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Man accused of using 'small pickaxe' to hunt, kill 5-foot alligator

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Three Pinellas County, Florida, men were arrested after an anonymous caller reported the group using a "small pickaxe" to hunt an alligator in Holiday, Wednesday evening.According to an arrest report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the anonymous caller witnessed the three men harvesting an alligator measuring 5.5 feet. DeSantis signs bill to let board void Disney agreements After locating the individuals, authorities said the men admitted to the "illegal take" of the alligator. Two of the men accused the third of using a "weapon that appeared to be a small pickaxe to dispatch the alligator," the report added.The gator was seized as evidence.All three men were charged with the illegal killing, possessing, or capturing of alligators.In Florida, a license is required to hunt alligators. According to FWC, "the Statewide Alligator Hunt is a highly sought after limited entry hunt; there are often more than 15,000 applicants that wi...

12-year-old Tennessee boy accused of fleeing police in UTV

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A 12-year-old boy in Tennessee was taken into custody Thursday after he tried to evade police using a utility task vehicle (UTV), police say.Nexstar's WKRN in Nashville obtained dash camera video from Lebanon Police showing the pursuit.Police were alerted that the boy had run away from a home in Murfreesboro and was allegedly off joyriding with his family's UTV. 2 accused of taking $1.1M in armored truck robbery tracked down using Apple AirTag Authorities said that when the boy entered Wilson County deputies tried to stop the juvenile driver, but the 12-year-old took off "in a reckless manner," according to a Lebanon Police Dept. news release. (Courtesy: Lebanon Police Department) Officers ultimately caught up to the UTV as the boy continued his joyride through the streets of Lebanon, blowing through stop signs and swerving in and out of his lane, police said.Officials said responding officers followed the vehicle at a distance with unmarked vehicles ...

Cedar Park police officer arrested, accused of sexual assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) -- A Cedar Park police officer was arrested Friday by the Texas Rangers after being accused of sexual assault, according to a news release from the Cedar Park Police Department.The arrest stemmed from an allegation made to the department on Thursday, the release said.CPPD identified the officer accused as Keco Motton, who was with the department for 10 years, according to the release. Motton is no longer employed by the City, the release stated.After the victim came forward, CPPD immediately responded and contacted the Williamson County District Attorney's Office, as well as the Texas Rangers, to investigate the incident independently, the release said."We take allegations of sexual assault seriously and support all victims of crimes," CPPD Chief Mike Harmon said. "It is alarming when those allegations involve a law enforcement officer."CPPD said it expects its officers to set an example and uphold the agency's guiding values of "Community, Empathy, Accounta...

Texas lawmaker trying to make roads safer for people with disabilities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A bill filed by Texas House Rep. Armando Martinez, D- Weslaco, would update the transportation code to allow a Texan to indicate on their driver’s registration that they may be transporting a person with disabilities. Already, drivers with communication difficulties – those with conditions like autism or being hard of hearing – can disclose this through the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunication System (TLETS), so an officer is aware of challenges before approaching the vehicle at a traffic stop. The same opportunity is not currently available for a person who might transport a person with a disability.  MORE: Mother of son with autism advocates for easier entry into crucial driving program “This is something that affects a lot of people,” Martinez told KXAN. “[it’s important] to be able to identify people with special needs that are in vehicles so that when a police officer does a traffic stop, they're aware that there may be an individual who is nonver...

Gophers golf: Simley grad Isabella McCauley confident, rolling heading into NCAA Regional

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

After a 41st-place finish at the Annika Invitational to kick off her collegiate career last the fall, University of Minnesota freshman Isabella McCauley went to the Gophers coaching staff and simply said, “I’ve got to be better.”Gophers coach Rhyll Brinsmead noted McCauley posted “some good numbers” in the fall, “but there was a little learning.” Learning about what it takes to be successful at the collegiate level, where McCauley — a former Minnesota high school state champion from Simley who qualified and competed in a U.S. Open as a high school junior — is again a small fish in a big pond.The courses are difficult, as is the competition. But the reality is McCauley is used to all of those things from past experiences, and more than capable of performing at the level necessary to succeed. She just maybe needed to remember that.“She’s not the longest player in college golf, but what she does well is what she’s got to keep doing well, which ...

Over-the-counter birth control pill faces FDA questions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

By MATTHEW PERRONE (AP Health Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators are weighing the first-ever request to make a birth control pill available without a prescription.But in an initial review posted Friday, the FDA raised numerous concerns about drugmaker Perrigo’s application to sell its decades-old pill over the counter.The FDA cited problems with the reliability of some of the company’s data on the drug, Opill, and questioned whether women with certain other medical conditions would correctly opt out of taking it. It also noted signs that study participants had trouble understanding the labeling instructions.Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration meet next week to review drugmaker Perrigo’s application to sell a decades-old pill over the counter. The two-day public meeting is one of the last steps before an FDA decision.If the FDA grants the company’s request, Opill would become the first contraceptive pill to be moved out from behind ...

Black faith leaders sue Minnesota Housing, Met Council over affordable housing segregation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

When state organizations subsidize affordable housing, it tends to land in low-income communities of color, rather than wealthier white neighborhoods that can offer tenants more opportunities — a potential violation of equal protection rights under the Minnesota Constitution and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.That, in a nutshell, is the accusation laid forth in a new 24-page lawsuit filed by the Stairstep Foundation, a nonprofit led by a North Minneapolis-based coalition of Black faith leaders, against Minnesota Housing, the Metropolitan Council and the state of Minnesota.“Defendants … are knowingly causing and exacerbating residential racial segregation in the Twin Cities by excluding affordable housing from the Twin Cities’ white neighborhoods, which tend to be more affluent,” reads the lawsuit filed Thursday in Ramsey County District Court by the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe.Municipal policies approved by state-affili...

Police arrest likely gunman in two downtown St. Louis garage shootings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Authorities have arrested one person suspected in two recent St. Louis downtown garage shootings, including that turned deadly over the past week.The shootings happened Wednesday and Thursday evening at a parking garage at the corner of North 9th Street and Washington Avenue, one connected to a Marriott hotel property. Pierre Benoist, a captain within the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, says the gunman believed to be involved in both shootings was arrested Friday afternoon. Investigators have not yet disclosed his name, stating that charges are still pending. Top Story: St. Louis circuit attorney resigns amid controversy Before the arrest, there was a heavy police presence around the garage Friday afternoon following both shootings. Officers responded to a report of someone flashing a gun in the parking garage. As officers spotted and confronted the suspect, he tried to run away. In the process, he threw his gun onto a roof of one building. Police detai...

Highest-rated restaurants for tacos in St. Louis, according to Yelp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

Depending on who you ask, tacos are more than just a quick snack you can grab off a truck for lunch. They're an experience. One that allows the chef to layer flavor and textures—from the fresh crunch of the cilantro and onions to the smoked heat of roasted chiles cavorting with the savory delight of your protein of choice—all onto one delicious tortilla, freshly crisped over an open flame…sorry is anyone else hungry?Much like the food, the origin story has a fairly layered history. Both Mayan and Aztec civilizations were said to have eaten a food similar to what we know as a taco, but the modern iteration traces back to the 1800s in Mexico. Born of a need to ensure that miners had a means to easily consume hearty food while on the job, piles of meat would be rolled into corn tortillas and packed for the road. During hours upon hours of hard labor in horrible conditions, the ability to pull out a few taquitos (named for the gunpowder role the miners carried with them) was practically...

Medicaid expansion for new moms wins approval in Missouri

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:39 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lower-income new mothers could gain a full year of Medicaid health-care coverage in Missouri under legislation given final approval Friday as part of a national push to improve maternal health.The legislation, which now goes to Gov. Mike Parson, would add Missouri to a growing list of Republican-led states that have previously balked at Medicaid expansions but which are now joining Democratic states in providing 12 months of coverage — instead of the typical 60 days — after women give birth. Trending: Kim Gardner supporters upset; some not surprised by her resignation “If we want healthy babies, we have to have healthy mammas — and that is so important,” said Republican state Sen. Elaine Gannon, one of the sponsors of the Missouri legislation.The option for longer Medicaid coverage was made possible under a pandemic relief law signed by President Joe Biden in 2021. About two-thirds of states already have implemented 12 months of postpartum care...