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Pilot charged for illegal Grand Teton National Park landing blames bad weather

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

A helicopter pilot faces up to $10,000 in fines and a year in jail for making an illegal lakeside landing in Grand Teton National Park. But whether he was justified by a weather emergency or set down just to have a picnic is in dispute.Peter Smith, owner of air tour company West Elk Air, landed June 24 on the western shore of Jackson Lake, the National Park Service said in a statement Monday.Landing a helicopter just anywhere, without good reason, is against Grand Teton rules to protect the park’s wildlife and serenity.Smith landed at an area inaccessible except by boat or by hiking at least 10 miles (16 kilometers) round trip. Park rangers who heard about the landing reached the site at the foot of the craggy Teton Range by boat.They arrived to find Smith and a female companion having a picnic, according to the Park Service. Park officials declined to comment on any other reason Smith might have given for landing.Reached by phone, Smith said bad weather forced him to land, an...

Kansas City Chiefs superfan accused in bank robbery and suspected in many more across central U.S.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A rabid Kansas City Chiefs fan known on Twitter as “ChiefsAholic” is accused of robbing a bank in Iowa, and federal authorities suspect he’s responsible for bank and credit union robberies throughout the central U.S.Federal prosecutors on Monday announced that 28-year-old Xaviar Michael Babudar of Overland Park, Kansas, was charged with one count of bank theft and one count of transporting stolen property across state lines. It wasn’t immediately clear if Babudar had an attorney.Babudar had a strong following on social media and often wore a full-body wolf costume to games. His Twitter handle has been taken down.He was charged in December with robbing a credit union in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was released on bond in February but prosecutors said he removed an ankle monitor and fled until his arrest Friday near Sacramento, California.An affidavit accuses Babudar of a robbery that netted nearly $70,000 from the Great Western Bank in Clive, Iowa, in Marc...

Following Uvalde shooting, Democrat Roland Gutierrez becomes Ted Cruz’s latest challenger

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who has pushed for police accountability and tougher gun laws after the Uvalde school shooting, announced Monday he will run for U.S. Senate in 2024.He becomes the second Texas Democrat to embark on what will be a longshot bid to deny Republican Sen. Ted Cruz a third term representing the nation’s biggest red state. In a three-minute video, Gutierrez launched his campaign focusing on resources for rural Texas and telling his immigrant story while making his way through Uvalde. He showed the faces of parents of children killed in the May 24 school massacre who have supported his legislative efforts for accountability following the shooting. “Out of one of the darkest days, the people of Uvalde became more than constituents, they became family,” Gutierrez said in his announcement.In May, Rep. Colin Allred became the first to enter the race. He says his campaign has since raised more than $6 million. It sets up a ...

Giraffe named Twiga, who was among the oldest cared for by humans, died at age 31 at East Texas zoo

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

LUFKIN, Texas (AP) — A giraffe named Twiga who died over the weekend at an East Texas zoo at the age of 31 was among the oldest giraffes being cared for by humans.Twiga was found dead Saturday morning at the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, a city of about 34,000 about 170 miles (273 kilometers) southeast of Dallas, said the zoo’s director, Gordon Henley.Twiga would have turned 32 on Oct. 1. She was born at the Los Angeles Zoo. She then went to the Racine Zoo in Wisconsin before coming to the Ellen Trout Zoo in June 2008.“She had provided company and companionship to our other giraffes as they came in and kind of guided them along,” Henley said.Twiga was a Masai giraffe. Henley said that their life expectancy is usually around 25 to 26 years.Henley said Twiga had been showing some signs of age, and she occasionally walked with a bit of limp. But he said she had been getting “a lot of TLC from the keeper staff and from our veterinarian.”“We knew based on her age that it w...

Monday Forecast: Chance of Showers Monday night into Tuesday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

Monday, July 10HIGH: 89  Low: 63Sunny with SW winds gusting up to 20 mph pushing up to the lakefront. High: 89.Monday Night:  Increasing clouds lead to a chance of isolated or spotty showers and storms late, chance of rain 20%. Low: 68.Tuesday, July 11HIGH: 85 LOW: 68Partly cloudy, chance of scattered showers and storms, chance of rain 40%. High: 85.Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, widely scattered showers and storms, chance of rain 30%. Low:  65.Wednesday, July 12HIGH: 76 LOW: 65Mostly cloudy, showers and storms likely, chance of rain 60%. High: 76. Lakeside: 72.Wednesday Night: Partly to mostly cloudy, scattered showers possible, chance of rain 40%. Low: 64.Thursday, July 13HIGH: 82 LOW: 64Partly cloudy with isolated showers possible, chance of rain 20%. High: 82. Lakeside: 73.Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with isolated showers, 20% chance of rain. Low: 67.Friday, July 14HIGH: 86  LOW: 67P...

Illinois Treasurer provides new loan options for students

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WMBD) -- Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced a new, low-cost loan program to help bridge the gap between college savings and financial aid on Monday. According to a release from Frerichs' office, the program will make it easier for thousands of Illinois residents to graduate from a university with a degree. “We firmly believe the best way to pay for college is investing early in a college savings plan,” Frerichs said. “We also know that many families need to rely upon borrowing to pay for some costs associated with college or trade school. That is why we are pleased to partner with ISL Education Lending, a nonprofit organization that has been in this market for 40 years.”Frerichs' office will be partnering with ISL Education Lending, a non-profit company, to offer affordable private student loans to Illinois students and families who qualify. Local financial advisor discusses impact of student loan payments restarting "We appreciate the efforts ...

Andrea Evans of 'One Life to Live' and 'Young and the Restless' dies

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

(KTLA) - Andrea Evans, who rose to soap opera stardom as Tina Lord on "One Life to Live," has died. She was 66 years old.The two-time Daytime Emmy-nominated actress died on Sunday from cancer, according to Deadline and People. The publications said that her death was announced by casting director Don Carroll.In the '70s and '80s, Evans starred as "One Life to Live's" bad girl. She left the soap in 1981 and played Patty Williams on "The Young and the Restless" from 1983 to 1984. In 1985, she returned to "One Life to Live" and ended up receiving a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1988. A few years after receiving the nomination she dropped out of the spotlight due to a stalker who once injured himself and listed Evans as his next of kin. It was a popular national monument, until it was robbed to extinction After the incident, she wasn't to be seen in a soap until 1999 on NBC's now-canceled "Passions."In 2008 and in 2011, she reprised her role in "One Life to Live."In 2014, she joined the...

1st Texas pediatric partial heart transplant performed in Austin

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Dell Children's Medical Center announced Monday it had successfully performed a partial heart transplant on an 11-month-old boy, marking the first of its kind in Texas and the seventh worldwide. The surgery was performed June 23 at the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease at Dell Children's, done in coordination with UT Health Austin. Dell Children's described a partial heart transplant as a procedure where heart valves are taken from a donor heart "not suitable for full transplantation." Instead, the living valves grow with the pediatric patient, in turn leading to a possible life expectancy increase.Elias Robinson-Rodriquez is the 11-month-old recipient of the partial heart transplant, which was performed during an 11-hour surgery at Dell Children's Medical Center on June 23. (Courtesy: Dell Children's Medical Center)Elias Robinson-Rodriquez is the 11-month-old recipient of the partial heart transplant, which was performed during an 11-hour surg...

'It was amazing': Round Rock's Travis Sykora selected by Washington Nationals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Flamethrowing right-handed pitcher Travis Sykora didn't have to wait long on the second day of the MLB draft. Sykora was selected 71st overall by the Washington Nationals as the first selection of the day in the third round."It was amazing," said Sykora. "Growing up as a kid, your goal is to be a professional baseball player, to get to the big leagues and achieve that first step. It’s amazing."MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersAfter not going in the first round of the draft, Sykora was able to take a deep breath from what he called one of the most stressful days of his life. He now appears ready to head to a Nationals organization loaded with young talent."I’m super excited to go to the Nationals," said Sykora. "They’re in a great area, and it’s just truly unbelievable. And as far as relationships, the area scout, we’ve known each other for a l...

Mathews Hollinshead: Think bigger about remaking I-94 and reconnecting Rondo

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:46 GMT

Never let the perfect be enemy of the good?Sometimes only a dream has the power to become reality.Right now, we have every reason to dream bigger about remaking I-94 in St. Paul, reconnecting Rondo and reimagining what’s possible and good — if we have the courage.Starting 70 years ago urban rail yards all over the U.S. converted to auto-oriented redevelopments. Freeways displaced minority communities. The Great Disinvestment began pushing wealth out to the suburbs.Now the freeways are at the end of their lives, no longer worth patching and gluing. Big boxes are succumbing to online shopping and the lawlessness of “shrinkage.” We have a chance to rebuild communities that have been sacrificed in the past.Rip the freeways and big boxes out, like the rail yards back in the 1950s, or replace them with new ones? These are now key choices. Many say, opportunities.American infrastructure is absurdly complicated from a legal, planning and operating standpoint:Rails, power lines a...