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Homeland Security names Border Patrol veteran Jason Owens to lead the agency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday named U.S. Border Patrol veteran Jason Owens to lead the agency, replacing retiring chief Raul Ortiz.In a statement announcing Owens’ promotion, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “Chief Owens is a talented, selfless, and inspiring leader who is dedicated to the Border Patrol’s law enforcement mission, the men and women who fulfill it, and the country that we all serve.”“I am inspired by his commitment to the mission, and am grateful to him for his continued service in this new leadership role,” Mayorkas added.The New York Times reported that Owens has been with the Border Patrol for more than 20 years, most recently as the head of the Del Rio division in Texas.Ortiz said last month in a note to staff that was obtained by The Associated Press that he will leave June 30.Ortiz managed the Border Patrol and its roughly 20,000 agents through the COVID-19 pandemic and Title 42 emergency health restrictions...

Sergeant, 5 officers broke department policy in fatal 2022 shooting, LAPD chief says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles police sergeant and five officers broke department policy when they opened fire last year on an armed man who refused to follow officers’ commands, killing him, a police commission found. The Board of Police Commissioners voted on May 23 to approve a Los Angeles Police Department internal investigation into the fatal shooting of Rodolfo Torres on July 2, 2022, that found the officers’ use of force was not reasonable or necessary.Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said in his internal investigation report to the commission that four other officers who opened fire on Torres were within policy. Two other officers who responded to the scene did not fire their weapons. On the day of the fatal shooting, two officers were patrolling South Los Angeles when they came upon Torres, 30, who seemed to be under the influence of drugs and had a bulge in his clothing resembling a gun, Moore wrote. One of the officers believed he recognized Torres as someone invol...

Oregon Democratic Party to send federal officials a $500,000 donation from former FTX executive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Democratic Party of Oregon said Friday it will send a half-million dollars to the U.S. Marshals Service that had been donated by a former executive at the disgraced cryptocurrency exchange FTX, to conform with a request from the U.S. Department of Justice.Oregon elections officials had already fined the Democratic Party of Oregon $15,000 for wrongly reporting the source of the campaign donation last year. Oregon Senate Republicans had demanded that state Democrats send back the $500,000 campaign donation.The Democratic Party of Oregon said it was conforming with an April 13 request from the Justice Department. The party received the funds last fall from Nishad Singh, who pleaded guilty in February to federal criminal fraud charges, including one count of conspiracy to violate federal campaign finance laws. The party said Singh, who was the engineering director at collapsed cryptocurrency giant FTX, had lied to the party about who the donor was.The party said i...

What is a 'dupe' on TikTok? Here's the meaning behind the trend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Even though you may be used to hearing the word "dupe" in reference to someone being "fooled" or "tricked," (Someone was 'duped' by a scammer, for example), the term has many meanings — especially on TikTok.Search the short-form video social media platform for "dupe" and you're likely to find countless videos rating or recommending fragrances, skincare, food, purses, tumblers, shoes, cleaning products, and even vehicles. So just what are these "dupes"? Singer, model tried to traffic more than 200 pounds of cocaine in SUV, Sheriff’s Office says On TikTok, "dupe" is shorthand for "duplicate" (a meaning Merriam-Webster does acknowledge). For these kinds of videos, a user will try out and/or recommend less-expensive alternatives to high-priced premium and luxury products. Generally, "dupe" products aren't full-on knockoffs, but legal competitor products that do the same things or look relatively the same.Essentially, dupes are "if you like this, then you'll love this."For ...

A look inside the private development for state park that Texas may take over

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Ahead of a hearing to determine whether the state of Texas will use eminent domain to take over the property, we're getting a look inside a planned private development on the site of a now-shuttered state park.The 'Freestone' community, on the site of Fairfield Lake State Park, is marketed as a "luxury lake and golf enclave encompassing the largest privately owned body of water in the United States," according to a marketing book provided to KXAN by Todd. TIMELINE: From state park to private development: The twisting timeline of Fairfield Lake Construction crews are already preparing, after the park, which welcomed more than 80,000 visitors last fiscal year, closed its gates to the public Sunday night."We have construction equipment on site now," said Shawn Todd, CEO of the company developing the site, Todd Interests. "Architects, surveyors, workmen are on property at present, and heavy construction will start when the park leaves."The park's lease officially expir...

Trudy Rubin: After the Ukraine dam disaster, NATO must make Putin pay for his war crimes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

When Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya addressed a special Security Council session on Tuesday about the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, he confronted his Russian counterpart as “the representative of Putin’s terrorist regime … that has detonated a bomb of mass environmental destruction.”That says it all.Who can doubt that it was Moscow that unleashed the largest man-made disaster in Europe since the 1986 nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl? But Chernobyl — another Russian desecration of Ukrainian soil — was caused by Soviet incompetence. This massive ecological crime was deliberate.By destroying the dam, Vladimir Putin meant to impede Ukraine’s counteroffensive to drive Russia out of occupied Ukrainian territory, a critical undertaking which has just gotten started.He must not be allowed to succeed.Ukrainian forces will now be unable to cross the flooded Dnipro River with armored vehicles in coming weeks (although this approa...

Twins focus on two-strike approach as strikeouts pile up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

TORONTO — The Twins entered Friday’s series opener with Toronto on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them under .500 for the first time this season. During that stretch, the Twins, who are on pace to set a single-season strikeout record, scored just six runs.So, what’s the focus as they try to course correct?Their two-strike approach has been a prominent topic of conversation in recent days.“Our glaring weakness is with two strikes. That’s something we need to get better on. I take full responsibility for that,” hitting coach David Popkins said. “We’ve got to better prepare and execute in those situations.  Some of that is when things go bad in baseball, it starts to get a little mental. Everyone is pressing and they want to get it done so bad, and they get a little tight in those situations. Some of that is on our end. We need to do a better job as a staff and myself especially in preparing them for those situations.”The Twins, who entered Friday leading the majors in whif...

Lawmakers ramping up efforts to regulate AI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Lawmakers are slowly ramping up efforts to regulate artificial intelligence.Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) says as a matter of national security, the number one priority must be setting up guardrails within the military here and abroad."Once it's out of the box, it's hard to put it back in," he said.Moulton says he fears that the U.S. government isn't prepared to protect the nations from dangers posed by AI."The risk is not from like-minded nations the risk is from adversaries like Russia like China will totally disregard the moral norms that we have for using weapons like this," he said.AI developers warn, left in the wrong hands, their tools pose an existential threat to humanity. Moulton says he told the Pentagon about these very risks three years ago."What we need is actually a Geneva Conventions type of an agreement that all nations, friend and foe alike, agree to," he said.On Thursday, the UK prime minister and President Biden signed an agreement pledging t...

National Grid employees help build bed frames for kids in need

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- National Grid partnered with a local organization to help build beds for children in the Capital Region. Forty National Grid employees spent the day Friday sanding, drilling, and crafting 50 bed frames for the non-profit Sleep in Heavenly Peace.According to the organization, at least two percent of children in the United States do not have a bed of their own. Experts said a lack of sleep can increase a child's risk for diabetes, obesity, and anxiety. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "Childhood bedlessness is a big problem that a lot of the time goes under the radar, and it's a national problem where kids don't have a safe comfortable place to sleep at night," Maureen Neufeld with Sleep in Heavenly Peace said. "It impacts their growth, their ability to learn. Everything ties into a good night's sleep."Sleep in Heavenly Peace also donates mattresses, pillows and blankets to children who need them. Fami...

Saratoga Springs to open new homeless shelter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:21 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Saratoga Springs has been looking for a location to help their homeless population. Mayor Ron Kim says this problem goes back to before his term.“It all starts with Woodlawn Garage. I remember when I was running for election, I got a question on Woodlawn Garage and I literally did not have a response to it," described Kim. Local agency offers solutions to Saratoga homeless concerns Years later, Kim and his team have now approved a contract to have RISE, housing and support services, operate the shelter on 4 Adelphi Street. The city plans to have those staying at the parking garage be moved to the building and then look into long-term help.“We do have a continuum of housing for folks. All the way from group homes to independent apartments to affordable housing," explained Executive Director of RISE, Sybil Newell. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Residents say they are happy to see the city m...