Austin news

• Weekend Gardener: Preventing spider mites

  07-01-2017 22:18 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — During the winter months, spider mites could be hanging out under the leaves of plants in your garden.
  John Dromgoole with the Natural Gardener has some tips on how to easily get rid of spider mites and prevent them from returning back to your plants.
  
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• Recommended healthcare screenings for adults

  07-01-2017 22:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As we enter the new year, it’s a good time to see what screenings you need ahead of time.
  Dr. Grace Honles was in the studio with Leslie Rangel to talk about what adult screenings are available at the Austin Diagnostic Clinic.
  
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• Body found in vehicle near Del Valle

  07-01-2017 21:35 via kxan.com
  
  DEL VALLE, Texas (KXAN) — Authorities are investigating after a body was found inside a vehicle near Del Valle Saturday morning.
  According to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, a Hispanic man in his 20s was found inside the vehicle, near SH 71 and Doctor Scott Drive.
  The sheriff’s office tells KXAN there are no obvious signs of foul play. The Travis County Medical Examiner’s office is investigating the cause of death.
  
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• Fire destroys mosque under construction near Lake Travis

  07-01-2017 20:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Travis County Fire Marshal’s is investigating a fire that destroyed a mosque near Lake Travis.
  The Austin Fire Department and Lake Travis Fire and Rescue responded to the fire around 3 a.m. at the 4700 block of Doss Road in Hudson Bend. Once they arrived to the scene, fire crew discovered a three-story building fully engulfed in flames.
  Crews extinguished the exterior of the building to keep the fire from spreading. The building was still under construction for th
  
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• U-turn bridge at I-35 and 51st Street to temporarily close Sunday

  07-01-2017 20:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Drivers who routinely go through the intersection at Interstate 35 and 51st Street in central Austin will see a major change this upcoming weekend.
  Starting at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, the southbound to northbound turnaround bridge will be closed as part of the Mobility 35 improvement project. The construction on the intersection started back in the fall. Once completed, the intersection will have a roundabout, a bypass lane and a better u-turn for drivers.
  During the closure
  
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• Crews working to restore power in parts of Leander

  07-01-2017 18:56 via kxan.com
  
  LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — More than 3,000 members are experiencing a power outage in Leander, according to Pedernales Electric Cooperative.
  At around 10 a.m. crews were notified of the outage. As of 11:35 a.m power was restored to a majority of Pedernales Electric members.
  Electricity crews are out working to fully restore all power by 12:30 p.m.
  If you are a member of Pedernales Electric Cooperative and need to report an outage, you are asked to call 888-883-3379.
  
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• PHOTOS: Freezing temperatures sweep across Central Texas

  07-01-2017 17:39 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Temperatures this morning dropped to the teens and a few low 20s across Central Texas, making it the coldest morning since February, 2011. A hard freeze occurred, stopping flowing water in its tracks in area fountains and pools.Check out some of the sights. Frozen water features on this frigid Saturday morning Freezing fountain in Northwest Austin (KXAN Viewer / Skip Crorey)
  18 degrees in downtown Kyle creates an icy fountain at City Square Park. (Report It: Kerry Urbanowic
  
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• Gunman picked off passengers, sent crowds fleeing at airport

  07-01-2017 16:29 via kxan.com
  
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Without a word, the gunman moved through the baggage claim picking off travelers until his handgun ran out of ammunition, leaving five dead and eight wounded in Fort Lauderdale’s airport.
  Panicked witnesses ran out of the terminal and spilled onto the tarmac, baggage in hand. Others hid in bathroom stalls or crouched behind cars or anything else they could find as police and paramedics rushed in Friday to help the wounded and establish whether there were
  
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• FBI: Gunman flew to Florida specifically to attack airport

  07-01-2017 16:29 via kxan.com
  
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Iraq war veteran accused of killing five travelers and wounding six others at a busy international airport in Florida appears to have traveled there specifically to carry out the attack, authorities said Saturday, but they don’t know why he chose his target and have not ruled out terrorism.
  Authorities said during a news conference that they had interviewed roughly 175 people, including a lengthy interrogation with the cooperative suspect, 26-yea
  
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• Longtime Texas Rep. Sam Johnson, 86, to retire at term’s end

  07-01-2017 04:14 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Longtime Texas Rep. Sam Johnson has announced he will retire at the end of his term.
  Johnson, 86, was a fighter pilot in Vietnam and Korea before his election to Congress in 1990. He spent seven years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton.
  On Capitol Hill, the Republican has been a stalwart conservative as a fierce defender of gun rights, an opponent of tax increases, and a hawk on military matters. He attracted attention recently when he introduced legislati
  
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• Rare glass penny from World War II sells for $70k

  07-01-2017 03:41 via kxan.com
  
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A rare experimental glass penny made during World War II has netted a pretty penny at auction — selling for $70,500.
  Heritage Auctions announced Friday that the penny was sold during Thursday’s auction based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to an American buyer who wishes to remain anonymous.
  During the war, copper was needed for ammunition. The U.S. Mint authorized tests that included making uncirculated pennies from other metals, plastic and rubber. T
  
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• Austin paramedic fired following drunk driving arrest

  07-01-2017 03:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A paramedic with Austin-Travis County EMS has been indefinitely suspended after getting arrested for drunk driving. Then, while on mandatory leave, a memo shows Gregg Block did not tell his supervisors about a subsequent trip to see family in California.
  The memo shows Block, who is 44, was pulled over by Cedar Park police in July for speeding. Tests showed his blood alcohol level was .16. That’s twice the legal limit.
  Block has been with Austin EMS since 2001 accordi
  
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• US report: Putin ordered effort to help Trump, hurt Clinton

  07-01-2017 03:22 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a hidden campaign to influence America’s presidential election in favor of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, U.S. intelligence agencies declared Friday in the government’s first formal allegation supporting sensational claims that Trump and his supporters have staunchly resisted.
  READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
  The intelligence report, an unclassified version of a more-detailed classified account given earlier to Trump,
  
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• Pflugerville police chief of more than a decade retires

  07-01-2017 02:42 via kxan.com
  
  PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — The Pflugerville Police Department has a new leader for the first time in more than a decade.
  Friday was Chief Charles Hooker’s last day on the job. He joined the department in 1983 as a patrol officer.
  Hooker rose through the ranks before becoming chief in 2004. Former Austin Police Assistant Chief Jessica Robledo will be taking his place for now as interim chief.
  She was pinned at a ceremony this afternoon by former Austin police chief and now Hous
  
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• Preparing your home and lawn for a deep freeze

  07-01-2017 01:34 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s so cold—the coldest temperatures in nearly three years—that plants are dying and home heating systems are running all day and all night. With the forecast predicting several days of frigid temperatures, local experts are giving tips on how to keep your lawn and home protected.
  “This is not rare for Austin, if you’ve been here long enough you can experience some very deep freezes in the past,” John Dromgoole, owner of the Natural
  
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• Community owned brewpub, Black Star Co-op, could close its doors

  07-01-2017 01:24 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Touted as the world’s first cooperatively owned and worker self-managed brewpub, the Black Star Co-op may be forced to shut down if revenue doesn’t go up.
  The co-op first opened its doors in 2010, a labor of love by the community that was years in the making. It’s supported by over 3,500 Member-Owners.
  “The biggest difference with us is we’re paid a fair living wage,” explained Team Leader, Jodi Lang. “We don’t work
  
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• Will Trump’s promised wall become taxpayer-funded fence?

  07-01-2017 01:22 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — It was the signature promise of his campaign: Donald Trump vowed to build an impenetrable, concrete wall along the southern border. And Mexico was going to pay for it.
  Now as he nears inauguration, that wall is sounding increasingly like it could end up a fence. And his team and Congressional Republicans are hatching a plan in which taxpayers — at least initially — would foot the bill.
  Trump and his aides insisted Friday the president-elect wasn’t breaki
  
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• What we know about Ft. Lauderdale shooting suspect Esteban Santiago

  07-01-2017 00:17 via kxan.com
  
  FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (AP/NBC NEWS) — The brother of the man who has been tentatively named as the suspect in a deadly shooting at a Florida airport says the suspect had been receiving psychological treatment while living in Alaska.
  Bryan Santiago tells The Associated Press that his family got a call in recent months from 26-year-old Esteban Santiago’s girlfriend alerting them to the situation.
  Esteban was “fighting with a lot of people” during his time in Alaska, Bryan San
  
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• Dental Board proposes improvements in sedation safety

  07-01-2017 00:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — New recommendations are out Friday meant to keep you and your family safe when you go to the dentist. The steps are in response to lawmakers demanding The State Board of Dental Examiners improve oversight of dentists giving anesthesia to patients.
  This is all because of recent deaths and medical emergencies involving patients under anesthesia, like 14-month-old Daisy Lynn Torres who died while under anesthesia at an Austin dental office last spring. An autopsy found co
  
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