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New faces, same style of football as Vandegrift Vipers gear up for another title run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Fresh off a 6A-D2 state championship game appearance last season, the Vandegrift Vipers are reloading for another deep playoff run this season by staying true to themselves, as head coach Drew Sanders puts it.A tremendous season that ended in a 42-17 loss to DeSoto in the state title game at AT&T Stadium is in the rearview mirror, but Sanders said the style of play that got them there will always be associated with any team he coaches.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"We're focused on making sure that we don't get away from what got us here, and that's hard-nosed Vandegrift-style football," he said. "We like to run the ball, throw the ball deep in playaction, we like to play physical defense, and that's what we've talked about. We have to be locked in on what our DNA is."With the departure of quarterback Brayden Buchanan to play baseball at Baylor, t...

Voters in Ohio reject GOP-backed proposal that would have made it tougher to protect abortion rights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

By JULIE CARR SMYTH and SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON (Associated Press)COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution, setting up a fall campaign that will become the nation’s latest referendum on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nationwide protections last year.The defeat of Issue 1 keeps in place a simple majority threshold for passing future constitutional amendments. It would have raised that to a 60% supermajority, which supporters said would protect the state’s foundational document from outside interest groups.While abortion was not directly on the special election ballot, the result marks the latest setback for Republicans in a conservative-leaning state who favor imposing tough restrictions on the procedure. Ohio Republicans placed the question on the summer ballot in hopes of undercutting a citizen initiative voters will decide...

Twins not afraid to double up on catchers in lineup, but prefer to rotate DH spot around

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

DETROIT — If Ryan Jeffers played any other position, it’s likely one of the hottest hitters on the Twins would find himself penciled into the lineup a bit more these days.But that’s trickier to do with a catcher.“We need him ready to catch when it’s his day to catch. If both catchers are in the lineup virtually every day, you’re asking for something to go wrong in some of these games,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “But when it makes sense, when it all fits together, when you know it’s the right matchup and he’s ready to go, we’ll do it.”And so Jeffers, who has DHed just once since Byron Buxton injured his hamstring, was not in the Twins’ starting lineup Tuesday.While Buxton was getting every day at-bats at DH when healthy, his injury has opened up the door for the Twins to rotate the spot around. In his absence, the Twins have used Jordan Luplow, Jorge Polanco (twice), Edouard Julien (twice), Matt Wallner and Jeffers in the spot.That flexibility has had some benefits defensively, as...

Fringe review: ‘Omar Khayyam Club’ is an informative, unsatisfying historical dramatization

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

Could be worseFictionalizing real-life Omar Khayyam Clubs — early 20th-century social gatherings devoted to the ancient Persian poet — this play is on the precipice of tackling important questions: About commercialization of Khayyam’s image, about the drunken intellectual façade of these men-only clubs, about translators’ creative license. But to conclude, Khayyam himself shows up, played stiffly by onetime public-access television chef Emmet Johnson, to essentially say: No, it’s all fine and for the best, the end. Director August Berkshire has perhaps seen more Minnesota Fringe shows than anyone and, for his festival debut, has written a fact-dense script that sometimes feels like a college lecture, lectern and projected slides included. Costumes are great, and actor Jack Neveaux’s unexpectedly good physical comedy is a bright spot.Presented by Thee & Me Productions at Rarig Center Thrust; 8:30 p.m. Aug. 8, 10 p.m. Aug. 11, 4 p.m. Aug. 12Still unsure of what to see? Check out a...

Vikings will honor legendary coach Bud Grant throughout 2023 season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

There will be a glaring absence at U.S. Bank Stadium when the massive Legacy Gate swings open on Sept. 10 for the season opener.Though more than 70,000 fans will be shuffling through the concourse on the way to their seats, the father of the franchise will not be in attendance when the Vikings play host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.It will be the first time the Vikings take the field since the legendary Bud Grant died on March 11 at the age of 95.“It’s impossible to describe the impact that he’s had on the Vikings and the community,” Vikings owner Mark Wilf said Tuesday at TCO Performance Center. “As owners. we cherished the nearly 18 years (we had) with Bud. We got to know him on a personal level. It was a tremendous loss for the organization and, of course, the entire state of Minnesota.”As a way to keep Grant’s legacy alive — not that anyone will forget him anytime soon — the Vikings already have some planned tributes for the upcoming season....

Records: 6-year-old said 'I shot that b----- dead' after shooting Virginia teacher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – New information uncovered in court records reveals disturbing details surrounding a 6-year-old who shot his teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia earlier this year.The child is accused of shooting his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, in her Newport News classroom on Jan. 6. Zwerner survived gunshot wounds to her hand and chest. She filed a $40 million lawsuit against the Newport News School Board and several former administrators in April alleging that they failed to protect her from the 6-year-old boy despite warnings that he had a gun at the school. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The boy's mother, Deja Taylor, is charged in Newport News Circuit Court with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor for recklessly leaving a loaded firearm where a child could access it. She's scheduled to plead guilty to those charges on August 15. She also pleaded guilty to lying on a federal form about he...

Man accused in ex-wife's death pleads not guilty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The suspect accused of killing his ex-wife in Schenectady earlier this year pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Tuesday morning. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Timothy Taylor is facing several charges, including second degree Murder. He is being held in jail without bail and is due back in court in September. Taylor was taken into custody in Philadelphia in June before being extradited to New York.Taylor is accused of killing Tishawn Folkes-Taylor, who was found dead inside a Schenectady home in May. He's also accused of killing his girlfriend Theresa Gregg in New York City.

Chevron finalizes purchase of PDC Energy, expands presence in Colorado

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

Chevron Corp. has completed its purchase of Denver-based PDC Energy, making the multinational company Colorado’s largest oil and gas producer.Chevron said Monday that the purchase was a done deal after PDC shareholders approved the acquisition. The all-stock transaction was valued at $7.6 billion, including debt.Under the deal, Chevron acquired 275,000 net acres, much of it next to its existing operations in northeast Colorado’s Denver-Julesburg Basin, and more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent in proven reserves. The company also added 25,000 acres to its operations in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.Altogether, Chevron’s daily production in the Denver-Julesburg Basin will be roughly 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent and its total acreage is a little more than 600,000 acres, said Kim McHugh, vice president of the company’s Rockies business unit.“Once we combine these, we are about the fourth-largest business unit insi...

Crews battle structure fire in Redondo Beach neighborhood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

Firefighters extinguished a two-alarm structure fire in a Redondo Beach neighborhood on Tuesday.  While it’s unclear what started the blaze, crews with the Redondo Beach Fire Department, as well as officers with the Redondo Beach Police Department, responded to the scene located on Kingsdale Avenue, south of Artesia Boulevard.  “There are power lines down and several adjacent streets are blocked,” Redondo PD said, adding that those in the area should use alternate routes.  Video posted to the Citizen App showed heavy black smoke and flames coming from the structure.  Aerial footage from Sky5 showed a charred and burnt-out structure as firefighters continued to spray water on it, as well as dousing adjacent buildings.  Footage posted to the Citizen App on Aug. 8, 2023, shows a structure fire in a residential area of Redondo Beach. (Citizen app)Crews with RBFD extinguish a structure fire in a residential area of Redondo Beach on Aug. 8, 2023. (KTLA)Crews with ...

Nevada man files lawsuit against Disneyland after alleged attack by security dog

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

A Disneyland security dog allegedly attacked and bit an elderly Nevada man at the entrance to the Anaheim theme park, according to a lawsuit filed in an Orange County court, the O.C. Register reported.Paul Perez, an 81-year-old grandfather from Las Vegas, filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Orange County Superior Court for damages stemming from the May 2022 alleged attack from a Disneyland security dog. Disneyland reaches settlement in $5 million lawsuit filed by Magic Key holder The civil lawsuit was filed on Aug. 1 and accused Disneyland and the Walt Disney Co. theme park division of negligence and seeks restitution for a physical wound, pain, suffering, emotional distress and the cost of past and future medical treatment, according to the Register.KTLA reached out to the Disneyland Resort for a comment but didn’t hear back in time for publication.The lawsuit alleges that a Disneyland dog handler caused a security dog to “abruptly step directly in front and ...