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Missing North Carolina girl found in Kirkwood, Missouri

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

KIRKWOOD, Mo. -- A missing teen from North Carolina was found safe Wednesday night in Kirkwood, Missouri. The Monroe Police Department says that Lauren Heath, 16, was found in a vehicle near the Lowes parking lot and Meachum Park. Convicted sex offender Christopher James Porter, 30, was in the driver's seat.Christopher James PorterHeath was reported missing on October 13 from Monroe, North Carolina. She was last seen on a doorbell camera leaving her home. Billboards were put up to help find her last week.Kirkwood police were investigating a report of a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot near I-44 on October 25. A vehicle was not parked in a place where people normally park in the 1200 block of South Kirkwood. Officers struck up a conversation with the driver to ask why the vehicle was parked there. During the course of the encounter, they discovered that the girl with the man in the vehicle was not related to him. She was missing from Monroe, North Carolina. Kirkwood police ar...

Taylor Swift wears '87' bracelet made by Missouri business

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

JOPLIN, Mo. — The excitement of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce continues on, this time with a connection to southwest Missouri. It involves a local bracelet retail store."It's probably one of our most popular style beads," said Misha Wilson, Erimish Co-Owner.It's the bracelet getting all the attention lately, spotted on pop star Taylor Swift's wrist during the last Chiefs game."It's just a simple gold bead that just had a number on it with some hearts," said Wilson.But it's not just any number; it's Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce's jersey number, 87. Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes show off new handshake "It's been kind of a whirlwind," said Wilson.Owners of Joplin-based Erimish Bracelet say it was made custom for Taylor."We just kind of started figuring this out yesterday morning. Sales have been great, we've sold more than we could ever imagine of just that single bracelet," said Wilson.So, how did they figure out it was Erimish?Owner Misha Wilson and her sister Erica say they'r...

Missouri court denies DeValkenaere's appeal bond motion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hours after former Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere was transferred from the Platte County Jail to the Missouri Department of Corrections in St. Joseph, a court denied his motion to reinstate an appeal bond, which means he'll remain behind bars pending action from Jefferson City. DeValkenaere is serving a six-year prison sentence for shooting and killing Cameron Lamb in 2019, a judge finding him guilty during a bench trial of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in 2021. Missouri residents react to ex-KCPD detective DeValkenaere clemency application He and his partner were called to Lamb’s neighborhood for a traffic incident near East 41st Street and College Avenue on Dec. 13, 2019. A police helicopter saw a red pickup, believed to have been involved in the incident, turn into Lamb’s garage. The two officers followed Lamb onto his property, and DeValkenaere admitted to shooting Lamb, but said he was protecting his partner.DeValkenaer...

Join the howl-iday fun at Barktoberfest in St. Louis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Join the Humane Society of Missouri and bring a best-dressed pet for the Barktoberfest happening today, October 26 at 5:30 p.m., a fun-filled festival dedicated to furry friends. This pet-friendly celebration and costume contest kick off Halloween weekend.The Humane Society of Missouri's Young Friends are in charge of organizing this year's event, which has a people-and-pet costume contest with prizes like pet portraits, Blues tickets and more. The event is being today from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Urban Chestnut Brewing Co., 3229 Washington Avenue. The costume contest features several categories:Owner/Pet Look-a-LikeBest EnsembleBest DuoMost CreativeTickets are priced at $25 and can be purchased at hsmo.org/barktoberfest or at the event's entrance on the day. Each ticket includes entry to the Biergarten, one free drink voucher, and participation in the costume contest.Every dollar raised at this event goes to support HSMO's Animal Cruelty Fund, which is dedicated to inves...

Lucky Double Play winner takes home $50,000 in Powerball

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A Powerball player won $50,000 with Double Play. They may not have scored the winning ticket on October 7, but they got another shot at winning in a second drawing.The ticket matched four out of five white-ball numbers, plus the Powerball, in the Double Play drawing, resulting in a $50,000 prize. This lucky ticket was purchased at the QuikTrip at 604 Big Bend Road, in St. Louis. Multiple people reported dead, injured in Maine shootings Double Play lets players enter the same Powerball numbers into a second drawing following the main Powerball drawing. The winning Double Play numbers for October 7 were 13, 31, 51, 55, and 66, with the Powerball being 23.The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday is estimated at $100 million.Winning the jackpot is an incredibly slim chance, at one in 292,201,338. On the other hand, a $50,000 win without or without using Double Play is the same; the odds are one in 913,130.

Missouri lottery player wins $1,000 a week for life

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – A lottery winner in Independence, Missouri, has won a $1,000-per-week-for-life prize but has not yet come forward to claim the winnings. Double check your ticket if you purchased it at the Casey’s on East 23rd Street. The winning Cash4Life ticket, which matched all five white-ball numbers drawn—11, 16, 21, 25, and 45—and the Cash Ball number (2), was sold for the October 25 drawing. The ticket holder has two options for claiming their prize: $52,000 annually for life, after taxes, or a lump-sum payment of $1 million, after taxes. The odds of winning $1,000 per day for life are one in 21,846,048. The chances of winning, like this fortunate individual did, $1,000 per week for life are one in 7,282,016. 

With an eerie green glow, uranium glass jewelry is the ultimate Halloween accessory

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

Halloween is the busy season for Whitney Granger’s glow-in-the-dark jewelry business.But we’re not talking about the cheap, plastic glow-stick-type of goods that light up for just a few hours before fading. Rather, Granger is a collector of rare, vintage uranium glass jewelry, which, even in the daylight, has a subtle glow. But the real party trick happens under a black light, when the rings, necklaces and brooches in her curio cabinet glow so neon green that they almost seem supernatural.Whitney Granger’s curio cabinet is filled with uranium glass jewelry that glows in the dark. (Provided by Whitney Granger)“People are like ‘Ooh, I like your ring,’ and then you can say ‘watch this,’ and pull out a black light and show them how it glows. It has this neon quality to it that makes it pop,” said Granger, a Longmont jewelry artist who sells uranium glass jewelry on her Etsy shop StoryShapedStudios and often wears the necklaces, bracelets and rings from her own 150-piece personal c...

Two Injured after Multi-Vehicle Collision on West Loop 289 [Lubbock, TX]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

Three-Vehicle Crash on Spur 327 Left Two Individuals WoundedLUBBOCK, TX (October 26, 2023) – On Monday late afternoon, two people were injured after a multi-vehicle collision on West Loop 289.Just before 6 p.m. on October 2nd at West Loop 289 near Spur 327, the incident happened.According to the officers, they have responded to a report of a car collision involving three vehicles.Two unidentified individuals suffered moderate and minor injuries, police said. No further information on the description of the vehicles, identities of victims, and reason for the collision has been released.Authorities blocked off the area for investigation and clean up for several hours. However, the roadway has since been reopened to the public.Reckless driving always results in injuries. If you’re behind the wheel, pay full attention to the road and your surroundings. Do not engage in any non-driving activity which creates a potential distraction. You can help prevent an accident by abiding by al...

Tip jar argument ends in shooting outside downtown Oakland restaurant

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

OAKLAND — A suspect in a Wednesday afternoon non-injury shooting in downtown Oakland was arrested within minutes several blocks away, authorities said.The shooting happened about 1:39 p.m. Wednesday in the 400 block of 13th Street between Broadway and Franklin Street.Police said an employee at a restaurant in the area was arguing with another person who had tried to take tip jar money.The suspect, identified by police as a 45-year-old man, apparently tried to intervene and got into an argument with the restaurant employee, police said.The suspect then pulled a pistol, said he was going to kill the worker and fired one shot at him, police said. The bullet struck the employee’s shoe, authorities said.A nearby surveillance camera captured the shooting.The suspect then fled on foot, as numerous police officers raced to the scene.The suspect was eventually arrested at gunpoint in the 1800 block of Webster Street at about 1:50 p.m.The gun police believe was used in the shootin...

Harassment against Jews, Muslims on the rise since Hamas attacks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:38:10 GMT

By Claudia Lauer | Associated PressMuslim and Jewish civil rights groups say they’ve seen large increases in reports of harassment, bias and sometimes physical assaults against members of their communities since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.The Anti-Defamation League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations saw increases in reported instances, many involving violence or threats against protesters at rallies in support of Israel or in support of Palestinians over the last two weeks as war broke out between Israel and Hamas. Other attacks and harassment reported by the groups were directed at random Muslim or Jewish people in public.A spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Wednesday that the organization’s chapters and national office had received 774 reports of bias-related acts between Oct. 7 and Oct. 24. The national headquarters had 110 direct reports during that period, compared to 63 for all of August. The council’s leaders believe it&...