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Postal Police Union: Mail theft up, arrest numbers down

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Frank Albergo, president of the Postal Police Officers union, referred to the current state of mail theft as an "epidemic" as we head into the holidays."That means people are going to be stealing more money, more checks, more gift cards," he said. Postal police, who used to combat mail theft, have had limited power for years According to the latest report from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, there have been 109 robbery arrests related to postal crime and 530 mail theft arrests.The agency also said in a statement that it delivers millions of checks, credit cards and merchandise safely each year and that "we are currently entering the holiday shopping season, which means additional packages will be delivered in the next weeks. Those eagerly awaited packages are, unfortunately, also attractive to thieves."Albergo shared with KXAN that mail theft arrests fell by 49% from 2018 to 2022 and mail theft convictions dropped 43%.Mail theft impacting Central TexansRob Pa...

Fatal crash reported on U.S. Hwy. 281 in Blanco County

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

BLANCO COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- The Burnet County Sheriff's Office is assisting with traffic control following a fatal crash on U.S. Hwy. 281 in Blanco County, just south of Burnet County.Officials said in a Facebook post just after 8 p.m. Wednesday traffic is extremely delayed in the area. As of 8 p.m., there was no ETA on when the roads would be cleared.Both the Blanco County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety are investigating the crash. Drivers are asked to avoid the area if possible.

Dru Sjodin’s mom reflects on 20 years without her child — and about her life as an advocate

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

Linda Walker, sitting in her home in rural Pequot Lakes, Minn., on Nov. 15, 2023, holds one of the last pottery pieces her daughter, Dru Sjodin, made in 2003 at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Dru loved elephants, and Walker pointed out the tiny bird atop the top hat on the piece she keeps on a shelf in a room in her home. (Nancy Vogt / Forum News Service)In Loving Memory of DruAs you wereYou will always beTreasured foreverIn our memoryThose words are inscribed on a marble plaque on the ground outside Linda Walker’s longtime home in rural Pequot Lakes, Minn., in memory of her daughter.Walker vividly recalls Nov. 22, 2003 — the day her 22-year-old daughter, Dru Sjodin, went missing.Dru Sjodin, slain University of North Dakota student. (Courtesy photo)“I was here at home. I got a call from who at that time was Dru’s boyfriend, Chris (Lang), saying that something was wrong,” Walker said while sitting in her kitchen.“It was the first Thanksgiving that my entire fami...

NYS Supreme Court upholds 2017 murder conviction

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The New York State Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of Edward Mero. He was found guilty in 2017 of killing his former roommate, Megan Cunningham, and Shelby Countermine, of Schenectady. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! He was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. The defense argued unsuccessfully that the two cases should not have been tried together. The victims' deaths happened about two years apart.An Albany County Supreme Court judge also upheld Mero's conviction in 2020.

Hochul: Vehicle explosion at Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls not act of terrorism

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) – All four international border crossings between the United States and Canada in Western New York were closed for approximately five hours Wednesday due to a vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge that killed two passengers.Sources told News 4 and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul later confirmed that the incident is not believed to be an act of terrorism, countering what some national outlets reported earlier Wednesday. See the video: Car goes airborne at Rainbow Bridge before explosion Thick smoke could be seen at the border following the explosion. Hochul said the car was moving at a very high rate of speed through downtown Niagara Falls, New York just before 11:30 a.m. when it hit a median on Niagara Street and went airborne. The vehicle flew through the air and crashed into a Customs and Border Patrol booth before exploding. "I want to be very, very clear to Americans and New Yorkers," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a press conference Wednesday eveni...

Nuggets lose late to Orlando Magic despite Nikola Jokic’s triple-double, continuing shaky road trip

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. — Life on the road continues to be hard on the Nuggets, even around the holidays.Paolo Banchero made a lucky-bounce 3-pointer with just under two minutes remaining for a 118-115 lead, and Denver never caught up in a 124-119 loss to the scrappy Magic on Wednesday night at Amway Center.Nikola Jokic notched a 30-point, 13-rebound, 12-assist night that was a triple-double with more than six minutes left. He also had three steals and just one turnover.The Magic went on an 8-0 run midway through the fourth to take a 112-108 lead with 3:36 remaining. The Nuggets answered with an excellent after-timeout play to get Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a three. Aaron Gordon scored a driving bucket on the next possession to give Denver the lead back and prompt an Orlando timeout.The Nuggets got a stop trailing 118-115 and called their penultimate timeout with 27.3 left, still trailing by the same score. They designed a post-up for Jokic instead of trying to immediately tie it, and he ...

2.5 magnitude quake hits 7 miles northwest of Malibu

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

An earthquake measuring 2.5 in magnitude struck just seven miles northwest of Malibu Wednesday night, according to the United States Geological Survey.  The temblor hit at 6:04 p.m. at a depth of a little more than six-and-half miles.  (United States Geological Survey)While there were no immediate reports of damage, some residents in Westlake Village and Newbury Park took to X, formerly Twitter, to say that they felt the jolt.   KTLA Interactive Earthquake Map Hundreds of earthquakes are recorded in California each year. Most are extremely minor, however, dozens measure over 3.0 magnitude. According to the California Department of Conservation, the strongest quake ever recorded in the Golden State measured 7.9 magnitude and struck Fort Tejon on Jan. 9, 1857. 

Three dead, three missing after Alaska landslide

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

By Becky Bohrer, Mark Theissen and John Raby | Associated PressJUNEAU, Alaska — Three people were killed and three were missing after a landslide barreled down a heavily forested, rain-soaked mountainside and smashed into homes in a remote fishing community in southeast Alaska.The slide — estimated to be 450 feet (137 meters) wide — occurred about 9 p.m. Monday during a significant rain and windstorm near Wrangell, an island community of 2,000 people some 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of the state capital of Juneau.Rescue crews found the body of a girl in an initial search and late Tuesday the bodies of two adults were found by a drone operator. Searchers used a cadaver-sniffing dog and heat-sensing drones to search for two children and one adult unaccounted for after the disaster, while the Coast Guard and other vessels looked along a waterfront littered with rocks, trees and mud.Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said a woman who had been on the upper floor of a...

Suspects accused of robbing cannabis delivery driver arrested in Hercules

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

(KRON) -- Two people accused of robbing a cannabis delivery driver in Modesto were arrested in Hercules on Sunday, the Hercules Police Department said. Police received a call at 8:15 p.m. Sunday from a woman who claimed her dispensary's delivery driver was robbed, and the suspect vehicle was parked in front of a local bank. Suspects kidnap Amazon delivery driver in San Ramon, force him to withdraw cash: police The robbery happened in Modesto on Saturday, police said. The driver was allegedly held up at gunpoint and knifepoint by suspects who drove a Toyota Highlander. On Sunday, the dispensary owner saw the same Highlander in front of Chase Bank, at 4080 San Pablo Ave. HPD officers responded to the bank and detained both the driver and passenger. Officers then searched the vehicle and found stolen cannabis containers, a stolen tracking device, a ski mask, a knife and a pistol stolen out of Mississippi, police said. Both the driver and passenger were arrested on suspicion of armed...

Sam Altman returns as CEO of OpenAI, parent company of ChatGPT

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:39:07 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Sam Altman has returned as CEO of OpenAI just days after he was shockingly fired, the company announced Monday night. OpenAI announced the move on social media, and Altman confirmed it. Altman was ousted on Nov. 17 after a review by the company board concluded that he “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.” Now, Altman is back as CEO. Cruise co-founder, CEO Kyle Vogt resigns "We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this," OpenAI wrote.After he was ousted from AI, Altman was hired by Microsoft, the company announced Monday. However, Altman said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella supported his return to OpenAI. "I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. When I decided to join msft (Microsoft) on Sun. evening, it was clear that was the best path ...