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Austin Mayor Kirk Watson on dropping police indictments, mending relationship between city hall and APD

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Indictments against 17 Austin police officers tied to protests in 2020 will be dismissed, the Travis County District Attorney’s office and the City of Austin announced Monday. Thousands of people rallied in Austin in 2020, following the death of George Floyd and Mike Ramos, concerned about police violence. During those demonstrations, some officers fired “less lethal rounds,” sometimes called “beanbag rounds,” which left many bruised and bloodied. Grand juries indicted 21 officers for their use of force. The officers who had their indictments dismissed will be allowed back on duty. MORE: District attorney drops 17 police officer indictments tied to 2020 protests KXAN’s Jennifer Sanders sat down with Austin Mayor Kirk Watson to discuss why the city made this decision and what work is being done to improve the relationship between the city and the Austin Police Department. Below is a transcript of Sanders and the mayor’s conversation, edited for brevity and clar...

Wild douse Flames to improve to 4-0 since coaching change

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

CALGARY, Alberta — Whatever John Hynes and the Wild are cooking up, it seems to be sticking to the ribs.Minnesota Wild forward Brandon Duhaime, center, shoves Calgary Flames defenseman Ilya Solovyov, right, as goalie Daniel Vladar follows the play during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)Matt Boldy scored two goals, and Marcus Foligno scored his first goal since Oct. 26 as Minnesota extended its record under new head coach Hynes to 4-0 with a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday at Scotiabank Saddledome.It’s Minnesota’s first four-game winning streak since Feb. 26-March 4 last season and a good start to a four-game trip that continues Thursday and Friday at Vancouver and Edmonton, respectively, before finishing Sunday in Seattle.Filip Gustavsson stopped 28 shots, and Mats Zuccarello extended his points streak to 10 games with an assist on a Kirill Kaprizov goal just 45 seconds into th...

DFLer Bianca Virnig wins special election for vacant Dakota County House seat

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate Bianca Virnig won a three-way special election Tuesday for a vacant state House seat in the south Twin Cities suburbs.Virnig, a member of the Rosemount-Apple Valley Eagan school board, will represent Dakota County’s House District 52B in the upcoming legislative session. She received 58% of the vote, according to unofficial results Tuesday night.Mendota Heights Republican Cynthia Lonnquist got 41% of the vote and Eagan Libertarian Charles Kuchlenz received about 1%.Voters cast more than 6,600 ballots, according to initial results from the Secretary of State.With Virnig’s victory, the DFL will preserve its 70-64 majority in the state House of Representatives.House District 52B includes Eagan and Mendota Heights. The seat opened after Rep. Ruth Richardson, DFL-Mendota Heights, resigned from her seat in September. During her five years in the House, she was a key sponsor of paid family and medical leave legislation, which after years of effort be...

VA apologizes for delay in pension checks to local veteran, restores benefits

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

ST. LOUIS – After months of delays over missing Army pension checks and turning to FOX 2 for help, a St. Louis couple says the Veterans Affair Department has finally come through.Val Kovac and her husband, Army veteran Michael Martin Kovac, can finally breathe a sigh of relief after months of frustration. Val contacted FOX 2 after the couple hadn’t received Michael’s pension check in five months.The couple lives in an assisted living center in south St. Louis and needs that money for essentials.One day after sharing their story with the public, FOX 2 got a U.S. Senator involved for good measure. On Tuesday, the VA admitted its mistake and agreed to make good with the Kovacs.“I'm flabbergasted! I'm so excited! I can't believe that you got this accomplished in such a short amount of time!” Val said.FOX 2 contacted the VA facility at Jefferson Barracks in south St. Louis County. They coordinated with their counterparts in Washington, D.C. In addition, we reached out to U.S. Senator Eri...

Trump declines to rule out abusing power to seek retribution if he returns to the White House

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump declined to rule out abusing power if he returns to the White House after Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity asked him Tuesday to respond to growing Democratic criticism of his rhetoric.The GOP presidential front-runner has talked about targeting his rivals — referring to them as “vermin” — and vowed to seek retribution if he wins a second term for what he argues are politically motivated prosecutions against him. As Trump has dominated the Republican presidential primary, President Joe Biden has stepped up his own warnings, contending Trump is “ determined to destroy American democracy.”“Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?" Hannity asked Trump in the interview taped in Davenport, Iowa.“Except for day one," Trump responded. “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.”Trump then repeated his assertion. “I love this guy,” he said of the Fo...

Manhunt underway for 2nd Clayton homicide suspect

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

CLAYTON, Mo. - The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis says it has charged a second shooter in the shocking early morning Clayton homicide from last month. The shooting happened near the busy intersection of Hanley Road and Wydown Boulevard. Neighbors said Tuesday they were relieved to know that police have at least identified a second suspect and hope it gets the family one step closer to finding justice.The major case squad announced Tuesday that they’ve charged Darrion Johnson, 18, with second-degree murder for killing Clayton resident Joshua Harris, 41, on Nov. 13. The shooting marked Clayton’s first homicide in nearly two decades.It’s a tragedy that still has some residents shaken up. Li Zhang, who lives right off of Wydown Boulevard, said a shooting happening in that particular area of Clayton was especially concerning.“A lot of people go running in the mornings, and when we heard about that, we felt it was really scary,” Zhang said. Man makes dash for it as city tries tow...

St. Louis officer shortage surpasses 300 as top cop hauls in $275k

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

ST. LOUIS – As St. Louis cops quit, a new report reveals the police chief's salary is the highest among law enforcement in the metro area.According to a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) spokesman, there are 312 vacancies out of the department's 1,224 commissioned positions.St. Louis Police Officers' Association Business Manager Joe Steiger blames red tape across the city's government for getting new officers hired.“We have applicants that come in here, and it takes so long for them to go through the process and get over to the police department that they are being picked off by other departments in the meantime," he said.Steiger said the gap will only grow as a large chunk of officers is eligible to retire in the next year or two. He said it's time for St. Louis to step up its recruiting game."I had a conversation with the chief last week about this," he said. "I know he has some ideas to try and do some new recruiting efforts." Close Thanks for...

Tallest menorah west of Mississippi coming to Kiener Plaza

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

ST. LOUIS - When the Chabad of Greater St. Louis first started a public menorah lighting in St. Louis more than 40 years ago, the candelabra was 15 feet tall. But in the decades since, the menorah has doubled in size.“Bigger is better,” Chabad of Greater St. Louis Regional Director Rabbi Yosef Landa said.The new 29-foot menorah is the tallest of its kind west of the Mississippi, according to Landa. The menorah will be lit on Thursday, the first day of Hanukkah, at 6 p.m. at Kiener Plaza.“There’s a lot of hate out there and the best response to hate is more Jewishness,” Landa said. “And more celebration of it, so we think this is a great idea and a wonderful time to do that.”Landa expects about 200 people to show up for Thursday night’s celebration.For a full list of the public menorah lighting ceremonies across St. Louis, you can visit the Chabad of Greater St. Louis website.

Nathan MacKinnon’s big night helps depleted Avalanche hold off pesky Ducks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

The Colorado Avalanche lineup underwent its most drastic renovation of the season Tuesday night, but how the team prevailed looked pretty familiar as it snapped a season-long three-game skid.Alexandar Georgiev was strong early, Nathan MacKinnon dominated and the Avalanche looked more like a dominant two-way club as the game progressed in a 3-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks at Ball Arena. The Avs are hurting and the situation might have gotten worse in this game, but MacKinnon had a three-point night and one of his best efforts of the campaign to help secure the win.Kurtis MacDermid hadn’t played since Nov. 24 in Minnesota, but he scored for the second time in three shifts to open the scoring just 1:40 in. He collected a pass from MacKinnon with his skate, kicked it to his stick and snapped one into the top corner to beat John Gibson. MacDermid scored on his second-to-last shift in the third period two weeks ago against the Wild, which was the game winner.There were parts o...

CU Buffs coach Deion Sanders, Tracey Edmonds split after 12 years

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:36:16 GMT

CU Buffs football head coach Deion Sanders and TV producer Tracey Edmonds have called off their engagement, according to an announcement posted on social media.In a joint statement posted on Edmonds’ Facebook page Sunday night, Sanders and Edmonds said they have decided to move forward in life as friends.Related ArticlesColorado News | Keeler: Deion Sanders, CU Buffs can do so much better than Pat Shurmur calling plays in 2024 Colorado News | Can Deion Sanders, CU Buffs rebuild an offensive line via transfer portal alone? Colorado News | Kickin’ It with Kiz: Sportsperson of year? Around here, it’s Joker over Prime. No contest. Colorado News | Grading the Week: Why Nikola Jokic, Rudy Carey, Jamal Murray deserved Sports Illustrated honors more than Coach Prime Colorado News | Sports Illustrated names CU Buffs coach Deion Sanders Sportsperson of the Year “We have mutually decided that it is best...