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Western Wisconsin deputy’s killer had extensive criminal record in Minnesota

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

The man who killed a western Wisconsin sheriff’s deputy last weekend had an extensive criminal record in Minnesota that included serving time in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, according to state court records.Authorities said Jeremiah Daniel Johnson, 34, of Shakopee, fatally shot a St. Croix County sheriff’s deputy on Saturday evening before taking his own life. Deputy Kaitlin “Kaitie” Leising, 29, was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with Johnson near Glenwood City, according to  the Wisconsin Department of Justice.Leising was taken to a local hospital, where she later died.Undated courtesy photo, circa October 2015, of Jeremiah Daniel Johnson, DOB 01/24/1989. Johnson, 34, accused of killing a Wisconsin deputy May 6, 2023, was convicted of kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct in 2015 in Washington County. Johnson, a suspected drunken driver, shot St. Croix County Deputy Kaitie Leising during a traffic stop near Glenwoo...

Friday funeral planned for slain deputy; ‘she had an amazing sparkle for life’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

Funeral services will be held Friday for western Wisconsin sheriff’s deputy Kaitlin “Kaitie” Leising, who was fatally shot last weekend by a suspected drunken driver who later killed himself in rural St. Croix County.The 29-year-old Leising, of New Richmond, was lovingly nicknamed “Bug” and will be remembered as “small, but feisty” according to her obituary.She loved reading, puzzles, camping, hiking, kayaking, waterskiing and playing basketball. In addition she loved Harry Potter, crime shows and the Denver Broncos. But according to the obituary, her greatest passions were her young family: “On October 7, 2017, she was united in marriage to her best friend, Courtney Leising, and the two were blessed with their son, Syler in early 2023.”“She had an amazing sparkle for life, always making others around her smile and laugh. Her humor was infectious, her laugh contagious, and her loyalty for those she loved most unwavering and...

Minnesota Senate approves $240 million for lead-pipe replacement

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

In an effort to finally rid the state of lead water-service lines by the next decade, Minnesota lawmakers are advancing a bill that would put $240 million toward replacement projects.The Minnesota Senate on Tuesday passed a bill 64-2 that would help cover a significant chunk of the $1 billion or so it will take to replace an estimated 100,000 remaining lead-containing service lines in the state.Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, bill sponsor Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, emphasized that toxic lead in water lines affects rural and urban communities alike in all corners of the state, especially low-income and young Minnesotans.“It disproportionately affects children — young children in particular — pregnant women, developing fetuses,” said McEwen. “This is a very, very important bill for our public health.”Public health officials consider no amount of lead in drinking water safe. It can cause nervous system and brain damage, lower IQ, and cause learning and behavior problems in child...

McCarthy: No 'new movement' with Biden on debt ceiling debate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday said there was no movement from either side in debt limit negotiations as a crucial deadline on the matter looms following a White House meeting with President Biden and top congressional leaders.“Everybody in this meeting reiterated the positions they were at. I didn’t see any new movement,” McCarthy told reporters after the roughly hourlong sit-down in the Oval Office.Biden convened a meeting with McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) It comes just more than a week after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers the U.S. will run out of mechanisms to pay trillions of dollars in debt by June 1.McCarthy said the leaders will meet again Friday.Jeffries struck a more positive tone after the meeting and told reporters the fact every leader agreed to convene Tuesday, that they had “an honest, frank discussion about a path ...

READ: Jury's verdict in Carroll's civil case against Trump

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

A federal jury Tuesday found that former President Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her by denying her claims, marking the first time Trump has been found liable for sexual misconduct at a trial.He was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.Read the jury's verdict here.E.-Jean-Carroll-Trump-verdictDownload

Driver of crashed pickup in Aurora dies at hospital of apparent gunshot wound, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

A driver who crashed a pickup into a parked car in Aurora was shot and a homicide investigation is underway, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | $2,000 reward offered for tips leading to conviction in Denver teen’s shooting death Crime and Public Safety | Road rage may have led to fatal Edgewater charging station shooting, police say Crime and Public Safety | Children ages 10 to 12 can still be arrested in Colorado after lawmakers gut bill to raise minimum age of prosecution Crime and Public Safety | Man convicted of murder in death of homeless man in Denver Crime and Public Safety | Man dead after shooting in northeast Denver, homicide investigators appeal to public for help About 12:50 a.m. Monday, Aurora police officers responded to the 2200 block of Oakland Street where a pickup driver hit a parked car, officials stated in a news release.Officers found an unresponsive man in t...

Three California Lottery players win over $12 million from Mega Millions ticket, scratcher games

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

Three California Lottery players won over $12 million from lottery games, the state lottery office announced Tuesday.Two lottery players, Luis Castaneda Esparza and Baltazar Hernandez-Jimenez, won $5 million each after playing the Year of Fortune and Neon Cash Party scratcher games.Esparza purchased the winning scratcher game at a Chevron station in Brea in Orange County. Hernandez-Jimenez bought the Neon Cash Party scratcher ticket at a 7-Eleven location in San Leandro in Alameda County."Both players matched the same number, 36, on their scratchers tickets to win their $5 million prizes," a news release said. California Lottery player wins over $2 million from Mega Millions ticket Ali Dib, who purchased a Mega Millions ticket in November, won about $2 million after the ticket matched five out of the six winning numbers. The ticket was purchased at a Shell station in San Bruno, San Mateo County.The current Mega Millions jackpot stands at $83 million and people interested in parti...

Paramount shuts down MTV News division

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

By Liam Reilly | CNNParamount Media Networks announced Tuesday it will shutter MTV News and slash its US workforce by 25%, bringing to an end the iconic music video network’s news division that once covered a range of issues from pop culture to politics and became a household name for Generation X and Millennial adolescents.The division’s President Chris McCarthy said in a memo to staff Tuesday that despite the media giant’s “success” in streaming, the company continues to “feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers.”“As a result, we have made the very hard but necessary decision to reduce our domestic team by approximately 25%,” he continued. “Through the elimination of some units and by streamlining others, we will be able to reduce costs and create a more effective approach to our business as we move forward.”Employees affected by the layoffs were to be notified in person on Tuesday, McCar...

Oakland A’s swap stadium deals in Las Vegas: report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

Three weeks after flooring their fans and Oakland officials by announcing a land deal in Las Vegas, the A’s are now pursuing a different stadium deal in the desert.The team has an agreement to build a $1.5 billion stadium on a portion of the Tropicana site, a move that would cut its public financing request from $500 million to $395 million, according to a report Tuesday from the Nevada Independent.The A’s announced on April 19 they were nearing a “binding agreement” with Red Rock Resorts to build a stadium off the Las Vegas Strip.The A’s resumed looking at alternate sites, the Independent reported this week, as they faced the uphill battle of convincing the state legislature, whose session ends June 5, to approve the $500 million package.Steve Yeager, speaker of the Nevada Assembly told The Nevada Independent recently that the A’s could “run out of time” to get a deal done in Las Vegas because no concrete proposal for the tax package ...

Letters: Truth about DA | Fire Kuiper | Pathway to equity | Red-flag laws | Indifferent to violence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:14 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Learn truth about Pricebefore judging herRe: “Price’s messy road to reform” (Page A1, May 7).Don’t believe everything you read. Correction: Don’t believe everything the conservatives say. Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is not the villain here; she is just the victim of poor PR.Price’s addressing of racism’s overreaction to criminal sentencing, which devastated communities of color, has left some people believing she is lenient toward crime. False narratives claim she is not charging enhancements, when in fact her office has charged enhancements.Please do some investigation and go to the DA’s website (www.alcoda.org). Read the press releases and view the posted interviews.Readers owe it to themselves to discover the facts before judging her.Rene WiseFremontA’s organization shouldfire Kuiper for commentRe: “A’s announcer Glen Kuiper apologizes ...