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Executions to return to South Carolina; shield law nears OK

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A bill that would allow South Carolina to buy the drugs needed for lethal injection without revealing the name of the company who sells them will soon be heading for the governor’s desk.The state Senate on Thursday approved minor changes the House made in the shield law bill with almost no debate. The proposal also requires the names of members of the execution team be kept secret.South Carolina has had an unintended 12-year moratorium on the death penalty after its lethal injection drugs passed their expiration date and pharmacies refused to sell the state more.Several South Carolina death row inmates have run out of regular appeals but their executions are on hold because they can’t be carried out.Sixteen other states have carried out about 100 lethal injection executions in the past six years. Many have shield laws. Some do not.Two years ago, South Carolina tried to work around the lack of lethal injections drugs by passing a law creating a firin...

CPD: Man outside work truck shot; fires back and injures suspect in South Shore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

CHICAGO — A man outside of his truck was shot but returned fire Thursday afternoon in South Shore — injuring the suspect, CPD said.According to police, the 37-year-old man was outside his truck near the 7700 block of South Colfax Avenue just before 12:35 p.m. when a suspect fired shots at him. CPD said the 37-year-old man returned fire, striking the offender in the thigh. Girl charged as adult in high-speed police chase with man on hood of car The man was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition. The suspect self-transported to Trinity Hospital and his condition is unknown. Charges are pending.

Driver killed after high-speed crash in Hobart ID'd

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

HOBART, Ind. — One person is dead after police said they were driving fast when they tried to pass two cars and crashed into a pole Wednesday afternoon in Hobart.The crash happened around 3 p.m. near 37th Avenue and North Lake Park Avenue. Man runs red light, dies after being hit by semi-truck driver in Northwest Indiana The Hobart Police Department said the driver, identified as 64-year-old Tyrone Ramirez, tried to pass two other cars by driving in between them, struck a car, lost control and then crashed into the pole.One other person was injured and treated at the scene, police said.The South Lake County Accident Reconstruction Team is investigating.Additional details haven't been released at this time.

Police: Dating app meet-ups go wrong in Lawndale armed robberies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

CHICAGO -- Police are warning the public after multiple incidents where dating social media users were robbed at gunpoint on Chicago's West side.Individuals reportedly agreed to meet with someone they met on a dating social media app, but were later attacked and robbed by two to three individuals at a meeting location in Lawndale.According to the Chicago Police Department, the victims were robbed at gunpoint, duct taped, and forced to handover their banking and credit card information. Girl charged as adult in high-speed police chase with man on hood of car Nine incidents occurred between March 6 and April 28, during the hours of 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., all within the 1800 and 1900 block of South Springfield Avenue in Chicago's Lawndale neighborhood.The Chicago Police Department describe the suspects as two or three African American men in their late twenties, between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-11, wearing dark clothing.The investigation is ongoing.Anyone with information are asked to contact...

Four killed in south Georgia town, coroner confirms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

MOULTRIE, Ga. (AP) — Four people were killed Thursday in a small city in rural south Georgia, including a fast food worker and two relatives of a gunman who took his own life, the local coroner said.The shooter killed his mother and grandmother at two neighboring homes and killed a woman at a McDonald's restaurant in downtown Moultrie, Colquitt County Coroner C. Verlyn Brock told The Associated Press. He said the gunman then killed himself.Brock did not provide the identities of the shooter or victims. He said he did not know whether the gunman and the McDonald's worker knew each other. Police capture suspect in deadly shooting at Atlanta medical facility The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement only that there had been “multiple fatalities” at different crime scenes in the area.Police swarmed the restaurant on Thursday morning, shutting down traffic on one the main streets in the south Georgia town of 15,000.The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the Moultrie Pol...

One part of the Bears' draft caught the eye of Matt Eberflus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

LAKE FOREST — The general manager did his part last week. Now it's up to the head coach to get the most out of them, which starts this weekend.Matt Eberflus will put the Bears' draft picks and rookie free agents during a minicamp at Halas Hall on Friday and Saturday. The two days give the coaches along with the front office an idea of the skills of the players just acquired over the last week.Of course, those selected last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will take center stage, including tenth overall pick Darnell Wright, the offensive tackle from Tennessee. So what part of the selections has gotten Eberflus fired up headed into this weekend? If you know anything about the coach's background along with a need for the Bears in 2023, it makes sense. "Yeah, all three of those D-tackles excite me," said Eberflus referring to some additions to the defensive line by Poles in the draft. That group includes second round pick Gervon Dexter Sr. of Florida, Zacch Perkins of South Carolina, alon...

City of Austin settles lawsuit with pregnant 2020 protester shot with less-lethal round, woman receives $100K

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council approved a settlement Thursday with Saraneka Alexander, a then-pregnant woman who was hit with a non-lethal round during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.KXAN reported on Alexander's case previously, she gave us a different last name at the time.Alexander told us she was shot in the back, stomach and head with rubber bullets by Austin Police during a protest. She went to the hospital and her baby was unharmed, she said. PAST COVERAGE: ‘I was not hurt by protesters, I was hurt by APD:’ Pregnant woman shot with less-lethal round tells story “Pregnancy is already pretty hard, then add getting shot a few times to that,” Alexander said then. When asked why she was at the protest in the first place, she replied that she had to protest “because she was pregnant,” discussing problems with getting medical care for her prior pregnancies.The city said the settlement amount was for $100,000.“In exchange for this payment, Saraneka Alexander will release ...

Waterloo Greenway redesign underway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The major park redesign along Waller Creek at the Waterloo Greenway began Wednesday. The Waterloo Greenway Conservancy said The Confluence would bloom at the spot where the Creek meets Lady Bird Lake.This is the second phase of the parks project along the creek. It runs up to 4th Street, and it would connect to East Austin and Rainey Street.According to the conservancy, construction on The Confluence would last two and a half years.Jesus Aguirre, the CEO of Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, said the project would help improve the accessibility and ecological health of Waller Creek."What we are going to do here is bring the creek back, restore it in a way that is environmentally sensitive to everything that is happening, and allow folks to enjoy nature in what is one of the most rapidly urbanizing areas of the city."The first part of Waterloo Greenway opened in 2021, with Waterloo Park and Moody Amphitheater.

Senate medical transparency bill headed to House floor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

This report is an update to KXAN's "Medical Debt Lawsuits" investigation. Our team will continue to follow the bills during Texas' legislative session.AUSTIN (KXAN) — The House Public Health Committee voted out Senate Bill 490 on Wednesday. The legislation pushes for medical billing transparency by requiring itemized medical invoices for patients.The legislation – authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola – is headed to the House floor next. The bill would require hospitals and other providers that are requesting payment from a patient to send a written itemized invoice after providing a service.The majority of the committee voted in favor of the legislation, which had a substitute. The bill will have to go back to the Senate for final approval, if it clears the House.  READ: Texas Senate passes bill pushing for medical billing transparency The Texas Senate passed the bill last week. Hughes testified leading up to that vote about the importance of the...

Support businesses for Samsung semiconductor plant look to settle nearby

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — City of Taylor leaders said interest from businesses that supply or distribute elements that would support production at Samsung's semiconductor plant has increased and accelerated in recent months.Taylor Mayor Brandt Rydell said those businesses include companies that make components crucial to the making of microchips. Williamson County enters cooperation agreement with Korean trade-investment agency Rydell was among Williamson County and Austin business leaders that traveled to South Korea last month for business partnerships between the country and Central Texas.On that trip, iMarket Korea, a distributor of semiconductor components, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rydell and the City of Taylor. While this MOU signing was mostly symbolic, Rydell said the company has purchased 44 acres of land in Taylor's business park.Mark Thomas, president and CEO of the Taylor Economic Development Corporation, said this business park is aimed to be a hub for s...