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Expanded SNAP benefits end this month. Here's who is affected in Central Texas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Expanded SNAP benefits end in March across the country, and around 60,000 Central Texans will receive less money for food help.The expanded program ended this month after U.S. Congress passed a spending bill in December that ended the temporary emergency allotments that started during the pandemic. This gave recipients the maximum dollar amount per family size. PREVIOUS: As emergency food assistance nears end, 1 in 5 Texans face hunger The change will affect every SNAP benefits recipient in the U.S. For Texas recipients, the benefits decrease will be at least $95 each month per family, according to Texas Health and Human Services. The average Travis County payment was $361 in February with more than 40,000 SNAP cases. In Hays County, the average payment was $381 for more than 6,000 cases. In Williamson County, the average payment was $383 for about 12,000 cases. Feeding Texas said in January that people can maximize their SNAP benefits by taking advantage of ded...

St. Paul man sentenced for reckless discharge after firing bullet that struck cousin in head

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

A St. Paul man has been sentenced to five years in prison for shooting his cousin in the head on St. Paul’s East Side in 2019.Michael Issiah Lane’s cousin survived his injuries, and Lane was charged with attempted murder and first-degree assault in connection with the shooting. Those charges were dismissed last week after Lane, 33, pleaded guilty to two added charges — reckless discharge of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm.Judge David Brown on Wednesday accepted the plea deal, which included the 60-month prison term, and handed down the sentence.Dennis Gerhardstein, Ramsey County attorney’s office spokesman, said Monday that Lane admitted to firing the shot that hit his cousin in the head and that the confession was “an essential part of the plea agreement.”A call to Lane’s attorney Monday for comment was not returned.According to court documents, Lane and his 27-year-old cousin showed up at a friend’s residence in the 1600 b...

Convicted shooter granted parole: 'I was young and dumb'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- In 2008, Kathina Thomas, 10, of Albany, was killed by a stray bullet. At 15, the perpetrator, Jermayne Timmons was basically a kid himself. Fast forward more than a decade later, he has been granted parole and is now sharing his story of change and redemption. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "There’s nothing else to say about it. It’s just that I was young and dumb man. Young and dumb and I’m so glad that kid is gone.” The kid Jermayne Timmons is talking about is his former self. At 15 a stray bullet from the gun he fired killed Kathina as she played on her front steps. The bullet had been meant for a rival he had confronted on her street. Jermayne was housed in several different correctional facilities, basically growing up behind bars.He could have given up, checking off days on the calendar. Instead, he used the time to get his bachelor's degree in psychology and teach himself about fitne...

Chiefs superfan removes ankle monitor, skips court; warrant issued

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

BIXBY, Okla. - The Kansas City Chiefs superfan who identified himself as "ChiefsAholic" faces new legal trouble more than three months after his arrest for an alleged bank robbery near Tulsa, Oklahoma.According to court filings, ChiefsAholic's real name is Xaviar Babudar.He is accused of removing his ankle monitor and skipping a court hearing Monday morning, according to the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office. A spokesperson for the office said it has charged Babudar with removing an electronic monitoring device, in addition to his original charges for robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault while masked or disguised. Multiple Kansas City-area schools receive false reports of active shooters Babudar was to be arraigned on charges stemming from the bank robbery in December during the hearing. There is now a warrant issued for Babudar's arrest. If found, he will be arrested and held on a $1 million bond.This is not the first legal trouble Bubadar has gotten into since he ...

Broncos’ George Paton, Sean Payton jumpstarted offensive revamp with free agency spending spree: “We were aggressive and we had a plan”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

PHOENIX – Sean Payton hardly needs to remind anybody in Broncos Country how poorly Denver’s offense fared in 2022, but he did so multiple times in blunt terms on Monday.He did so in the midst of an answer during which he called quarterback Russell Wilson, “super competitive.”“He’s won at a high level. He’s someone that I think moves well. He’s someone I think who works extremely hard. It’s hard to find guys with all those traits,” Payton said. “Now, I watched with every one of you the season that took place a year ago. There’s probably a little bit of dirt on a lot of peoples’ hands. When you win five games, it is what it is. I don’t think I need to elaborate. It wasn’t good. It wasn’t good on offense, that’s for sure. It was hard film to watch.”He did so while answering a question about what’s ahead for second-year tight end Greg Dulcich.“We haven’t gone through every player relative to the evaluation process, but some of it was hard – the evaluation. Some of it was hard,” he said,...

Skydiver crashes into power lines near Lake Elsinore

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

A skydiver avoided serious injury after they crashed into power lines near Lake Elsinore Monday morning.It happened around 11:55 a.m. on the 31900 block of Corydon Street, according to Cal Fire Riverside County. Fire crews responded to the scene with several trucks and treated the incident like a traumatic injury response.Cal Fire crews untangle a skydiver who landed in power lines near Lake Elsinore in San Bernardino County on March 27, 2023. (Cal Fire Riverside County)Using ladder trucks, firefighters were able to untangle the skydiver and safely remove them from the power lines.Despite the unexpected landing, the unidentified skydiver avoided serious injury and was released after declining further treatment, fire officials said. Crews were released from the scene a short while later.

Long Beach launches text alert system to help connect unhoused residents to resources

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

The City of Long Beach on Monday announced the launch of a new text message system aimed at helping people who are experiencing homelessness. The program, simply called the Long Beach Homelessness Text Alert program, will send messages to inform unhoused residents of resources including the location of shelters, mobile centers, "Safe Parking" locations, and inclement weather alerts.“People experiencing homelessness are often on the move and rely on their cell phones for information,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. “This text alert program will lower barriers to providing people with real-time information and access to resources.” Those interested in signing up for the text notifications can text “HOME” to 99411. Standard messaging rates may apply, the city said.People can opt in and opt out of the updates at any time.

Wisc. school bans Dolly, Miley duet from class concert

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

By Harm Venhuizen | Associated Press/Report for AmericaMADISON, Wis. — Administrators at a Wisconsin elementary school stopped a first-grade class from performing a Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton duet promoting LGBTQ acceptance because the song “could be perceived as controversial.”Students at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha had prepared a rendition of “Rainbowland” for their spring concert, but school officials struck the song from the lineup last week. Parents in the district say the decision was made because the song encourages LGBTQ acceptance and references rainbows.Superintendent James Sebert, who did not immediately return a call on Monday, confirmed to Fox6 that administrators had removed “Rainbowland” from the first-grade concert because it might not be “appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students.” He also cited a school board policy against raising controversial issues in classrooms.Sebert has previously pro...

New Mexico approves school meals for all students

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

By Susan Montoya Bryan | Associated PressALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday signed legislation to provide free school meals to all students regardless of family income, as New Mexico and several other states look to fill the gap left by lapsed federal pandemic-era benefit programs and address the strain to family budgets caused by food prices.The bill cleared the Legislature during the recent 60-day session, with lawmakers setting aside more than $22 million in the state budget to help pay for the program. Additional money will be used to improve school kitchens so healthier meals can be prepared.“When we feed our children, we’re feeding our future – these investments today will yield benefits tomorrow through generations of healthier New Mexicans,” the Democratic governor said in a statement issued after she celebrated with dozens of elementary school students.She included the proposal in her State of the State address, saying that wherever ...

Valle replacement search sparks another controversy over residence for Alameda County supervisors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:47 GMT

For the second time in two years, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors is considering appointing someone to lead a district that they have lived in for less than a month.On Tuesday, the board will interview candidates to serve as District 2’s newest supervisor, a position that has been vacant since Supervisor Richard Valle passed away in February. One of the leading contenders is Ariana Casanova, a political coordinator and field representative for the Service Employees International Union.Since Casanova threw her hat in the ring in March, questions have been raised about her eligibility for the position. On her application, she stated that she has only lived in District 2 for a month. Casanova moved to the district, which covers Fremont, Hayward and Union City, on February 19.Jason Bezis, an attorney for the Alameda County Taxpayers Association, filed a public comment on March 26 arguing that the board was violating its own rules, and that Casanova should not be considered. Alam...