Austin news

• VIDEO: Suspect carjacks woman and takes Houston police on chase

  25-05-2017 23:40 via kxan.com
  
  HOUSTON (KXAN) — A man is in custody after a police chase through north Houston on Thursday, KPRC reports.
  The chase started along Interstate 45 when an officer crashed and the man continued to a Walmart parking lot where he carjacked a woman.
  He then drove off and abandoned the vehicle in a neighborhood.
  MORE: Man who shot woman near Dallas leads police on chase with kids in RV
  The man ran away and police set up a perimeter to search for him.
  Police say he was eventually found and su
  
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• Student’s service dog gets own headshot in class yearbook

  25-05-2017 23:35 via kxan.com
  
  FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) — A Virginia high school student who attends school with a service dog found himself side-by-side with his canine in the school’s yearbook photos.
  Andrew Schalk has Type 1 diabetes and uses his dog, Alpha, to alert him when his blood sugar levels are off. The black Labrador Retriever gives the 16-year-old his paw when his levels are too high or too low.
  Alpha was there when Schalk had his picture taken for the Stafford High School yearbook and the dog ended u
  
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• 2 remaining Amarillo strip clubs could close after lawsuit from dancers

  25-05-2017 23:27 via kxan.com
  
  AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR) — A lawyer representing two former employees of Cassidy’s Polo Club and Players Bikini Club is suing them for allegedly failing to pay their dancers.
  This is the same path taken recently that shut down three other strip clubs in Amarillo.
  The owners of Beavers Strip Club were sued three years ago for failing to pay its employees because of the judgment against them. They were forced to sell three establishments.
  Now the two remaining men’s clubs in town a
  
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• Austin focuses on future transportation needs

  25-05-2017 23:18 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thinking about Austin traffic is frightening… even scarier is picturing what it will look like down the road. The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan (ASMP) hopes to ease the pain of that thought.
  Austin Transportation Department’s spokesperson Cheyenne Krause says the new plan is essential for Austin’s growth. “We definitely need that North Star, that guiding light that we can center all our transportation investments around,” says Kraus
  
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• Officers ask for help identifying driver who hit pedestrian on E. 6th

  25-05-2017 22:37 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A driver who hit a pedestrian in downtown Austin last week left the scene of the crash without trying to help the victim.
  Officers are now asking for the public’s help locating the driver who hit a man in the 700 block of East Sixth Street, just west of Interstate 35, at 11:18 p.m. on Thursday, May 16.
  The suspect driver is described by police as a white male, with blonde hair, around 5-foot-9, average build and had dirty hands. The vehicle was a white or silver
  
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• Elgin tornado tosses cows a quarter mile

  25-05-2017 22:03 via kxan.com
  
  ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) — A National Weather Service damage survey team has determined Tuesday’s storm damage in the Elgin area was caused by an EF-0 tornado. Initially believed to be a result of straight-line severe thunderstorm winds, meteorologists found a damage pattern indicating a weak tornado, about 200 yards wide caused the damage. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.
  The NWS determined the tornado began just east of Highway 95 and just north of Roemer Road where it flipped a she
  
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• Cows survive quarter-mile journey in Elgin tornado

  25-05-2017 22:03 via kxan.com
  
  ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) — Several cows and one bull survived being carried more than a quarter mile by a tornado Tuesday evening near Elgin. The cattle were reportedly tossed over fences into an adjacent pasture.
  All were knocked unconscious and one cow injured its leg. However, all members of the herd survived, according to Aaron Treadway, a National Weather Service meteorologist who surveyed the storm.
  The survey team determined Tuesday’s storm damage in t
  
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• Cows survive 1/4 mile journey in Elgin tornado

  25-05-2017 22:03 via kxan.com
  
  ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) — Several cows and one bull survived being carried more than 1/4 mile by a tornado Tuesday evening near Elgin. The cattle were reportedly tossed over fences into an adjacent pasture.
  All were knocked unconscious and one cow injured its leg. However, all members of the herd survived, according to Aaron Treadway, a National Weather Service meteorologist who surveyed the storm.
  The survey team determined Tuesday’s storm damage in the Elg
  
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• Greg Kelley’s defense says someone else committed the sexual assault

  25-05-2017 21:12 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of super aggravated sexual assault of a child in 2014 for incidents at an in-home day care, Greg Kelley could have a second chance.
  Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick says his office has reopened the investigation into Kelley’s sexual assault case because of new evidence that was brought forth by Kelley’s defense team. Dick says the defense claims they have “cred
  
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• Employees in Austin are making more than national average

  25-05-2017 20:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Workers in the Austin-area make about 2 percent more per hour than the May 2016 nationwide average of $23.86, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report shows the Austin jobs with the highest wages compared to the national average were in the following areas: sales and related, healthcare support and management.
  Eight groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages: construction and extraction, life, physical, social science, e
  
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• Woman traveling country paying drug addicts to get vasectomies, tubes tied

  25-05-2017 20:44 via kxan.com
  
  MOBILE, AL (WKRG) — A woman on a mission to stop drug-addicted mothers from having babies is making stops across the country.
  Barbara Harris is the founder of a non-profit organization called Project Prevention. She travels around the country in her van, giving cash incentives to drug addicts who agree to get on permanent birth control.
  For women, this is the implant, an IUD, or having their tubes tied. For men, it’s a vasectomy. Addicts do not receive birth control inside her RV. Th
  
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• Don’t wait in line! Tips on when to visit theme parks in Texas this summer

  25-05-2017 19:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — School is about to let out for the summer and pretty soon families will start cramming into their minivans and make weekend trips to visit theme parks across Texas.
  While standing in line for your favorite ride is expected during peak summer times, there are some tips on how you can avoid the crowds.
  Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels
  Best Day: Wednesdays but consider going on cloudy days with a slight rain forecast as well
  Best time to arrive (besides opening): Anytime before
  
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• Dr. Beach names Florida’s Siesta Beach best beach in US

  25-05-2017 19:46 via kxan.com
  
  SIESTA KEY, Fla. (AP) — The sand on Siesta Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast is as fine as powdered sugar, a pure, sparkling white and soft as a kitten’s fur — all because it’s comprised of 99 percent pure crushed quartz.
  For that reason, and many others, it was selected this year as the best beach in America by a professor who’s made a career ranking and studying beaches around the United States.
  “The sand is outstanding,” said Stephen Leatherman, aka
  
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• Man accused of robbing east Austin bank quickly captured

  25-05-2017 19:41 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — It was a brief getaway for a 34-year-old man accused of robbing an East 7th Street bank Wednesday evening.
  Police said Stephen Wilson was at the Chase Bank at 2119 E. 7th St. around 4:34 p.m. when he slid a handwritten note to a teller demanding money.
  Wilson fled on foot and didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy his ill-gotten gains after running into patrol officers at 7th and Pleasant Valley Road.
  He confessed, was charged with robbery by threat and is cur
  
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• Nearly 50,000 office chairs recalled over fall hazard

  25-05-2017 19:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KTAB/KRBC) — Nearly 50,000 office chairs have been recalled because they could break, posing a fall hazard to anyone who uses them.
  The recalled was issued by parent company Leggett & Platt on Wednesday because, “slider bolts and push nuts can disconnect and fall from the chair, which could cause the seat to detach from the chair.”
  15 chair models sold at popular retail stores such as Costco, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and Staples as well as online sites like&nbs
  
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• Burglary suspect shot and killed in Llano town square

  25-05-2017 19:17 via kxan.com
  
  LLANO, Texas (KXAN) — A man who police say was burglarizing a business in the Llano town square was shot and killed overnight.
  Llano police say officers responded to 109 W. Main Street around 12:50 a.m. Thursday in reference to a burglary in progress. When they arrived, officers found 29-year-old Robert Sutton, of Llano, lying on the ground with a single gunshot wound. Sutton was taken to the hospital where he died.
  A second suspect identified as Jonathan Tuma, 19, of Tow, was taken into c
  
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• Former Baylor student indicted, charged with attempted sexual assault

  25-05-2017 19:05 via kxan.com
  WACO, TX – A former Baylor University student has been indicted by a McLennan County Grand Jury on charges of attempted sexual assault for an incident in a Baylor dorm room that occurred while he was a student in 2016.
  Lookman Abayomi Adetokunbo Balogun was arrested May 9, 2016 following an investigation by the Baylor University Police Department.
  In the complaint filed with the court, Balogun is accused of attempting to undress the victim after asking to see the residence h
  
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• Texas schools must now report inappropriate teacher-student contact

  25-05-2017 18:25 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the number of inappropriate teacher student relationships continue to rise year-to-year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill Thursday that will make it a criminal offense for school principals and superintendents if they don’t report and investigate inappropriate relationships.
  Senate Bill 7 requires the school official must complete an investigation of an educator if there is evidence that the teacher might have engaged in misconduct, despite the teacher’s resign
  
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• Uber, Lyft returns to Austin on Memorial Day

  25-05-2017 17:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (AP/KXAN) — On Memorial Day, Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign a bill that supersedes Austin’s fingerprinting requirement for ride-hailing companies. Uber and Lyft confirms to KXAN they will be operational in Austin the very same day.
  Lyft drivers received a text message Thursday morning stating, “Start your engines! We’re re-launching in Austin on Monday. See you on the road soon!”
  Uber and Lyft extricated themselves from Austin more than a year ago,
  
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• Rescue crews rush to save crying baby in donation bin, but it was a doll

  25-05-2017 17:35 via kxan.com
  
  AVON, Indiana (WTHR) Julie Potter thought it was going to be a quick stop to drop off clothes Monday morning at a Special Olympics donation box.
  Instead, Potter ended up on the phone with 911.
  “I’m here in front of the Hobby Lobby in Avon and I was dropping off some clothes and I can hear a baby crying down in this drop off,” Potter told the dispatcher.
  Potter, a mom and grandma, has had plenty of experience with crying babies. She knows what they sound like, but had never hear
  
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• WATCH: Woman jumps on vehicle’s hood to stop carjacker

  25-05-2017 17:06 via kxan.com
  
  MILWAUKEE, WI (WCMH) — It’s probably not the way you want to stop a carjacking but for one woman, jumping on her vehicle’s hood stopped the would-be thief from succeeding.
  “I had the thought in my head. Do I go after my purse or do I stop my car. And the pricetag of my car flashed through my head,” Melissa Smith told WISN, as she recalled the moment she realized her car was being stolen.
  On Tuesday, Smith stopped at a gas station near Milwaukee when a man appro
  
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• LISTEN: Radio chatter during United, American collision at ABIA

  25-05-2017 16:15 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — “I think we got hit,” an American Airlines pilot can be heard saying in newly released air traffic control chatter from the moments after his plane made contact with a United Airlines plane at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Wednesday night.
  “Oh, yes you did,” another person confirmed.https://lintvkxan.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/kaus2-may-25-2017-0100z.mp3 
  “You guys are perfect, you were sitting there, you just got hit by United,&
  
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• New Braunfels bearded bank robber busted, behind bars

  25-05-2017 15:51 via kxan.com
  
  NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (KXAN) — Police in New Braunfels believe they have their bearded bandit connected to the May 19 robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank.
  According to police, Casey James Wheatley, 21, was taken into custody Wednesday after thorough investigation. Police said during the robbery he got away with an unspecified amount of cash and didn’t use a weapon.
  Authorities obtained a search warrant for a home in the 600 block of Creekside Way and found enough evidence to connect Wheatle
  
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• Boy struck on head by broken bat at Yankees game

  25-05-2017 15:08 via kxan.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — A boy was struck on the head by Chris Carter’s broken bat during the New York Yankees’ game against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night
  With Didi Gregorius on second base and no outs in the seventh inning, Carter’s bat shattered on a 3-1 fastball from Matt Strahm. The ball bounced on one hop to second baseman Whit Merrifield, and much of the bat hit the boy, who was sitting about seven rows back on the third-base side, behind the Royals dugout.
  Fans
  
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• After 17 years of trying, couple gives birth to sextuplets

  25-05-2017 14:57 via kxan.com
  
  RICHMOND, Va., (WRIC) — A 40-person team at VCU Medical Center successfully delivered sextuplets earlier this month to a couple that had been trying to conceive for nearly 20 years. It was the first sextuplet delivery in the hospital’s history.
  Ajibola Taiwo, a native of Western Nigeria, was 30 weeks and two days pregnant when she gave birth to three boys and three girls by cesarean section at 8:26 a.m. on May 11.
  The babies ranged in weight from 1 pound, 10 ounces to 2 pounds, 15 ou
  
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• New mural by original artist coming to 12th and Chicon after controversy

  25-05-2017 14:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Weeks after a mural community members grew fond of was painted over by a new business owner, the wall along Chicon Street at East 12th Street will soon have a new mural.
  Chris Rogers is the artist who painted the original mural of famous African-American musicians. Locals in the historically black neighborhood and many others connected with the mural.
  The business owner responsible for replacing the mural, Veronica Ortuño, who is leasing the building and opening
  
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• Texas approves feral hog hunting by hot air balloon

  25-05-2017 13:34 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas lawmakers have approved the hunting of feral hogs and coyotes from hot air balloons.
  Texas’ growing hog population causes millions of dollars’ worth of damage to crops every year. Texas has an estimated two million feral hogs. Their high breeding rate and lack of natural predators has seen their population explode
  The state already allows the shooting of feral hogs from helicopters, but that is expensive and has not been very unsuccessful because the
  
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• School ratings discussed as Senate suspends deadline, meets past midnight

  25-05-2017 13:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The state senate went into the early morning hours by suspending their midnight deadline rule so they could work until nearly 2:30 a.m. to pass any final bills.
  House Bill 22 was the final bill discussed. The bill is an overhaul of what lawmakers passed last session that requires school districts to be graded on an A through F scale. The goal is to give parents a better idea of where their school ranks instead of the existing pass fail system.
  The House’s original ver
  
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• Man who shot woman near Dallas leads police on chase with kids in RV

  25-05-2017 12:43 via kxan.com
  
  ARLINGTON (KXAN) —  A man believed to have shot a woman in Hunt County early Thursday morning put his children in danger by leading police on a four county chase with them inside the recreational vehicle he tried to escape in, police said.
  According to KXAS, the incident began around 3 a.m. Multiple agencies pursued the man through Rockwall and Dallas counties.
  Police said they believed the man to be armed. The woman, who police said may have been in a relationship with the man, repor
  
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• Temple Police: Loud boom came from either Ft. Hood or Space X

  25-05-2017 10:58 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Temple Police say a loud booming sound people heard Wednesday night came either from a training exercise at Fort Hood or the Space X testing facility in McGregor.
  The sound was heard around 10:30 p.m. all the way from Temple to Georgetown. Temple police could not pinpoint where exactly the boom came from but did say they were told by officials at Fort Hood and Space X that there would be training exercises this week.
  We are waiting to hear back from Fort Hood and Space
  
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• Loud boom heard by residents in Georgetown linked to Fort Hood

  25-05-2017 10:58 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The loud boom people heard throughout Central Texas late Wednesday evening came from Fort Hood, according to KCEN, the NBC station in Temple.
  The sound was heard around 10:30 p.m. all the way from Temple to Georgetown, which is 40 miles south of Fort Hood. At the time, Temple police said they couldn’t pinpoint where exactly the boom came from but did say they were told by officials at Fort Hood and Space X that there would be training exercises this week.
  KCEN re
  
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• Controversial Texas taproom bill heads to governor’s desk

  25-05-2017 07:06 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — There’s trouble brewing in the Texas craft beer business.
  House Bill 3287 passed through the Senate over the weekend, and after a few last amendments Wednesday, now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. But not without a fight from locals involved in the craft beer industry who say this bill puts a ceiling on success.
  Under the new bill, brewers would have to sell their beer to a distributor, then buy it back in order to sell it in their own taproom. It only af
  
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• Toddler left unattended in south Austin day school

  25-05-2017 06:34 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A toddler’s parents are furious after they say their day school left their child in a classroom unattended.
  State officials with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services confirms there is an ongoing investigation at the Stepping Stone School in south Austin.
  The school’s vice president says they have a simple explanation for when they lost sight of the child.
  “I said I’m here to get Rowan and then they realized they didn’t know wh
  
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• United, American planes collide near Austin airport gates

  25-05-2017 04:28 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A United Airlines plane and an American Airlines plane at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport collided Wednesday night near the terminal gates.
  The United flight 898 — from Austin to Houston — was taxiing to the runway from gate 19 and the American flight was taxiing into gate 21 when the incident happened around 8:20 p.m.
  Passengers were kept on the planes as the pilots waited for permission from the FAA to deboard the airliners. Passengers tell KX
  
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• Bella Vita homebuyers left waiting for resolve in bankruptcy court

  25-05-2017 03:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Months after KXAN debuted an investigation into Bella Vita Custom Homes, LLC, after homebuyers in the west Travis County subdivision of Spanish Oaks were left with their dream homes unfinished, the case is playing out in federal bankruptcy court.
  “It feels like the justice process is going along at a snail’s pace—if it’s even moving,” said Joel Lackovich, a creditor in Bella Vita Custom Homes’ bankruptcy case building a home in Spanish Oa
  
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• HOA says homeowners can only display US flag 23 days a year

  25-05-2017 02:56 via kxan.com
  
  WOODSTOCK, Ga. (WXIA) — Some Woodstock, Georgia residents are furious with their homeowners’ association after being told they can only display the US flag 23 days a year.
  The HOA at the Village at Towne Lake sent an email to residents explaining that they could only fly the flag on specific holidays. That didn’t fly well with some residents.
  WATCH: Hutto HOA says homeowners need permission to fly US flag
  “By limiting it to holidays, he’s equating it to Christmas li
  
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• VIDEO: San Antonio officer appears to strike teenage girl

  25-05-2017 02:33 via kxan.com
  
  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Police Department is reviewing body camera footage after a bystander posted video online that appears to show an officer punching an eighth-grade girl three or four times outside of a birthday party last weekend.
  Mayor Ivy Taylor issued a statement saying the video “is hard to watch and listen to” and that the department is reviewing the police body camera footage to determine exactly what happened.
  The grainy footage was shot Saturday outsid
  
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• Caught on camera: Austin’s urban wildlife documented for nationwide effort

  25-05-2017 01:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As more and more people move to central Texas, it’s becoming even more crucial to preserve the land of our local wildlife. That’s why Austin has just joined a nationwide effort to help better understand the relationship between humans and wildlife in rapidly growing cities.
  In Austin, Wild Basin Creative Research Center is leading the effort in partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the city of Austin, Travis County and Texas A&M University.
  T
  
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• 2 AISD elementary students leave school in separate incidents

  25-05-2017 01:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A child was able to walk away from Travis Heights Elementary School Wednesday afternoon, before being found by his mother at their home about 25 minutes later.
  At 12:56 p.m. a teacher alerted staff that the child had left the south Austin school, AISD said. The district it is not clear how long the child was off-campus before the teacher realized he was missing.
  The district says he left during recess while the students were on the playground. District police reached o
  
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• Pregnant senior not allowed to walk at graduation

  25-05-2017 00:07 via kxan.com
  
  HAGERSTOWN, Md. (WHAG) — A high school senior at Heritage Academy has stood out in the classroom for the last four years.
  But now, the spotlight is on her for a different reason.
  Maddi Runkles, 18, has a 4.0 grade point average, was president of Student Council and an officer in the prestigious Key Club. Despite all of that, she won’t be walking at her graduation on June 2.
  She got pregnant last year, a violation of the school’s code against premarital sex. The school’s B
  
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• Victims of the bombing: Parents, children, police officer

  25-05-2017 00:01 via kxan.com
  
  LONDON (AP) — The names of the 22 victims killed by a bomber at a Manchester concert on Monday night have not been officially released, but here what’s known about them so far:
  Michelle Kiss was a mother of three children, a loving wife, sister and daughter — and “family was her life,” her loved ones say.
  In a statement released to Manchester police, her family said: “She has been taken away from us and all that love her in the most traumatic way imaginable.&r
  
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