Austin news

• APD sends 51 specially trained officers to Houston after Harvey

  02-09-2017 23:31 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than 50 Austin Police officers are patrolling the streets of Houston as the city continues to deal with flooding following Hurricane Harvey.
  Austin Police Chief Brian Manley says the 51 officers are members of the Special Response Team and are deploying at the request of Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.
  The officers will be paired up with Houston officers in patrol cars on 12-hour shifts for the next seven days.
  “The men and women on this bus that are heading ou
  
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• Texas loses to Maryland in Tom Herman’s debut

  02-09-2017 21:58 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas lost to Maryland, 51-41, in Tom Herman’s first game as head coach of the Longhorns.
  Maryland sealed the win with a fourth down stop with less than four minutes left in the game.
  Herman becomes just the third coach in Texas history to lose in his debut.
  Holton Hill gave Texas a strong start with an interception returned for a touchdown just three plays into the game, but Maryland answered with 27 straight points.
  The Longhorns’ offense struggled for most of
  
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• Utah nurse’s arrest raises questions on evidence collection

  02-09-2017 20:57 via kxan.com
  The videotaped arrest of a Utah nurse who refused to allow blood to be drawn from an unconscious patient has raised questions about how far officers can go to collect evidence and has led to policy changes within the Salt Lake City Police Department.
  Here are some of the legal issues involved:
  ___
  WHAT HAPPENED?
  Police body-camera video released Thursday shows Salt Lake City Detective Jeff Payne handcuffing nurse Alex Wubbels on July 26 after she refused to allow blood to be drawn from an uncons
  
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• 2nd Utah police officer on paid leave over nurse arrest

  02-09-2017 20:57 via kxan.com
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A second Salt Lake City police officer has been put on paid leave as authorities investigate the use of force in a nurse’s arrest.
  The July 26 incident captured on police body-camera video showed Detective Jeff Payne dragging nurse Alex Wubbels from a hospital and handcuffing her after she refused to allow blood to be drawn from an unconscious patient in a car-crash investigation.
  The video has caused outrage since it was released Thursday.
  Prosecutors have aske
  
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• Police searching for missing Austin woman

  02-09-2017 19:03 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are looking for a 50-year-old woman who they say went missing Saturday morning.
  Police say the woman, Jennifer Reiney, was last seen at her home in downtown Austin wearing a blue or black shirt with white and pick striped pajama pants. She left with no money, shoes or means of transportation.
  Police suspect that she could be anywhere in the central Austin area. They say she has medical conditions that could affect her welfare.
  Reiney is white, 5-foot-4 and wei
  
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• No decision yet on who gets Trump’s pledge of disaster aid

  02-09-2017 18:38 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is still trying to decide who will get President Donald Trump’s pledged $1 million donation for Harvey storm relief efforts, one of the largest gifts ever given by a president but one that has evoked his checkered charitable past.
  The president plans to make the donation, which is expected to come from his personal fortune, early next week, and it may be split among several groups doing relief work in storm-ravaged areas of Texas and Louisiana. White
  
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• For Trump, chance to return with empathy for Harvey victims

  02-09-2017 17:12 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump brought plenty of optimism and swagger to Texas on his first visit to survey Harvey’s devastation. He’s getting a chance to return with empathy.
  At stops in Houston and Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Saturday, the president planned to survey storm damage, talk with residents and meet with volunteers. Those elements were missing from Tuesday’s trip to Texas, which was criticized as being off-key for a presidential visit to discuss com
  
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• Weekend Gardener: How to safely get rid of pesky fire ant mounds

  02-09-2017 16:54 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — You may have noticed the many fire ant mounds in your yard where the children play and the dogs run. These ants can cause very painful bites, so you may want to get rid of them.
  Fire ants do not have a natural predator here in Central Texas since they come from South America, so you will need to be their predator. But using chemicals to exterminate them can poison your soil.
  The weekend gardener shows you some options that you can use to carefully and safely remove them, an
  
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• One killed in crash on SH 29 in Williamson County

  02-09-2017 06:11 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A person has died in a crash on State Highway 29 in Williamson County, Friday night.
  Sheriff Robert Chody said the crash happened at Ronald Reagan Boulevard and asked drivers to please stay clear of the area.
  Williamson County Sheriff’s Office first warned drivers of the crash in a tweet at 10:10 p.m. Deputies said eastbound and westbound traffic was being diverted through a parking lot.
  No additional details were immediately available.
  Thursday nigh
  
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• Motorcyclist killed on SH 29 identified

  02-09-2017 06:11 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — On Sunday, the Texas Department of Public Safety identified a man killed in a crash on State Highway 29 in Williamson County on Friday night.
  DPS said Timothy Repard, 52, died after a car cut in front of his motorcycle on SH 29 near Ronald Reagan Boulevard. His motorcycle struck that car.
  The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office first warned drivers of the crash in a tweet at 10:10 p.m. Friday. Deputies said eastbound and westbound traffic was diverted
  
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• Man killed after car strikes motorcycle on SH 29 in Wilco identified

  02-09-2017 06:11 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — On Sunday, the Texas Department of Public Safety identified a man killed in a crash on State Highway 29 in Williamson County on Friday night.
  DPS said Timothy Repard, 52, died after a car cut in front of his motorcycle on SH 29 near Ronald Reagan Boulevard. His motorcycle struck that car.
  The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office first warned drivers of the crash in a tweet at 10:10 p.m. Friday. Deputies said eastbound and westbound traffic was diverted
  
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• Amid gas supply concerns, ride-sharing companies say they’re staffed, prepared

  02-09-2017 05:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the wake of Hurricane Harvey and subsequent concerns about available gas supply across Texas, drivers have raced to gas stations to top off their tanks. Ride-sharing drivers are arguably no exception to the trend.
  After noticing that several gas stations were running out of fuel Thursday across Austin, part-time ride-share driver Terri Rios says she filled up at a gas station off Barton Springs Road.
  Rios said she wanted to get prepared ahead of the busy long holiday wee
  
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• Travis County sheriff’s lake patrol unit in Houston after Harvey

  02-09-2017 05:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — First responders tell KXAN that the water flooding the Houston neighborhoods after Hurricane Harvey will be there for 20 more days. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office sent a boat crew south to help make welfare calls.
  “Day job is, I’m a cop on the water,” said Deputy Brett Spicer, who works in the lake patrol unit.
  His boat from Travis County is part of the Oklahoma Task Force One, charged with running missions in Houston’s western neighbo
  
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• ‘I just couldn’t take it any longer’: Hundreds of volunteers clean up La Grange

  02-09-2017 04:28 via kxan.com
  LA GRANGE, Texas (KXAN) — It takes an army to rebuild a flooded town — and that’s what La Grange is getting.
  “Just watching the news,” Jeff Kloc of Cedar Park, said, “I just couldn’t take it any longer.” He was planning to go to the coast this weekend for a vacation. Instead, after Hurricane Harvey ravaged towns from the Gulf to Central Texas, he went to Fayette County.
  Kelsey Kaltwasser helped a couple strip the drywall and carpet from the ho
  
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• Uber donates space for Austin’s mega shelter

  02-09-2017 02:16 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Part of the building that the city of Austin is using to operate its mega shelter is actually leased by Uber. Out of the 160,000-square-foot space located at 7000 Metropolis Dr., 64,000 square feet of that is Uber’s space.
  Multiple sources in the city tell KXAN that Uber has decided to donate the space to the city for at least three months. Uber leases the property. The city would have paid $54,000 a month to use but Uber decided not to charge. The company will also p
  
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• Gas price gouging: KXAN checks to see if it’s happening around Austin

  02-09-2017 02:00 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Q Mart on Wells Branch Parkway was a hopping spot Thursday night. Dozens of cars crammed into the store’s parking lot, drivers hoping the store wouldn’t run out of fuel before they got a chance to pump.
  The $3.49 a gallon price for regular unleaded didn’t seem to be turning people away, especially those who decided to pay the price to keep from losing their place in line.
  “$3.59 a gallon,” Mark Novick yelled as he saw the price for a gallon
  
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• ‘Dreamers’ decision weighs on Trump as announcement nears

  02-09-2017 01:53 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Midday protests. Urgent pleas. Furious campaigning. A president torn.
  President Donald Trump stood at the center of a frantic lobbying campaign Friday as he neared a decision on the fate of hundreds of thousands of young people brought into the country illegally as children.
  After months of dragging his feet, the president on Tuesday will announce his plans for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which has given nearly 800,000 young immigrants the
  
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• Panic at the pump impacting police officers

  02-09-2017 01:43 via kxan.com
  LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — For many police officers, their patrol cars are their office. Leander Police Sgt. Elizabeth Conrad says that means keeping her tank full, especially as the demand for gas spikes.
  “I had one officer that didn’t have a full tank when he came in, and so he went to one of our local gas stations that had fuel and sat in line with everyone and waited 30 to 45 minutes,” explains Sgt. Conrad. Thankfully no emergency calls came in during the wait.
  But Leand
  
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• Austin gas stations expecting fuel deliveries soon

  02-09-2017 01:27 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As fast as gas stations can get refueled, it’s getting depleted just as fast by consumers who are worried about the fuel supply.
  Gas station managers across Austin say there’s hope, however, that their fuel supply will return to normal soon. They say even though a number of gas stations have gone a few extra days without fuel deliveries, there wouldn’t be a major shortage if drivers weren’t panicking and rushing to the pumps.
  “The main problem
  
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• Man hit, killed by Union Pacific train in Luling

  02-09-2017 01:02 via kxan.com
  LULING, Texas (KXAN) — A 30-year-old man died after he was struck by a Union Pacific train on Wednesday.
  The Luling Police Department said the crash happened just before 1 a.m. at the Walnut/Pierce train crossing. The crew on the train said they spotted a person lying on the tracks. As the train was approaching, the man, identified as Fernando Cardenas, 30, got up and tried to walk away but he was not able to get out of the way fast enough.
  The conductor put the train into emergency stop m
  
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• Trump to visit flood-ravaged Houston Saturday

  02-09-2017 00:50 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON, Texas (AP/KXAN) — President Donald Trump says there is still “so much to do” for Texas to recover from Hurricane Harvey. Trump will travel again to Texas on Saturday.
  Trump tweeted Friday that “Texas is heeling (sic) fast thanks to all of the great men & women who have been working so hard.” He later corrected the spelling of “healing.”
  But he says, “still, so much to do.”
  Trump has proposed federal hiring and budget plans that r
  
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• VIDEO: Massive fire at Houston-area chemical plant

  02-09-2017 00:44 via kxan.com
  CROSBY, Texas (AP) — Another fire has broken out at Houston-area chemical plant that lost power after Harvey, sending black smoke into the air.
  Aerial video shows a towering fire and smoke coming from the Arkema plant in Crosby on Friday evening. The fire came after a container of organic peroxides exploded and caught fire early Thursday, sending acrid smoke into the air. An executive had said up to eight more containers could burn and explode.
  Arkema spokeswoman Janet Smith on Friday eve
  
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• Rodeo Austin accountant accused of stealing $1.3M from nonprofit

  02-09-2017 00:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A former Rodeo Austin employee is accused of stealing more than a million dollars from the organization. KXAN Lead Investigator Brian Collister spoke directly with the suspect who claims a disease and medication led him to steal.
  Until a few months ago, Mark Weston, a certified public accountant, was Rodeo Austin's finance manager since being hired in 2014. According to a lawsuit filed against Weston, the nonprofit discovered there were "discrepancies in its financial accounts"
  
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• $4.61 gas price at Murphy USA was ‘human error’

  02-09-2017 00:14 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When KXAN viewers went to get gas this morning at Murphy USA stations, they noticed the price was abnormally higher than every other gas station: $4.61 per gallon.
  KXAN reached out to Murphy USA Friday morning about the price but didn’t hear anything from the company until just before 5 p.m. The company says at 8:50 a.m. Friday, eight stations in the Austin-area had put up the $4.61 price due to “human error” related to their centrally managed pricing syst
  
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• Austin mega shelter officially open as hundreds of refugees expected

  02-09-2017 00:06 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin says about 400 people are expected at the mega shelter at 7000 Metropolis Dr. in southeast Austin by Saturday morning.
  The several hundred evacuees will get food, sleeping areas, family reunification services, emotional support and supplies from the Red Cross.
  “Transitioning to a Mega Shelter allows schools to move forward with normal classroom operations and the Red Cross to deliver services more efficiently, while providing additional space to oth
  
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• Austin mega shelter officially open as hundreds of evacuees expected

  02-09-2017 00:06 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin says about 400 people are expected at the mega shelter at 7000 Metropolis Dr. in southeast Austin by Saturday morning.
  The several hundred evacuees will get food, sleeping areas, family reunification services, emotional support and supplies from the Red Cross.
  “Transitioning to a Mega Shelter allows schools to move forward with normal classroom operations and the Red Cross to deliver services more efficiently, while providing additional space to oth
  
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