Austin news

• Rabies alert: Dead bat and skunk found in Buda

  18-05-2017 22:21 via kxan.com
  
  BUDA, Texas (KXAN) — A skunk and a bat found dead in Buda have triggered a rabies alert for the area.
  The decomposed animals were untestable for rabies, but are treated as a positive case as a precaution.
  A dead skunk was found inside the Aguirre Paint and Body Shop at 17200 Interstate 35 South on Wednesday and a dead bat was found in the 1400 block of Heep Run in the Garlic Creek subdivision on Saturday, May 13.
  The City of Buda asks anyone who may have come in contact with either of the
  
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• State child welfare reforms clear last major hurdle at the capitol

  18-05-2017 21:22 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the wake of hundreds of child deaths and thousands of abused and neglected children not checked in on, lawmakers promised changes. The Texas House Thursday debated and passed Senate Bill 11, which would shift many responsibilities over to childcare non-profits. Under SB11, a standalone agency will be created to directly report to the governor.
  The final version of SB11 looks different than what was originally proposed. There were more than 40 amendments filed. Some are c
  
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• 5 things to know about storms the next few days

  18-05-2017 21:20 via kxan.com
  
  1. A “cap” in the atmosphere – exactly like a lid on a shaken soda bottle – could keep strong to severe storms from ever forming in parts of our area today and tomorrow. The strong cap mainly applies to parts of the Austin metro and our eastern counties, where cloud cover has kept the surface from heating up much today.
  From Meteorologist David Yeomans early Thursday afternoon: “The NWS is sending up a special weather balloon any moment, and also analyzing airc
  
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• Top 5 most popular baby names in Texas in 2016

  18-05-2017 20:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you’re a Texan who named a baby Noah or Emma last year, you weren’t alone. The Social Security Administration says those names were the most popular boy and girl names in Texas—as well as the country—in 2016.
  The second most popular boy’s name in Texas is Liam, which is also in line with the national trend. But that’s where Texas starts deviating (slightly) from the rest of the country. The second most popular girl’s name in Texa
  
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• Driver plows into pedestrians at Times Square, killing 1

  18-05-2017 18:28 via kxan.com
  
  NEW YORK (KXAN) — Nearly two dozen people are injured after a car plowed through Times Square in New York City Thursday morning.
  Authorities say the driver struck a crowd of pedestrians. Authorities say one person died and 22 were hurt. Initial information indicates the driver had two prior driving while intoxicated arrests.
  Emergency crews say the crash happened right before noon at the corner of 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue.
  A maroon/red 4-door sedan can be seen on the sidewalk. Numero
  
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• Car mows down Times Square pedestrians for blocks, killing 1

  18-05-2017 18:28 via kxan.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — A man steered his car onto a sidewalk running through the heart of Times Square and mowed down pedestrians for three blocks Thursday, killing a teenager, then emerged from his wrecked vehicle wild-eyed and waving his arms before he was subdued by police and bystanders.
  The driver, a 26-year-old U.S. Navy veteran, told officers he was hearing voices and expected to die, according to two law enforcement officials.
  Helpless pedestrians had little time to react as the vehicle b
  
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• Texas science experiment that left 12 hurt blamed on flame

  18-05-2017 17:53 via kxan.com
  
  HOUSTON (AP) — Investigators say a science experiment that flared into a flash fire at a Houston-area preschool and left a dozen children hurt involved methanol and chemical salts.
  The experiment went wrong Tuesday outside the Yellow School in Bunker Hill Village.
  Village Fire Chief David Foster said Wednesday that a teacher poured an accelerant onto chemical salts in bowls, part of a reaction creating different colors. Officials say the teacher apparently didn’t notice a flame was a
  
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• Stony Point High debate assistant charged with sex assault of a child

  18-05-2017 17:16 via kxan.com
  
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — A debate assistant who worked at Stony Point High School was arrested Wednesday, charged with sexual assault of a child and two counts of possession of child pornography after he was accused of having inappropriate relationships with students.
  The Round Rock Independent School District says the temporary employee, who has been identified by police as 22-year-old Tyrell Lee VanWinkle, was not a certified teacher, but he did work as an assistant with Speech, Drama
  
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• Round Rock to show off newest sporting complex

  18-05-2017 16:59 via kxan.com
  
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Round Rock shows off its new multi-million dollar sports complex Thursday with a grand opening that is open to the public.
  At the 60-acre Rock Rock Multipurpose Complex, you’ll see fields that are able to host football, soccer, lacrosse, you name it. Some fields are made of natural grass, others with synthetic turf.
  The city believes the complex will attract new people to the area, bringing with them a boost to the local economy. “One thing that we re
  
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• Manchaca firefighters put out mobile home fire

  18-05-2017 15:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Firefighters with Manchaca Fire Rescue are working to put out a mobile home that caught fire Thursday morning in south Austin.
  The fire started around 8:30 a.m. in the 900 block of Penion Drive. When firefighters arrived, the home was already fully engulfed in flames.
  Firefighters were able to put out the fire by 9 a.m. No one was inside the home at the time.
  
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• Family court judge worried about foster care bill

  18-05-2017 15:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A bill that some say will help foster children is moving to the Texas Senate, but critics of the bill say while helping children in need is a good thing, shutting out foster families that don’t fit a certain profile will be detrimental to the cause.
  House Bill 3859 by Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, would allow state-funded adoption and foster care agencies to refuse services based on religious beliefs. Judge Darlene Byrne presides over a family court and says
  
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• Fox News’ former CEO Roger Ailes dead at 77

  18-05-2017 15:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN/AP) — Roger Ailes, the former president of Fox News, has died at the age of 77, reports Fox News. 
  Ailes widow, Elizabeth Ailes, confirmed in a statement that her husband passed away Thursday morning. The statement goes on to say, Ailes “was also a patriot, profoundly grateful to live in a country that gave him so much opportunity to work hard, to rise—and to give back.”
  Ailes was ousted from the network he created last summer amid harassment allegations
  
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• West Campus lighting, SB4 all up for discussion at Austin City Council meeting

  18-05-2017 14:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Here’s a quick rundown of some of the top items on Thursday’s city council agenda.
  Art Space Assistance ProgramThis resolution directs the city manager to establish a grant program to support non-profit arts organizations facing displacement, those who were previously displaced and those facing substantially higher rents. A one-time funding of $200,000 will be used for the pilot program.
  Preservation of creative space isn’t happening quickly enough, a
  
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• City wants your input on 3 major south Austin roads

  18-05-2017 13:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you routinely drive Slaughter Lane, William Cannon Drive or Brodie Lane, you know that the roads can be improved to make your daily commute a little bit better. The city of Austin recognizes that as well, which is why it wants to work with the public to develop Corridor Mobility Reports for these major roads.
  As south Austin continues to grow, the city says it needs to identify short and long term goals to improve the corridors. The development of Corridor Mobility Plans
  
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• Laptop ban on international flights into the U.S. still being discussed

  18-05-2017 13:09 via kxan.com
  
  BRUSSELS (AP) — Even as travelers try to imagine a world without laptops or tablets being used in the air, the officials who have the task of implementing the measure are meeting in Brussels to work out the details of the ban.
  Officials with the European Union have been trying to pry details from U.S. officials who have been pushing for the ban as a means of reducing the threat that such devices can be used by terrorists.
  The airline industry opposes the proposal. It says the ban on laptop
  
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• Fallen | Trooper's widow fights to arm police with mental illness alerts

  18-05-2017 13:00 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than half of the shooters with mental illness also had prior criminal records. Texas currently has no statewide system for police agencies to share mental health information.
  This article is part of KXAN Investigates’ Fallen project. Watch it here.
  Fallen examines the role mental health played leading to officers’ murders and the necessary solutions that could prevent future deaths.
  
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• Fallen | Mental illness details not shared between law enforcement

  18-05-2017 13:00 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than half of the shooters with mental illness also had prior criminal records. Texas currently has no statewide system for police agencies to share mental health information.
  This article is part of KXAN Investigates’ Fallen project. Watch it here.
  Fallen examines the role mental health played leading to officers’ murders and the necessary solutions that could prevent future deaths.
  
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• Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell dies at age 52 in Detroit

  18-05-2017 12:58 via kxan.com
  
  Rocker Chris Cornell, who gained fame as the lead singer of the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, has died at age 52, and police said Thursday that his death is being investigated as a possible suicide.
  Cornell, who had been on tour, died Wednesday night in Detroit, Cornell’s representative Brian Bumbery said in a statement to The Associated Press. Cornell had performed a Detroit concert with Soundgarden that night.
  Bumbery called the death “sudden and unexpected” and said his
  
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• Lauded rocker Chris Cornell killed himself by hanging

  18-05-2017 12:58 via kxan.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — Chris Cornell, one of the most lauded and respected contemporary lead singers in rock music with his bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, killed himself Wednesday by hanging in a Detroit hotel room, according to the city’s medical examiner. He was 52.
  The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday it completed the preliminary autopsy on Cornell, but that “a full autopsy report has not yet been completed.” A police spokesman told two Detroit new
  
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• Suspected DWI driver slams into pole in south Austin

  18-05-2017 12:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Energy crews are working to replace a utility pole after a driver slammed into it early Thursday morning in south Austin.
  Austin police say the crash happened just before 3 a.m. on East Oltorf Street and Alta Vista Avenue, right down the street from Travis High School. Police say a driver struck the pole—breaking it in half—but when officers arrived, the driver was nowhere to be found.
  “He left some narcotics. He left some cocaine,” said Sgt.
  
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• New Baylor lawsuit alleges rape video, dog fighting

  18-05-2017 12:37 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (AP) — A new federal lawsuit against Baylor University alleges football players routinely recorded gang rapes and staged dogfights in a program that fostered sexual violence.
  A former Baylor volleyball player identified only as Jane Doe filed the lawsuit Tuesday. It alleges she was gang raped by four or more players in 2012. She says the players later harassed her and her family until she left school the next year. The lawsuit doesn’t identify any players.
  The woman says she c
  
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• Texas Tennis’ Michael Center joins MTTS before Sweet 16

  18-05-2017 05:35 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas men’s tennis head coach Michael Center joined Chris Tavarez on More than the Score to talk about the Longhorns’ upcoming match against Baylor in the Sweet 16, last weekend’s match against Tulane and his entire coaching career.
  
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• PHOTOS: Rare horse twins born in Bastrop County

  18-05-2017 05:06 via kxan.com
  
  PAIGE, Texas (KXAN) — Jenny Tucker thought her husband was joking late one night last week when he said their expectant mare, Sophie, was giving birth to twins.
  Born May 11, at around 11 p.m., the twin foals are an extremely rare duo, beating around 1 in 10,000 odds of surviving to term.
  The twins, named — what else — Bonnie and Clyde, are improving every day, Tucker says.
  Why’d they choose to name them after the notorious bank bandits? They went through other famous pair
  
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• Animal cruelty punishments in Texas could get harsher if law passes

  18-05-2017 04:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In Texas, if you shoot a dog in the neck today, you could get away with no jail time. Now some lawmakers are hoping to change that.
  An amendment to the animal cruelty code though Senate Bill 762 would increase the penalty to up to 10 years in jail if a person violently hurts an animal.
  It’s a law that James, a 1-year-old Pyrenees mix, is relying on to pass this legislative session.
  “James was shot in the shaved area here and as we mentioned, the bullet
  
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• 3 trampolines knock out power to thousands in West Texas

  18-05-2017 02:44 via kxan.com
  
  ODESSA, Texas (KMID) — “Not too often do you see three separate trampolines in the power lines, but they had some sort of wind coming through here,” said an Odessa police officer.
  Three tangled trampolines knocked out power for thousands of locals in Odessa Tuesday. It was shocking to officials and a home owner, as she received a call from her daughter.
  “She had heard that the power lines were down because of a trampoline and I remembered my grandson had one, and I a
  
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• Hays County judge’s behavior questioned after outburst

  18-05-2017 02:38 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – Some residents are concerned that the Hays County judge is trying to silence them. This comes after two weeks of outbursts from Judge Bert Cobb during and after public comment.
  “All that we are asking is for a free and transparent election process and you are denying Hays County Citizens that right and it’s disgusting and it’s shameful,” said Hays County resident Ashley Whittenberger at a commissioners court meeting last Tuesday.
  For month
  
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• Behavior of Hays County judge questioned after outburst

  18-05-2017 02:38 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – Some residents are concerned that the Hays County judge is trying to silence them. This comes after two weeks of outbursts from Judge Bert Cobb during and after public comment.
  “All that we are asking is for a free and transparent election process and you are denying Hays County Citizens that right and it’s disgusting and it’s shameful,” said Hays County resident Ashley Whittenberger at a commissioners court meeting last Tuesday.
  For month
  
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• Astros close road trip with shutout

  18-05-2017 01:00 via kxan.com
  
  MIAMI, FL (AP) — Lance McCullers paid tribute to the late Jose Fernandez and pitched like him, allowing no earned runs for the third start in a row, as the Houston Astros beat the Marlins 3-0 in Miami to complete a three-game sweep.
  McCullers (4-1) wore cleats with Fernandez’s initials and uniform number. Their friendship began when they were high school pitchers in the Tampa area, before Fernandez became the Marlins’ ace and then died in a boating accident last September.
  McC
  
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• Arsonist wearing hazmat suit repeatedly tries to burn down Florida mosque

  18-05-2017 00:50 via kxan.com
  
  TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – This arsonist means business, dirty business. Security camera video from the New Tampa Mosque shows him suited up with gloves, a mask, a helmet and a hazmat suit.
  At first, he tries to set a gasoline rope on fire, hoping it would ignite a gas container.
  When that doesn’t work, he pours gas on the sidewalk and lights it.
  Cause of Lake Travis mosque fire yet to be determined
  With no explosion, he returns. Off camera, he sets the gas on fire and runs off as flames a
  
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• McCallum High student arrested, accused of bringing gun to school

  18-05-2017 00:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A McCallum High School student was arrested Wednesday after school officials found a handgun in the student’s possession.
  In a letter sent home to parents, the school’s principal says a student notified the administration that a classmate had a brought a handgun to school. When Austin Independent School District police arrived, they found the student and confiscated the gun, which was not loaded.
  The school, located at 5600 Sunshine Dr. in north Austin, say
  
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• Former FBI Director Mueller will lead Trump-Russia probe

  18-05-2017 00:11 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Besieged from all sides, the Trump administration appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller Wednesday evening as a special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into allegations Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign collaborated to influence the 2016 presidential election.
  The appointment came as Democrats insisted ever more loudly that someone outside Trump’s Justice Department must handle the politically charged investigation. An increasing number of
  
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