Austin news

• Hurricane Harvey closes key oil, gas operations in Texas

  26-08-2017 21:33 via kxan.com
  DALLAS (AP) — Key oil and gas facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast have temporarily shut down as Hurricane Harvey pounds the region with torrential rain and high winds, virtually assuring gasoline prices will rise in the storm’s aftermath.
  Even before the Harvey made landfall late Friday, dozens of oil and gas platforms had been evacuated, at least three refineries had closed and at least two petrochemical plants had suspended operations.
  How soon they reopen depends on the severity
  
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• One reported dead in Rockport

  26-08-2017 21:30 via kxan.com
  ROCKPORT, Texas (KXAN) — There has been one reported fatality in Rockport stemming from Hurricane Harvey, according to Aransas County Judge C.H. “Burt” Mills, Jr.
  Twelve to 14 people suffered minor injuries during the storm.
  The Rockport, Fulton and Aransas County communities lost several public buildings including the library, two practice gyms at the high school and an auditorium.
  Together with Judge Mills, the Mayor of Fulton, Jimmy Kendrick, said residents who evacuated fro
  
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• Abbott adds Caldwell, Lee counties to disaster declaration

  26-08-2017 20:39 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Gov. Greg Abbott was briefed on the situation along the Texas coast Saturday morning, spoke with mayors of communities in the storm’s wake and offered, “any and all help the State of Texas can provide.”
  Abbott briefed the media on the rescue and recovery effort saying:
  There are about 1,450 evacuees in Red Cross Shelters
  About 338,000 power outages have been reported as a result of Harvey
  There will be more than 1,800 service members in the Texas National
  
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• Red Cross needs $10M to respond to Harvey

  26-08-2017 20:32 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Mayor of Austin assured residents Saturday morning that teams are ready and prepared for anything that happens when it comes to Tropical Storm Harvey.
  Steve Adler said the situation is at a Level 7 and the Red Cross needs to raise about $10 million in order to respond. The Red Cross Shelter in Austin manages and directs an 80-county area. Thousands of people have been trained as volunteers.
  “This is a city that trains for this kind of event, plans for this kind of
  
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• PHOTOS: KXAN viewers share Hurricane Harvey pictures

  26-08-2017 19:19 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Hurricane Harvey moves inland, bringing rain and winds, viewers share what they’re seeing where they live.
  Submit your own photos or videos through this link to KXAN’s Report It. PHOTOS: KXAN Viewers share Hurricane Harvey pictures A dock on Lake Travis comes loose during Hurricane Harvey (Courtesy Ann Morely)A downed tree on Congress and Riverside in Austin during Hurricane Harvey (Courtesy Becky Russoniello)Tree damage during Hurricane Harvey (Courtesy Dave
  
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• PHOTOS: Hurricane Harvey damage in Central Texas

  26-08-2017 19:19 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Hurricane Harvey moves inland, bringing rain and winds, viewers share what they’re seeing where they live.
  Submit your own photos or videos through this link to KXAN’s Report It. PHOTOS: Hurricane Harvey damage in Central Texas A dock on Lake Travis comes loose during Hurricane Harvey (Courtesy Ann Morely)A downed tree on Congress and Riverside in Austin during Hurricane Harvey (Courtesy Becky Russoniello)Tree damage during Hurricane Harvey (Courtesy Dave Wha
  
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• Harvey rolls over Texas coast, smashes homes and businesses

  26-08-2017 18:47 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Hurricane Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them.
  The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade came ashore late Friday about 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi as a mammoth Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds. It weakened overnight to Category 1.
  But the storm’s
  
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• A timeline of Hurricane Harvey’s development

  26-08-2017 18:45 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on Friday night as the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. By Saturday morning, it had dumped 18 inches (half a meter) of rain on some areas, and forecasters warned that it could cause catastrophic flooding in the coming days.
  Here is a timeline of key moments in the storm’s development:
  — Aug. 17, 4 p.m., Tropical Storm Harvey is named, six hours after the National Hurricane Center in M
  
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• Inmates evacuated from Texas prisons as Brazos River rises

  26-08-2017 18:19 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — About 4,500 inmates are being evacuated from three state prisons in Rosharon, Texas, as the Brazos River rises, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced Saturday.
  The inmates from the Ramsey, Terrell and Stringfellow units are being loaded onto TDCJ buses along with correctional officers and are setting out for prisons in East Texas.
  Families may contact TDCJ’s 24-hour hotline at (936) 437-4927 or 1-844-476-1289 to obtain information about an inmate.
  
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• 'Alicia, I'm okay. I love you': Officer asks KXAN crew to text wife after Hurricane Harvey

  26-08-2017 17:27 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As KXAN meteorologist David Yeomans managed to find cell service in Rockport, a police officer pulled up and handed him a note.
  “Please text my wife for me, she thinks I’m dead,” he told David.
  His note reads, “Alicia I’m okay. I love you. Don’t text back. Tell Hunter (his newborn) I love him.”
  
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• UNT enrolling students displaced by Hurricane Harvey

  26-08-2017 17:14 via kxan.com
  DENTON, Texas (KXAN) — College students forced from their schools because of Hurricane Harvey will be able to enroll at the University of North Texas to continue their education.
  The university is working with students to quickly enroll them so they can start the fall semester, according to a release.
  “As we watch the news about Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Texas’ Gulf Coast, our thoughts are with the people affected,” UNT President Neal Smatresk said. “Our un
  
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• How to help Hurricane Harvey survivors

  26-08-2017 17:03 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Hurricane Harvey leaves destruction in its wake, there are ways to help those who survived the storm.
  The Austin Disaster Relief Network, which includes more than 175 Austin churches and thousands of trained volunteers, calls this “one of the largest responses in their history.” It activated a call center to provide information and resources to families and manage offers to help them. Their survivor hotline is 512-806-0800.
  ADRN is holding a Hope Family Thrif
  
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• Facebook down? It’s not just you.

  26-08-2017 16:13 via kxan.com
  (WCMH) — If you’re having trouble with Facebook this morning, you’re not alone.
  The world’s largest social network is experiencing technical difficulties as of 9:12am Saturday. Most of the issues appear to be affecting users in the northeastern United States and the Midwest.
  According to DownDetector.com, there are more than 2,500 users who have reported an issue with Facebook. Most users are experiencing issues logging in while 41% of users have reported a total blackout
  
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• START HERE: Central Texas flood resources

  26-08-2017 16:03 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Here’s all you need to know as Hurricane Harvey moves through Central Texas.
  LIVE BLOG: The latest from around the state
  EVACUATIONS: List of mandatory evacuations
  SHELTER LIST: Where evacuees can go
  POWER OUTAGES: Information on how to get updates and what to do
  LOW WATER CROSSINGS: Updates on what’s open and closed
  RAINFALL TOTALS: Check how much has fallen in your area
  RADAR: Follow the storm
  WATCHES/WARNINGS: The latest alerts
  FLIGHT INFO: Airline policies f
  
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• START HERE: Austin storm resources

  26-08-2017 16:03 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Here’s all you need to know as Hurricane Harvey moves through Central Texas.
  LIVE BLOG: The latest from around the state
  SHELTER LIST: Where evacuees can go
  POWER OUTAGES: Information on how to get updates and what to do
  LOW WATER CROSSINGS: Updates on what’s open and closed
  RAINFALL TOTALS: Check how much has fallen in your area
  RADAR: Follow the storm
  WATCHES/WARNINGS: The latest alerts
  FLIGHT INFO: Airline policies for Harvey cancellations
  
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• The Latest: Tornado hits Houston-area community

  26-08-2017 15:20 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Harvey (all times local):
  7:25 p.m.
  Marilyn Shaughnessy didn’t expect the worst of Tropical Storm Harvey to hit the Houston area until Sunday. But she opened a window Saturday afternoon to see a tornado bearing down on her house.
  The tornado wound through the Houston suburb of Cypress, damaging several homes and buildings but causing no apparent injuries.
  Shaughnessy, a retired police officer, says she had her family run to their l
  
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• The Latest: Tornado confirmed in Louisiana parish

  26-08-2017 15:20 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Harvey (all times local):
  4:50 p.m.
  Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says the National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado touched down in the Cameron Parish town of Hackberry.
  The tornado hit about 12:25 p.m. Saturday. Edwards says there were no reports of injuries or fatalities but there was “significant property damage.”
  Meteorologist Jared Rackley says officials have yet to survey the area, but photos show an overturne
  
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• The Latest: Texas inmates being moved due to flooding risk

  26-08-2017 15:20 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Harvey (all times local):
  11 a.m.
  Texas officials say they are evacuating about 4,500 inmates from three state prisons in Brazoria County south of Houston because the nearby Brazos River is rising from Hurricane Harvey’s heavy rain.
  The Department of Criminal Justice says inmates from the Ramsey, Terrell, and Stringfellow Units in Rosharon are being taken by bus to other prisons in east Texas.
  Additional food and water has been del
  
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• The Latest: Port Aransas mayor says damage ‘massive’

  26-08-2017 15:20 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Harvey (all times local):
  3:15 p.m.
  The mayor of the island city of Port Aransas, Texas, says officials haven’t been able to determine yet how much destruction was caused there by Hurricane Harvey because of the “massive” amount of damage they’ve so far encountered.
  Mayor Charles Bujan said Saturday afternoon that no injuries or fatalities have been found in Port Aransas so far. He said that with the help of heavy
  
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• The Latest: Harvey’s rain freezes traffic near Galveston

  26-08-2017 15:20 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Harvey (all times local):
  9 a.m.
  The rain was so torrential along Interstate 45 coming out of Galveston as Hurricane Harvey settled over southeast Texas that motorists had to stop under bridges to avoid driving in whiteout conditions.
  The downpour on Saturday has also caused minor street flooding along a highway in Dickinson, about 25 miles northwest of Galveston.
  Harvey, the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade, made
  
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• The Latest: Harvey downgraded to a tropical storm

  26-08-2017 15:20 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Harvey (all times local):
  1 p.m.
  The National Hurricane Center has downgraded Harvey from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm.
  But officials say they are still worried about potentially catastrophic rainfall that will continue for days, with more than 40 inches and flash flooding possible even well inland.
  Harvey came ashore Friday along the Texas Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds, the most powerful hurricane to
  
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• The Latest: Coast Guard prepares Houston-area storms

  26-08-2017 15:20 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Harvey (all times local):
  6:15 p.m.
  The U.S. Coast Guard has stationed rescue boats and planes at several locations around parts of Southeast Texas affected by Tropical Storm Harvey.
  The Coast Guard’s Houston-Galveston sector protects the coastline near the nation’s fourth-largest city, a region home to a critical port and major oil refineries.
  Capt. Kevin Oditt, the sector commander, told reporters Saturday that he’s c
  
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• PHOTOS: How Texans prepared for Hurricane Harvey

  26-08-2017 13:23 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Hurricane Harvey was barreling towards the Texas coast, some people took to the waves with a surfboard while others took the warnings seriously and evacuated. How Texans prepared for Hurricane Harvey Mark Metzger carries his surfboard through the water in Galveston, Texas as Hurricane Harvey intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Harvey is forecast to be a major hurricane when it makes landfall along the middle Texas coastline. (AP Photo/David J. Philli
  
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• Franklin Barbeque smokehouse destroyed in fire

  26-08-2017 12:51 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The uber-popular Franklin Barbeque will be closed for an unknown amount of time after a fire destroyed the restaurant’s smokehouse early Saturday morning.
  The Austin Fire Department says the fire started just before 5:30 a.m. after the wind blew an ember from the fire pit and it hit the backside of the building. When firefighters got there, there was heavy smoke coming from the backside of the building.
  A cook who was working at the time called 911 to report the
  
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• Franklin Barbecue pit damaged in fire, restaurant OK

  26-08-2017 12:51 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Firefighters knocked down a fire at the uber-popular Franklin Barbecue Saturday morning.
  While the pit sustained damage, the restaurant was saved and only has light smoke damage, according to Battalion Chief Thayer Smith. The two are in separate buildings.
  Austin Fire Department reports the second floor on the backside of the building was heavily involved in flame and at one point crews are worked defensively. It reports the fire started at 5:27 a.m. and a cook who was
  
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• Franklin Barbecue is on fire

  26-08-2017 12:51 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Firefighters are battling a fire at the uber-popular Franklin Barbecue Saturday morning.
  Austin Fire Department reports the second floor on the backside of the building is heavily involved in flame and crews are working defensively. It reports the fire started at 5:27 a.m. as people were getting ready to cook for the day.
  By 6:05 a.m. AFD reported the fire was under control and no one was injured.
  Franklin Barbecue is located at 900 E. 11th St. It’s well known for its
  
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• Spicewood man unaccounted for after ship reportedly sank during Harvey

  26-08-2017 11:37 via kxan.com
  ARANSAS PASS, Texas (KXAN) — A Spicewood man is unaccounted for after the boat he was on in Aransas Pass reportedly sank as Hurricane Harvey roared onto shore Friday night.
  The last video T.J. Rutland posted on Facebook was at 7 p.m. He showed the water churning around the ship he was on in a 30-second clip. Someone off-camera could be heard saying along the lines of “evacuate the setup” but most of the audio is inaudible. Rutland’s wife, Magen Nelson-Rutland, told KENS 5
  
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• Puppy found stuffed inside backpack, left in truck bed in Tampa

  26-08-2017 10:55 via kxan.com
  TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The story involves a backpack, a puppy and a U.S. Air Force veteran. Thankfully, it all adds up to a happy ending for a little dog now named “Zeus.”
  Jerry Murray got home from work and spotted something he never expected to see in the bed of his truck.
  “I’m standing here like this and I hear a noise and I look in the back and we meet eyes,” he told News Channel 8.
  The big, blue eyes of a grey and white puppy looked up at him from insi
  
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• Officials in Rockport assessing damage as they are able

  26-08-2017 10:18 via kxan.com
  ROCKPORT, Texas (AP) — Emergency personnel in Aransas County, Texas, are assessing damage reports from Hurricane Harvey as they are able.
  Rockport Volunteer Fire Department spokeswoman Gillian Cox tells the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that the roof of Rockport’s high school has partially caved in. But Cox says social media posts that the school has “disappeared” are inaccurate.
  As of 3 a.m., the RVFD posted on Facebook stating everyone with the volunteer fire department i
  
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• ABIA baggage handler to spend 18 months in prison for stealing guns

  26-08-2017 08:45 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A baggage handler at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will spend 18 months in prison for stealing guns from checked luggage.
  Ja’Quan Johnson, 26, was sentenced in federal court Friday morning. In June, Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of theft from an interstate shipment and one count of possession of a stolen firearm.
  Johnson admitted that he stole seven handguns from passengers bags from November 2016 to February 2017. Police said the first complaint c
  
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• National security aide Sebastian Gorka leaves White House

  26-08-2017 08:30 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Another aide to President Donald Trump has left the White House.
  National security aide Sebastian Gorka says he has resigned. For its part, the White House says Gorka didn’t resign but no longer works there.
  An ally of former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, Gorka took a hard-line view on immigration and terrorism that led to discord inside and outside the White House.
  Gorka was a former editor for the conservative Breitbart News website. He joined the administration
  
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• A big team effort to protect House Park from flooding

  26-08-2017 07:03 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — At least two dozen volunteers showed up Friday afternoon to make sure House Park doesn’t become inundated with flood waters.
  Local players, cheerleaders, parents and coaches started showing up at House Park around 6 p.m.
  “It started with just four people — I’d say this is good progress,” said high school senior Robert Abernathy while shoveling sand into sandbags. That four grew to two dozen.
  They were all working on forming a barrier
  
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• All hands on deck for Harvey at Austin/Travis County Emergency Operations Center

  26-08-2017 06:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Representatives from city of Austin and Travis County departments are all on standby at the emergency operations center, ready to dispatch crews at moment’s notice. From fire to parks and recreation, all are on hand and in the same room for a coordinated response whenever we start feeling the effects of Hurricane Harvey in Austin.
  “We don’t know yet what the impacts are going to be in our community from a severe weather standpoint. Never, ever do we w
  
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• Residents along Colorado River in Fayette Co. advised to evacuate

  26-08-2017 06:14 via kxan.com
  LA GRANGE, Texas (KXAN) — A shelter opened at Second Baptist Church in La Grange Friday evening for people who live in Fayette County; it came as concerns rose over the potential for high water in the Colorado River and elsewhere.
  Some who live near the river were advised to evacuate.
  Scott Marshall said a county constable told him and his family they should leave their house on the banks on the river. Friday evening they were packing up a rented trailer with their belongings.
  Marshall sai
  
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• La Grange hotels feel the strain of people fleeing Harvey

  26-08-2017 06:04 via kxan.com
  LA GRANGE, Texas (KXAN) — Hotels in Fayette County filled up fast Thursday and Friday as people fled coastal communities threatened by Hurricane Harvey.
  Best Western Inn and Suites, situated right off State Highway 71 like most of La Grange, was turning people away throughout the day because they were completely booked up.
  The people who had rooms, like Gloria Quintanilla and three other generations of her family who came to town from El Campo, brought with them far more than just an overn
  
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• Rockport residents seek shelter with Austin family, friends

  26-08-2017 05:10 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Homeowners in Rockport made their way to Austin Friday, to seek shelter and safety with family members and friends.
  Frank and Barbara McKay left the coastal city around 9 a.m. and drove nearly four hours to Austin, to seek safety with their daughter’s family.
  Although they were happy to make the trip safely to meet loved ones, the couple is concerned about what may happen to their retirement home, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
  The McKay’s Rockport retire
  
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• Mobile Medical Unit on standby to help with Hurricane Harvey

  26-08-2017 05:00 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Two trailers parked outside the Georgetown Public Safety and Operations Training Center are packed with tents, electrical equipment, beds and much more. All of the supplies make up the Mobile Medical Unit for the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force District 7.
  The mobile medical unit contains an inflatable shelter and enough supplies to create a 16-bed hospital.
  “So that we can come into a local jurisdiction that has been damaged or that had multiple people
  
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• WATCH: KXAN’s David Yeomans reporting from inside Hurricane Harvey

  26-08-2017 04:45 via kxan.com
  ROCKPORT, Texas (KXAN) — KXAN’s Hurricane Expert David Yeomans is in Rockport where Hurricane Harvey is making landfall. Yeomans along with the rest of the KXAN team are staying in the Fairfield Inn, which sustained damage as the storm moved in.
  Yeomans says half the hotel is damaged. The hotel originally had approximately 120 people there but after 9:30 p.m., when the eye was over them, around 80 percent of the people left because they didn’t feel safe at the hotel. Aroun
  
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• Thousands of new Longhorns check in during Mooov-In

  26-08-2017 03:04 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the threat of a wet weekend looms, new Longhorns and their parents made a mad dash to get Mooov-In Friday.
  The University of Texas at Austin will have 7,400 new students from 40 states this school year. The campus tradition is a big event to welcome the students to the 14 on-campus residence halls.
  Approximately 77 percent of the residents living on campus will be freshmen.
  Due to the weather, centralized check in for Mooov-In on Saturday, Aug. 26 will no longer be
  
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• Trump pardons ex-sheriff convicted of defying judge’s order

  26-08-2017 02:16 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned former sheriff Joe Arpaio following his conviction for intentionally disobeying a judge’s order in an immigration case.
  The White House announced the move Friday night, saying the 85-year-old ex-sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County was a “worthy candidate” for a presidential pardon.
  
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• Shoal Creek businesses bracing for flooding from Harvey

  26-08-2017 01:18 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Businesses and homeowners in flood-prone areas are hoping the warning that came with Harvey will mean less damage than they usually face during floods.
  “This flood actually comes with more notice than we’ve gotten for any others” said Whole Earth Provision Co. spokesman Holland Jones. “Usually, they come really quickly. It’s often not a tropical storm that causes the flooding in this area, so having the tropical storm and having the heads up is
  
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• Coalition of churches deploys volunteers, supplies ahead of Harvey

  26-08-2017 01:13 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As thousands of volunteers are ready to deploy after Hurricane Harvey hits, one of those groups represents Austin’s churches. While they will pass out essential supplies, they are also concerned about other needs: hope and healing.
  Volunteers at the Austin Disaster Relief Network, a coalition of churches, are taking advantage of the calm before the storm. Hours before Harvey struck, they gathered supplies from the organization’s thrift shop, packed trailers with
  
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• US 290 in Austin could see an influx of drivers fleeing Hurricane Harvey

  26-08-2017 01:12 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN)– As Hurricane Harvey makes landfall, drivers evacuating the coast could be headed to the Austin area. Currently, there are mandatory evacuations for counties near the Corpus Christi area.
  To help move citizens safely and efficiently out of harm’s way during large-scale evacuations, contraflow could be put into place on several highways out of Houston, leading evacuees to Austin, Dallas or San Antonio. Evacuation plans may or may not include activating contraflow la
  
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• Numbers at state shelters to fluctuate throughout the weekend

  26-08-2017 01:09 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Governor Greg Abbott has declared a disaster area across south and Central Texas as Harvey hits the coast. He’s asking for resources and support from the Federal Government as Texans hunker down.
  “We are going to be dealing with immense, really record-setting flooding in multiple regions across the state of Texas,” said Governor Abbott in a press conference at the state operations center underneath the headquarters for the Department of Public Sa
  
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• Harvey’s disaster mix: Warm water, huge rains, slow speed

  26-08-2017 00:29 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Hurricane Harvey is shaping up as just about a worst-case scenario storm with possible flooding from two different directions.
  Harvey intensified rapidly because it’s been meandering over deep warm water and has calm air at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) high. It’s moving slowly and will be stuck over the Texas coast through the middle of next week, which means rainfall measured in feet, not inches.
  Put them all together and you’ve got a potential disaster
  
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