Austin news

• Smoke seen pouring from Russian consulate in San Francisco

  01-09-2017 22:54 via kxan.com
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Acrid, black smoke was seen pouring from a chimney at the Russian consulate in San Francisco Friday, a day after the Trump administration ordered its closure amid escalating tensions between the United States and Russia.
  Firefighters who arrived at the scene were turned away by consulate officials who came from inside the building.
  An Associated Press reporter heard people who came from inside the building tell firefighters that there was no problem and that consulate
  
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• Mayweather-McGregor is a pay-per-view smash

  01-09-2017 22:52 via kxan.com
  LAS VEGAS (AP) — Conor McGregor’s improbable challenge of Floyd Mayweather Jr. was a hit at the box office and could end up the biggest pay-per-view ever, with an estimated 50 million people watching in the United States alone.
  Preliminary figures released by Showtime PPV on Friday showed the fight was tracking in the “mid to high” 4 million range, threatening the 4.6 million record set by Mayweather’s 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao. Showtime’s Stephen Espinoz
  
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• BEFORE AND AFTER: Images show flooded cities after Hurricane Harvey

  01-09-2017 22:11 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Areas all around Houston which were once lush with green vegetation are flooded with muddy waters overtaking their towns. The flooding has caused roads which were once passable to trap residents inside their homes as rescue efforts continue in Houston and across the coast.
  Now, new aerial images taken before and after Hurricane Harvey dumped record-breaking rain across the coast provide some perspective on the extent of the storm’s damage.
  Take a look at these ph
  
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• Gator found in flooded Houston home

  01-09-2017 20:22 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON, Texas (KXAN) — Animals coming out of the wood work after a flood is pretty normal. However, having an alligator making itself at home in a living room is pretty unusual.
  On Friday, Harris County Precinct 4 Constable tweeted out a photo of an alligator in a home that was flooded near Lake Houston in east Houston. The constable’s office says the gator will be delivered back to its natural habitat soon.Constable Deputies met by alligator in a flooded home near Lake Houston. He
  
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• Horns ready for Terps

  01-09-2017 20:00 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After a five week training camp that began at the end of the July, the Texas Longhorns are more than anxious for Saturday’s opener (11 AM) against Maryland.For Tom Herman, while camp has been going for more than a month, it was November 29th, 2016 when he was named head coach at Texas.“It’s been a long nine months,” said Herman.“We’ve had a lot of things happen to us over the span of those nine months. I’m actually relieved a little
  
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• On Muslim holiday, Houston’s mosques open to Harvey evacuees

  01-09-2017 19:39 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — The gymnasium at the Champions Islamic Center is covered with mats and blankets, donated clothes and boxes of food lining its walls.
  On the eve of the Eid al-Adha festival, one of Islam’s holiest days, it’s become the temporary home for 15 of the thousands of Harvey evacuees, Muslim and non-Muslim. And though it will host hundreds of people during the Friday morning prayer for the so-called festival of sacrifice, the mosque’s leaders have been adamant: No m
  
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• Goodwell aware of dissent before suspending Elliott

  01-09-2017 19:39 via kxan.com
  (AP) The NFL says Commissioner Roger Goodell was aware of one of his lead investigator’s view that Ezekiel Elliott shouldn’t be disciplined before the Dallas running back was suspended for six games in a domestic violence case.
  League spokesman Brian McCarthy on Friday disputed a key claim in a lawsuit filed by the players’ union on behalf of Elliott seeking to vacate an upcoming ruling on an appeal. McCarthy says Goodell knew of investigator Kia Roberts’ belief that Elli
  
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• Trump’s hiring, budget raises questions about Harvey help

  01-09-2017 19:22 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s hiring and budget plans are raising questions about whether he can deliver the “better-than-ever” recovery he’s promised after Hurricane Harvey devastated a swath of the U.S. Gulf Coast.
  Trump has proposed vast budget cuts and leaving some leadership positions unfilled at agencies involved in disaster management. His Republican allies on Capitol Hill proposed spending some of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
  
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• Stowaway squirrel surprises North Carolina professor as she’s driving

  01-09-2017 19:11 via kxan.com
  CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WRAL) — Driving home from her job as a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Lynn Owens felt a surprise.
  “In my car, I feel something moving on my foot. A squirrel is walking up my leg,” she said. “There was initial shock of, ‘How did a squirrel get here?’ I was going 75 mph on the highway, so I was trying to keep cool, and it just relaxed on my lap like it was a cushion or something. So, I just kept driving with the
  
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• Austin ISD to hold 13 open houses for $1B bond proposal

  01-09-2017 18:58 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With a billion dollar bond proposal on the table, the Austin Independent School District wants to make sure residents know what the bond will cover and why they believe the money is needed.
  Over the next two months, the district will host 13 open houses so people can learn about the $1.05 billion bond. The district says the bond would bring 21st-century learning spaces to students without increasing the tax rate. In total, 16 schools will be modernized or built. AISD o
  
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• Audit finds Austin restaurant inspectors shopping, napping while on the job

  01-09-2017 18:47 via kxan.com
  KXAN (AUSTIN) – A city auditor investigation released Friday found wastefulness in the Public Health Department, including inadequate oversight of field work and restaurant inspections. Investigators also discovered on-the-job napping, workouts and personal shopping, according to the report.
  Austin Public Health’s Environmental Services Division, which conducts restaurant inspections among other duties, “wasted city resources as a result of grossly inefficient practices and pro
  
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• VIDEO: Utah nurse handcuffed for not giving police patient’s blood

  01-09-2017 18:34 via kxan.com
  SALT LAKE CITY (KSL) — Alex Wubbels said she couldn’t believe what was happening.
  “This is crazy. This is crazy. Why is he so angry?” she can be heard saying on body camera video, nearly in tears, as she is being arrested by Salt Lake police detective Jeff Payne.
  Wubbels was working her shift as a charge nurse, or a liaison between patients and doctors and hospital managers, at University Hospital’s Burn Unit in Salt Lake City when she was handcuffed in the middle o
  
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• Dells contribute $36M to $100M Rebuild Texas Fund campaign

  01-09-2017 18:11 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A  fund hoping to raise $100 million or more for Harvey recovery efforts and community building launched Friday. The Austin-based Michael & Susan Dell Foundation will contribute $36 million to the Rebuild Texas Fund and is collaborating with the Texas non-profit OneStar Foundation.
  “This is our home. And we know that it will take all of us working together, over the long term, to rebuild our Texas communities,” Michael Dell said.
  Whataburger donates $2
  
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• PHOTOS: Fuel Frenzy across Central Texas

  01-09-2017 17:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The fuel frenzy doesn’t seem to be slowing down across Central Texas. People are lining up for gas and in some situations, people have been photographed putting fuel into containers that should not be holding gasoline.
  Where you can get gasoline
  Take a look at the scenes around Central Texas: Austinites face long lines for gas Person filling up trash cans at 5511 Cameron Rd. in Austin. (Courtesy: Dana Toungate Dehlinger)Person filling numerous gas containers at the HE
  
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• Professors get $300,000 grant for digital fake-news detector

  01-09-2017 16:51 via kxan.com
  UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) — Two Penn State professors have received $300,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop technology that will enable digital devices to weed out fake news.
  The university says information sciences and technology professor Dongwon Lee and communications professor S. Shyam Sundar are working on the project.
  Lee says fake news “has been around for decades” but has been “exacerbated” on the internet and social media platforms.
  The pro
  
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• Whataburger donates $2M to Harvey relief, reopens restaurants

  01-09-2017 16:00 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As its restaurants in areas damaged by Harvey slowly get back into business, Whataburger is also donating millions of dollars to help relief efforts.
  The company is donating $150,000 to the Red Cross, $500,000 to local food banks, and has put an additional $1 million in the Whataburger Family Foundation to help cover clothing, food, medical bills and other expenses for employees affected by the storm.
  “To all our Family Members and neighbors who were impacted by this
  
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• US gains 156,000 jobs, unemployment rate up to 4.4 percent

  01-09-2017 15:24 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job growth slowed in August as employers added 156,000 jobs, but even that decreased pace suggests that businesses remain confident in an economy now in its ninth year of recovery from the Great Recession.
  The Labor Department says the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4 percent. Job gains in June and July were revised downward by 41,000 jobs. The economy has averaged monthly job gains of 176,000 so far this year.
  Average hourly pay has just increased 2.5 percent over
  
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• Woman killed after being hit by car in south Austin

  01-09-2017 14:56 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A woman hit by a car in south Austin Friday morning has died from her injuries.
  The crash closed westbound Slaughter Lane and caused a major backup on that road, as well as northbound on Old Lockhart Highway.
  The collision happened at 6:43 a.m. on the east side of Slaughter Lane near Bluff Springs Road, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened in front of the IDEA Bluff Springs school.
  The woman in her 20s was initially taken to the hospital with c
  
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• Woman hit, killed in crosswalk near south Austin school identified

  01-09-2017 14:56 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A woman who died after she was hit by a car in south Austin Friday morning has been identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
  DPS said Rosemary Maradiaga, 33, was killed while crossing the street at a non-working crosswalk signal.
  The collision happened at 6:43 a.m. in front of the IDEA Bluff Springs School on Slaughter Lane near Bluff Springs Road, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
  DPS said that a truck driving toward her stopped, but a car
  
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• Woman critically injured after being hit by car in south Austin

  01-09-2017 14:56 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A car hit a woman in south Austin Friday morning, closing westbound Slaughter Lane and causing a major backup on that road, as well as northbound on Old Lockhart Highway.
  The collision happened at 6:43 a.m. on the east side of Slaughter Lane near Bluff Springs Road, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened in front of the IDEA Bluff Springs school.
  The woman in her 20s was taken to the hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries, according to
  
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• DPS identifies woman killed in crosswalk near school in South Austin

  01-09-2017 14:56 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A woman who died after she was hit by a car in south Austin Friday morning has been identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
  DPS said Rosemary Maradiaga, 33, was killed while crossing the street at a non-working crosswalk signal.
  The crash closed westbound Slaughter Lane and caused a major backup on that road, as well as northbound on Old Lockhart Highway.
  The collision happened at 6:43 a.m. in front of the IDEA Bluff Springs School on the east side of Slaughter
  
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• Car hits woman, causes major traffic backups in south Austin

  01-09-2017 14:56 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A car hit a woman in south Austin Friday morning, closing westbound Slaughter Lane and causing a major backup on that road, as well as northbound on Old Lockhart Highway.
  The collision happened at 6:43 a.m. on the east side of Slaughter Lane near Bluff Springs Road, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. It happened in front of the IDEA Bluff Springs school.
  The woman in her 20s was taken to the hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries, according to
  
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• New Texas laws take effect Friday

  01-09-2017 14:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As of Friday morning, more than 650 bills the Texas Legislature passed and the governor signed will go into effect. Here are a few of the new laws that could impact daily life:
  School bullying
  David’s Law will help school administrators investigate bullying off campus.
  It also makes student harassment or bullying both in-person and online a criminal offense, with punishments for children and parents. It’s named after David Molak, a 16-year-old who committed suic
  
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• Plant explosions, spills test industry’s response to Harvey

  01-09-2017 14:04 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (AP) — Explosions that rocked a Texas chemical plant after it was inundated by Harvey’s floodwaters are raising questions about the adequacy of industry preparations for the monster storm and stoking fears of more accidents in the days ahead.
  The owners of the plant in Crosby, Texas, warned Thursday that further explosions could come as the unstable chemicals there warm up and degrade following a loss of power at the site northeast of Houston.
  Meanwhile, the scope of the damag
  
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• Authorities brace for wave of hurricane-related fraud

  01-09-2017 13:14 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — As high water spreads from Houston through Texas and Louisiana, authorities are bracing for an inevitable wave of fraud and other criminal activity set into motion by Harvey’s punishing rains.
  In a warning to those who would seek to defraud the government and people wanting to help or seeking assistance, a dozen federal and state agencies were banding together to investigate and prosecute wrongdoers.
  Federal and state officials are warning residents, volunteers and
  
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• Where to get gas in Austin

  01-09-2017 12:27 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Although some refineries shut down in Texas and some shipments were delayed because of the effects of Harvey, the reason many people are experiencing a gas shortage is because they are rushing to fill up all at once, according to Texas railroad commissioner Ryan Sitton. He says people who don’t need gas should think twice before filling up.
  “The average Texan fills up their car every ten days,” Sitton said. “Well, if all Texans go on the same day to
  
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• Where gas is available in Austin

  01-09-2017 12:27 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Although some refineries shut down in Texas and some shipments were delayed because of the effects of Harvey, the reason many people are experiencing a gas shortage is because they are rushing to fill up all at once, according to Texas railroad commissioner Ryan Sitton. He says people who don’t need gas should think twice before filling up.
  “The average Texan fills up their car every ten days,” Sitton said. “Well, if all Texans go on the same day to
  
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• ‘It’s a big, big mess:’ La Grange mobile home owners get first look at catastrophic flood damage

  01-09-2017 06:45 via kxan.com
  LA GRANGE, Texas (KXAN) — The damage already seen in La Grange is extensive, and it’s nothing compared to what some homeowners saw for the first time Thursday.
  Mobile home parks near the Colorado River in the Fayette County town appear to be hit the hardest, with homes overturned, moved down the street or demolished entirely by the worst floodwaters La Grange has seen in more than 100 years.
  “It’s a big, big mess,” Steve Solomon said.
  Hundreds of homes are dama
  
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• Dad posting up at daughter’s school to oversee diabetes care

  01-09-2017 06:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Sending a child off to pre-kindergarten for the first time can be scary as a parent.
  For Ted Hennessy and his wife, the risk is even higher.
  Their 4-year-old daughter Esme has type 1 diabetes, which means she is insulin dependent to keep blood sugar at a healthy level. She was diagnosed with the disease at the age of two and a half after nearly going into a coma.
  Thursday, Esme spread out her medical supplies on the floor in her living room to walk us through how she checks
  
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• Gas stations running dry as drivers make mad dash to pumps

  01-09-2017 04:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Drivers rushed out to fill up their tanks Thursday when word spread that some Austin-area gas stations were facing short-term fuel shortages after Hurricane Harvey.
  “My husband told me to get out and go get gas now,” said Jamie Hogan as she pulled through a station parking lot where the gas was already gone.
  With so many people heading to the pump at once, many gas stations quickly ran out of everything but diesel.
  “It’s looking scary,” sa
  
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• Drivers make mad dash to pumps, as state officials say pump your brakes

  01-09-2017 04:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Drivers rushed out to fill up their tanks Thursday when word spread that some Austin-area gas stations were facing short-term fuel shortages after Hurricane Harvey.
  “My husband told me to get out and go get gas now,” said Jamie Hogan as she pulled through a station parking lot where the gas was already gone.
  With so many people heading to the pump at once, many gas stations quickly ran out of everything but diesel.
  “It’s looking scary,” sa
  
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• TIME-LAPSE: Hurricane Harvey’s complete path through Texas

  01-09-2017 04:19 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hurricane Harvey spent one week over Texas, likely the most damaging hurricane in history — seen in an incredible time-lapse of the storm’s path.
  TIME-LAPSE: Houston garage fills with water during floods
  The time-lapse shows the stalled Tropical Storm Harvey as it reverses course and heads back toward the Gulf of Mexico and then up toward Houston.
  Unofficial totals of more than 60 inches were measured in the Bay Town area.
  
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• Two dead in crash on SH 29 in Liberty Hill

  01-09-2017 03:08 via kxan.com
  LIBERTY HILL, Texas (KXAN) — Deputies say a six car collision in Liberty Hill has claimed the lives of two people, Thursday night.
  The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is asking drivers to stay away from the crash scene at State Highway 29 and County Road 200. First responders were called to help at around 7:30 p.m.
  Sheriff Robert Chody said in a since-deleted tweet that a hit-and-run suspect was in custody; however, the sheriff’s office clarified that the incident was not a
  
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• VIDEO: Texas pastor plays piano inside his flooded home

  01-09-2017 02:29 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — In the video, Aric Harding plays a gentle, haunting melody on his piano, his face in shadow, the instrument highlighted by the sun and his legs planted in murky, brown water sloshing around his living room.
  Harding had a friend record the video Tuesday in his Houston, Texas, home for his 13-year-old son, an avid piano player.
  “I just wanted to make a quick video to show him that pianos works fine,” even in a flooded home, he said Thursday.
  The family had evacuate
  
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• Texas attorney general files motion to keep sanctuary cities law in place

  01-09-2017 01:26 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (AP/KXAN) — Even though a federal judge temporarily blocked most of Texas’ new anti-sanctuary city law that was set to go into effect on Friday, Sept. 1, Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking a district court in San Antonio for a stay of motion on its ruling against Senate Bill 4.
  Paxton hopes the court grants his stay while he appeals the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The federal judge’s ruling keeps it from taking effect.
  SB 4 bans so-called
  
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• Lakeway woman uses social media to coordinate thousands of flood rescues

  01-09-2017 01:22 via kxan.com
  LAKEWAY, Texas (KXAN) — When McCall McPherson and her husband Casey heard about all the flooding in Houston, they wanted to help. Casey decided he and a friend would drive a boat down south and try to rescue stranded Hurricane Harvey survivors. But McCall wondered how she could help while still caring for her two toddlers at home.
  “I created a way to connect rescuers to people in need because my husband was about to be a rescuer and I had no idea where to send him,” said McCall
  
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• Kyle’s first ‘Pie in the Sky’ hot air balloon festival this weekend

  01-09-2017 01:08 via kxan.com
  KYLE, TX (KXAN) — More than a dozen hot air balloons will light up the night sky this weekend in Central Texas for the very first Kyle Pie in the Sky hot air balloon festival.
  The festival will have live music, games for the kids and a tent dedicated only to pie. “At a relatively low price people can sample all kinds of pies. It’s not just dessert pie, its Frito pie, pot pie and pizza pie,” said City of Kyle Communications Specialist Kim Hilsenbeck.
  She says the city of K
  
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• North Texas lawmakers check on people in flooded Houston homes

  01-09-2017 01:01 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON, Texas (KXAN) — In Houston, volunteers scour flooded neighborhoods for people who waited too long to try to reach dry land. Two of those volunteers were North Texas state lawmakers who let KXAN follow them through the waters.
  “That’s a car that’s completely submerged under water. We’ve been driving around here for three or four days now,” said State Senator Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, pointing to a vehicle underwater.
  Hughes and Rep. Cole Hefner, R-M
  
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• President Trump pledges $1 million of own money for Harvey relief

  01-09-2017 00:20 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump is pledging $1 million in personal funds to Harvey storm relief efforts.
  White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the announcement at a briefing Thursday.
  And she says he’s calling on reporters to help decide which specific organization he will give to.
  Trump has been criticized in the past for giving far less of his income to charitable causes than many other multi-billionaires.
  Sandra Bullock donates $1 mi
  
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• Federal judge halts Texas’ latest anti-abortion law

  01-09-2017 00:01 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge late Thursday temporarily blocked Texas from enforcing new anti-abortion measures Gov. Greg Abbott signed in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down more sweeping abortion limits.
  The order by Austin-based U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel stops Texas from banning a commonly used second trimester abortion procedure, known as dilation and evacuation, which abortion providers say rarely results in complications. Courts already have blocked s
  
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