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Family members devastated after ride-share driver killed day after Christmas

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

CHICAGO — New details have emerged about a ride-share driver from Venezuela who was shot and killed the day after Christmas. 34-year-old Adriana Arocha-Duque was found dead on Tuesday while police were responding to a car crash in the 4800 block of West Thomas Street. Officers arrived on the scene just before 9 p.m. and found a vehicle that had struck two parked cars. Officers then found Arocha-Duque in the driver’s seat of the crashed car with a gunshot wound to the head. FBI searching for man who robbed bank in Buffalo Grove A witness later told police they saw a man and woman flee from the vehicle after the crash, but the shooting remains unsolved. The victim's nephew, Jose, said his family is devastated about Arocha-Duque's death.Joose said his aunt was more like a sister to him and described her as a brilliant, hard worker who had a lot of friends. While Arocha-Duque didn't have any children, Jose said her dog Hunter was like her baby.Arocha-Duque moved from Venezuela to...

Northeast Austin apartment sprayed with gunfire; residents want answers

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's not something you expect to deal with over the holidays, and certainly not something you want to see when you walk into your apartment after Christmas: bullet holes. That's what happened to three college students who live at the Reserve at Walnut Creek Apartments in northeast Austin. Those roommates said someone shot into their second-story apartment while they were away. "If someone did it on Christmas Eve night; I'm very worried about New Year's Eve. If they're using fireworks to try and cover the sound, or if this is a weird way of celebrating is shooting into apartments," Riley Curnutt said. "So all three of us are getting out of here as soon as we can." The complex has patched the bullet holes inside the apartment, but they're still visible outside. A bullet even went through one of the girls' stockings. Still, they said it could have been much worse if they, or their pets, had been home. A bullet hole in a northeast Austin apartment complex (KXAN photo/Gra...

Authorities report 1 fatality after tracked vehicle breaks through ice on Lake of the Woods

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

NORTHWEST ANGLE, Minn. — One person drowned on Thursday when a tracked vehicle broke through the ice near Flag Island on Lake of the Woods, which straddles the U.S.-Canada border.According to a news release from the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office, the incident was reported shortly after 8 a.m. Authorities began an immediate search of the area, and the Cass County Lakes Area Dive Team based in Walker was called to assist.Shortly after 3 p.m., the body of a male was recovered in about 10 feet of water, the sheriff’s office said.The incident remains under investigation pending an autopsy, the sheriff’s office said, and the name of the victim will not be released until family members have been notified.The drowning is the latest in a series of ice-related incidents that have occurred elsewhere in Minnesota in recent weeks, the result of widespread rain, wind and unseasonably warm weather. In a news release, the Minnesota DNR said conservation officers and county sheriff’s dep...

Gophers win fifth straight game going into Big Ten play

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

When Gophers guard Mike Mitchell Jr. hit a deep 3-pointer against Maine on Friday, Williams Arena’s public address announcer Jamie Verbrugge added geographical flavor to his call.“From St. Paul!”Mitchell was feeling it in Minneapolis in the first half of a 80-62 win in the final nonconference game of the season.Minnesota (9-3) has won five in a row and has its second nine-win nonconference record in three seasons. In head coach Ben Johnson’s first year, they went 9-1 in 2021-22 before slipping to 7-5 last season.On Friday, Mitchell finished with 18 points; he had a season-high 20 points in the U’s win over Ball State last week.Cam Christie and Pharrel Payne picked up where Mitchell left off in the first half. Christie played in front of older brother, Max, who is in town for the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Timberwolves on Saturday night.Christie might have been trying too hard at the start, missing his first six shots but rebounded finish with eight points.Those players ste...

That time Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham led Auburn past Alabama and Georgia in three weeks

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

Jarrett Stidham’s heroics as the Auburn starting quarterback in 2017 plays through Chip Lindsey’s mind as if it happened yesterday.In three weeks, Lindsey — Auburn’s former offensive coordinator — watched Stidham perform what could be considered the unthinkable. First, he threw for three touchdowns in a 40-17 drubbing of top-ranked Georgia.Two weeks later, with Alabama then No. 1 in the country, Stidham rushed 16 yards for a touchdown to solidify the Tigers’ 26-14 upset over the Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl.“He pulled a run on a zone read and ran through a couple of tackles and willed us to a win,” Lindsey, now the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at North Carolina, told The Denver Post.Not too many college quarterbacks can say they beat Alabama and Georgia in the same season. When Stidham did so in his first season with the Tigers, it gave his coaches every indication he could be a starter in the NFL, and it offers hope that he could perform well as the Broncos’ ...

California cyclist injured by rogue wave shares harrowing tale

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

A cyclist in Ventura County, California says he feels fortunate to have escaped with only minor injuries after a massive, rogue wave crashed ashore Thursday.The wave struck as onlookers had gathered at Pierpont Beach in the city of Ventura to watch the high surf caused by a large offshore storm system.  Video recorded by Colin Hoag shows people first casually watching as the wave breaks and barrels toward a short brick wall at the dead-end of Seward Avenue. When it becomes clear the wave isn’t stopping, they turn and run for their lives. Southern California beaches battered by waves again, prompting closures and warnings Several people were knocked to the ground and swept down the road. Nine people were hospitalized for minor to moderate injuries and the wave caused extensive damage to the oceanfront Inn on the Beach hotel, officials said.Gilbert, who didn’t share his last name, was wearing a neon green jacket and standing with his bicycle at the beach at the time.“The wave j...

Ring in 2024 with these New Year’s Eve celebrations in Southern California

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

It’s almost time to usher in the New Year and Southern California will be filled to the brim with various events and parties to welcome in 2024.Here is a list of a few events taking place across the Southland for those who want to start 2024 off with a bang. Here are the stores that will be open or closed on New Year’s Eve and Day in California Gloria Molina Grand Park’s NYELADescribed as the “West Coast’s largest Free New Year’s Eve event,” guests can dance their way into the New Year with two music stages while enjoying food, immersive art installation experiences, and various family-friendly activities. The free event starts at 8 p.m. More information can be found on its Eventbrite page.L.A. Zoo Lights Family New Year's EveThe whole family can enjoy a New Year's Eve celebration without staying awake until midnight. The Los Angeles Zoo will host a New Year’s Eve event complete with dancing, express entry into the L.A. Zoo Lights displays and a live broadcast of the ball dropping...

San Pablo dispute over stolen items turns into murder when victim dies

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

SAN PABLO — Authorities have filed murder charges against a woman after an argument over stolen packages in San Pablo escalated into a vehicular assault and ultimately a homicide case when the victim died from her injuries.Contra Costa County prosecutors filed murder charges on Friday against a 39-year-old woman, Dene Blakely.Dene Blakely, 39, a suspect in a murder in San Pablo. (San Pablo Police Department)The charges arose from a verbal altercation between Blakely and an unidentified 60-year-old female victim who became involved in a verbal altercation regarding stolen packages, investigators said.Blakely saw the victim walking in a neighborhood and believed that she recognized the victim as an individual who had stolen one or more packages from Blakely’s residence, according to authorities.The altercation escalated into a traffic collision involving a vehicle that struck the victim, leaving the 60-year-old woman suffering from major and life-threatening injuries....

South African launches case at UN accusing Israel of genocide

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

By Mike Corder | Associated PressTHE HAGUE, Netherlands — South Africa launched a case Friday at the United Nations’ top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and asking the court to order Israel to halt its attacks — the first such challenge made at the court over the current war. Israel swiftly rejected the filing “with disgust.”South Africa’s submission to the International Court of Justice alleges that “acts and omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character” as they are committed with the intent “to destroy Palestinians in Gaza” as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.South Africa has been a fierce critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Many there, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, have compared Israel’s policies regarding Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with South Africa’s past apartheid regime of racial segregation. Israel rejects ...

Prosectors say no need to hold second trial of FTX founder

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:15:58 GMT

By Larry Neumeister | Associated PressNEW YORK — A second trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on charges not in the cryptocurrency fraud case presented to a jury that convicted him in November is not necessary, prosecutors told a judge Friday.Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in a letter that evidence at a second trial would duplicate evidence already shown to a jury. They also said it would ignore the “strong public interest in a prompt resolution” of the case, particularly because victims would not benefit from forfeiture or restitution orders if sentencing is delayed.They said the judge can consider the evidence that would be used at a second trial when he sentences Bankman-Fried on March 28 for defrauding customers and investors of at least $10 billion.Bankman-Fried, 31, who has been incarcerated since several weeks before his trial, was convicted in early November of seven counts, including wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and three conspiracy...