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Austin Police announces charges against man involved in alleged child kidnapping case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Tuesday, the Austin Police Department announced charges against a man accused of attempting to kidnap a teenage girl last week in north Austin, according to an APD news release.Shortly before 4:30 p.m., July 25, officers responded to a check welfare urgent call in the 8000 block of Shoal Creek Boulevard, the release said. Officers arrested Willie Thompson, 48, and he was charged with trafficking of a child and sexual assault of a child.In a news conference Monday, APD commended the teenage girl for hatching the plan to escape from her alleged captors. Austin officers commend ‘brave’ girl who escaped from kidnappers Three of the five officers who helped thwart the kidnapping attempt and reunite the girl with her family spoke to reporters Monday afternoon, sharing new details about how they learned of this situation. Officers Rachel Stahlke, Cody Carr and Callie Wolfe shared they went to a store located near Shoal Creek Boulevard and Steck Avenue on July 25 after...

Vikings lose receiver Trishton Jackson to apparent knee injury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

Outside of Justin Jefferson, who is a superstar, K.J. Osborn, who is a bonafide starter, and Jordan Addison, who is a first-round pick, no receiver on the Vikings was having a better showing at training camp than Trishton Jackson.That sentence is phrased in the past tense because it appears Jackson might be on the shelf for awhile. Though the Vikings haven’t released any details, Jackson suffered an apparent knee injury on Tuesday afternoon. He landed awkwardly while trying to make a catch during a 1-on-1 drill and remained on the turf writhing in pain.The moment itself was sobering to everyone in attendance at TCO Performance Center, as was the aftermath with general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell coming over to offer Jackson words of encouragement. A few minutes later, the cart came out to take Jackson to the Vikings’ locker room.“It’s definitely tough to see him go down like that,” Jefferson said. “He definitely...

Teen pleads guilty in adult court to fatally shooting North St. Paul man during gun heist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

A teen has pleaded guilty in adult court to aiding and abetting intentional murder in the shooting death of a 24-year-old man during a gun heist in North St. Paul this past spring.Abo Eshun Essilfie, 17, of St. Paul, fatally shot Anthony Robert Rojas in the head at his apartment in the 2100 block of North McKnight Road on June 19, prosecutors say.Essilfie on Monday agreed to move his case to adult court for sentencing after waiving his right to a certification hearing and entering a guilty plea as charged before Ramsey County District Judge JaPaul Harris, said Dennis Gerhardstein, spokesman for the Ramsey County attorney’s office. Sentencing has been set for Sept. 25.Four others face the same second-degree murder charge in Rojas’ death.New chargesEssilfie’s guilty plea follows new charges that were filed against him last week in Hennepin County District Court in connection with a shooting at Southdale Mall in Edina a month and a half before Rojas’ killing.Mall video surveillance sho...

MN GOP lawmakers urge Gov. Walz to stop DHS plans to delete emails after a year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

A group of Republican lawmakers are asking Gov. Tim Walz to intervene with plans the Minnesota Department of Human Services has to begin automatically deleting emails after a year unless workers decide the messages contain official records.“This move will leave citizens, legislators, and auditors with significantly less information about the work of the Department and its interactions with Minnesotans,” Sens. Mark Koran, R- North Branch, Warren Limmer, R- Maple Grove, and Paul Utke, R-Park Rapids, said in a statement.Koran serves as the cochair of the Legislative Audit Commission, an oversight group, Limmer is on the Data Practices Commission, which oversees public records compliance, and Utke is the top Republican on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.“Rather than value transparency and accountability with a robust retention policy that protects personal privacy, the department is taking the cheap and easy way out with risky, automated deletion,”...

Johnny Johnson executed for murder of Casey Williamson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

BONNE TERRE, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Corrections carried out its execution of Johnny Johnson for the July 2002 murder of a St. Louis County girl.The execution was carried out Tuesday, Aug. 1, at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri. Johnson, 45, died via lethal injection. He was declared dead at 6:33 p.m.Johnson's last statement, filed on July 30, said, "God Bless. Sorry to the people and family I hurt."In January 2005, a St. Louis-based jury found Johnson guilty of first-degree murder and other criminal charges (armed criminal action, kidnapping, and attempted forcible rape) in the death of six-year-old Cassandra “Casey” Williamson. A judge sentenced Johnson to the death penalty that March.A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit had granted Johnson a temporary stay of sentence on July 25. Johnson’s stay was put in place when his attorneys questioned his mental competence. However, the full court ...

MSD preparing for heavy rain this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Beginning Tuesday evening, the St. Louis region could be in for heavy rain and a threat of flash flooding.The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer district spent Tuesday cleaning out street inlets and sewers, making sure all that rain has somewhere to go.“We got 10 to 12 crews on any given day. They have been cleaning inlets in our service area. Debris, trash, leaves, this sort of thing,” said Sean Stone, an MSD spokesman. “Routine go around, clean that stuff out there, make sure they are open as possible when it rains.”MSD works year-round to ensure the sewer system is ready. According to MSD, storms will wash yard waste, leaves, trash, and branches into storm drains, clogging the drains so they don't work efficiently. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News SIGN UP NOW ...

Historic Pettis County church burns after suspect lightning strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

SEDALIA, Mo. - Sedalia, Missouri got hammered by rainfall Tuesday morning, recording five-plus inches of rain in the span of a few hours.With all the rain passing through the area also came a lot of lightning. That's what is being blamed for the damage at the Bahner Church near the intersection of Route V and Bahner Road, just south of Sedalia.Bahner Church is what it's known as colloquially. It's official name is St. John the Evangelist Chapel, described as a Catholic church with a generational history.Now the church is reduced to ash, still smoldering.Church to her grandpa and beyond, 7-year-old Charli Bahner says she thought the building would always be there."My heart's like beating fast and stuff," Bahner said."Up there, there was like a front that was kind of like a stage. And there, before the front, there was like benches and stuff," she said."My grandma's like 'Oh my gosh, Bahner Church burnt down.' Then my mom called grandma and said it got shocked by lightning," she said....

Transgender former student sues Missouri school for making her use boys' bathrooms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

PLATTE COUNTY, Mo. (AP) — A transgender former student sued a Missouri school district on Monday for forcing her to use the boys’ bathrooms or the high school's only single-stall bathroom.The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri sued Platte County R-3 School District on behalf of the transgender female former student, identified in the lawsuit only as R.F.The former student received detention twice for using the girls' restroom, according to the lawsuit. She said a male classmate harassed her and threatened her with rape when she used the boys' bathroom.The lawsuit argues the school violated her rights by requiring her to use the bathroom that aligned with her sex assigned at birth or the school's single-stall gender-neutral bathroom.“Forcing transgender students to use the bathroom or locker room that matches their sex designated at birth is not only discrimination but dangerous and causes serious harm to Missouri’s youth,” said Gillian Wilcox, deputy director of litigation a...

Ahead of MLS transfer deadline, Colorado Rapids make a pair of outbound trades as Bryan Acosta, Anthony Markanich depart

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

With just over 24 hours to go in the 2023 MLS secondary transfer market window, on Tuesday the Colorado Rapids dealt a pair of players to fellow Western Conference playoff contenders in exchange for capital and a future draft pick.Here’s a breakdown of both trades the Rapids made, which came after Colorado was bounced out of the League Cup Monday night against Liga MX side Toluca in disappointing fashion. After a three-week break, the Rapids will have 11 games remaining to turn the season around and cobble together something of a playoff push even though the team is currently in last place in the Western Conference.Bryan Acosta heads to Portland for up to $325,000 in GAMThe Rapids traded midfielder Bryan Acosta to the Portland Timbers in exchange for $150,000 in 2023 General Allocation Money (GAM), plus upward of $175,000 in 2024 conditional GAM if certain performance metrics are met during the rest of the 2023 season.Acosta joined Colorado ahead of the 2022 campaign via the M...

National group joins search for missing L.A. girl, 12

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is boosting efforts to find a 12-year-old girl from San Pedro who disappeared in mid-July.Isabella Poland left her home around 4:20 p.m. on July 15, according to Los Angeles Police.Several days later, she was captured on surveillance video at the Montclair Place shopping mall, roughly 50 miles from her home, with an unknown male.Isabella’s mom, Linda Poland, told NCMEC that her family is heartbroken.Isabella Poland (Los Angeles Police Department)“Isabella, we love you and need you home. Please reach out to us, we promise that you are not in trouble. We just want to know that you are okay,” Linda Poland told the NCMEC.Poland does not have a cell phone and was not allowed to use social media, authorities said.She is described as a white female with brown hair and brown eyes. She stands 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs around 130 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and blue jeans.Anyone with information about Isab...