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'This weekend was tragic': Deadly Austin weekend highlights low APD staff numbers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin's deadliest weekend so far in 2023 has some searching for more public safety solutions.Police are currently investigating one homicide from Saturday, and three from Sunday. As Austin Police Department Cpl. Jose Mendez provided an update at one of Sunday's homicide scenes, he — in an uncustomary move — addressed how APD staffing shortages have and will impact these current investigations. APD: 1 dead after ‘verbal altercation’ near abandoned building in east Austin “I know that the detectives are somewhat overwhelmed due to having a shortage of them,” Mendez said. Homicide detectives have had to pull double duty helping out with patrol shifts as APD works to fill roughly 300 officer vacancies. "It doesn't matter if it's homicide or some other crime. All of these detectives are being forced to go work patrol and supplement patrol shifts, so these caseloads are not getting picked up by other detectives," Jennifer Szimanski, public affairs director for the Comb...

'The photos are wowing all of us'; NASA reflects on one year of James Webb Telescope discoveries

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

SPACE (KXAN) - "Whatever's out there, Webb is going to see it," reflected Mike Menzel, a NASA engineer who has been working on the James Webb Space Telescope for 26 years. The telescope is celebrating one year of service this month."As an engineer who was on this for 26 years, my favorite was the first deep field image," Menzel said. He serves as the Missions Systems Engineer for Webb. Before that, he worked on the Hubble telescope. "In 12 hours, we broke the Hubble record. We saw a galaxy whose lights have been traveling to us for about 13.4 billion years."Webb is the largest satellite NASA has ever launched into space. Unlike Hubble, Webb sees in infrared light, which travels further and through objects. Scientists have described it as acting like a time machine."If you look at Neptune in the visible light, you'll barely see any rings at all. But when you look at it in James Webb [with] the infrared, bang, they pop out vividly."Looking back in time and spaceThe accomplishments of ...

Is Threads still considered a rival to Twitter? Expert weighs in

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

(KXAN) -- Social media apps Twitter and Threads continue to compete for users.Since it’s July launch, more than 100 million people have signed up for Threads.“We saw 5 million users in the first four hours,” said branding expert Tyler Mount. “It has over 100 million signups, which is already 28% of Twitter's user base of 350 million.”Mount, a St. Edward's University graduate, expects the pace of Threads’ signups to slow down but adds “this could be Elon Musk’s biggest nightmare.” Twitter threatens Meta with lawsuit over rival Threads app Twitter has undergone a number of changes under Elon Musk’s leadership, including implementing a ‘view-limit’ on how many posts users can read.Musk has taken to Twitter to fire back at critics while taking jabs at his rival.“It has been very clear that Elon Musk is not a fan of Threads,” said Mount.  Much of that has played out on social media. “This level of publicity centered around him and the figurehead of his biggest rival is quite geniu...

FBI searching for a 'Most Wanted' man in the St. Louis area

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The FBI is turning up the heat in the manhunt for the first St. Louis area suspect to make the FBI’s nationwide Ten Most Wanted list in nearly 60 years. Donald Eugene Fields II’s alleged crimes against children certainly show he belongs on the list, according to the FBI.“Worst case scenario … it’s a nightmare,” said Jay Greenburg, Special Agent-in-Charge for the FBI-St. Louis.Fields II, 59, now appears on wanted posters, websites, and billboards across the country.Fields II allegedly offered sex with a minor girl in his care to another man, in exchange for vacation trips and more.“The allegations involve cash, cars, motorcycles, Christmas presents,” Greenberg said. “Exchanging a child’s innocence for a thing of value converts this from hands on sexual abuse into sexual trafficking.”Fields II was indicted on a federal sex trafficking charge December 2022. He already faced state charges of statutory rape, sodomy, and molestation filed in 2019 for alleged sexual abuse of at...

Trump notified he is target in DOJ's Jan. 6 investigation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

Former President Trump said Tuesday morning that he has been alerted he is a target of the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 investigation focusing on his efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. Trump said he received the “target letter” Sunday evening.“Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an arrest and indictment.”It had been clear that Trump’s actions would be a central focus of the investigation, as Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to review the matter last year to determine “whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power.”But as Trump states, receiving a target letter is often a sign someone will soon face charges.Trump pursued a multi-pronged plan to remain in office, turning to the ...

North St. Louis storm damage remains after 15 days

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A north St. Louis street that's already seen more than its share of trouble was recently hit by storm damage. The storms uprooted a big tree pushing up the sidewalk. It’s blocking people from walking down the street.Local Gregory Allison told Elliott Davis it’s been like this too long.”It’s been 15 days since this happened and after 15 days I would expect it to be cleaned up," Allison shared. "I was expecting it to be cleaned up a lot sooner than that. It's dangerous I did report it as being a dangerous situation.”He says he’s not ready to point fingers or assign blame.”When I talked to Forestry Division last, the gentlemen I spoke with said that they are understaffed, and I’ve talked to other people that worked for the city, and they’re saying the same thing that the city is understaffed and if you go on the city’s website it does say they are hiring, so it could be a personnel issue.”That’s just the latest problem on this block with a lot of troubles. Clerk sho...

Denver weather: 95-degree heat with increasing bursts of wind, afternoon thunderstorms

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

The mostly sunny, hot weather baking metro Denver and other cities along Colorado’s Front Range will continue Tuesday until possible late afternoon thunderstorms bring rain and bursts of wind, according to the National Weather Service.Cloudier conditions will help contain heat ahead of storms over the next two days, weather service meteorologists said. The afternoon storms Tuesday, mostly after 5 p.m., may produce wind gusts at speeds up to 40 miles per hour, meteorologists said, estimating the likelihood of rain at 30%.The high temperature will be 95 degrees in Denver on Tuesday, decreasing to 62 degrees at night, forecasters said. On Wednesday, the high temperature is expected to be 89 degrees, decreasing to 82 degrees later in the week.On Wednesday and Thursday, thunderstorms will increase, forecasters said. Severe storms, dropping heavy rain and hail, are expected in areas along the Interstate 25 corridor and on the high plains of eastern Colorado.In the mountains, tempera...

Pink Pantheress Says Turn Your Phones Off

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

Pink Pantheress Says Turn Your Phones Off: Multi-platinum vocalist, songwriter and producer Pink Pantheress has joined forces with rising star Destroy Lonely for new single “Turn Your Phone Off.”“After years of having this song in the vault, I’m so happy I can release ‘Turn Your Phone Off’ with someone who has spearheaded his own sound and incorporates beautifully into mine, Destroy Lonely,” Pink Pantheress said in a statement.The song is a banger! Speedy beats frame rapid yet surprisingly chill vocals. Pantheress’ chill tones contrast beautifully with Destroy Lonely’s angst.“Co-written and Co-produced by PinkPantheress and Alfie Auckett, the track sees PinkPantheress return to her roots as her saccharine vocals dance over a drum and bass beat, while rising star Destroy Lonely taps in with his signature luminous warbles,” reads the press release. “‘Turn Your Phone Off’ marks PinkPantheress’ third offering of 202...

ND In CBD — What Does “ND” Mean On A CBD Lab Test?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

If you’ve been browsing through the CBD product reviews on Real Tested CBD, you’ve probably run across the acronym “ND.” It’s common to find these two letters on various columns in a standard third-party lab report. However, if you’re not already involved in the lab testing industry, you may have wondered what this term refers to.The TL;DR is that “ND” means “non-detectable.” Therefore, when you see ND on your lab test, you can rest assured the corresponding chemical is virtually non-existent in your product.OK, so how do people use ND when scanning CBD oils? When is it a good thing to see ND on your lab reports? To better understand why ND is so crucial in the CBD industry, we need to review the hemp plant’s biology.ND, CBD, and THC — How To Use “ND” To Screen For PsychoactivityND has a super significant relationship with the cannabinoid delta-9 THC. As many hemp customers know, the US government only legalized hemp-derived products with ≤ 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight ba...

Bay FC taps former Golden State Warriors marketing head to be COO

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:15 GMT

Bay FC is continuing to build out its front office — and with its latest hire, they’ve poached someone from a different pro sports team in the Bay Area.Former top Golden State Warriors marketing executive Jen Millet will be the new soccer team’s chief operating officer on Monday, the team announced on Tuesday. Her first day with Bay FC was Monday.Millet joins after spending most of six years with Golden State, working up to being the Warriors’ chief marketing officer before she left for Bay FC. While she acknowledged it was hard to leave the Warriors, Bay FC provided her with a “perfect storm” to jump into women’s sports.“I’ve had conversations in the past about working in women’s sports, and this conversation with Bay FC was the first I’ve ever had where the business case was sort of front and center,” Millet told this news organization Monday. “The approach wasn’t led with a philanthropic, mission-driven [approach] — all of that is still there, but the conversation was really abou...