Amarillo

Two men were killed and two others were injured when a runaway freight train slammed into about 30 standing boxcars early Sunday, authorities said. Steve Favreau, 29, of Amarillo, the brakeman on the Santa Fe freight, and Robert Dawson, 44, of Amarillo, the conductor, were killed when the train carrying fruits and vegetables slammed into the unattended boxcars, officials said, but it was not immediately known what caused the accident.

HOUSTON -- A JetBlue Airways pilot who roamed the cabin raving about terrorists before being subdued by passengers was found not guilty by reason of insanity Tuesday, according to a court filing obtained by The Times. U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson issued the ruling during a bench trial in Amarillo, noting that Clayton Osbon suffered from a "severe mental disease or defect," according to the Associated Press. Osbon's attorney, Dean Roper, declined to comment to the Associated Press.  After a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, Osbon had been found competent to stand trial.

A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas landed unexpectedly in Amarillo, Texas, Tuesday morning after the co-pilot took over for the captain, who suffered a sudden "medical situation," a airline spokeswoman told The Times. "The pilot in command elected to divert to Amarillo, TX for a medical situation involving the Captain," the airline said in a statement. "Another Captain, traveling off duty, entered the flight deck prior to landing at Amarillo, and took over the duties of the ill crew member once on the ground.

A federal judge in Texas has ordered the JetBlue Airways pilot accused of disrupting a Las Vegas-bound New York flight with rants about religion and terrorists to undergo a psychiatric exam. The order signed by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson in Amarillo on Wednesday will send pilot Clayton Osbon to an unidentified medical facility for federal prisoners. There, he'll undergo tests to determine if he was legally sane on March 27 when passengers subdued him after he allegedly sprinted through the plane shouting about Jesus and Al Qaeda . The exam also will determine if Osbon, 49, is competent to stand trial, court staff told The Times.

A federal judge in Texas has ordered the JetBlue Airways pilot accused of disrupting a Las Vegas-bound New York flight with rants about religion and terrorists to undergo a psychiatric exam. The order signed by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson in Amarillo on Wednesday will send pilot Clayton Osbon to an unidentified medical facility for federal prisoners. There, he'll undergo tests to determine if he was legally sane on March 27 when passengers subdued him after he allegedly sprinted through the plane shouting about Jesus and Al Qaeda . The exam also will determine if Osbon, 49, is competent to stand trial, court staff told The Times.

HOUSTON -- A JetBlue Airways pilot who roamed the cabin raving about terrorists before being subdued by passengers was found not guilty by reason of insanity Tuesday, according to a court filing obtained by The Times. U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson issued the ruling during a bench trial in Amarillo, noting that Clayton Osbon suffered from a "severe mental disease or defect," according to the Associated Press. Osbon's attorney, Dean Roper, declined to comment to the Associated Press.  After a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, Osbon had been found competent to stand trial.

Kobe Bryant fans weren't the only people in Los Angeles on Friday night looking glum. If you didn't have a reservation on opening night at Paiche, the Marina del Rey Peruvian izakaya from chef Ricardo Zarate, you were in for an hour wait. The packed 12-seat bar greeted diners upon entering the subtly aquatic-themed space. Every seat was filled, including chef tables adjacent to the open kitchen, which provided a view of Zarate and his team of nearly a dozen carefully plating slices of Amazonian fish.

Two wildfires erupted in Amarillo, destroying 14 mobile homes and several other structures before they were brought under control, officials said. There were no reports of injuries.

Amarillo Slim earned his reputation on the poker table, but he also is becoming known for his love of another sport. The former world poker champion has built a golf course in his back yard that was named this year's Most Unique Course in Texas by the Dallas Morning News on Sunday. It's an exercise in excess, although it only has four par-3 holes. A person driving into this Panhandle city on a clear night can see seven colors of lights shooting into the sky from the golf course.

On his knees, his head aching, his body shaking, his stomach churning, Golden Richards, in a cold sweat, would hover in his bathroom over the toilet in desperate search. He had to do something. There were no more painkillers--no more Percodan pills--in the medicine cabinet or under the bed or in whatever hole he had chosen as the latest hiding place for his drugs. His demons demanded immediate satisfaction. He had consumed the last of his stash.

A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas landed unexpectedly in Amarillo, Texas, Tuesday morning after the co-pilot took over for the captain, who suffered a sudden "medical situation," a airline spokeswoman told The Times. "The pilot in command elected to divert to Amarillo, TX for a medical situation involving the Captain," the airline said in a statement. "Another Captain, traveling off duty, entered the flight deck prior to landing at Amarillo, and took over the duties of the ill crew member once on the ground.

Of course, New Yorkers get that the city can be unbearable when summer peaks. The defiant-chic pretend not to notice, and they stroll Fifth Avenue with ice cream cones and pack outdoor cafes on the waterfront till all hours of the night. But not this week. Ice cream melted faster than it could be eaten. And a faint fog surrounded St. Patrick's Cathedral as blasts of cold air from inside collided with hot air on the street. On Friday, the temperature reached 103 degrees in Central Park, and with the humidity, weather experts say, it felt like 115. New Yorkers were not the only oppressed.

Two wildfires erupted in Amarillo, destroying 14 mobile homes and several other structures before they were brought under control, officials said. There were no reports of injuries.

Victims of a discredited 1999 drug sting in the Texas panhandle town of Tulia will receive a $5-million settlement from the nearby city of Amarillo, attorneys announced Thursday. Two women who were swept up in the early morning raid, which civil rights groups said was racially motivated, brought a lawsuit last year. Amarillo -- the lead city in the regional narcotics task force involved -- is the first government entity to settle.

"Oh, man," said Luis Rodriguez, eyeing the steak dinner headed his way. It was the voice of dread more than desire. He rubbed his belly, a condolence to his own innards. What on earth could have possessed him to attempt such a gluttonous feat?

Amarillo Slim earned his reputation on the poker table, but he also is becoming known for his love of another sport. The former world poker champion has built a golf course in his back yard that was named this year's Most Unique Course in Texas by the Dallas Morning News on Sunday. It's an exercise in excess, although it only has four par-3 holes. A person driving into this Panhandle city on a clear night can see seven colors of lights shooting into the sky from the golf course.

AMARILLO, Texas - It's well after midnight in a parched corner of Texas known as the buckle of the Bible Belt, down the road from the Jesus Christ is Lord Travel Center, which is just what it sounds like: an evangelical truck stop. In the back of an empty strip mall, an up-and-coming hip-hop artist with the self-assurance and billowing locks of Samson is shooting a video. His hair is up in a tidy bun and he's enduring a second hour of makeup transforming him into the likeness of a gender-bending woman, all of which makes more sense once you know that Adair Lion began his career by destroying it. Hip-hop has been described as the heartbeat of urban America, but for years, it had an open secret - that heart was brimming with hate.

Doug Michels, an avant-garde architect and designer whose best-known public art piece, Cadillac Ranch -- a line of 10 vintage Caddies buried hood down and tailfins up off the interstate near Amarillo, Texas -- became an American cultural icon, has died. He was 59.

Two men were killed and two others were injured when a runaway freight train slammed into about 30 standing boxcars early Sunday, authorities said. Steve Favreau, 29, of Amarillo, the brakeman on the Santa Fe freight, and Robert Dawson, 44, of Amarillo, the conductor, were killed when the train carrying fruits and vegetables slammed into the unattended boxcars, officials said, but it was not immediately known what caused the accident.