A judge ruled a crime victim can continue her civil rights lawsuit against former Calumet County Dist. Atty. Ken Kratz stemming from sexually suggestive text messages he sent in 2009. [...] Kratz was prosecuting Van Groll’s ex-boyfriend in a domestic abuse case when he sent the messages over a three-day period. In one of those texts, he called Van Groll a “tall, young, hot nymph.” In another, he asked, “Are you the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA?” Kratz asked for the lawsuit’s dismissal in April, arguing the “flirtatious text messages” weren’t sufficient to support Van Groll’s assertion that her constitutional rights were violated. Kratz further argued he’s immune from prosecution because the texts were sent in his role as a public official.
Kratz was prosecuting Van Groll’s ex-boyfriend in a domestic abuse case when he sent the messages over a three-day period. In one of those texts, he called Van Groll a “tall, young, hot nymph.” In another, he asked, “Are you the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA?”
Kratz asked for the lawsuit’s dismissal in April, arguing the “flirtatious text messages” weren’t sufficient to support Van Groll’s assertion that her constitutional rights were violated. Kratz further argued he’s immune from prosecution because the texts were sent in his role as a public official.
Barely half of all adults in the United States—a record low—are currently married, and the median age at first marriage has never been higher for brides (26.5 years) and grooms (28.7), according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census data.
Dozens of law enforcement officers trudged through soggy brush near a South Texas middle school Tuesday looking for casings and other evidence to help explain how two boys were shot while they were trying out for the school basketball team. Investigators have questioned three men who were found on adjacent ranchland after the shooting Monday evening. Two were practicing target shooting about a half mile from the school. A third was an illegal immigrant with an assault rifle who was trespassing on the property. The target shooters were released, but are still under investigation. The other man remained in custody. Investigators didn’t know if any of them fired the shots. [...] With no Texas law prohibiting hunting on private land near a school and high-powered rifles that can fire more than a mile, school officials said the most immediate way to protect students might be building a cinder-block wall around two sides of Harwell Middle School to protect it from flying bullets.
Investigators have questioned three men who were found on adjacent ranchland after the shooting Monday evening. Two were practicing target shooting about a half mile from the school. A third was an illegal immigrant with an assault rifle who was trespassing on the property. The target shooters were released, but are still under investigation. The other man remained in custody. Investigators didn’t know if any of them fired the shots. [...]
With no Texas law prohibiting hunting on private land near a school and high-powered rifles that can fire more than a mile, school officials said the most immediate way to protect students might be building a cinder-block wall around two sides of Harwell Middle School to protect it from flying bullets.
A man accused of firing shots at the White House in an attempt to kill President Barack Obama in November is scheduled to be back in court. Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez of Idaho is due in court for a hearing Wednesday. Ortega is accused of using an assault rifle to fire at the White House on the evening of Nov. 11, when Obama was out of town. One bullet smashed into a window of the living quarters of the executive mansion but was stopped by ballistic glass.
Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez of Idaho is due in court for a hearing Wednesday. Ortega is accused of using an assault rifle to fire at the White House on the evening of Nov. 11, when Obama was out of town. One bullet smashed into a window of the living quarters of the executive mansion but was stopped by ballistic glass.
Bert Schneider, the iconoclastic producer behind a trio of influential movies — "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces" and "The Last Picture Show" — that captured the rootlessness and discontent of the late 1960s and '70s and became symbols of a new era in Hollywood, has died. He was 78.
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