Austin news

• Firefighters battle brush fires in Travis and Hays counties

  22-07-2017 23:48 via kxan.com
  CENTRAL TEXAS (KXAN) – Fire crews battled two large brush fires early Saturday afternoon.
  The first one started in Hays County just after 11:30 a.m. and impacted people traveling to Float Fest. The Kyle, San Marcos, South Hays and York Creek Fire Departments worked to put it out near the intersection of FM 621 and Scull Road southeast of San Marcos. San Marcos Hays County EMS said the fire temporarily shut down traffic on Scull Road.
  Several large, round hay bales
  
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• Actor John Heard, of ‘Home Alone’ movies, dies at 71

  22-07-2017 21:38 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Actor John Heard, best known for playing the father in the “Home Alone” movie series, has died. He was 71.
  His death was confirmed by the Santa Clara Medical Examiner’s office in California on Saturday. TMZ reported that Heard, who lived in southern California, was found at a Palo Alto, California, hotel where he was recovering from back surgery.
  Heard played Peter McCallister, the father of Kevin, played by Macaulay Culkin, in “Home Alone” and
  
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• Owners of ‘Noah’s Ark’ attraction want to ‘take back’ rainbow from LGBTQ community

  22-07-2017 21:19 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSTOWN, KY (WCMH) — The owners of the Ark Encounter attraction have created controversy by stating they want Christians to reclaim the significance of the rainbow.
  Ken Ham, co-owner of the attraction, tweeted a photo of the ark lit up in rainbow colors and wrote “Christians need to take back the rainbow.”
  According to WXIX, in his blog post, Ham clarifies his tweet, writing, “The rainbow was a symbol of God’s promises before the LGBTQ movement – and will
  
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• Family of missing Florida teen fisherman sues other boy’s family

  22-07-2017 18:30 via kxan.com
  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – The mother of a Florida teenager who disappeared along with his friend while on a boating trip is suing the other child’s parents and grandfather, alleging they were negligent in letting the boys go out on the ocean alone.
  The mother of Perry Cohen filed suit Friday against the family of Austin Stephanos. The boys were 14 when they disappeared off the Palm Beach County coast in July 2015, launching a massive search. They were never found.
  Pamela Cohen all
  
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• Car drives off dragging gas pump, causing fire

  22-07-2017 17:02 via kxan.com
  Austin (KXAN)– Ever leave your gas tank open after filling up? Worse than that, a driver caused a fire Friday evening after leaving the gas nozzle in the car tank and driving off.
  Austin Fire Department says as the driver drove off, he pulled the pump over, dragging it and the friction ignited fuel in the pump.
  No one was hurt and according to the Fire Department, an attendant at the Exxon gas station  quickly activated the emergency shut off button and was able to keep the fire conta
  
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• Texas deputy indicted for deadly confrontation fired

  22-07-2017 15:27 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas sheriff’s deputy indicted with her husband on murder charges in the death of a man they confronted outside a restaurant has been fired.
  The Harris County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that Deputy Chauna Thompson was fired following the conclusion of an internal affairs probe.
  The sheriff’s office also announced that three sergeants and one deputy who responded to the scene after the May 28 confrontation have been disciplined for their actions.
  T
  
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• Silver alert issued for missing man with cognitive impairment

  22-07-2017 09:13 via kxan.com
  LEWISVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — Law enforcement officers are looking for a man that may be in danger.
  Police say 69-year-old Dinnie Dean Dinsmore was last seen at 4 p.m. Friday at a home in Lewisville, about 25 miles north of Dallas, driving a white 2012 Honda Accord.
  Dinsmore is 6 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds, with gray hair and green eyes. He was last seen wearing a colorful shirt, blue shorts and orange decks shoes.
  Police say Dinsmore has a cognitive impairment that poses a threat to his
  
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• Silver alert discontinued for elderly man with cognitive impairment

  22-07-2017 09:13 via kxan.com
  LEWISVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — Law enforcement have discontinued a silver alert for a man that they believed to be in danger.
  Police said 69-year-old Dinnie Dean Dinsmore was last seen at 4 p.m. Friday at a home in Lewisville, about 25 miles north of Dallas, driving a white 2012 Honda Accord.
  Dinsmore is 6 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds, with gray hair and green eyes. He was last seen wearing a colorful shirt, blue shorts and orange decks shoes.
  Police say Dinsmore has a cognitive impairment
  
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• Mail thieves working harder than usual this summer

  22-07-2017 05:33 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The United States Postal Service says they are seeing an unusually high number of mail theft cases in Central Texas.
  Right now the USPS has 25 open investigations and hope to make arrests soon.
  US Postal Inspector Mike Sullivan says the 78745 and 78749 zip codes are being targeted the most, which includes Delisa Bressler’s southwest Austin neighborhood.
  “Everybody was on the phones talking to each other, “Hey did you hear our mailboxes got hit?”
  
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• TxDOT suspends toll pay-by-mail invoices and violations

  22-07-2017 05:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Department of Transportation has suspended all toll pay-by-mail invoices and violations until they have their billing issues resolved.
  On Tuesday, the department said some TxTag customers were billed and sent violations in error. TXDOT says the problem stemmed from work the toll authorities were doing to allow tags to work in other states. As a result, information shared between all of the toll agencies was delayed.
  TxDOT said they’re in the process of
  
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• Greg Kelley case takes another turn with new accusations against second man

  22-07-2017 05:20 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — New details emerged Friday surrounding a man investigators are focused on in a child sexual assault case, as another man convicted of the crime, Greg Kelley, tries to clear his name.
  A new court document alleges Johnathan McCarty sexually assaulted four women using a date rape drug, according to a writ filed by Greg Kelley’s attorney.
  McCarty has not been charged in any sexual assault case, but he is being held in the Williamson County Jail on unrela
  
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• Olympic swimmer Brendan Hansen on MTTS

  22-07-2017 05:14 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Six-time Olympic medalist Brendan Hansen joins Roger Wallace on More than the Score. The Olympic swimmer and former Texas Longhorn now coaches at Austin Swim Club.
  
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• Austin experiencing labor shortage amid booming housing market

  22-07-2017 05:11 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A factor impacting housing affordability in Central Texas is the cost to build, and with that, the cost to pay for the work as Austin grapples with a labor shortage.
  The Home Builders Association of Greater Texas says simply put there just aren’t enough workers to meet the demand.
  “It’s a popular industry but it’s also an industry that is slowly getting toward retirement. The average age of the construction industry worker or trades labor is 50s
  
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• Spieth turns in a beauty on a nasty day at British Open

  22-07-2017 05:06 via kxan.com
  SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Jordan Spieth expected a rough time at the British Open before he even got to the golf course.He spent Friday morning at his rented house in front of the television, watching players battle a relentless wind at Royal Birkdale, all the while checking a forecast that was even worse for when he played in the afternoon.
  “It wasn’t a great feeling knowing we were coming into something harder than what we were watching,” he said.
  Spieth did more than j
  
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• ‘Bathroom bill’ passes Senate committee in special session despite protest

  22-07-2017 04:52 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Gov. Greg Abbott gave new life to a bill about bathroom privacy by putting it on his special session call. It passed a Senate panel late Friday evening, eight to one.
  The overwhelming majority of the 10-hour testimony was against the bill, but since lawmakers dealt with this issue from the regular session, many minds were already made up.
  Senate Bill 3 is very similar to what was known as Senate Bill 6 during the regular session, only now it includes athletic participation
  
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• Woman caught in Williamson Co. hiding 41 lbs. of meth in boat batteries

  22-07-2017 03:46 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Deputies arrested a woman during a traffic stop they say had 41 pounds of meth hidden inside batteries made for boats or jet skis.
  Williamson County deputies pulled over Jessica Verdiguel, 36, on Interstate 35 in Jarrell, near County Road 305, on Tuesday at 2:38 p.m.
  Verdiguel told them she was on her way from Laredo to Dallas for real estate classes, but they became suspicious of her after she acted nervously.
  41 lbs. of meth found in Williamson County (W
  
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• VIDEO: Armed robbery suspect with ‘large pointy nose’ hits more stores

  22-07-2017 03:44 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Police have released new surveillance video of an armed robbery suspect who is believed to be responsible for at least 10 robberies in Austin, Pflugerville and San Marcos.
  Described by police as 25-30 years old, around 6-feet tall, medium build, with dark hair and a “large pointy nose,” officers have added three aggravated robberies to the seven previously pinned on the suspect.
  They include: a May 25 robbery of the 7-Eleven at 17511 Schultz Ln. in Pflugerville
  
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• More than 250 sign up to testify in public hearing on ‘bathroom bill’

  22-07-2017 02:23 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs heard several hours of testimony from the public at a hearing regarding Senate Bill 3 and Senate Bill 91.
  The bills amount to legislation referred to as the “bathroom bill,” which would require that Texans use facilities based on their birth sex and not their gender identity.
  The legislation reads that “each multiple-occupancy restroom, shower and changing facility of a political subdivision, including a publi
  
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• Texas agriculture commissioner endorses Kid Rock for Senate

  22-07-2017 01:35 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Sid Miller has posted a “strong endorsement” of Kid Rock’s 2018 Michigan Senate bid on his Facebook page.
  The Texas agriculture commissioner acknowledged that he and Kid Rock, born Robert Ritchie, don’t share the same opinion on every position, but said they are much closer together on the issues than the Democratic incumbent, Debbie Stabenow.
  “I don’t care what Kid Rock looks like,” Miller posted Thursday. “He supports and de
  
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• Police departments hit with unexpected DPS lab fees

  22-07-2017 00:59 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Assistant Chief Cory Tchida says he was caught off guard after learning Thursday the Georgetown Police Department will now have to pay for lab work sent to the Department of Public Safety.
  “This was not something that was on our radar, the letter we received yesterday was really the first notice we were aware of, of the upcoming changes,” explains Tchida.
  DPS will start charging lab fees in September, a result of the legislature requiring the agency r
  
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• Kyle man, woman killed in fiery 18-wheeler crash in Caldwell County

  22-07-2017 00:32 via kxan.com
  CALDWELL COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A man and woman from Kyle were killed when the 18-wheeler they were in struck a tree and caught on fire over the weekend.
  The Texas Department of Public Safety says the crash happened around 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 16 on Farm to Market 2001 between State Highway 130 and County View Road just northwest of Lockhart.
  The truck driver, Jesus Santana, 53, and his passenger, Maria Turrubiartes-De Santana, 44, were traveling southeast at an unsafe speed when they dr
  
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• Austin to host citywide ‘play day’ to keep kids active

  22-07-2017 00:28 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin’s Parks Department is working to keep children fit by letting them go wild.
  “Rock Climbing!” shouted 6-year-old Ethan Farbar, excited to play Friday.
  He was at Austin’s Palmer Events Center as part of his summer camp — climbing walls, playing soccer, among other activities. Ethan wants all other kids to do the same.
  “Because they’re not getting exercise and great muscles,” he said.
  Keep Austin Playing is hosting it
  
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• Another fox tests positive for rabies in same part of San Marcos

  22-07-2017 00:20 via kxan.com
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — A fox showing unusual behavior in San Marcos on Wednesday has tested positive for rabies, making it the second rabies case in the city in less than a month.
  The fox in the most recent case was found in the 1400 block of Wonder World Drive, just east of Interstate 35 and next to the StarPlex 12 movie theater.
  The last case, on June 28, involved a dog that was exposed to rabies after being attacked by a fox in the exact same area. Tests determined the fox that atta
  
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