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Alien statue stolen from 102-year-old Michigan woman returned

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

ASHLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — An alien statue that was taken from outside the home of a 102-year-old woman near Grant, Michigan, has been returned.In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Daynelle VanderLaan said the alien statue was returned overnight. She went on to thank Nexstar's WOOD-TV and everyone who shared the story. We could be seeing the northern lights more often: Here’s why For around six years, the alien statue had sat outside the VanderLaan’s home near Grant until it was taken sometime between April 22 and 23.Her mother-in-law, Freda, 102, built a special relationship with the statue, says Daynelle. Freda has Alzheimer’s, which causes her to forget many things. However, she remembers the extraterrestrial, who is always waving outside her home.After it was taken, the VanderLaans considered buying another statue but could not find any with the unique waving stance. They did not want to press charges against whoever nabbed it, they just wanted to back."THE ALIEN IS BACK HOME!...

Rain continues to affect Central Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Rain and thunderstorms fell over our eastern counties this morning. The rain moved in to southern Fayette County around 8:30 a.m., spreading north and west as the morning progressed.The rain moved into the I-35 portion of Central Texas after 11 a.m, then entered the Hill Country after noon. Thankfully, there was no severe weather outside of some lightning. Higher rain totals since midnight have averaged between .50" and 1.00".The rain gauge at the Colorado River at La Grange measured .54" this morning to add to the 2.74" that was recorded Monday afternoon.Future model runs point to these showers and thunderstorms continuing into the afternoon and evening. Today's severe weather risk is only for the eastern half of Fayette County. There is also a flood threat for the rest of today and tonight. Flood threat is moderate for Bastrop, Caldwell, Fayette, and Lee Cos.There continues to be flood threat for tomorrow, as well. It's interesting to note, though, that two high-r...

Texas House unanimously expels Bryan Slaton after sexual misconduct allegations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

The above video shows GOP Rep. Bryan Slaton's name slate being removed after the vote. AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas House voted unanimously on Tuesday to expel embattled GOP Rep. Bryan Slaton, amid allegations he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old female staffer. The vote comes a day after Slaton submitted his resignation papers to the governor, after a House panel made public its findings about his misconduct. Under mounting pressure, Rep. Bryan Slaton resigns before expulsion vote in Texas House Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, said all of the facts alleged in the House General Investigating Committee's report on Slaton are "completely undisputed" by Slaton and others. According to the report, Slaton showed a pattern of inappropriate behavior with the aide. The committee said his actions came to a head one evening on March 31, when he invited the staffer to his Austin apartment and providing her enough alcohol that she reportedly felt "dizzy" before the ...

LIVE: DPS officials speak publicly after Allen mall shooting; FBI, local police will be present

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

ALLEN, Texas (KXAN) -- The Texas Department of Public Safety is planning to speak publicly in Allen Tuesday afternoon following a mass shooting that killed eight people at an outlet mall. DPS is hosting a briefing that will include representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Allen Police Department, according to a media advisory. Eight people were killed and several other were injured in a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets over the weekend. The victims were identified by authorities Monday eveninging. Their ages ranged from three to 37. 3-year-old boy, security guard among those killed in Texas mall shooting The Associated Press reported that federal agents have been reviewing social media accounts they believe the suspect, Mauricio Garcia, 33, used and posts that expressed interest in white supremacist and neo-Nazi views, an official told AP. The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. ...

House to debate Texas bill removing criminal offense for 'homosexual conduct'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas House of Representatives will debate a piece of legislation Wednesday that would strike the unconstitutional, unenforceable criminal offense of "homosexual conduct" from the state's lawbooks. House Bill 2055, introduced this session by Dallas Democratic Rep. Venton Jones, is now listed on Wednesday's daily House calendar, which contains the list of new bills and resolutions scheduled by the Committee on Calendars for the full chamber to consider. The proposal would change two parts of state code related to LGBTQ+ relationships. If this bill becomes law, it would first remove the phrase "that homosexual conduct is not an acceptable lifestyle" from the health and safety code, while it would also no longer make that a prosecutable crime in Texas. Up until 2003, consensual sex between two people of the same gender was explicitly illegal in the state under the Texas Homosexual Conduct Law. That changed when the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the law in...

Ballston Spa CSD to host annual Wellness Day on May 13

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- On May 13, the Ballston Spa Central School District is holding its annual Wellness Day at the Wood Road Elementary School complex. Wellness Day features a Kids Color Run, the Scotties Stampeded 5k, and a Wellness Expo. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The Kids Color Fun Run is free for Ballston Spa students and is scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m. Participants are asked to arrive by 7:45 a.m. for check-in. The Scotties Stampede 5k will follow at 9:15 a.m. with check-in beginning at 8:45 a.m.The cost for the Scotties Stampede 5k is $20 for adults and $10 for students and members of the military and includes the option for teams to register. The course this year will differ slightly. A description of the course can be found here. The 5k is also timed by ARE Event Productions and registration includes a free race shirt for the first 200 registrants.  Hang Loose Tavern and Grill soon opening in Hag...

Bills' Hamlin will put the millions raised into his charity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin will use the $10 million given to online fundraising campaigns by well-wishers after his on-field collapse to fund his own nonprofit, the Chasing M's Foundation. The decision, first shared with The Associated Press Monday, begins the 25-year-old's plan for the unprecedented outpouring of support that he received after his heart stopped following a tackle during a "Monday Night Football" game in January. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! “We have been very deliberate and intentional about taking our time to set my charity up properly,” Hamlin said in a statement. “I’m excited to begin sharing news about programs we are creating to impact a generation of youth and give back to others.” That people continue to give weekly, if not daily, to the fundraiser is just one measure of the emotional power and connection that Hamlin has with so many. So far, they've given more than $9 mill...

Florissant man sentenced to federal prison for 2021 Kohl's robbery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A Florissant, Missouri, man appeared in federal court Tuesday and was sentenced for a 2021 robbery at a local Kohl's store. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri said Mercedes Gregory, 34, pleaded guilty in February 2023 to robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.According to court documents, the robbery happened on July 12, 2021, at the Kohl's store in Manchester. Gregory admitted putting several items of clothing in his cart and walking out the store just before 1:30 p.m. A loss prevention officer followed Gregory out the store. Jennings man pleads guilty to killing girlfriend over $36 At one point, Gregory turned to the officer and threatened to shoot them. Gregory then got into a white Chevrolet and drove away.St. Louis police officers spotted the vehicle at a gas station and arrested Gregory after a brief foot pursuit. Police found a handgun in Gregory's car, and the stolen Kohl's merchandise in the trunk.Greg...

Significantly narrowed version of bill to ban Colorado hospital “facility fees” headed to Polis’s desk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

A significantly pared-down version of a bill that would have banned some fees charged by Colorado hospitals is on its way to Gov. Jared Polis.Hospital bills are divided into two main parts: the provider fee, for the doctor who performed the visit or procedure, and the facility fee, which covers the hospital’s overhead and support staff.The original version of House Bill 23-1215 would have banned facility fees for care delivered virtually or in clinics that aren’t on a hospital’s campus. It also wouldn’t have allowed the fees if procedures were performed in a hospital, but could safely be done elsewhere.The version that passed would only prohibit hospitals from directly billing patients with a facility fee for preventive outpatient care provided in a facility that doesn’t have an emergency department. They could still bill a patient’s insurance company for a facility fee under any circumstances, and charge one directly to a patient if they received...

Opinion: Everyone wins when dinosaur fossils stay in the West

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:08 GMT

The prehistoric past can perk up the present. When woolly mammoth bones were found in my hometown in Wisconsin years ago, they became the centerpiece of one of our local museums. Today, they continue to attract visitors and serve as one of the city’s informal symbols.Unfortunately, the story across much of the fossil-rich West is more abandonment than local fame. During the late 19th century, paleontologists made huge finds in the region, excavating specimens of famed dinosaurs like Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Diplodocus and Allosaurus.But like many would-be movie stars, the bones ended up leaving their rural sites to find fame in the big cities. Left behind were holes — literally, in the case of the dinos.It took time for the West to stake its claim to keeping some fossil finds at home. Countless fossils, for example, have been exhumed in Wyoming since the late 19th century, but the University of Wyoming Geological Museum in Laramie didn’t have a single mount of a Wyoming dinos...