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TexasTowelie's JournalTeen confronts man holding 8 hostage in store and dies in shootout, Texas police say
A teen was killed in a shootout with a man accused of holding a group hostage inside a Texas store, police said.
The man was armed with two guns Monday night when he jumped on the counter of a Houston convenience store and demanded everyone stop moving, KPRC reported. The store had five customers and three employees inside, the news outlet reported.
The man told them to lock the doors and get on the floor, KTRK reported.
Then a 17-year-old armed with a gun entered the store, according to the news outlet, and demanded the hostages be released.
“It appears there was an exchange of gunfire between the two that resulted in the victim being struck and later pronounced (dead),” Houston police Lt. Christopher Bruce told KTRK.
Read more: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-world/national/article254585602.html
So the "good guy" with a gun shows up and look what happens. While the hostages are obviously relieved that they weren't harmed, the final result is a dead hero.
Lt. Gov. McGeachin faces contempt of court complaint over refusal to release task force records
A lawyer for the Idaho Press Club on Wednesday filed a petition against Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R) for contempt of court after McGeachin failed to produce public records a month after a judge ordered her to do so. The contempt petition asks a judge to detain McGeachin in jail until she produces the records, which came from a public feedback form tied to McGeachin’s education task force on indoctrination.
The Idaho Press Club, a membership organization for the state’s journalists, filed a lawsuit against McGeachin in July, stating that the lieutenant governor had violated state public records law by heavily redacting responses to a Google Form soliciting public comments.
In August, Ada County 4th District Judge Steven Hippler ruled in favor of the Idaho Press Club and ordered McGeachin to release the unredacted records. Hippler also ordered McGeachin to pay a $750 civil penalty for denying the records “deliberately and in bad faith.”
Since the conclusion of the lawsuit, the three Idaho journalists who requested the task force records have not received those documents. Following Hippler’s decision, Idaho Statesman state politics reporter Hayat Norimine, one of the reporters whose requests were initially denied, again requested an unredacted version of the task force responses. According to the contempt of court documents, McGeachin’s chief of staff Jordan Watters denied Norimine’s request, calling it “the subject of ongoing litigation.”
Read more: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article254436348.html
3 firefighters critical, 5 other people injured in explosion at southeast Oak Cliff apartments
An explosion tore apart an apartment building in southeast Oak Cliff on Wednesday morning, injuring eight people — including four firefighters.
Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans was hesitant to call the blast at the Highland Hills Apartments a gas explosion, saying that investigators were still working to determine its cause. However, residents reported smelling gas in the area overnight before the explosion, he said.
Firefighters were called about a gas leak at the complex in the 5700 block of Highland Hills Drive, near Simpson Stuart and Bonnie View roads, about 10:20 a.m. Wednesday. They could smell gas near one of the buildings when they arrived, and the blast occurred while they were investigating, Evans said.
Three of the firefighters who were hurt were hospitalized in critical condition. The fourth injured firefighter was taken to a hospital in stable condition and later released. The four other people who were in the building were also stable.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2021/09/29/gas-explosion-levels-part-of-southeast-oak-cliff-apartment-complex/
Parents group joins federal lawsuit against Frisco ISD, other districts for not requiring masks
A group called the Unified Parents of FISD, along with other concerned parents across the state, has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against their children’s school districts in another plea for administrators to implement a mask mandate and enact other COVID-19 safety protocols.
The parents of Frisco, Grapevine-Colleyville, Hurst-Euless-Bedford and Travis County’s Lago Vista school districts are jointly seeking a temporary restraining order followed by a permanent injunction compelling the districts to implement mask mandates, according to documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
Frisco ISD’s decision to not enforce the wearing of masks falls in line with an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott that prohibits mask mandates in government facilities, including schools. Dozens of Texas districts have defied Abbott’s regulation, requiring masks on students and staff members in the new school year despite the executive order.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against many districts that have challenged Abbott’s order, including Richardson. The Texas Supreme Court has yet to make a definitive ruling on who holds the legal authority.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2021/09/29/parents-group-joins-federal-lawsuit-against-frisco-isd-other-districts-for-not-requiring-masks/
Donald Trump adds fresh pressure to Gov. Greg Abbott over demand for a forensic election audit
by Patrick Svitek, Texas TribuneGov. Greg Abbott is failing to appease some inside his party — including former President Donald Trump — with the “forensic election audit” that the state announced Thursday.
Trump released a letter to Abbott on Thursday urging him to add audit legislation, which could allow a review of mail-in and in-person ballots across the state, to the agenda for the current special session agenda. Instead, the secretary of state’s office announced later that day that it was already starting to audit the 2020 election results in four of the state’s biggest counties.
In a new statement to The Texas Tribune on Wednesday, Trump said it is "a big mistake for Texas" not to pass the audit legislation, House Bill 16 by Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands.
“By allowing the Democrats to do what they do, it will make it much harder for the Governor and other Republicans to win election in 2022 and into the future,” Trump said. “Texas is a much redder state than anyone knows, but this is the way to make sure it turns blue.”
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/29/donald-trump-texas-election-audit/
Texas appears to be paying a secretive Republican political operative $120,000 annually to work
Texas appears to be paying a secretive Republican political operative $120,000 annually to work behind the scenes on redistrictingby Alexa Ura, Texas Tribune
A Republican redistricting operative whose clandestine work helped drag Wisconsin into a legal morass last decade appears to now be on the payroll of the Texas Legislature as lawmakers work to redraw maps that will determine the distribution of political power for years to come.
The operative, Adam Foltz, was part of the team that helped craft Wisconsin’s legislative maps after Republicans took control of that state Legislature in 2010. Foltz played a key role in a tight-lipped and questionable redrawing process that shut out Democrats and drew the condemnation of federal judges who described it as “needlessly secret,” according to court records.
Foltz may now be playing a behind-the-scenes role in Texas. The Capitol’s internal staff directory, to which The Texas Tribune obtained access, shows Foltz is working for the House Redistricting Committee. His office and phone number in that directory match those of the committee’s staff office in the Capitol basement, but at least one Democrat on the committee said they had not been advised of his involvement. Foltz has not been a visible part of the committee's public-facing work.
Though Foltz is assigned to the House Redistricting Committee, state employment records show that Foltz is actually on the payroll of the Texas Legislative Council, a nonpartisan state agency that supports the Legislature in drafting and analyzing proposed legislation — and manages the internal mapping tool lawmakers use to redraw political maps. During the redistricting process, the council also plays a crucial role in providing demographic and election results for lawmakers’ proposed maps.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/29/texas-redistricting-adam-foltz/
South Dakota AG reviewing Noem's meeting with daughter
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota's attorney general said Tuesday he is reviewing concerns from state lawmakers over a meeting Gov. Kristi Noem held last year that included both her daughter and a state employee who was overseeing her daughter's application to become a certified real estate appraiser.
“I have been contacted by concerned citizens and legislators," Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg said in a statement. "I am actively reviewing their concerns and I will be following the steps prescribed in codified law in relation to those questions.”
Ravnsborg didn’t immediately respond to a question about what steps he might take. The attorney general is tasked under state law with issuing legal opinions to lawmakers.
The Associated Press reported Monday that Noem held the meeting shortly after the state agency had moved to deny her daughter the license last year. Noem’s daughter eventually received her license four months later. Afterward, the state employee who directed the agency was allegedly pressured to retire by Noem’s cabinet secretary. The state employee, Sherry Bren, eventually received a $200,000 payment from the state to withdraw the complaint and leave her job.
Read more: https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/national/south-dakota-ag-reviewing-noems-meeting-with-daughter/article_ff98c9d3-e8a8-5cb2-97e7-20a2442a595e.html
I'm sure that Noem's call for the AG to resign after he killed a man in his vehicle, then fled the scene has nothing to do with this investigation. Republicans feeding on each other--get your popcorn!
Former Idaho representative arrested on fugitive charge in Georgia
A warrant was issued for his arrest earlier in the month on a rape charge in Ada CountyFormer Idaho Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger (R) was arrested Friday in Clayton County, Georgia, on a fugitive from justice charge, according to Clayton County court records.
Ada County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Patrick Orr told the Idaho Capital Sun via email that von Ehlinger was arrested and in custody at the Clayton County Jail, which is located about 20 miles south of Atlanta. Von Ehlinger was denied bail by a judge on Monday, according to Clayton County records.
As of Monday morning, Orr said he did not know of immediate plans to extradite von Ehlinger back to Idaho or when that might take place.
The Lewiston Tribune first reported a warrant for von Ehlinger’s arrest was issued by the Ada County District Court on Sept. 10, following an investigation by the Boise Police Department.
Read more: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2021/09/27/former-idaho-representative-arrested-on-fugitive-charge-in-georgia/
Earlier thread:
Legislative staffer testifies at ethics committee investigating Idaho lawmaker accused of rape
https://democraticunderground.com/10481214
Bob Herbert, ex-Harry Reid aide, died in Porsche crash in California
Bob Herbert, a longtime aide to former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, died Friday in a single-car crash in California, the California Highway Patrol said.
Herbert, also a major general in the Nevada Army National Guard, was driving a Porsche westbound on Nipton Road, east of Ivanpah Road, in unincorporated San Bernardino County near the Nevada border when the crash occurred, the highway patrol said.
“While traveling at a high rate of speed, the driver lost control and the Porsche traveled into the open desert to the north,” a news release said. “The Porsche became airborne, overturned multiple times, and came to rest within the open desert north of Nipton Road.”
Impairment was not suspected, the highway patrol said. The incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/bob-herbert-ex-harry-reid-aide-died-in-porsche-crash-in-california-2448971/
High-profile boogaloo terrorism case moving slowly through the courts
It’s been 16 months since three suspected Nevada members of the extremist boogaloo movement were arrested by FBI agents in an alleged conspiracy to cause violence at Black Lives Matter protests.
But all three men — Stephen Parshall, 37, Andrew Lynam, 24, and William Loomis, 41 — have yet to be tried in a right-wing domestic terrorism case that drew national attention in the summer of 2020.
Trials in both federal and state court have once more been delayed, as the judicial systems continue to operate under COVID-19 safeguards.
The three defendants, who are in federal custody, are expected to stand trial in federal court Jan. 24 on felony charges of conspiring to cause destruction by fire and explosive and possessing an unregistered destructive device, a Molotov cocktail. They face a June 27 trial in Clark County District Court on felony terrorism and explosives charges.
Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/high-profile-boogaloo-terrorism-case-moving-slowly-through-the-courts-2446110/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
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Current location: Bryan, Texas
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