Austin news

• Video released of BMW plunging 7 floors from downtown parking garage

  10-08-2017 23:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The gripping surveillance video begins with an SUV making a slow turnaround in a downtown alley, before suddenly braking as the driver hears a noise.
  That driver, William Burch, had his window down and heard the noise — what he would soon find out was a BMW falling from a parking garage level, seven stories above, as seen in video released by the Austin Police Department on Thursday.
  The BMW sedan crashes front-first into the pavement, before violently bouncing back o
  
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• VIDEO: BMW plunges 7 floors from downtown parking garage

  10-08-2017 23:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The gripping surveillance video begins with an SUV making a slow turnaround in a downtown alley, before suddenly braking as the driver hears a noise.
  That driver, William Burch, had his window down and heard the noise — what he would soon find out was a BMW falling from a parking garage level, seven stories above, as seen in video released by the Austin Police Department on Thursday.
  The BMW sedan crashes front-first into the pavement, before violently bouncing back o
  
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• Richard Overton, nation’s oldest veteran, taken to hospital with pneumonia

  10-08-2017 22:16 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin’s most famous centenarian, and the nation’s oldest living veteran, has been taken to the hospital for treatment of pneumonia in both lungs.
  Richard Overton, who turned 111 years old on May 11, was scheduled to welcome media tours of his recently renovated house on Friday, but Meals on Wheels Central Texas says he has fallen ill.
  Volma Overton, Richard’s nephew, says his uncle is doing better than he was Wednesday night when he was taken to the hospi
  
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• VIDEO: Police rescue man found nailed to a tree in New Mexico

  10-08-2017 20:56 via kxan.com
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Newly-released video shows how first responders worked to free a man who had been nailed to a tree in Bosque, N.M.
  Back in May, a city worker discovered a man, both hands nailed to a tree and screaming for help. “He kept yelling, ‘Help. Help,’ and so I came and I saw him and I kind of freaked out because I didn’t know if there was any other guys around,” the city worker told police.
  The officer finally found Jose Duran nailed to a tr
  
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• Llano driver license office temporarily closed

  10-08-2017 20:28 via kxan.com
  LLANO, Texas (KXAN) — A broken water pipe has shut down the driver license office in Llano.
  The Texas Department of Public Safety says the pipe malfunctioned Wednesday evening and flooded the office. The office will be closed until further notice as the department works to complete the necessary repairs.
  While the Llano office remains closed, customers needing assistance will need to travel approximately 30 miles to the Marble Falls Driver License Office located at 1405A Mormon Mill Road.
  
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• Walmart considers face recognition technology to determine your needs

  10-08-2017 20:00 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In an effort to turn your frown upside down, Walmart could use a video system to monitor customers’ facial expressions.
  A recent patent filing suggests the company may be working on the system to alert employees to respond to customers if shoppers appear frustrated or unhappy. Employees can then help them make a selection or find something within the store, in an effort to boost customer service and address issues before customers complain, according to Business Insid
  
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• Bank teller fired, accused of stealing thousands of dollars

  10-08-2017 19:21 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A bank teller with a record of theft and fraud is accused of stealing more than $11,000 from customers through unauthorized withdrawals.
  Lacresha Jackson, 35, was fired from the Capitol Credit Union located at 11902 Burnet Rd. at the beginning of June when management learned she had been withdrawing cash from members accounts without permission over the past few months, according to an arrest warrant. When management questioned her about the transactions, she denied co
  
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• NAACP challenges Austin mayor on budget, institutional racism

  10-08-2017 18:28 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Members of the Austin NAACP challenged city Mayor Steve Adler and other city leaders on their proposed budget Thursday morning.
  The civil rights group said the city’s financial blue print does not allocate enough money to fund initiatives designed to revitalize Austin’s predominantly African-American neighborhoods, like east Austin.
  “The resources required to revitalize the ‘Spirit of East Austin’ and [Adler’s] subsequent ‘Task Forc
  
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• Honeywell WiFi thermostats added to Austin Energy’s rebate program

  10-08-2017 18:21 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you are contemplating a new Wi-Fi enabled thermostat, Austin Energy has added another option that can save you some money.
  Honeywell Inc. has been added to the utility company’s Power Partner Thermostat Program. Austin Energy customers who purchase and install a qualifying Honeywell Wi-Fi thermostat will receive a $25 rebate.
  If you purchased your Honeywell thermostat last month, you’re still eligible to receive the rebate as long as the purchase was made in
  
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• Taylor Swift testifies former DJ groped her under her skirt

  10-08-2017 17:30 via kxan.com
  DENVER (AP) — Taylor Swift testified Thursday that a former radio DJ reached under her skirt and intentionally grabbed her backside underneath her skirt during a meet-and-a-greet photo session before a 2013 concert in Denver.
  “He stayed attached to my bare ass-cheek as I lurched away from him,” the pop star testified in federal court during a trial over the claim.
  Despite being stunned, Swift said she did not say anything to David Mueller about it because she did not want other
  
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• Taylor Swift doesn’t sugar-coat testimony in groping case

  10-08-2017 17:30 via kxan.com
  DENVER (AP) — A defiant and occasionally exasperated Taylor Swift insisted during a whirlwind hour of testimony Thursday that a Denver disc jockey grabbed her bare backside and held on for a long time during a meet-and-greet before a concert.
  The pop superstar used explicit language that seemed designed to avoid sugar-coating what she said was a sexual assault when she posed for a picture with David Mueller in 2013.
  “He stayed attached to my bare ass-cheek as I lurched away from him,
  
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• Babysitters arrested after posting Snapchat of putting infant in fridge

  10-08-2017 17:18 via kxan.com
  DANVERS, Mass. (WFLA) – Two underage girls were arrested in Massachusetts this week after video surfaced of them putting a crying baby in a refrigerator while they were babysitting.
  Video posted to Snapchat shows the girls laughing as one of them places the crying baby in the refrigerator before she closes the door completely and says “bye.”
  The baby remains in the fridge for a few seconds until one of the teens opens the door and removes the screaming infant.
  The child wa
  
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• Body cam video released of South Carolina officer shooting, killing suspect

  10-08-2017 16:05 via kxan.com
  PENDLETON, S.C. (WYFF) — A South Carolina police officer has been cleared of wrongdoing in the April shooting death of a suspect.
  Newly released body camera footage shows the fatal encounter.
  Eighth Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo released his final report on the shooting Tuesday and said the Pendleton Police Department officer “fired his service weapon into the vehicle to defuse a lethal threat to both himself and the public.”
  The officer was responding to a domestic viole
  
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• Chip in credit cards can fall out, be removed and stolen

  10-08-2017 15:47 via kxan.com
  TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – You know those new chip credit or debit cards you’re using because they’re supposed to be “safer than the old ones?”
  This time, it’s not just scam artists behind the security problem. It’s the little chip embedded in the corner of the plastic that’s reportedly opening the door to this latest cyber security situation.
  “There is evidence that they’ve not only fallen out of cards, but they’ve been stolen or remov
  
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• Prisoner on Texas death row found dead in prison cell

  10-08-2017 15:31 via kxan.com
  LIVINGSTON, Texas (AP) — A convicted killer sentenced to death three times for the 1983 botched robbery and fatal shooting of a Houston bar owner has died on Texas death row of apparent natural causes.
  Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Robert Hurst says 71-year-old Raymond Deleon Martinez was found unresponsive Wednesday in his cell at the Polunsky Unit outside Livingston.
  Martinez’s original death sentence was overturned in 1988 for a jury selection problem. A second de
  
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• City council addresses old pools, robotic deliveries

  10-08-2017 14:56 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Here’s a quick rundown of some of the items topping Thursday’s city council agenda.
  Aquatic Master Plan Council is schedule to adopt the Parks and Recreation Department’s Aquatic Master Plan. Construction of city pools began back in the early 1930s and were meant to operate for about 50 years. The standard operating lifespan of a pool facility is nationally recognized as 25 years, according to the agenda. Most of the facilities in Austin have either e
  
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• Walmart sign appears to market guns as back-to-school item

  10-08-2017 14:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Walmart is trying to figure out how a sign that reads “Own the school year like a hero” ended on top of a glass case filled with guns.
  It is not clear who took the original photo, but a Twitter user tweeted the photo Wednesday along with a caption. According to the person’s account, it doesn’t appear that they responded to any of the comments, even after Walmart commented on it stating, “This is definitely not okay, Sara. We’re very sorry
  
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• 100 Williamson County cats could be killed if they’re not adopted

  10-08-2017 14:01 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — The animal shelter in Georgetown is hoping the community will help a number of cats before their nine lives run out.
  The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter announced Wednesday that it must find homes for 100 cats in three days, or it will have to start euthanizing them because it doesn’t have space to keep them all.
  The organization called it a “heartbreaking decision” in a Facebook post. In the first 15 hours, the post was shared almost
  
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• The pursuit of the Grand Slam begins for Jordan Spieth

  10-08-2017 13:52 via kxan.com
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Spieth begins his pursuit of the final leg of the career Grand Slam under a surprisingly blue sky at the PGA Championship.
  Scattered storms are in the forecast all week at Quail Hollow Club, which is likely to make the 7,600-yard course feel even longer. Spieth, needing only the PGA Championship to have all four majors, at least begins his round on the par-5 10th hole.
  One of the most significant changes was combining the opening two holes into one at 524 yard
  
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• Olesen grabs early lead on tough day of scoring in PGA

  10-08-2017 13:52 via kxan.com
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 4-under 67 and a one-shot lead among early starters in a PGA Championship that was making it hard for Jordan Spieth and just about everyone else at Quail Hollow.
  Not since 2010 at Whistling Straits has a score as high as 67 led the opening round of the PGA Championship.
  Spieth was happy to get through with a 72 in his quest to become the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam.
  
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• Chipotle closes Dallas restaurant after rodent sightings

  10-08-2017 13:40 via kxan.com
  DALLAS (AP) — Chipotle has temporarily closed a Dallas location where a diner posted video of rodents inside the restaurant.
  A spokeswoman for Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said Wednesday that the restaurant will remain closed while the company thoroughly checks out the 100-year-old building in Dallas’ West End neighborhood.
  Last month, a diner posted video online that showed three small rodents near a door, including one climbing a wall.
  Denver-based Chipotle said at the time that a f
  
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• Former Texas Gov. Mark White gets final farewell

  10-08-2017 13:37 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texans lined up by the hundreds to pay their respects to former Gov. Mark White, who died Saturday at the age of 77.
  White’s body was carried into the Capitol to lie in state, as his wife, Linda Gale White, shook the hands of lawmakers and others who offered condolences.
  The Democrat from Henderson, who served four years starting in 1983, was known for his approach to public education.
  “We will remember him as an extraordinary education governor who was willi
  
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• Former Gov. Mark White lies in state at Capitol

  10-08-2017 13:37 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Prior to being buried at the Texas State Cemetery Thursday afternoon, former Texas Gov. Mark White will lie in state in the capitol rotunda from 12 p.m.-3 p.m.
  The public wishing to pay their respects will need to line-up and come in from the west entrance to the rotunda and file past the casket, which will be placed beneath White’s portrait. During that time, the north passage into the rotunda will be closed.
  The funeral procession is expected to enter the capitol fr
  
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• Details on former Gov. Mark White’s lying in state

  10-08-2017 13:37 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Prior to being buried at the Texas State Cemetery Thursday afternoon, former Texas Gov. Mark White will lie in state in the capitol rotunda from 12 p.m.-3 p.m.
  The public wishing to pay their respects will need to line-up and come in from the west entrance to the rotunda and file past the casket, which will be placed beneath White’s portrait. During that time, the north passage into the rotunda will be closed.
  The funeral procession is expected to enter the capitol fr
  
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• 560 free smoke alarms available for Austin Fire study

  10-08-2017 13:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Fire Department has been chosen to participate in a research study on how cities can create and better promote smoke alarm installation programs.
  It was only one of three chosen across the country including Rochester, N.Y., and Los Angeles, Calif
  The three departments were picked because of their commitment to fire prevention and well-established smoke alarm installation programs. Each year, AFD installs more than 2,500 free alarms in homes through
  
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• WATCH: Battery inside woman’s purse explodes, catches fire

  10-08-2017 12:48 via kxan.com
  BOULDER CITY, Nev. (KXAN) — Sparks can fly at city council meetings when a hot topic is brought up, but at a recent Boulder City, Nev., meeting the sparks turned into fire.
  In the middle of Tuesday’s meeting, a battery inside a woman’s purse exploded and caught fire. The woman was sitting directly behind a man speaking at a podium, which was being recorded city cameras.
  When the purse caught fire, the woman immediately threw the purse off of her lap. The purse was hot enough to
  
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• Thousands of students move as ACC Rio Grande campus renovated

  10-08-2017 12:21 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thousands of Austin Community College students are being moved to other campuses starting this year because of major renovations happening at the Rio Grande campus downtown.
  This is one of six major projects funded through a $386 million bond voters approved back in 2014. Thursday at 9 a.m. a groundbreaking ceremony will kick off the work and Congressman Lloyd Doggett, a graduate of the original Austin High School, and Austin Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo will attend.
  The Rio G
  
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• Austin Code’s ‘Repeat Offender Program’ could increase utility bills

  10-08-2017 05:55 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A potential increase in your utility bill could go toward funding the oversight needed to hold landlords accountable for fixing their own properties.
  KXAN has reported on the struggles to crack down on apartments on Austin Code’s Repeat Offender List. These properties are ones that have racked up health and safety violations, including a lack of hot water and structural issues.
  Wednesday, Austin Code made a budget presentation to the city council that included a
  
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• Foreman produces as Watson grabs the spotlight in Texans preseason opener

  10-08-2017 05:53 via kxan.com
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Deshaun Watson shined in his NFL preseason debut, completing 15 of 25 passes for 179 yards and running for a score in the Houston Texans’ 27-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday night.
  Watson, who led Clemson to the ACC championship on this field last December en route to the national championship, received a rousing ovation from Tigers fans dressed in orange when he entered the game in the second quarter.
  The cheers were even louder when Watson outran
  
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• Former APD officer sues department, Acevedo over firing

  10-08-2017 05:31 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin police officer fired in 2016 is now suing the department, saying his employment was wrongfully terminated.
  The Austin Police Department, the police monitor, former Chief Art Acevedo and additional command staff are named in the suit.
  Carlos Saldivar, who worked as a firearms instructor for the department, was fired on Feb. 23, 2016 — after previous suspensions — for leaving work early in August 2015 and not telling a supervisor.
  In the lawsuit, Saldiva
  
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• Low-flying Russian surveillance plane over Washington creates buzz

  10-08-2017 03:51 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A low-flying Russian airplane created a buzz in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, but it turns out the surveillance flight over the Capitol, Pentagon and other sites was cleared by the U.S. government under a long-standing global treaty.
  The flight, which was filmed by The Associated Press, was permitted under the Open Skies Treaty.
  Russia and the United States are signatories to the treaty, which allows unarmed observation flights over the entire territory of all
  
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• Krispy Kreme creates new chocolate glazed doughnut for solar eclipse

  10-08-2017 03:37 via kxan.com
  TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Chocolate lovers! The wait for your new favorite Krispy Kreme doughnut is over.
  Krispy Kreme is making its first ever chocolate glazed doughnut, which is obviously a very important moment in Doughnut History.
  But there’s a catch — you’ll only be able to get it for one day.
  “Why?” you may ask. Because the doughnuts debut is to celebrate the darkness that will take over parts of the U.S. when the solar eclipse passes through on Aug. 21.
  The
  
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• Newlyweds die in crash hours after their wedding

  10-08-2017 03:26 via kxan.com
  WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Tuesday the family of Rebekah Bouma met in grief and celebration of memories of their lost loved ones. The family said goodbye to the couple that was killed in the crash, hours after their wedding. They say their 19-year-old daughter and her late husband, Austin Wesson, were meant for each other and they’re relying on their faith to get them through this.
  KSN spoke with the parents and siblings of Rebekah Bouma who say this day was not about remembering their d
  
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• DiGiorno Pizza spill closes interstate for hours

  10-08-2017 03:06 via kxan.com
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas highway officials shut down westbound lanes of a cross-country interstate for four hours so crews could pick up pizza.
  An 18-wheeler containing DiGiorno and Tombstone frozen pizzas scraped a bridge support and sliced open its trailer Wednesday, spilling them across Interstate 30 in front of the Arkansas Department of Transportation office. Agency spokesman Danny Straessle said the bridge had only cosmetic damage.
  I-30 was closed for a time in both directio
  
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• Emergency responders announce opposition to property tax bill

  10-08-2017 02:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Lawmakers will vote on Saturday to determine how much power cities will have to raise or lower taxes
  Senate Bill 1 would trigger a vote for property tax rate increases over 6 percent.
  Proponents of the bill aim to lower property taxes. In a July 22 public hearing in the Select Committee on Government Reform, Sen. Van Taylor, R-Plano, held a stack of more than 400 letters from constituents worrying about property tax increases.
  “The purpose of government is not to t
  
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• Texas bill would freeze new city home building rules for 7 years

  10-08-2017 02:21 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A proposal at the State Capitol would limit city and county home building rules for seven years beginning in December.
  City leaders and representatives from the powerful city organizations like the Texas Municipal League worry that it could get in the way of a city of Austin overhaul of its zoning code.
  Construction crews fill the city of Austin daily. The city rules they build by sometimes move too fast for State Rep. Cecil Bell, R-Magnolia.
  “It’s a problem whe
  
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• Austin doctors create their own campaign to reduce painkiller use

  10-08-2017 02:13 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The move to declare a public health emergency on prescription painkillers is on hold Wednesday night. President Donald Trump hasn’t taken steps to do that yet, but some Austin-area doctors are launching their own campaign to make sure patients don’t get hooked.
  For Ryan Smith, it’s a once-a-week visit to a chiropractor. He injured his back more than a decade ago while playing college football. Back then, doctors gave him the prescription painkiller hydroco
  
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• Six accused of dealing thousands of bags of K2 in Austin

  10-08-2017 01:10 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Separate investigations led to the arrest of six people on charges of possession with intent to distribute K2 in Austin last week.
  The Austin Police Department Organized Crime Division Narcotics Team, along with other state agencies, rounded up the six facing federal indictments on Thursday, Aug. 3.
  The investigations focused on those responsible for making thousands of bags of K2 in Houston and distributing it in Austin. Police say the investigations began during the rash
  
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• Attorney general’s lawsuit over sanctuary cities bill dismissed

  10-08-2017 00:49 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday he was disappointed a U.S. district court judge refused his request to consolidate multiple lawsuits filed against Senate Bill 4, known as the sanctuary cities bill.
  Less than a day after Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 4 into law on May 7, Paxton filed the lawsuit asking the court to uphold the constitutionality of the law, in what was described as an attempt to set a precedent that would deter future lawsuits.
  Paxton vowed to continue
  
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