Austin news

• The dangers of tattoo ink traveling throughout your body

  21-07-2017 23:59 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — About 20 years ago, Mark Hamrick got a tattoo. It was inspired by a girlfriend at the time.
  “I was trying to impress her,” Hamrick said of the hawk, dragon and scorpion tattoo design.
  The relationship didn’t last, neither did the tattoo. Hamrick burned it off and went back for laser treatment to make sure it was gone.
  “That was extremely painful. I never want to do that ever again,” he said.
  The removal treatment worked to get the tattoo o
  
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• Motorcyclist killed on FM 973 identified

  21-07-2017 23:48 via kxan.com
  COUPLAND, Texas (KXAN) — Authorities have identified a motorcyclist who died while trying to avoid hitting a car near Coupland Thursday morning.
  The Texas Department of Public Safety says 37-year-old Timothy Ryan O’Connor of Taylor was riding his Harley Davidson southbound on Farm to Market 973 when a vehicle going north failed to yield while turning left.
  To avoid colliding with the car, DPS officials say O’Connor took evasive action but was thrown off his bike. He died at the
  
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• VIDEO: 2 dead, 500 hurt as quake rattles Greece, Turkey

  21-07-2017 22:46 via kxan.com
  KOS, Greece (AP) — A powerful earthquake shook beach resorts Friday in Greece and Turkey, killing two tourists crushed when a building collapsed on a bar in the Greek island of Kos and injuring nearly 500 others across the Aegean Sea region.
  Only a few miles apart, Kos and the Turkish resort of Bodrum were hit hours before dawn by the shallow undersea quake that caused a two-foot (0.6-meter) sea swell and havoc among residents and thousands of vacationers at bars and restaurants.
  The U.S.
  
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• TCSO in need of volunteers, responding to more victim services calls

  21-07-2017 22:20 via kxan.com
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Travis County Sheriff’s Office is looking for volunteers to join its victim services unit.
  The unit has responded to an increased number of calls since 2011, and on Friday, representatives said they could use as many as 65 additional volunteers to provide immediate assistance to victims of various criminal and crisis circumstances.
  These volunteers respond to victims of family and domestic violence, aggravated assaults, sexual assaults, robberies and
  
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• Texas school district votes to allow staff to paddle students

  21-07-2017 22:05 via kxan.com
  THREE RIVERS, Texas (WCMH) – A district in Texas is bringing back paddling as a form of punishment in schools.
  According to KIII, a board of trustees for the district approved the use of corporal punishment Tuesday by a vote of 6-0.
  Students can be paddled for minor infractions, such as not following classroom rules. The paddling can be carried out by a campus behavior coordinator or principal.
  Parents will decide whether they want to opt in or out of the program, the Caller Time
  
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• Audi to update 850,000 cars as diesel recalls widen

  21-07-2017 20:49 via kxan.com
  BERLIN (AP) — German automaker Audi says it will fit up to 850,000 diesel cars with new software to improve their emissions performance, following a similar move by rival Daimler as the auto industry tries to get ahead of public controversy over the technology.
  Audi, the luxury brand of the Volkswagen Group, announced the voluntary retrofitting program on Friday. The company said in a statement that it “aims to maintain the future viability of diesel engines” and believes the p
  
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• Counting Cars: How TxDOT keeps track of traffic volume

  21-07-2017 20:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Department of Transportation annually collects on average 82,000 short-term traffic counts, 1,000 manual traffic counts and more than 300 long-term counts. Data is collected 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support federal, state, regional and local transportation entities.
  The traffic counters are long black cables that are strewn across a road, usually in a set of three. They’re screwed right into the pavement but many times fast moving traffic can
  
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• Austin man allegedly kidnaps, robs transgender woman

  21-07-2017 20:29 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A transgender woman says she was kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint after meeting a man she was communicating with on a social networking site.
  Raymond Lee Deloach Jr., 26, faces of charge of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, both first-degree felonies.
  The victim told police she met a man who went by “Jay” online and after exchanging messages, she decided to meet with him in person when she got off of work the next day.
  “Jay
  
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• 2015 Austin homicide ruled self defense, victim’s friends charged instead

  21-07-2017 19:58 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two men who police say robbed a game room in December of 2015 that led to the shooting death of one of their friends are now facing charges of aggravated robbery.
  The whole situation unfolded on Dec. 12, 2015, when police found the body of 27-year-old Eric Sorrells in the parking lot of an Exxon gas station at the corner of Burleson Road and US 183 around 2 a.m.
  Around the same time, two women showed up the hospital claiming they were carjacked and pistol whi
  
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• Police find driver blocks from scene where train, truck collide in Round Rock

  21-07-2017 18:55 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — A Union Pacific train and a pickup truck collided and the driver left the scene Friday morning at the intersection of McNeil Road (Farm to Market 620) and the Interstate 35 service road.
  Investigators say the driver thought he could beat the train when the collision occurred. Officers say they found the driver and his truck nearby at a park in the 900 block of South Mays Street. He was detained during the investigation.
  The driver was unhurt; charges are possible
  
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• Experimental hemp crop thriving in Pennsylvania

  21-07-2017 18:52 via kxan.com
  NEWPORT, Pa. (WHTM) — The first legal hemp seeds planted in Perry County, Pennsylvania soil in 80 years are growing steadily into hearty plants.
  The five-acre crop of industrial hemp planted in Juniata Township on June 7 has exceeded expectations. Landowners Bill and Martha Roberts were recipients of one of just 16 research permits granted by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculturethis year.“We’re pleased with how thick it is out across here,” said Jay Elsessor, a
  
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• Kentucky told to pay attorney fees in same-sex marriage case

  21-07-2017 18:41 via kxan.com
  FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Kentucky taxpayers to pay more than $220,000 in attorneys’ fees for a county clerk who refused to issue marriage license to same-sex couples.
  U.S. District Judge Jim Bunning says Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis was acting for the state government when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on the basis of her personal religious beliefs. He ordered the state to pay $222,695 in attorneys’ fees and another $2,008 i
  
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• Sean Spicer resigns over appointment of Trump’s communications director

  21-07-2017 18:12 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Sean Spicer, President Donald Trump’s embattled spokesman during the first six months of his presidency, is resigning his position, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.
  Spicer’s decision appears linked to the appointment of a new White House communications director, New York financier Anthony Scaramucci. The people with knowledge of the decision spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to
  
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• ICE operations nets 123 arrests in Central, South Texas

  21-07-2017 17:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A recent eight-day enforcement operation by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement netted 13 arrests in Austin.
  Another 110 people who are in the country illegally were arrested in Waco, Harlingen, Laredo and San Antonio. ICE says it conducted the operation from July 10-19 and their targets were people who had prior criminal convictions ranging anywhere from aggravated assault to domestic violence
  The majority of the suspects were from Mexico.
  During the course of the oper
  
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• Alexa, turn up my Kenmore AC; Sears cuts a deal with Amazon

  21-07-2017 16:39 via kxan.com
  HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Sears will begin selling its appliances on Amazon.com, including smart appliances that can be synced with Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa.
  The announcement Thursday sent shares of Sears soaring almost 11 percent. The tie-up with the internet behemoth could give shares of the storied retailer one of its biggest one-day percentage gains ever.
  Sears, which also owns Kmart, said that its Kenmore Smart appliances will be fully integrated with Amazon’s Al
  
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• Son of Cecil the lion killed in Zimbabwean hunt

  21-07-2017 16:10 via kxan.com
  JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Conservationists in Zimbabwe say the son of a lion named Cecil, whose 2015 killing prompted an international outcry, has also been fatally shot during a hunt.
  A group named Friends of Hwange Trust said Thursday on Facebook that 6-year-old Xanda, Cecil’s son, was shot on a “legal trophy hunt” several days ago. The group says Xanda, who was wearing a GPS collar installed by researchers, was killed outside the boundary of Hwange National Park.
  Another gro
  
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• Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder brought to life by Radio Flyer

  21-07-2017 15:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The American company famous for little red wagons is rolling our a new ride straight from Tatooine; Luke Skywalker’s X-34 Landspeeder.
  Radio Flyer’s two-seat, motorized vehicle will let your little Jedis reenact their favorite scenes from what’s arguably the best Star Wars movie.
  This sweet upgrade to the traditional wagon has a top speed of 5 MPH and has a max weight capacity of 130 pounds.
  You can preorder one of these to secure your place at the t
  
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• US to ban Americans from traveling to North Korea

  21-07-2017 14:42 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — American citizens will be barred from traveling to North Korea next month following a prohibition on using U.S. passports to enter the country, the State Department said Friday.
  Secretary of State Rex Tillerson decided to impose a “geographical travel restriction” on North Korea following the death last month of American university student Otto Warmbier, who fell into a coma while in North Korean custody.
  “Due to mounting concerns over the serious risk o
  
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• US bans travel for Americans to NKorea after Warmbier death

  21-07-2017 14:42 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — American citizens will be barred by the U.S. from traveling to North Korea beginning next month following a prohibition on using U.S. passports to enter the country, the State Department said Friday.
  Secretary of State Rex Tillerson decided to impose a “geographical travel restriction” on North Korea following the death last month of American university student Otto Warmbier, who fell into a coma while in North Korean custody. The ban also comes amid heightene
  
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• AP sources: US to ban Americans from traveling to NKorea

  21-07-2017 14:42 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration will ban American citizens from traveling to North Korea, U.S. officials said Friday, following the death of university student Otto Warmbier who died in June after falling into a coma in a North Korean prison.
  Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had decided to impose “geographic travel restriction” for North Korea, the officials said, which would make it illegal to use U.S. passports to enter the country. They said the restriction would
  
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• Exhumation of Dali’s remains finds his mustache still intact

  21-07-2017 13:37 via kxan.com
  FIGUERES, Spain (AP) — Forensic experts in Spain have removed hair, nails and two long bones from Salvador Dali’s embalmed remains to find genetic samples for a paternity test — a move that opens the possibility for a woman who says she is the surrealist artist’s daughter to claim part of the Dali estate.
  Officials said Friday that the artist’s mummified remains were so well conserved that even his famous mustache had survived the passing of time and remained in &ld
  
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• Virtual reality lab offers Austinites a chance to try out new tech

  21-07-2017 13:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With all the talk of virtual reality these days, you might have been wondering what all the fuss is about.
  Downtown Austin’s technology startup accelerator Capital Factory wants to make it easier for Austinites to find out for themselves.
  The company recently opened its virtual reality, or VR, lab to the public. What started in December as a place for developers to test out ideas is now available for anyone to come in and try out various virtual reality applications.
  
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• Sleeping boy, 4, killed as gunmen spray house with bullets

  21-07-2017 13:15 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A 4-year-old child was asleep in a front room of his home in San Antonio when drive-by gunmen sprayed his home with bullets, killing him and wounding his mother.
  Police Chief William McManus has pledged arrests in the death of 4-year-old De-Earlvion Whitley just before midnight Wednesday, His mother, 29-year-old Cyntwanisha Whitley, was shot twice in her left leg.
  McManus said the shooting was gang-related and missed its target and may have been in retaliation for the wo
  
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• Texas woman arrested in tri-state ‘virtual kidnapping’ plot

  21-07-2017 12:55 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — Federal authorities say they’ve arrested a Houston woman who collected ransoms from people who believed their children were kidnapped and that the money had to be paid to get them released.
  Thirty-four-year-old Yanette Rodriguez Acosta was taken into custody Thursday after being indicted two days earlier on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud. It’s not clear if she has a lawyer.
  Authorities say she conspired with others in Mexico in a “virtual
  
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• ‘Bathroom bills’ targeting public buildings, schools get hearing today

  21-07-2017 12:31 via kxan.com
  KXAN (AUSTIN) — The Senate Committee on State Affairs is holding a public hearing Friday morning to discuss two newly filed bills, Senate Bill 3 and Senate Bill 91.
  The bills were filed by Senator Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham),the same senator who filed the so-called bathroom bill during the regular session, but there are some changes in the language this time around.
  If passed, SB3 and SB91 would take effect in government buildings cities and counties and public and charter schools by requir
  
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• Driskill Hotel, Star Bar facing suit tied to drunk driving crash

  21-07-2017 12:26 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A bar and a well known hotel on Sixth Street are both facing a lawsuit accusing them of overserving a woman who hit a cyclist last month.
  The father of Jo Jo Mckibben is suing The Driskill Hotel, Star Bar and the driver claiming the lawsuit claims the businesses served Katie Bykowski too many drinks when she was clearly intoxicated.
  “The statements made by the drunk driver to the police on the night of the collision suggest that she was given or served a lot of alcoho
  
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• LBJ Early College High School transforms into medical training ground

  21-07-2017 06:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — LBJ Early College High School is a construction zone. The walls of three classrooms on the first floor have been wiped out and are being replaced with a new design.
  “I feel like we’re transforming into something beautiful,” said principal Sheila Henry. “I can’t wait.”
  By the first day of school, part of the campus should look more like a mini hospital. Seton Healthcare Family has already dropped off donated medical equipment included pati
  
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• Video shows teens mocking drowning man; no charges filed

  21-07-2017 05:29 via kxan.com
  
  Warning: The video may be disturbing to some. 
  COCOA, Fla. (WCMH) — Cell phone video posted on social media shows a Florida man drowning in a retention pond while five teens stand by, recording.
  Police say the teens were even mocking him and laughing at him, WESH reported.
  “We’re not gonna help your (expletive). Shouldn’t have got in. Let him drown, what the heck,” said one of the teens.
  Jamell Dunn, 31, of Cocoa, Florida went into a retention pond on July 9, a
  
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• Texas company recalls coffee with Viagra-like substance

  21-07-2017 05:19 via kxan.com
  
  GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (AP) — A Texas coffee company is recalling one of its roasts because it was making some men a bit too excited.
  Bestherbs Coffee LLC issued the voluntary recall for its New of Kopi Jantan Tradisional Natural Herbs Coffee after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found it contains desmethyl carbodenafil, which is similar to sildenafil in the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra.
  Bestherbs, which is based in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, distributed the coffee nationw
  
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• Texas company recalls coffee containing Viagra-like substance

  21-07-2017 05:19 via kxan.com
  GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (AP) — A Texas coffee company is recalling one of its roasts because it was making some men a bit too excited.
  Bestherbs Coffee LLC issued the voluntary recall for its New of Kopi Jantan Tradisional Natural Herbs Coffee after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found it contains desmethyl carbodenafil, which is similar to sildenafil in the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra.
  Bestherbs, which is based in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, distributed the coffee nationw
  
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• Three officers taken to hospital after carbon monoxide alarm goes off

  21-07-2017 04:57 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin police officer has been taken to the hospital Thursday night, following a carbon monoxide alarm in his police vehicle.
  Two other officers who had just finished eating in the 9300 block of South Interstate 35, near Slaughter Lane, were evaluated by Austin-Travis County EMS medics and taken to the hospital, but not by ambulance.
  The first officer taken to the hospital was on patrol in the 2200 block of Bee Cave Rd., near MoPac Expressway, when the carbon monoxide se
  
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• APD: 6 officers taken to hospital due to CO alarms; all okay

  21-07-2017 04:57 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police say 6 officers were taken to Dell Seton Medical Center Thursday night after carbon monoxide alarms went off in their police vehicles.
  The first officer taken to the hospital was on patrol at the intersection of Bee Cave Road and Cuernavaca Drive when the carbon monoxide sensor in his vehicle went off at around 8:30 p.m., Austin police say.
  According to APD, two other officers who had just finished eating in the 9300 block of South Interstate 35, near Slau
  
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• APD: 6 officers taken to Dell Seton due to CO alarms; all okay

  21-07-2017 04:57 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police say 6 officers were taken to Dell Seton Medical Center Thursday night after carbon monoxide alarms went off in their police vehicles.
  The first officer taken to the hospital was on patrol at the intersection of Bee Cave Road and Cuernavaca Drive when the carbon monoxide sensor in his vehicle went off at around 8:30 p.m., Austin police say.
  According to APD, two other officers who had just finished eating in the 9300 block of South Interstate 35, near Slau
  
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• AR-15 being raffled off to raise money for injured Manchaca firefighter

  21-07-2017 04:25 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Manchaca firefighter who was recently injured while riding his motorcycle is slowly recovering with the help of family and friends.
  On Sunday, June 25, Samuel Porter, was traveling on West Gate Boulevard at Coatbridge Drive when he collided with a car. Porter shattered every bone in his face from his eyes down as well as injuries to his pelvis. After spending several weeks at the hospital, Porter was recently moved to Texas NeuroRehab to continue his recovery, where he
  
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• Abbott puts school finance on special session call, to joy of school districts

  21-07-2017 04:11 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — There is hope state lawmakers could actually pass a school finance plan that would benefit your child’s school. Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott expanded his call for a special session so lawmakers can tackle education funding. This comes as many schools prepare for cuts.
  Even a wealthy school district like Lake Travis ISD is feeling the crunch from the state. Assistant Superintendent Johnny Hill will watch half a million dollars disappear in September from a state money st
  
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• Lower speed limits in place on US 290 from Blanco Co. to Travis Co.

  21-07-2017 02:03 via kxan.com
  DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) – Speed limits along US Highway 290 near Dripping Springs have changed once again. City leaders say it was a necessary change to make sure drivers stay safe.
  A 45 mph zone has been extended through the city and speed limits have been reduced on the edges of town. The 45 mph zone now stretches from Crow Ranch Road to just west of Roger Hanks Parkway. On the outer edges of the city, speed limits on US 290 have been reduced overall by 5 mph from the Blanco Count
  
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• Prometric Test Center forced to close for the day due to staffing shortage

  21-07-2017 01:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — People who have tests scheduled at the Prometric Test Center in south Austin were surprised to show up to an office that was closed for business.
  On Thursday morning, more than two dozen people were in line outside of the test center waiting to take their tests when they saw the sign, “Sorry, we’re closed,” taped to the door. Customers who were there were taking tests such as English as a Second Language and vocational certifications.
  Some of the people KX
  
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• Political divide deepens over immigration law as special session starts

  21-07-2017 01:34 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Despite the fact that the state’s sunset legislation was a top priority during the start of the special session at the Capitol, lawmakers and activists spent much of the week talking about immigration law.
  Senate Bill 4 bans sanctuary cities in Texas, though its creation was met with disagreement.
  Immigration law was not on Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session call, but that has not stopped conversation about repealing the legislation.
  “We wanted to make
  
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• Patients search for medical records after Taylor clinic closes

  21-07-2017 01:12 via kxan.com
  
  TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — After waiting a week for her doctor to respond to a prescription refill, Nina Newman finally called Taylor Primary Care clinic, only to find the number had been disconnected. That is how she learned the clinic permanently closed.
  “Did she move? Did she go some place else?” Newman wondered of her doctor of more than 20 years.
  Newman was supposed to get a letter in the mail about the closure, but says she never did. “Basically your hands are tied beca
  
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• DPS crime lab to start charging law enforcement agencies

  21-07-2017 00:37 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With a slimmer budget, the Texas Department of Public Safety says its crime lab will now have to charge local agencies for various testing services.
  Last biennium, the DPS crime lab was appropriated approximately $74.7 million. During this year’s legislative session, the department’s crime lab budget was set at $63 million for FY 2018-19. To make up for the $11.5 million budget shortfall, the agency will charge law enforcement agencies for using certain services
  
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• Scammers spoofing Austin police phone number to elicit money

  21-07-2017 00:32 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department says scammers claiming to be from the IRS have been reported by several people.
  The number that is showing up appears similar to the number from the police department, (512) 974-8243, but is not connected to the department. Police say the caller demands money to avoid arrest, deportation, physical harm and other consequences for not complying with their demands.
  The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office reported a similar scam going on with i
  
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• Shelter that euthanized wrong dog didn’t disclose mistake

  21-07-2017 00:03 via kxan.com
  
  HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Hillsborough County’s Pet Resource Center made a big mistake with a young American Staffordshire Terrier.
  On Oct. 5, an employee at the P.R.C. goofed. She made a mistake and she euthanized a dog named Loki.
  But P.R.C. records tell only part of the story. Loki was in and out of the Pet Resource Center shelter. Adopted, returned, readopted, and then in September, he came back as a stray.
  In October, Loki just disappeared from kennel reports. That seem
  
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