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Texas Republicans in one rural county will hand count ballots. Experts say it’s 'a recipe for disaster.'

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.When Gillespie County Republicans conduct their primary in March, they will count votes in an ill-advised way: by hand, using scores of volunteers, without any machines.Even if they can pull off their expensive, labor-intensive plan, they risk being sued by losing candidates or reprimanded by the state. And they may run up a huge bill of unnecessary costs.“Hand-counting is a recipe for disaster,” said Bob Stein, a political science professor at Rice University and election administration expert. He and most other experts agree on this, and studies back them up: The method is time-consuming, costly, less accurate, and less secure than using machines to tally votes.The factors that led Gillespie Republicans to this plan are not unique to this rural county of nearly 30,000 people, west of Austin in Texas’ ...

Mara Braun, Maggie Czinano lead Gophers women’s basketball rout of Lindenwood

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

Mara Braun topped 20 points for the fifth game in a row, and Maggie Czinano produced a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Gophers women’s basketball team overwhelmed Lindenwood (Mo.) 100-45 in a nonconference game Thursday afternoon at Williams Arena.Braun finished with 21 points on 9-for-17 shooting. Grace Grocholski added 11 points and Sophie Hart 10 to give Minnesota four players in double-figures scoring.Amaya Battle had eight assists and Janay Sanders five as the Gophers finished with 23 assists and just seven turnovers.Minnesota (11-1) tied its season high with 52 rebounds, while holding Lindenwood to 33.Leading 64-23 at halftime, the Gophers went on a 12-0 run to expand the lead to 76-23 with 3:17 left in the third quarter. Minnesota opened the fourth quarter with a 81-28 lead, then turned the game over to its bench players.

Suspect arrested in Sappington jewelry store burglary may be tied to other crimes - Prosecutors

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – One of the men believed to be responsible for more than a dozen smash-and-grab burglaries in the area is in police custody.Investigators believe Joshua John Simmons-Pollard’s crime spree lasted a little more than two weeks, unveiling the magnitude of the accused serial burglar’s crimes in court documents.Simmons-Pollard, 25, broke into businesses in both St. Louis City and County between Nov. 30 and Dec. 15.He’s accused of busting the windows of Glitter on Gravois in Sappington Plaza, and stealing thousands of dollars in jewelry. The break-in was caught on camera.Paul Pytlinski, president and owner of Glitter on Gravois, said he’s glad the suspected thief is behind bars.“This can happen to anybody. We have been in business almost a decade and nothing like this has ever happened,” Pytlinski said.Simmons-Pollard is also accused of several other burglaries, including Imo's Pizza on Jefferson, Tucker's Place on South 12th Street, Courtesy Diner on Hampton, an ATM...

Their home burned in the Marshall fire. Then their new house caught fire after contractors cut a power line.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

Imagine your entire house burning to the ground.You rebuild it and move into a new home 18 months later.But then, three months after that, a neighbor rushes to your door to alert you that a utility box on the side of your brand-new house is on fire.That’s what happened on Oct. 25 to Sonali Marlin, a Louisville resident whose family lost their home in the devastating Marshall fire on Dec. 30, 2021.When Marlin saw the flames outside her rebuilt home in The Summit neighborhood, she panicked and began sobbing.“I just couldn’t imagine my house on fire again,” she said.The fire was quickly extinguished and the exterior suffered little damage. But about thousands of dollars worth of appliances and electronics inside were fried, she said.Now, though, Marlin and her next-door neighbor have been thrust into another homeowner headache filled with lawyers, insurance companies, paperwork and endless phone calls as they deal with a situation that is not their fault.“...

Denver weather: Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Snow headed toward the city this weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

While it certainly hasn’t felt like winter this past week, the Christmas weekend is looking to bring some snow to Colorado after all to boost the holiday cheer.The weather could still change by the time the storm hits, but the Denver metro can expect to see anywhere from 1 to 4 inches accumulate on Christmas Eve, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Zach Hiris.While that doesn’t sound like much, even 1 inch of snow on the ground Christmas morning is enough for the National Weather Service to classify the holiday a white Christmas.“Even though we’re still a ways out from this event, there’s a good chance for light snow accumulation across the metro,” Hiris said. “My guess is we’ll still have at least a little on the ground come Christmas.”According to Hiris, the mountains will start seeing light snow Saturday morning that will spread to the plains by Saturday night. Most of the snowfall in the metro area will fall S...

Women’s basketball: No. 8 CU Buffs shake off rust, roll past UNC

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

Colorado basketball fans have a tradition of standing until the Buffaloes hit their first basket of a game.It’s not often that the fans have to stand through a timeout, but on Thursday, the women’s basketball team kept them on their feet longer than expected.When the crowd was finally able to sit, they settled in for another dominant victory by the eighth-ranked Buffaloes, who cruised past Northern Colorado 78-56 at the CU Events Center.CU trailed 14-0 before finally scoring 4 minutes, 26 seconds into the game, but the Buffs (10-1) never flinched as they wrapped up non-conference play with a rout.“We don’t want to start like that, but we kind of joked about it like, ‘Oh, we’re just keeping it interesting for the fans and we’ll go on a run later,’” junior guard Kindyll Wetta said. “We don’t really get too high or low and we just know that we’re going to figure it out eventually and so we don’t get too worried.”Delaynie Byrne drained three consecutive 3-pointers for the Bears (4-5) to...

Video shows pedestrian being fatally run over in South L.A. 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

Warning: Video may be disturbing to some viewersGraphic video shows the moment a pedestrian was run over by a car in L.A.’s Vermont Square neighborhood. The video, posted to the Los Angeles Police Department’s YouTube channel, shows a man walking onto Western Avenue near the intersection on Vernon Avenue shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday morning. The man then lies down in the middle of the street, according to the video. Whether he laid down in the street deliberately or collapsed was not confirmed by authorities. Police shut down ‘sesh’ operation in San Bernardino Shortly after he lies down, a woman walks towards the street but remains on the sidewalk calling to him. Moments later, a vehicle traveling northbound on Western collided with the man. The video, posted to the Los Angeles Police Department’s YouTube channel, shows a man walk onto Western Avenue near the intersection with Vernon Avenue shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. (YouTube/Los Angeles Police De...

1 Killed, 4 Injured in Rollover Accident on West Roscoe Boulevard [Sun Valley, CA]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

One Pronounced Dead after Three-Vehicle Rollover Collision near Nagle AvenueSUN VALLEY, CA (December 21, 2023) – One man died Sunday night in a rollover crash on West Roscoe Boulevard and Nagle Avenue.Shortly before 9:00 p.m. on December 17th, law enforcement authorities were called to the incident site.Video footage reveals that a vehicle collided with two others before coming to rest in the path of a stationary vehicle, ultimately overturning and colliding with a utility pole. The male driver was ejected onto the roadway.The man’s condition was severe, and medical personnel declared him deceased at the scene; however, his identity has not been disclosed by the police. Additionally, four individuals sustained minor injuries, and they were transported to the hospital as a precaution by responding paramedics.The circumstances leading to the rollover accident on West Roscoe Boulevard are currently under investigation at this time.The team at Sweet James sends out their hea...

The Cannabis Industry Saw Some Relief in 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

It’s a lot easier for the cannabis industry to look back on 2023 than it had been the past few years prior.It almost seemed like after that week in March 2020 when the industry sold the most pot ever, we entered a bit of a rut. The license struggles of various hitters and the price crash leading to a lot of small farms going under were two major parts of that sad reality.But for those who made it to 2023, there was more hope and positives to take away from the year. That being said, it wasn’t perfect. I’m not convinced you all have live soil all of a sudden. But here are a few takeaways we did enjoy.  We’re hoping more of these stories pop up next year. The Survivors Kept Surviving At certain points during 2021 and 2022, it felt like I heard a story about another company going under almost every week. After that great culling, on both sides of the market seemingly, legal and not, most of the ones left standing are monsters of the game or at least still have a few good hooks. R...

Man Pronounced Dead after Pedestrian Accident on Visalia Road [Farmersville, CA]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:37 GMT

Male Victim Killed in Pedestrian Collision near Virginia AvenueFARMERSVILLE, CA (December 20, 2023) – One man died Saturday night in a pedestrian crash on Visalia Road and Virginia Avenue. The incident occurred at approximately 11:30 p.m., on December 16th.News sources have conveyed that a male pedestrian sustained life-threatening injuries when he was struck by a vehicle in the vicinity. Despite immediate life-saving interventions, the man was ultimately declared deceased at the scene. The driver involved in the incident stayed at the location and actively participated in the ongoing investigation.Emergency crews temporarily closed off the surrounding area for cleanup and preliminary tasks. Additional information will be disseminated once it becomes available. After completing initial duties, authorities eliminated alcohol or drugs as contributing factors to the incident.Presently, a thorough investigation is in progress, and individuals with pertinent information are encoura...