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A child sex abuse suspect kills himself after wounding marshals trying to arrest him, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

IRMO, S.C. (AP) — A man wanted by police for child sex abuse crimes shot and killed himself Friday after wounding two federal marshals trying to arrest him at a South Carolina hotel, investigators said.A special team of U.S. Marshals was trying to arrest George Curtis at an extended stay hotel near Columbia when they were fired on, the agency said in a statement.Two marshals were hit and their injuries aren’t life-threatening, officials said.After the shooting, Curtis turned the gun on himself, authorities said.Curtis was wanted by the Richmond County Sherriff’s Office in Georgia on charges of child rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and two counts of child molestation.Television footage from the Extended Stay America hotel in Irmo showed dozens of police cars and a shattered side door surrounded by crime scene tape.The Associated Press

Man deliberately drives into a home and crashes into a police station in New Jersey, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man deliberately drove his SUV into a home and the offices of a municipal police department earlier this month, authorities announced Friday.No one was injured in either crash, which both occurred Sept. 20, the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release. However, at least one officer narrowly escaped being struck when John Hargreaves, 34, of Belvidere, drove into the Independence Township police headquarters, causing significant damage.Hargreaves’ vehicle came to rest in the department’s squad room. As he got out of the vehicle, prosecutors said Hargreaves put his hands in the air and appeared to be celebrating while loudly playing the Guns N’ Roses song “Welcome to the Jungle” on his car stereo as officers took him into custody.That crash happened just minutes after Hargreaves had driven into the garage door of a home in Liberty Township, an act prosecutors said was intended to harass the homeowne...

Baltimore Archdiocese says it will file for bankruptcy before new law on abuse lawsuits takes effect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced Friday that it filed for Chapter 11 reorganization days before a new state law goes into effect removing the statute of limitations on child sex abuse charges and allowing victims to sue their abusers decades after the fact.The step will “allow the archdiocese to equitably compensate victim-survivors of child sexual abuse” while the local Catholic church continues its mission and ministries, Archbishop William E. Lori said in a statement posted on the archdiocese website.The Associated Press

Judges maintain bans on gender-affirming care for youth in Tennessee and Kentucky

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee and Kentucky can continue to ban gender-affirming care for young transgender people while legal challenges against those state laws proceed, federal appeals judges ruled.In a 2-1 decision by a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel late Thursday, the majority wrote that elected lawmakers made “precise cost-benefit decisions” in instituting the bans and “did not trigger any reason for judges to second-guess them.” The laws were passed by Republican majorities in both states.“Prohibiting citizens and legislatures from offering their perspectives on high-stakes medical policies, in which compassion for the child points in both directions, is not something life-tenured federal judges should do without a clear warrant in the Constitution,” Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote.The laws had already kicked in under previous rulings by the appeals judges, despite decisions in lower courts that temporarily kept significant parts of the bans from taking effect. T...

‘Incredibly convincing’: Family loses life savings after computer virus alert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

This has likely happened to you while on the computer. You’re surfing the internet and get an alert that your computer has been compromised.A Toronto woman whose mother, unfortunately, got a computer virus is speaking out to share her hard-earned lesson.“My mom panicked, and so did I,” the woman, who asked only to be identified as “Linda,” said. “Our computer was locked, and the screen told us to call a number for what we thought was Microsoft.”That’s when things got strange, but now, in hindsight, Linda says it’s crystal clear.“This was a very organized effort to get money from us, and it worked.”When she called the number on the alert, a woman, who again said she was with Microsoft, asked her a series of questions about the computer.“She was incredibly knowledgeable and did try to walk us through ways to get it fixed, I’m sure, just to gain some type of trust.”Linda was told that her computer was l...

Witness to the 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur indicted on murder charge in rapper's death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — One of the last living witnesses to the fatal drive-by shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas was charged with murder Friday in the 1996 killing, a long-awaited breakthrough in a case that has frustrated investigators and fascinated the public.Duane “Keffe D” Davis has long been known to investigators and has himself admitted in interviews and in his 2019 tell-all memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he was in the Cadillac from which the gunfire erupted during the September 1996 drive-by shooting. Shakur was 25 when he was killed.A Nevada grand jury indicted Davis in the killing, prosecutors announced in court Friday. Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said a grand jury had been seated in the case for several months. DiGiacomo described Davis as the “on-ground, on-site commander” who “ordered the death” of Shakur.The charges were revealed hours after Davis, 60, was arrested this morning while on a walk near his home, according to DiGiacomo.Las Vega...

An arrest has been made in Tupac Shakur's killing. Here's what we know about the case and the rapper

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An arrest has been made in Tupac Shakur's killing, the latest twist in one of the biggest unsolved cases in hip-hop history.Duane “Keffe D” Davis was arrested on suspicion of murder early Friday morning, according to two officials with first-hand knowledge of the arrest. They were not authorized to speak publicly ahead of an expected indictment later Friday.The case returned to the spotlight in July when Nevada authorities served a search warrant in connection with the rap star’s shooting death. Here’s what to know about one of the most infamous fatal shootings in hip-hop history: WHAT’S NEW IN THE INVESTIGATION?Authorities on Friday arrested Davis, who's name has long been linked with Shakur's death. He is the uncle of a man who emerged as a suspect shortly after the rapper’s killing. Shakur was gunned down while riding in a car on the Las Vegas strip on Sept. 7, 1996.In July, authorities executed a warrant in the nearby city of Henderson at Davis' house. He's th...

Person shot, killed by Morris police in apartment complex lot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

MORRIS, Ill. — A person was shot and killed by Morris police Friday morning in an apartment complex parking lot.At around 10:55 a.m., police were dispatched to the 1800 block of Anne Lane on the report of a suicidal suspect.Police said when officers arrived they were confronted by a distraught and armed person in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Police shot the person and they died from the incident. Circumstances around the shooting are not available at this time.The case is under investigation by Illinois State Police.

Estimated $27M in damages to Round Rock car dealerships from Sunday night hailstorm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Sunday night's hailstorm left a significant mark… on cars that is— from severely cracked windshields and shattered back windshields to dents along the cars.A Round Rock-area car dealership executive said over 750 vehicles were damaged during the storm. MORE: Round Rock dealerships see hail damage, expect deals for dented cars “Most of the damaged vehicles are not repairable and are anticipated to be total losses,” according to the dealership.Of the 750 vehicles, it was estimated they represented more than $27 million in inventory value. RELATED: Cars, homes in Round Rock damaged after Sunday night hailstorm Dealerships most impacted by the hailstorm include Round Rock Honda, Round Rock Hyundai, Genesis of Round Rock and Round Rock Toyota.According to KXAN Chief Meteorologist David Yeomans, Austin’s two most expensive hailstorms before Sunday were:March 25, 2009: Golf ball size (1.75” diameter) hail, which caused $160 million in damageMarch 25, 1993: Eg...

Austin Energy increases rates for fourth time over past year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Energy (AE) said there would be another rate change beginning Nov. 1. The change would increase the average residential customer's bill by about $1.50 a month.This would be the fourth time the electric utility has increased its rate over the past year.Starting on your October bill, AE added another increase that added up to under $2 a month, but in November 2022, monthly bills were increased by an average of $15, and then in March, Austin Energy’s base rate rose to $13 a month. LATEST: Austin Energy rate to increase 5%, will cost customers roughly $2 more Austin Energy spokesperson Matt Mitchell said the newest rate increase covers the cost of buying energy on the ERCOT market."The pass-through charges appearing on the Austin Energy portion of the City of Austin Utilities bill are the Community Benefit Charge (CBC), Regulatory Charge, and Power Supply Adjustment (PSA). The CBC consists of components to recover costs of the Customer Assistance Program (CAP), ...