CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of Cleveland’s season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon on Sunday against Cincinnati, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
Watson will soon undergo surgery, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the results of imaging tests taken on his leg.
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year.
The 29-year-old Watson went down without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson collapsed to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
As he laid on the ground, there was cheering by some Cleveland fans, leading to some of Watson’s teammates criticizing that behavior during the team’s fifth straight loss.
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s divisive stay with the Browns.
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas man whose execution was halted after a last-ditch maneuver by lawmakers who believe Robert Roberson did not kill his 2-year-old daughter was expected to testify before a state House panel on Monday, four days after he had been scheduled to die by lethal injection.
Roberson had been set to become the first person in the U.S. executed over a murder conviction connected to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. His claims of innocence are backed by a group of Republican and Democratic legislators who say he was convicted based on outdated science.
Once Roberson testifies to lawmakers, prosecutors could seek a new execution date at any time, according to Gretchen Sween, one of his attorneys.
Lawmakers have sought to have Roberson transported from death row to appear in person, raising the possibility of an extraordinary scene in the Texas Capitol, but the state attorney general’s office told the committee he would appear virtually.
Rebuffed by the courts and Texas’ parole board in their efforts to spare Roberson’s life, legislators last Thursday subpoenaed Roberson to testify in an unusual tactic to buy him more time. Lawmakers on the House committee have expressed frustration with Texas’ junk science law, which they say has failed to work as intended, including in Roberson’s case.
The 2013 law allows a person convicted of a crime to seek relief if the evidence used against them is no longer credible. At the time, it was hailed by the Legislature as a uniquely future-proof solution to wrongful convictions based on faulty science. But Roberson’s supporters say his case points to faults in the judicial system where the law has been weakened by deliberate misinterpretation from the state’s highest criminal court.
In the last 10 years, 74 applications have been filed and ruled on under the junk science law. A third of applications were submitted by people facing the death penalty. All of them were unsuccessful.
Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell, whose office prosecuted Roberson, has previously told the committee that a court hearing was held in 2022 in which Roberson’s attorneys presented their new evidence to a judge, who rejected their claims.
Roberson was sentenced to death for the killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002. Prosecutors argued the infant’s death was caused by serious head trauma from being violently shaken back and forth. Roberson’s attorneys say that the bruising on Curtis’ body was likely due to complications with severe pneumonia and not child abuse.
Almost 90 lawmakers across party lines, medical experts and best-selling author John Grisham had called on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to stay his execution. Abbott has not commented on Roberson’s case and the Texas parole board rejected pleas to grant clemency.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — ABC13 learned the aviation obstruction lights at the top of a radio tower hit by a helicopter in a deadly crash in Houston’s Second Ward have a history of not working.
SkyEye reporter Don Armstrong said in his years of flying in helicopters, the radio tower at Engelke Street and Ennis Street in the Second Ward has always worried him because the aviation obstruction lighting — the red flashing lights at the top of the tower — are often out.
With the background of downtown Houston behind the tower coming up from the south, Don said the tower would be almost impossible to see unless you knew it was there.
Don said part of a pilot’s check before they take off is to see if there are problems with any towers around town. He said the Second Ward tower reported the lighting being out to the FAA just days ago on Oct. 17.
ABC13 obtained surveillance video that shows the moment the helicopter crashed into the tower, killing all four people on board, including a child. The ages and identities of the victims were not immediately released.
In the surveillance video, it appeared at least one light on the tower was on, though it’s unclear if the lights were in full working order.
The investigation is ongoing into the helicopter crash that killed four people, including a child near downtown Houston. Here’s what we know so far.
Now, the investigation into what exactly went wrong begins. The NTSB said te helicopter was operating as an air tour flight when it crashed, and a fire ensued.
Several of the streets around the crash site were blocked off on Monday morning as this investigation continued.
“We had a caller coming to the station. There’s a large collapse behind the station with smoke showing. We’re trying to find the exact location,” first responders were heard reporting on radio traffic.
The deadly crash happened right by Fire Station 17 just before 8 p.m. Sunday.
Officials said the private helicopter took off from Ellington Field. It’s unclear where it was headed.
There area a lot of homes and businesses in the area where it crashed. Thankfully, the helicopter didn’t hit anything else on the way down and officials said no one on the ground was hurt.
Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz has a message for residents in the area as they wake up and may see some pieces of the helicopter.
“It will be a large investigation because of the expanse of the accident. So make sure that if you actually see something on the ground that you notify either fire or dial the police department so that we can make sure to come out and recover it,” Diaz said.The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Houston Police Department, and Houston Fire Department area all investigating.
BRIDGEHAMPTON, N.Y. — On Wednesday, Shahlise Cherry and her friend Deborah Arnone went to visit a fondly remembered past, one that helped to reshape retailing in America.
Their cart was full of close-out bargains, like a coffee maker and a set of bowls, things they didn’t necessarily come looking for but which they couldn’t pass up at 70% off regular price.
It’s been awhile since she’d been there, Cherry said, even though she was once a regular shopper.
“It was out of my loop for so long,” she said. “They didn’t have many of the things I needed.”
With the store closing Sunday, Kmart joins the list of once iconic retailers, such as Toys “R” Us, RadioShack, Pier 1, Bed Bath & Beyond and most of what’s left of Kmart’s corporate sibling Sears, once-successful chains that used to populate America’s malls and shopping centers but have ended up in retailing’s graveyard in recent years.
Shoppers like Arnone and Cherry might fondly remember shopping at Kmart or other now defunct stores, but a combination of competition from bigger and better retailers, bad management, failed acquisitions by hedge funds and private equity firms and changing shopping behavior have combined to kill the stores they once loved.
While the Bridgehampton Kmart’s closing wasn’t a surprise to Cherry and Arnone, they were surprised to hear this is the last full-size, mainland Kmart.
“This was our go-to when we were growing up,” said Cherry, who said she used to buy all her school supplies at the store.
“Whatever we needed, come back here multiple times a week, sometimes in the same day,” she said. “We’d come to hang out here with our friends.”
When it closes, all that will be left is one smaller Kmart with limited items in Miami and a few stores in the US Virgin Islands and Guam, markets too small and remote for competitors like Walmart – or even Amazon – to bother with.
The demise of a former trendsetter
The Bridgehampton store opened in 1999, taking the place of a former regional discount store, Caldor. For many of the previous 30 to 40 years prior, Kmart was a major force in US retailing.
The chain started in the late 19th century, when founder Sebastian Spering Kresge opened a five-and-dime store in downtown Detroit bearing his name. In 1962, the store adopted the Kmart brand.
The chain grew rapidly for several decades, claiming the discount segment of the market that big box stores now dominate.
Kmart became known for its 15-minute-long “blue light specials:” A store would flash a blue light and announce “attention Kmart shoppers” over the public address system, and customers would rush to buy discounted goods. The promotions started in 1965 but were discontinued in 1991, although Kmart tried to bring them back several times.
But the chain was also doomed by a number of bad corporate decisions and failed strategies.
In the early 1990s, Kmart went on a buying spree, purchasing Sports Authority, a majority of OfficeMax and book retailer Borders. It sold all three a few years later. Sports Authority and Borders eventually went out of business after their own bankruptcies.
Kmart filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002, when it had 2,100 stores. It was the largest US retailer bankruptcy at that time.
But a disastrous merger with Sears in 2005 made the situation even worse.
The $11 billion merger was engineered by hedge fund operator Eddie Lampert. At the time Kmart still had about 1,400 stores and Sears nearly 900 full-line US stores.
But Lampert appeared more focused on selling off the real estate the two companies had, along with other assets such as the Craftsman brand of tools previously sold only at Sears, rather than in investing in either chain, leading to a bankruptcy filing in 2018.
When the retailer emerged from bankruptcy it still had 231 Sears and 191 Kmart stores, but those were also almost all doomed. Today only a handful of Sears stores remain, as well.
Now, the shuttering of the Long Island Kmart will close one more chapter in that merger.
A store for ‘regular people’
By Wednesday, the back of the Bridgehampton store was already empty not just of merchandise but even its shelving, the empty footprint of which could be seen on the floor. An empty space roughly the size of a football field filled the back half of the store.
The front of the store had signs advertising 70% off regular prices and warning shoppers that all sales were final. The selection was extremely limited. Toys, once a Kmart staple, made up a small fraction of one aisle’s shelves.
Bridgehampton is on the far eastern end of Long Island, in the middle of the wealthy vacation area known as the Hamptons. But Kmart didn’t cater to the rich vacation crowd but rather to the locals who worked in the area. The nearest Walmart and Target stores are about 25 miles away in Riverhead, roughly a 45-minute drive. The last full-size Kmart in the contiguous United States had been able to survive longer than other stores based on that limited competition.
“We need a store like this,” said Arnone. “There’s nothing in the Hamptons for regular people to shop in.”
But in much of the country, it had been years since Kmart was able to compete with more successful big box competitors like Walmart and Target, which offered shoppers groceries as well as clothing, household goods and tools, along with the growth of online shopping.
The sad ‘end of an era’
Shopper Sarah Bullock remembers going to Kmart for toys for her children and eventually her grandchildren. Wednesday she was brought to the Bridgehampton store by her grandson, who is now an adult.
“I always liked the prices. I’m sad to see it go,” she said. “It’s the bargains I think about when I think of Kmart.”
Her cart was full of clothing for family members and a snow shovel.
Bullock said she never shops online. But that wasn’t the case for other shoppers at the store Wednesday.
“I remember going shopping at Kmart with my dad. We used to buy everything here,” said Jessica Cohan, who had her four-year-old son Lucas in her cart along with a Smoky Joe grill, Valentines cards, winter hats and an assortment of other items. “But now, like everyone else, I do a lot of my shopping online. It’s a lot more convenient.”
Victoria and Seth Black were on their way out of the store after picking up a few random items – Chinet paper napkins, Scunci hair ties, some winter mittens and a beach hat.
They remember shopping at this store regularly in the past.
“Everything is very expensive out here,” Victoria Black said. “We needed a store like this.”
But their visits had been limited to maybe once or twice a year more recently, as they found it tougher to find the things they wanted there.
The demise of the chain, and the Bridgehampton store, brought back memories for the shoppers this week.
“It’s sad,” said Arnone. “It’s the end of an era. We shopped here for Christmas every year. It was a mainstay out here.”
HOUSTON, Texas — A growing Houston restaurant group is ready to unveil its latest creation. Maven at Sawyer Yards will open this Friday, October 18.
Located in a former commercial trucking station on the Sawyer Yards campus (1501 Silver St.), the new restaurant is an evolution of Maven Coffee + Cocktails, the beverage-focused concept created by Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and his business partners, local entrepreneur Juan Carlos de Aldecoa and attorney Jimmy Doan as part of the Rex Hospitality Group.
Currently, Maven operates coffee shops and cocktail bars at Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center, and the Thompson Hotel, but the new Sawyer Yards location is an all-day restaurant that opens at 7 am daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The 2,400-square-foot space has been divided into a main dining room, bar, and an outdoor patio.
TAMPA, Fla. — The man who gained social media fame with TikTok posts as he was riding out two hurricanes in his boat has been arrested in Tampa, Florida.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrest records show Joseph Malinowski, 54, known as “Lt. Dan” after his TikTok posts, was arrested Friday for trespassing and failure to appear in court on previous charges of operating an unregistered vehicle and having no valid drivers license.
Malinowski rejected pleas from officials to seek shelter and instead remained in his boat during Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
Malinowsky, whose nickname comes from a character in the movie “Forrest Gump” who rides out a hurricane in a boat, remained jailed Saturday, according to online jail records.
Court records do not list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
In Harris County, there are 2.68 million people registered to vote.
Harris County is known for its long ballots. To prepare before entering the voting booth, check HarrisVotes.com to familiarize yourself with it and create a plan to vote confidently.
Before you arrive at your polling location, make sure to have some personal identification. That could be a driver’s license, voter’s registration card, or passport.
All polling location hours will be from 7 a.m.- 7 p.m.
The early voting window for the 2024 election ends on Friday, Nov. 1.
For those relying on public transportation, METRO will offer voters free rides to and from the polling locations. Voters will disclose to their bus driver if they’re coming from a voting location or going to one.
Efforts are also still being made to encourage people to get out and vote. Denver Harbor Cares, an East Houston voter outreach group, spoke with ABC13 as they knocked on doors, reminding people of the upcoming election.
The group’s work can be seen as risky, as SB1- a controversial bill that made it a felony for voter outreach organizations to assist people “in the presence of the ballot” or during the voting process”-has led to other groups being investigated for voter harvesting.
The group told ABC13 they aren’t trying to sway voters, just get them to vote.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an apparent double murder-suicide in northeast Harris County where three people, including two brothers, were shot and killed during what officials are calling a domestic dispute among neighbors Thursday evening.
Officials said it started in the 11700 block of S. Spicewood Lane around 11 p.m. when a woman and her boyfriend were fighting.
HCSO said during the argument that the woman took her two children to the home next door where three brothers lived for safety reasons. Police said they were unclear about how well the men knew the woman but were told that the woman felt safe enough to go there for help.
The woman’s boyfriend then came over, where he was confronted by the three brothers outside. Police said that is when the boyfriend reportedly pulled out a gun and fatally struck 2 of them.
HCSO said one of the three brothers also pulled out a weapon and returned fire at the suspect, who ran back to the home where he shared with the woman.
HCSO said that shortly after, the woman’s boyfriend then turned the gun on himself once deputies arrived. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said the two brothers who were killed were in their 30s and 50s.
While looking at the scene, deputies said this was not the first time law enforcement was called to this home. Officials said just a few days earlier, there had been a family violence call between the woman and the boyfriend, but details on the incident were limited.
No names have been released of the victims, and officials said the surviving brother, the woman, and her two kids are said to be OK and are cooperating with law enforcement.
The Safi family, who fled war-torn Afghanistan three years ago and settled in southwest Houston, recently experienced an unimaginable loss when their 8-year-old son, Zakirullah Safi, died from meningitis.
On Oct. 10, Zakirullah, a third-grader at Bonham Elementary, fell ill at school with a fever and headache. His family took him to the hospital, where he passed away shortly after.
Parents at Bonham Elementary expressed concern about the school’s sanitation, with some pointing to recent budget cuts at HISD. One parent, Haylie Buckhan, said she hadn’t been informed about the meningitis case right away and was worried about the school’s cleanliness. Buckhan plans to keep her son home for 10 days as a precaution. Other parents, like Alph Coleman, felt the school seemed clean and supportive.
The Houston Health Department is investigating the case, and HISD has made counselors available for those in need. The Safi family, who had moved to the U.S. after working for the military, is grieving the loss of their son, who had a passion for cricket and loved playing with friends.
H-E-B is facing a $1 million lawsuit over an incident that occurred at a Bellaire location earlier this year, when a 3-year-old girl lost four fingers in an accident on the store’s escalator. The lawsuit against TK Elevator Corporation and H-E-B, LP was filed Wednesday in Harris County.
What the hell is happening to the Whole Foods Berry Chantilly cake?
Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the child identified as “A.W.,” said the incident occurred on March 30 when the 3-year-old became trapped “by a dangerously wide gap between the escalator steps and the skirt.” Her parents were unable to free her, and four fingers were severed down to her palm, leaving only her thumb on her right hand. Doctors were unable to reattach the fingers.
The lawsuit alleges that the escalator wasn’t maintained and that its safety features were inoperable, resulting in the accident, which occurred at the store located at 5106 Bissonnet St. “This tragic incident has forever altered the life of a 3-year-old child and her family,” Crump said in a statement. “The defendants failed in their basic duty to keep customers safe, and their negligence resulted in a young child losing her fingers in a horrific incident that could have been avoided with proper maintenance. This was completely preventable.”
“At H-E-B, we are deeply committed to our customers and their safety,” the company said in a statement to MySAFriday afternoon. “This was an incredibly unfortunate accident that we are taking seriously. Although, based on our current investigation of this matter, the escalator was serviced by a third-party company, we will do our best to support the family through this difficult time.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the escalator was put back in service before state authorities investigated, thus destroying potential evidence. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $1 million in damages for A.W.’s injuries, emotional distress, and ongoing medical needs.
