Austin news

• Bullied Texas teen kills self in front of family as they beg her not to do it

  02-12-2016 18:57 via kxan.com
  
  TEXAS CITY, Texas (AP) – Family members of a Houston-area high school student who killed herself are rallying for tighter laws against cyberbullying.
  Brandy Vela’s family says cyberbullying pushed the 18-year-old over the edge, leading her to shoot herself in the chest Tuesday afternoon at the family’s Texas City home as family members watched.
  Her father, Raul Vela, said she had been receiving abusive text messages for months from bullies using an untraceable smartphone applic
  
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• MAP: Road closures, available parking for UT Commencement weekend

  09-05-2024 18:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hook 'em!Thousands of students at the University of Texas at Austin will cross the stage and earn graduate status at this weekend's commencement ceremonies. With those celebrations comes plenty of proud family, friends and loved ones and — you guessed it — traffic.Here's a day-by-day breakdown of planned road closures and traffic changes amid this weekend's pomp and circumstance.For those driving to the ceremonies, the University of Texas at Austin Police Depart
  
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• Disney+, Hulu, Max team up for streaming mega bundle

  09-05-2024 17:56 via kxan.com
  
  (WXIN) - Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up for a new streaming bundle to include Disney+, Hulu and Max.According to the announcement on the Walt Disney Company’s website, the services will be offered together this summer, providing an “unprecedented selection of content” from ABC, CNN, DC, Discovery, Disney, Food Network, FX, HBO, HGTV, Hulu, Marvel, Pixar, Searchlight, Warner Bros. and many more.People will be able to get the bundle from any of the three platfor
  
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• Torchbearers begin Olympic flame's journey across France

  09-05-2024 17:53 via kxan.com
  
  MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Joyful crowds gathered along the streets of France’s southern port of Marseille on Thursday to see torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame through the city's most emblematic sites, a day after it arrived on a majestic three-mast ship for a welcoming ceremony.It was the first leg of an 11-week journey across the country for the torch, which will be carried by about 10,000 bearers as it passes through more than 450 towns until the Games' opening
  
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• Texas ranch owner missing dozens of ostriches after extreme flooding

  09-05-2024 17:53 via kxan.com
  
  VALLEY MILLS, Texas (KWKT) – The flooding in Texas over the weekend has ruffled some feathers, and one ranch is seeking to find dozens of missing ostriches.The Superior Ostrich Company in Valley Mills is looking for many of its birds that got loose."I've always had a finger in the ranching operation here all my life and I've seen several floods, but this was one of the granddaddy of all floods," said Reg Lindberg, Superior Ostrich Company founder.Lindberg believes the floodwaters carried t
  
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• Austinites are getting a say in the city's 2024-25 budget, here's how

  09-05-2024 15:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- City of Austin residents have the opportunity this month to provide input on how the city's 2024-25 budget should be allocated.
  The city launched an interactive budget survey tool that people can use to choose their top priorities from a comprehensive list of options.
  City of Austin's 2024-25 budget survey (Screenshot of the City of Austin's website)
  The city said the tool aims to provide participants with a "meaningful opportunity to engage with the City and ensure that the bud
  
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• Jarrell City Council talks sexual harassment, discrimination reported by city manager

  09-05-2024 14:03 via kxan.com
  
  JARRELL, Texas (KXAN) — At their meeting Tuesday night, Jarrell city council members discussed and responded to allegations made in a sexual harassment and discrimination complaint filed by the city's manager. The complaint alleges inappropriate behavior from three male council members and at least one instance of unwanted touching.In a social media post on May 4, Mayor Patrick Sherek said the council would address harassment and sexual discrimination reported by City Manager Danielle Sing
  
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• At least 20 allegations of abuse against former Austin pastor

  09-05-2024 14:00 via kxan.com
  
  Investigative Summary:Allegations of sexual misconduct against a former Lutheran pastor have split a North Austin congregation and sparked an extensive church investigation. KXAN spoke with people alleging abuse, dug into the pastor’s long history of ministry and followed the church’s effort to move forward with accountability and transparency.AUSTIN (KXAN) – For decades, Dr. Helen Maidment carried mixed memories of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in North Austin.On one side, there
  
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• What exactly is a tornado emergency?

  09-05-2024 13:27 via kxan.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — The first-ever tornado emergency in Michigan was issued Tuesday, one of many called across the country in recent weeks as severe weather tears through states in the Plains and Midwest. As massive storms barrel East, homes and property have been destroyed and thousands of people have gone without power.The National Weather Service called an emergency for areas of Michigan on Tuesday evening amid forecasts of a damaging tornado and hail. At the time, other spots in M
  
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• UT Board of Regents respond to DPS presence at campus protests

  09-05-2024 05:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Following law enforcement responses at recent protests on University of Texas campuses, the Board of Regents removed all doubt today about the lead up to those events."Many have questioned the use law enforcement from outside agencies. To be clear, no president in the UT system made those decisions on their own. The chancellor and I and this board are always involved in those decisions. They were the right decision, and we will do it again, if needed," said Kevin Eltife, chairma
  
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• Longhorns track and field aiming for titles in last Big 12 meet

  09-05-2024 04:41 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When the Texas Longhorns move to the Southeastern Conference next year, there's something head track and field coach Edrick Floreal is going to miss about the Big 12."The trophies," he said, with a laugh. "We've won our fair share, and lost our fair share, but we've been pretty consistent at the top." UT jumper Ackelia Smith eyeing Paris 2024 Olympic Games for JamaicaUnder Floreal in his sixth season, the Longhorns are gunning for their fifth-consecutive women's outdoor tra
  
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• Air you can wear: What's with all the haze?

  09-05-2024 04:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We haven't had much sun the last week here in Austin, but even when the sun has been out, visibility has been limited. The haze in the air has made it tough to see distant buildings, distant clouds or the blue in the sky. You can blame three things for this: Humidity, agricultural burning in Mexico, and particulate pollution.Hazy Thursday evening from Westlake HillsHigh humidityThe humidity has been tropical with dew points in the 70s making even the early mornings feel unc
  
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• Despite Texas' record budget surplus, schools face deficits

  09-05-2024 01:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Parents of Cy-Fair ISD students criticized state and district leaders this week, frustrated that their schools are some of many facing budget cuts due to widespread deficits after state lawmakers failed to increase basic school funding last year."The decisions being made by our governor, senators, TEA Commissioner, and CFISD Board of Trustees are stumping us both academically and inspirationally," one parent told the board.Cy-Fair fears they may have to remove nearly 300
  
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• Ippei Mizuhara, ex-interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, to plead guilty in sports betting case

  09-05-2024 00:52 via kxan.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case in which prosecutors allege he stole nearly $17 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.The scandal surrounding Ippei Mizuhara shocked baseball fans from the U.S. to Japan when the news broke in March.Mizuhara will plead guilty to one count of bank fraud and o
  
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• Shoal Creek Conservancy wants people to be able to swim in the creek, trail to be 13 miles long

  09-05-2024 00:45 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Shoal Creek Conservancy celebrated its 10th anniversary Wednesday, remarking on all the improvement projects it has already accomplished and signaling what is to come. Shoal Creek is the oldest hike and bike trail in Austin. The Shoal Creek Conservancy was formed in late 2013 to enhance the trail and improve the creek’s water quality. “We are the active champions for Austin's oldest hike and bike trail,” said Ivey Kaiser, the executive direct
  
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• RECALL: Dog eyelid wipes may expose pets, owners to bacteria, fungi

  09-05-2024 00:35 via kxan.com
  
  (NEXSTAR) — Pharmaceutical company Bausch + Lomb is recalling about 32,000 units of its Project Watson Eyelid Wipes for dogs over concerns that the products may unintentionally grow bacteria and fungi in their containers.According to the recall, Bausch + Lomb has received seven reports of growths in the product's containers, though there have been no reports of illness in either pets or humans.The recalled products can be identified by the following features:
  The words "Project Watson" and
  
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• 'High-end,' ultra rare pineapple coming to US

  09-05-2024 00:35 via kxan.com
  
  (WJW) – It’s being billed as an "ultra-premium luxury 'designer' fruit that appeals to high-end consumers."Yes, you read that right — we're talking about a piece of fruit.This week, Rubyglow pineapples, with their red, distinguishing shells, were officially introduced to the U.S. market. Fresh Del Monte Produce first debuted the fruit in China in January 2024, with demand quickly outpacing supply, prompting a "global waitlist," according to the company.This particular variety &
  
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• House blocks Greene’s resolution to oust Johnson

  09-05-2024 00:34 via kxan.com
  
  The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to protect Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from a conservative coup, torpedoing an effort by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to oust the GOP leader from the top job.The chamber voted 359-43-7 on a motion to table Greene’s motion to vacate, preventing the removal resolution from hitting the floor for a vote.The final vote — which was widely expected amid bipartisan opposition to the ouster gambit — deals a major blow to Greene, w
  
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• DPS sent 115 personnel on first day of protests at UT Austin

  09-05-2024 00:16 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Three units with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) sent a total of 115 personnel to the University of Texas at Austin campus April 24 as people gathered at a protest in support of Gaza.KXAN obtained this information through a public information request to DPS. Leaked memo reveals inside details of UT’s protest responseDuring the first day of the protest, 57 individuals were arrested.San Antonio response sent the most with 50 DPS personnel, Capitol FFO Team s
  
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• 8 Longhorns named to All-Big 12 softball team, Atwood tabbed player of the year

  08-05-2024 23:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With team success comes individual awards, and by looking at the All-Big 12 and postseason award selections, the Texas Longhorns had a very successful season.Eight Longhorns were named to the conference's all-star team while three, including head coach Mike White, picked up superlative honors, the league announced Wednesday. Big 12 Conference softball tournament scheduleSophomore catcher Reese Atwood was named the player of the year, pitcher Teagan Kavan was tabbed the fres
  
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• Greene moves to oust Speaker Johnson

  08-05-2024 23:47 via kxan.com
  
  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) moved to force a vote on ousting Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday, a momentous move that is all but certain to fail amid opposition from Democrats and conservative Republicans.Greene — who filed her motion to vacate against Johnson more than a month ago — called her resolution to the floor as privileged on Wednesday, forcing GOP leadership to move on the measure within two legislative days.Lawmakers are expected to quickly motion to t
  
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• Average childcare worker in Texas makes $11 hour; advocates push for change

  08-05-2024 23:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) --- Every year, families spend thousands of dollars on childcare in Texas.
  According to research at the University of Texas at Austin, the cost adds up to nearly 14% of the state's average median household income.
  But even with the high costs, childcare advocates said caretakers are not paid a livable wage. It's a problem both local and national groups discussed on Wednesday. RELATED COVERAGE: Child care in Travis County is the most expensive in Texas, new data show'It's extremely
  
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• Texas House Speaker unveils interim work for lawmakers

  08-05-2024 23:29 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced Wednesday the priorities he wants lawmakers to work on during the off-legislative session season.
  The Republican speaker's list of interim charges includes dozens of assignments for House committees to work on before legislators return to Austin for the 89th session in January. Much of their charges include tracking new laws to "ensure the intended legislative outcome" of the bills.It comes after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made his lis
  
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• Parents of slain cyclist file lawsuit against Kaitlin Armstrong

  08-05-2024 23:24 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The parents of professional cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson, who was shot and killed in Austin in 2022, have filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against the woman convicted of killing her. Jury finds Kaitlin Armstrong guilty of murdering Mo WilsonIn November 2023, a Travis County jury found Kaitlin Armstrong guilty of murder in Wilson's death. Wilson was staying with a friend ahead of a gravel race when she was shot and killed on May 11, 2022.In November 2023, Armstrong wa
  
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• Want to tour the Moody Center? How to get a behind-the-scenes look

  08-05-2024 22:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — From birthday events and anniversaries to everything in between, Austinites will soon have a new way to ring in special occasions with behind-the-scenes tours of the Moody Center, the venue shared online.Tickets for the 75-minute tours go on sale May 13 at 10 a.m. CT. Once available, tours will be offered every other Thursday in June, July and early August at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
  Attendees will get an up-close look at back-of-house artist hallways, dressing rooms and the speci
  
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• Police search for suspect after sexual assault on Leander trail

  08-05-2024 21:59 via kxan.com
  
  LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — Police said they're asking for help to find a suspect who allegedly grabbed a girl riding her bicycle on a Leander trail and sexually assaulted her.
  Leander police said this happened Tuesday sometime between 4 and 4:26 p.m. along the wooded trail behind Benbrook Ranch Park, located at 1100 Halsey Drive. Officers could not locate the suspect, though, after conducting an extensive search of that area.
  Detectives described the suspect as a white man who's approximately
  
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• Recycling company CEO enters guilty plea in environmental pollution case

  08-05-2024 21:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The CEO of a recycling company based in Colorado County recently entered a guilty plea related to an environmental pollution case dating back to 2019, according to the Travis County District Attorney's Office.Inland Recycling, LLC CEO David Polston pleaded guilty to the offense of Intentional or Knowing Unauthorized Discharge.According to the DA's office, in April 2019 Polston allowed his Inland Recycling, an oil and gas recycling facility located in Colorado County, to discharg
  
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• Ascension warns of cyber security event amid 'unusual activity'

  08-05-2024 21:28 via kxan.com
  
  Editor's note: The above video shows KXAN News' top morning headlines from Wednesday, May 8, 2024.AUSTIN (KXAN) — Ascension, a health care company with locations in Central Texas, said it detected unusual activity on select technology network systems Wednesday.The company said it believed it was due to a cyber security event.“At this time we continue to investigate the situation,” Ascension said. “We responded immediately, initiated our investigation and activated our rem
  
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• Trudy's announces closure of south Austin location

  08-05-2024 21:04 via kxan.com
  
  Editor's note: The above video shows KXAN News' top morning headlines from Wednesday, May 8, 2024.AUSTIN (KXAN) — Trudy's Authentic Tex-Mex announced Monday it closed its South Star location at 901 Little Texas Lane, Ste. C.The news came amid an announcement of possible new locations around the Austin area, along with expansions into both the Houston and San Antonio markets. PAST COVERAGE: Local artist worries about work hanging in Trudy’s, amid restaurant bankruptcy filing“We
  
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• Man convicted by jury, sentenced on 2022 murder charge

  08-05-2024 20:59 via kxan.com
  
  Editor's note: The above video shows KXAN News' top morning headlines from Wednesday, May 8, 2024.AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man was convicted and sentenced April 17 to 25 years in prison in connection with a 2022 homicide investigation.According to Travis County court documents, 45-year-old Deddrick Amerson was charged with first-degree murder. PAST COVERAGE | Police: Arrest warrant issued for man connected to stabbing death near Waterloo ParkThe sentence was related to the July 21, 2022, death of
  
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