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Gabon imposes curfew and cuts internet access as voting wraps up in major elections

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Gabon’s government announced a nationwide curfew and cut off internet access Saturday evening as voting in major national elections drew to a close. The Central African nation’s communications minister, Rodrigue Mboumba Bissawou, said on state television that there would a nightly curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. He said internet access was being restricted indefinitely, saying there had been calls for violence and the spreading of disinformation. The announcement came after voters cast ballots to elect new local leaders, national legislators and Gabon’s next president.Incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba was seeking a third seven-year term and to continue a 55-year political dynasty. Bongo came to power in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country for 41 years.Bongo, 64, won his current term in office by a narrow margin in 2016 amid violent protests. This year, the opposition united in favor of his main challenger,...

Multiple people killed in Jacksonville store shooting, mayor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Multiple people were fatally shot Saturday inside a Jacksonville, Florida, Dollar General store, the city's mayor has told a television station. Mayor Donna Deegan told WJXT “there are a number of fatalities” inside the store but didn't give a precise number. Numerous police officers are in the area near Edward Waters University. 2 women shot at Chicago White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field “This is unacceptable,” Deegan told the station. “One shooting is too much but these mass shootings are really hard to take.”Edward Waters University students are being kept in their dorms, the school said in a statement. No students or faculty are believed involved, the school said. Further details were not immediately available.

Jacksonville Dollar General shooting: Multiple people killed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Multiple people were fatally shot Saturday inside a Jacksonville, Florida, Dollar General store, the city's mayor has told a television station.Mayor Donna Deegan told WJXT “there are a number of fatalities” inside the store but didn't give a precise number. Numerous police officers are in the area near Edward Waters University, a small historically Black university.“This is unacceptable,” Deegan told the station. “One shooting is too much but these mass shootings are really hard to take.”Edward Waters University students are being kept in their dorms, the school said in a statement. No students or faculty are believed involved, the school said.Further details were not immediately available. The city says it and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office will hold a press conference shortly.The shooting happened five years to the day when a gunman opened fire during a video game tournament in Jacksonville, killing two people before fatally shooti...

Gotta steal 'em all? $5,500 worth of items stolen in Florida Pokémon heist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — To Chad Rippey, what happened overnight Wednesday at his Lakeland, Florida, store was anything but a game.“We had Crown Zenith premium collections, they took. We had Obsidian Flame booster boxes, they took all of,” said Rippey. “Build and battles and booster bundles — they took all of those as well.”The "Pokémon" game bandit, or bandits, also stole newly released and hard-to-find Disney-themed "Lorcana" card games. 1 teen dead after shooting at Oklahoma high school football game, police say Rippey said the games are only available right now at local game stores or online, where they are being re-sold for $300 each."I expect this to be the 'Tickle Me Elmo' — if anybody remembers that — of this holiday season,” said Rippey. The owner said the thieves appeared to know what they were taking.Rippey is co-owner of Decks & Dice Tournament Center off U.S. 92 in Lakeland.The store, which opened on Black Friday in 2020, sells trading card games and collectible...

Sources: Paxton will not resign, impeachment trial would proceed anyway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday refuted rumors that he may resign before his impeachment trial begins early next month — but the House team leading the effort to remove him from office says the trial will proceed regardless."Wrong! I will never stop fighting for the people of Texas and defending our conservative values," Paxton wrote on social media in response to reports he may resign. It's a rare on-the-record statement from the suspended Attorney General, who is barred from speaking publicly about his looming trial.Paxton's counsel also denied the idea."Whomever is saying that must be talking to a different Ken Paxton than I am," said defense attorney Dan Cogdell to Nexstar.The rumors were first reported on social media by Quorum Report, and come after Paxton's name led the list of witnesses whom the House impeachment managers intend to call to testify during trial, The Dallas Morning News reported this week. Paxton faces several felony indict...

Sunday trending wetter as "cold" front approaches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We're on the brink of tying the record high for today. So far we've reached 106º and the record high for today is 107º set in 1924. Whether we do or don't we're dealing with another very hot day in Central Texas.As, expected, spotty showers and storms have formed and are pushing into the Hill Country. Rain coverage will be a little lower than yesterday at just 10%, but at least there's some rain out there this afternoon and evening.Our arriving "cold" front appears on track to impact our weather earlier with higher rain chances on Sunday, but slightly lower rain chances on Monday. For now, both days have decent chances for at least some scattered showers and storms, but Sunday looks a little wetter than Monday now.GRAF Model depiction of future-radar for SundayRainfall amounts still look unimpressive with most areas getting 0.01-0.50" by Tuesday morning, but some localized higher amounts will be possible with any areas that get slower-moving or more persistent downp...

The sweet, the fruity and the sour: The State Fair’s 2023 new beverages, reviewed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

Once again, Minnesota breweries and beverage makers have outdone themselves — coming up with 65 new creations to serve at the Minnesota State Fair.On what has become one of my favorite days of the year, friends and I merrily tromped all over the Fairgrounds on Friday, sampling the good, the bad and the undrinkable.We ended up trying 60 from the list — we did not drink any of the wine-based concoctions, because the ones we have tried in the past have been decidedly not our jam, and we don’t feel we can give them a fair (pun intended) shake. And one beer was sold out.Here are our thoughts on the new drinks, helpfully grouped by location, and in the order we sampled them.Shanghai Henri’sat the International BazaarAhhnold Palmer Style Hard Seltzer: This hard seltzer from Sociable Cider Werks fell short of the mark for us. We didn’t get much tea. One taster described it as “earthy lemonade.” 4.5% ABVBeach’d Cruiser: We could really taste the pineapple, guava and passion...

With tantalizing power, Rockies prospect Hunter Goodman on doorstep of major league call-up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

Hunter Goodman’s rise can be explained by a brief history of battered-ball omens.As an emerging college star at Memphis, Goodman once hit a grand slam in three straight games over a single weekend. The harbingers kept coming in pro ball: 34 dingers across the Class-A levels last year, then a Double-A Hartford-record 25 homers and 78 RBIs this year before getting promoted to Triple-A on Aug. 8 — when the super-utility hit a grand slam in his Isotopes’ debut.With that power performance, the red-hot Rockies prospect’s promotion to the major leagues could come at any moment. Goodman leads the entire minors with 34 homers, including nine in his first 15 games in Triple-A, and two on Friday.“He’s got this thing called launch angle figured out,” explained Goodman’s college coach, Daron Schoenrock. “It’s uncanny. That’s what I saw in him as a young hitter — his flyballs went farther than the other top eighth-grader’s flyballs...

Kickin’ It with Kiz: The worst place to build a new Broncos stadium? Anywhere near DIA, our little nightmare on the prairie

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

If a new stadium is built for the Broncos, it should be modeled after the Atlanta Braves’ new ballpark, with shopping, housing, restaurants and corporate offices all part of the sports complex. Build it near Denver International Airport.Arthur, Gulfport, Miss.Kiz: Here’s where you are 100% correct: Leveraging a stadium to increase the value of surrounding land by making the Broncos the centerpiece of everything from condos to restaurants to business space would be a tried-and-true play from the Walmart corporate playbook. Those savvy Walmart folks have long scored big in the real estate game by selling everything from baby wipes to bananas on previously undeveloped acreage that soon attracts other business. But here’s where you’re 100% wrong: Stretches of Pena Boulevard are slowly turning into a parking lot, as anyone who regularly travels to our little nightmare on the prairie well knows. It would be madness to build a football stadium anywhere near the airport...

Concord Naval Weapons Station project moves forward with new master developer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:19:08 GMT

CONCORD — Officials have — after multiple attempts — chosen a master developer to begin the decades-long work of transforming the former Concord Naval Weapons Station into tens of thousands of homes and millions of square-feet of schools, offices, shops and restaurants.The Concord City Council — acting as the Local Reuse Authority — unanimously approved Brookfield Properties’ massive 2,300-acre reuse plan in a four-hour special meeting Saturday.The vision for roughly half of the existing, contaminated 5,046-acre site along the Sacramento River is a massive mixed-use and transit-oriented community — the largest development currently underway in the Bay Area.Notably, the New York-based developer and real estate giant has agreed to designate at least 25% housing on the inland site as affordable, hire 40% of its construction workforce from within Contra Costa County and prioritize connecting the community to the nearby BART station within the first phase of construction.The decision mar...