of state law.“We’re going to hold these folks accountable, but they won’t be the last,” Platkin said during a news conference held with state firearms enforcement director Ravi Ramanathan. “I think others in the industry should take notice that if you’re violating our laws, we’re going to come for you. We’re going to hold you accountable, too.”The suits seek unspecified monetary and punitive damages as well as an injunction against the companies: FSS Armory, of Pine Brook, New Jersey; gun show operator Eagle Shows of western Pennsylvania; and gun vendor JSD Supply, ...

DeSantis’ campaign and allied super PAC face new concerns about legal conflicts, AP sources say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis has visited each of Iowa’s 99 counties. He has the endorsement of the governor and boasts the largest get-out-the-vote operation in the state. And he has predicted victory in Iowa’s Jan. 15 caucuses.But as the Florida governor works to project strength in the Republican primary and cut into former President Donald Trump’s huge lead, DeSantis’ expansive political machine is facing a churn of leadership, stagnant polling numbers and new concerns about potential legal conflicts.Specifically, there has been concern in recent weeks among some within DeSantis’ operation that interactions between his campaign and his network of outside groups are blurring the lines of what’s legally permissible.Multiple people familiar with DeSantis’ political network said that he and his wife had expressed concerns about the messaging of Never Back Down, the largest super PAC supporting the governor’s campaign, in recent months as ...

Chicago Bulls launch Ring of Honor, announce inaugural class

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls announced their inaugural "Ring of Honor" class Tuesday, which will recognize and celebrate past players, coaches and front office staff who made outstanding contributions to help define the organization throughout it's history, according to a press release from the team.The Bulls' inaugural Ring of Honor class will include 13 individuals — Artis Gilmore, Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Johnny “Red” Kerr, Dick Klein, Jerry Krause, Toni Kukoc, Bob Love, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker and Tex Winter — and one team, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.The Bulls will honor the following players, coaches and staff from the 1995-96 team:  Players: Randy Brown, Jud Buechler Jason Caffey, James Edwards, Jack Haley, Ron Harper, Michael Jordan, Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc, Luc Longley, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, John Salley, Dickey Simpkins and Bill Wennington Coaches: Jim Cleamons, Phil Jackson, Erik Helland, John Paxson, Jimmy Rodgers and Te...

When is SantaCon coming to Chicagoland?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – The Santa Clauses are coming to town — and possibly looking for a place to urinate!SantaCon, an annual event that takes place around Christmastime, is essentially a huge, festive pub crawl populated almost entirely by revelers dressed as Santa Claus or other holiday characters. The event has been growing in popularity for decades too, with hundreds of cities in the U.S. (and many abroad) playing host to their own SantaCons in recent years. Holiday crowds at airports, on highways expected to be even bigger than last year In December 2023, over 100 different SantaCon events were scheduled to take place throughout the country, with many still to come. But that’s only the events listed on the SantaCon.info database; it’s possible there are even more being organized under different names.Where are SantaCon events taking place in the coming weeks?According to SantaCon.info, there are still more than 40 SantaCon events scheduled for cities in 17 states: Arizona, Californ...

President Gay to stay at Harvard, despite calls for resignation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

Harvard President Claudine Gay will stay in her position, despite Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) demanding her resignation."This is a moral failure of Harvard's leadership," Stefanik said.Last week, Gay, the president of MIT, and the former president of the University of Pennsylvania deflected questions from Stefanik about whether calling for the genocide of Jews breaks their colleges' codes of conduct."Those university presidents made history by putting the most morally bankrupt testimony into the Congressional record and the world saw it," Stefanik said.On Tuesday, Harvard's board released a statement saying Gay is "the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing.""Have failed to stand up for Jewish students on campus. It is unacceptable and it's untenable," Stefanik said.House Republican Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) says his party is leading the fight against antisemitism."We've exposed antisemitism, called it out for what...

Funding negotiations at a standstill on the Hill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - All eyes are on the Senate as they race to negotiate an immigration deal. The top two senators negotiating the deal warned that the clock is ticking to make a deal before senator’s head home for the holidays. If that happens, President Joe Biden’s package for aid to Ukraine and Israel could be in jeopardy. “This is nonnegotiable,” Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) said. “100 percent nonnegotiable. Secure the border of the United States.” Republicans say they won't support President Biden’s $106 billion supplemental funding request, that includes aid for Ukraine and Israel, unless it also includes sweeping policy changes at the southern border. “It's hard to justify spending billions on Ukraine when we can’t even support our own border security and our own national security,” Representative Brian Babin (R-TX) said. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says republicans border policy demands are a nonstarter. “We will not accept Donald T...

Body pulled from retention pond believed to be missing Illinois teen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

VERNON HILLS, Ill. (WGN) — Police believe the body recovered from an Illinois retention pond is that of a 17-year-old girl reported missing last week. Brissa Romero, a resident of Carpentersville, was traveling to a bowling alley in Vernon Hills for a holiday party before she vanished on Dec. 4. Emergency crews were searching the pond in Vernon Hills, about 45 miles north of Chicago, on Monday after data from Romero's cellphone brought them to the area. Surveillance footage from a nearby restaurant showed Romero parking her vehicle and entering the restaurant by herself before leaving, only 15 minutes before her last registered phone ping in the area of the pond. A resident in the area also notified officers about a backpack that appeared to have floated to the edge of the pond. The bag contained "identifying information," according to authorities.Monday night, Vernon Hills police confirmed they found Romero's SUV in the pond. Search for missing Carpentersville’s teen resumes Tu...

Filings reveal police had photos from AISD, Shadywood Dr. shootings showing same suspect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Multiple students and a school employee saw the start of a spree of violence in Austin last week, according to new court filings.Shane James, 34, the suspect connected with a deadly shooting spree in Austin and Bexar County, faces 10 charges, including multiple capital murder and aggravated assault charges, court records state. Central Texas shooting spree suspect faces 10 charges, including 4 for capital murder James is accused of killing six people and injuring three others during a string of incidents on Dec. 5.Officer shot at Northeast ECHSAustin Independent School District police officer Sgt. Val Barnes was leaving the Northeast Early College High School parking lot after visiting one of the officers stationed on the campus, according to a newly filed police affidavit. Barnes passed the baseball field and saw a man in the parking lot, and investigators said it appeared he alarmed suspected killer James. Barnes told investigators James pulled out a handgun and ...