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Mom of man missing in Mexico is killed, search group says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Another mother searching for her disappeared child has been killed in Mexico, the sixth murder of a volunteer search activist in Mexico since the start of 2021. The volunteer search group known as “A Promise to be Kept” said Teresa Magueyal was killed Tuesday in the violence-wracked city of Celaya, in the north-central state of Guanajuato. The state prosecutor’s office said it was still investigating the report and could not confirm it. It was the second such killing in Guanajuato in less than six months. Volunteer searcher Maria Vázquez Ramírez was shot to death in November in the city of Abasolo, Guanajuato. “In Guanajuato we women searchers are not safe, they kill us in broad daylight, in public, with total impunity,” Magueyal’s group said in a statement, calling the killing “cowardly.”The motive in the killing remained unclear; most searchers say they are looking for the bodies of their children, not evidence to convict their killers.Magueyal was active ...

Kevin Costner and wife of nearly 19 years begin divorce

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Costner and his wife of nearly 19 years, Christine Baumgartner, are divorcing, a representative for the actor said Tuesday. “It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage,” Costner’s publicist Arnold Robinson said in a statement. Costner and Baumgartner, a model and handbag designer, began dating in 1998 before getting married at his Colorado ranch in 2004. They have two sons, ages 14 and 15, and a 12-year-old daughter together. It was the second marriage for Costner, 68, the Oscar and Emmy winning star of TV’s “Yellowstone” and films including “Dances With Wolves,” “The Bodyguard” and “Bull Durham.” Costner also has four adult children from previous relationships. The Associated Press

Arrest made in GTA sale of sodium nitrite, lethal substance linked to suicides

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

Peel Regional Police announced the arrest of a 57-year-old Ontario man stemming from the online distribution of sodium nitrite across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that resulted in two deaths.Authorities in Peel Region opened an investigation following a report from the Times of London in the United Kingdom. It mentioned that a GTA resident named Kenneth Law had been selling sodium nitrite, a legal but lethal drug, to people in the U.K. and the U.S., which resulted in seven suicides.On March 31, officers in Peel Region began investigating the circumstances of a sudden death in Ontario. It is believed that Law distributed and marketed the substance online to target individuals at risk of self-harm.Law was arrested by Peel police on Tuesday and charged with two counts of counselling or aiding in suicide. He is expected to appear in court for a bail hearing on Wednesday.Lee was registered in Mississauga and had been selling the drug to “vulnerable people,” the Times report...

Search underway for missing Morton Grove teen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Morton Grove Police Department are asking for the public's help in locating a 16-year-old who was last seen on Friday, April 28.Sofie Igunbor was last seen on the 8500 block of Ferris Avenue in Morton Grove around 4 p.m. on Friday, April 28. Police, IDPH respond to ‘severe staffing concern’ at nursing home in northern suburbs Igunbor has been described as 5-foot-5, weighing 120 pounds, with highlighted braids and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black shirt and black pants.Anyone with information on Igunbor's whereabouts are asked to contact the Morton Grove Police Department at 847-470-5200 or email [email protected].

'We are still shaken': Teen killed during Florida equestrian competition remembered as rising star

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — The equestrian community is shaken after a Florida teen was killed in a tragic accident during a competition in Venice this weekend. Hannah Serfass, 15, was riding a horse during an equitation class on Sunday when the horse tripped and "suffered a rotational fall," the United States Equestrian Federation said in a statement."The fall was unrelated to a jumping effort. The EMT responded immediately, and Hannah was transported to Sarasota Memorial where she was pronounced dead. The horse was uninjured in the accident," the statement stated. The Federation went on to say it takes every accident seriously and will be reviewing the incident to learn what can be done to minimize risk and increase safety in equestrian sport.Serfass was a talented equestrian with a bright future ahead. Those who knew the teen described her to Nexstar's WFLA as a fierce and talented athlete.As her teammates, coaches, and others in Sumter County mourn her loss, they're remembering t...

Central Texas 6A, 5A high school baseball bi-district matchups

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas high school baseball playoffs begin with bi-district action Thursday as teams push toward state title dreams.In Class 6A Region IV baseball, District 25 and 26 teams face off with No. 3 Westlake and No. 9 Round Rock heading into the playoffs fresh off district titles. The Chaparrals (30-3, 14-2) finished a game ahead of rival Lake Travis for the district crown, and they'll take on Vandegrift in a best-of-3 series starting Thursday. Game 1 will be at Vandegrift with the first pitch at 7:30 p.m. The Vipers finished fourth in District 25 and are 19-13 overall.Round Rock went undefeated in district play and will take on Buda Johnson who finished fourth in District 25. They'll start a best-of-3 series at 7 p.m. Thursday in Round Rock. The Dragons feature 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher Travis Sykora who possesses a 100 mph fastball and is listed as the No. 35 2023 MLB Draft prospect by Baseball America.Here's the bi-district schedules for Class 6A teams in the Aus...

Austin Public Library launches pilot program for Enhanced Library Cards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Public Library launched a pilot program for Enhanced Library Cards (ELC), which will feature the cardholder's photograph that are accepted as a valid form of identification by many local agencies and organizations, according to a news release from the City of Austin. Furthermore, the ELC will serve as a new card option for library users who also might benefit from another form of photo identification, the release said.The ELC is a full-access library card for Austin residents 18 or older, which includes the holder's library card number, photograph, address, date of birth, the expiration date and a scannable barcode, according to the city.The card can be used the same as a standard library card to check out materials at all APL locations, as well as online to access eBooks and other digital resources, the release said. The card is also recognized by many other city departments and local organizations as a valid form of identification or as a supplement wit...

Minnesota Senate considers DFL’s tax-cutting bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

A tax proposal set for a vote in the Minnesota Senate on Tuesday evening calls for a partial elimination of the Social Security income tax and direct payments to taxpayers.The bill backed by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor majority in the Senate would return $1.1 billion of the record $17.5 billion surplus as a tax rebate. Senate Taxes Committee Chair Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, said the bill provides a record amount of tax cuts and credits.“The Senate tax bill provides $4 billion in tax relief, the largest tax cut in state history,” she told fellow senators as the chamber took up the bill Tuesday.DetailsChecks would start at $279 — significantly lower than the $1,000 starting point proposed by DFL Gov. Tim Walz. Joint filers would qualify for $558 checks, and all filers would qualify for $56 per dependent up to three. Cutoffs for the checks would be $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for everyone else.Besides the rebate checks, cuts would come in the form of $1.3 billion in child tax c...

Call up to Twins for Louie Varland disrupts family reunion in St. Paul

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

CHICAGO — The Varland family was looking forward to a family reunion this week in St. Paul with older son Gus in town on a rehab assignment and younger son Louie scheduled to start for the Triple-A Saints on Wednesday.“That would have been a lot of fun,” Louie said. “Have the whole family out there and hopefully me and Gus would pitch in the same game, but things did not work out that way, obviously.”No, they didn’t.It worked out even better for them.Louie Varland, a North St. Paul High School and Concordia-St. Paul University alum, is instead with the Twins in Chicago and expected to start Wednesday’s game in place of the injured Tyler Mahle. The Twins have not yet placed Mahle on the injured list, but they have announced that he will miss at least the next month as he deals with an elbow injury.That has opened the door for Varland to have an opportunity — potentially an extended one — at the major-league level.“It all depends on who’s healthy, who’s not, what the team needs,” Varl...

For sale: Dreamland Arts theater in St. Paul as well as adjoining house connected by underground tunnel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:43 GMT

For sale in St. Paul’s Midway — the 40-seat Dreamland Arts theater, as well as the current owners’ adjoining single-family home connected by underground tunnel.Kristin Pickering, a broker with Pickering Realty, listed the two properties for sale together on Monday, with a combined asking price of $600,000.“We’re just marketing it at this point to the local arts community, hoping that it can stay as an arts venue of some sort,” said Pickering, who is also based in Hamline-Midway.The two-bedroom, two-bath house has been occupied by theater owners Leslye Orr and Zaraawar “Z” Mistry since 2005, but “it would also be excellent rental property,” she said. “If housing was needed for visiting performers, it would be great for that, or office space.”The 40-seat Dreamland Arts theater in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood is up for sale, as well as the current owners’ adjoining single-family home (shown) connected...