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DOJ alleges Texas developer targeted Hispanic borrowers in land sale scheme

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday its first predatory mortgage lending case.In conjunction with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), officials are suing Texas-based housing developer Colony Ridge for targeting thousands of Hispanic borrowers with false statements and predatory loans. "It often ended with families facing economic ruin,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “No home and shattered dreams.""What we uncovered was disturbing," said Rohit Chopra, the CFPB director."Colony Ridge operates as a one-stop shop for discriminatory lending," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke.The lawsuit accuses the developer and lender of baiting the Hispanic community on TikTok, exploiting language barriers and locking families into unaffordable loans for flood-prone land that does not include infrastructure for utilities."The impact of this unlawful, discriminatory and fraudulent scheme is devas...

Smithville ISD investigating alleged bus incident involving HS basketball players

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

SMITHVILLE, Texas (KXAN) -- Smithville Independent School District confirmed to KXAN Wednesday that district officials, along with the Smithville Police Department, are investigating an alleged incident involving several high school basketball players earlier this month. Smithville ISD said in a statement to KXAN the district has received "allegations of an incident involving several Smithville High School basketball players that occurred on one of our buses earlier this month." District officials added they wouldn't comment further on the alleged incident due to the ongoing investigation."The District is working actively with our families to ensure that any students who engaged in misconduct receive the due process they are entitled and disciplinary consequences as appropriate," school officials said in an emailed statement to KXAN. "Above all, we are committed to ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment for all our students and will be focused on providing support to stude...

Allred widens lead over Gutierrez in Texas Senate poll; Cruz leads both Democrats

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Rep. Colin Allred has increased his lead over State Rep. Roland Gutierrez, and several other candidates, in a new poll of the crowded Democratic primary field for U.S. Senate.Allred is the first choice for 28% of Democratic voters, according to the poll by the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project. The Dallas-area congressman has increased his share by seven percentage points since an October poll.State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, polled at 7% in the new poll, down from 10% in October. No other candidate received more than 3% support in either poll.Forty-eight percent of respondents said they didn't know who they would vote for if the election were held today or hadn't thought about it enough to form an opinion — up from 46% in October. Trump widens Texas lead in Republican primary poll, but loses ground in matchup vs. Biden Republican incumbent Ted Cruz will likely be his party's nominee in the 2024 election. He has held the Senate seat since 2...

Rosemount City Council to vote on Meta data center; some residents have concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, wants to build and operate a $700 million data center in Rosemount, but some residents are worried as a city council vote looms.The council will vote on the final site and building plan approval Thursday night. Some residents have expressed concerns about the environmental impacts and a lack of transparency from city officials due to a nondisclosure agreement and previous secrecy regarding the project, which was code named Project Bigfoot.“You signed a nondisclosure agreement with the buyer, which essentially shut the public that elected you out of the conversation,” said one Lakeville resident at the Dec. 5 city council meeting.Rosemount Mayor Jeff Weisensel has said code names are used to keep growth plans of large companies private to avoid impacting stock prices or informing competitors.The data center would be used to store computing and networking equipment “for the purpose of collecting, storing, processing, distributing, or allowing acce...

Gov. Tim Walz appoints Brad Lindsay to be commissioner of Veterans Affairs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

Gov. Tim Walz announced on Wednesday the appointment of Brad Lindsay to the post of commissioner of Veterans Affairs.Brad Lindsay was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz on Dec. 20, 2023 to serve as commissioner of Veterans Affairs. Lindsay has been serving as temporary commissioner since September with the retirement of Larry Herke. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs)Lindsay had served as temporary commissioner since September with the retirement of Larry Herke.“As a U.S. Army veteran with extensive experience serving Minnesota’s veterans and their families, I’m proud to appoint Brad Lindsay to this important role,” Walz said in a statement. “As a veterans affairs leader, he has worked tirelessly to end veteran homelessness, strengthen our veterans homes and cemeteries, and connect Minnesota’s veterans to the services and benefits they have earned.”Lindsay has served as the state Department of Veterans Affairs deputy commissioner of programs and services s...

Gophers men’s basketball benefit from Parker Fox’s spark off the bench

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

Like one of those confetti cannons, Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson is trying to bottle up Parker Fox and uncork him in the right moments.Fox has come off the bench in all 11 games this season and will likely do so again Thursday when Minnesota (8-3) plays host to Ball State (8-3) at 7 p.m. at Williams Arena.Johnson likes the spark and savvy Fox has provided for the U in his 12 minutes per game.“I love whenever you can bring experience off the bench and you know exactly what they are bringing,” Johnson said. “I know with Parker, if things are dull, at least you’ve got a guy who is going to bring juice, that’s going to bring an older presence and bring some grit off the bench, and you can rely off that.”Johnson also has to gauge when Fox, a sixth-year player, will benefit from a lighter load in practices due to two consecutive season-ending knee injuries.“There are times, without a doubt, I know it’s bothering him,” Johnson said.Johnson said Fox’s situation is better than ...

Push to make Child Victims Act permanent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)--Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal is the sponsor of the Child Victims Act which passed in 2019. The law provided a two-year lookback window for those sexually abused as child to sue their abuser"We arbitrarily set the age at which you have to go to court to age 55 in a civil trial, and 28 in a criminal," explained Rosenthal.She has authored a bill to make the legislation permanent, by getting rid of the statue of limitations in New York."The fact is, you might not be ready to come forward, so why should reaching the age 55 dictate that your chance of justice in the court is eliminated?"Roughly 11,000 lawsuits were filed under the Child Victims Act. Michael Polenberg, Safe Horizon Vice President of Government Affairs, supports this legislation saying it can take decades for some victims to process the trauma."Survivors need time to be able to understand what happened," said Polenberg. "Sexual abuse, I think, is quite unlike other kinds of crimes in that sense. The...

Michigan mom graduates college with 10-day-old baby tucked in gown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — When a Michigan woman walked across the graduation stage at Ferris State University, her 10-day-old baby girl was right there with her. She had planned to give birth to her second daughter three days after her commencement ceremony in Big Rapids on December 15, but the little one arrived earlier than expected. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Grace Szymchack, a Traverse City native, has spent the past six years raising a family and working toward her bachelor's degree in early childhood education. A week and a half before the ceremony, Szymchack had a C-section and welcomed her newborn, Annabelle, into the world. The mom remained adamant about attending her graduation after giving birth. "I’m like, ‘No, I’m feeling great, I want to go,'" she said. "I was very determined." Officer reunited with longtime K-9 partner after fighting Ohio city for ownership But like most new mothers, it was hard thinking about b...

Ohio officer reunited with longtime K-9 partner after fighting city for ownership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) — An Ohio police officer who recently switched departments can keep his longtime canine partner after city officials granted him ownership of the beloved canine. Now, he’s back home just in time for the holidays. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Igor, a German Shepherd, had worked alongside his handler Chad Hagan at the Shaker Police Department since 2018. In November, Hagan was ordered to surrender Igor to a kennel after accepting a job with another department.“The day Chad and I had to take him to the kennel was literally the worst day of our lives,” Hagan’s wife, Danielle, told NEWS10's sister station WJW. “I was crying. He was crying. Igor knew something was wrong.” Father dies saving 2-year-old daughter from oncoming driver When handlers leave the department, police dogs can often retire and live with them. However, since Igor is just over 6 years old, the department deemed him fit to serve for three to ...

Hawley blocks McConnell-backed nominees, escalating feud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:02 GMT

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is throwing a wrench into Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (Ky.) effort to confirm two former aides to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), escalating a feud between the first-term conservative senator and the veteran party leader.  Hawley informed McConnell in a letter Wednesday that he wants more time to vet the McConnell-backed nominees, who were slated to be approved by unanimous consent along with a slate of Biden nominees. “By agreeing to such a negotiated package in exchange for just a few Republican appointees you have personally deemed a priority, I believe we risk giving away too much,” Hawley wrote.  “If Republicans are planning to install dozens of Biden nominees for positions across the federal government — without a vote — in exchange for just a handful of our own selections, I want to be sure that we get our nominees right,” Hawley wrote, citing the nominations of Andrew Fe...