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19-year-old pleads guilty to two February murders

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Abraham Kulor, now 19 years old, pleaded guilty to two murders this week, according to the Travis County District Attorney's Office.The incidents happened in February, about two weeks apart, on the 5800 block of Techni Center Drive in east Austin and on Sixth Street downtown, according to the District Attorney's Office. Kulor was 18 at the time.“Marijuana was located inside the victim’s vehicle,” APD said during a news conference about the Feb. 8 Techni Center Drive incident. “Social media messages discovered on the victim’s phone indicated that he was at the location to sell marijuana to the suspect who used the screen name of Lil AK. The messages outline the detail of the sale.”The victim in this case, according to the District Attorney's Office, was Carlos Calleja, 23. APD said several violent crimes detectives were familiar with the subject who also went by the name of Lil AK on social media. APD identified the person as Kulor.The Sixth Street homicide occurred ...

2024 Debate Breakdown: An Insider’s Look at the First Republican Presidential Debate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

Join The Hill’s first installment of the “2024 Debate Breakdown: An Insider’s Look at the First Republican Presidential Debate.”The Hill’s Political Reporter Rafael Bernal, National Political Correspondent Julia Manchester, and Congressional Reporter Mychael Schnell break down the top moments from the first Republican Primary debate and how the debate resonated with Americans. Register for the Debate Breakdown stream here. Democratic Strategist  Michael Starr Hopkins & Republican Strategist Sarah Chamberlain will analyze the performance of each of the presidential hopefuls and look at which issues were most discussed and look ahead to the second Republican Presidential Debate in California in September.Thursday, August 249:00 AM ET / 6:00 AM PTSpeakers:Rafael Bernal, Political Reporter, The HillJulia Manchester, National Political Correspondent, The HillMychael Schnell, Congressional Reporter, The HillMichael Starr Hopkins, Founding Partner, Northern Starr Strategies; Democ...

What's next for the Austin housing market heading to fall 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Mortgage rates have hit a 21-year high, and KXAN wanted to see what it could mean for Central Texans.KXAN Anchor Jennifer Sanders spoke with Dr. Clare Losey, a housing economist with the Austin Board of Realtors, about key housing data, such as new and existing home sales.Read a full transcription of the discussion below or use the video player above.JENNIFER: So as mortgage rates top 7% It's a two-decade high. What does this really mean for homebuyers as well as homeowners here in Central Texas?CLARE: Well, the primary effect of higher mortgage rates is on homebuyers purchasing power, right? So anytime the mortgage rate increases, it reduces the maximum home price affordable to any potential buyer. So, what we anticipate to see in Austin really in any housing market is just somewhat of a moderation in home sale deals with these higher rates as homebuyers who would otherwise have been able to purchase a home are unable to with these higher rates.JENNIFER: Okay, and a...

After death of cousin, Hutto High School student raising awareness about fentanyl

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) — More and more people are losing their lives to fentanyl and Central Texas isn’t immune from this growing problem.Many teens have also fallen victim to fentanyl overdoses. Rebecca Benavides says her son Ryan Garcia or King Ryan as she calls him died at just 17 years old.”I wish every day he would walk in and say Momma I am home,” said Benavides.Garcia was a student at Akins High School and died in 2022. Benavides says she got a late-night call that something was wrong with her son, but when she arrived it was too late.”When we got there he was just lying there,” said Benavides. “We found little blue pills”Benavides says the pill he took had fentanyl in it.”When our son passed, he not only changed our life, but he changed ours too,” said Benavides.”He was my big cousin,” said Dennis Benavides. “We always did everything together…It really hurts that he is gone.” Kyle PD: 16-year-old overdoses on fentanyl first week into summer break Dennis wanted to do something...

St. Paul City Council approves $6 million for Pedro Park

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

With a boost from state and city coffers, as well as two anonymous benefactors, St. Paul Parks and Recreation expects to begin construction next summer of a long-awaited downtown park off 10th and Robert streets — Pedro Park.The new 0.87-acre park will be funded in large part by $6 million in general funds and city bond funds, approved 4-0 by the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday. That money was freed up from the North End Community Center project, which received $6 million from a state of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development grant. Council Members Amy Brendmoen, Jane Prince and Russel Balenger were absent.St. Paul’s long-awaited Pedro Park is coming into focus with the release on Monday, March 27, 2023 of more than two dozen architectural renderings. These include a birds-eye view, one of three such detailed schematics floated in February before city officials settled on the preferred concept. (courtesy images / City of St. Paul)That still leaves...

Armed robber and armed victim both injured in St. Paul gunfight, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

A man with a permit to carry a gun was shot and wounded after he shot a suspect who was robbing him at gunpoint Tuesday in St. Paul, according to charges.Officers were dispatched to Atwater Street near Farrington Street on the North End at 3:37 a.m. with callers reporting hearing 30 to 50 gunshots. They found a 22-year-old with a gunshot wound to his side. He told police he’d shot someone, and his gun was in his pocket. Paramedics took him to the hospital.The man told police a woman had contacted him, asking if he wanted to “hook up” and sent him an address off Rice Street. He believed their plan was to have sex.After he picked her up, she told him to make a series of turns. He saw a vehicle approach from behind at a high rate of speed and it suddenly rear ended him. He thought about driving off “because the incident seemed weird as (the woman) had directed him to a ‘sketchy’ street, but he stayed put because he didn’t want to be part of a hit and...

Colorado prep football: 100 impact players to watch in 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

After scouring over prospect lists, CHSAANow all-state teams and 2022 stats, The Denver Post compiled a list of some of Colorado’s top high school football talents. Players are listed in alphabetical order and cover all of the 11-man football classifications.Blake Barnett (Erie), QB, sr.: A Kansas State commit and returning All-Colorado pick, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound QB has topped 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing two years in a row. After leading the Tigers to the 4A final (2021) and semifinals (2022), there’s just one thing left to do: Win the whole dang thing.Mikhail Benner (Broomfield), DB, jr.: Offensive coordinators beware: Nobody in the state has a better nose for the football than Benner, a 6-foot-1 All-Colorado defensive back with elite athleticism who led the state with 11 interceptions as a sophomore.Blake Branham (Ponderosa), LB, sr.: The 5-foot-11, 200-pound middle linebacker showed a knack for rising to the occasion last fall, snagging two pick-6s and four tackles f...

Man accused of kidnapping, killing Whittier woman also tried to rape her, district attorney says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

A man faces a slew of charges in connection with the fatal shooting and kidnapping of 19-year-old Andrea Vazquez, including attempted rape, officials announced Wednesday.Gabriel Sean Esparza, 20, was charged with one count of murder, one count of willful, deliberate and premeditated, attempted murder, one count of kidnapping to commit rape, one count of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to commit rape, and two counts of attempted forcible rape, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Special circumstances of murder during a kidnapping and murder during an attempted rape are also allege.He pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment Wednesday and is being held without bail.Authorities, however, told KTLA that Esparza confessed to the killing. Woman abducted after Whittier shooting found dead; man arrested Esparza approached Vazquez and her boyfriend shortly after midnight Sunday in the parking stalls area of Penn Park in Whittier and ...

Thieves ransack Beverly Hills store, escape with nearly $200K worth of wigs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

Security cameras captured the moment burglars ransacked a Beverly Hills shop and escaped with almost $200,000 worth of wigs for cancer patients.The smash-and-grab burglary targeted The Wig Fairy located on La Cienega where at least three thieves shattered the glass front doors before sprinting inside."Everything was shattered,” said Mona Zargar, owner of The Wig Fairy. "The glass was everywhere. They used two long metals to break in."The suspects quickly grabbed handfuls of merchandise, ignoring the blaring store alarms."They grabbed so much that there were wigs all over the floor,” Zargar said. “[They scooped] them up ... running out the door. It was two-and-a-half minutes and they stole a lot.”About 70 custom human hair wigs were taken, worth almost $200,000, Zargar said.Security cameras captured burglars ransacking a Beverly Hills wig shop and escaping with almost $200,000 worth of wigs meant for cancer patients. (The Wig Fairy)Security cameras captured burglars ransacking a Beve...

Kristin Smart killer Paul Flores hospitalized after being attacked in prison

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:50:57 GMT

The man convicted last fall of killing Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart in 1996 was hospitalized after he was attacked in prison, his lawyer confirmed to KTLA citing an official for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.Paul Flores was taken to the hospital after he was attacked at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, according to his attorney Harold Mesick. Flores was transferred to the facility less than a week ago while he awaits appeal for his murder conviction.Flores was convicted of killing Smart in October 2022, following a whirlwind trial and years of speculation related to the most infamous unsolved crime on California's Central Coast. Smart was 19 years old when she vanished on May 25, 1996 from Cal Poly's campus in San Luis Obispo. Flores was also a student at the time and was considered the last person to see her alive following an off-campus party.For years, Flores was the only person of interest ever seriously considered to be a suspect in her...