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Family of St. Louis soldier mourns loss after hit-and-run in Texas

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis family is heartbroken after a hit-and-run in Texas early Sunday morning killed a young army soldier and soon-to-be father of four.Eric Rucker was a 29-year-old staff sergeant in the U.S. Army based at Fort Cavazos, previously in Fort Hood.Originally from St. Louis, his pregnant wife and three young children had moved back home a few months ago ahead of Rucker, who had one more deployment.However, Sunday at 2:30 a.m., a tragedy changed their plans forever."He was riding with a group of his friends on their motorcycles," said Katie Giesler, Rucker's aunt. "One of his friends up ahead, his hat blew off, so Eric and another friend of his turned around to get it, and then Eric got off his bike to get it, and that's when he was hit." Police tie 12-year-old girl to overnight crime spree He died instantly at the scene."They took a soldier away from fighting for our country, we all loved him," Giesler said. "They took my sister's baby away, and they took for who now...

Violent twist follows parents’ intervention on daughter’s Snapchat sessions

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – A warning for parents after an unexpected twist following an online encounter between teens.A St. Charles County mom and dad say they learned their daughter was being lured by someone older than the age of 14 - that he’d claimed. The suspect reportedly rammed the parents’ car when confronted.It reportedly went down on the corner of Northwood Drive and Barberry Lane in O’Fallon, where two parents were trying to see who their 13-year-old daughter was trying to meet through Snapchat.Ian Kreitler and Andrea Dickherber’s daughter said she was going to walk to her aunt’s house nearby. Police tie 12-year-old girl to overnight crime spree “My youngest daughter came up to me and said, right after she left, she said she’s not going to her aunt’s,” Ian said. “She’s going to meet up with a 14-year-old boy.”Andrea said they got in their car and followed after their daughter.After catching up with her, they convinced their daughter to let them come along. So she got in...

Ex-Blues champs Pietrangelo, Barbashev win another Stanley Cup with Vegas

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

LAS VEGAS - Just four years ago, Alex Pietrangelo and Ivan Barbashev played key roles in helping one NHL franchise to their first Stanley Cup title. On Tuesday: Déjà vu.The Vegas Golden Knights secured their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history with a Game 5 Stanley Cup Final victory over the Florida Panthers. Police tie 12-year-old girl to overnight crime spree Pietrangelo and Barbashev, two key players in the Golden Knights' run, earned their second Stanley Cup titles in five seasons. Both also played pivotal roles for the St. Louis Blues in 2019. Pietrangelo, now 33 years old, has provided reliable defense that helped him captain the Blues in a demanding 2019 schedule. The experience proved valuable. He had one goal and eight assists with a plus-8 plus/minus rating in 20 games while averaging around 23 minutes of ice time. He’s also one of three Golden Knights with at least 50 blocks in playoffs, helping ease the workload for Vegas goalie Adin Hill.Barbashev, no...

Neighborhood concerns rise about man living in car due to his past

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Neighborhood concerns have surfaced about a man living in his car in the Central West End. Kenneth Howard, 57, is on parole for murder. He said that area residents should not be alarmed.Neighborhood security officers agree.Howard was convicted of second-degree murder, burglary, and armed criminal action in late 1997 in St. Charles County Court. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 100 years.“I’m a good worker, got good hands,” he said, standing next to his car, a PT Cruiser, which is his home.Howard knows there are neighborhood concerns about him and his past.“I should be the least of their worries,” he said. “I would love if somebody has a house they needed fixed up and needed cleaned up and just let me live there and let me fix it for and stuff, and that would be my rent for a while. Then, I’ll go on, and move out once I get a place for me. That would be great. That would kind of give me a hand up.” Police tie 12-year-old girl to overnight crime spree “He actually...

Tower Grove Park breaks ground on two basketball courts

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

ST. LOUIS - On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, 92-year-old Art Stauder is painting in Tower Grove Park."I've been doing it about 15 or 17 years," he said. Stauder paints at the park once or twice a year with its beauty surrounding him and his painting supplies. "We usually come and paint some of the lily pads when those are blooming and the ruins of the southern hotel," he said.One area of the park, however, is not known for its beauty, at the corner of Arsenal and Bent. It’s in the process of getting a makeover as part of the park's 2017 master plan. Southwest Airlines offering 40% off flights if you book by Thursday "It's only about 100-day construction project," said David Lauber, director of development for Tower Grove Park. Stauder may be the only painter in the park Tuesday, but not the only artist.“Today, we broke ground on basketball courts,” Lauber said. "When you have more amenities like this, the more people can engage with the park."Lauber played an integral role ...

Rockies take down Red Sox in extra innings, again, for third straight win

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

If there was an opening for the role of closer for the Rockies, Pierce Johnson might’ve just snatched it right back.Facing a potentially disastrous collapse in the 10th inning of a back-and-forth affair at Fenway Park, the right-hander entered a one-run game with the tying run on first base and promptly recorded back-to-back outs to deliver a 7-6 Rockies victory Tuesday night.It was the Rockies’ third straight win on the heels of a six-game losing skid, and second straight extra-inning victory in the franchise’s first visit to Boston in four years.Colorado took a three-run lead in the top of the tenth off Randal Grichuk’s two-run double and Jurickson Profar’s sacrifice fly. But the Red Sox immediately got two back when Rafael Devers took right-hander Matt Carasiti deep with a 410-foot two-run blast in the bottom half — his second of the game.After recording an out, Carasiti walked Jarren Duran.That’s when Black turned to Johnson, who’d...

The Beatles are releasing their ‘last’ record. AI helped make it possible

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

By SYLVIA HUI and MARIA SHERMAN (Associated Press)LONDON (AP) — Artificial intelligence has been used to extract John Lennon’s voice from an old demo to create “the last Beatles record,” decades after the band broke up, Paul McCartney said Tuesday.McCartney, 80, told the BBC that the technology was used to separate the Beatles’ voices from background sounds during the making of director Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.” The “new” song is set to be released later this year, he said.Jackson was “able to extricate John’s voice from a ropey little bit of cassette and a piano,” McCartney told BBC radio. “He could separate them with AI, he’d tell the machine ‘That’s a voice, this is a guitar, lose the guitar’.”“So when we came to make what will be the last Beatles record, it was a demo that John had that we worked on,” he added. R...

Studio City school flooded from massive hydrant leak

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

Emergency crews responded to a school in Studio City flooded by a massive hydrant leak on Tuesday night.The fire hydrant was sheared by a vehicle before the driver left the Saint Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church around 5:30 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.Sky5 video showed a towering geyser gushing from the parking lot into nearby school buildings on the 3900 block of North Avenida Del Sol.Around five unoccupied classrooms were flooded by the raging waters, officials said. No one was on campus at the time, so no evacuations were ordered. Firefighters responded to a school in Studio City flooded from a sheared hydrant leak on June 13, 2023. (KTLA)Firefighters responded to a school in Studio City flooded from a sheared hydrant leak on June 13, 2023. (KTLA)Firefighters responded to a school in Studio City flooded from a sheared hydrant leak on June 13, 2023. (KTLA)Firefighters responded to a school in Studio City flooded from a sheared hydrant leak on J...

Crews deploying drone to combat mosquito population in Orange County

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

Health officials in Orange County are warning that this mosquito season could be the worst one in years thanks to the recent rains that soaked Southern California, and crews are now employing drones to help control the population.  Inspector Mike DuBose with the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District says they are already seeing more than double the number of mosquitoes in some areas compared to past seasons.  The pest-fighting drones, which won’t be deployed in residential neighborhoods, are especially effective in rural areas, according to DuBose.  “So, there’s many areas that are very sensitive," the inspector told KTLA. "These are sensitive habitats throughout Orange County, such as the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, Upper Newport Bay. We’re in bird nesting season, so in many areas, we can’t just simply walk into areas and disturb nests. For this reason, we can target those areas that we can’t easily walk into.”  Crews with the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control D...

Yankees’ Steinbrenner irked by low-spenders like A’s, says it’s ‘not good for the game’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:12:10 GMT

By RONALD BLUM (AP Baseball Writer)NEW YORK — The New York Yankees’ Hal Steinbrenner says he’s open to other baseball owners’ consideration of proposing a salary cap for 2027, but only if small-market teams like the Oakland Athletics are subject to a payroll floor, too.Major League Baseball owners are meeting in New York this week following renewed discussion of a potential salary cap and amid the possibility of the A’s relocating to Las Vegas. Oakland owner John Fisher is attempting to get $380 million in public funding from Nevada to construct a 30,000-seat ballpark in Las Vegas.The A’s began the day a big league-worst 18-50 and are averaging a big league-low 8,555 fans at Oakland Coliseum, though a season-high 27,759 showed up for a fan-led “reverse boycott” that was done to try and show the issues in Oakland were because of Fisher and not the fans.Players have long opposed any salary cap for fear it would curb overall spending on player contracts, and they would like...