Fairfax county

The recent resignations of all three election officials in a Texas county — at least one of whom cited repeated death threats and stalking — has created turmoil in an area that President Donald J. Trump won by 59 percentage points in 2020 . The exodus left Gillespie County, which has 27,000 residents and is about 75 miles west of Austin, without an election staff just over two months before early voting begins for the Nov. 8 midterm election, though the state planned to provide support to the county. The resignations of the county’s elections administrator, Anissa Herrera, and the office’s remaining two employees were confirmed to The New York Times on Thursday by Sam Taylor, a spokesman for the Texas secretary of state. He said the county did not provide specific details about the nature of the threats. “Threats on election officials are reprehensible, and we encourage any and all election officials who are targeted by such threats to report them to law enforcement … [Read more...] about All three election officials resigned in a Texas county, with at least one citing death threats.

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Police who arrested a man with an arsenal of weapons in his car are trying to determine a motive for three seemingly random shootings along Interstate 85 in Alabama and Georgia, including one that critically wounded another motorist. Jerel Raphael Brown, 39, of Montgomery was arrested without incident Wednesday near the courthouse in LaFayette with more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition and an alarming number of firearms in his 1996 white Cadillac Fleetwood, police said. Auburn Assistant Police Chief Michael Harris said they had not found a motive for the “seemingly random shootings" as of Thursday night, but would be investigating Brown's “digital footprint” for clues. Authorities responded first to a 45-year-old man who had left his car and collapsed on the pavement with a gunshot to his head, apparently fired through his rear window as the interstate passes through Auburn. The victim was taken by helicopter to a Montgomery hospital. Harris said police … [Read more...] about Police: Suspect in I-85 shootings had 2,000 rounds of ammo

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A disbarred South Carolina attorney charged with killing his wife and son has been indicted on another round of financial crimes. This time, prosecutors said Alex Murdaugh stole nearly $420,000 from the law firm founded by his prominent legal family a century ago. Murdaugh, 54, faces nine additional charges — four counts of obtaining property under false pretenses, three counts of money laundering and two counts of computer crimes — in indictments handed up by the State Grand Jury on Tuesday and released publicly Friday. Murdaugh is in jail set likely to stand trial in January on murder charges for the June 2021 shooting deaths of his wife Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul. They were killed with different guns outside one of the family's homes in Colleton County, investigators said. In all, Murdaugh faces about 90 charges. Most of them are financial … [Read more...] about Alex Murdaugh faces more financial crime indictments

LATEST March 16, 11 a.m. As it turns out, there was a third option all along for the 49ers, and that's to remind everyone that teams view the cap deadline as more of an ephemeral threat than a looming financial threat. The 49ers are restructuring the contracts of George Kittle and Arik Armstead so that their respective cap hits help the team sit below the threshold before Wednesday's 1 p.m. PT deadline. That issue is now behind San Francisco, meaning the Niners no longer need to immediately cut Jimmy Garoppolo. But the fact that Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is still on the market does leave the 49ers lacking suitors who may have once been pounding at the door for Jimmy G. If anything, teams might recognize that the Niners are still in a financially troublesome position, since keeping Garoppolo is $25 million more expensive than cutting him entirely; instead of trying to trade for a mediocre-to-above average quarterback, teams could just play the waiting game, in theory. … [Read more...] about Why the 49ers won’t be imminently cutting Jimmy Garoppolo after all

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 6 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Lawyers for North Dakota’s lone abortion clinic that two weeks ago closed its doors asked a judge Friday to delay the start of the state’s trigger law banning the procedure. The abortion ban is set to go into effect on Aug. 26. The Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo argued for a preliminary injunction as part of a lawsuit that says the ban violates the state constitution. Burleigh County District Judge Bruce Romanick said he would make a decision on the motion by the end of next week. He did not say how they would proceed with the lawsuit. Romanick put the trigger ban on hold last month when he ruled that Attorney General Drew Wrigley was premature in setting a July 28 closing date. The judge issued a temporary restraining order that in effect gave the Fargo clinic time to transition to a new location in nearby Moorhead, Minnesota, where … [Read more...] about Lawyers argue to delay North Dakota law banning abortion

By Chloe Melas, CNN Updated 1415 GMT (2215 HKT) August 19, 2022 (CNN) Alec Baldwin says he doesn't believe he or anyone else will face criminal charges in the fatal shooting last year on the "Rust" movie set -- a tragic episode he says "has taken years off" his life and has cost him professionally. Prosecutors awaiting the investigative report from the Santa Fe Sheriff's office will weigh evidence in the October 21, 2021 shooting on the film's Old West set outside Santa Fe, New Mexico to determine whether to pursue charges. Baldwin and crew members were rehearsing a scene in a rustic church when a prop gun in the actor's hand discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Investigations into the tragedy have focused on how a live round of ammunition ended up on a movie set. In his interview with CNN, Baldwin placed responsibility for the tragedy on Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who served as the armorer and props assistant on the film, … [Read more...] about Ten months after the ‘Rust’ shooting, Alec Baldwin says he still thinks about it every day

By Scottie Andrew, CNN Updated 1609 GMT (0009 HKT) June 29, 2022 (CNN) Rodd Gray moved to Eureka Springs to rest . Gray had done it all, or close to it, in his 60-plus years -- the military veteran has been a hairdresser, computer programmer, award-winning AIDS advocate , and drag queen (he performed as Patti Le Plae Safe, a Miss Gay America winner). When a tornado blew through Dallas and destroyed his former workplace, followed shortly by the arrival of Covid-19, the Texan was ready to trade in the bustle for some quiet in the Arkansas town of 2,000. But when he arrived in January of last year, retirement didn't happen. Gray fell in fast with the locals, even reviving the Ms. Le Plae Safe act for charity gigs. Now he mans the front desk at a motel-turned-LGBTQ-friendly resort, the Wanderoo Lodge, owned by a gay couple who recently settled in Eureka themselves. The only problem with moving to Eureka Springs, Gray said, is that he didn't get there sooner. … [Read more...] about Inside Eureka Springs, the Bible Belt’s LGBTQ oasis

We've Got to Try: How the Fight for Voting Rights Makes Everything Else Possible By Beto O'Rourke Flatiron. 213 pp. $29.99 - - - As you may have heard, Beto O'Rourke is running for governor of Texas. It's still a red state. But the Democrat is undaunted. And so, the title of his new book, "We've Got to Try," is also a fitting mantra for the indefatigable runner - that is, jogger - who also ran for Senate in 2018, and for president in 2020, after coming to Congress in 2012 by improbably unseating an incumbent. Thankfully, he has not written one of those folksy humble-brag faux-struggle cliche-paste-job candidate autobiographies. Still, O'Rourke does want to show us the kind of leader he would be - but through the stories of others. He listens to community activists and relates their challenges and stories, especially those of Texans of color who fought for equal treatment. The most real estate goes to the uplifting tale of Lawrence Aaron Nixon, a Black doctor from … [Read more...] about Book World: Beto O’Rourke’s book spotlights Texans’ struggles for voting rights

UK weather: Met Office forecasts further scattered showers SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info AccuWeather forecasters warn that this pattern may continue over the coming days. The Met Office had issued an amber warning for the UK on Thursday with torrential downpours in London, as rain is set to spread across the south-east until about 10pm. Related articles Aldi staff make desperate plea to anyone who shops in stores Fence row boils over as woman gets ultimate revenge on neighbour AccuWeather Meteorologist Robert Richards said: “The area of low pressure that spawned storms in France will continue to move across north-central Italy and across the Alps into western Europe this weekend causing heavy … [Read more...] about UK weather: Europe braces for ‘extremely violent’ storms as thunderstorms batter Britain

Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens will be charged with two more exposure offences which allegedly took place before the murder. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it authorised the new charges against the ex-Metropolitan Police officer following a referral of evidence from his former London employer. The two alleged flashing offences took place in the Dover area of Kent in June 2015 and in the Deal area of the county in November 2020, Scotland Yard said. Couzens, 49, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 2 September. "The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges to a court to consider," said head of the CPS Special Crime Division, Rosemary Ainslie. Couzens has already appeared in court charged with four other incidents of alleged exposure said to have taken place in Swanley, Kent, before Ms Everard … [Read more...] about Wayne Couzens: Sarah Everard’s killer will be charged with two further exposure offences