• Trump: Why allow immigrants from ‘s—hole countries’

    WASHINGTON (AP) — In bluntly vulgar language, President Donald Trump questioned Thursday why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa rather than places like Norway, as he rejected a bipartisan immigration deal, according to people briefed on the extraordinary Oval Office conversation.
    Trump’s contemptuous description of an entire continent startled lawmakers in the meeting and immediately revived charges that the president is ra
  • President Trump uses profanity to disparage African nations

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump used profane language to disparage African nations in a meeting with lawmakers about a proposed bipartisan deal on immigration.
    That’s according to two people briefed on an Oval Office meeting held Thursday.
    Trump made the remark after Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin told Trump that under the proposal, a lottery for visas would be ended. Durbin said that in exchange, people from African countries that have benefited from that lottery would be g
  • Foster group comes together after boy’s beloved Woody doll is damaged

    KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Most children have one toy growing up they couldn’t do without. For one 3-year-old in the foster system that toy was Woody from “Toy Story.”
    “Woody is our youngest foster son’s best buddy,” said Renee Meier. “He got him from his big brother, who was also a foster child.”
    One night while Woody’s best bud was fast asleep, Woody got hurt. “Woody got left out and one of the puppies chewed on Woody’s han
  • Mary B’s frozen biscuits recalled due to listeria concerns

    PENSACOLA, Fla. (KXAN) — The company who makes Mary B’s brand biscuits are issuing a recall on the item due to potential contamination with listeria. The problem was discovered in a product sampling conducted by an outside co-packer, who manufactured the product.
    The products affected are the frozen bagged biscuits with a “best if used by” before Sept. 23, 2018 and with the letter “M” immediately after the date are included in the recall.
    The biscuits were dis
  • Advertisement

  • Diet Coke gets new look, new flavors amid sinking sales

    NEW YORK (AP) — Diet Coke is getting a makeover to try to invigorate the sugar-free soda’s slumping sales.
    Coca-Cola Co. said Wednesday it’s adding a slimmer 12-ounce Diet Coke can, updating the logo and offering the 35-year-old drink in four new flavors, including mango and ginger lime. The taste of the plain Diet Coke will stay the same, the Atlanta-based company said.
    Diet Coke sales have fallen as more people switch to other low-calorie drinks, such as flavored fizzy water.
  • Oversized stop signs, rumble strips along SH 130 frontage to help reduce crashes

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — A portion of the State Highway 130 toll has one of the fastest posted speed limits in the United States, topping at 85 mph. The speed limit drops to 65 mph on the frontage roads, where the majority of crashes happen, at intersections with slower moving traffic along county roads.
    The company that maintains the tollway is now taking new steps to ensure the 41-mile southern section of the road between State Highway 45 southeast and Interstate 10 in Seguin is safe for drivers.
  • San Antonio becomes first city in Texas to raise tobacco sale age to 21

    SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KXAN) — Even though a statewide bill to raise the legal age to buy tobacco to 21 failed in last year’s legislative session, the city of San Antonio is moving forward with its own law.
    On Thursday, the San Antonio City Council approved a new prdinance prohibiting stores within the city limits from selling tobacco products to anyone under 21 years old. According to the San Antonio Express-News, the law won’t go into effect until Oct. 1, which was a last m
  • Texas police say mom said her baby died during Oklahoma trip

    GREENVILLE, Texas (AP) — Law enforcement documents say the mother of a baby reported dead at North Texas gas station originally told police her daughter died on the way home from a trip to Oklahoma.
    A Greenville police arrest complaint released Thursday identifies the nearly 2-month-old girl as Alexiana Stevenson. Autopsy results are pending. Police have said they believe the baby died at her mother’s Greenville residence and the body was moved.
    Police documents say Stephanie Flynn o
  • Advertisement

  • New UT testing named for Beyoncé aims to combat antibiotic resistance

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin are working to screen hundreds of thousands of potential drugs used to fight infections. They believe this technique could help find new pathways to health in a world where more and more bacteria are resistant to antibiotics.
    The researchers have named this new technology SLAY (Surface Localized Antimicrobial Display) in a nod to a lyric in Beyoncé’s song Formation.
    “I was trying to think of an acronym to re
  • As more bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, UT using new testing method

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin are working to screen hundreds of thousands of potential drugs used to fight infections. They believe this technique could help find new pathways to health in a world where more and more bacteria are resistant to antibiotics.
    Their method for testing has found a way to gather information about a massive number (trillions) of possible molecules, a spokesperson for the College of Natural Sciences said.
    They say this innovation i
  • Feds say Texas failed to properly educate disabled students

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education says Texas for years violated federal law by denying students with disabilities access to proper public education.
    Thursday’s announcement comes after an investigation in which agency officials visited Texas and determined that the state put an illegal cap on the number of youngsters receiving special education services.
    U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement, “Far too many students in Texas had been preclu
  • New Texas Capitol security measures aimed at preventing ‘physical combat’

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — New security rules at the Texas Capitol are meant to curb violent protests while protecting free speech, the Department of Public Safety said in a release announcing the changes effective immediately.
    “It has been observed that some individuals or groups seek violent confrontations during protests and equip themselves for physical combat,” DPS said in a release Thursday, explaining that much of the new rules ban items that could be used in that way. Additionally
  • Sam’s Club abruptly closes several stores across Texas

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — Following reports of several Sam’s Club stores closing in the Houston area, KXAN has confirmed none of the six stores in the Austin area have been closed.
    KPRC in Houston reports three locations across the area were closed as of Thursday morning. A spokesperson for Walmart told KPRC the pharmacies at the closed locations will remain open until Jan. 26 so people can pick up their medications. KPRC also reports one store in San Antonio is also slated to close.
    Some empl
  • Gov. Abbott sets Texas candidate record for most cash on hand

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the last half of 2017, Gov. Greg Abbott managed to raise another $9 million to add to his already large campaign war chest.
    Now with $43.3 million in his campaign fund, Abbott has set a record for the most cash on hand a Texas statewide candidate has ever reported. According to Abbott’s campaign, more than 53 percent of the donations came from first-time donors and 85 percent of all donors are Texans.
    “There is more work to be done, and with the upcoming camp
  • Wheelchair-bound rock climber ascends 1,600 foot mountain

    HONG KONG (KXAN) — In 2011, professional rock climber Lai Chi-Wai was in a car accident that paralyzed him from the hip down. On the fifth anniversary of the crash, he climbed a mountain roughly the height of the Empire State Building, strapped into his wheelchair and supported by ropes.
    Now, he’s nominated for a prestigious award in honor of that feat — The Laureus World’s Best Sporting Moment of the Month. He’s the first Chinese athlete to be nominated for the rec
  • Local governments won’t say what they’re offering Amazon

    PHILADELPHIA (AP/KXAN) — Many state and local governments competing for Amazon’s second headquarters are refusing to disclose the tax breaks or other financial incentives they are offering the online giant.
    More than 15 states and cities, including Chicago, Cleveland and Las Vegas, have turned down requests from The Associated Press to detail the promises they’ve made. Many of them say they don’t want their competitors to know what they’re offering.
    Austin is one of
  • Alleged high school prank went unnoticed for years

    ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – A high school is still the victim of an embarrassing prank drawn on a practice field four years later.
    An aerial view of La Cueva High School when searching on Bing.com maps shows male genitalia etched across a large portion of a practice field.
    Albuquerque Public Schools said the image is four years old. The school was made aware of it back then and fixed the destruction to the field.
    Apparently, Bing just has not taken the image down in all that ti
  • Man accused of randomly punching children in southeast Austin

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man accused of hitting a 3-year-old at the beginning of December has now been arrested for allegedly hitting a 5-year-old at the end of the month near the same location. Neither child or people accompanying them knew the man.
    In the most recent case, the 5-year-old boy and his uncle were walking to a Shell gas station at 1211 Montopolis Dr. on Dec. 29. The uncle said he was catching his breath after crossing the road when a man near the entrance “started to yell for
  • Unidentified for decades, Texas soldier receives final rites

    HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas soldier who died in the final months of battle in World War II and whose remains were unidentified for decades is being interred at a military cemetery in Houston.
    A memorial service was held Wednesday at Houston National Cemetery for Army Pfc. Lonnie Eichelberger, a 20-year-old from Waco who died in heavy fighting with German forces in Italy.
    Eichelberger was part of the 92nd Infantry Division, which was the only African-American division to fight in Europe.
    He was
  • Low-cost veterinary clinic opens new facility in Austin

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin’s low-cost spay and neuter clinic, Emancipet, is getting a nice new home — a facility it says is state-of-the-art and doubles the size of some of its other clinics.
    Little Woody, an 11-week-old puppy, also has a new home.
    “You’re a good puppy — you’re a good boy!” his owner, Constance Misenhimer, told him.
    He snuggled into her arms after getting treated at Emancipet and looked around curiously in the clinic’s waiting ro
  • Could plastic bag ban be lifted? Texas Supreme Court hears case

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — There’s a chance a ban on plastic bags could be banned. The Texas Supreme Court is hearing a case out of Laredo, Texas, Thursday that could have statewide effects.
    The Laredo Merchants Association will present oral arguments, saying that the city of Laredo’s decision to no longer let businesses use plastic bags is illegal. The group says an existing state law regarding solid waste disposal pre-empts the city rules.
    If the Supreme Court agrees with its position,
  • Walmart raises starting wages, handing out bonuses

    BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Walmart, the country’s largest private employer, is boosting its starting salary for U.S. workers to $11 an hour, giving a one-time cash bonus of up to $1,000 to eligible employees and expanding its maternity and parental leave benefits.
    The retailer said Thursday that changes to its compensation and benefits policy will impact more than a million hourly workers in the U.S. The wage increase, up from $9 per hour for new workers, comes into play next month.
    Th
  • Walmart boosts starting pay to $11 an hour, offers bonuses

    NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart, the world’s largest private employer, is boosting its starting salary for U.S. workers to $11 an hour, handing out one-time cash bonuses to those who don’t benefit from the pay hike and expanding its maternity and parental leave benefits.
    The company said the moves that will affect more than a million hourly workers in the U.S. are tied to recently enacted tax legislation that will save it money. They do also reflect the tight labor market in which empl
  • Walmart boosts starting pay, closing dozens of Sam’s Clubs

    NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart confirmed Thursday that it is closing dozens of Sam’s Club warehouse stores across the country — a move that seems sure to cost jobs — on the same day it announced that it was boosting its starting salary for U.S. workers and handing out one-time bonuses to others.
    The world’s largest private employer said it was closing 63 Sam’s Clubs over the next week, with some shut already. A company official who spoke on condition of anonymity bec
  • See the largest collection of vintage Disney memorabilia in the world

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WPTV) — Joel Magee owns the largest private Disney World and Disneyland vintage memorabilia collection in the world.
    Magee is known as “America’s Toy Scout” and one of his most prominent collections includes hundreds of Disney park prop memorabilia, worth around $2 million. It is the largest, private original Disney World and Disneyland park prop collection in the world.
    “I guess I never left my childhood so they say. I love toys and I love Di
  • UT Men’s Basketball team battle for win as star player fights leukemia

    AUSTIN (KXAN) – Hours before the meet up with Texas Christian, University of Texas Men’s Basketball Coach Shaka Smart reminded his team of their purpose. Doctors had just confirmed the leukemia diagnosis of sophomore player, Andrew Jones.
    “As a team, we had a very, very important ‘why,'” Smart said. “We’re always talking about ‘why do you play’ and ‘why do you do the things you do?’ And, our why was very, very important tonight.&r
  • Trump work requirement rewrites health care rules for poor

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Rewriting the rules on health care for the poor, the Trump administration said Thursday it will allow states to require “able-bodied” Medicaid recipients to work, a hotly debated first in the program’s half-century history.
    Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said requiring work or community involvement can make a positive difference in people’s lives and in their health. The goal is to help people move from public
  • Major shift as Trump opens way for Medicaid work requirement

    WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major policy shift that could affect millions of low-income people, the Trump administration said Thursday it is offering a path for states that want to seek work requirements on Medicaid recipients.
    Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said work and community involvement can make a positive difference in people’s lives and in their health. Still, the plan probably will face strong political opposition and even legal challenges o
  • Sheriff: Crash causes major damage to traffic signal in Round Rock

    Williamson County (KXAN) — Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody has a traffic alert for Round Rock drivers.
    He says a crash at the intersection of RM 260 and Cornerwood Drive caused major damage to the traffic signal. Sheriff Chody says lights could be out until at least 6 a.m. or 7 a.m.
    For now use the intersection as a four way stop. He says TxDOT is going to place temporary stop signs until the lights are working again.
    According to the sheriff the crash did not cause any injuries.
    Wa
  • Southbound upper deck of I-35 closed while police look into crash involving APD officer

    Austin (KXAN) — Austin Police have the southbound uppder deck of I-35 shut down while officers look into a crash involving a police officer and K9 officer.
    No word yet on the cause, but police say the crash involves a semi truck, an on duty officer and a K9 officer. No injuries reported. The officer was taken to UMC Brackenridge and the K9 was taken to a veterinarian as a precaution.
    Austin Police say the officer’s patrol car has significant damage.
    APD hopes to have the upper deck o
  • APD officer and K9 involved in semi-truck collision on I-35

    Austin (KXAN) — Austin Police closed the southbound upper deck of I-35 while officers looked into a Thursday morning collision involving a police officer and K9 officer.
    No word yet on the cause, but police say it involves a semi truck, an on duty officer and a K9 officer. No injuries were reported. The officer was taken to UMC Brackenridge and the K9 was taken to a veterinarian as a precaution. Police say it happened around 12:30 a.m.
    Austin Police say the officer’s patrol car has s
  • Texas holds on for double-overtime win over TCU

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jericho Sims made a free throw with 5 seconds left, then Texas watched as TCU’s Jaylen Fisher missed a layup off the rim at the final buzzer to send the Longhorns to a 99-98 win over the 16th-ranked Horned Frogs in double overtime on Wednesday night.
    Sims had missed his second free throw and the Horned Frogs got the play they wanted with Fisher driving the lane for a point-blank layup that somehow bounced out.
    Texas got it biggest win of the season hour
  • Longhorns lose first Big 12 game, 77-75, to TCU

    FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Kianna Ray made two free throws with 6 seconds left and TCU beat a Top 10 team for the first time in more than eight years, upsetting No. 7 Texas 79-77 on Wednesday night.
    Ray was fouled by Ariel Atkins on a drive to the basket. That came after Atkins tied the game, and the second time in the final 38 seconds the two traded baskets. Atkins had made a short runner in the lane before Ray’s open 3-pointer put Frogs up 77-75.
    A final desperation 3 by Lashann Higg
  • 21-year-old fitness enthusiast dies days after getting flu

    GREENSBURG. Pa. (WPXI) — A 21-year-old in Pennsylvania has died from flu complications.
    Kyler Baughman was a seemingly fit 21-year-old who was working and going to school to become a personal trainer.
    When he came to visit for the holidays, his family said he looked rundown and had a bit of a stuffy nose.
    He celebrated Christmas with his family and returned to work Tuesday, but came home early, because he was not feeling well.
    His fiancee Olivia Marcanio said he was coughing and said
  • Students allegedly strip searched at East Texas high school

    CROCKETT, Texas (KETK) — Multiple agencies are investigating disturbing claims made at an East Texas high school.
    Crockett Police Department released a statement Tuesday evening in regard to two students who are believed to have been inappropriately stripped searched at Crockett ISD.
    Back on Nov. 2, 2017, Crockett police received a report of a high school student who was the victim of an inappropriate strip search. The complainant stated he was accused of bringing contraband onto campus.
    T
  • Too many food trucks: Austin food park shuts down citing crowded market

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — Once one of the features that kept Austin weird and made the city unique, food trucks are now so common, people in the industry say it’s creating issues.
    Sarah Hannon, owner of Midway Food Park at 1905 S. Capital of Texas Hwy says the saturation of food trucks in the Austin market is forcing her to close down the food truck park she’s been running for nearly five years.
    “When we first opened the park, it was when all of the trailers on Congress were g
  • Midway food truck park shuts down, citing crowded market

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — Once one of the features that kept Austin weird and made the city unique, food trucks are now so common, people in the industry say it’s creating issues.
    Sarah Hannon, owner of Midway Food Park at 1905 S. Capital of Texas Hwy says the saturation of food trucks in the Austin market is forcing her to close down the food truck park she’s been running for nearly five years.
    “When we first opened the park, it was when all of the trailers on Congress were g
  • New Austin Chamber of Commerce chair eyes international and tech opportunities

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — The year 2018 will be full of plenty of big decisions which will impact Austin businesses, and Phil Wilson plans to advocate for those businesses’ best interests on a local, state and even international level.
    Wilson is the 2018 chair of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and believes the next step in supporting Austin businesses will need to come from expanding international and educational opportunities.
    Wilson is the general manager of the Lower Colorado River
  • Texas dental chain settles after allegations of unnecessary procedures on children

    HOUSTON (AP) — A chain of dental clinics has agreed to pay about $24 million in civil penalties to settle allegations that it submitted Medicaid claims for unnecessary dental procedures on children.
    A Justice Department statement Wednesday said the federal government would receive more than $14 million of the settlement reached by Marietta, Georgia-based Benevix LLC and its Kool Smiles clinics. Texas and 16 other states will share almost $10 million, and three whistleblowers will share mor
  • Hiker and animal rescuer may face charges for freeing fox from trap

    PLACITAS, N.M. (KRQE) – A hiker and an animal rescuer are possibly facing charges because of what they did to rescue an animal.
    A routine hike near Placitas on Dec. 30 took an unusual turn for Lauri Dodge.
    “The dogs started barking and ran off into bushes and we could hear another animal just screeching,” says Dodge.
    When she caught up with them, she found a fox. “That’s when I went into save-the fox-mode,” Dodge explains.
    Dodge says the animal was s
  • Worst flu season in 4 years leads to crammed emergency rooms

    AUSTIN (KXAN) – Emergency room visits are at an all-time high as Austin doctors work through what they are calling the worst flu season in four years.
    “The number of visits at health care systems, physician offices and urgent care centers over the past week has really exploded,” said Dr. Ken Mitchell, the chief medical officer of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center.
    Mitchell says the hospital first started to see a spike in flu cases last December. According to offici
  • Emergency rooms crowded as Austin experiences the worst flu season in 4 years

    AUSTIN (KXAN) – Emergency room visits are at an all-time high as Austin doctors work through what they are calling the worst flu season in four years.
    “The number of visits at health care systems, physician offices and urgent care centers over the past week has really exploded,” said Dr. Ken Mitchell, the chief medical officer of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center.
    Mitchell says the hospital first started to see a spike in flu cases last December. According to offici
  • SWAT crisis negotiators ditch ammo for intel

    MAXWELL, Texas (KXAN) — Dozens of SWAT officers from around the world are meeting in Central Texas to train and compete, but this type of training does not look like what many people expect when they hear “SWAT.”
    This week’s competition focuses on hostage negotiation, working to resolve scenarios before they turn volatile.
    The crisis negotiators do not use tactical weapons, instead, they focus on making contact with suspects and victims involved in dangerous situations.
    E
  • Greg Kelley case spurs Cedar Park to look at day care regulations

    CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Choosing a day care can be one of the hardest decisions some parents make when their child is young.
    In Cedar Park, City Council Member Corbin Van Arsdale is using the situation surrounding Greg Kelley’s case as a way to discuss whether or not the city should consider getting into the business of regulating day cares. While the state manages and regulates day cares, the city could possibly look at adding requirements for local permits as well as have c
  • High-speed chase on I-35 in Comal County ends in deadly crash

    COMAL COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A man who authorities say led them on a chase that reached speeds of 100 mph on Interstate 35 ended up crashing his truck and dying.
    WOAI, the NBC affiliate in San Antonio, reports deputies with the Comal County Sheriff’s Office tried to pull over a reckless driver around 1 p.m. near the Hays County line but he refused to stop. The driver of the black Chevrolet truck continued southbound on the freeway, at times traveling at more than 100 mph.
    The driver
  • Ex-Liberty Hill missionary gets 40 years for sexually exploiting children at orphanage

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — Daniel Pye was sentenced to 40 years in prison for sexually exploiting children in Haiti while working as a missionary, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.
    Pye, 36, of Ashdown, Arkansas, previously lived in Liberty Hill, Texas. His sentence is to be followed by 25 years of supervised release.
    Pye was convicted in November 2017 after a week-long trial on three counts of traveling in foreign commerce with the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a min
  • Better system needed to support human trafficking survivors in Texas

    AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Human Trafficking Unit within the Texas Attorney General’s Office is training specific industries on how to identify this crime in their communities.
    “Every time we train, we tailor our training to that particular audience or group,” Kirsta Leeburg Melton, who leads the unit, said.
    During the 85th legislative session, lawmakers passed laws aimed at fighting human trafficking. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a measure in May requiring training for truck drivers
  • Jason’s Deli customer credit card information possibly stolen

    AUSTIN (KXAN) — People who have dined at Jason’s Deli recently and paid with a credit card should keep a close eye on their account activity after the restaurant determined their payments were compromised.
    Jason’s Deli says they were notified of the possible data breach a few days before Christmas by payment processors and then posted about the breach on their Facebook page on Dec. 28. According to the company, MasterCard security personnel had discovered a large quantity of pa
  • Man, girlfriend found with 70 pounds of cocaine in Fayette County

    FAYETTE COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A woman and man were found to have more than 70 pounds — or 35 kilos — of cocaine in their car Tuesday by Fayette County deputies during a traffic stop.
    Sheriff Keith Korenek says Cesar Garcia-Villalon, 20 and Paola Trejo-Gonzalez, 21, both from Mexico, were pulled over on Interstate 10 near Flatonia around 2:43 p.m. for a traffic violation.
    Sgt. Randy Thumann, with his K9 partner Lobos, became suspicious the car was hauling narcotics after speaki

Follow @Austin_News_US on Twitter!