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Austin to unveil updated Project Connect light rail scope options next week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austinites will soon get a preview of Project Connect light rail design considerations on the table at an open house March 21.The community event will run from 4-7 p.m. at the Austin Public Library's Central location at 710 W. Cesar Chavez St. It comes after Austin Transit Partnership — the entity tasked with delivering the multi-billion-dollar transit program — pressed pause on designs last summer amid projected cost increases. They had been expected to release 30% design and cost estimates then. TOP STORY: 17 more charged in Austin 'street takeover' investigation' Here's a look back at the past year's worth of light rail design discussions, in advance of next week's open house.March 2, 2022: 4 key Project Connect design proposals outlinedProject Connect leaders unveiled a four-part community engagement period for key elements along the Blue and Orange light rail lines:Riverside/Pleasant Valley StationThe DragBlue Line Bridge at Lady Bird LakeCrestview StationFor ...

How many perfect brackets remain in the NCAA Men's tournament?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you made a bracket in this year's NCAA Men's Tournament, you're not alone!More than 20 million brackets were made on ESPN, but just hours into the tournament, the vast majority were already busted. 2023 March Madness first-round schedule, how to watch, what channels games are on But how many perfect brackets remain? After Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's loss to Alabama, a little under 720,000 brackets remain perfectly intact.The first game of the tournament was brutal to brackets nationwide, with more than half busted. About 51% of brackets incorrectly predicted a Maryland win over West Virginia.Furman's upset win over Virginia then dropped the number of perfect brackets to less than 10%. More than 8 million brackets were busted in that game alone.The number of perfect brackets then dropped by half thanks to Missouri's win over Utah State. Almost 840,000 remained at that point, about 4.2% of all brackets.With 63 games in total, how long will it take for all brack...

Despite 'disappointing' tip time, No. 4 Texas is ready for No. 13 East Carolina in NCAA 1st round

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — When the Texas Longhorns women's basketball team tips off its March Madness run Saturday, they'll be starting typically when they're done playing late games.The fourth-seeded Longhorns take on No. 13 seed East Carolina in the opening round at Moody Center, and due to the broadcast schedule set by ESPN, the game won't begin until 9 p.m. That's two hours later than a typical late game, and Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer isn't a fan of that.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters"I'm disappointed," he said with a chuckle after he was asked about the late tip. "I don't know how that helps grow our game. We have a lot of fans with young families and a lot of older fans — we'll have to have naps for kids and naps for the older folks to make the tip."Schafer continued with the point that both the Longhorns and Pirates will be walking out of Moody past midnight, an...

N.D. Supreme Court keeps state’s abortion ban in place while lawsuit proceeds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a state abortion ban will remain blocked while a lawsuit over its constitutionality proceeds.The ban was designed to take effect once the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But a district judge had put it on hold this summer while the Red River Women’s Clinic (RRWC) pursued a lawsuit arguing the state constitution protected a right to an abortion.“While the regulation of abortion is within the authority of the legislature under the North Dakota Constitution, RRWC has demonstrated likely success on the merits that there is a fundamental right to an abortion in the limited instances of life-saving and health-preserving circumstances, and the statute is not narrowly tailored to satisfy strict scrutiny,” Chief Justice Jon J. Jensen wrote in the ruling.The law — one of many abortion-restricting measures passed by Republican-dominated state legislatures in anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on...

Two men charged in killing of Hugo man outside Fridley Cub Foods

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

Two men were charged Thursday in connection with last week’s killing of a Hugo man outside a Cub Foods in Fridley.Johnson Kenny Sirleaf, 32, of Plymouth, faces one count of second-degree intentional murder in the killing of 27-year-old Devon Michael Adams, who was shot in the chest in the store’s parking lot at Interstate 694 and University Avenue shortly after 11 a.m. March 9.Johnson Kenny Sirleaf, left, and Blanyon Toe Davies (Courtesy of the Anoka County sheriff’s office)Anoka County prosecutors have also charged Blanyon Toe Davies, 29, of Brooklyn Park, with aiding an offender.According to the charges, Adams’ girlfriend told police at the shooting scene that he had been staying at an Extended Stay next to the Cub Foods the past several weeks. She said she last saw him around 10 a.m. in his truck at the hotel.A witness reported hearing arguing and a “pop,” then seeing a man fall to the ground and a red SUV fleeing the area. The witness said there was one p...

Seeking Alzheimer’s clues from few who escape genetic fate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Doug Whitney inherited the same gene mutation that gave Alzheimer’s disease to his mother, brother and generations of other relatives by the unusually young age of 50.Yet he’s a healthy 73, his mind still sharp. Somehow, the Washington man escaped his genetic fate.So did a woman in Colombia who dodged her own family’s similar Alzheimer’s destiny for nearly three decades.To scientists, these rare “escapees” didn’t just get lucky. They offer an unprecedented opportunity to learn how the body may naturally resist Alzheimer’s.“It’s unique individuals oftentimes that really provide us with breakthroughs,” said Dr. Eric McDade of Washington University in St. Louis, where Whitney’s DNA is being scoured for answers.The hope: If researchers could uncover and mimic whatever protects these escapees, they might develop better treatments — even preventive therapies — not only for families plagued by inherited Alzheimer’s but for everyone.“We are just learning about this approach...

COVID-19 pill Paxlovid moves closer to full FDA approval

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

WASHINGTON — Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill Paxlovid won another vote of confidence from U.S. health advisers Thursday, clearing the way for its full regulatory approval by the Food and Drug Administration.The medication has been used by millions of Americans since the FDA granted it emergency use authorization in late 2021. The agency has the final say on giving Pfizer’s drug full approval and is expected to decide by May.A panel of outside experts voted 16-1 that Paxlovid remains a safe and effective treatment for high-risk adults with COVID-19 who are more likely to face hospitalization and death due to the virus.“We still have many groups that stand to benefit from Paxlovid, including unvaccinated persons, under-vaccinated persons, the elderly and the immuno-compromised,” said Dr. Richard Murphy of the Department of Veterans Affairs.The FDA said using Paxlovid in high-risk patients could prevent 1,500 COVID-19 deaths and 13,000 hospitalizations per week.The panel’s positive ...

Jordan Binnington suspended two games over actions after Wild goal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The NHL Department of Player Safety has suspended Jordan Binnington for his actions Wednesday in the St. Louis Blues' loss to the Minnesota Wild. Binnington was ejected from Wednesday's game after allowing a go-ahead goal to Minnesota's Ryan Hartman. Moments after Hartman scored the goal, Binnington shoved him down to the ice, striking him with his left-handed goalie pad and stick. Blues head coach Craig Berube, defending his goaltender, claims that Hartman went right to the crease as he scored and made contact with Binnington. "Binner reacted, which I don't have a problem with," said Berube in postgame comments. The guy went right in there. I'm not going to condone hitting like he did. That's a match every time. But he's reacting on what Hartman did." Trending: Black bear and elk hunting seasons set in Missouri After Hartman fell down, it appeared Binnington was trying to push a few more Wild players, though both teams and a referee quickly entered the scrum and the s...

St. Louis man pleads guilty after threats to rape five women

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis man admitted to harassing and threatening to rape five women in a federal court hearing Thursday. Robert D. Merkle, 54, pleaded guilty to five federal felonies, which includes two counts of interstate communication of threats and three counts of cyberstalking. Trending: Black bear and elk hunting seasons set in Missouri According to his plea, Merkle admitted to harassing women in the St. Louis area and across the country for several months, while he was on parole for similar crimes with different victims.The federal investigation into Merkle's threats began in January 2022, when a woman told the Town and Country Police Department that a man she’d met on a dating site more than seven years earlier sent a series of suspicious text messages. The messages hinted that he had made a copy of her house key and was planning to enter her home two days later and rape her.The FBI obtained a court-approved search warrant for Merkle’s home and cell phones. Investigators ...

4 men arrested, charged in Florissant shooting death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Four men are in police custody in connection with a homicide in Florissant last fall.Demetrion Simmons was shot and killed on Oct. 29, 2022, in the parking lot outside Calvary Bible Church on Graham Road. Simmons was 19.That same day, arrest warrants were issued for Brandon Jackson, Andre Pollard, Kaylen Russell, and Antynious Williams for the shooting. Third teenage boy arrested in killing of Lake St. Louis girl According to Officer Steve Michael, a spokesman for the Florissant Police Department, investigators recently arrested all four men. Jackson, Pollard, and Russell are 19 years old; Williams is 18. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged the men with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. They're each being held on a $750,000 bond.