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A preacher to death row inmates says he wants to end executions. Critics warn he’s only seeking fame

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — With just weeks left before his scheduled execution, Oklahoma death row inmate Anthony Sanchez took the unusual step of firing his attorneys and skipping a clemency hearing that many viewed as the last chance to spare his life.Sanchez’s decision, and his relationship with an activist pastor who is a spiritual adviser to death row inmates across the country, has drawn fierce criticism from capital defense attorneys and anti-death penalty groups. They say the Rev. Jeff Hood is turning desperate inmates against their lawyers, who are often the last line of defense in a state with one of the busiest death chambers in the country.Hood is a death row minister associated with national anti-capital punishment organization Death Penalty Action. He says his intention is to raise the profile of inmates and draw public attention to their cases to stop executions. Critics say Hood is in it to keep himself in the limelight and raise money for Death Penalty Action.Sanche...

Uncertain and afraid: Florida’s immigrants grapple with a disrupted reality under new law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — For many in Florida’s vast immigrant community, daily life in recent months has become one governed entirely by fear.Some try to drive as little as possible and make fewer trips to the supermarket. Others no longer take their children to the park and worry about allowing them to attend school. Others still are hiding out — avoiding travel to other states, not getting regular medical check-ups, or closing their businesses and leaving town. And many are just on high alert — all because of a new immigration law Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May.One of the strictest in the nation, the law criminalized transporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status into the state, invalidated any U.S. government identification they might have and blocked local governments from providing them with ID cards. Florida hospitals that receive Medicaid are now mandated to ask patients about immigration status and businesses employing 25 or more people must verify their workers’ leg...

Deliberations in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial head into a second day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Deliberations in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ‘s impeachment trial were set to resume Saturday after a jury of mostly Republican senators met for about eight hours without emerging for a historic vote on whether to convict one of their party’s most powerful figures on corruption charges. The ongoing talks behind closed doors fed a rare lack of assurance about how a vote might go in the Texas Capitol, where a dominant Republican majority typically means that outcomes are seldom in doubt. The trial has plunged Texas Republicans into unfamiliar waters as they confront whether Paxton should be removed over allegations that he abused his office to protect a political donor who was under FBI investigation. If a verdict is not announced by Sunday night, senators may be sequestered in the Capitol until they reach one. The suspense has pushed pushed Paxton, whose three terms in office have been marred by scandal and criminal charges, closer to a defining...

What if public transit was like Uber? A small city ended its bus service to find out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

When a small city abruptly parked all its buses to launch a publicly subsidized van service offering $1.50 trips anywhere in town, only one of its bus drivers — a big-city transplant — went along for the ride.Milton Barnes used to oversee packed subway stations in Washington, D.C., a far cry from the sparsely filled buses he drove after moving to Wilson, North Carolina, to care for his elderly parents. Although transit ridership plummeted almost everywhere due to the pandemic, it has been surging in Wilson since its September 2020 switch from a fixed-route system to an on-demand one powered by a smartphone app.“All day long I’m picking up people and dropping them off,” Barnes, 59, the only driver to work under both systems, said while driving his van on a typically busy morning. “When you’ve got door-to-door, corner-to-corner service, it’s going to be more popular.”Long wait times made the bus route almost unusable for David Bunn, even when his car broke down and he couldn’t a...

Republican presidential hopefuls generally overlook New Hampshire in effort to blunt Trump in Iowa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Once upon a time, the moderates, the mavericks and the underdogs in presidential politics had a chance to break through in New Hampshire.Former Sen. John McCain, an independent-minded Republican, resurrected his anemic campaign with a victory in the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary in 2008. Bill Clinton, a centrist Democrat from Arkansas, became the “comeback kid” by exceeding expectations here in 1992. And little-known Georgia peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter, would go on to claim the presidency after winning the state’s 1976 Democratic primary.But this year, New Hampshire’s primary tradition may be little more than a fairy tale as the presidential field largely overlooks the Granite State.Democratic officials, who have rallied behind President Joe Biden, have already decided to bypass New Hampshire in favor of South Carolina. And the crowded Republican field is focusing its money, time and attention on Iowa, betting big that the...

Poland shaken by reports consular officials took bribes to help migrants enter Europe and US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s conservative governing party was hoping to make migration a key campaign theme ahead of the country’s national election. But not like this.The Law and Justice party is being rocked by reports that Polish consulates issued visas in Africa and Asia in exchange for bribes, opening the door for migrants to enter the European Union — which some used as a launching pad to enter the United States.Details about the corruption scandal are coming to light a month ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections Oct. 15, leaving Law and Justice struggling to control the damage. On Friday, a former deputy foreign minister who was dismissed amid reports of his involvement was hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt.Law and Justice has been the election frontrunner in a field of several parties, and it’s not clear if the affair will dent its support. But opposition politicians have seized on the issue, accusing the government of corruption and hypocrisy, ...

Texas high school football scores for Friday, Sept. 15

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Round Rock scored 10 points in the final 1:10 to top Westwood 24-21 in the Battle for the Bell on Friday at the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex.Round Rock running back Moose Garlington punched in a 3-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21-21, and the Dragons quickly put Westwood in a punting situation with 0:33 left. Round Rock came after the punt and blocked it to take over at the Warriors' 18-yard line.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteWith 0:10 left, Round Rock kicker Kai Haruki nailed a 39-yard field goal that ended up being the game-winning score and the first win of the season for the Dragons.In other action around the area, Weiss stayed undefeated following a wild 52-50 win over New Braunfels at The Pfield. Rouse took out Liberty Hill 28-17 and Bastrop topped Pflugerville in overtime 48-42. That game was played in Smit...

1 killed, another hospitalized in South Los Angeles shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

A shooting left one person dead and another hospitalized in South Los Angeles on Friday night.The shooting took place outside of a Bank of America near Broadway Street and Manchester Avenue around 7:30 p.m., according to Los Angeles police.Arriving officers found a 30-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A second victim, a woman, was found with a gunshot wound on her leg. She was transported to a local hospital for treatment.One person was killed and another was hospitalized after a shooting in South Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2023. (OnScene.TV)One person was killed and another was hospitalized after a shooting in South Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2023. (OnScene.TV)One person was killed and another was hospitalized after a shooting in South Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2023. (OnScene.TV)One person was killed and another was hospitalized after a shooting in South Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2023. (OnScene.TV)One person was killed and another wa...

Suspects break into San Bernardino home, police find them sleeping

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

A man and woman were arrested after they broke into a San Bernardino home and were found sleeping inside on Friday morning.At 7:18 a.m., San Bernardino deputies responded to a report of a residential burglary in the 600 block of West 41st Street. The homeowner contacted police after his surveillance camera revealed two people breaking into his home. When officers arrived, they found the suspects, 35-year-old Andre Eugene Maloy and 44-year-old Natasha Ann Segura, sleeping inside the home. Surveillance video footage showed Maloy surveying the home before throwing a rock through the front window and then entering. Police found that the surveillance cameras had also been disconnected and vandalized. According to the homeowner, the damages caused to the window and surveillance cameras were approximately $1,000.Maloy and Segura were arrested for three felony charges, conspiracy to commit a crime, vandalism, and burglary. They were both booked at the Central Detention Center.

Three juveniles charged in Oakland school shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:21 GMT

OAKLAND – Three juveniles are facing charges in connection with a shooting at Skyline High School on Sept. 5, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.One is charged with assault with a firearm, a second with being a minor in possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school and carrying a loaded weapon in public, and a third with being a minor in possession of a firearm, prosecutors said in a statement.Prosecutors said the juveniles made their first appearances in court and remain in custody.The county probation department will conduct assessments of the juveniles and make recommendations to the judge assigned to the case, prosecutors said. The district attorney’s office will also make recommendations before the judge rules on the consequences.In the statement, prosecutors noted that “state law mandates juvenile justice focus on rehabilitation, with consequences focused on the support the individual needs to prevent them from re-offending.”The shooting hap...