Austin news

• Target issues recall for Hatch & Grow Easter and Dino toys

  14-04-2017 23:48 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you have an Easter basket in your house, make sure you check it for an item that was recalled by Target.
  On Thursday, Target issued a recall for the Hatch & Grow Easter and Dino toys. When placed in water, the product grows to 600 times its original size.
  The company says if the small toy is ingested, it can expand inside a child’s body and cause intestinal obstructions that can result in severe discomfort, vomiting and dehydration.
  According to the U.S. C
  
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• Suburban belonging to slain Austin attorney found in Louisiana

  14-04-2017 23:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The missing Chevrolet Suburban belonging to Austin attorney James Short — found murdered in his home on April 7 — was found early Friday morning in Louisiana.
  Law enforcement found the Suburban in a parking lot in Rapides Parish, about 30 miles northwest of Lafayette. Detectives are now looking through the vehicle for evidence.
  Justin Twyne, the man charged with Short’s murder, was arrested at a New Orleans hotel the same day the body was found o
  
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• Austin neighborhood hires Travis County constables to patrol, ticket

  14-04-2017 22:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Concerns about inadequate staffing of patrol officers at the Austin Police Department has neighborhoods across the city taking safety enforcement matters into their own hands, by hiring Travis County Constables to conduct directed patrols.
  “Several of the neighbors were concerned about the amount of speeding that was going on, especially during the rush hour periods of time,” explained Pieter Sybesma, president of the Highland Park West Balcones Area Associ
  
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• Ex-NFL star Hernandez, serving life, acquitted in 2 slayings

  14-04-2017 21:30 via kxan.com
  
  BOSTON (AP) — Ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez, who is already serving a life sentence for a 2013 murder, was acquitted Friday in a 2012 double slaying prosecutors said was fueled by his anger over a spilled drink.
  The former tight end for the New England Patriots choked back tears as the verdicts were read in Boston. A few moments later, he looked back at his fiancee and nodded somberly as relatives of the victims sobbed loudly. A defense attorney hugged him.
  After six days of deliberations, t
  
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• Delta OKs offers of up to $9,950 to flyers who give up seats

  14-04-2017 20:39 via kxan.com
  
  ATLANTA (AP) — Delta is giving airport employees permission to offer passengers up to almost $10,000 in compensation to give up their seats on overbooked flights.
  Delta’s move comes as United Airlines struggles to recover from images of a passenger’s forced removal from a sold-out flight.
  In an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press, Delta says gate agents can offer up to $2,000 in compensation, up from a previous maximum of $800, and supervisors can offer up to $9,950,
  
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• Longhorns prepping for Orange-White Spring Game

  14-04-2017 19:43 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s not exactly football season yet, but tell that to the Longhorns team members who will be suiting up in the burnt orange this weekend for the Orange-White Spring Game.
  The annual scrimmage starts at 1 p.m. at the Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium but fans are encouraged to come out and enjoy other activities before the game. Admission is free for all events and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
  Saturday’s game will be a good chance to see
  
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• It’s prom season, remind your kids about distracted driving

  14-04-2017 19:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Your teenage driver might soon be hitting the road on their way to prom. You should make sure they know that Snapchatting about their big night while on the way could turn deadly.
  April is Distracted Driving Month and it’s your duty as a parent to make sure your children understand what the consequences could be.
  Dr. Lee Chilton with Neighbors Health joined KXAN News at Noon anchor Kate Weidaw to discuss the dangers and had seven ways to limit distractions.
  They are:
  
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• FDA issues recall for Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets

  14-04-2017 19:40 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (WFLA) – The Federal Drug Administration has issued a nationwide recall of Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets made by the Standard Homeopathic Company.
  The tablets, used to comfort babies who are teething, were deemed unsafe after they were found to contain inconsistent amounts of belladonna, which the FDA says pose a “serious health hazard” to kids.
  The FDA claims the effects of belladonna are unpredictable and told the Standard Homeopathic Company there is &ldquo
  
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• Eat at McDonald’s on Good Friday and raise money for the 100 Clubs

  14-04-2017 18:22 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you’re looking to give to a good cause while getting some lunch, consider heading over to a McDonald’s as part of the 10th Annual Good Friday Fundraiser.
  On Friday, April 14, all of the McDonald’s in Central Texas will donate a percentage of sales generated from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to the 100 Clubs. The money raised will help families of first responders who were killed or critically injured in the line of duty.
  The executive staff of the Austin Police De
  
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• First trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi released

  14-04-2017 18:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Get in line now, the next Star Wars movie is only eight months away and we’re finally getting our first look at what happened after Rey met Luke Skywalker. 
   
  
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• Austin man accused of killing his stepmom tries to escape from jail

  14-04-2017 17:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man who is in jail charged with murder in the stabbing death of his step-mom tried to escape by hiding in a recycling bin, according to an arrest affidavit.
  The Travis County Sheriff’s Office says on April 3, 20-year-old Pontrey Jones, while showering in the jail, was able to get out, put on his jail jumpsuit and elude a corrections officer and a jail nurse who walked by.
  An example of a slider door at Travis County Correctional Facility (TCSO Photo)Surveillance vid
  
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• APD: Man ‘under the influence’ attacks child, 3, in east Austin

  14-04-2017 17:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man who, police said, appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance was wandering an east Austin neighborhood throwing children’s bicycles before he turned violent Wednesday night.
  Dominique Gaines, 28, was taken into custody around 8:15 p.m. in the 3300 block of Vintage Hills Cove after police were called when he allegedly hit a 3-year-old child.
  The child’s mother told police she was outside with them when Gaines, who she didn’t know and h
  
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• Man gets 5 years for Dallas stomping death of his puppy

  14-04-2017 17:08 via kxan.com
  DALLAS (AP) — A former Dallas man has been sentenced to five years in prison for the 2016 stomping death of his puppy following a night of drinking alcohol.
  The Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/2ou7nkY ) reports 36-year-old Thyren Justus acknowledged being too drunk to remember beating his Australian shepherd named Luke.
  A judge in Dallas sentenced Justus, who pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty. Justice testified Thursday that he couldn’t recall what happened to his 5-month-ol
  
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• N. Korean official: Ready for war if Trump wants it

  14-04-2017 16:50 via kxan.com
  
  PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump’s tweets are adding fuel to a “vicious cycle” of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea’s vice foreign minister told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Friday. The official added that if the U.S. shows any sign of “reckless” military aggression, Pyongyang is ready to launch a pre-emptive strike of its own.
  Vice Minister Han Song Ryol said Pyongyang has determined the Trump administra
  
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• Detroit-area doctor charged with genital mutilation on girls

  14-04-2017 16:01 via kxan.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — A doctor was charged Thursday with performing genital mutilation on two young Minnesota girls who traveled to Michigan with their mothers, the first federal prosecution of what the government describes as “horrifying acts of brutality.”
  Dr. Jumana Nagarwala was arrested after the 7-year-olds identified her as the person who performed procedures on them in February at a clinic in suburban Detroit, according to the FBI.
  Nagarwala heard the allegations during a brie
  
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• Manifesto-writing fugitive found camping on Wisconsin farm

  14-04-2017 15:43 via kxan.com
  
  MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin fugitive accused of stealing an arsenal of firearms and sending an anti-government manifesto to the White House was arrested Friday after a retired school counselor found him camping on his property and calmly talked to the man before calling authorities.
  The arrest of Joseph Allen Jakubowski settled fears among residents and law enforcement over what he might do with his stockpile of weapons and ammunition. In his manifesto, Jakubowski detailed a long list of
  
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• Manifesto-writing fugitive appears in federal court

  14-04-2017 15:43 via kxan.com
  
  MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin fugitive accused of stealing an arsenal of firearms and sending an anti-government manifesto to the White House was arrested Friday after a retired school counselor found him camping on his property and calmly talked to the man before calling authorities.
  The arrest of Joseph Allen Jakubowski settled fears among residents and law enforcement over what he might do with his stockpile of weapons and ammunition. In his manifesto, Jakubowski detailed a long list of
  
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• Man accused in theft of guns arrested in Wisconsin

  14-04-2017 15:43 via kxan.com
  
  MILWAUKEE (AP) — A fugitive accused of stealing numerous weapons from a Wisconsin gun store and sending an anti-government manifesto to the White House has been arrested after nine days on the run, sheriff’s officials said Friday.
  Joseph Allen Jakubowski was found Thursday night in Vernon County, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Janesville, his hometown, according to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office.
  More than 150 law enforcement officials had been searching for Ja
  
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• Colorado ends plans for pot clubs over Trump uncertainty

  14-04-2017 15:27 via kxan.com
  
  DENVER (AP) — Colorado lawmakers on Thursday backed off plans to become the first U.S. state to regulate marijuana clubs, saying approval of Amsterdam-style pot clubs could invite a federal crackdown.
  It was perhaps the starkest display yet of legal pot states’ uncertainty on how to regulate the drug under President Donald Trump. Alaska marijuana regulators recently delayed planned rules for on-site pot consumption at dispensaries.
  Colorado’s measure, which would have allowed u
  
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• Nintendo discontinues NES Classic edition after 5 months

  14-04-2017 15:10 via kxan.com
  
  (WCMH) – If you still want an NES Classic Edition, you need to act fast, Nintendo is discontinuing the hard to find console.
  Nintendo confirmed to IGN Thursday the last shipments are going out to retailers throughout April.
  The console allowed gamers to play older games like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong.
  Nintendo provided the following statement to IGN:
  Throughout April, NOA territories will receive the last shipments of Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic
  
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• Autopsy results released for Texas children killed by pesticide

  14-04-2017 14:59 via kxan.com
  
  AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR) – A Lubbock pathologist has released his findings in the death of the four Balderas children.
  In each release, the pathologist Thomas Parsons, M.D. says the children died of acute aluminum phosphide exposure.
  PREVIOUS: 4 children die in Texas gas poisoning, others injured
  The report says the humidity released enough phosphine gas under the house to make the family sick. When someone attempted to wash away the pellets, more gas was released causing the children and fa
  
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• Afghanistan says massive US bomb killed 36 militants

  14-04-2017 14:31 via kxan.com
  
  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The biggest non-nuclear bomb ever dropped in combat by the U.S. military killed 36 militants in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Friday, and villagers in the remote, mountainous area described being terrified by the “earsplitting blast.”
  The strike using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, was carried out Thursday morning against an Islamic State group tunnel complex carved in the mountains that Afghan forces have tried to assault repeated
  
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• Afghanistan: Massive US bomb kills 36 Islamic State fighters

  14-04-2017 14:31 via kxan.com
  
  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A strike by the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military killed 36 Islamic State group militants and left no civilian casualties, hitting a tunnel complex in the remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Friday.
  The massive bomb terrified villagers 20 miles away across the border in Pakistan with a blast they described as earsplitting.
  American and Afghan forces have been battling the Taliban insurgency for more than
  
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• Afghanistan: 36 Islamic State fighters killed by large blast

  14-04-2017 14:31 via kxan.com
  
  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The attack on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Afghanistan with the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military left 36 Islamic State militants dead and no civilian casualties, Afghanistan officials said Friday.
  The attack was carried out in a remote mountainous area of Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border where there had been heavy fighting in recent weeks between Afghan forces and IS militants. The Ministry of Defense said in a s
  
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• Scorpion falls from overhead bin, stings man on United flight out of Houston

  14-04-2017 14:26 via kxan.com
  
  CALGARY, Canada (KRON) — United Airlines just can’t catch a break.
  The same week a passenger was dragged off of a flight, a scorpion fell out of an overhead bin and landed on a passenger.
  Richard Bell was flying with his wife from Houston to Calgary after a two-week vacation in Mexico, Bell told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
  The Calgary man said the creature landed on his head and stung him while he was enjoying his lunch in business class.
  “My neighbor was a gentleman
  
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• Travis Co. 911 dispatchers: Too many children dialing, causing backlog

  14-04-2017 13:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Travis County Sheriff’s Office emergency dispatchers are seeing a dangerous trend: children dialing their 911 line.
  Dispatchers say many of the calls are coming from children who are playing with smartphones and they are cutting into response times. Now, they are asking parents to step in and stop it from happening.
  “You can hear a child and you can kind of tell the difference between a child playing and maybe, like, a woman screaming,” said TCSO Comm
  
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• Children dialing 911 causes backlog at Travis Co. dispatch

  14-04-2017 13:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Travis County Sheriff’s Office emergency dispatchers are seeing a dangerous trend: children dialing their 911 line.
  Dispatchers say many of the calls are coming from children who are playing with smartphones and they are cutting into response times. Now, they are asking parents to step in and stop it from happening.
  “You can hear a child and you can kind of tell the difference between a child playing and maybe, like, a woman screaming,” said TCSO Comm
  
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• No charges for driver in Bastrop mobile home crash that killed 2

  14-04-2017 13:22 via kxan.com
  
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — Despite the fact an investigation showed he wasn’t on a designated route for the kind of mobile home he was hauling, the man driving the truck a woman crashed into, leaving her and her son dead, will not face charges.
  In February 2016, Jorge Segovia was driving on Farm Road 535, southwest of Smithville. The Texas Department of Public Safety said the mobile home was too wide for the small two-lane road. A permit shows his load was 16-feet wi
  
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• Texas getting first immigrant lockup built under Trump

  14-04-2017 12:28 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A private prison company has announced a $110 million federal contract to build the first new immigrant detention center under the Trump administration.
  The GEO Group said Thursday the 1,000-bed detention center will be in Conroe, Texas, north of Houston. It’s scheduled to open by December 2018.
  The center coincides with President Donald Trump’s promised expansion of immigration detention, part of a crackdown on immigrants in the country illegally.
  With 41,
  
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• LASA aims to diversify campus with new recruiting, application process

  14-04-2017 06:04 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After criticism over a lack of diversity at one of the top-ranked high schools in the U.S., the Liberal Arts and Science Academy has implemented changes to the application process.
  The first group of students to experience the changes were incoming freshmen for the 2017-2018 school year who recently received their acceptance letters. LASA principal Stacia Crescenz says the administration didn’t make it any easier to get in.
  “Knowing the cut score, the 
  
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• Enhanced lighting coming to downtown I-35 underpasses

  14-04-2017 05:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After complaints and even a recent assault under Interstate 35, the Austin City Council is responding to safety concerns along some of the city’s underpasses.
  The two parking lots under the I-35 overpass between East Sixth and East Eighth Streets are federally owned lots, but fall under the city’s control through an inter-local agreement. According to the agenda, the Austin Transportation Department, in cooperation with Texas Department of Transportation, r
  
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• ‘Beaver-friendly’ pipes at Buda pond aim to solve flooding problem

  14-04-2017 05:02 via kxan.com
  
  BUDA, Texas (KXAN) — The city of Buda says they are being proactive in making sure there aren’t any flood problems in one of their neighborhoods, but this isn’t your typical flood prevention story.
  The city of Buda says this time they’re up against some very persistent animals.
  In the Garlic Creek subdivision, Buda Animal Control Officer Jennifer Hall says beavers have been a problem for years. Hall says the beavers come and go, but regularly build a dam near the pond&rsq
  
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• Mail thief used master key to steal personal info from hundreds in Austin

  14-04-2017 03:39 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A mail thief will spend more than 5 years in prison for using a master key to steal mail and personal information from hundreds in Austin.
  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced the sentencing of David Akharume Afenkhena, 55, on Thursday.
  Ordered to pay close to $51,000 in restitution, he will be placed on supervised release for 3 years after finishing his term in prison. On Jan. 23, Afenkhena pleaded guilty to one count of mail fr
  
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• Highland Park Elementary archery team, fresh off state, aiming for nationals

  14-04-2017 03:08 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The celebrities of Highland Park Elementary school are a team of sharpshooters fresh off their best accomplishment to date.
  “It says second place, the place our school finished in,” Zac Kahn, a fifth grader at Highland Park said, pointing at the team’s trophy. “I finished fifth of all elementary school boys.”
  Kahn’s classmate, Anika Patel, placed fourth in the girls’ division.
  The program is only in its fifth year. The Sco
  
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• Perks for TABC top brass scrutinized by House investigations committee

  14-04-2017 02:47 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The top brass at the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission were asked some tough questions by the House Committee on General Investigations and Ethics.
  It all started when our media partners at The Texas Tribune uncovered an internal photo. It showed top agency officials riding in an airplane holding beer describing how they were excited to go to a conference in California, put on by regulators and the alcohol industry itself.
  It was made on state time, by state employees, to
  
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• VIDEO: SUV slams into vehicles waiting at Houston toll booth

  14-04-2017 01:42 via kxan.com
  
  HOUSTON, Texas (KXAN) — The Harris County Toll Road Authority in Houston released jaw-dropping video of a deadly crash that happened at one of its tolls last month.
  The video shows the moment a Dodge Durango slammed into a car, pushing it into the back of a pickup truck that had a trailer attached. The pickup truck and car were both in line at the toll booth around 9:12 p.m. on March 30.
  Harris County deputies say the driver of the Durango was approaching an EZ tag lane but lost
  
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• Wife of New Braunfels church bus driver killed in crash dies days after his funeral

  14-04-2017 01:26 via kxan.com
  
  NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (KXAN) — A New Braunfels family has had to deal with two deaths in the span of a few days.
  Murray Barrett, 67, was driving a bus full of First Baptist Church of New Braunfels parishioners on March 29 near Garner State Park when a pick-up truck slammed into them, killing Barrett and 12 of his passengers. Barrett was laid to rest on April 8.
  Three days after her husband’s funeral, Dianne Barrett unexpectedly passed away. The San Antonio Express-News reports New Bra
  
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• Baby left behind at Wichita Falls day care found by custodian

  14-04-2017 01:09 via kxan.com
  
  WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KFDX) — It was a terrifying time for a Wichita Falls family Wednesday night, as police say they are investigating a case of an abandoned baby at the Martin Luther King Junior Day Care Center on Smith Street.
  The infant’s mother said the baby’s father went to pick the child up around 5 p.m. and staff members told him the infant had already been picked up.
  Police Sergeant Harold McClure said the check-out log didn’t match that statement. He s
  
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• Trump-brand hotel in Dallas called off

  14-04-2017 00:41 via kxan.com
  
  DALLAS (AP) — A deal to build a new Trump-brand hotel in Dallas has been abandoned.
  A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization said Thursday that the president’s company told the developer not to pursue the deal with the city council.
  The project’s developer, Mike Sarimsakci, declined to comment.
  Austin considers boycotting official use of Trump products
  City council member Philip Kingston, who opposed the project, said Sarimsakci told him and another council member this week tha
  
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