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Former CEO, VP take stand for 'ComEd Four' trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

CHICAGO -- A former CEO and former Vice President of ComEd took the stand Tuesday in what's being called as the "ComEd Four" trial.Anna Pramaggiore testified in her own defense Monday before facing cross examination by federal prosecutors for over two hours Tuesday. Pramaggiore denied Monday she tried to bribe former House Speaker Mike Madigan.Assistant U.S. attorney Sarah Streicker questioned Pramaggiore about a secret recorded phone call from February 2019 with former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, who agreed to help the FBI in their investigation.Pramaggiore told FBI agents in September 2019 that she forgot about the call and had by the time they served her with a search warrant months prior. She insists she would have shared the information with the FBI because she said it "proves (her) innocence."Lawyers for former ComEd Vice President and lobbyist John Hooker also began their case Tuesday, calling witnesses to the stand. Former CEO of ComEd takes stand in bribery trial Hooke...

UTPD dispatchers, dog serve campus community

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It's National Telecommunicator Week, and the University of Texas at Austin Police Department (UTPD) wants to introduce to the community to Widget.Widget is one of the dispatcher's dogs. You'll often find the pup at the station. "Widget is a great part of our team," said Officer Gabriel Gallegos. "He's available for all of the officers to come in and say hi to, especially if we're having a long stressful day, lots of calls happening."The only thing Widget can't do is answer the phone.That's where people like Jessica Martinez come in. “I've just always wanted to help the community, and I feel like in this position I get to work directly with the community and be the first responder and that makes me happy," she said. A team -- and a mascot - dedicated to serving the UT community. "Just being patient with the caller," Martinez said, discussing the training that goes into her line of work. "You just never know what they're going through in that moment. But I do like bei...

Clinic prioritizing Hispanic healthcare to open permanent location in south Austin 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Suvida Healthcare, a clinic focused on serving Hispanic seniors, announced it will open a permanent south Austin site in June. Representatives from the clinic said they hope their services will make it easier for this population to access healthcare. “We want to be a valuable resource in the neighborhoods that we're placing our centers in. It is really important for us to be mutually beneficial for our entire community. And we understand that it's going to be a group effort to provide care for our Hispanic seniors. And we feel like we're just the missing puzzle piece,” said Vanessa Garcia, neighborhood center director for Suvida. Suvida’s goal is to focus on understanding the cultural values of Latinos where their clinics are located. Each center will have a “guia” – the Spanish word for “guide” – who will work with the patients and their family members to make navigating healthcare less overwhelming. “We're focused on the culturally relevant care to our Hispani...

Storm chance increasing late Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Mainly cloudy skies and a few sprinkles continue until the storm threat ramps up late Thursday.A weak disturbance combined with southerly flow ahead of a broad western storm continue this mainly cloudy, humid and breezy weather pattern. A few light rain showers remain possible, but will not add up to much in the rain gauge through Thursday morning.As the western storm makes its closest pass to Texas late Thursday, several clusters of late-day thunderstorms are expected to develop quickly. Storms may contain hail and wind damage in some areas.Active weather possible Thursday afternoonStorms possible Thursday eveningThe Storm Prediction Center's severe weather outlook includes much of the area in a 1-out-of-5 threat, and areas northeast of Travis County in a 2-out-of-5 threat.Storm Prediction Center's severe storm outlookA few heavy downpours may add up to 1"-2" east of I-35, with lower rain totals elsewhere. More scattered rain is in the forecast Friday before cooler...

Austin City Council to discuss possible license plate reader reinstatement this spring

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- City leaders will discuss the reinstatement of Austin Police Department's license plate reader (LPR) program during a public safety committee meeting next week before bringing the item back for council approval.In an APD memo Monday, Chief Joseph Chacon said the LPRs had previously been used in Austin to help with AMBER and Silver Alerts, missing person reports, abduction cases and locating vehicles connected to other crimes.APD License Plate Reader Program memoDownloadIn the memo, Chacon said the department has worked with the city manager's office and the Office of Police Oversight to "ensure that the LPR program meets all security requirements and expectations to manage and implement an effective community support and protection tool."During community input meetings in February, the memo noted community members focused on picking LPR locations that "avoid disparate outcomes with any segment of our community," emphasizing a need for fair and equitable placement.Fo...

Central Texas students design Earth Day-themed CapMetro buses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- In recognition of Earth Day, a group of Central Texas elementary school students helped design artwork that'll cover two new zero-emission CapMetro buses.The transit authority collaborated with Creative Action -- an art-based youth development nonprofit -- on the project. Students at Graham Elementary School, Camacho Elementary School, Smith Elementary School and Pioneer Crossing Elementary School were selected to design the final piece.Students at Graham Elementary School, Camacho Elementary School, Smith Elementary School and Pioneer Crossing Elementary School were selected to design the final piece. (Courtesy: CapMetro)Students at Graham Elementary School, Camacho Elementary School, Smith Elementary School and Pioneer Crossing Elementary School were selected to design the final piece. (Courtesy: CapMetro)Students at Graham Elementary School, Camacho Elementary School, Smith Elementary School and Pioneer Crossing Elementary School were selected to design the final...

More than a million guns stolen in 5 years nationwide: Reminder to securely store weapons

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Department of Safety are teaming up to remind hunters and gun owners to securely lock their weapons to keep them from getting into the wrong hands."A substantial amount of firearms are taken out of vehicles and taken from homes. And where do they end up usually? On our streets,” said Sgt. Deon Cockrell with DPS.According to a report released earlier this year from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 1,074,022 firearms were reported stolen from 2017-2021.The Austin Police Department reported 64% of missing or stolen firearms in 2022 stemmed from car burglaries.The city of Houston saw a record breaking number last year, with more than 4,140 firearms stolen from cars.Those numbers could be higher, as some gun thefts go unreported to police."I think a lot of people don't want to be honest about where they keep their guns and how they keep their guns. So I think that's a statistic that's hard to really get a ...

MN lawmakers agree to free college for American Indians, differ on subsidies for other students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

American Indian students could attend college at no cost under legislation that has passed both the Minnesota House and Senate, but the two chambers disagree on how to spend the rest of higher education’s share of a historic state budget surplus.The House passed its omnibus higher-education bill last week, and the Senate did so on Tuesday. In keeping with budget targets DFL leaders announced last month, the bills call for a $650 million, or 18.5 percent, increase in state funding for higher education in the next biennium out of a projected $17.5 billion surplus.The House bill is heavy on system-level funding, including $75 million for a two-year tuition freeze at Minnesota State’s 26 colleges and seven universities.The Senate, meanwhile, focuses on targeted grants for disadvantaged students, including a $178 million provision that would cover all tuition and fees for any public two- and four-year college students from families with adjusted gross incomes under $80,000.“We built a bu...

Michigan rock band Greta Van Fleet books September show at Xcel Energy Center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

Greta Van Fleet – the biggest rock band to come out of Frankenmuth, Mich. – will hit the road for a summer tour that brings them to St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center on Sept. 3.Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster. Neither the promoter nor the venue announced prices.Three brothers – vocalist Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka and bassist/keyboardist Sam Kiszka – formed the band in 2012. Two years later, they began releasing music and earned a regional following after one of their songs was used in a Chevy commercial airing in Detroit.Republic Records signed Greta Van Fleet and released a pair of EPs in 2017, followed by the group’s 2018 debut album “Anthem of the Peaceful Army.” It earned mixed reviews, with many critics calling out the band for borrowing too heavily from Led Zeppelin. Still, it entered the Billboard charts at No. 3 and spawned a pair of chart-toppers with “When the Curtain Fades” and “You’re the One.”The band broke in a big way in...

MN House passes natural resources bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:29:00 GMT

The Minnesota House of Representatives has passed the 2023 Environment, Natural Resources, Climate and Energy Budget Bill on a party-line vote of 69-59.The bill — debated for eight hours and then passed just before midnight on Tuesday — now must be reconciled with a similar bill advancing in the Senate before going on to the governor to be signed into law.The bill adds restrictions and toughens requirements for deer farms and transfers their authority to the Department of Natural Resources in an effort to reduce the spread of chronic wasting disease among wild deer.It also provides $4 million over the next two years for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to work with the DNR to move wild elk from northwestern Minnesota to Carlton and southern St. Louis counties, what would be the region’s first wild elk in 150 years.More than $670 million in new funding, fee hikesThe bill, authored by Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, invests more than $670 million in new...