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New Zealand’s final election count means incoming premier Christopher Luxon needs broader support

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A final vote count Friday following a general election in New Zealand three weeks ago has changed the political equation for winner Christopher Luxon, whose conservative National Party will now need broader support to govern.An election night count had given the National Party and the closely aligned libertarian ACT Party a slim overall majority. But the addition of 600,000 special votes Friday saw that majority evaporate, with the National Party losing two seats and opposition parties gaining three seats. That means in order to command a majority, the National Party will now need the support of both ACT and the New Zealand First party, run by maverick 78-year-old lawmaker Winston Peters. Outgoing Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who decided he wouldn’t work with Peters, had already conceded to Luxon on election night. Hipkins held the top job for just nine months. He took over from Jacinda Ardern, who unexpectedly stepped down in January, saying sh...

Family looks for justice after bartender fatally shot on way home from work

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

CHICAGO — It's been more than two weeks since Salvador Herrera was shot and killed on his way home from work. Thursday night, family members were determined to fight for answers and keep his memory alive.Herrera had just finished his shift at the Butterfield Country Club in Oak Brook in the early morning hours of Oct. 15, when he was shot and killed in the 700 block of South Loomis Street in the Little Italy neighborhood while he was driving home."His life was taken from us far too soon, due to senseless gun violence and car thefts," said Remedios Herrera, Salvador's sister. "Sal was more than a victim, he was an honest, selfless and hardworking person who touched the lives of all who knew him."Herrera started working at the Butterfield Country Club when he was 14, after his father died in a workplace accident."Sal decided that he would be a leader," said Fr. Brendan Curran. "That he would become a family man for his loved ones, for his sisters, for his mother." Joliet family file...

Vigil held in north suburbs to remember those kidnapped or killed by Hamas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

CHICAGO — A vigil in the northern suburbs on Thursday evening was held by a delegation of Israelis whose loved ones were killed or kidnapped by Hamas.There was a huge show of solidarity as hundreds of people gathered this event and another one to keep up the support nearly one month after the Hamas attack. For more coverage of the Israel and Hamas Conflict, click here You can watch this story in the player above.

No. 7 Longhorns have to be sure-tacklers to stop Kansas State's punishing rushing attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Mobile quarterbacks have given the Texas Longhorns headaches in the past, and the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats have two that will take snaps on Saturday at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.Senior Will Howard and freshman Avery Johnson have combined to run for more than 500 yards thus far, and they do it in different ways. Howard, a 6-foot-5, 242-pound road grader can punish defenders while Johnson is a quick and shifty runner that makes people miss. Longhorns No. 7 in first college football playoff rankings "They're very tactical in their approach to running the football, and their quarterbacks are very capable of running it," Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "They're going to scheme us up on things and have runs available to them."The running threats only begin there because Kansas State also has an outstanding running back in DJ Giddens who is No. 29 in FBS with 722 rushing yards. The Wildcats' physicality on the offensive line gets defenders out of the way ...

Texas comptroller announces $45M Israel bonds purchase

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Thursday, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced a $45 million purchase of Israel bonds in addition to a previous $20 million purchase last month, a news release from the comptroller's office said.According to the comptroller's office, the fixed-rate bonds mature in three years, as well as carry an interest rate of 5.4%.“I am pleased to be able to continue supporting Israel,” Hegar said in the release. “They are a friend and ally of Texas, and we are proud to stand by them and provide support as they defend themselves. Israel is also a reliable counterparty, and their perfect record of interest and principal payments make this a solid investment for Texas.”The state has invested in Israel bonds yearly since 1994 and currently holds about $140 million in said bonds, according to the comptroller's office. Furthermore, the release said Israel started selling bonds in 1951.Texas has purchased $185 million in Israel bonds since Hegar took office, according to the com...

Devils’ special deliveries sink Wild

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

After watching another tepid start from his team, and staring down a fourth straight loss, Wild coach Dean Evason finally pulled the trigger on a notion he and his coaching staff have had for some time this season.He broke up his top line, and it seemed to inject some juice into his team as the Wild rallied within a goal early in the third period. In the end, though, the Wild’s leaky penalty kill was the difference.Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton scored power-play goals, and Vitek Vanecek stopped 22 shots as the Devils swept the season series from the Wild with a 5-3 victory Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi and Jake Middleton scored goals as the Wild rallied from a 3-0 to pull within 3-2 and 4-3 in the third period, but the Devils were 3 for 5 on the power play.Meier gave the Devils a 3-0 lead with a power-play goal early in the second period, and Bratt one-timed a pass from the left circle past Filip Gustavsson to make it 4-2 with 4 minutes, ...

Green Day plan August return to Target Field with the Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

Green Day will head up an unlikely trio of Gen X nostalgia acts and a group of up-and-coming Zoomers when they headline Target Field on Aug. 17.Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 through Ticketmaster. Citi cardholders have access to a presale that runs from 10 a.m. Nov. 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9. Neither the promoter nor the venue announced ticket prices. The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and the Linda Lindas are also on the bill.Green Day has three reasons to celebrate as 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album “Dookie,” the 20th anniversary of their comeback record “American Idiot” and the release of their 14th album “Saviors” in January. They’ve issued two singles from “Saviors,” “The American Dream Is Killing Me” and “Look Ma, No Brains!”This will be Green Day’s second time playing the Twins ballfield. In August 2021, they drew a crowd of more than 36,000 to their local Hella Mega Tour stop, which also feat...

Homeless man taken in by elderly Iron Range couple is charged with fatally beating them

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

VIRGINIA, Minn. — A formerly homeless Iron Range man allegedly used a tire iron and hammer to fatally bludgeon an elderly Babbitt couple who had taken him into their home.Roger Allen Beldo, 54, was arraigned Wednesday in St. Louis County District Court on two counts of intentional second-degree murder in the Saturday killings of Clifford Johnson, 78, and Christine Johnson, 79.Beldo allegedly drove the victims’ car to Duluth and asked to be taken to jail, confessing several times to the killings. Authorities indicated he may suffer from mental health issues and that he claimed to police that the couple was trying to take his housing and food benefits.According to a criminal complaint:Beldo called 911 multiple times from the emergency room at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center around 11:15 p.m. Saturday, saying he had done some “really bad things.”A Duluth police officer found Beldo in a nearby parking lot, reporting he smelled of alcohol, had slurred sp...

Troubled White Bear Township manufacturer Water Gremlin files for bankruptcy, plans sale

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

Water Gremlin, a White Bear Township manufacturer that has been fined millions of dollars by state regulators in recent years for polluting the area’s air and water, filed for bankruptcy protection last week.The company plans to sell its assets and has secured a commitment from a lender for $10 million in financing to cover its operating expenses during the bankruptcy process, according to a Chapter 11 petition filed on Oct. 27 in U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.Water Gremlin, which produces lead battery terminals and fishing equipment, said in a news release that it is “evaluating multiple compelling offers from interested parties to acquire substantially all of the assets of its U.S. and European divisions.”“After a thorough review, we determined that a sale is the most advantageous path forward for our stakeholders — and one that will help Water Gremlin achieve its full potential,” company president Bradley J. Hartsell said in the ne...

Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all counts as jury returns swift verdict

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:22 GMT

Beleaguered cryptocurrency king and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts in his fraud trial in New York Thursday, ending a storied ascent that brought in millions in political donations and sparked criminal probes across agencies when FTX collapsed.Bankman-Fried was convicted of charges including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud in his case tried in the Southern District of New York. Bankman-Fried, 31, faced several charges over allegations that he defrauded his customers and investors of billions of dollars in a scheme that prosecutors have called “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”“[It was] a multibillion-dollar scheme designed to make him the King of Crypto – but while the cryptocurrency industry might be new and the players like Sam Bankman-Fried might be new, this kind of corruption is as old as time," Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement."This case has alw...