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US military space plane blasts off on another secretive mission expected to last years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

The U.S. military’s X-37B space plane blasted off Thursday on another secretive mission that’s expected to last at least a couple of years.Like previous missions, the reusable plane resembling a mini space shuttle carried classified experiments. There’s no one on board. The space plane took off aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at night, more than two weeks late because of technical issues.It marked the seventh flight of an X-37B, which has logged more than 10 years in orbit since its debut in 2010.The last flight, the longest one yet, lasted 2 1/2 years before ending on a runway at Kennedy a year ago. Space Force officials would not say how long this orbital test vehicle would remain aloft or what’s on board other than a NASA experiment to gauge the effects of radiation on materials. Built by Boeing, the X-37B resembles NASA’s retired space shuttles. But they’re just one-fourth the size at 29 feet (9 meters) long. No ...

Pedestrian seriously injured after being hit by vehicle in Toronto’s Little Portgual

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

A 65-year-old pedestrian has been seriously injured after a collision involving a vehicle Thursday evening, Toronto emergency officials said.According to a Toronto Police Service social media post, the incident happened near the intersection of Dufferin Street and Dundas Street West just after 7:10 p.m.A Toronto Paramedic Services spokesperson told CityNews 680 the man was taken to a hospital in serious, but non-life-threatening condition.The circumstances leading up to the collision weren’t immediately clear. Officers said the driver of the vehicle involved stayed at the scene.Dufferin Street between Dundas Street West and College Street was closed as officers gathered evidence.Collision:7: 11 p.m.Dufferin St & Dundas St WROAD CLOSURE-Dufferin St closed between College St & Dundas St W-Consider using alternate routes#GO2971145^av— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) December 29, 2023

Arizona man seeks dismissal of charge over online post after deadly attack in Australia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona man is asking a U.S. court to dismiss a charge of making threatening online comments toward law enforcement days after participating in an online exchange with people who had carried out a deadly attack in Australia. A lawyer for Donald Day Jr. of Heber, Arizona, said in a filing Tuesday that the two counts of interstate threats against his client should be thrown out because the indictment doesn’t allege that Day made statements of intent to harm any specific person.Mark Rumold, who represents Day, also said Day’s online comments were not serious expressions of an intent to carry out violence and instead were protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix, which is prosecuting Day, declined to comment Thursday on the dismissal request.Six people were killed in the attack in Australia in the rural community of Wieambilla on Dec. 12, 2022, investigators said. Two Queensland state police officers and ...

Man fatally shot his mother then led Las Vegas police on chase as he carjacked bystanders, killing 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A man who authorities say fatally shot his mother near his childhood home two days after Christmas led police officers on a chase through the suburbs of Las Vegas and, along the way, stole a police vehicle and carjacked bystanders at gunpoint, shooting and killing one of them.The victim killed in what Las Vegas police say was the final carjacking was 39-year-old Jerry Lopez, a married father of seven children between the ages of 3 and 11.Karen Lopez told The Associated Press that her husband had just left for work around 4 a.m. and was minutes away from their home in southwestern Las Vegas when he unknowingly entered the suspect’s path and was killed.According to police, the deadly crime spree began before dawn Wednesday, when the suspect shot his mother near their home in southeastern Las Vegas. When officers arrived to investigate that shooting, they heard more gunfire and took cover.At the same time, police said, the suspect stole an unoccupied patrol car a...

Maine bars Trump from ballot as US Supreme Court weighs states’ authority to block former president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Democratic secretary of state on Thursday removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause, becoming the first election official to take action unilaterally as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide whether Trump remains eligible to return to the White House.The decision by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows follows a ruling earlier this month by the Colorado Supreme Court that booted Trump from the ballot there under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That decision has been stayed until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether Trump is barred by the Civil War-era provision, which prohibits those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.The Trump campaign said it would appeal Bellows’ decision to Maine’s state courts, and Bellows suspended her ruling until that court system rules on the case. In the end, it is likely that the nation’s highest court ...

Lower gas prices predicted in 2024: Here's why

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Lower gas prices: That's the forecast for 2024, offering relief for drivers in the new year. GasBuddy is predicting U.S. drivers will spend, on average, $3.38 per gallon next year. That's 13 cents less than this year's national average. It's also a far cry from where we were two years ago when prices skyrocketed and drivers paid nearly $5 on average nationwide for gas. WATCH: Florida man makes ‘dirt angels’ while hiding from deputies But what's the reason behind the expected decrease? Experts say the United States is now a powerhouse in oil production, yielding more crude oil than any other country in the world. It gives the country a cushion should something happen — like a hurricane damaging refineries or OPEC cutting its supply — that disrupts oil production. "We continue to mend from things like the pandemic — which brought a lot of imbalances, a lot of very high inflation, which is now slowing down and in some cases going back," said Patrick De Haan...

Central Texas father surprised with Sugar Bowl tickets for Christmas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

Editor’s note: The above video shows KXAN’s morning headlines for Friday, Dec. 28, 2023.BUDA, Texas (KXAN) — A Central Texas dad from Buda was surprised to find a pack of sugar and a bowl when he opened up a Christmas present—but there was more to the gift.Jaime Rios’ daughter took a video to capture the moment her dad realized his first-ever University of Texas football game would be at the Sugar Bowl. Rios’ family said their dad was a die-hard Texas fan. Inside the box was a card saying, "We wanted to give you something extra sweet, so pack your bags... You're going to the sugar bowl."His daughter Crystal Ybarra sent KXAN the video and wrote that this year has been a tough one for her mom and dad.“Besides my mom, no one in my family has had a more difficult year this year than my dad. As the sole provider in the home, my dad continues to work 40 hours a week to support him and my mom. His work has provided relief for my mom during this terribly diffi...

White Bear Lake police find person dead after responding to burglary, which resident fled

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

White Bear Lake police responded to a home burglary Thursday and found a deceased person who’d been shot, according to officials.Officers were called at 1 p.m. to a report of an in-progress burglary in the 1800 block of Highway 96.“The occupant of the residence fled prior to officer arrival and met officers outside,” police said in a Thursday statement. “The suspect was believed to be inside the residence when officers arrived. Officers attempted verbal contact with the suspect without response.”Officers went in the home to search for the suspect and located “one person deceased with a gunshot wound,” the statement continued.“No force was used by officers. There is no ongoing known threat to the community and further details will not be released at this time as this is an active investigation.”Asked whether the person found deceased was the suspect in the burglary, the police chief said he wasn’t prepared Thursday to provid...

Intersection where St. Paul man and dog were killed had been made dark by copper wire thieves

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

The way Laurel-Lee Wirtz sees it, she lost her husband of nearly 40 years, the love of her life, to copper wire thieves.It was just after 8 p.m. on Sunday — Christmas Eve — when Steve and Laurel-Lee Wirtz returned to their home in St. Paul’s North End after a night out with friends. She planned to cook crab legs and put on a Christmas movie. Steve, a former Rock-Tenn printer-pressman turned postal facility worker, took their nearly 2-year-old German shepherd, Gunther, out of his kennel and told his wife he’d be right back after a walk.Steven Wirtz and Gunther. (Courtesy of Laurel-Lee Wirtz)Minutes later came a knock on the door. Laurel-Lee prepared to tease her husband, assuming he had locked himself out. Instead it was their neighbor, Jesus, telling her to come quickly. Steve, 64, had been run over in the unlit intersection of Maryland Avenue and Park Street, where he lay unrecognizable, a pool of blood beneath his head.“All I could do was yell, ‘...

Two men charged in attack on St. Louis Justice Center jailer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:30 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Two men face felony charges after a reported attack against a jailer at the St. Louis Justice Center last October.Prosecutors have charged Darryl Williams, 20, and Keywaun Davis, 19, each with one count of first-degree assault on a special victim. Police: St. Louis woman Marquisha Williams found deceased in Illinois Williams and Davis are accused of assaulting a jailer on Oct. 8, 2023. According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, as the jailer opened up a cell to hand Davis and Williams a trash bin, they rushed out of the cell and punched him in the head. Both allegedly continued to kick and punch the jailer after he fell to the ground. One of the suspects also took the victim's radio and threw it out of the jailer's reach before other corrections guards responded to the scene. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News ...