Austin news

• Texas State fraternity suspends operations after student’s death

  01-11-2016 23:46 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — The Pi Kappa Alpha chapter at Texas State University is voluntarily suspending all operations until further notice after a student attending one of their parties was found dead Saturday morning.
  An investigation is still underway by the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office and now the university’s Office of Student Involvement after 20-year-old Jordin Taylor was found dead at a ranch southeast of San Marcos. Deputies are saying the bus tha
  
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• Texas State fraternity suspends operations after death under party bus

  01-11-2016 23:46 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — The Pi Kappa Alpha chapter at Texas State University is voluntarily suspending all operations until further notice after a student attending one of their parties was found dead Saturday morning.
  An investigation is still underway by the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office and now the university’s Office of Student Involvement after 20-year-old Jordin Taylor was found dead at a ranch southeast of San Marcos. Deputies are saying the bus tha
  
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• Possible 2nd human case of West Nile in Williamson County

  01-11-2016 23:27 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The Williamson County and Cities Health District is investigating a possible second human case of the West Nile Virus.
  The county says a woman who is over 50 years old has been diagnosed with meningitis. Now, they’re waiting on test results to confirm if it’s West Nile. The county anticipates the blood work could be back by Friday.
  The woman lives within a mile from where a man, also over 50 years old, may have contracted the virus recently. The
  
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• Nolan Ryan statue unveiled at Dell Diamond

  01-11-2016 23:14 via kxan.com
  
  ROUND ROCK (KXAN) — Nolan Ryan will always be connected to the Round Rock Express, and now he’ll greet fans at the Dell Diamond main entrance. The Express unveiled it’s newest prized piece on Monday– a bronze statue of Nolan Ryan.
  “It just represents what we’re about here and that’s baseball. It’s kind of to set the tone for their expectations coming in to the stadium,” Ryan said.
  Ryan also announced he will move the Ryan Foundation from
  
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• Bono first man to make annual Women of the Year list

  01-11-2016 22:48 via kxan.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Glamour’s annual Women of the Year list always takes in a lot of territory, from noteworthy fashionistas and sports heroes to social justice activists and business leaders.
  Enter Bono: The first Man of the Year among the magazine’s Women of the Year, all to be honored at a Nov. 14 ceremony in Los Angeles.
  “We’ve talked for years about whether to honor a man at Women of the Year and we’ve always kind of put the kabash on it. You know, men get a
  
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• Sid Miller calls obscene tweet about Clinton an ‘accident’

  01-11-2016 22:37 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An obscene tweet about Hillary Clinton, posted from the account of the Texas agriculture commissioner, was deleted minutes later on Tuesday.
  The tweet — the results of a Pennsylvania New Auto Alliance poll — showed Donald Trump with 44 percent, and Clinton with 43 percent, but in the place of her name was the obscenity. The tweet ended with “Go Trump Go!”
  The San Antonio-Express News was told by a Miller spokesperson they thought they had been h
  
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• VIDEO: Police car theft, high speed chase broadcast live on Facebook

  01-11-2016 21:40 via kxan.com
  
  TULSA, Oklahoma (NBC News) An Oklahoma man was arrested Monday night after he allegedly stole a police vehicle, rammed a police cruised and lead officers on a high speed chase. And the suspect streamed the pursuit live on Facebook.
  Authorities say a Tulsa police officer was inside a coffee shop and left her keys in the police car when it was stolen just before 8 p.m.
  Police say the suspect, 25-year old John Pinney took the opportunity took off in the cruiser.
  Pinney then lead officers on a high
  
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• Girl, 7, run over by trailer while trick-or-treating in Lampasas Co.

  01-11-2016 21:30 via kxan.com
  
  LOMETA, Texas (KXAN) — A 7-year-old girl was killed Halloween night while trick-or-treating in Lometa, Texas.
  According to KCEN News, police were called at 8:16 p.m. Monday. The girl, identified as Rubi Isabel Davilla, was on a trailer being pulled by a truck. KCEN says Davilla fell off the trailer and was run over.
  The girl died from her injuries at the hospital Monday night. The town of Lometa is on U.S. 183 in Lampasas County, around 20 miles west of Fort Hood.
  KXAN’s Le
  
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• Sexual assault of woman in Austin highlights DNA lab delays

  01-11-2016 20:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Another Austin police sexual assault case is highlighting what some victim advocates say is too long a delay for DNA results to be completed and end in judicial proceedings in the city.
  Timothy Leslie Bronaugh, 32, was arrested and booked Sunday into the Travis County Jail and charged with sexual assault, a second degree felony.
  The sexual assault report dates back to the end of 2013, when an unidentified victim reported to police that she had been raped.
  The arrest affidav
  
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• Police: Woman offers cash, car to have ex-husband killed

  01-11-2016 20:28 via kxan.com
  
  PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A woman arrested in a murder for hire plot offered a would-be assassin cash, a car and more to kill her ex-husband, according to court records.
  In October, the FBI sought a search warrant for a cellphone that may have evidence of the murder for hire plot, according to court documents.
  The investigation started in June 2015. The former husband of Pamela Jean Gygi contacted Utah police and said someone told him Gygi wanted to have him killed.
  Their divorce settlement
  
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• Mom fights insurance after teen who can’t stop eating goes uncovered

  01-11-2016 19:51 via kxan.com
  
  PHOENIX, Arizona (KPNX) – Hannah Wilkinson is more than just a hungry child. She’s 16 years old and 280 pounds.
  “Everything is locked up in our home. Even the bread box has a lock on it,” said Tonya Coupaud, Hannah’s mother, who has caught her daughter eating from the trash and even eating dog food.
  These food-seeking behaviors are part of Hannah’s Prader-Willi Syndrome.
  “Just imagine if you were hungry all the time, 24/7 and couldn’t eat and even
  
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• Texas parents demand answers after son’s gym class beating

  01-11-2016 19:23 via kxan.com
  
  CONROE, Texas (KPRC) – A Texas junior high school student is recovering at home after a bloody beating that landed him in the hospital.
  Matthew Tidwell, 13, said he had been playing with a pool noodle in gym class at Peet Junior High School in Conroe Monday when he struck one of his classmates.
  “Not a hard hit. It was just like a joke hit and he got all mad. He started beating me up,” the seventh-grader said.
  The school called Matthew’s father, saying he had been the vict
  
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• Face-biting attacker: ‘I ate something bad…humans’

  01-11-2016 18:51 via kxan.com
  
  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – The Florida college student accused of killing a couple and chewing on the dead man’s face told deputies, “Help me, I ate something bad” and then admitted it was “humans” as he spit out a piece of flesh, court documents show.
  Austin Harrouff, 19, also begged deputies to kill him after they pulled him off John Stevens’ body, according to the records, obtained Monday by the Palm Beach Post.
  “Shoot me now, I deserve to die
  
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• Suspect apprehended in Round Rock bank robbery

  01-11-2016 18:22 via kxan.com
  
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — One person is in custody accused of robbing a bank in Round Rock Tuesday morning.
  Police say after the suspect robbed the Citizens National Bank on West Palm Boulevard, someone from the bank followed the suspect to a nearby church parking lot where they saw the suspect get into a car.
  The Good Samaritan was able to notify authorities and a short time later, the suspect was apprehended near the Dell campus. Police don’t believe the suspect in this case
  
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• Man robs Capital One Bank in Georgetown

  01-11-2016 17:54 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — It might be the day after Halloween but that didn’t stop a man from donning a wig and robbing the Capital One Bank in Georgetown Tuesday morning.
  Police say the robbery happened at the bank at 1011 W. University Ave. around 9:30 a.m. The suspect came in and demanded money, but police say he did not show a weapon.
  The suspect, described as a man in his late 40s, ran away on foot with an undisclosed amount of money. He is approximately 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8 wi
  
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• PHOTOS: Transforming Zilker moonlight tower into holiday tree

  01-11-2016 17:29 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
  Austin Energy crews are spending the first day of November getting the Zilker moonlight tower to turn into the Zilker Holiday Tree. The 155-foot-fall Zilker Holiday Tree has 39 streamers, each containing 81 bulbs.
  The moonlight tower in Zilker Park is one of the 17 original Austin towers still in operation. There were originally 31 towers that provided Austin its first urban lighting system in the late 1800s.
  Once th
  
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• San Marcos man dies after being pulled from fiery crash

  01-11-2016 16:52 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — A San Marcos man died after being pulled from a burning car late Monday night.
  San Marcos police say Gilbert Coy, 43, crashed his mother’s car into a tree in the 2600 block of Hunter Road around 11:29 p.m. Officers were originally looking for Coy because his mother had called 911 stating he took her car without permission.
  When officers found the car, it was already on fire. While using fire extinguishers to put out the fire, officers were able to pull
  
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• Cat held for ransom in New Mexico

  01-11-2016 14:56 via kxan.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOB) — One New Mexico family did what many people do when they lost a beloved pet. They put up signs and went out looking on their own until they got the call they had been waiting for.
  Someone found their lost kitten, but getting it back wasn’t so simple. The owner of the cat, an 11-year-old girl, put up the signs. There was no reward listed, but the people who called demanded one.
  “I just don’t feel like it was fair,” the girl’s moth
  
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• ACC hosting fair for former ITT Tech, Career Point College students

  01-11-2016 14:24 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — For the hundreds of students who were enrolled at recently-shuttered ITT Tech and Career Point College in Austin, Austin Community College is hosting a fair on Saturday, Nov. 5 to help displaced students get back on track.
  Dr. Virginia Fraire, ACC vice president of student services, says the fair will give those students an opportunity to learn more about ACC’s programs as well as answer any questions about prior credits.
  “In general most of the courses the
  
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• Dozens of children in Central Texas will find forever homes this week

  01-11-2016 13:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Nov. 3, dozens of children in Travis County will leave foster care and find their forever homes. It’s all part of National Adoption Day, which raises awareness for the need for foster and adoptive families.
  Family court Judge Darlene Byrne joined KXAN News Today to talk about why the need for foster families is so important and how it can lead to children finding their permanent family.
  The Department of Family and Protective Services says the shortage of foster pa
  
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• Baltimore bus crash kills 6

  01-11-2016 13:07 via kxan.com
  
  BALTIMORE (AP) – Police say six people are dead after a school bus and a commuter bus crashed in southwest Baltimore.
  Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith said there were also injuries in the crash Tuesday morning. Video from above the scene shows the front part of a yellow school bus smashed into the side of a Maryland Transit Administration bus. The driver’s side of the MTA bus is ripped off with debris spilling down onto the road.
  Police say there were no students on th
  
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• Dentists want your Halloween candy!

  01-11-2016 12:59 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Parents, if you need help getting rid of that left over Halloween candy, dentists want to help.
  In exchange for your candy collection, some offices will give out cash, toothbrushes or coupons. The candy they collect will then be given to groups that send the sweets to troops serving overseas.
  To find the nearest office near you that is taking part in this program, click here.
  
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• Premature births are on the rise, Texas gets ‘C’ grade

  01-11-2016 12:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (NBC News/KXAN) — A new survey from the March of Dimes finds that after nearly a decade of decline the preterm birth rate has gone up.
  The increase last year was slight, from 9.57 to 9.63 percent. Still, that represents 2,000 more babies born too soon, before 37 weeks gestation and before their lungs and brains are fully developed.
  The rise earned the United States a “C” grade in this year’s March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card. The four states that earned an
  
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• World Series heads back to Cleveland

  01-11-2016 12:42 via kxan.com
  
  CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians came up short in their first chance to wrap up their first World Series title since 1948.
  The good news is that they get two shots at doing it in front of their home fans.
  Game 6 of the World Series is set for Cleveland Tuesday night after the Cubs stayed alive with a Game 5 win. Game 7 will be played near the Cuyahoga River, too, if it’s necessary.
  Jake Arrieta will take the mound Tuesday at Progressive Field, where he took a no-hitter into the sixth inn
  
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• Why is Election Day a Tuesday in November?

  01-11-2016 12:37 via kxan.com
  
  (MEDIA GENERAL) – Like Thanksgiving and Easter, Americans are accustomed to floating holidays. They are scheduled based on other factors instead of a specific date and don’t land on the same day every year. Election Day is no different.
  Election Day, according to federal law, will be held on the Tuesday immediately following the first Monday in November. The earliest an Election Day can be held is Nov. 2. The latest an Election Day can be held is Nov. 8, on which it falls this year &
  
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• Oklahoma Highway Patrol to release video of deadly shootout

  01-11-2016 12:33 via kxan.com
  
  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is expected to release dashcam video that shows a car chase and deadly gun battle with a man suspected in a series of violent crimes across the state.
  Capt. Paul Timmons says the video will be released Tuesday at a press conference at the Department of Public Safety’s headquarters in Oklahoma City.
  Troopers shot and killed 38-year-old Michael Vance on Sunday near Leedey, 130 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
  Vance was suspected in a st
  
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• Underage drinking and driving a growing issue

  01-11-2016 12:26 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The first day of November not only marks the beginning of a new month, it’s also when the Austin Police Department wraps up its Halloween No Refusal initiative. KXAN will soon learn how many people have been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving since the initiative started Friday. Last year, more than 40 people were arrested during Halloween weekend.
  According to the Texas Department of Transportation, there were more than 1,600 crashes involving alcohol killin
  
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• Discounted tolls for 18-wheelers continues through August

  01-11-2016 12:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In a continuing effort to reduce traffic on Interstate 35 through Austin, the Texas Department of Transportation is offering a bigger discount to 18-wheeler drivers who take SH 130 toll instead of I-35.
  Phase 1 started in April and Phase 2 starts Nov. 1 and runs through Aug. 31, 2017. The discount program is applicable from the I-35 exit in Georgetown to US 183 exit in Buda and State Highway 45SE.
  Lawmakers worked to secure $18.7 million to implement the discount program bu
  
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• 3 killed in Fayette County crash

  01-11-2016 11:31 via kxan.com
  
  FAYETTE COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Three people died in a two-car crash on Interstate 10 near Schlunberg Monday evening.
  The Texas Department of Public Safety says the crash happened just after 8:30 p.m. Initial information indicates a 52-year-old Houston woman was driving a pick-up truck westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-10 when she ran into a Chevy Tahoe going in the correct direction.
  Clark, along with both people in the Chevy Tahoe, a couple from Louisiana, died in the crash.
  
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• Healthcare open enrollment starts, expect to pay more

  01-11-2016 11:11 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Open enrollment for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act begins Tuesday and Central Texans will see some big changes that could cost them more money. This year the number of insurance companies offering plans has dropped from eight down to three. There will be 30 different plans to choose from but the cost is expected to go up by about 18 percent, that’s slightly below the national level of 25 percent. That increase amounts to $20 to $50 more per month. Howe
  
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• Fewer health insurance companies during open enrollment

  01-11-2016 11:11 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Open enrollment for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act begins Tuesday and Central Texans will see some big changes that could cost them more money. This year the number of insurance companies offering plans has dropped from eight down to three. There will be 30 different plans to choose from but the cost is expected to go up by about 18 percent, that’s slightly below the national level of 25 percent. That increase amounts to $20 to $50 more per month. Howe
  
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• Texan voters concerned about election security

  01-11-2016 04:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) — Election Day is eight days away and as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump gear up for the final week of presidential campaigns, Texas voters question election security and if the results can be trusted.
  According to a new statewide poll, nine out of ten Republicans think ineligible voters casting ballots will be a serious problem in this year’s election.
  While an overwhelming number of Republicans, about 84 percent of the party’s likely voters in the state, sai
  
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• Teen killed in roadside crash near San Marcos

  01-11-2016 04:34 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — A 19-year-old was hit and killed along Ranch to Market 12 over the weekend.
  The victim, Luis Xavier Alvarez, was struck by a vehicle on around 2:20 a.m. Sunday. A Texas Department of Public Safety report indicates the crash happened about five miles northwest of San Marcos.
  A spokesperson for DPS says Alvarez and his friend were walking on RM 12 when they were hit by a driver traveling eastbound on the road. The driver told police he did not see the gro
  
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• Teen hit, killed in San Marcos near fraternity house

  01-11-2016 04:34 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — A 19-year-old was hit and killed along Ranch to Market 12 in front of a fraternity house over the weekend, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office tells KXAN News.
  The victim, Luis Xavier Alvarez, was struck by a vehicle at around 2:20 a.m. Sunday. A Texas Department of Public Safety report indicates the crash happened about five miles northwest of San Marcos.
  A spokesperson for DPS says Alvarez and his friend were walking on RM 12 when they were hi
  
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• One killed in San Marcos crash in front of fraternity house

  01-11-2016 04:34 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — A person was hit and killed in the road in front of a San Marcos fraternity house over the weekend.
  The victim, who has not been identified, was struck by a vehicle on Ranch Road 12. The Hays County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene at around 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
  The exact location of the incident was not released. Troopers with the Department of Public Safety are the lead investigators on the case.
  Texas State could not say if the victim was a
  
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• Voting rights group worries schools aren’t following Texas law

  01-11-2016 04:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The younger you are the less likely you are to vote, according to the Texas Civil Rights Project. They want the state to make a change.
  They found four years ago, 50 percent of people between 18-29 voted across the country. That’s 8.7 percent lower than the voter turnout for all eligible voters. There are more than a thousand school districts in the state and more than a thousand high schools.
  Austin Superintendent Paul Cruz shoots a video with students urging th
  
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• ‘No one to blame’ for toddler’s parking lot death, mother says

  01-11-2016 03:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two-year-old Amarie Faith Macias loved to follow the older kids. Her family says that’s how she was hit and killed in a South Austin parking lot on Sunday.
  Extended family members took the toddler Sunday evening to go costume shopping for Halloween. “It was just a normal day, just getting a costume. That’s all it was and then this happened,” said Destiny Tealer, the little girl’s step-grandmother.
  When they left the costume store in Southpark M
  
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• ‘No one to blame’ for toddler’s death in South Austin, mother says

  01-11-2016 03:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two-year-old Amarie Faith Macias loved to follow the older kids. Her family says that’s how she was hit and killed in a South Austin parking lot on Sunday.
  Extended family members took the toddler Sunday evening to go costume shopping for Halloween. “It was just a normal day, just getting a costume. That’s all it was and then this happened,” said Destiny Tealer, the little girl’s step-grandmother.
  When they left the costume store in Southpark M
  
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• ‘No one to blame’ for 2 year old’s death in South Austin, mother says

  01-11-2016 03:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two-year-old Amarie Macias loved to follow the older kids in the family. Her family says that’s how she was hit and killed in a South Austin parking lot on Sunday.
  “We were running to the car,” her uncle, Robbie Tealer, Jr. said. “We were seeing who was gonna get to the front seat, but I didn’t know that she was following us, and I just heard a loud boom.”
  “At first when I heard the big boom, at first I thought it was a trash c
  
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• Students at Austin ISD hitting the polls early

  01-11-2016 01:27 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – There’s a big push by the state to get younger voters to cast their ballots early this election.
  At the Highland Mall early voting location, several Austin Independent School district students left the classroom and arrived to vote for the very first time. “I’m very excited,” Parrin Hayes, a high school student said. “Before this opportunity I got today, I didn’t even think I was going to come vote.”
  The students are from Reagan Ear
  
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• Granger bank robbery suspect arrested in Taylor

  01-11-2016 00:16 via kxan.com
  
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The suspect in a bank robbery in Granger last week is in custody.
  On Friday, Oct. 28, at around 10:05 a.m., Donald Lee Woods, 45, walked into the Citizen’s National Bank of Coupland wearing a mask made from a T-shirt, Williamson County deputies say.
  After standing in the bank lobby for a few seconds, he ran from the bank. Police were called and a lookout notice was broadcast to all law enforcement agencies in the area.
  Minutes later, Woods was a
  
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• More than the Score: Texas busts Baylor

  01-11-2016 00:12 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The KXAN sports crew joins More than the Score to discuss Texas’ weekend win over Baylor and the debate of Halloween as a holiday.
  
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