Austin news

• Texas Legislature OKs eliminating straight-ticket voting

  20-05-2017 23:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Legislature has approved eliminating straight-ticket voting beginning in September 2020.
  The bill eventually prohibits Texans from choosing a party’s full slate of candidates with a single ballot marking. It advanced with Republican support over Democratic objections.
  The state House originally passed the bill, then voted 89-45 on Saturday to approve changes made in the Senate. It now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott, who can sign or veto the bill, or allow it
  
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• House OKs property tax limits amid special session flap

  20-05-2017 23:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas House has advanced a contentious property tax bill, one of two proposals that the head of the Texas Senate threatened could spark a special legislative session if they fail to pass.
  The proposal seeks to limit local governments’ ability to raise property taxes, which local officials oppose.
  A bill containing deeper property tax limits passed the Senate but stalled in the House. A scaled-back House version was attached to another bill Saturday, however,
  
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• Callers threaten Texas lawmaker who seeks Trump impeachment

  20-05-2017 22:30 via kxan.com
  
  HOUSTON (AP) — A black Texas congressman says he’s been threatened with lynching by callers infuriated over him seeking impeachment of President Donald Trump.
  The Houston Chronicle reports U.S. Rep. Al Green held a town hall meeting Saturday and played recordings of several threatening voicemails left at his offices. The Democrat told the crowd of about 100 people that he won’t be deterred or intimidated.
  One caller used a racial insult and threatened Green with “hanging
  
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• TJ Ford earns degree, shares emotional moment with former coach Rick Barnes

  20-05-2017 22:10 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Over 9,000 students will earn their degrees from the University of Texas this weekend, including 80 student-athletes.
  Of those 80, perhaps none were as emotional about the experience as TJ Ford, who had a special guest in attendance as he walked the stage a Gregory Gym in Rick Barnes.
  “[He was like a] father figure for me when I was here,” an emotional Ford said with Barnes’ arm draped over his shoulder.
  “He would tell you it wasn’t easy,&rdquo
  
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• VIDEO: How to stay healthy during the hot summer months

  20-05-2017 21:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — We are about a week away from Memorial Day, which means cookouts and summer vacations are right around the corner.
  Clinical cardiologist at Heart Hospital of Austin, Dr. Yan Liu, joined our Gigi Barnett in studio this morning with some tips to keep healthy during the summer months.
  
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• How to stay healthy during the hot summer months

  20-05-2017 21:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — We are about a week away from Memorial Day, which means cookouts and summer vacations are right around the corner.
  Clinical cardiologist at Heart Hospital of Austin, Dr. Yan Liu, joined our Gigi Barnett in studio this morning with some tips to keep healthy during the summer months.
  
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• Want to volunteer? Website makes it easier to lend a hand in Austin

  20-05-2017 19:50 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Want to volunteer for a good cause, but can’t decide where or when to help? That’s where JustServe.org comes in. The website consolidates service projects across the Austin area so it’s easy to see who needs help and how you can serve.
  Colette McCullough, an Austin representative for JustServe, joined our Gigi Barnett in studio Saturday morning to discuss how the website makes it easier to lend a hand.
  “The website JustServe.org is a free c
  
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• See the final ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ live online Sunday evening

  20-05-2017 19:43 via kxan.com
  
  UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — For some circus fans Saturday, it was a chance to say goodbye to beloved childhood memories. For others, it was a bucket list fulfillment.
  Lions, tigers and clowns, no more. Oh my. It’s curtains for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
  This weekend, the most famous American circus ends its 146-year reign as one of the world’s biggest big tops.
  NOTE: You can watch the final performance LIVE in the video player below starting at 5:55 p
  
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• Fans thankful to see ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ one final time

  20-05-2017 19:43 via kxan.com
  
  UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Lions, tigers and clowns, no more. Oh my. It’s curtains for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
  This weekend is the final chance for fans to see death-defying acrobats, exotic animals and flashy costumes as the circus ends its 146-year reign as one of the world’s biggest big tops.
  Ringling’s parent company, Feld Entertainment, announced in January that it would take its final bow this year. On Saturday afternoon, under cloudy skies
  
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• Fans thankful to see ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ a final time

  20-05-2017 19:43 via kxan.com
  
  UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — For some circus fans Saturday, it was a chance to say goodbye to beloved childhood memories. For others, it was a bucket list fulfillment.
  Lions, tigers and clowns, no more. Oh my. It’s curtains for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
  This weekend, the most famous American circus ends its 146-year reign as one of the world’s biggest big tops.
  Ringling’s parent company, Feld Entertainment, announced in January it would take its fina
  
  Read more

• Fans get one last chance to see ‘Greatest Show on Earth’

  20-05-2017 19:43 via kxan.com
  
  UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Lions, tigers and clowns, no more. Oh my.
  This weekend is the final chance for fans to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
  Ringling’s parent company, Feld Entertainment, announced in January that it would take its final bow this year.
  Feld executives say declining attendance combined with high operating costs are among the reasons for closing.
  Ringling had two touring circuses this season, one of which ended its run earlier this month in P
  
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• Gen. Lee the last Confederate statue removed in New Orleans

  20-05-2017 17:45 via kxan.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — They were among the city’s oldest landmarks, as cemented to the landscape of New Orleans as the Superdome and St. Louis Cathedral: a stone obelisk heralding white supremacy and three statues of Confederate stalwarts.
  But after decades standing sentinel over this Southern city, the Confederate monuments are gone, amid a controversy that at times harked back to the divisiveness of the Civil War they commemorated.
  The last of the monuments — a statue of Gen. Rob
  
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• Unruly, ‘disheveled’ man subdued on jet heading to Hawaii

  20-05-2017 17:19 via kxan.com
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — A man on a Hawaii-bound flight described as unruly and disheveled was subdued by passengers and a flight attendant who used an airplane drink cart to block him from getting to the front of the jet. He was then immobilized with duct tape in a seat until the plane landed in Honolulu Friday, escorted on the last leg of its journey by two fighter jets.
  The man on the plane that left from Los Angeles was identified by law enforcement officials as Anil Uskanil, 25, of Turkey. He
  
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• Deadly Times Square attack highlights NYC pedestrian safety

  20-05-2017 17:19 via kxan.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Fears of a terrorist attack prompted officials to ring many of the pedestrian plazas of Times Square with squat steel posts capable of stopping a speeding vehicle.
  But those barriers only cover so much ground. There were none of them Thursday at the corner where a man steered his car onto a busy sidewalk and began barreling through crowds of pedestrians, running down 23 people and killing one before one of the metal posts finally stopped him.
  The bollard that stopped the ca
  
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• Trump receives regal welcome in Saudi Arabia

  20-05-2017 14:59 via kxan.com
  
  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — President Donald Trump, in the first stop of his maiden trip abroad, received a regal welcome Saturday in Saudi Arabia, feted by the wealthy kingdom as he aims to forge strong alliances to combat terrorism while pushing past the multiple controversies threatening to engulf his young administration.
  Trump arrived in Riyadh after an overnight flight and was welcomed at elaborate airport ceremony punctuated by a military flyover and a handshake from Saudi King Salm
  
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• Saudis welcome Trump with gold medal, receive arms package

  20-05-2017 14:59 via kxan.com
  
  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — President Donald Trump basked in Saudi Arabia’s lavish royal welcome Saturday as he left behind, at least temporarily, the snowballing controversies dogging him in Washington. Trump rewarded his hosts with a $110 billion arms package aimed at bolstering Saudi security and a slew of business agreements.
  “That was a tremendous day, tremendous investments in the United States,” Trump said during a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.
  The
  
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• High society: Pippa Middleton marries at almost-royal event

  20-05-2017 14:56 via kxan.com
  
  ENGLEFIELD, England (AP) — Pippa Middleton, radiant in a custom-made gown, married a wealthy financier Saturday as members of Britain’s royal family, including her sister, looking on.
  She and hedge fund manager James Matthews married at St. Mark’s Church in Englefield, west of London.
  The wedding party included Prince George, a page boy at 3, and 2-year-old Princess Charlotte, a bridesmaid. Both are the children of the Duchess of Cambridge, Pippa’s sister.
  Prince William
  
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• English wedding: Pippa Middleton marries as royals look on

  20-05-2017 14:56 via kxan.com
  
  ENGLEFIELD, England (AP) — Two likely future British kings were there, along with one of the world’s most photographed women, the often-adorable Prince Harry, a multilingual tennis legend and a brash TV reality star.
  But all eyes were on Pippa Middleton on Saturday as she walked down the aisle of a 12th-century church wearing a custom hand-embroidered gown with a tiara and long veil to marry hedge fund manager James Matthews.
  Reporters, photographers and camera crews invaded the smal
  
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• Family looks to raise cycling safety awareness through fun run

  20-05-2017 06:26 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – The family of a former San Marcos High School student who passed away last September is working to create a scholarship in her name.
  Twenty-one-year-old Alannah Ritch died after being hit by a garbage truck while riding her bicycle in College Station. Ritch was a 2013 graduate of San Marcos High School.
  On Saturday, family members of Ritch will be holding a 5K and fun run event to raise enough money to create an Alannah Ritch Memorial Scholarship Fund throug
  
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• Texas House approves new abortion restrictions

  20-05-2017 06:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — GOP House lawmakers took a sweeping approach to anti-abortion legislation on Friday, preliminarily passing a measure that would ban the most common form of second-trimester procedure and change how health care providers dispose of fetal remains.
  Under the broad strokes of Senate Bill 8, abortion providers would have to bury or cremate fetal remains following an elective abortion and they would be banned from donating aborted fetal tissue to medical resear
  
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• Amanda Dowdy back home as pro beach volleyball returns to Austin

  20-05-2017 05:51 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Amanda Dowdy is back where it all started.
  “My dad actually drove us up here a couple hours ago,” Dowdy said. “He was like, ‘You know, Mom and I used to play softball here when you were little?’ I remember that, we used to be here, so that’s pretty cool.”
  While it was softball that first brought Dowdy to Krieg Fields in south Austin, it’s beach volleyball that’s bringing her back to the city where she first fell in love
  
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• AFD firefighter speaks for first time since he was trapped in 2015 fire

  20-05-2017 05:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The death of a San Antonio firefighter killed Thursday night battling a four alarm strip mall fire hits all too close to home for the Austin Fire Department.
  For some, the tragedy for SAFD is a reminder of what could have been for fire crews responding to a three-alarm fire in October 2015 that ripped through the Dry Creek West Condominiums in northwest Austin. That fire sent three firefighters to the hospital after the second floor collapsed, and trapped the
  
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• Father concerned fundraisers during the school day exclude students

  20-05-2017 05:06 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A middle school parent is raising concerns about the way his child’s school is raising money.
  John Padalino says Gorzycki Middle School in southwest Austin is excluding students by charging a “cover” to get into various fundraising events being held during the school day.
  “I almost feel like we’re putting toll tags on our kids, and that’s just wrong,” said Padalino.
  He received a flier right before spring break about Tiger Day.
  
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• Family members of hot air balloon crash victims create petition

  20-05-2017 04:54 via kxan.com
  
  LOCKHART, Texas (KXAN) — A petition has been created to push for more regulations surrounding the hot air balloon industry. It all comes after 16 people died last July in a hot air balloon crash in Caldwell County.
  “My dog was outside when he started barking, like when someone drives down the road. That’s when I heard that first pop, his bark went from bark, bark to ‘I want in, now!’” said Margaret Wylie who lives near the crash site.
  For Wylie, that was only
  
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• APD using ultrasonic radar to catch drivers who get too close to bicycles

  20-05-2017 03:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — You may have noticed more bicycles on the road on Friday, for the city’s Bike to Work Day. Bike Austin estimates more than 2,500 people participated, in an effort to continue making Austin more cyclist friendly.
  With an ongoing effort to get more cyclists on the roads and make sure drivers are following the law, we wanted to make sure drivers know what’s legal in sharing those roads.
  “I’ve had a van’s side mirror clip my shoulder,” K
  
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• Doctors: stroke patients waiting for new stent treatment

  20-05-2017 02:16 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — No warning and a stroke can strike. It happened to one Austin woman, whose only treatment is a stent that is not on the market yet.
  Heatherly McDaniel, 41, knew something was off the day she had a stroke in April last year. Her then 16-year-old daughter recognized the slurred speech and numbness on one side.
  “She looked at the situation and she said, ‘This is out of character for our mother,'” McDaniel said. “The only thing she could think
  
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• Nation’s oldest veteran, Richard Overton, taken to Austin hospital

  20-05-2017 01:19 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin native and America’s oldest veteran Richard Overton, who turned 111 years old on Thursday, May 11, has been taken to the hospital with a fever, according to a family member.
  An ambulance was called to Overton’s house on Hamilton Avenue — renamed Overton Avenue in his honor last week — after 5 p.m. Friday. A St. David’s Medical Center spokesperson says Overton is in fair condition.
  Overton said he spent his 111th birthday d
  
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• Nation’s oldest veteran, Richard Overton, hospitalized with pneumonia

  20-05-2017 01:19 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin native and America’s oldest veteran Richard Overton, who turned 111 years old on Thursday, May 11, has been taken to the hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia, according to a family member. He is expected to be in the hospital for a few days.
  An ambulance was called to Overton’s house on Hamilton Avenue — renamed Overton Avenue in his honor last week — after 5 p.m. Friday. A St. David’s Medical Center spokesperson says Overton
  
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• No students injured in Bastrop ISD school bus crash

  20-05-2017 00:49 via kxan.com
  
  BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A school bus was rear-ended in Bastrop County, south of the city of Bastrop on Farm to Market 20, on Friday.
  Deputies were called to the 1400 block of FM 20 — near FM 535 — at 5:15 p.m. Another vehicle rear-ended the Bastrop ISD school bus when it was stopped, the district says. There were only three students on the bus and none were injured. It’s unclear if anyone in the other vehicle was injured.
  Parents came and picked the students u
  
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