Austin news

• Austin police explains how handcuffed suspect shot himself

  10-01-2017 23:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are explaining how a handcuffed man was able to shoot himself in the head while in the backseat of a patrol car.
  Interim Chief of Police Brian Manley says everything unfolded in less than six minutes. Police say video from inside the patrol car shows Zachary Anam, 19, was able to pull his arms around the right side of his body, almost to the front of his body. Once he pulled his arms around, Manley says Anam was able to lie down in the backseat, place his head
  
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• Austin police explain how handcuffed suspect shot himself

  10-01-2017 23:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are explaining how a handcuffed man was able to shoot himself in the head while in the backseat of a patrol car.
  Interim Chief of Police Brian Manley says everything unfolded in less than six minutes. Police say video from inside the patrol car shows Zachary Anam, 19, was able to pull his arms around the right side of his body, almost to the front of his body. Once he pulled his arms around, Manley says Anam was able to lie down in the backseat, place his head
  
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• Houston-area man says deputies mistook cat litter for meth

  10-01-2017 23:31 via kxan.com
  
  CYPRESS, Texas (AP/KPRC) — A Houston-area man says sheriff’s deputies conducted faulty field tests on cat litter they found in his vehicle, which they believed was methamphetamine.
  Ross Lebeau was charged with possession of a controlled substance following the Dec. 5 traffic stop where he failed to use his blinker when making a right turn, but court documents show the case was dismissed last week because the material was not an illicit substance.
  The bag was filled with clear, b
  
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• Girl reunited with missing bear after Fort Lauderdale airport shooting

  10-01-2017 23:08 via kxan.com
  
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (MEDIA GENERAL) — A little girl has been reunited with her teddy bear after last week’s mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
  Courtney Gelinas’ mother, Kim Lariviere, tweeted a picture of the daughter’s bear, Rufus, on Monday, saying he was left at gate D8 in Terminal 2 as frantic travelers fled as shots were fired Friday.
  She asked the public and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for help finding him, pleading tha
  
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• Despite criminal case, State Rep. Dawnna Dukes sworn in

  10-01-2017 22:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As state lawmakers filed into the Capitol for the first day of the 85th legislative session, in attendance was State Rep. Dawnna Dukes. She was one of the 150 House members sworn in on Tuesday afternoon, although she did show up a few minutes late.
  For many, Dukes’ appearance on the House floor was unexpected because she said in September that she would resign her House District 46 seat on Jan. 10, 2017. She said before the November election that she was ste
  
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• Mom donates daughter’s hands in rare transplant

  10-01-2017 22:19 via kxan.com
  
  NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) — The first-ever hand transplant donation in the state of Michigan is giving one person a new take on life.
  Shayna Sturtevant was only 21 years old when she died in September of a brain abscess stemming from an ear infection.
  Sturtevant had signed up to be an organ donor, but a hand donation requires special permission from the family. When Sturtevant’s family was told she was a match for a patient needing hands, they agreed.
  “Shayna was such a givin
  
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• Man gets 40 years in death of West Texas motorcycle officer

  10-01-2017 22:07 via kxan.com
  
  EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A driver must serve 40 years in prison for the 2016 death of a West Texas police officer who was struck while on his stopped motorcycle.
  John Paul Perry was charged with capital murder but on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in a plea deal in El Paso. Prosecutors were not seeking the death penalty against the 45-year-old Perry, who was sentenced by a judge.
  Investigators say Perry last March drove a car that hit El Paso police officer David
  
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• Mother forgives man in murder of her 3 kids; tells judge ‘let this man go’

  10-01-2017 21:31 via kxan.com
  
  LITTLE ROCK, AR (WCMH) — It’s been about 22 years since Malak Hussian’s three kids were shot and killed during a home invasion.
  “When you build your life, as a mother on being a mother, a friend, a mentor and you wake up one morning and there is no seemingly purpose to life; it’s beyond words,” Hussian told KARK.
  Terry Carroll was convicted when he was 17 years old for the murder of Hussain’s three kids; Marcell Young, 17, Mustafa Hussain, 12 and Ma
  
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• VIDEO: One of the most elaborate trick shots ever made

  10-01-2017 21:02 via kxan.com
  
  BRISTOL, England (NBC News) – Most people celebrate the new year with a party or a resolution but for one English snooker club it was by pulling off one of the most elaborate trickshots caught on camera.
  The people at All Stars Bristol spent a whole night setting up the trick which has a ball go down a flight of stairs before triggering a sequence of events across nine tables with a golf ball eventually ending up in a hole at the club’s bar.
  The trickshot took two minutes from beginn
  
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• Rare spinning ‘ice disc’ caught on camera

  10-01-2017 20:49 via kxan.com
  
  VESTABURG, MI (WOOD) — Viewers may be skeptical of the video clip below showing a perfectly circular ice disc spinning in the middle of a river, but the phenomenon is completely natural.
  The ice disc is also known as an “ice pan” or “ice circle,” and exactly how it forms has been mystifying scientists for decades.
  The discs, which can range in size from 3 feet to almost 700 feet, have been spotted across countless cold climates. Several states in the U.S. have
  
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• Crime sparks self defense classes for kids in Williamson County

  10-01-2017 20:23 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — An attempted kidnapping in Georgetown in October is one of the incidents that prompted the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office to ask themselves what they can do to make families feel safer. The In response, the agency’s  Victim Assistance Unit is hosting a free Children’s Self Defense Academy on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017.
  Other surrounding law enforcement agencies, including the Georgetown Police Department, as well as area first re
  
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• Man’s 47-point buck takes another step toward being a world record

  10-01-2017 20:11 via kxan.com
  
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The 47-point buck bagged by a man in Sumner County last November has completed a step toward becoming a world record for a non-typical deer rack.
  Stephen Tucker, 26, hunted the deer with a muzzleloader. It has a unique set of antlers with 47 points totaling more than 300 inches in length.
  According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, officials from Boone and Crockett spent several hours scoring the buck—dubbed Tennessee Tucker Buck–on Mond
  
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• Rusty patched bumblebee becomes first bee species declared endangered

  10-01-2017 19:24 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) – The rusty patched bumblebee has become the first bee species in the continental U.S. to be declared endangered after suffering a dramatic population decline over the past 20 years, federal officials said Tuesday.
  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told The Associated Press it was adding the bee to the endangered list, and would develop a recovery plan encouraging people to provide more habitat and reduce pesticide usage. Many of the steps needed to rescue the ru
  
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• Yahoo to change name, trim board if Verizon deal gets done

  10-01-2017 18:57 via kxan.com
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo will adopt a new corporate identity and slash the size of its board if the proposed $4.8 billion sale of its digital services to Verizon Communications goes through.
  The company plans to change its name to Altaba Inc. after it turns over its email, websites, mobile apps and advertising tools to Verizon. The new name is meant to reflect Yahoo’s transformation into a holding company for investments in China’s e-commerce leader, Alibaba Group, and Yahoo
  
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• Texas man set to die in double slaying over fake drug deal

  10-01-2017 18:51 via kxan.com
  
  HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A 48-year-old man convicted of killing two men after one laughed about duping him in a $20 phony drug deal is set to die more than 11 years after the Fort Worth, Texas, slayings.
  Attorneys for Christopher Wilkins have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his lethal injection scheduled for Wednesday night. If the execution goes ahead, it will be the nation’s first this year.
  Wilkins told jurors how and why he shot his victims and said he didn’t care if h
  
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• ‘This man is evil’: Protests plague Sessions AG confirmation hearing

  10-01-2017 18:22 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (MEDIA GENERAL) — The first hearing to fill President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet kicked off Tuesday with Sen. Jeff Sessions.
  The staunchly conservative Alabama senator has been tapped to serve as attorney general, touching off a string of pre-planned protests during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which must approve his nomination.
  Sessions has served for two decades in the upper chamber. Prior to that he was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 due to
  
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• Driver ‘lucky’ to be alive after chunks of overpass fall onto car after semi crash

  10-01-2017 17:34 via kxan.com
  
  INDIANAPOLIS (MEDIA GENERAL) — A driver is lucky to be alive after pieces of a damaged overpass fell onto her car and through her windshield in Indianapolis on Tuesday morning.(Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department)It happened around 8:15 a.m. in the southbound lanes of Interstate 465.
  Police told WISH-TV in Indianapolis a semi hauling a car compactor struck the overpass, resulting in the damage.
  Investigators believe the machinery somehow activated itself, causing it to become talle
  
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• Rodeo Austin releases line-up for 2017

  10-01-2017 16:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Live music, bareback riding, steer wrestling, and barrel racing all describe Rodeo Austin.
  From March 11 through 15, Rodeo Austin will host dozens of live performances as a part of their annual fair and rodeo. There are shows for music lovers of all genres, from country to rock.
  The headliners have been announced for this year, including Dwight Yoakam and Charley Pride.
  Headliners:
  Elle King
  Cole Swindel
  Fitz and the Tantrums
  Bobby Bones and The Raging Idiots
  Randy Rogers B
  
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• PHOTOS: Fiery sunrise over Austin, surrounding areas

  10-01-2017 15:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With a slight warm-up in the forecast, Austinites woke up to a sunny morning.
  Vibrant colors filled the sky on Tuesday as the clouds parted for a beautiful morning.
  Viewers have been flooding the KXAN inbox with pictures of the glorious sunrise over Austin and the surrounding areas.
  Did you take a good photograph of the sunrise? Send it via our Report It page. Fiery Austin sunrise Beautiful morning on Lake Travis, Spicewood, TX! (KXAN Viewer Photo/ Sue Prather)Sunrise in La
  
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• Break-down of top bills during 85th Texas Legislative Session

  10-01-2017 15:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A smaller budget means Texas lawmakers will most likely face cuts and less flexibility in how money is spent this year. The top politicians are making their priorities heard on Tuesday at their first day at the Capitol for the 85th Legislative Session.
  Chamber priorities
  Analysts say there are some pretty big differences between the two chambers in priorities. The House, led by speaker Joe Straus, is expected to show interest in public education, and looking at school finan
  
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• 5-year-old killed in Kyle to be laid to rest, mother in custody

  10-01-2017 14:24 via kxan.com
  
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — A five-year-old girl killed in Kyle last week will be laid to rest on Tuesday.
  Police say Giovanna Hernandez was stabbed to death by her mother, Krystle Villanueva, who is charged with capital murder. Sheriff Gary Cutler said this case is probably the most horrific in the history of Hays County.
  On Jan. 5, deputies arrived and found 58-year-old Eustorgio Arellano-Uresti in the driveway with multiple stab wounds. A 10-inch-long knife was found in his back left pock
  
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• 5-year-old killed in Kyle laid to rest, mother in custody

  10-01-2017 14:24 via kxan.com
  
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — A 5-year-old girl killed in Kyle last week was laid to rest on Tuesday morning.
  Police say Giovanna Hernandez was stabbed to death by her mother, Krystle Villanueva, who is charged with capital murder. Sheriff Gary Cutler said this case is probably the most horrific in the history of Hays County.
  Funeral services for Giovanna began at Santa Cruz Catholic Church in Buda at 10 a.m. A steady stream of people made their way into the church. A mixture of family, f
  
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• Fort Worth officer suspended, accused of excessive force in viral video

  10-01-2017 13:41 via kxan.com
  
  FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAN) — A Fort Worth police officer has been placed on a 10-day suspension following a video that some say showed excessive force.
  The Facebook video, which has gone viral, shows officer William Martin arresting Jacqueline Craig in Fort Worth last month. Craig initially called police accusing a neighbor of grabbing and choking her seven-year-old son.
  The neighbor claimed the boy littered on his lawn. Officer Martin arrived to investigate, but instead told the mother
  
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• Roof’s fate soon will rest in hands of 12 federal jurors

  10-01-2017 13:29 via kxan.com
  
  CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The assault on Emanuel AME Church left a total of 12 victims: Nine who were killed that June night and three who survived the hail of bullets in the basement of the beautiful, historic structure in downtown Charleston.
  Now, after hearing testimony from relatives of those slain in the 2015 attack during a Wednesday night Bible study, the focus in Dylann Roof’s trial again switches to a new set of 12 people: the jury.
  On Tuesday, jurors are set to begin delibera
  
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• Jury sentences Dylann Roof to death in Charleston church massacre

  10-01-2017 13:29 via kxan.com
  
  CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A federal jury has sentenced Dylann Roof to death for killing nine black church members in a racially motivated attack in 2015.
  Roof, who is white, faced either life in prison or execution for the slayings on June 17, 2015. The Justice Department says he is the first person to get the death penalty for federal hate crimes.
  The jury reached a decision after about three hours of deliberations.
  Roof was convicted last month of all 33 federal charges against him. During
  
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• In final speech, Obama must reconcile his hopes with Trump’s

  10-01-2017 13:27 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is returning to the city that launched his unlikely political career to give one final speech.
  He’ll deliver in Chicago a parting plea to Americans not to lose faith in their future, no matter what they think about their next president.
  Obama’s speech before thousands on Tuesday evening is his last chance to try to define what his presidency meant for America, and a fitting bookend. Chicago is where the nation’s first black preside
  
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• Legalizing marijuana could fill funding gap in Texas

  10-01-2017 13:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With the start of the 85th Texas Legislature many lawmakers are wondering how they will fill in the budget deficit for 2017.
  This year $104.9 billion has been allotted for Texas, which is down $10 billion from 2015. Legalizing marijuana could be the solution to filling the gap lawmakers are working to close.
  KXAN reached out to Jim Henson with the Texas Politics Project and he tells us why the idea is likely to come up this session.
  “Anything you can legalize and
  
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• Discussion of legalizing marijuana could come up this session

  10-01-2017 13:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With the start of the 85th Texas Legislative Session many lawmakers are wondering how they will fill in the budget deficit for 2017. This year $104.9 billion has been allotted for Texas, which is down $10 billion from 2015.
  Some organizations say legalizing marijuana could be the solution to filling the gap lawmakers are working to close.
  KXAN reached out to Jim Henson with the Texas Politics Project and he tells us why the idea is likely to come up this sess
  
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• What to expect on the first day of the 85th Texas Legislature

  10-01-2017 11:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the 85th Texas Legislature convenes in Austin on Tuesday, 181 lawmakers will fill the hallways of the Capitol. While the first day of the session won’t be hectic like the last few days, here are some things to keep an eye on:
  1. Lawmakers being sworn in
  Representatives will be sworn in at noon. There are 150 members in the House of Representatives and 31 members in the Senate.
  2. House votes for Speaker
  Joe Straus, who has been Speaker of the Texas H
  
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• Austin ISD proposing no suspensions, expulsions for its youngest students

  10-01-2017 06:15 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Independent School District is considering changing the way principals and teachers discipline the youngest children in the classroom.
  Monday night, school board trustees discussed a revision to the student code of conduct that would ban suspensions, expulsions and classroom removals for students in prekindergarten through second grade. The only exception would be when it’s required by law for the most serious offenses like assaults, guns, drugs o
  
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• Will State Rep. Dawnna Dukes show up to the 1st day of session?

  10-01-2017 06:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Will she or won’t she? That’s the question everyone is asking after State Rep. Dawnna Dukes informed Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore that she won’t be stepping down from her seat after all. Moore told KXAN News over the weekend that Dukes’ lawyers informed her of the lawmaker’s decision Friday afternoon.
  In September, Dukes, D-Austin, announced she would resign her seat on Jan. 10, 2017, if she were to be re-elected in Novem
  
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• Manor ISD ramps up specialized programs to compete with charters

  10-01-2017 05:19 via kxan.com
  
  MANOR, Texas (KXAN) — The Manor Independent School District wants the community to know it’s working to invest in them. Next year, they’re rolling out big changes for the campuses, bringing specialty programs to elementary and middle schools.
  In addition to creating more New Tech schools, they’ll be enhancing fine arts programs and applying for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program for some campuses. Students will be able to start the programs y
  
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• Manor ISD bringing specialized programs to campuses

  10-01-2017 05:19 via kxan.com
  
  MANOR, Texas (KXAN) — The Manor Independent School District wants the community to know it’s working to invest in them. Next year, they’re rolling out big changes for the campuses, bringing specialty programs to elementary and middle schools.
  In addition to creating more New Tech schools, they’ll be enhancing fine arts programs and applying for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program for some campuses. Students will be able to start the programs y
  
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• Beer sales huge on UT game days

  10-01-2017 05:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Alcohol sales are up at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and the drink of choice is beer for many Longhorn fans.
  During six home games this past year, more than $3.1 million was brought in from alcohol sales. The university has only been selling beer and wine since 2015.
  This past year, the most alcohol was sold at the Notre Dame game in September. Some of the best sellers included Miller Lite, which sold more than 24,000 bottles, and not far behind was Coors Light a
  
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• Friends remember teen who shot himself in APD patrol car

  10-01-2017 04:58 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are now tasked with launching an in-custody death investigation to determine what went wrong during the arrest and custody process that led to a teen shooting and killing himself in the back of a patrol car.
  The man is 19-year-old Zachary Anam, a 2015 graduate of Bowie High School. While Anam had some run-ins with police in recent years, friends say that wasn’t the person they knew.
  Anam’s friends say he was a member of the wrestling team at least
  
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• Texas veterans tuition aid program will remain as is

  10-01-2017 03:33 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (AP/KXAN) — The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand an appeals court ruling that upholds a much-watched Texas program that promises free college educations to military veterans if they lived in the state when they enlisted.
  The Hazlewood Act dates to the 1920s and gives qualified veterans up to 150 hours of free tuition. State lawmakers expanded the program in 2009 to include the veterans’ children.
  A veteran who enlisted in Georgia but moved to Texas after his discharge challeng
  
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• Hutto Police Department offers recruiting incentives

  10-01-2017 03:00 via kxan.com
  
  HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) — The Hutto Police Department has been down four officers, and they want to fill two of those positions with more experienced police officers. But they’re facing competition from surrounding departments that are also hiring.
  “If we’re on a shift and have two kmajor incidents happen, it’s very difficult for us right now to properly handle that,” explains Hutto Police Chief Earl Morrison, Jr.
  The city says it’s getting creative by testi
  
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• Apple proved a phone can change the world in just 10 years

  10-01-2017 02:17 via kxan.com
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Few people realized it at the time, but the world shifted fundamentally a decade ago when Steve Jobs pulled the first iPhone from Apple’s bag of technological tricks.
  “Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything,” Jobs declared as he paced across a San Francisco stage.
  It obviously wasn’t an empty boast. We all know now that Jobs’ “magical product” has reshaped culture, shaken up industrie
  
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• Hundreds of sea turtles rescued from frigid Texas coast

  10-01-2017 01:39 via kxan.com
  
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (KXAN) — When the arctic front came through last weekend, even turtles along the Texas coast felt the chill.
  Over the weekend, more than 200 green sea turtles washed up along the coast. Workers with the Padre Island National Seashore say about one third of the turtles were found in the coastal bend near Corpus Christi.
  The cold water causes the turtles to become paralyzed. Biologists with large nets spent their time scooping up the shocked turtles and moving them
  
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• Trump’s son-in-law to take senior White House role

  10-01-2017 01:34 via kxan.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s influential son-in-law Jared Kushner will join him in the White House as a senior adviser, transition officials said Monday, putting the young real estate executive in position to exert broad sway over both domestic and foreign policy, particularly Middle East issues and trade negotiations.
  Trump has come to rely heavily on Kushner, who is married to the president-elect’s daughter Ivanka. Since the election, Kushner has been one of
  
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• Server shares her account of APD patrol car shooting

  10-01-2017 01:08 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Austin police continue investigating how a suspect handcuffed inside a patrol car Sunday was able to get shoot himself, a witness inside the Austin Ale House is offering additional perspective into the scene outside the business in the minutes before and after the suspect fired the weapon.
  Keisha H. is a server at Austin Ale House located at the corner of West Sixth Street and Lavaca Street. She said it was an average Sunday on Sixth Street as football games we
  
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• Oil tycoon Pickens ‘resting’ after suffering mini-stroke

  10-01-2017 00:37 via kxan.com
  
  DALLAS (AP) – Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens is recovering after suffering a mini-stroke last month. Jay Rosser, Pickens’ chief of staff, said in an email Monday the mini-stroke happened a few days before Christmas and Pickens was hospitalized for a few days.
  In a tweet he sent out on Monday, the 88-year-old Pickens said that this will be “another ‘Old Man Makes a Comeback’ story.” Pickens says he plans on a reduced schedule over the next three months.
  Rosser say
  
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• Black, Latino groups calling for diversity in Texas Legislature

  10-01-2017 00:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — For the first time in approximately three decades, Texas’ Legislative Budget Board—the entity that establishes the financial priorities for the state—has no person of color serving on the board.
  The state director of League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Lupe Torres, says the lack of representation is a disservice to ethnic minorities in Texas. “The absence of persons of color from the Legislative Budget Board speaks to the lack of u
  
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