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Man gets life sentence in 2022 Burnet murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

BURNET COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A jury convicted a man and he received a life sentence in state prison Aug. 9 in connection with a 2022 murder in Burnet County.In addition to the sentence, court documents showed 58-year-old Daniel Keith Smith, Sr. must also pay $10,000 in fines and $795 in restitution. PAST COVERAGE: Man stabbed multiple times after fight in Burnet Smith was charged in the May 8, 2022, death of 55-year-old John Hawkins, who was stabbed multiple times during a fight in the 600 block of Buchanan Drive.A charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon was also dismissed the day of his conviction and sentencing, according to court documents.Prior to his sentencing, Smith remained in the Burnet County jail on bonds of nearly $2 million.

Concordia University expands outreach to low-income students, covering gap between Pell Grant, tuition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

As a new enrollee at Concordia University in St. Paul, first-year student Arleth Pacheco Ramirez has already taken in a football game, signed up for a series of science classes and checked out the psychology club on campus — all opportunities made possible by her tuition-free enrollment.Concordia’s growing efforts to recruit low-income young people from the Twin Cities, including those who are the first in their family to go to college, include an expanded financial aid program for Pell Grant-eligible students, one that took Pacheco Ramirez entirely by surprise.In fact, in her final days at Irondale High School in New Brighton, Pacheco Ramirez had given up on the idea of immediately matriculating into a four-year college, given the cost. Her mother, who suffers from a permanent disability, can’t work and her father holds two jobs to make ends meet as a device assembler and restaurant cook. Neither her parents nor her older sibling attended college.But Pacheco Ramir...

Timberwolves bringing back ‘Old Shep’ logo with retro jerseys and court for 35th anniversary season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

Old Shep is back and ready to howl.The Timberwolves will feature jerseys and a court for select home games this year that pay homage to their 1989 season as part of their 35-year anniversary campaign this season.The jerseys resemble the design of the Timberwolves’ first jerseys, including the light blue and light green colors. The court features a matching color scheme, along with Old Shep — the team’s first logo — featured prominently at center court.https://www.twincities.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ClassicJerseyLaunch_HeroVideo.mp4The team will first don the “new” uniforms for a game on Nov. 8, when Minnesota hosts New Orleans on the anniversary of the franchise’s 1989 home opener. The jerseys will be worn 11 times at Target Center this season, and 10 times on the road.The immediate response to Friday’s jersey reveal was almost unanimously positive, as fans have pleaded for a return to the Old Shep logo and color scheme for years...

First week of Jacob Klein trial lays out evidence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Witness testimony continued in the New Scotland murder trial Sept. 22. Jacob Klein is accused of killing Philip Rabadi in his home back in April 2022. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! During the first week of testimony, we learned more about the process investigators took to obtain a large amount of evidence in this case. Criminal Investigators, from the Albany County District Attorney's Office, testified about the different locations and methods they used to obtain surveillance video around New Scotland, Miller Road and Central Avenue in Albany. On Sept. 21, we heard from Uber drivers, business representatives and residents near the Airbnb Klein stayed at, who also submitted their surveillance footage to investigators. Police investigate shooting at Homewood Suites Investigators said they reviewed license plate readers and badge swipes at St. Peter's Hospital, where Rabadi and his wife, Elana Radin,...

Colorado library district to pay fired librarian $250,000, create more inclusive policies in settlement of civil rights probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

A Weld County library district has agreed to pay $250,000 to a librarian it fired two years ago after she objected to the cancellation of programs for youth of color and LGBTQ teens, part of a legal settlement with the state that also requires the district to revise its policies to be more inclusive.Librarian Brooky Parks’ attorney Iris Halpern called the outcome of the Colorado Civil Rights Division’s investigation of High Plains Library District a “groundbreaking settlement,” saying it is among the first public settlements in the nation amid a wave of conservative pushback against LGBTQ- and race-related library books and programming.The Colorado Civil Rights Commission voted to accept the settlement at its monthly public meeting Friday.“There is a massive move of these terminations happening to librarians and educators,” Halpern told The Denver Post. “We’re all hoping this gets people to step back and reframe the issue and think about wha...

Keeler: CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders just had his Tom Brady moment. To beat Oregon, he’ll need some Lamar Jackson ones, too.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

EUGENE, Ore. — If a cat’s got nine lives, Shedeur Sanders, charming and charmed, has at least 18 to spare. Good thing, given that the Pac-12’s collecting with interest this fall.“If he’s going to continue to play at a high level, one of the things he needs to do, and he started to do it against CSU, is taking off and running,” Jesse Palmer, the former Florida QB and current ESPN analyst, told me over the phone a few days back.“He’s not the most dynamic runner at the quarterback position in the country. But if you can get four or five yards, limit the distance on third down, protect yourself and get out of bounds, I think that’ll be a key thing for (the Oregon) game Saturday and that’s a big key for him this season.”The Ducks’ defensive line outweighs CSU’s by an average of 22 pounds per dude. Shedeur does Tom Brady better than Tom Brady does Tom Brady these days. But to get out of Autzen Stadium in one piece, yo...

VIDEO: Florida police officer taunts onlookers during arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

The head of a Florida chapter of the NAACP is calling for a Tampa police officer to be fired after the release of body camera video from an incident that took place in June 2022.The video was recorded on body camera belonging to Officer Dukagjin Maxhuni, a 10-year veteran of the department, during an arrest outside of a store in Ybor Heights, KTLA sister station WFLA reports. In the video, the suspect can be seen running toward Maxhuni while trying to avoid other officers attempting to take him into custody. Maxhuni and the suspect appear to collide, after which the suspect hits the ground. Deputy caught with more than 44 pounds of drugs, gun, RCSD says It's the words and actions of Maxhuni after the arrest that are now being called into question."That was one hell of a flying knee from me guys," the officer is heard yelling, indicating that he hit the suspect with his knee. "Hey, hey, we got him relax. That was one hell of a flying knee, I didn't even know I could do that."Maxhu...

Review: feminist farce ‘POTUS’ in Berkeley is trying too hard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

The Oval Office gets bent in the cartoonish political satire “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.”It should be noted that the president doesn’t actually appear in Selina Fillinger’s not-so-frothy feminist farce, which often falls flat in its regional premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. However, the point that the patriarchy is alive and well in American politics is well taken. In this over-the-topical Beltway spoof, seven badass women twist themselves into pretzels daily to make the commander-in-chief look like slightly less of a putz.Directed by Annie Tippe, this loopy lampoon tries far too hard to tickle the funny bone with its cheesy stock caricatures, nonstop profanity, and dated political zingers. There are numerous bawdy jokes, from phallic gags to a running bit about breastfeeding, but none of the vigorous vulgarity feels particularly edgy. The tart social commentary about gender bias also evokes more wry smiles than full-thrott...

Hayward man charged with carrying loaded pistol with silencer on BART train

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

OAKLAND — A Hayward man has been charged with four felonies and a misdemeanor for allegedly bringing a loaded pistol and a silencer with him on a BART train, court records show.The 23-year-old man was charged with four felonies related to the pistol and the silencer, and one misdemeanor charge for allegedly possessing a high capacity magazine. He was arrested Sept. 12 by two BART officers who were doing a foot patrol on a train that had just pulled into the East 12th Street Oakland station, police said.The officers noticed the man sitting under a cloud of marijuana smoke and holding a lit cannabis cigar in his hand. They searched a backpack next to him and found the gun, police said.The man pleaded not guilty on Sept. 14, and has since been released from jail, according to court records. His preliminary hearing has been set for Sept. 28.

Lahaina residents brace for what they’ll find when they return

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher | Associated PressHONOLULU — Soon after one of Maui’s Japanese Buddhist temples, the Lahaina Hongwanji Mission, burned in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, its resident minister was desperate to go back and see what remained.Six weeks later, he’s more hesitant.“Now I feel like I have to have mental preparation to go there,” the Rev. Ai Hironaka said. “I’m kind of afraid.”Hironaka and other Lahaina residents are grappling with a range of emotions as Maui authorities plan next week to begin allowing some on supervised visits back into the areas devastated by the Aug. 8 fire, which killed at least 97 people and demolished thousands of buildings.Lana Vierra is bracing to see the ruins of the home where she raised five children, a house that started with three bedrooms in 1991 and was expanded to six to accommodate her extended family as the cost of living in Hawaii soared.She’s been telling her ...