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Pastor honors fallen CPD officer Andres Vasquez Lasso with sculpture

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

CHICAGO -- A local pastor and prolific artist honored the memory of fallen a Chicago police officer Thursday.Chicago Police Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso was killed in the line of duty last month.Vásquez Lasso, 32, was investigating a domestic-related call around 4:45 p.m. on March 1 on the 5200 block of South Spaulding when police said 18-year-old Steven Montano shot him.Vásquez Lasso was shot multiple times, CPD Supt. David Brown said. He was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he later died. ORIGNIAL: Chicago police officer shot, killed on Southwest Side identified Pastor Roy Yarber Jr. for the King of Kings Missionary Baptist Church reached to officer Andres' widow.Pastor Yarber produced a busy of the fallen patrolman and the artwork will soon be delivered to officer Vasquez Lasso's loved ones.After receiving a grim cancer diagnosis, Pastor Yarber turned to sculpturing.“I told the wife, they’ve given me seven years to live and I’m going to try and do the whole Bible in clay," Pas...

3 men get life for fatal shooting of rapper XXXTentacion

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Three men were given life sentences on Thursday for the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000.Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were each convicted last month of first-degree murder and armed robbery by a jury following eight days of deliberations. Prosecutors had not sought the death penalty, so life in prison was the only sentence that Broward County Circuit Judge Michael Usan could impose for the first-degree murder convictions.The defendants, two dressed in suits and one in a button-down shirt, showed little emotion as they stood one by one to be handcuffed by a bailiff. There was no audible reaction from family members or other observers in the courtroom. Before the verdicts were read, Usan warned that anyone who caused any kind of disruption would be held in contempt of court.During the month-long trial, prosecutors linked Boa...

Chicago O'Hare International Airport fourth busiest in world, new data shows

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is the fourth busiest in the world, according to new figures from Airports Council International. The trade association looked at nearly 2,000 airports and recently released the rankings for 2022. Feds green light new O’Hare International terminal Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson is still the busiest in the world, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver. The fifth busiest and the busiest outside of the United States is in Dubai, according to the newest numbers. Beagles help sniff out prohibited foods at O’Hare Airport Many of the global rankings were reshuffled after the drop-off in travel during the pandemic.Chicago's O'Hare International Airport had the second most amount of aircraft movements in 2022. Dallas-Fort Worth jumped to the second busiest spot in 2021 after being ranked 10th in 2019.Denver jumped to the third busiest in 2021 from the 16th busiest in 2019.

Cash App founder Bob Lee begged for help after stabbing that led to his death: reports

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Cash App founder Bob Lee begged for help after being stabbed outside of a luxury apartment building on Main Street near the Bay Bridge, according to reports. Lee screamed, "Help! Someone stabbed me," into his phone as he called 911 for himself, surveillance footage and police records obtained by the San Francisco Standard reportedly showed.San Francisco police said they found the beloved 43-year-old member of the local tech industry suffering from apparent stab wounds just after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. He later died from his injuries. FBI broke into wrong hotel room during training exercise, detained uninvolved guest The video apparently shows Lee walking up Main Street away from the Bay Bridge after being stabbed and crossing the intersection of Harrison. He then apparently asks for help from someone in a Toyota Camry, shows his wound and collapses to the ground as the Camry drives away.President of the San Francisco Police Association Tracy McCray appeared on ...

'I got justice': More domestic violence victim support coming to Hays County

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Along with an increasing population in Hays County, there's an increase in the number of people filing for protective orders. Commissioners recently took steps to help protect domestic violence victims by approving the addition of a Victim Assistance Coordinator. The idea was brought to them by Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins. "Help them find resources, provide resources. Provide, in many cases, emotional support, and just do everything that a DA's office can do for a victim," DA Higgins said. 'They were my angels'Hays County resident Denise Fonseca has experience with a victim assistance coordinator. She was assigned one after being abused for 8 years by her significant other at the time. "For 2,551 days, he beat me, gagged me, bound me, dropped me on floors, ruptured a disc in my back," Fonseca said. Fonseca finally broke free on January 2018 after calling the Hays County Sheriff's Office. "They saved me," Fonseca said. "I think I was proba...

APH says STI rates in Travis County are rising, encourages testing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) –  The CDC reported last year that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the U.S. surged in 2021 with no indication of slowing. Austin Public Health released Thursday data showing a similar pattern in Travis County.They found that during the 2022 fiscal year, visits to APH’s Sexual Health Clinic increased by 38% from the 2021 fiscal year. MORE: CDC is reporting rising STD rates, Austin Public Health weighs in "It is important to highlight this issue during National Public Health Week," Adrienne Sturrup, Director of Austin Public Health, was quoted saying in a press release. "Our sexual health programs are critical to the health and well-being of our community, and we are committed to providing equitable access to resources that promote sexual health and wellness for all residents of Travis County."Though there was an increase, APH reported that 98% of their patients who received sexual health care reported excellent customer service.The national increas...

Texas House blocks school voucher funding in blow to Gov. Abbott

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- The Texas House of Representatives on Thursday voted to prohibit state money from funding private school vouchers or education savings accounts.The move all but ends one of Gov. Greg Abbott's top priorities to provide "school choice" with state-funded private school tuition subsidies.The House approved State Rep. Abel Herrero's amendment to the state budget on a bipartisan 86-52 vote. The amendment prohibits the budget from funding "a school voucher, including an education savings account, tax credit scholarship program, or a grant or other similar program through which a child may use state money for non-public primary or secondary education.""These are public funds for public schools as is outlined and stated specifically in the Texas Constitution," Rep. Herrero said. "And for that, members, please stick with our public school teachers, our neighborhood schools, and our public charter schools and vote for this amendment."Cheers erupted in the Texas House as the...

Dramatic before-and-after imagery shows how storms filled California reservoirs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

FOLSOM, Calif. — Water levels fell so low in key reservoirs during the depth of California’s drought that boat docks sat on dry, cracked land and cars drove into the center of what should have been Folsom Lake.Those scenes are no more after a series of powerful storms dumped record amounts of rain and snow across California, replenishing reservoirs and bringing an end — mostly — to the state’s three-year drought.Now, 12 of California’s 17 major reservoirs are filled above their historical averages for the start of spring. That includes Folsom Lake, which controls water flows along the American River, as well as Lake Oroville, the state’s second largest reservoir and home to the nation’s tallest dam.It’s a stunning turnaround of water availability in the nation’s most populous state. Late last year nearly all of California was in drought, including at extreme and exceptional levels. Wells ran dry, farmers fallowed fields and cities restricted water...

The Pink Ladies get their origin story in Paramount+ series

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

Four years before Frenchy, Rizzo and Sandy ever donned their own pink jackets, a group of friends at Rydell High leaned into their image of “bad girls,” called themselves the Pink Ladies and created a girl gang. Their formation is chronicled in the new 10-episode musical series “ Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies ” streaming now on Paramount+.Set in 1954, new student Jane Facciano (Marisa Davila) gets labeled as “easy” by the Rydell High quarterback and she’s suddenly an outcast. Jane ends up bonding with a few other teen girls, (played by Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Ari Notartomaso, and Tricia Fukuhara) who are struggling in their own way to fit in.That theme of finding your people looms large throughout “Grease” as a whole, says creator Annabel Oakes.“When you say Pink Ladies and T-Birds, you’re like, ‘Oh, those are the cool kids in school.’ But when you watch the movie, Rizzo is cool, Kenickie is cool. John Travolta’s Danny Zuko is cool. Jan’s not cool. Frenchie’s not cool. Sonny (and) ...

New Medicaid pharmacy benefit program, NYRx has started

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:57:10 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)--- Under NYRx, pharmacies are now being paid directly for prescriptions of 8 million New Yorkers enrolled in Medicaid."It cuts out the middleman, it takes out the inefficiencies," said Amir Bassiri, New York's Medicaid Director. "There used to be us paying a health plan, paying a PBM to pay the pharmacy, now the Medicaid program is paying the pharmacy directly."Bassiri said this provides a lower cost for the Medicaid program as a whole."Members will not see any change with respect to what drugs they can receive or what costs they have to pay."NYRx has been in effect for about a week. Zarina Jalal, a pharmacist in Albany said this has been a welcomed change and so far it has been a smooth transition. She shared some advice for New Yorkers enrolled in Medicaid."Pharmacies may ask for their insurance card again," explained Jalal. "In order for us to process your prescriptions at the pharmacy we need to have a call your client ID number which is the number that’s o...