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Illinois man indicted for trafficking China-made Glock switches

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -- A 19-year-old from Illinois was arraigned Monday in federal court for allegedly scheming to import Glock switches from China to St. Clair County.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said Carlos Akins, 19, of Cahokia Heights, ordered 30 machine gun conversion devices (MCDs) from China between late 2022 and January 2023.These devices are small, about the size of a nickel, and can convert a standard, semi-automatic pistol into a fully-automatic weapon. ‘Was hit 25 times’: Mother wants justice after 16-year-old son gunned down in Joliet According to the indictment, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Chicago discovered a package containing 10 MCDs (or Glock switches) en route to an East St. Louis address in December 2022.CBP notified the Illinois State Police. State troopers and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives went and arrested Akins at that address.Following the arr...

Teen allegedly tried to hire hitman to kill 7-year-old: Iowa police

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

STORM LAKE, Iowa (KCAU) – A 17-year-old is facing a felony charge after officials say she allegedly attempted to order a hit on a 7-year-old. According to a release from the Storm Lake Police Department, officials were contacted on Friday for a report at midnight of someone visiting a parody website called "rentahitman.com" with the intention of hiring someone to kill a young child. The webmaster of the website told officials that the person had allegedly visited the website two times and provided the child's private information, including their name and location. The release states that an investigation was launched immediately and officials were able to identify the child and a possible suspect. An officer went undercover and posed as a hitman while making contact with the suspect. Robert Hanssen, FBI agent convicted of spying, dies in Colorado supermax prison The officer was able to confirm that their potential suspect allegedly wanted their target killed. The 17-year-old susp...

Federal gun charges filed against mother of 6-year-old who shot Virginia teacher

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) - The mother of the Virginia elementary student who police say shot his teacher in January is now facing federal gun charges. Court documents indicate that Deja Taylor, the mother of the 6-year-old boy who police say shot Richneck Elementary School teacher Abby Zwerner, faces federal charges of unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. It states she "was an unlawful user of marijuana." Full coverage: Richneck Elementary shooting Taylor was indicted in April by a grand jury on charges of felony child neglect and misdemeanor recklessly leaving a loaded firearm so as to endanger a child."The court filing states that "on or about July 19, 2022," Taylor knew she was an unlawful user of a controlled substance and possessed a firearm - a Taurus model PT111, G2A 9mm semiautomatic handgun.Redacted Deja TaylorDownloadIt also states that she "knowingly made a false and fictitious ...

What the debt ceiling deal means for U.S. climate goals

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Environmental groups say the energy provisions in the debt ceiling deal are a step back for decarboninzation, while proponents are hailing it as a fair compromise that will ensure energy access. Natalie Mebane of Green Peace said the deal, which was signed over the weekend, undercuts historic investments that President Joe Biden signed into law last year."This was a bad deal for the American people," she said. "(It) very much undoes a lot of the progress that he's made as president towards clean energy. … Two steps forward, three steps back."The bill cuts red tape for both clean and traditional energy projects, which would allow them to move forward more quickly. Mebane called it a gift to polluters.Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who got a controversial pipeline included in the deal, called it a fair compromise."Now what we can do is basically make sure that we're able to get the pipelines and the delivery system we need for clean fossil all over this country," Ma...

Yellowstone visitors put elk calf in their car, investigation underway: rangers

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Yellowstone National Park officials are warning visitors to stay away from wildlife after two recent encounters that left a bison calf dead and an elk calf away from its herd. Over the Memorial Day weekend, a group of visitors reportedly put an elk calf in their car, officials said Monday. It is believed the elk was picked up along Highway 191 in Yellowstone. The young elk was then brought to the West Yellowstone Police Department in Montana.Park officials say the elk ran into a nearby forest. It's unclear what condition the elk is in, and the incident remains under investigation.Yellowstone officials and West Yellowstone Police didn't immediately respond to Nexstar's inquiries for additional information. After Yellowstone bison calf euthanized, man pleads guilty to disturbing wildlife The incident happened just days after a Hawaii man interacted with a bison calf that rangers were later forced to kill. The man, Clifford Walters, recently pleaded guilty to disturbing t...

Community members drop donations off to help migrants in Chicago

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

CHICAGO -- Volunteers at the Irish American Heritage Center in the city's Mayfair neighborhood on Monday are collecting items from educational materials, to food, medicinal and hygiene products for migrants who have arrived in Chicago.People with donations started pulling up to the South Parking Lot of the Irish American Heritage Center on Monday before the event even started.“We’re a great city and we’re a great neighborhood and our community is incredibly generous with their time; their talent and their treasure and people really want to be helpful," Alderperson Samantha Nugent of the 39th Ward said.Several local groups, elected officials and the Consulate General of Ireland in Chicago are teaming up with the Irish American Heritage Center to help new neighbors arriving in the city.The donation drive is to help secure needed items for migrant families.“I can’t tell you how easy it was to get all these people on board," Meg Buchanan, Executive Director of the Irish American Heritag...

SCOTUS rules 8-1 companies can sue unions

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) -- In an 8-1 decision, the United States Supreme Court delivered a blow to unions, ruling a company can sue its employees' Teamsters union because drivers didn't take enough reasonable precautions and materials were lost when they walked off the job.Mark Gaston Pearce, the executive director of the Workers Rights Institute at Georgetown Law, agreed with the lone Supreme Court dissenter, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson."Now unions have to be concerned that employers are going to be bringing these little suits in local jurisdictions," Pearce said. "The mystery is going to be, what constitutes reasonable precautions? What constitutes the kind of harm that unions could potentially be liable for?"Pearce said he expects this ruling to have a chilling effect on unions, making them less likely to strike because they fear getting sued.Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican, said the Supreme Court got it right."Certainly the right to strike is not under quest...

US passport applications taking at least 3 months: what to do if you're desperate

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Diana Croll-Guard's family is leaving for London for a wedding on Sunday, and their toddler doesn't have his passport. She began the process to get him one in April. Weeks later, she doesn't have an update on the application status. She's not alone. You're going to need to plan for extra time to get your passport. According to the U.S. Department of State, it's now taking 10-17 weeks because of demand. If you pay an extra $60, you can get your passport in seven to nine weeks.Croll-Guard had a difficult time even scheduling an appointment to start the process."We were unable to do that in the Austin area at all," she said.Diana Cross-Guard's son. (KXAN photos/Tim Holcomb).Diana Cross-Guard and her son in their living room. (KXAN photos/Tim Holcomb). Diana Cross-Guard's son. (KXAN photos/Tim Holcomb).Croll-Guard said she and her husband took time off work to drive to Fredericksburg for a walk-in appointment and paid for the application to be expedited. Still, no luck."...

Michael Huff, All-American defensive back on 2005 national title team, on CFB Hall of Fame ballot

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — One of the all-time great Longhorns defensive backs is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot.Michael Huff, the 2005 Jim Thorpe Award winner given to the nation's top defensive back and two-sport athlete at Texas, is one of 78 players and nine coaches on the ballot from the FBS level, the National Football Foundation announced Monday.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersUniversity of Texas head coach Mack Brown, left, reaches across offensive MVP Vince Young to pat defensive MVP Michael Huff, right, after the Longhorn's 41-38 win over Southern California in the Rose Bowl, the national championship college football game, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)Huff played for Texas football from 2002-05 where he was a two-time All-American and he competed a year on the track and field team. He qualified for the NCAA region...

California officials blast Florida's DeSantis over transfer of migrants from Texas to Sacramento

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:55:58 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California leaders lashed out at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and hinted at a criminal investigation Monday over the arrival of two flights of migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas and then were sent to Sacramento, allegedly at the direction of Florida officials.The flight that arrived Monday with about 20 migrants followed the arrival Friday of 16 others from Colombia and Venezuela who had been taken by van from Texas to New Mexico and then put on a chartered plane to a small airport in the California capital, officials said. They are the latest apparent instances of a Republican-led state transporting migrants to one controlled by Democrats.The newest arrivals remained at the airport for a couple of hours and were fed before being transported to a “religious institution,” said Kim Nava, a Sacramento County spokeswoman. Nava said she didn’t know the nationalities of the new arrivals or where they had intended to go in the U.S.“Our county soci...