Austin firefighter stabbed early Monday

AUSTIN — A Texas firefighter was stabbed in the thigh early Monday morning by a man accused of starting multiple fires that firefighters were putting out along Interstate 35 in Austin, authorities said.
Austin Fire Department shift commander Eddie Martinez told the Austin American-Statesman that the firefighter’s injuries weren’t life-threatening.
Martinez said the man accused of starting the fires had walked onto the interstate, and as firefighters tried to remove him from the roadway, he became agitated and stabbed the firefighter.
The fire department said on Twitter that the injured firefighter was treated at a hospital and released and was doing OK.
Fire officials say the suspect was arrested on the scene.
Authorities did not immediately say what object the firefighter was stabbed with.
Lanes on I-35 near the incident were closed for a time but had reopened by 5:45 a.m.

Law banning race-based hair discrimination signed by Abbott

Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill prohibiting race-based hair discrimination in Texas workplaces, schools and housing policies.
House Bill 567, introduced by Democratic Rep. Rhetta Bowers of Rowlett, sailed through both chambers of the Legislature with overwhelming support after the same bill stalled during the legislative session in 2021. The policy, which Abbott signed Saturday, will go into effect Sept. 1.
Twenty states have passed the CROWN Act — an acronym for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, according to the CROWN Coalition, an organization that champions the legislation. Harris County, the state’s most populous, and the city of Austin have adopted versions of the legislation.
The movement against natural hair discrimination reached national headlines in 2020 with a series of instances, including two students near Houston who were told to cut their hair or be disciplined.

Man accused of shooting Migos star Takeoff indicted on murder charges

HOUSTON — The man accused of fatally shooting Migos rapper Takeoff last year outside a Houston bowling alley has been indicted on a murder charge, according to court records.
Patrick Xavier Clark had been freed on a $1 million bond when a grand jury in Houston indicted him Thursday.
Letitia Quinones-Hollins, one of Clark’s attorneys, said the indictment was not unexpected.
“When we get inside a courtroom and in front of a jury, where we will be able to put on our evidence and cross-examine the state’s witnesses … we expect the jury will come back with a verdict of not guilty,” Quinones-Hollins said Thursday in a statement.
Takeoff was shot in the head and back as more than 30 people were leaving a private party at the bowling alley around 2:30 a.m. Nov. 1. Houston police have said the gunfire followed a disagreement over a “lucrative” game of dice outside the bowling alley, but that the 28-year-old rapper was not involved and was “an innocent bystander.”
Clark, 33, who worked as a DJ and nightclub promoter, was arrested on Dec. 1.
Authorities allege that surveillance video showed Clark was holding a wine bottle in one hand when he fired his gun. Fingerprints found on the bottle were later used to identify him. FBI sources had also pointed to Clark being present at the shooting, according to police.
Clark’s next court hearing is set for Aug. 23.

TSU President retires after two years

Texas Southern University President Lesia Crumpton-Young has retired from her position just two years after joining the historically Black university in Houston.
In a May 15 letter to the chair of the TSU board of regents announcing her decision to leave, Crumpton-Young said she was “called to expand my commitment to transforming lives by helping elevate HBCUs to a broader national stage.”
It’s unclear if she has secured a new position.
In a statement, Albert Myres, TSU board of regents chair, said the board unanimously agreed to Crumpton-Young’s request to retire. TSU did not respond to additional questions Friday.
The board has appointed regent Mary Evans Sias to manage a transition oversight committee in the meantime.
Crumpton-Young came to TSU soon after it was revealed that unqualified students were admitted to the university and given more than $2 million worth of scholarships between 2017 and 2019; meanwhile, other applications weren’t reviewed. The scandal led to the ousting of former president Austin Lane. Ultimately, the board and Lane came to a confidential departure agreement that did not accuse him of wrongdoing. He is now the chancellor of Southern Illinois University.

Senior PGA names Stricker champion

FRISCO — Steve Stricker squeezed his daughter and temporary caddie Izzi just a little harder after finishing a comeback and winning the Senior PGA Championship.
Now a six-time senior major winner, Stricker shared this one with Izzi, a high school golf champion in Wisconsin, where Stricker also was born and raised.
Stricker beat Pádraig Harrington on the first hole of a playoff for the Senior PGA title Sunday, giving the 56-year-old American a sweep of the first two majors of the season.
Stricker and Harrington, who was trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner of the Senior PGA since Rocco Mediate in 2016, finished 18 under. Stricker shot 3-under 69 and Harrington 70.
Stricker’s win came two weeks after a second consecutive victory in the Regions Tradition.
Harrington’s first PGA Tour Champions title was the U.S. Senior Open last year, when he held off Stricker by a stroke in a duel of the opposing Ryder Cup captains from 2021.

Fort Worth strip club shooting wounds three

FORT WORTH, Texas — A man wounded three people when he opened fire in the parking lot of a Texas strip club early Sunday before being fatally shot by the club’s armed security, authorities said.
The man opened fire in the direction of people in the parking lot after being asked to leave, following a fight inside Temptations Cabaret located just west of Fort Worth, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office said.
The three people who were shot by the suspect were hospitalized and were expected to survive, authorities said. The suspect died at a hospital.
Earlier this month, two people were wounded after being stabbed at the club.
Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez said he has requested that county officials “take all necessary and legal steps” to close the club.
A message could not be left at the phone number listed for the club.