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APD officer to be retried on murder charge, Travis County DA says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Police Department officer Christopher Taylor will go on trial again, after facing two mistrials, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza told KXAN's Brianna Hollis. Taylor was charged with murder in the 2020 shooting death of Michael Ramos. Austin police officer’s murder trial ends in hung jury, mistrial Garza said he plans to fully retry Taylor's case. A pretrial hearing is set for Wednesday, Dec. 13.Less than a month ago, a second mistrial was declared in the case. Ken Ervin, one of Taylor's attorneys, told KXAN at the time, “In the event that they intend to do that [retry], obviously we will be ready, and we will try this case as many times as it takes to get a not guilty."“The idea that they have to go through another one of these, I think is really troubling to them and to me, but at the end of the day, the interest of justice demand that the District Attorney retry this case,” Austin Justice Coalition Policy Director Chris Harris said outside ...

Charges: Barber started Shoreview fire to get owner to move barbershop to Columbia Heights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

Barber Dennis Manning reached out to a colleague last month after he was forced out of the shop he ran in Columbia Heights for 22 years.Manning and Paul Vandeveer, who owns Pauly Ray’s Sports Barbershop in Shoreview, have known each other for about eight years. Vandeveer had rented a chair at Manning’s now-shuttered Sportsmen’s Barbers for four years before opening his own shop in 2017.Last week, Manning took Vandeveer up on his offer to rent a chair at Pauly Ray’s. Vandeveer went so far as to let Manning set up a few of his arcade games and put his old sign from Sportsmen’s outside the shop.Now, both are without a barbershop after Manning — on the second day on the job at Pauly Ray’s — intentionally set a fire inside the shop, which is now gutted and closed, criminal charges against the 55-year-old say.Manning, of Columbia Heights, is charged in Ramsey County District Court with first- and second-degree arson in connection with the Nov. 29 fire.Manning...

Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson practices fully for first time since hamstring injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson has taken a big step in his recovery process.After sustaining a hamstring injury on Oct. 8 during a home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Jefferson finally participated fully in practice for the Vikings on Wednesday at TCO Performance Center, paving the way for him to make his highly anticipated return to game action.It seems as if everything is in place for Jefferson to play on Sunday afternoon when the Vikings travel to play the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.Though he was designated for return from injured reserve on Nov. 8, Jefferson has been slowly progressing toward getting back on the field. He has been ramping things up over the past few weeks with the Vikings being cautious to not to rush their best player back.Now it appears to be only a matter of time. It’s worth noting that Jefferson is scheduled to talk to reporters on Thursday.Hockenson at full strengthYou’d never know simply by talking to Vikings tight end T.J....

“Why not spell it out?” Colorado justice asks as skeptical Supreme Court hears Donald Trump ballot challenge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

Colorado’s Supreme Court justices turned their skeptical eyes toward the case to keep former President Donald Trump off the state’s 2024 ballot Wednesday as they heard arguments over whether the Republican frontrunner’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, disqualified him from running again.The seven justices peppered both the plaintiffs in a high-profile lawsuit and Trump’s legal team with questions that examined whether the siege of the U.S. Capitol constituted an insurrection. They also probed the legal ability of the Colorado secretary of state to keep candidates off the ballot, the language of the 14th Amendment itself — which says insurrectionists can’t run for office — as well as whether Colorado can invoke that rule on its own.The provision at issue in the Civil War-era 14th Amendment was aimed at keeping Confederates away from federal power after the nation reunited. But its language doesn’t explicitly bar insurrectionists from the highe...

Sean Payton expecting robust Denver contingent Sunday in Los Angeles: “It’s nice when you have fans who travel like we do”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

The first game Sean Payton actually attended at SoFi Stadium was last year during his time working for Fox.Coincidentally, it came in Week 6 when the Broncos visited the Los Angeles Chargers.It’s a palace. A $5 billion crown jewel for Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke.But Payton said he came away surprised at one factor: The relatively large number of Broncos fans in attendance.“It was just a coincidence,” Payton said of his attendance at that game. “I was surprised — I don’t want to say it’s a newer fan base because it’s not, but they haven’t had a team in a while. There’s a number of things you can’t control.”Denver figures to have a strong contingent there again this weekend when the teams meet for the first time this season. The Broncos had similar last year in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, among other places. They also had a strong presence Sunday at Houston.In the end, of course, the Broncos still fell to the Texans. But Payton said the orange and blue was easy to notice....

Paraglider in critical condition after crash in north Boulder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

Emergency crews work to rescue an injured paraglider in north Boulder on Dec. 12, 2023. (Boulder Fire-Rescue)A man is in critical condition after crashing his paraglider in north Boulder Wednesday afternoon.The crash occurred at about 2 p.m. in the area of Sixth Street and Locust Avenue.A crew from Boulder Fire-Rescue found the injured man two-thirds of the way up Wonderland Hill. Emergency crews were able to transport the man down the hill. He was then taken by ambulance to Boulder Community Health’s Foothills Hospital.Officials said the paraglider sustained injuries to his right side and is in critical condition.“We are thankful for bystanders calling 911 in this incident,” said Boulder Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Mark Evans in a statement. “This individual needed the skill of first responders to rescue him from the side of Wonderland Hill and get him to the help that he needs quickly and efficiently. If you see an incident where someone is hurt or in danger, do not hesitate...

CU Buffs’ Coach Prime promotes analyst Vincent Dancy to assistant coaching role

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders didn’t take long and didn’t look far to find a new outside linebackers coach.During a video posted on YouTube by Thee Pregame Show on Wednesday, Sanders said that he has promoted analyst Vincent Dancy to replace Nick Williams, who left earlier this week to join the staff at Syracuse.“Watch what coach Dancy does this season,” Sanders said. “Oh, by the way, he’s your outside linebacker coach. Let’s run with that.”Related Articles CU Buffs coach Deion Sanders, Tracey Edmonds split after 12 years Keeler: This one’s for John! Colorado School of Mines QB John Matocha talks NCAA semis, John Elway helicopter tribute: “I’d do it again.” Colorado School of Mines semifinal preview: Orediggers one win away from returning to Division II national championship Colorado legend Darian Hagan leaving Buffs to coach at San Diego State Keeler: Deion Sanders, CU Buffs can do...

Men’s basketball: Loss of RJ Smith will force rotation tweaks for CU Buffs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

It is unclear exactly when RJ Smith might return to the Colorado rotation. But chances are, it won’t be in the near future.After two days off following Sunday’s home rout of Pepperdine, the CU men’s basketball team got back to work on Wednesday without Smith, who is sidelined indefinitely due to a lower leg issue.Already on the back end of the backcourt rotation, it isn’t a ton of minutes the Buffaloes will have to fill without Smith, who averaged 11.8 minutes off the bench through the first seven games. Still, someone will have to play those minutes, and as the Buffs set their sights on a Sunday date in Brooklyn, N.Y., against No. 15 Miami (noon MT, ESPN2), head coach Tad Boyle said the likely answer will be additional minutes for guard Julian Hammond III, as well as a cast of youngsters that includes redshirt freshman walk-on Harrison Carrington.“Every man just kind of moves up a rotation,” Boyle said. “Assane (Diop) and BD (Bangot Dak), even though they’re the same position, that...

Santa Barbara man arrested after punching stroller-pushing grandfather in Calabasas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

One day after security camera footage showed a man sucker-punch another man who was pushing his infant grandchild in a stroller in Calabasas on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said they arrested the attacker in Oxnard.The victim, a man in his 60s, called the LASD Tuesday evening to report the incident, which happened in the 4000 block of Lost Spring Road, a spokesperson confirmed. On Wednesday evening, the LASD announced they'd arrested 29-year-old Angel Sanchez Jr. in Oxnard on a charge of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. Thousands of Southern Californians targeted in ATM skimming theft A video of the attack posted on Neighbors and shared with KTLA had rattled the community.The clip showed the attacker walking up to the victim and hitting him squarely in the face with a left hook. The victim falls to the ground and the stroller, which contained the man's 10-month-old grandchild, tumbles over. His assailant then gets into a minivan par...

Six Flags planning to tear down Golden Bear Theatre

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

Six Flags Magic Mountain has filed a permit to tear down its Golden Bear Theater.The demolish permit was filed with Los Angeles County on Dec.5. The theatre, located across from Bugs Bunny World and near the Full Throttle Plaza, hasn’t been home to any major productions recently, according to Theme Park Insider. Six Flags Magic Mountain announces groundbreaking of California’s largest solar energy project The park occasionally uses the location for Fright Fest or during the fall when the Hallelujah Jubilee, a music festival featuring various Christian bands and performers, comes to town, according to theme park blogs.Some fans theorize that the demolishment could mean Six Flags is planning to build a new ride or expand one of its existing areas.