Austin news

• Vatican calls cremation ‘brutal destruction,’ bans scattering of ashes

  25-10-2016 23:49 via kxan.com
  
  VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Tuesday published guidelines for Catholics who want to be cremated, saying their remains cannot be scattered, divvied up or kept at home but rather stored in a sacred, church-approved place.
  The new instructions were released just in time for Halloween and “All Souls Day” on Nov. 2, when the faithful are supposed to pray for and remember the dead.
  For most of its 2,000-year history, the Catholic Church only permitted burial, arguing that it be
  
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• 24 charged with dealing K2 in downtown Austin, 18 remain on the run

  25-10-2016 23:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In an Austin police warrant roundup on Monday, 24 people were arrested in connection to dealing the drug known as K2. Eighteen warrants are still outstanding.
  In August, Austin-Travis County medics and Austin firefighters responded to numerous call for people who became violently ill after taking K2, also known as synthetic marijuana. The vast majority of the incidents happened near the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) at East Seventh Street and Neches St
  
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• AISD health screenings identify children at risk for Type 2 diabetes

  25-10-2016 23:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — This month, Austin Independent School District students are getting screened for a health condition you’ve likely never heard of: Acanthosis Nigricans. It’s a skin condition that can mean there are high levels of insulin in the body, which puts a child at risk for Type 2 diabetes.
  The skin condition can be found behind a child’s neck. Doctors and nurses look for a light brown or black velvety, rough or thickened area on the back of the neck. High
  
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• Travis Co. Commissioner gets national attention for funny campaign ad

  25-10-2016 22:16 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (AP/KXAN) — Travis County Precinct 3 Commissioner Gerald Daugherty is getting some national attention for his online campaign video featuring his wife.
  In the video, Gerald’s wife, Charlyn, pleads for voters to re-elect her husband so he’ll get out of the house and relieve her of his nonstop prattling about county issues. The tongue-in-cheek ad posted to YouTube earlier this month shows Mrs. Daugherty rolling her eyes at the camera as her husband talks about ta
  
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• Texan who killed 2 endangered whooping cranes gets probation

  25-10-2016 21:21 via kxan.com
  
  BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — A Southeast Texas man must serve five years of federal probation for killing two endangered whooping cranes while hunting.
  Trey Joseph Frederick was sentenced Tuesday in Beaumont.
  A magistrate also ordered the 19-year-old Beaumont man to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution, barred Frederick from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition and prohibited him from hunting or fishing in the U.S. for the next five years.
  “This ruling has set a powerful precedent for
  
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• Are flying cars going to be available sooner rather than later?

  25-10-2016 19:35 via kxan.com
  
  HOLLISTER, CA (NBC) — A Silicon Valley company, Zee Aero, has been testing a prototype at Hollister Municipal Airport to “develop a revolutionary new form of transportation.”
  This summer, Zee Aero signed a 34-year lease for one acre of land between two landing strips in Hollister.
  The project the company is working on is under wraps, but a 2013 patent application for a “personal aircraft” filed by CEO Ilan Kroo, sheds some light on its mission to create “bette
  
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• Fort Worth taco restaurant on the move!

  25-10-2016 18:57 via kxan.com
  
  FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAN) — It’s not necessarily a taco truck, but it is a taco restaurant on a truck. On Tuesday morning, a popular Fort Worth restaurant was loaded up to make its move across town.
  Salsa Limon, a Fort Worth staple since 1947, is housed in a classic Streamline-styled building. KXAS reports it is one of the few remaining “classic-styled” roadside diners in the south and southwestern United States.
  A relocation crew lifted the building onto stilts and p
  
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• Refuge Ranch breaks ground on center for victims of sex trafficking

  25-10-2016 18:48 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The dream of a Central Texas center helping child survivors of sex trafficking is taking take a big step towards becoming a reality.
  Brooke Crowder with the Refuge Ranch joined us in the KXAN studio to talk about the groundbreaking.
  “Located on 50 acres in a beautiful and restorative setting outside of Austin, Texas, The Refuge Ranch will provide trauma-informed, holistic care for the girls on-site,” said Crowder.
  Artistic rendering of the inside of one of the c
  
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• Refuge Ranch breaking ground on center for victims of sex trafficking

  25-10-2016 18:48 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The dream of a Central Texas center helping child survivors of sex trafficking is taking take a big step towards becoming a reality.
  Brooke Crowder with the Refuge Ranch joined us in the KXAN studio to talk about the groundbreaking.
  “Located on 50 acres in a beautiful and restorative setting outside of Austin, Texas, The Refuge Ranch will provide trauma-informed, holistic care for the girls on-site,” said Crowder.
  Artistic rendering of the inside of one of the c
  
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• Hays County resolves issues with voting machines

  25-10-2016 17:45 via kxan.com
  
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — The Hays County Clerk has determined that it was a faulty cable connection that caused their voting equipment at the Hays County Precinct 2 location in Kyle to go down Tuesday morning.
  A spokesperson for Hays County says they noticed the problem at the early voting site at 9:50 a.m. The machines were back up and running by 11:10 a.m..
  “We went ahead and checked all the cables and it appeared to be that, so then we changed out the equipment and got it up
  
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• Hays County reports issues with voting machines at one location

  25-10-2016 17:45 via kxan.com
  
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — The Hays County Clerk is still trying to determine what caused their voting equipment at the Hays County Precinct 2 location in Kyle to go down Tuesday morning.
  A spokesperson for Hays County says they noticed the problem at the early voting site at 9:50 a.m. The machines were back up and running by 11:10 a.m., but the reason for the problem has not been released.
  On the first day of early voting, there was some confusion as to whether or not the Precinct 2 office at 5
  
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• Citizens help officer detain man attempting to steal police car

  25-10-2016 16:57 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two citizens came to the aid of an Austin police officer trying to pull a man out of a police car on Oct. 22.
  Officers were called to Red River Street in downtown Austin around 11:50 p.m. after reports of a disturbance. A man told arriving police, 22-year-old Alexander Porter, was drunk and trying to get in his car. Officers approached Porter, who was standing in the street with his hands raised in the air.
  Porter pulled away as the officer grabbed one of his hand
  
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• Travis County could see first Republican senator in modern memory

  25-10-2016 16:51 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — For the first time in modern memory, Travis County may have a Republican senator in the State Capitol.
  The race for one of the largest Texas senate districts is underway. Senate District 24 stretches from West Austin, to San Angelo, all the way up to Abilene and then back to Belton and Temple.
  A small group of supporters cheered and held signs for Dawn Buckingham outside of Bee Cave City Hall, where she cast her vote a straight Republican ticket. “As long as
  
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• First Republican senator from Travis County in modern memory could be elected

  25-10-2016 16:51 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — For the first time in modern memory, Travis County may have a Republican senator in the State Capitol.
  The race for one of the largest Texas senate districts is underway. Senate District 24 stretches from West Austin, to San Angelo, all the way up to Abilene and then back to Belton and Temple.
  A small group of supporters cheered and held signs for Dawn Buckingham outside of Bee Cave City Hall, where she cast her vote a straight Republican ticket. “As long as
  
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• Police cadets running through Austin to promote community unity

  25-10-2016 15:04 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The 134th and 135th classes of the Austin Police Department are lacing up their running shoes for the traditional Chief’s Run.
  Police cadets running through Austin for annual Chief’s Run (KXAN Photo/ Daniel Guerrero)Assistant chiefs will join the cadets on the run. They gathered at the Texas Peace Officers Memorial at the State Capitol to start to the race.
  After leaving the Capitol grounds, the runners are heading down Congress Avenue.
  The run is meant to promo
  
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• Ex-child psychiatrist accused of molesting patients goes to trial

  25-10-2016 13:47 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The trial is beginning for a former child psychiatrist accused of molesting boys at the Austin State Hospital.
  Dr. Charles Fischer is indicted on multiple charges of sexual assault and indecency with a child in 2012. He now faces five felonies, including two child sexual assault charges.
  Dr. Charles Fischer in court on Oct. 25, 2016 for molestation charges (KXAN Photo/ Daniel Guerrero)In 2011, Fischer was fired from the Austin State Hospital where he worked in the adolescen
  
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• Austin doctor accused of molesting patients, trial begins

  25-10-2016 13:47 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The trial is beginning for a former child psychiatrist accused of molesting boys at the Austin State Hospital.
  Dr. Charles Fischer is indicted on multiple charges of sexual assault and indecency with a child in 2012. He now faces five felonies, including two child sexual assault charges.
  In 2011, Fischer was fired from the Austin State Hospital where he worked in the adolescent unit. His medical license was also suspended.
  The Department of State Health Services released th
  
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• Man accused of filming crime spree, killing relatives on the run

  25-10-2016 13:00 via kxan.com
  
  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma authorities are still looking for a man who they say posted live videos to social media during a violent crime spree that included the shooting of two police officers, armed car thefts and the killing of his aunt and uncle.
  An arrest warrant including two counts of first-degree murder has been issued for 38-year-old Michael Dale Vance Jr. of Chandler, Oklahoma. He’s been wanted for more than 24 hours. Police say he was last seen early Monday about 30 mil
  
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• Man accused of filming crime spree, killing relatives

  25-10-2016 13:00 via kxan.com
  
  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma authorities are still looking for a man who they say posted live videos to social media during a violent crime spree that included the shooting of two police officers, armed car thefts and the killing of his aunt and uncle.
  An arrest warrant including two counts of first-degree murder has been issued for 38-year-old Michael Dale Vance Jr. of Chandler, Oklahoma. He’s been wanted for more than 24 hours. Police say he was last seen early Monday about 30 mil
  
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• Crews investigating cause of Southeast Austin fire

  25-10-2016 11:59 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A fire is now out, but crews are still working to learn the cause of what started ignited the flames near the HEB at Riverside and Pleasant Valley Road.
  Fire in Southeast Austin on Pleasant Valley Road (KXAN Photo/ Kate Weidaw)The fire was at a vacant building closing Pleasant Valley Road, according to the Austin Fire Department. It took firefighters an hour to control the flames.
  The building used to be a Champions Sporting store, but it has been vacant for years. Crews ar
  
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• Armed robbery caught on FaceTime in southeast Austin

  25-10-2016 04:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – An Austin college student was beaten and robbed at gunpoint by three men early Sunday morning in southeast Austin.
  Yale Gerstein ,19, was online with his girlfriend when he started hearing scratching on the door at his apartment in the 2300 block of Wickersham Lane, near East Riverside Drive. The Austin Community College students says when he tried to open the door the men barged in and started beating him with their pistols. “They were hitting me in the head wit
  
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• Armed robbery caught on FaceTime in Austin

  25-10-2016 04:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – An Austin college student was beaten and robbed at gunpoint by three men early Sunday morning in southeast Austin.
  Yale Gerstein,19, was online with his girlfriend when he started hearing scratching on the door at his apartment in the 2300 block of Wickersham Lane, near East Riverside Drive. The Austin Community College students says when he tried to open the door the men barged in and started beating him with their pistols. “They were hitting me in the head with
  
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• School segregation part of proposed Austin ISD Superintendent scorecard

  25-10-2016 04:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The superintendent of the Austin Independent School District received a 4-percent raise Monday night and a two year contract extension. Dr. Paul Cruz is two years into a three year contract. His salary goes from about $294,000 to $329,454 total compensation with benefits, and his new contract ends December 2019.
  The vote happened about thirty minutes before the board started discussing a new scorecard Dr. Cruz will be evaluated on this school year.
  The scorecard includes a
  
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• CapMetro lowers MetroRapid, Flyer fares starting Jan. 8

  25-10-2016 04:11 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Capital Metro board voted unanimously Monday to eliminate the premium category from their fare structure, taking effect Jan. 8, 2017.
  With this change, fares will be reduced for all local, MetroRapid and Flyer service to $1.25 for a single ride, $2.50 for a day pass, $11.25 for a 7-day pass and $41.25 for a 31-day pass.
  The premium fare currently includes two MetroRapid routes and nine Flyer routes, all of which feature fewer stops compared to local service.
  The transpo
  
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• Another letdown in Manhattan for the Longhorns

  25-10-2016 03:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The KXAN crew breaks down the Longhorns latest falter at Kansas State and the reason for Texas’ road struggles. Roger Wallace shares his thoughts on the 2016 Formula 1 US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
  
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• Longhorns hold out hope at home

  25-10-2016 03:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — It sounds like a broken record. Texas is 3-4 for the third straight year under head coach Charlie Strong. Bowl chances are up in the air with Baylor coming to Austin this weekend.
  While Texas’ record is what it is, the glimmer of hope is how the Horns have fared at home.
  “With us being at home, I expect us to play pretty well. There’s no reason for us not to. I told (the team)…you have five games left and you want to end up with a good year. You hav
  
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• Williamson County shatters record for first day of early voting

  25-10-2016 02:30 via kxan.com
  
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Williamson County shattered the previous turnout record for the first day of early voting.
  As of 6:15 p.m., more than 17,000 Williamson County voters cast ballots, according to Chris Davis, elections administrator for Williamson County. That’s compared to around 9,300 on the first day in 2012.
  Early voting: What you need to know
  Davis says the busiest voting sites are the Randall’s in Cedar Park and the Brushy Creek Community Center.&
  
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• Travis, Williamson counties shatter records for first day of early voting

  25-10-2016 02:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Williamson County and Travis County are shattering the previous turnout record for the first day of early voting.
  As of 6:15 p.m., more than 17,000 Williamson County voters cast ballots, according to Chris Davis, elections administrator for Williamson County. That’s compared to around 9,300 on the first day in 2012.
  Early voting: What you need to know
  Davis says the busiest voting sites are the Randall’s in Cedar Park and the Brushy Creek Com
  
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• Contract with voters meant to assure bond money goes toward congestion

  25-10-2016 02:15 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When the city council voted to put the mobility bond on the ballot, it also established a contract with voters. The idea is to make sure funding gets spent on projects and programs outlined in the $720 million bond.
  “Frankly, I think it’s one of the most important things about this proposal,” Mayor Steve Adler told KXAN, saying the first written contract with voters will assure the funding is spent in the way it’s been presented to voters,
  
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• Critical blood cancer treatment now available in Austin

  25-10-2016 02:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the span of one month, Ryan Smith went from having a clean bill of health at a doctor’s appointment, to feeling like he had the flu on a flight home. Another doctor’s appointment later, he learned he did have the flu – and cancer.
  “No one ever anticipates, your husband gets home from a work trip and within a day you are facing an entirely new existence,” said Ryan’s wife, Jennifer.
  Smith, a father of three, was diagnosed with
  
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• Manor ISD fails TEA financial accountability rating

  25-10-2016 01:48 via kxan.com
  
  MANOR, Texas (KXAN) — The Texas Education Association released its final financial accountability ratings for 2015-2016. The Manor Independent School District was the only Central Texas district to fail.
  More than 1,200 school districts and charter schools were rated, and 97 percent of them passed.
  The TEA looks at 15 different categories when coming up with a financial rating and score. Regardless of what score you get, there are five indicators that result in an automatic ‘F.&rsquo
  
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• Double-digit premium hikes coming to Obamacare plans

  25-10-2016 01:47 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Premiums will go up sharply next year under President Barack Obama’s health care law, and many consumers will be down to just one insurer, the administration confirmed Monday. That’s sure to stoke another “Obamacare” controversy days before a presidential election.
  Before taxpayer-provided subsidies, premiums for a midlevel benchmark plan will increase an average of 25 percent across the 39 states served by the federally run online market, accordin
  
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• Googly Eyed Over Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

  25-10-2016 01:43 via kxan.com
  
  Executive Pastry Chef Laura Sawicki stopped in with a darling and festive treat that isn’t tricky to make. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are a fun, and creative, Halloween-inspired dish. Mix the wet ingredients below, then combine with the dry ones. Use an ice cream scoop to make uniform size dough. You can refrigerate the dough to prepare in advance for parties. After they’re baked, Chef Laura used frosting to put the whoopie pie together. She suggested refrigerating them overnight to a
  
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• Texas State University student recalls chaotic party shooting

  25-10-2016 00:21 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — One man may be credited for helping to save the life of an 18-year-old woman who was shot over the weekend at a college party.
  Stephen Taylor, a Texas State University student, says he didn’t know the victim but he was determined to make sure she survived.
  “Even though I don’t know her, I really want her to be okay,” explained Taylor. “I didn’t get any sleep for the past two days because all I’ve been thinking about is th
  
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