Austin news

• Calling all video gamers!

  09-05-2017 23:57 via kxan.com
  
  Rooster Teeth is an Austin production company known for it’s web videos, TV series, and motion pictures. But their new show wants you!
  It’s a competition to find the best video gamer around. Our Joe Barlow got the lowdown on what to expect at auditions and played some video games.
  WHO SHOULD AUDITION
  Gamers over the age of 18
  People who know how to play video games and how to have fun while doing it
  WHEN AND WHERE ARE THE AUDITIONS?
  2415 W. Pecan Street Suite 100, Pflugerville, Texas
  
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• President Trump fires FBI Director James Comey

  09-05-2017 23:49 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey Tuesday, saying it was necessary to restore “public trust and confidence” in the nation’s top law enforcement agency following several tumultuous months.
  “The FBI is one of our nation’s most cherished and respected institutions, and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement,” Trump said in a statement.
  The White House said the search for a new FB
  
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• Reminder: Patients should still go to UMC until Dell Seton opens on May 21

  09-05-2017 23:29 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Even though Dell Seton Medical Center may look like it’s open, the hospital wants to make sure people looking for treatment in downtown Austin go to University Medical Center Brackenridge for now.
  Dell Seton will open on May 21 at 7 a.m. and patients from UMC Brackenridge will be transferred over. A Seton spokesperson says they do not know of any cases of patients accidentally going to Dell Seton before it has opened.
  The public can tour Dell Seton this Saturday, May
  
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• Parts of North MoPac to close for 2 nights for lane re-striping

  09-05-2017 22:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Starting Tuesday night, construction crews will spend a couple of nights working to re-stripe southbound North MoPac lanes between US 183 and Ranch to Market 2222.
  The work will be completed in two phases during the overnight hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. First, from the Capital of Texas Highway to Steck Avenue. Once that’s done, they’ll continue from Steck Avenue down to RM 2222. A third night of closures might be needed if the work takes longer than expected
  
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• ACC breaks ground in Kyle, making way for more first responders

  09-05-2017 21:54 via kxan.com
  
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — Those looking to pursue a career as a first responder in Hays County will have a new training facility next year. With a budget of $22.4 million, the Austin Community College Hays Campus will be offering more classes for those focusing on criminal justice and medical services programs.
  The ACC Hays Campus opened their doors in 2014 offering degrees in criminal justice, computer information technology and office administration.
  Construction for phase two of the campus w
  
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• PHOTOS: Lightning strikes likely cause two Austin house, apartment fires

  09-05-2017 21:46 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Firefighters have put out a house fire in the Avery Ranch subdivision of northwest Austin. They say the house fire and a north Austin apartment fire were probably started by lightning strikes.
  The Austin Fire Department said when they responded to the house fire around 1:45 p.m., they found black smoke coming from the roof of the 2-story home on Brodick Drive, near the intersection of Avery Ranch Boulevard and West Parmer Lane. Crews say the roof of the home collapsed.
  
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• PHOTOS: Avery Ranch house fire probably caused by lightning strike

  09-05-2017 21:46 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Firefighters have put out a house fire in the Avery Ranch subdivision of northwest Austin. They say the fire was probably started by a lightning strike.
  The Austin Fire Department said when they responded to the fire around 1:45 p.m., they found black smoke coming from the roof of the 2-story home on Brodick Drive, near the intersection of Avery Ranch Boulevard and West Parmer Lane. Crews say the roof of the home collapsed. Neighbors jumped into action when they heard
  
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• Tunnel with rail cars full of radioactive waste collapses in Washington state

  09-05-2017 21:33 via kxan.com
  
  SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A portion of a storage tunnel that contains rail cars full of radioactive waste collapsed Tuesday morning, forcing an emergency declaration at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeastern Washington state.
  Officials detected no release of radiation and no workers were injured, said Randy Bradbury, a spokesman for the Washington state Department of Ecology.
  There were no workers inside the tunnel when it collapsed. But nearby Hanford workers were evacuated and other
  
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• El Paso-area high school teacher gets back rubs in exchange for A’s

  09-05-2017 21:08 via kxan.com
  
  SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (KTSM) — An El Paso-area social studies teacher and coach is now on administrative leave after accusations he offered A grades in exchange for back rubs and massages, according to the Gadsden Independent School District.
  This comes after a student complaint which sparked an investigation into teacher Daniel Tena’s conduct. The complaint was filed on May 2 by a 16-year-old Gadsden High School student. The district says 20 students in total were interv
  
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• ‘One of the world’s dumbest criminals’ caught stealing from Indiana sheriff’s office

  09-05-2017 20:46 via kxan.com
  
  OHIO COUNTY, IN (WCMH) — A man is facing multiple felony charges after he was caught trying to steal from the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office.
  Deputies say surveillance video shows Jack Steele Jr., 38, breaking into the building around 6:40am. He rummaged around the officer for nine minutes, stealing a jump pack starter for vehicle batteries, a digital camera, a flashlight, and several other items.
  Steele had been brought to another area of the Sheriff’s Office building after an D
  
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• 7,000 bodies could be buried underneath old asylum

  09-05-2017 20:01 via kxan.com
  
  JACKSON, Mississippi (NBC News) — As many as 7,000 bodies could be buried on the campus of the University of Mississippi Medical Center according to a recent survey of the grounds.
  The site was home to the Mississippi Asylum for the Insane from 1855 until 1935, and the bodies of patients were routinely buried there. It was previously believed that up to 2,000 bodies were buried on the campus.
  UMMC wanted to construct a parking garage, and during the routine assessment of the area, they fou
  
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• WATCH: Cash blows across Texas parking lot after bank bag spills

  09-05-2017 19:48 via kxan.com
  
  PASADENA, TX (WCMH) — What would you do if you were in a bank parking lot and suddenly cash started flying around everywhere?
  It’s exactly what happened at a Texas based Bank of America location.
  Melissa Perez was there. She grabbed her cellphone and started recording video of money blowing around on the ground through the parking lot, NBC affiliate KPRC-TV reports. A man who was filling an ATM outside with cash dropped the bank bag and money went everywhere.
  Perez said her first ins
  
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• ACLU of Texas issues travel advisory in light of new immigration law

  09-05-2017 18:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As law enforcement agencies in Texas review their policy on whether or not they ask a person if they’re in the country legally, the ACLU of Texas is issuing a travel advisory to people who are planning to travel to Texas.
  In a Facebook post Tuesday morning, the ACLU said, “Since the passage of SB4, we must issue a travel advisory that anyone planning to travel to Texas in the near future should anticipate the possible violation of their constitutional rights whe
  
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• Texas House OKs letting adoption groups deny non-Christians

  09-05-2017 18:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Many state-funded Texas adoption and foster care agencies routinely deny non-Christian, gay, and unmarried applicants on religious grounds — and legislation that got initial approval in the state House on Tuesday is designed to protect them from potential lawsuits from doing so.
  The private organizations, which are paid by the state to place foster children with adoptive families, want to continue the practice and are seeking legal protections through Texas&rsquo
  
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• Texas adoption bill OK’s rejection of non-Christian parents

  09-05-2017 18:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — State-funded adoption agencies backing Texas legislation that would sanction the rejection of prospective parents on religious grounds freely admit they already routinely deny non-Christian, gay, and unmarried applicants because they are wary of their beliefs or lifestyle.
  The organizations are paid by the state to place foster children with adoptive families. They want to continue the practice and are seeking legal protections through Texas’ “Freedom to Se
  
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• Amtrak engineer won’t be charged in deadly crash

  09-05-2017 18:49 via kxan.com
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The speeding Amtrak engineer involved in a derailment that killed eight people and injured about 200 others in Philadelphia won’t face criminal charges, the city district attorney’s office said Tuesday.
  Prosecutors said they can’t prove engineer Brandon Bostian acted with “conscious disregard” when he accelerated the train to 106 mph on a 50 mph curve.
  Federal investigators concluded that Bostian lost track of his location, or “situat
  
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• San Antonio juror intoxicated during testimony leads to mistrial

  09-05-2017 18:47 via kxan.com
  
  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A judge in San Antonio has declared a mistrial in a murder case after a juror admitted under oath that he was intoxicated while listening to testimony.
  Court records show state District Judge Lori Valenzuela ended the trial Monday after the juror acknowledged “chronic alcohol consumption.”
  The San Antonio Express-News reports the same juror came to court Friday and said he was ill and suffering from alcohol poisoning. Testimony in the case was not heard that
  
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• New Travis County District Attorney’s Office slated for completion next spring

  09-05-2017 18:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Construction for the new Ronald Earle Building that will house the Travis County District Attorney’s Office is humming along.
  A recently released rendering shows a modern seven-story, 130,000-square-foot building. The building, which is being built at 416 W. 11th St., also includes a four-story parking garage. Flintco was awarded the $42 million construction contract and construction started in December of 2015.
  The 240 employees that work in the DA’s Offic
  
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• Judge agrees to toss Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction

  09-05-2017 17:51 via kxan.com
  
  FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez’s conviction in a 2013 murder can be erased because he died before his appeal was heard, a judge ruled Tuesday.
  Judge E. Susan Garsh said a legal doctrine that calls for vacating convictions when a defendant dies before an appeal can be heard was binding precedent. She said she was compelled to follow it.
  The former New England Patriots tight end hanged himself in his prison cell last month while serving a life sentence on a fi
  
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• VIDEO: Police stop 8-year-old driving for drunk mom

  09-05-2017 17:23 via kxan.com
  
  MILWAUKEE COUNTY, Milwaukee (WTMJ) — A mother is facing multiple charges after police stopped her driving under the influence with her 8-year-old son on her lap.
  Authorities say 37-year old Carrie Bernard failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for her third suspected DUI.
  Police stopped Bernard after they saw her car entering an on-ramp with the child on her lap, steering the vehicle.
  Deputies say the boy was crying because he didn’t want to go to jail.
  The boy was turned over
  
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• Teen breaks Ellen DeGeneres’ retweet record in goal of Wendy’s nuggets

  09-05-2017 16:55 via kxan.com
  
  RENO, NV (WCMH) — A Nevada teen has fulfilled his quest for free chicken nuggets.
  Carter Wilkerson has officially become the most retweeted person in Twitter’s history breaking Ellen DeGeneres’ three year record..@carterjwm is now the most retweeted tweet of all-time. That’s good for the nuggets, and $100k to @DTFA. Consider it done. #nuggsforcarter pic.twitter.com/k6uhsJiP4E
  — Wendy's (@Wendys) May 9, 2017
  In early April, Wilkerson tweeted at Wendy’s, asking
  
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• $1M lawsuit filed against Austin nursing home for feces smearing incident

  09-05-2017 16:29 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Family of a woman who had pictures of her, covered in what appeared to be feces, posted to social media by a now fired and arrested nurse’s aide in March are seeking more than a million dollars in compensation from the nursing home she was staying in.
  Carlos Alberto Santacruz, 23, was arrested in April after being connected to the photos posted to Snapchat. In one post, someone is shown tickling the sleeping woman’s nose with a tissue or feather prompt
  
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• Teacher arrested after autistic kindergartner locked in closet

  09-05-2017 15:23 via kxan.com
  
  GREENVILLE, SC (WSPA) – A former teacher has been arrested after police say she used cruel punishment techniques in her classroom.
  Donna Morgan Hughes, the former special education teacher at Woodland Elementary in Greer, was arrested in December by Greer Police for Unlawful Neglect of a Child and Assault and Battery.
  Police say that Hughes locked an autistic 5-year-old in a supply closet, with no lights, for 30 minutes as a punishment. Those warrants also say that Hughes dragged that chil
  
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• Police searching for Austin burglary suspect after chase

  09-05-2017 14:55 via kxan.com
  
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — Authorities are searching for the second suspect connected to an overnight burglary at the Southpark Meadows shopping center.
  Austin police said they were called around 3 a.m. for the burglary at an unspecified business in the shopping complex at 9500 south Interstate 35. After officers arrived, around 3:15 a.m., the suspects led officers on a chase down I-35.
  Police said the chase ended at 22150 I-35 in Kyle, just south of Farm to Market 1626, when two suspects bailed
  
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• White House climate change meeting postponed

  09-05-2017 14:33 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has postponed a Tuesday meeting to discuss whether the United States should withdraw from the landmark international climate deal struck in Paris under the Obama administration.
  The White House said late Monday that the meeting would be rescheduled. This is the second time a meeting of top aides on the issue has been delayed.
  Donald Trump pledged during the presidential campaign to renegotiate the accord, but he has wavered on the issue since winning the p
  
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• Trump delaying decision on Paris climate deal

  09-05-2017 14:33 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is delaying a decision on whether to withdraw from a landmark climate deal until after an international summit later this month.
  That means the president will head to the G7 summit in Italy at the end of May amid continued global uncertainty over whether the United States will remain in the emissions-cutting deal struck in Paris under the Obama administration.
  White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday that Trump wants to “continue to meet
  
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• Deer-antler tea recalled in Texas after 2 get sick

  09-05-2017 14:06 via kxan.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California Department of Public Health says a Los Angeles company is recalling tea made from deer antler after two people who drank it got sick.
  State health officials said Monday that the tea may be contaminated with botulism, and they are investigating the two Orange County residents who became ill.
  They say the company, U.S. Deer Antlers Exports and Imports Inc., sold the tea to acupuncturists and others in California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina,
  
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• Suicide online: Facebook aims to save lives with new actions

  09-05-2017 13:55 via kxan.com
  
  ATLANTA (AP) — The alarming video of a Georgia teenager livestreaming her own suicide attempt stayed up long enough on Facebook Live for sheriff’s deputies to find and save her — a repeat phenomenon that has prompted mental health experts and Facebook’s CEO to further investigate how they can use social media as a possible platform to help save lives.
  The 15-year-old girl took pills and put a plastic bag over her head during her suicide attempt May 2, officials from the B
  
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• VIDEO: Angry passengers revolt after cancellation of 9 flights

  09-05-2017 13:50 via kxan.com
  
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (NBC News) Hundreds of people at Fort Lauderdale Airport became unruly when they learned that Spirit Airlines canceled nine flights.
  Cell phone footage shot by passengers shows security agents tussling with upset passengers.
  The airline said some of its pilots had refused to fly, which resulted in the cancellations and set off the angry customers.
  If you or someone you know has booked a flight through Spirit, the airline asks to please call ahead to check on the flight s
  
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• Body of Austin fisherman recovered in Corpus Christi

  09-05-2017 12:54 via kxan.com
  
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (KXAN) — An Austin man who hadn’t been heard from since Saturday afternoon was found dead in Copano Bay Monday night.
  According to KRIS, the body of Kevin Ferrell, 53, was recovered by a friend around 8 p.m. Monday.
  Ferrell’s wife had told the Coast Guard that he was last heard from around 12:30 p.m. Saturday when he set out for a fishing trip in Rockport.
  Ferrell is said to have started his trip from the Copano Bay Fishing Pier dock and said he was headin
  
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• Roof partially collapses during fire at vacant south Austin home

  09-05-2017 12:32 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — No one was home when a south Austin home burned during the early morning hours Tuesday.
  A person driving by the home at 6916 Cherrydale Dr. called Austin fire crews around 1 a.m. for what they thought was a trash fire. When first responders arrived they found the home covered in heavy fire.
  By 1:26 a.m the fire was knocked down with the ‘standard offensive attack,’ an Austin fire spokesperson said.
  They are working to determine what caus
  
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• Uber’s operations in Austin come under Justice Department investigation

  09-05-2017 05:28 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin says the Justice Department wants to know if Uber was breaking the law in Austin.
  A spokesperson says subpoenas are on the way.
  The U.S. Department of Justice contacted the city, looking for operational and regulatory info on the ridesharing company. Austin was not the only city contacted.
  This comes after Uber announced two months ago it would disband a secret program called “Greyball.” The company said the program was used to deter passenger
  
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• Prepare for more delays with 183 South project construction

  09-05-2017 04:59 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) says it’s the story people aren’t talking about. Fixated on MoPac, instead of another massive undertaking: The 8-mile 183 South project.The project will transform the corridor many people use to get to and from the airport into an expressway with three lanes in each direction. And it will include toll lanes.
  The prime time for construction work is after 8 p.m. or before 6 a.m. So for drivers using t
  
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• ABIA new South Terminal causing confusion for some passengers

  09-05-2017 04:57 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Due to a growing population and an always bustling tourist scene, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport opened its newest addition, the South Terminal, back in April.
  While airport officials say they have made sure people know where to go, other travelers say they need to do more. Nicole Eversgerd is one of those travelers.
  She considers herself somewhat of a globetrotter. “I would say I’m probably in airports about 20 times a year,” she said.
  Eversg
  
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• In last ditch effort, Texas patients push for expansion of medical marijuana use

  09-05-2017 03:58 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Zartler family made it a point to come to Austin from Dallas Monday morning to make sure members of the House Calendars Committee schedule a vote on House Bill 2107, a bill that would expand the use of medical marijuana.
  Kara Zartler has cerebral palsy and severe autism which makes her aggressive toward herself and the people who help take care of her. Her doctor prescribes medicine to help treat her behavior, but her parents say it hasn’t helped. Instea
  
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• Texas House passes bill to keep more kids out of foster care

  09-05-2017 03:46 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) — Lawmakers have only three weeks to get through a number of fix-it bills that are designed to overhaul the state’s struggling Child Protective Services system.
  The Texas House passed House Bill 7 Monday, which aims to keep more kids with their biological parents and out of foster care. Unlike the bills passed in previous sessions that focus on state funding and the services CPS provides, HB 7 focuses on the court process.
  “This is a critical time in a CPS case
  
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• Tax dollars could soon go to religion-specific foster care agencies

  09-05-2017 02:47 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the midst of a shortage of Foster parents, Texas lawmakers will decide this week whether to allow state-funded adoption and foster care agencies to refuse services based on religious beliefs.
  HB 3859, by Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, will be debated this week on the Texas House floor and faith based groups say they need it. Many families have strong views on traditional marriage, abortion and vaccinations and current state law doesn’t always agree with them. C
  
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• HALO camera information led APD to take action in 6th St. shooting

  09-05-2017 02:22 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When Austin police responded to the the call that ultimately turned into an officer-involved shooting on Sixth Street, their officers on the ground were assisted by officers monitoring HALO (High Activity Location Observation) cameras back at headquarters.
  According to the timeline laid out Sunday by Austin police, the incident began at 2:39 a.m. when officers on Sixth Street heard gunshots. Over the radio, those officers reported the shots, then officers watching 
  
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• Court trying to get alternative sources of funding after governor signs SB4

  09-05-2017 01:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the wake of a heated debate over sanctuary cities in Texas, the fate of future state grant money for Travis County remains in question, at least for the next two years.
  The Travis County Commissioners Court meets Tuesday and is expected to go over alternative funding sources for programs Gov. Greg Abbott defunded in response to Sheriff Sally Hernandez’s ICE detention policy at the Travis County Jail.
  County leaders say thousands of Travis County residents will cont
  
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• APD officer fired for giving sex assault case information to suspect

  09-05-2017 01:06 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin police officer has been fired after he gave secured information to his ex-girlfriend’s son, the suspect in a sexual assault investigation.
  Officer Carlos Mayfield was indefinitely suspended — in effect, fired — on Friday, May 5 by Interim Chief of Police Brian Manley.
  The case started when a woman reported being sexually assaulted to Austin police on Nov. 18, 2016 but declined to have a sexual assault forensic exam. Days later
  
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• Early signing period approved for football

  09-05-2017 00:31 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An early signing period for football begins at the end of the year. Senior high school football players with scholarship offers may sign a 2018-19 National Letter of Intent (NLI) during a 72 hour period spanning from December 20-22.
  The period, approved by the Collegiate Commissioners Association Monday, coincides with the start of the junior college transfer signing window.
  Athletes will still be able to wait and sign a NLI on National Signing Day, the first Wednesday
  
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