Austin news

• Young horse in Dripping Springs needs life-saving surgery

  07-04-2017 23:51 via kxan.com
  
  DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) – A Dripping Springs family is hoping to raise enough money to get their horse a life-saving surgery.
  Barbara the horse was born in January with a wry nose, a deformity that pulls her nose to the side making it difficult to breathe and even eat.
  “The minute I saw her, I fell in love with her,” said Barbara’s owner Martha Talley. “I just can’t see killing something, you know?”
  Some say working on a ranch teaches you more abo
  
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• Texas prepares for more local transmission of the Zika virus

  07-04-2017 23:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The state now recommends that all pregnant women in six South Texas counties — currently in their first and second trimester — should be tested for the Zika virus.
  The Texas Department of State Health Services is expanding their guidance for Zika prevention for the 2017 mosquito season, as they prepare for additional local transmission of the virus, meaning people who have not recently traveled getting bitten by a mosquito and then infected. Most Texas cases, ho
  
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• Austin-based intelligence firm Stratfor weighs in on Sweden, Syria

  07-04-2017 22:42 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Fred Burton of Austin-based intelligence and security firm Stratfor tells KXAN’s Sally Hernandez he expects intelligence officials to ask if the attack in Sweden Friday morning is in response to the U.S. led airstrikes in Syria just hours before.
  “Now with this United States unilateral action, literally the world needs to be on point for the possibility of follow up retaliatory attacks from a range of terrorism actors,” said Burton, who serves as vice pres
  
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• Round Top man arrested, accused of cattle rustling

  07-04-2017 20:44 via kxan.com
  
  ROUND TOP, Texas (KXAN) — An accused cattle thief is behind bars in Fayette County awaiting extradition to South Dakota.
  The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers said 37-year-old Nicholas Tooker was arrested Thursday in Round Top by a Fayette County constable on a felony cattle theft warrant from South Dakota. Authorities say Tooker was previously arrested in Canyon Lake last month for a warrant out of Oklahoma where he was suspected of trying to pass a fake check.
  The investigation into
  
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• Texas still spending big on border despite Trump promises

  07-04-2017 20:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A budget shortfall in Texas threatens cuts to colleges and Medicaid, yet a costly border security operation is proving largely untouchable.
  That’s despite President Donald Trump’s promises to build a wall and the plunging number of people caught illegally entering the U.S.
  During a key budget vote Thursday, House Democrats were trying unsuccessfully to take dollars earmarked for hundreds of state troopers on the Texas-Mexico border and National Guard patrol
  
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• House OKs environmental funding for abortion “alternatives”

  07-04-2017 20:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas House has voted to take $20 million from the state’s environmental agency and funnel it toward an “Alternative to Abortion” program that counsels low-income, pregnant women.
  Thursday’s 93-52 vote came after Republicans said the program had sought $35 million but was set to get less than $19 million. They argued that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had received extra funding it wouldn’t miss.
  Democratic Rep. Rafael A
  
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• 25 indicted in South Texas drug, money laundering, gang case

  07-04-2017 20:17 via kxan.com
  
  HOUSTON (AP) — Officials say 25 people identified by investigators as gang members or associates have been indicted for their alleged roles in a South Texas drug and money laundering ring.
  Federal investigators in Houston on Friday announced the 27-count superseding indictment linked to the Tri-City Bombers. Officials say the defendants — from Texas, Ohio and Minnesota — face counts including racketeering, drug distribution and money laundering.
  Prosecutors say the suspects are
  
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• Man accused of stealing 39 guns from Georgetown home

  07-04-2017 20:09 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — A pair guns of found during a traffic stop led authorities to the suspect they believe stole nearly 40 guns from a Georgetown home in March.
  The guns were originally reported missing on March 29 from a home in the 6600 block of Cherrywood Lane.
  On April 1, Round Rock police pulled over Larry Chambers, 45, for not having a license plate on the back of his vehicle. The officer noted that he was slow to stop and tried to get out of his vehicle during the stop. Durin
  
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• Undocumented husband of Trump supporter deported to Mexico

  07-04-2017 20:03 via kxan.com
  
  MISHAWAKA, IN (WCMH) — The husband of a President Donald Trump supporter has been deported back to Mexico despite having no criminal record.
  Helen Beristain told WSBT-TV in March that she voted for President Donald Trump even though she’s married to an undocumented immigrant. She believed the president’s policy was only to deport people with criminal records, and that he would leave families intact.
  “I think our President is going to keep all the good people here. He is n
  
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• TRAFFIC ALERT: All lanes of I-35 in San Antonio will be closed this weekend

  07-04-2017 20:00 via kxan.com
  
  SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KXAN) — If you’re headed to San Antonio for the weekend, you might want to give yourself some extra time due to a major closure on Interstate 35.
  Starting at 9 p.m. Friday, April 7, and running until 5 a.m. Monday, April 10, all main lanes of I-35 between Rittiman Road and George Beach (near Fort Sam Houston) will be closed. The closure allows for crews to demolish an old connector ramp from I-35 to southbound Interstate 410.
  Southbound traffic on I-35 will n
  
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• Nation’s oldest living veteran honored with street, garden

  07-04-2017 19:22 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When the nation’s oldest living veteran showed up to an event honoring him, he had four cigars sticking out of his jacket pocket. If you knew Richard Overton, 110, then you would know that’s his style.
  On Friday, the healing garden at the VA Austin Outpatient Clinic in southeast Austin was officially named in Overton’s honor. The World War II veteran, who will soon turn 111 years old, served in the US Army Air Force.
  Overton says the event is a proud momen
  
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• McRaven says Assad needs to be removed, commends Trump’s actions

  07-04-2017 18:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — University of Texas System Chancellor Bill McRaven is commending President Donald Trump for taking decisive action against Syria.
  A scheduled appearance on Fox & Friends Friday morning to talk about his new book turned into a discussion about the attack and what McRaven sees as the next steps for the United States. McRaven, who was a Navy Admiral, gave insight into how the process might have played out.
  “In this case, these are sort of plans that have been on
  
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• Deaf community weighs in on need for emergency communications

  07-04-2017 18:25 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Wednesday, the National Weather Service hosted a town hall meeting with the deaf community to address questions, comments and concerns about how severe weather threats are communicated. Representatives from CapCOG, ATX Floods, Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services, area news stations and other emergency organizations were present to open a dialogue about what deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the Austin-area want to see during severe storms.
  Seeing is key
  
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• Gorsuch confirmed; Senate approves Trump nominee, 54-45

  07-04-2017 18:09 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to become the newest associate justice on the Supreme Court Friday, elevating Donald Trump’s nominee following a corrosive partisan confrontation that could have lasting impacts for the Senate and the court.
  Vice President Mike Pence was presiding as the Senate voted 54-45 in favor of Gorsuch, a 49-year-old veteran of the 10th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Denver whose rulings make him an intellectual heir to the late Justice Antonin S
  
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• Texas man found guilty in beating death of 7-month-old girl

  07-04-2017 17:39 via kxan.com
  
  BRYAN, Texas (AP) — A jury has convicted a Texas man who prosecutors say was high on drugs when he fatally beat a 7-month-old child who suffered a fractured skull and ribs.
  Thirty-eight-year-old Talawrence Tennell of Bryan was found guilty Thursday of capital murder by a Brazos County jury.
  He’ll automatically receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole for killing Hailey Burleson, who was the daughter of his girlfriend at the time.
  A prosecution witness testified that
  
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• PHOTOS: U.S. missile attacks on Syria’s air bases

  07-04-2017 17:18 via kxan.com
  
  The Department of Defense released photographs of the U.S. response to the Syrian chemical weapons attack. US missile attack on Syrian air bases The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) conducts strike operations while in the Mediterranean SeaCourtesy (Photo:Navy Media Content Services)USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile April 7, 2017 (Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Price)The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) conducts strike operations while in the
  
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• U.S. man on missionary trip sacrifices his life for drowning child

  07-04-2017 16:34 via kxan.com
  
  WARREN, OH (WKBN) – A Warren man, who survived explosions during combat in the Middle East, died doing missionary work in Indonesia while saving the life of a young boy.
  Tim Adams grew up in Warren and the people who knew him said he loved life and joking around.
  His brother, Lenny, described him as “very humble, very caring, and loving.”
  From Warren, Tim enlisted in the Army — fighting in both Afghanistan and Iraq — where he survived three explosions.
  “He was
  
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• Swedish PM says Stockholm truck crash was an attack, 1 in custody

  07-04-2017 15:48 via kxan.com
  
  STOCKHOLM (AP) — A truck crashed into an upscale department store in central Stockholm on Friday, killing at least two people, according to Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who said all indications were that it was a terror attack. One person was arrested.
  People in the downtown area fled in panic, and the country’s intelligence agency said a large number of people were injured. Swedish radio put the death toll at three.
  “Sweden has been attacked,” Lofven said. &ldqu
  
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• Police investigating body found in south Austin creek

  07-04-2017 15:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Detectives are working to determine what happened to a person who was found dead in a creek Friday morning.
  The person who found the body called 911 at 8:14 a.m from a Starbucks near the 500 block of West Oltorf Street.
  Austin-Travis County EMS said a man in his 20s was found near East Bouldin Creek.
  Austin police said the body does not seem to have been where it was for long.
  Police originally had stated the body was being investigated as a suspicious death. They reca
  
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• WATCH: Good Samaritans rescue blind man from train tracks

  07-04-2017 15:28 via kxan.com
  
  ATLANTA, Georgia (WXIA) — Daniel Summers rides Atlanta’s MARTA every day.
  The 29-year-old father takes the train from his home in east Atlanta to his job downtown, usually without anything out of the ordinary happening.
  On his Thursday morning commute, Summers and several other Good Samaritans were unexpectedly forced into action in order to save a man’s life.
  Summers had just gotten off his train at the Five Points station and was walking to his office building when he heard a
  
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• Russia ups ante by freezing communications with US in Syria

  07-04-2017 15:19 via kxan.com
  
  MOSCOW (AP) — Russia reacted to U.S. military strikes on its ally Syria Friday by cutting a hotline intended to prevent midair incidents, a response that demonstrates Moscow’s readiness to defy Washington and could even put the two nuclear superpowers on a course toward military confrontation.
  President Vladimir Putin signaled he was ready to risk a clash with the U.S. and abandon hopes for mending ties with the U.S. under President Donald Trump, rather than accept the humiliation of
  
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• Dog attacks on mail carriers rise again as online sales boom

  07-04-2017 15:08 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Letter carrier James Solomon thought he knew all the tricks to prevent a dog attack: watch the pet’s mannerisms, use the mail satchel as a shield, pull out the emergency dog spray — it contains an extract of cayenne pepper.
  But nothing prepared the 17-year postal veteran from Hatboro, Pennsylvania, for what happened when a woman answered his knock.
  “It was three little hot dogs who came out and bit me on the shin,” Solomon said, describing dachshun
  
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• Families struggling to find new homes after San Marcos apartment fire

  07-04-2017 14:53 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — Thursday marked two weeks since a fire ripped through a San Marcos Apartment complex, leaving 12 families without a home. Some of those families are searching for an affordable place to stay.
  Audrey Sweet never thought she would live in a home with an elevator. She also never thought that home would be in room 211.
  “Do you know how many hotels we’ve been to so far, is this our fourth one,” she asked her children during a talk with KXAN&rsqu
  
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• WATCH: Express top Nashville in season opener

  07-04-2017 14:44 via kxan.com
  
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Fans at the Dell Diamond got to see bonus baseball Thursday night as the Round Rock Express went 11 innings before a walk-off single by Preston Beck.
  The Express came away with a 2-1 win in the season opener. They’ll take on Nashville again Friday and Saturday nights.The #RRExpress showed the @nashvillesounds who's boss with a 2-1 walkoff win on Thursday: https://t.co/u4Kz7FYDpR pic.twitter.com/T06fV1p3dD
  — Round Rock Express (@RRExpress) April 7, 20
  
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• Hyundai and Kia recall 1.2M cars for possible engine failure

  07-04-2017 14:21 via kxan.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling 1.4 million cars and SUVs in the U.S., Canada and South Korea because the engines can fail and stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
  The recall covers some of the Korean automakers’ most popular models in the U.S. and Canada including 2013 and 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport SUVs and Sonata midsize cars. Also covered are Kia Optima midsize cars from 2011 through 2014, Kia Sportage SUVs from 2011 through 2013 and Kia Sorento SUVs from 2012 thr
  
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• Man charged with manslaughter after shooting suspected diaper thief

  07-04-2017 13:57 via kxan.com
  
  ORLANDO (NBC News)– A 51-year-old customer who shot and killed a suspected diaper thief at an Orlando, Florida Walmart has been charged with manslaughter.
  Lonnie Leonard was arrested on charges of manslaughter, aggravated battery, and carrying a concealed weapon Wednesday night.
  Jeffrey Edwards, the brother of Arthur Adams, the man Leonard killed, said the manslaughter charges filed against Leonard is not enough.
  “I think he should be charged with murder not, manslaughter, for one. A
  
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• World response to US strike reflects divide over Syria

  07-04-2017 13:32 via kxan.com
  
  BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. missile strike on a Syrian air base was widely welcomed as a response to this week’s chemical weapons attack, but condemned by Syria’s government and its allies Russia and Iran, which said the move would complicate efforts to fight terrorism.
  The following is a sample of the reactions from the international community, the parties to Syria’s six-year-old civil war and victims of the chemical attack.
  RELATED: Timeline of the Syrian civil war and US re
  
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• Repeal of Texas’ in-state tuition for immigrants law fails

  07-04-2017 12:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A House proposal to tack onto the state budget a repeal of a law offering in-state tuition at Texas public universities to some high school graduates who came to the U.S. illegally has failed on a technicality.
  Rep. Jonathan Stickland, a Republican from Bedford, introduced the proposal late Thursday night, as debate over the chamber’s 2018-2019 Texas budget stretched into its 14th hour.
  It was defeated without a floor vote after Dallas Democratic Rep. Rafael Anch
  
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• Timeline of the Syrian civil war and US response

  07-04-2017 12:27 via kxan.com
  
  The U.S. attack on a Syrian air base came after years of heated debate and deliberation in Washington over intervention in the bloody civil war.
  Chemical weapons have killed hundreds of people since the start of the conflict, with the U.N. blaming three attacks on the Syrian government and a fourth on the Islamic State group. One of the worst yet came Tuesday in rebel-held northern Idlib and killed dozens, including women and children.
  That attack prompted President Donald Trump, on day 77 of hi
  
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• State House passes budget after 15 hours of debate

  07-04-2017 10:10 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Texan House of Representatives passed its budget on a vote of 131 to 16 early Friday morning. The $218 billion budget calls for the withdraw of $2.5 billion from the Rainy Day Fund.
  Lawmakers debated more than 400 amendments during the 15-hour long budget hearing. One of the amendments took a setback. The House voted to oppose taxpayer money to private and religious schools, expressly forbidding state funding for school vouchers. The school choice bill was marked as a p
  
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• House passes $218B budget after more than 15 hours of debate

  07-04-2017 10:10 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — After 15 and a half hours of debate on hundreds of amendments to the Texas House budget, lawmakers in the lower chamber passed the two-year, $218 billion document, with 131 votes in favor and 16 votes against.
  The House vote included using $2.5 billion from the state’s savings account, colloquially known as the Rainy Day Fund. State Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, thanked lawmakers for exhibiting “true leadership” with their willingness to tap the f
  
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• Leander ISD student deaths bring focus to mental health

  07-04-2017 06:11 via kxan.com
  
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Thursday night, school board members with the Leander Independent School District announced they will take up the issue of mental health the next time they meet.
  “The board is hurting, our community is hurting. I’m looking forward to the community coming together,” said Trustee Jim MacKay, who is also a suicide awareness facilitator. “We work together to help our children.”
  The move comes after the superintendent sent a letter to par
  
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• Leander ISD addressing mental health after recent student deaths

  07-04-2017 06:11 via kxan.com
  
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Thursday night, school board members with the Leander Independent School District announced they will take up the issue of mental health the next time they meet.
  “The board is hurting, our community is hurting. I’m looking forward to the community coming together,” said Trustee Jim MacKay, who is also a suicide awareness facilitator. “We work together to help our children.”
  The move comes after the superintendent sent a letter to par
  
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• US strike on Syria is widely hailed, but angers Russia

  07-04-2017 03:32 via kxan.com
  
  BEIRUT (AP) — World leaders rallied around the United States after it launched a missile strike early Friday on a Syrian air base in response to this week’s chemical attack, while Russia condemned the move as “aggression” and suspended crucial coordination with Washington in Syria’s congested skies.
  The overnight missile attack, which marked the first time the U.S. has directly targeted Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces, was condemned by his allies in Rus
  
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• US attacks Syrian air base with dozens of cruise missiles

  07-04-2017 03:32 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States blasted a Syrian air base with a barrage of cruise missiles Thursday night in fiery retaliation for this week’s gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians. President Donald Trump cast the U.S. assault as vital to deter future use of poison gas and called on other nations to join in seeking “to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria.”
  It was the first direct American assault on the Syrian government and Trump’s most drama
  
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• Some Texas caregivers could see hourly rate cut in June

  07-04-2017 02:59 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tens of thousands of the state’s most vulnerable people, those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, rely on in-home caregivers. The state is looking to cut millions of dollars designated to fund at-home Medicaid services for these clients.
  The two waiver programs that could see cuts are Texas Home Living (TxHmL) and Home and Community-based Services (HCS). The TxHmL waiver provides select services and support for people with an intellectual disability who
  
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• Spieth puts up another big number at Augusta

  07-04-2017 02:33 via kxan.com
  
  AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Same result, different day. Good thing, too.
  Jordan Spieth made a quadruple-bogey on the back nine at Augusta National again — but it came at the 15th hole instead of No. 12, and in the first round instead of the final one, leaving himself plenty of time to recover.
  Spieth immediately took advantage of that cushion, making a birdie on the next hole and a tough par putt at No. 18 to limit the damage and post a 3-over-par 75.
  “I didn’t take my medicine,&
  
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• Bill to make cyberbulling a crime gets a senate committee hearing

  07-04-2017 02:27 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) — State lawmakers heard emotional testimony Thursday afternoon for a bill that would make cyberbullying a crime in Texas.
  Senate Bill 179, also known as David’s Law, is named after 16-year-old David Molak of San Antonio who took his own life in January of 2016 after being harassed online.
  “In David’s case, they used Facebook, Instagram, regular texts, and videos,” David’s mother, Maurine Molak said. “He was devastated when he showed them
  
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• Long night ahead as Texas House hammers out budget

  07-04-2017 01:12 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN/AP) — It’s going to be a late night at the Texas State Capitol. With a $6 billion shortfall, the Texas House is working on what the budget will look like for the next two years.
  There are about 400 proposed budget amendments. Some will result in votes on this session’s most controversial issues.
  KXAN’s Political Reporter Phil Prazan is on the House Floor keeping track of all the changes and will have LIVE updates on KXAN News on the CW Austin at 9 p.m. a
  
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• Work zone deaths increase 27 percent on Texas roads

  07-04-2017 01:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — One hundred and eighty-one people lost their lives in work zone crashes last year in Texas, a 27 percent increase from the year before.
  Ninety-six percent of those killed were either drivers, pedestrians or bicyclists. “People often think work zone crashes result in the deaths of roadside workers, but statistics show the vast majority of these fatalities are drivers like you and me who are passing through as motorists,” said TxDOT Executive Director James Bass.
  
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• Deputies search for stolen Mason County horse

  07-04-2017 00:44 via kxan.com
  
  MASON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Deputies are asking for your help finding a stolen gray Appaloosa mare.
  The horse, described as 8 years old and 14.5-15 hand (around 5-feet tall), was taken from the area near the Castell General Store, located at 19522 W. Ranch Road 152 in Castell, in between the towns of Mason and Llano.
  The horse was stolen on April 1 between 9 and 11 a.m. Anyone with information on the theft can contact Deputy Stafford with the Mason County Sheriff’s Office at 35
  
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• Austin police teams up with young filmmakers to change “us vs. them” mentality

  07-04-2017 00:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – The “Us vs. Them” mentality is one that some Austin police officers and youth are working hard to break. For months now, Austin police along with teenagers from the African American Youth Harvest Foundation film crew have worked and produced two public service announcements that show different perspectives from both groups.
  “[We’re] trying to make that understanding that [police] are humans first and they’re here to protect us,”
  
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• Texas driver gets 15 years in prison for swerving car into motorcycle

  07-04-2017 00:11 via kxan.com
  
  GRANBURY, Texas (AP) — A North Texas man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for intentionally veering his car into a passing motorcycle, injuring the two riders.
  Another motorcyclist who was wearing a camera recorded the 2015 crash near Granbury and the video was shared broadly across social media.
  William Sam Crum, 69, was sentenced last week after being convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
  William Crum (Hood County Sheriff’s Office Photo)Crum was unable to po
  
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