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Community members speak to Chicago students on the dangers of fentanyl

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

CHICAGO — One pill can kill. That was the message for some high school students on Chicago’s Far Southwest Side Tuesday in the effort to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl.Community members shared stories with students at Brother Rice High School as part of Fentanyl Awareness Day.To share their stories.Kim Novak was among them. Eight years since the death of her daughter to fentanyl poisoning, Novak’s work to prevent other deaths continues.“This is killing too many of our children,” she said. “And it doesn’t just kill a child that died, it kills the spirit of their siblings, their parent, their family members … it doesn’t affect just one person.” Overdose death rate involving fentanyl tripled in recent years: CDC John LaGigila, a Chicago firefighter paramedic, also spoke to the students. He is with the Patrick William Roche Foundation and sees the impact of the fentanyl crisis every day.“It’s horrific. It’s horrific,” she said. “We do everything we can. Sometimes t...

'Unimaginable': Groom planning wife's funeral after newlyweds hit by suspected DUI driver

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCBD) – A groom who was seriously injured in a crash after leaving his own wedding reception last month has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home, according to family members.Aric Hutchinson and his new bride, Samantha Miller, were riding in a low-speed vehicle on South Carolina's Folly Beach when an allegedly intoxicated driver slammed into the back of their vehicle. Miller, still in her wedding dress, suffered blunt force trauma and died at the scene. Hutchinson and two others were taken to a hospital with serious injuries. Boat painted to honor Samantha Miller, Aric Hutchinson Family members said Hutchinson is now recovering at home after multiple surgeries, including broken bones in his legs and face, and broken vertebrae.“He is physically recovering at home while trying to come to terms with the loss of his beautiful wife. Now he is doing the unimaginable of planning Sam’s funeral along with her family,” his mother, Annette Hutchinson, s...

Flash flood threat overnight tonight, then again Mother's Day weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- There is a fairly rare 3 out of 4 'moderate' risk of flash flooding twice in the next week -- a risk designation we have only seen twice in the last year.A low pressure system is spinning right on top of Central Texas, drawing in copious atmospheric moisture from the warm Gulf of Mexico waters and lifting it to produce rain and thunderstorms. Kingsland in the Hill Country saw a quick 1.67" of rain Tuesday afternoon, while rain generally remained lighter elsewhere.A rare moderate risk (3 out of 4) of flash flooding has been prescribed to our eastern counties overnight tonight into Wednesday morning underneath the spinning storm system. We may see efficient nocturnal rain processes create slow-moving heavy thunderstorms from Austin eastward overnight and early Wednesday. Flash flooding is possible during the Wednesday morning commute in some areas.After some isolated rain totals overnight of 3-5 inches in our eastern counties, rain tapers off late Wednesday with drier...

State asks judge to sentence Daniel Perry to at least 25 years for murder

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN)—Ten or a minimum of 25 years in prison?That's what the 147th District Court Judge Clifford A. Brown is considering on Tuesday. Attorneys brought forth their final witnesses and closing arguments during Daniel Perry's sentencing hearing. Perry, a former Army Sgt., was convicted on April 7, 2023 of murdering Air Force Veteran and Protester, Garrett Foster during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in downtown Austin in 2020. Judge Brown said he will issue a sentence at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Both the state and the defense did everything they could to appeal to Brown's emotions before he decides how long Perry will spend behind bars.Perry walked into the court room, with shackles around his feet. His family, as well as Fosters' were overcome with emotions as they've been in the entirety of the process. "It's extremely hard to be in that house," Foster's fiancé Whitney Mitchell said in her final appearance on the stand during Perry's sentencing hearing. "A house that me and him...

Austin's Andy Langer breaks down 2023 ACL lineup

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Summer might just be around the corner but Austin music lovers' attention has shifted to the first two weekends in October following the release of the 2023 Austin City Limits Music Festival lineup. The annual concert series will feature the Foo Fighters, Kendrick Lamar and Shania Twain among its headlining sets when the festival returns to Zilker Park Oct. 6-8 and Oct. 13-15. ICYMI: Who's performing at the Austin City Limits Music Festival this year? ACL Radio's Andy Langer sat down with KXAN Tuesday following the lineup's release. He referred to this year's bunch as a slew of "big, recognizable names" that speak to the festival's core demographics."There's a lot of, 'who's that? I don't know who these people are' -- that's a common reaction to lineup releases. And you're not going to get that from this one," Langer said. "There's gonna be opinions, but on this one, you've got a bunch of big, recognizable names that fall off pretty safely into a demo that we know...

How many ACL 2023 artists have Texas connections?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for May 9, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Calling all music lovers: The 2023 Austin City Limits Music Festival lineup has arrived, with tickets now on sale for the two-weekend fall concert series. This year's lineup is headlined by Kendrick Lamar, the Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons, Odesza, The Lumineers, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, The 1975 and Hozier. Who's performing at the 2023 Austin City Limits Music Festival? But among the slew of supporting acts comes dozens of artists with connections to the Lone Star State. Here's a look at all the Texans -- or Texas-inspired artists -- performing at this year's festival.Cigarettes After SexTexan Greg Gonzalez formed the dream pop band in El Paso back in 2008. In a 2016 interview with Vice, Gonzalez told the publication he recorded the band's first EP, "I.," in the stairway of his alma mater, The University of Texas at El Paso. The Mars VoltaProgressive rock band The Mars...

Boys volleyball will be a sanctioned MSHSL sport starting with 2024-25 school year

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

The long pursuit to make boys volleyball a sanctioned Minnesota State High School League sport came to fruition Tuesday, when the MSHSL Representative Assembly approved the bylaw amendment with 39 votes — seven more than the minimum required to reach two-thirds approval.The vote came one year after boys volleyball fell short of achieving the desired result by a single vote. Boys volleyball votes failed at the representative assembly level each of the last two years before Tuesday’s breakthrough.Minnesota is the 25th state to sanction boys volleyball. Currently, nearly 2,000 boys play through the Minnesota Boys High School Volleyball Association. It remains undetermined whether boys volleyball will compete during the spring or the fall season. The process to determine that will begin this summer through the work of a “task force of member school representatives,” per the MSHSL.“This is another milestone day in the League’s rich history of supporting member sch...

Former Minnesota employee sues BNSF for employment discrimination after her gender transition

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

A former BNSF worker from Minnesota who was named one of the railroad’s employees of the year in 2021 for her work in supporting LGBTQ+ workers is now suing the railroad where she worked for 30 years, saying that after being promoted regularly earlier in her career she was denied advancement opportunities after her gender transition.Randi Berghorst sued the Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad in federal court recently, arguing BNSF discriminated against her.“I’m extremely disappointed that this is where it had to go,” she said.BNSF declined to comment directly on Berghorst’s lawsuit, and it hasn’t yet responded formally in court. But railroad spokesperson Lena Kent defended BNSF’s hiring practices and said the railroad doesn’t discriminate against people based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Kent cited the PRIDE+ employee group that Berghorst helped form as evidence that BNSF “is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace.”“Once hired, our employees are entitled to...

St. Paul teen faces adult charges in fatal shooting of motorist on East Side

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

A 16-year-old St. Paul boy has been certified to stand trial as an adult in last year’s murder of Yuliya (Julia) Li, a 34-year-old businesswoman shot in the head while driving on the East Side in what police described as a random and unprovoked killing.Ramsey County District Judge Robyn Millenacker made the decision Monday about Melvin Dump Williams, whose name was not released in last year’s juvenile complaint because he was 15. St. Paul police officials said at the time the teen suspect had an extensive and violent criminal history.Melvin Dump Williams (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)A criminal complaint filed Tuesday in adult court charges Williams, of St. Paul, with second-degree intentional murder and second-degree murder-drive-by shooting in connection with the Feb. 16, 2022, attack.The complaint provides details not previously released by police, but does not mention an apparent motive. At the time, a police spokesperson said Lia was “going about her bus...

High school comedy taking the stage in Picture Butte

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:33 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsStudents at Picture Butte High School have been busy rehearsing getting ready to put on this year’s play called “30 Reasons Not to be in a Play.” Written by Alan Haehnel, the play is being directed by teacher Mark Ogle and will feature 16 talented students ranging in age from grades 7-12. The production, which will run at the high school from May 16-18 promises to be a memorable night for audience members.The comedy, “30 Reasons Not to be in a Play” pokes fun at stereotypes and tropes which are often associated with high school productions. The play features a series of satirical sketches and monologues which consider 30 reasons why someone might not want to get involved with a school play. Some of the reasons include stage fright, being forced to wear a costume you don’t like, or “because your older sister was in a play and she loved it, so you have to hate it.” The play is bound to have audiences howling with laughter from start to finish.According ...