Austin news

• Everything you need to know about Express Opening Day

  05-04-2017 23:20 via kxan.com
  
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Nothing says spring like settling into a plastic seat, ordering a hot dog and watching the first pitch.
  On Thursday, the Round Rock Express kicks off the 2017 season at Dell Diamond against the Nashville Sounds. No matter if you have season tickets or are planning your first visit to a game, here are some tips to make your visit a fun one.
  Opening Day 
  Gates open at 6:05 p.m.
  First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.
  In Honor: Austin Copeland will throw out the ceremonial
  
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• US 183 at SH 71 back open after semi crashes into bridge

  05-04-2017 23:08 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — All lanes of US 183 at State Highway 71 are back open after a semi truck crashed into an overpass bridge in southeast Austin.
  The semi was driving southbound on US 183 when it struck the bridge around 3:30 p.m. The Texas Department of Transportation checked the bridge and all lanes were back open to traffic right before 6 p.m.
  Photos from the scene show the semi was hauling large spools of white tubing. Officers at the scene report there are minor injuries.
  Check
  
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• Speed likely a factor in SH 71 rollover crash that killed driver

  05-04-2017 22:59 via kxan.com
  
  DEL VALLE, Texas (KXAN) — A man killed early Monday morning when he lost control of his car on State Highway 71 in Del Valle has been identified.
  Rodolfo Armendariz, 35, from Cedar Creek, was driving eastbound at around 1:50 a.m. on the highway, near Richards Drive, when he lost control and slid sideways off the right shoulder, rolling over several times. Only one vehicle was involved in the crash.
  Austin-Travis County EMS took the man to St. David’s South Austin Medical Ce
  
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• Booze bandit uses toddler as cover in Abilene liquor store

  05-04-2017 22:18 via kxan.com
  
  ABILENE, Texas (KRBC/NBC News) — Police in Abiline, Texas are searching for a shoplifter who used a child to help him conceal stolen liquor.
  Security cameras show the man carrying a small child in to Filo Liquors.
  “An individual came in with a child, using the child as cover, waited till he had his moment, and he faced away from the item, reached over behind his shoulder, pulled the child and his coat back, put it in his coat, pulled the child back,” says co-owner Jim Cockfield
  
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• Amber Alert issued for 13-year-old girl abducted near Abilene

  05-04-2017 21:17 via kxan.com
  
  MERKEL, Texas (KXAN) — Authorities just west of Abilene are searching for an abducted 13-year-old girl who they believe is in grave or immediate danger.
  Zoey Alexis Limon is described by the Department of Public Safety as Hispanic, 5-foot-2, 130 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a tattoo on her wrist that says “princess.” Authorities say she possibly has scars on her wrist as well.
  Police are looking for three suspects connected to the abduction: Adryana Elizabeth Limon,
  
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• Amber Alert discontinued for 13-year-old girl abducted near Abilene

  05-04-2017 21:17 via kxan.com
  
  MERKEL, Texas (KXAN) — Authorities just west of Abilene have discontinued an Amber Alert for a 13-year-old girl who they said was in grave or immediate danger.
  Zoey Alexis Limon is described by the Department of Public Safety as Hispanic, 5-foot-2, 130 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a tattoo on her wrist that says “princess.” Authorities say she possibly has scars on her wrist as well.
  Police were looking for three suspects connected to the abduction: Ad
  
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• Barry Manilow says he kept his sexuality secret for the fans

  05-04-2017 20:52 via kxan.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Barry Manilow tells People magazine that he hid being gay for decades because he thought he would be “disappointing fans if they knew.”
  The 73-year-old music legend married his longtime manager, Gary Kief, in a 2014 ceremony at their home in Palm Springs, California. Manilow tells the magazine’s April 17 issue that keeping their romance out of the media was stressful.
  Manilow, who has a new album this month, “This Is My Town: Songs of New York,&rdquo
  
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• Pepsi says it’s pulling widely mocked ad

  05-04-2017 20:12 via kxan.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Pepsi is pulling an ad that has been widely criticized for appearing to trivialize protests for social justice causes.
  “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding,” the company said Wednesday in a news release. “Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize.”
  It said it was “removing the content and halting any further rollout.”
  The ad shows Kendall Jenner, a member of the “Keeping Up With the Kard
  
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• Hundreds rally at Capitol demanding action for Planned Parenthood

  05-04-2017 20:11 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Planned Parenthood advocates are pushing lawmakers to support women’s reproductive health.
  Supporters gathered on the south steps of the Capitol at noon Wednesday rallying for legislators to listen to the voices of people who depend on Planned Parenthood services.
  They also want to educate lawmakers on important reproductive health care problems.
  Supporters came from as far as Dallas, Houston and Brownsville for this rally. The group is expected to meet with legislato
  
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• FC Barcelona Soccer School in Austin will hold tryouts April 30

  05-04-2017 19:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than 500 soccer hopefuls are expected to try out at the end of the month for the inaugural Futbol Club Barcelona soccer school in Austin.
  FB Barcelona announced the launch of Austin’s FCBEscola’ Soccer Academy in early March. The school, which will be housed at Circuit of the Americas, will serve as the headquarters of the club in the Southwest region of the United States. A rendering shows the soccer field will be constructed right next to the amphith
  
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• Woman facing terminal diagnosis throws her own “FUN-eral”

  05-04-2017 19:08 via kxan.com
  
  NASHVILLE (WSMV)– There were balloons and cake, but the guests say this party was unlike anything they’ve ever attended. It was an invitation to celebrate courage.
  On Saturday, dozens came out to Nashville’s Centennial Park for Barbara Dorris.
  “Here I am with my crown,” she laughed, propping a hat on her head to shield her eyes from the sun.
  Barbara’s been a singer/songwriter, a publicist and an improv comedian. She’s also a mom. Saturday was for he
  
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• Texas budget writer: A special session for the budget is not going to happen

  05-04-2017 18:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Lawmakers need to find $2.5 billion to make the state budget work for the next two years. If they don’t agree on how to find it by the end of May, they’ll go into overtime and stay in town until they do. Ahead of a crucial vote, the top budget writer in the House says they’ll be done on time.
  “A special session for the budget is not going to happen,” said House Appropriations Chairman John Zerwas, R-Richmond.
  This Thursday, the Texas House
  
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• Man in ‘Drunk Lives Matter’ shirt charged with drunken driving

  05-04-2017 18:36 via kxan.com
  
  NEWVILLE, PA (AP) — Police in Pennsylvania say they arrested a man wearing a Drunk Lives Matter shirt for drunken driving.
  Police say 44-year-old Elwood Gutshall III’s blood-alcohol content was about two and a half times the state’s legal limit for drivers when he was pulled over early on March 19 in Newville. He was wearing a green St. Patrick’s Day shirt with the saying on it.
  Online court records don’t list an attorney for Gutshall, who faces a preliminary hearin
  
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• Trump removes Bannon from National Security Council

  05-04-2017 18:08 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has removed chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council, reversing a controversial early decision to give Bannon access to the high-level meetings.
  A new memorandum about the composition of the NSC was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. The memo no longer lists the chief strategist as a member of the Principal’s Committee, a group of high-ranking officials that convene to discuss pressing national security pri
  
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• Austin mom accused of leaving kids in hot car as she shoplifted, got nails done

  05-04-2017 17:43 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two children were described by police as “very hot, sweaty and dirty” after witnesses found them in a locked car in the parking lot of a south Austin Walmart last year.
  Austin police said Raquel Perez, 26, arrived at the Walmart at 12:48 p.m. on May 5, 2016 with her children, one 21 months old, the other 3 years old.
  By watching surveillance cameras at the store, investigators were able to pinpoint her movements.Timeline of events:
  12:48 p.m. – P
  
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• APD: Mom left kids in 100 degree car for 75 minutes as she shoplifted, got nails done

  05-04-2017 17:43 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two children were described by police as “very hot, sweaty and dirty” after witnesses found them in a locked car in the parking lot of a south Austin Walmart last year.
  Austin police said Raquel Perez, 26, arrived at the Walmart at 12:48 p.m. on May 5, 2016 with her children, one 21 months old, the other 3 years old.
  By watching surveillance cameras at the store, investigators were able to pinpoint her movements.Timeline of events:
  12:48 p.m. – P
  
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• Mounting confidence nerve gas was used in Syria attack

  05-04-2017 17:27 via kxan.com
  
  BEIRUT (AP) — Diplomats at the U.N. Security council sparred Wednesday over whether to hold President Bashar Assad’s government responsible for a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 80 people in northern Syria, while U.S. intelligence officials, Doctors Without Borders and the U.N. healthy agency said evidence pointed to nerve gas exposure.
  The Trump administration and other world leaders said the Syrian government was to blame, but Moscow, a key ally of Assad, said the ass
  
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• Death toll from Syria chemical attack rises to 75

  05-04-2017 17:27 via kxan.com
  
  BEIRUT (AP) — The death toll from a suspected chemical attack on a northern Syrian town rose to 75 on Wednesday as activists and rescue workers found more terrified survivors hiding in shelters near the site of the assault, one of the deadliest in Syria’s civil war.
  A Syrian opposition group said renewed airstrikes hit the town of Khan Sheikhoun a day after the attack, which the Trump administration and others have blamed on the government of President Bashar Assad, as well as his ma
  
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• Suspect arrested after 7 wounded at Lubbock motel

  05-04-2017 17:05 via kxan.com
  
  LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Police say a 23-year-old man arrested Tuesday afternoon is their suspect in the shootings of seven people wounded while on the balcony of a West Texas motel.
  Lubbock police say Adrian Vicente Castillo was booked Tuesday evening into the Lubbock County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Bond is set at $500,000. Jail records list no attorney for him.
  Investigators say a man was at a nearby bar and restaurant late Monday night when he left, then
  
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• Repeal in doubt, a look at what Trump alone can do on ‘Obamacare’

  05-04-2017 16:26 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — With prospects in doubt for repealing “Obamacare,” some Republicans say the Trump administration can rewrite regulations and take other actions to undo much of the health care law on its own.
  Some of those moves could disrupt life for millions of people, many in states that the new president carried. And then there’s the risk of court challenges. Remember the White House travel ban?
  “In a world where Obamacare is not going to be repealed and replac
  
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• Senate panel approves bill banning bestiality in Texas

  05-04-2017 16:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — The Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted in favor of a bill Tuesday evening that would ban bestiality, an act currently not illegal in Texas. The vote moves the proposed law closer to consideration by the full Senate.
  The bill would make participation in, promotion of or observation of any sexual contact with an animal punishable by up to two years in state jail. If an animal were to suffer serious bodily injuries or die because of the sexual contact, the
  
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• Border turns quiet under Trump amid steep drop in arrests

  05-04-2017 15:49 via kxan.com
  
  McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The first months of the new administration have seen a huge drop in the number of people being caught by agents on the U.S.-Mexico border, raising the possibility that a “Trump effect” is keeping migrants away.
  Fewer than 12,500 people were caught at the southern border in March, the lowest monthly figure in at least 17 years and the second straight month that border arrests dropped sharply.
  While the Trump administration has sought to take credit for that
  
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• Annual ‘Take Back the Night’ event Wednesday at UT

  05-04-2017 15:37 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Former Texas Democrat lawmaker Wendy Davis is expected to give the keynote at Wednesday night’s rally to end sexual assaults.
  The annual Take Back the Night event begins at 6:30 p.m. on the University of Texas’ Main Mall.
  One of the goals of the event is to get people talking about a subject that is hard for many, especially survivors.
  RELATED: Campus sexual assault case ‘loopholes’ could get the ax with proposed bills
  “They see other surv
  
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• Annual ‘Take Back the Night’ event aims to change rape culture on campus

  05-04-2017 15:37 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Dozens of UT students, staff and even former Texas Democrat lawmaker Wendy Davis, spoke out Wednesday against sexual assault.
  One of the goals of the event is to get people talking about a subject that is hard for many, especially survivors. A survey of UT undergraduates released last month revealed that 15 percent of women reported being raped on the flagship Austin campus.
  “The statistics are real and it’s one of those things where you can’t always
  
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• VIDEO: Motorcyclist lucky to be alive after mattress flies out of truck, into his lane

  05-04-2017 14:59 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTRALIA (CNN) — A motorcyclist in Australia is lucky to have escaped death or serious injury after a scary accident last week.
  Police released CCTV video of the incident.
  Motorcyclist Aaron Wood was driving through a tunnel in Brisbane, Australia, when a mattress flew off the back of a passing truck and into his lane.
  Wood hit the mattress going 50 miles per hour and came to an abrupt stop.
  Luckily, he was not rear-ended and was able to walk away without serious injury.
  Wood said he thou
  
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• VIDEO: Officer battles with uncooperative burglary suspect

  05-04-2017 14:39 via kxan.com
  
  BRADENTON, Florida (NBC News) —  A Florida police lieutenant is home recovering after a life or death struggle with a burglar intent on not going to jail.
  Security cameras caught the violent melee early Sunday morning inside a jewelry store.
  Alerted to a break-in by an alarm company, Lt. William Weldon noticed broken glass at the store. Using his flashlight, he came face-to-face with a burglar behind a counter.
  At first, when the suspect looks like he’s going to give up, Lt. Wel
  
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• Boy battling cancer gets special visit from Austin police

  05-04-2017 13:58 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some Austin police officers took some time out of their busy day Tuesday to put a smile on a young man’s face.
  Chief Brian Manley and a few other officers visited Dell Children’s Medical Center to meet Clayton, a 17 year old Round Rock High School student who is battling cancer.
  Clayton has always wanted to be a police officer and collects police patches. Austin’s finest presented him 300 patches from around the world.
  Detective Jarrett Crip
  
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• Tax appraisals are out and values are up

  05-04-2017 13:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tax appraisals are out and the cost to live in Central Texas continues to rise. Travis County residents are seeing an eight percent increase in home values, and 23 percent increase for commercial properties. In Williamson County, the average residential market value also went up eight percent. For those who feel their home or property has been overvalued, you can protest the increase.
  First, homeowners have to understand how the appraisal district came up with that number i
  
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• House committee takes up special ed bill amid federal investigation

  05-04-2017 06:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) — A Texas lawmaker wants to permanently get rid of a state policy that he says systematically denies tens of thousands of Texas special needs students from getting the help they need.
  State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, filed House Bill 712 after a recent Houston Chronicle investigation revealed that in 2004 the state adopted a policy that set an 8.5 percent target for Texas school children receiving special ed services. That is the lowest percentage in the country.
  “Lawm
  
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• Mothers with postpartum depression hopeful for more support in Texas

  05-04-2017 05:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Many women struggling with postpartum depression aren’t getting the help they need. Texans Care for Children says about half of cases go undetected or undiagnosed.
  Lawmakers are paying attention to those numbers. On Tuesday, the Texas House Public Health Committee held a hearing for several bills hoping to help women manage the illness.
  “It really impacts their everyday life and a child’s life. If untreated, postpartum depression has devastating effec
  
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• Tom Kite joins More Than the Score to talk Masters

  05-04-2017 04:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tom Kite has finished runner up three times in his 21 Masters, including two of the most famous of all time. The World Golf Hall of Famer and ’92 U.S. Open Champ joined Roger Wallace on More Than the Score to talk about two of those memorable tournaments including 20 years ago when Tiger Woods won by 12 shots.
  
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• Man hit by car in south Austin has life-threatening injuries

  05-04-2017 04:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man in his 50s hit by a car on William Cannon Drive, just west of Interstate 35, has critical, life-threatening injuries, according to Austin-Travis County EMS.
  Medics were called to the 800 block of William Cannon at 9:06 p.m.
  Austin police say the driver possibly left the scene.
  
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• Man dies in south Austin hit-and-run

  05-04-2017 04:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man in his 50s died after being hit by a vehicle Tuesday night on East William Cannon Drive. Police say the driver did not stay on scene.
  Detectives with the Vehicular Homicide unit are investigating the crash which happened just west of Interstate 35 just after 9:00 p.m.
  Paramedics with Austin-Travis County EMS took the man to St. David’s South Austin Medical Center with critical, life-threatening injuries. He later died at the hospital.
  Authorities said they curre
  
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• Man crossing E. William Cannon hit, killed by several vehicles

  05-04-2017 04:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man in his 50s died after being hit by a vehicle Tuesday night on East William Cannon Drive.
  Detectives with the Vehicular Homicide unit are investigating the crash which happened just west of Interstate 35 in the 800 block of E. William Cannon just after 9:00 p.m.
  Police said the man was not in a crosswalk when he was hit in the eastbound lane and thrown into oncoming traffic in the westbound lane. They are not certain how many cars hit him.
  Paramedics with Austin-Travis
  
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• Massive Round Rock blaze under investigation

  05-04-2017 04:01 via kxan.com
  
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Firefighters have put out a large fire in an abandoned house next to Interstate 35 in Round Rock Tuesday night.
  Will Hampton with the city of Round Rock says the building, located about 300 feet off the road in the 1600 block of Chisholm Trail, just north of Sam Bass Road, was fully engulfed in flames.
  Officials say no one was injured in the fire and they are investigating the cause.
  Fire in the 1600 block of Chisholm Trail in Round Rock. April 4, 2017 (Cour
  
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• Fire fully engulfed abandoned house in Round Rock

  05-04-2017 04:01 via kxan.com
  
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Firefighters have put out a large fire in an abandoned house next to Interstate 35 in Round Rock Tuesday night.
  Will Hampton with the city of Round Rock says the building, located about 300 feet off the road in the 1600 block of Chisholm Trail, just north of Sam Bass Road, was fully engulfed in flames.
  Officials say no one was injured in the fire and they are investigating the cause.
  Fire in the 1600 block of Chisholm Trail in Round Rock. April 4, 2017 (Cour
  
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• Persons of interest in central Austin murder now considered suspects

  05-04-2017 02:48 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police say they now believe the persons of interest in the murder of 26-year-old Michael Blaylock are responsible for his death.
  Officers are looking for Karl Stokes and Marvin Flint, 21, who are now suspects in the March 26 homicide on Carmen Court, not far from the US 183 and Interstate 35 interchange.
  Austin police have an arrest warrant issued for Stokes and have set bond at $150,000. A warrant has yet to be issued for Flint.
  Detectives are asking anyone with inf
  
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• Dog dies in south Austin house fire, family of four displaced

  05-04-2017 02:15 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A fire that started in the kitchen of a home on Harwin Lane in south Austin has been put out by the Austin Fire Department.
  A photo posted by firefighters showed them trying to resuscitate the family’s dog.
  They say their attempts were unsuccessful. A family of four was displaced by the fire. The firefighters and the family were uninjured by the fire.
  Officials say the fire was accidentally started on the kitchen stove. There is $35,000 in damages to the house and $20
  
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• Rock Steady Boxing giving members with Parkinson’s a new outlook on life

  05-04-2017 01:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Getting plenty of exercise is important for everyone, and boxing can be a fun way to do it.
  For people with Parkinson’s disease, it can mean more than a way to burn off calories. According to the gym’s website, Rock Steady Boxing is the first of its kind in Central Texas, focusing solely on helping people with Parkinson’s.
  “Boxers have to train for balance, have to train for coordination, use cognitive skills, and so those are the same things that pe
  
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• Child advocates hope money for state’s sex trafficking team continues

  05-04-2017 00:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Brainstorming and coming up with ways to tackle sex trafficking is one thing. Getting the ideas funded is another obstacle.
  For more than a decade, the fight by Texas lawmakers to end child sex trafficking has focused on catching pimps. A new team in the Governor’s office met Tuesday to bring services to what’s predicted to be 79,000 sex trafficked minors and youths in Texas.
  “As a father, it just crushes my heart to think about what’s happening
  
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