Austin news

• Report: Child care now costs more than in-state college tuition

  29-09-2016 23:47 via kxan.com
  
  COLUMBUS (WCMH) — More and more parents with young children are heading back to work, but they are finding its extremely expensive to pay for good child care.
  The average cost of full-time daycare for kids up to the age of 4 now costs $9,589 a year. That’s more than the average national cost of in-state college tuition, which runs about $9,410.
  The report, from think tank New America and reported by CNN Money, shows parents earning the median household income of $53,000 a year w
  
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• Officer who shot knife-wielding man will not face charges

  29-09-2016 23:25 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police Department Officer Matthew Michaelson will not face charges for shooting and injuring a knife-wielding man on March 20.
  The owner of the La Michoacana Meat Market at 9811 N. Interstate 35 — near East Rundberg Lane — called 911 saying a man in the parking lot was threatening his customers with a knife. When officers arrived, they found the 34-year-old suspect, William Mann, behind the business. Mann ran from police along the frontage road and was ev
  
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• New mom welcomes twins at age 60

  29-09-2016 23:08 via kxan.com
  
  EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) Last year, Claudette Cook and her husband decided to start a family, but they knew they’d have to deal with a few bumps in the road.
  Now, she’s a mother for the first time, after her 60th birthday.
  “Isaiah came out first, and Isaac came out second,” said Claudette Cook.
  Claudette beat all the odds, giving birth to fraternal twins Sunday night.
  “I cried. I was like, you know, you look at TV and you see other people in the delivery room and you&r
  
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• Manor residents experiencing major back-up on Highway 290

  29-09-2016 22:43 via kxan.com
  
  MANOR, Texas (KXAN) — While many complain about the traffic in Austin, the rapidly growing suburbs are also seeing an increase in congestion as well.
  For Dorothea Heater, her once 15-minute commute on U.S. Highway 290 in Manor has doubled in recent years. She says the area between Highway 290 and Lexington Street is a “nightmare.”
  For many Manor residents, their complaint is focused on the stretch of signal lights on Highway 290 from Farm to Market 973 to Gregg Manor Road,
  
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• Nearly 150K Wells Fargo accounts in Texas possibly affected

  29-09-2016 22:35 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEO of Wells Fargo says nearly 150,000 Texas accounts possibly were affected in the banking scandal that’s drawn the attention of Congress.
  Chief Executive John Stumpf testified Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee that the bank is expanding its review of accounts and roles of executives. Stumpf, who’s newly stripped of tens of millions in compensation, provided the Texas figure during the hearing.
  U.S. and California regulators have fine
  
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• Mother stops kidnapper in the act, rescues 2-year-old

  29-09-2016 22:11 via kxan.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque mom said her instincts kicked in after a stranger walked off with her daughter just outside her apartment complex.
  Kadisha Medina said the family had just returned home from the park Tuesday.
  “My husband and younger son came in first,” Medina said as her 2-year-old daughter followed close behind.
  “She’s independent, likes walking on her own,” she said. “She was sitting on the steps like she always does.&rdqu
  
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• ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ home for sale at $4.5 million

  29-09-2016 20:13 via kxan.com
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (WCMH) — The San Francisco home that has become a makeshift memorial for Robin Williams is on the market for $4.5 million.
  According to KGO-TV, Flowers are often spotted on the sidewalk in front of the home that was featured in the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” left in memory of the late actor Williams, as well as messages written on trees.
  The four bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom home is on the market for $4.5 million and the seller is appropriately a retiring su
  
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• Man may have contracted Zika from dying father’s tears

  29-09-2016 20:02 via kxan.com
  
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A Utah man who mysteriously contracted Zika from his infected father may have got it by touching his dad’s tears or sweat with his bare hands, according to new research that found the unusual transmission method was likely caused by his dying father having 100,000 times the normal level of the virus.
  The research done by University of Utah doctors and published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, doesn’t give definite answers to why the fathe
  
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• Serial ‘pooper’ caught on camera, accused of over a dozen deposits

  29-09-2016 19:47 via kxan.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (WDSU) Right outside his bar room in New Orleans’ St. Roch neighborhood, John Victorson has seen late nights turn into early mornings, but what happened recently has caught him off guard.
  “Somebody has been coming along early in the morning and defecating in the corners,” said Victorson. “It’s just that kind of neighborhood, not everyone can get home quick enough.”
  In recent weeks, neighbors said the problems have worsened. One neighbor
  
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• Police searching for missing elderly man in Steiner Ranch

  29-09-2016 18:44 via kxan.com
  
  STEINER RANCH, Texas (KXAN) — Austin police are assisting the Travis County Sheriff’s Office to find a missing elderly man.
  There is a heavy police presence in the area, KXAN viewers tell us they have seen helicopters in the area since Wednesday night. The man is believed to have gone missing on Quinlan Road.
  A search and rescue is underway. Police are deploying K9s to search for the missing man.
  We are working to get more information. 
  
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• Cedric Benson sued over dog attack

  29-09-2016 18:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Former University of Texas at Austin running back Cedric Benson has been sued over an alleged attack by his Rottweiler on a woman and her dog, according to court records.
  Lynn and Jerry Comegys filed the lawsuit in Travis County District Court after Benson’s “Rottweiler dogs” jumped on Lynn, knocked her down and attacked her and her dog, Carson, on July 18, according to the lawsuit.
  The Sept. 27 lawsuit names Benson and CMB Family LP—a Texa
  
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• Taylor ISD reevaluating seat belts after school bus crash

  29-09-2016 18:32 via kxan.com
  
  TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — A Taylor ISD bus driver is recovering after a crash on Loop 397 Thursday morning.
  Taylor police say Tony Sorrells, Jr., had a teenager in his SUV when he slammed into the school bus in the 1000 block of Loop 397/Carlos Parker Blvd. The impact caused the bus to roll across the grass median before landing on its wheels on the other side of the road.
  “We ran out there and we went across the median,” said Darrell Mikulencak, who works across the road and
  
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• Taylor ISD bus crashes, driver of SUV arrested

  29-09-2016 18:32 via kxan.com
  
  TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — A Taylor ISD bus driver is recovering after a crash on Loop 397 Thursday morning.
  Taylor police say a man driving an SUV, identified as Tony Sorrells, Jr., crashed into the bus in the 1000 block of Loop 397/Carlos Parker Blvd. No children were on board the bus. The crash caused the bus to roll across the grass median before coming to rest upright in the southbound lane.
  The bus driver was taken to the hospital and was released several hours later.
  Sorrells, who polic
  
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• Taylor ISD bus crashes, driver injured

  29-09-2016 18:32 via kxan.com
  
  TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — A Taylor ISD bus driver is recovering after a crash on Loop 397 Thursday morning.
  There weren’t any students on board at the time of the crash. The driver was transported to a hospital for treatment. According to school officials, the driver is alert and talking.
  A KXAN investigation revealed how Texas’ seat belt law is failing to protect students on school buses. While safety measures are a federal requirement on smaller buses the decision to add se
  
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• Police: Couple believed to be supplying Austin with K2

  29-09-2016 17:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police say a husband and wife team who own a moving company are responsible for supplying the bulk of the K2 drugs to the city.
  A confidential informant led police to Charles Herd, 56, and his wife Juanita Price, 41. Police believe the couple was involved in the most recent outbreak of K2 in Austin that has led to numerous overdoses. The couple would drive to Houston to pick up with synthetic marijuana to bring back to Austin to sell, according to the arres
  
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• Informant leads police to couple linked to recent K2 outbreak

  29-09-2016 17:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police say a husband and wife team who own a moving company are responsible for supplying the bulk of the K2 drugs to the city.
  A confidential informant led police to Charles Herd, 56, and his wife Juanita Price, 41. Police believe the couple was involved in the most recent outbreak of K2 in Austin that has led to numerous overdoses. Herd admitted to police they would drive to Houston to pick up the synthetic marijuana to bring back to Austin to sell.
  
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• Texas AG files lawsuit against Obama over ‘internet control’

  29-09-2016 15:56 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN/AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration seeking to halt the government from making the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) independent at the end of the month.
  The U.S. Commerce Department has limited oversight of ICANN. The contract between the government and ICANN will expire Sept. 30. President Obama has said that he has plans to make ICANN fully independent. From shopping online to sharing ph
  
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• Train crashes at New Jersey station; 1 dead, 74 hospitalized

  29-09-2016 15:24 via kxan.com
  
  HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) — A speeding rush-hour commuter train crashed through a barrier at the busy Hoboken station and lurched across the waiting area Thursday morning, killing one person and injuring more than 100 others in a tangle of broken concrete, twisted metal and dangling cables, authorities said.
  People pulled concrete off bleeding victims and passengers kicked out windows and crawled out amid crying and screaming after the arriving New Jersey Transit train ran off the end of its trac
  
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• Commuter train hits New Jersey station; no word on injuries

  29-09-2016 15:24 via kxan.com
  
  HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) — A commuter train has crashed into a rail station in New Jersey, causing serious damage.
  TV footage and photos from the scene Thursday morning show damage to the rail car and extensive structural damage to the station.
  Radio station WFAN anchor John Minko told New York radio station WINS that the train “went right through the barriers and into the reception area.”
  Rail service was suspended in and out of Hoboken.
  There is no word so far on any injuries. 
  
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• Commuter train hits New Jersey station; multiple injuries

  29-09-2016 15:24 via kxan.com
  
  HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) —  A New Jersey Transit spokeswoman says that a commuter train that crashed into a train station in Hoboken was coming from Spring Valley, New York, on the Pascack Valley Line.
  Nancy Snyder says there were multiple injuries, but it’s not clear how many, after Train No. 1614 crashed into the Hoboken train station around 8:45 a.m. She says the train left Spring Valley at 7:23 a.m. Thursday.
  TV footage and photos from the scene Thursday morning show damage to the
  
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• Forum answers questions about Sobriety Center coming to Austin

  29-09-2016 14:46 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin’s first Sobriety Center is expected to open next year.
  However, one groups says many Austinites are confused about how it is going to operate. There is a forum on Thursday to help answer questions from nearby businesses and residents.
  The Sobriety Center will take over the Medical Examiner’s office on Sabine Street. (KXAN Photo/Paul Shelton)The Sobriety Center is going to be housed inside the current Medical Examiner’s Office. The center will p
  
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• Protesters march across Austin against anti-abortion amendment

  29-09-2016 14:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN/AP) — Protesters will take to the streets to voice their stance against a law passed 40 years ago that makes it harder for Texas women to pay for abortions.
  Thursday marks the 40th anniversary of the federal passage of the Hyde amendment. It is a provision that stops the use of certain federal funds, like Medicaid, to pay for abortions. The only exception is to save the live of a mother or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape.
  Pro-Choice groups will march
  
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• 2 kids, teacher shot at South Carolina School; teen arrested

  29-09-2016 13:33 via kxan.com
  
  TOWNVILLE, SC (WSPA) – Anderson Co. deputies say there was a shooting at Townville Elementary school around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.
  Deputy Chief Keith Smith says the incident happened on the playground behind the school and the shooter never entered the school.
  The sheriff says the suspect got out of his vehicle and started firing immediately. Anderson District 4 Superintendent Joanne Avery said a teen suspect is in custody and there is no longer an active threat. Deputies say there
  
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• Police: Clown chases woman in Ohio

  29-09-2016 13:00 via kxan.com
  
  FRANKLIN, Ohio (WDTN) – Police departments all over the Miami Valley are tracking reports of bizarre and threatening clowns.
  In the last few days they’ve been spotted in Brookville, Greenville and most recently, Franklin.
  Authorities say the clowns that attacked a man in Greenville on Tuesday were only wearing clown makeup. On Wednesday, a Franklin woman called police after being chased by one dressed from head to toe.
  Dispatcher: “Franklin Police, Fire and EMS.”Caller: &
  
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• ‘Smart Work Zone’ to alert I-35 drivers in real time

  29-09-2016 05:47 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — How much will a work zone affect your trip on Interstate 35? The Texas Department of Transportation says the answer will soon be as plain as the sign in front of you.
  The department is installing a “Smart Work Zone” system on the Mobility35 improvement project on I-35 between Stassney Lane and William Cannon Drive. The system, featuring real-time travel information and a message sign to notify drivers, will be in place by Friday
  The zone has side scanning microw
  
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• East Austin apartment complex gets notice to move out

  29-09-2016 05:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — People at an East Austin apartment complex are asking for help, after getting a notice to move out within 30 days.
  They say that’s not enough time to find a new place to live.
  Wednesday, several Austin City Council members attended a rally at Blanton Elementary School in support of those being forced out. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, Council Member Delia Garza, Council Member Sabino “Pio” Renteria, and Council Member Greg Casar voiced their support
  
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• More than the Score: High school football, Texas volleyball

  29-09-2016 04:56 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Rick Cantu from the Austin American-Statesman joins Roger on More than the Score to talk high school football and Texas volleyball.
  
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• Audit: Parks and Rec’s resource allocation ‘ineffective’

  29-09-2016 04:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Right now, many parks in the city of Austin are in need of repairs. KXAN learned the number of complaints concerning Austin’s greenbelts, trails and parks are growing. A city audit found the way Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) allocates its resources is ineffective.
  “Every time I walk by the park, I look over to this area and hope that the — that I won’t see the orange barricades and that it will have be
  
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• Audit: Parks & Rec backlog, maintenance repair times increase

  29-09-2016 04:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Right now, many parks in the city of Austin are in need of repairs. KXAN learned the number of complaints concerning Austin’s greenbelts, trails and parks are growing. A city audit found the way Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) allocates its resources is ineffective.
  “Every time I walk by the park, I look over to this area and hope that the — that I won’t see the orange barricades and that it will have be
  
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• Leander ISD checks all school visitors against sex offender registry

  29-09-2016 04:31 via kxan.com
  
  LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — Three are in the hospital following a school shooting in South Carolina, and KXAN wanted to know what changes local districts have made to help keep your children safe.
  Leander ISD had a complete safety audit done after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2011.
  They looked at all aspects of safety, including what areas of campuses could be most vulnerable if a dangerous person showed up.
  Security changes are still happening because of that audit. In fact, this
  
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• Would gondola cable cars work in Austin? New study seeks answers

  29-09-2016 04:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An idea that could have you soaring above Austin traffic is now a bit closer to taking off.
  The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority approved $5,250 Wednesday to study a gondola cable car system in Austin. The money is CTRMA’s share of the study’s $15,750 price tag, with the rest coming from the city of Austin and Capital Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
  The system would be called the Wire, with the concept to start on a route that would have 19 st
  
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• Funding approved to study gondola cable car system in Austin

  29-09-2016 04:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An idea that could have you soaring above Austin traffic is now a bit closer to taking off.
  The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority approved $5,250 Wednesday to study a gondola cable car system in Austin. The money is CTRMA’s share of the study’s $15,750 price tag, with the rest coming from the city of Austin and Capital Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
  The system would be called the Wire, with the concept to start on a route that would have 19 st
  
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• Students trade classroom for Barton Springs for the day

  29-09-2016 02:39 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hundreds of local students left the classroom to spend a day at Barton Springs Pool, not just to swim, but for a full day of outdoor learning.
  We swim and play at Barton Springs Pool on a hot Texas day. However, this local watering hole has a much more to offer than just recreation. That’s the idea behind an event called Barton Springs University.
  Many students and even local residents were invited to Barton Springs University to learn how special the springs and
  
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• Not old enough to vote, Texas sixth grader calls for Trump

  29-09-2016 01:48 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) — You’re never too young to get involved in politics. Just ask Ben. He’s 11 years old, not quite old enough to vote, but spends his days reaching out to those who can.
  “Well I noticed that Trump was slipping in the polls a little bit,” Ben said, “And I asked my Mom what I could do to help out since I know I can’t vote.”
  Ben started volunteering at the Harris County Republican Party’s office in South Texas. He makes thousands
  
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• With ‘Super Lice’ in Texas schools, some call for more parent education

  29-09-2016 01:47 via kxan.com
  
  PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — Lice are a part of life. Here in Texas, the state urges school districts to keep children in school, even if they have the parasites. But as lice become more resistant to over-the-counter treatments, parent frustration is rising with the number of cases in their child’s classrooms.
  “Five. I know five kids with lice right now,” said Mandy Major, a Highland Park Elementary School mom. “What I want to see is kids getting trea
  
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• With ‘Super Lice’ in Texas schools, a call for more parent education

  29-09-2016 01:47 via kxan.com
  
  PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — Lice are a part of life. Here in Texas, the state urges school districts to keep children in school, even if they have the parasites. But as lice become more resistant to over-the-counter treatments, parent frustration is rising with the number of cases in their children’s classrooms.
  “Five. I know five kids with lice right now,” said Mandy Major, a Highland Park Elementary School mom. “What I want to see is kids getting t
  
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• Improving Texas’ ocelot population with wildlife crossings

  29-09-2016 00:25 via kxan.com
  
  PHARR, Texas (KXAN) — In order to protect Texas’ endangered population of ocelots, special wildlife corridors are currently being built along a major highway in South Texas to make sure the animals are able to travel to other areas without being hit by vehicles. In South Texas, approximately 95 percent of the habitat has been cleared.
  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the wildlife corridors are tracts of land or habitat that are linked and allow wildlife to travel from one
  
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• Reports of exploding Samsung washing machines lead to warning

  29-09-2016 00:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (WCMH) — The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning after reports that some Samsung washing machines could have safety issues after reports of exploding washers.
  The warning, covers Samsung washing machines made between March 2011 and April 2016, according to CNN. No model was specified.
  Samsung says the company is in active discussions with the CPSC to address ‘potential safety issues.’
  We are in active discussions with the CPSC to address potential safety
  
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