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Florida couple sued OceanGate CEO months before submersible went missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

WINTER PARK, Fla. (WFLA) – Months before an OceanGate Expeditions submersible went missing in the North Atlantic after embarking on a visit to see the wreckage of the Titanic, a Central Florida couple filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging fraud, according to documents.Since 2021, OceanGate has been taking tourists to the area of the Titanic wreck. The company's 21-foot submersible, Titan, was carrying five people when it went underwater and vanished Sunday. Winter Park couple Marc and Sharon Hagle had planned to visit the wreckage onboard the OceanGate sub in 2018. They allegedly paid over $200,000 to participate in the expedition. However, their trip was delayed, and the couple never went on the voyage. The couple said OceanGate kept delaying their trip and refused to give them a refund. Man who visited Titanic site: ‘No one ever said it was safe’ The Hagles' sued OceanGate's CEO Richard Stockton Rush for alleged fraud, saying his company "knowingly strung the...

7 Florida Persian cats with six-figure inheritance to be adopted soon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — You can call them South Tampa’s version of "The Aristocats."Seven Persian cats are now up for adoption at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay after their owner left behind an inheritance to care for them long after she passed away.CEO Sherry Silk said demand is high and her staff is reviewing about 100 adoption applications.She added they are looking for the purr-fect homes with owners who have experience with Persian cats. Morgan Wallen’s 2-year-old son bitten in the face by dog “It’s really unique isn't it, to have seven purebred Persian cats in the same room,” Silk said.(WFLA)(WFLA)(WFLA)(WFLA)(WFLA)Cleopatra, Goldfinger, Leo, Midnight, Napoleon, Snowball, and Squeaky still lived in 84-year-old Nancy Sauer’s $2.5 million South Tampa home for six months after she passed away.“She's certainly a cat lady,” Silk said. “I guess she's had cats all of her life. They were her four-legged family.”After a probate judge decided the cats should not be left in the empty hou...

Man charged with murder after stabbing in north Austin tent community, APD says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Wednesday, the Austin Police Department provided more details about a homicide that occurred at a tent community in north Austin Monday.Shortly before 3:30 a.m. Monday, APD officers responded to a report of a stabbing in the 1000 block of Rundberg Lane, according to an APD release.Austin Police investigate homicide off Rundberg Lane on June 19. (KXAN: Christian Marcelli) APD: Person of interest in custody amid homicide investigation Police arrived to the tent community and found an unidentified man who died from several stab wounds, the release said. Officers found Joshua Daniel, 41, a few feet from the man and detained him, according to police.According to APD investigators, Daniel stabbed the man several times and attempted to dispose of the body by dismemberment and burning.Daniel was arrested and booked into the Travis County Jail and charged with first-degree murder, according to police. MAP: Where have Austin’s homicides occurred in 2023? This is being...

Severe thunderstorms moving into the area following heat record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin set an unofficial heat index record Wednesday afternoon as "feels like" temperatures soared to 117°. An Excessive Heat Warning remains in effect through 9 p.m. Excessive Heat Warning in effect until 9 p.m. WednesdayStrong to severe thunderstorms are moving into the area, capable of producing large hail and damaging winds. Frequent lightning is a significant danger in many areas this evening as well.Evening and overnight severe weather threat (SPC)Austin FC fans heading to the 8:30 p.m. game Wednesday should keep an eye to the sky and heed official warnings if storms threaten.1-2" of rain is possible in the heavier storms as they bring brief, welcome heat relief tonight. BLOG: If June is this hot, what comes in July? A few isolated storms remain in the forecast Thursday and Friday, then even hotter weather is possible this weekend through next week. We may have to wait until the 4th of July for a weather pattern change that cools temperatures.Tracking the tr...

Citing mental health concerns, Texas to allow chaplains as uncertified school counselors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 763 into law on Sunday, which will permit school districts to use school safety funding to hire chaplains or allow them to volunteer in public schools.Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-GalvestonSen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, authored the bill, pitching it as a way to help public schools meet the need for "additional qualified individuals to counsel their students.""The bill will allow the important role chaplains serve for pastoral care and representing God’s presence within our public schools," wrote Middleton on Twitter in April about his bill.The law does not require chaplains to have any certification, unlike school counselors, who are required to hold a certification from the State Board for Educator Certification. In order to counsel children in Texas public schools, a prospective counselor must:Complete a state-approved Educator Preparation Program for school counseling;Hold a master's degree from an accredited institution; a...

Austin firefighters dealing with vehicles with no AC as temperatures soar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The extreme heat to start the summer presents extra hurdles for Austin firefighters with some dealing with no AC on their vehicles.It's a problem the city said they are working to get things up and running, but firefighters tell us some broken AC's have taken a long time to get fixed."It is very difficult," said Austin Firefighter Association president, Bob Nicks. "It is a demanding job."Nicks said there are quite a few AFD vehicles without AC and it's been that way for a while."These folks are making emergency calls, they are running apparatus many times without AC," said Nicks.Nicks said he has received phone calls and text messages about the ongoing AC issues."Engine 1, engine 35, engine 48, quint 50 no AC, engine 11 rear of the cab no AC, engine 49 no AC since last year," said Nicks as he read over a message someone sent to him.A spokesperson for the City's Fleet Mobility Services department tells us they have 21 total AFD units with AC issues. Heat exhaustion ...

Rene Ramirez, 'The Galloping Gaucho' for the Longhorns in the late 1950s, dies at 85

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Rene Ramirez, a Texas Athletics Hall of Honor member and halfback for the Longhorns football team in the late 1950s, died Tuesday, his family announced. He was 85 years old.Family members said Ramirez passed "surrounded by friends and family" at his home in McAllen after battling a long illness.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/newsletters"He was surrounded by people he loved, and until the day he died, everything was Hook ‘em Horns, Hook ‘em Horns," his daughter Teresa Castillo said. "When he would have a good day, we’d sing him and play UT band songs, and he would just light up."Ramirez, nicknamed "Tha Galloping Gaucho," was one of Darrell Royal's first recruits when he took over the Longhorns in 1957 and one of the first Mexican-Americans to play football at Texas. As a halfback in Royal's wishbone offense, Ramirez was a first-team all-Southwest Conference perfor...

St. Paul City Council OKs $465,000 settlement with woman bit by dog at animal control facility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

Sara Romdenne walked into the St. Paul Animal Control shelter to pick up a pit bull with the intention of bringing it to a foster home and saving it from euthanasia. Instead, according to Romdenne’s attorney, the dog bit off her nose, requiring eight facial reconstructive surgeries in the past three years, with more to come.The dog was euthanized anyway, and Romdenne – executive director and founder of the UnbreakaBULL Pit Bull Rescue – threatened to file suit against the city. Under state statute, a person or entity who possesses a dog is strictly liable for any injuries caused by the dog.On Wednesday, the St. Paul City Council avoided legal action by approving a $465,000 settlement with Romdenne and her attorneys. There was no public discussion at the council meeting, despite the pay-out totaling one of the larger civil settlements in recent years. The decision followed a closed-door council meeting on April 26 dedicated to her pending lawsuit.Her attorney, Gus Nicklow with the la...

Nancy Jacobson: Democrats and Republicans met to subvert a third-party option. So much for caring about what voters want

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

Last week it was reported that a group of leading Democratic strategists and former officials — including President Joe Biden’s former chief of staff — met recently with anti-Trump Republicans to hatch a plan to “subvert” a third-option for the 2024 presidential race from the group No Labels, which I lead.To be clear, this was not a meeting about how to beat No Labels on the merits (which we would welcome). Rather, it was a meeting about how to find and exploit legal technicalities, silence supporters interested in our approach and raise money for a campaign against us.This collusion between leading members of the two parties is, in truth, not all that surprising. It proves what many of us have been saying for years: that instead of working together to solve actual problems, these leaders and operatives are aligned only when it comes to protecting their duopoly in a bitterly polarized country.But Americans want to see more choices. A record number of vo...

What to know if you’re headed to see Taylor Swift this weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:09 GMT

The biggest pop music tour of the century lands in Minneapolis on Friday when Taylor Swift headlines two sold-out nights at U.S. Bank Stadium.The tour, which kicked off March 17 in Arizona, has broken numerous records and sold more than 2.4 million tickets the day they went on sale in November. More than 100 shows are scheduled on five continents and will keep Swift on the road through next summer.Ross Raihala“There’s nothing in history to compare,” wrote Rob Sheffield in Rolling Stone. “This is her best tour ever, by an absurd margin.”If you’re headed to one of the shows, or are still looking for tickets, here’s what you need to know.TicketsTickets sold so quickly, Ticketmaster’s website crashed. Public outcry has led to multiple congressional inquires, including calls to break up the Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly. As of Wednesday, scalper sites had seats starting at $1,000, and that’s for the 300 level in a building notorious for its poor so...