November 7, 2015

Rashad Owens guilty of capital murder in 2014 SXSW tragedy

After a little more than three hours of deliberations, a Travis County jury Friday found Rashad Owens guilty of capital murder, handing him an automatic sentence of life in prison in the deadly South By Southwest Music Festival wreck that shook the city.

Over four days this week, jurors heard vivid recollections from witnesses who saw him speed a Honda Civic into throngs of people, as bodies hit its windshield and were thrown high into the air. They watched chilling footage of Owens, a father of six and once an aspiring rapper living in Killeen, go through stages of shock in the hours that came later.

And some shed tears with the loved ones of the four people whose lives he took.

But as jurors weighed Owens’ fate in his capital murder trial, they had to set emotions aside and consider two main elements if they were to convict him on the highest offense ever dealt to anyone arrested in a fatal drunken driving collision in Austin: Did he intentionally mean to cause others harm or did he know his actions could be lethal?

Read more: http://specials.mystatesman.com/rashad-owens-guilty/

November 7, 2015

Governor's ICE detainer demands could be impractical according Nueces Co Republican Sheriff

CORPUS CHRISTI - Nueces County Sheriff Jim Kaelin is reacting to Governor Greg Abbott's announcement that he will strip county sheriff's departments of state funds if they do not honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers.

The ICE detainers are written requests that a jail detain illegal immigrant inmates for 48 hours after their release so agents can determine whether they should be deported.

Sheriff Kaelin says it is important to address illegal immigration, but sometimes jails do not have the resources or the authority to hold illegal immigrants once they have served their time for the crimes for which they were arrested.

"The only reason they're still in jail is because of an ICE hold or an immigration hold," Sheriff Kaelin said. "And sheriffs, who like this office are overcrowded, and ICE doesn't come to pick them up, what do you do with them and how long do you hold them?"

Read more: http://www.kristv.com/story/30448717/governors-ice-detainer-demands-could-be-impractical-kaelin-says

November 7, 2015

UAW seeks to ram through Ford deal as results at GM show split vote

The United Auto Workers union announced a tentative agreement with Ford Friday afternoon, before the final tally of a highly contested vote at General Motors had been made public. According to figures released late Friday night, a narrow majority of GM workers backed the contract announced October 25 by the UAW, but it was rejected by skilled trades workers.

The Ford agreement is based on the GM and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) contracts, which remove caps on second-tier workers and pave the way for a permanent lowering of base wages and benefits of Big Three autoworkers, as the companies push out higher-paid tier-one workers. UAW local officials are expected to approve the Ford agreement as soon as Monday, before it goes to the membership for a ratification vote beginning late next week.

The quick announcement of a deal at Ford is motivated by two factors. First, the union wants to force the Ford rank and file to vote as quickly as possible, once again giving workers virtually no time to study the deal and organize opposition. The union leadership is well aware of the enormous opposition among workers to the contracts and to the UAW itself.

A worker at the Sterling Heights Ford plant said the workers were being told there would be an information meeting next Thursday and a ratification vote the following day. “They’re stoking it up to be fantastic, the best deal ever,” he said, “but it is what we don’t hear that worries me. We’re going to sit in a little room while they tell us about how hard they worked for us and that we should hurry up and vote ‘yes.’”

Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/11/07/auto-n07.html

November 7, 2015

US deploys F-15s to Syria, targeting Russian jets

The US will send a squadron of F-15C fighter jets to Turkey’s Incirlik air base, the US Defense Department (DOD) announced on Friday. The nature of the US war planes, which are specifically designed for dogfighting with other highly advanced fighter jets, indicates that the deployment carries a significance far beyond what its small scale would suggest.

The F-15 line of combat jets was developed in response to the unveiling in 1967 of the Soviet Union’s MiG-25 “Foxbat” interceptor.

Because they are designed for air-to-air combat against other major powers, the US has, until now, seen no need to deploy the F-15C model to its Middle Eastern and Central Asian war theaters, where the opposing forces have no warplanes.

The sudden deployment, coming less than two months after Russia began sending its own SU-30 fighters to its new airbase at Latakia, makes clear that the jets have been deployed in response to Moscow’s air campaign.

Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/11/07/syri-n07.html

November 7, 2015

Hundreds of Canon City students involved in sexting scandal could face felony charges

Colorado parents are outraged and concerned as school district officials reveal new details on the "large scale" sexting scandal at Canon City High School.

The school district says the scandal involves an equal number of boys and girls -- including some who are only in eighth grade - who could face felony charges. This is forcing parents and administrators to re-evaluate how they monitor teen activity in a high-tech world, reports CBS News correspondent Carter Evans.

At an emergency meeting Thursday night, concerned parents learned that possibly hundreds of students at Canon City High may have been collecting and trading nude pictures of themselves and friends on their cell phones, like trading baseball cards.

"It was flooring to find so many and there are more we don't know about," said Principal Brett Meuli.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/canon-city-high-school-sexting-scandal-students-could-face-felony-charges/

The school district suspended the remainder of the football schedule in response to the investigation.

November 7, 2015

‘No Black People In My Restaurants': Poster Campaign Responds To HERO Defeat In Houston

A poster campaign launched in response to the “No Men In Women’s Bathrooms” slogan that defeated the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance has gone viral.

A Houston artist named Koomah has been affixing placards to “No Men In Women’s Restroom” campaign signs saying things like, “No black people in my restaurants,” “No apartments rented to Veterans“ and “No sales to disabled people.”

From The Houston Chronicle:

“I expect the repeal will impact tourism, bids for sporting events, and big businesses decisions to expand to Houston,” Koomah said by email, noting that the fear-mongering tactics used by opponents of HERO were similar to ones used decades ago to stop other types of anti-discrimination measures.

The campaign started long before Election Day with Koomah and others placing the posters (see above) over and around anti-HERO “No Men in Women’s Restrooms” signs in the city. The poster project riffed on that motto.

HERO would have prohibited discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity or pregnancy. The ordinance was repealed by voters Tuesday in a landslide.

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2015/11/no-black-people-in-my-restaurants/

November 7, 2015

Friday Night Catnip: The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle (1968)

Odessey and Oracle is the second studio album by English rock band the Zombies. Mainly recorded between June and August 1967 at Abbey Road and Olympic Studios, it was released on 19 April 1968 by CBS Records. "Time of the Season" was released as a single and became a surprise hit in early 1969. The album was received indifferently on release, but has since become critically acclaimed. It ranked #100 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odessey_and_Oracle

BTW, the Zombies are currently on the Odessey and Oracle tour in the UK, France and Spain so enjoy the catnip LIVE!

http://www.thezombies.net/future/

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Care of Cell 44" Rod Argent 3:57
2. "A Rose for Emily" Argent 2:19
3. "Maybe After He's Gone" Chris White 2:34
4. "Beechwood Park" White 2:44
5. "Brief Candles" White 3:30
6. "Hung Up on a Dream" Argent 3:02

Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Changes" White 3:20
2. "I Want Her, She Wants Me" Argent 2:53
3. "This Will Be Our Year" White 2:08
4. "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" White 2:48
5. "Friends of Mine" White 2:18
6. "Time of the Season" Argent 3:34

November 7, 2015

Viral video shows violent arrest of jaywalking Austin man

Austin police are investigating an early Friday morning incident that went viral online.

Video from 6th Street shows an officer holding one man while another knees him and throws rapid punches at his head.

"I'm not doing nothing, man!" the man yells, struggling as officers wrestle him to the ground.

Officers tell them man to "be still," and he says "Ok I'm down bro! I'm down!" A third officer joins and throws blows to the man's arm.

Read more and watch video: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Austin-police-video-arrest-brutality-BLM-6th-6615596.php

November 7, 2015

Border Patrol accused in decapitation death in South Texas

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been charged in the death of a man whose decapitated body was found floating near Texas' South Padre Island, a sheriff said Friday.

Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said Joel Luna might be tied to a Mexican drug cartel through his two brothers but that the investigation is still ongoing.

Luna is charged with capital murder, engaging in organized criminal activity and tampering with evidence. He's accused in the death of Honduran native Jose Francisco "Franklin" Rodriguez Palacios Paz, whose body was found in March.

Luna is jailed without bond. Jail records didn't list an attorney for the 30-year-old Luna, who has worked as a Border Patrol agent for six years.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Border-Patrol-agent-facing-murder-charge-in-South-6615851.php

November 7, 2015

Texas horse tracks get funding extension as gambling dispute continues

Texas horse tracks won’t have to shut down anytime soon.

Late on Friday, state lawmakers signed off on another 90 days of funding for the Texas Racing Commission, which regulates horse tracks in the state including Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, shortly after Gov. Greg Abbott appointed new members to the state agency.

“This is a good first step toward getting back on track, so we are giving the agency the time it needs to chart a new course,” said state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, who heads the Senate Finance Committee.

“Hopefully, with new commissioners we can start seeing this agency adhere to the Constitution, operate within the law and recognize that the Legislature — not the Racing Commission — makes the law in Texas.”

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article43528395.html