Austin news

• Austin police expect to get first 10 withdrawn Ford Explorers back next week

  07-09-2017 23:32 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The first 10 Ford Explorer police interceptor units, out of the approximate 400 pulled from the Austin Police Department in July over carbon monoxide leak fears, are expected to come back next week.
  In announcing the return Thursday, Interim Chief of Police Brian Manley said the department will be running their own tests for a week to validate Ford’s test results that the vehicles are back to standard and safe to use. Once APD verifies Ford’s results, repairs wi
  
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• APD prepares to get SUVs back as KXAN investigates impact on policing

  07-09-2017 23:32 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The first 10 Ford Explorer police interceptor units, out of the approximate 400 pulled from the Austin Police Department in July over carbon monoxide leak fears, are expected to come back next week.
  In announcing the return Thursday, Interim Chief of Police Brian Manley said the department will be running their own tests for a week to validate Ford’s test results that the vehicles are back to standard and safe to use. Once APD verifies Ford’s results, repairs wi
  
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• Equifax says data from 143 million Americans exposed in hack

  07-09-2017 23:28 via kxan.com
  ATLANTA (AP/KXAN) — Credit monitoring company Equifax says a breach exposed social security numbers and other data from about 143 million Americans.
  The Atlanta-based company said Thursday that “criminals” exploited a U.S. website application to access files between mid-May and July of this year. The company discovered its data was compromised on July 29.
  It said consumers’ names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, driver’s license n
  
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• Longhorns looking for drastic improvement on D

  07-09-2017 23:12 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns struggled in all three phases of the game, but the defensive side of the ball might have been the biggest surprise.Now Texas goes from the slower paced Maryland offense that totaled 375 yards on just 58 plays from scrimmage to a San Jose State (1-1) team that wants to play at a much faster pace.“This is what shows what we’re about.” said defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.“this coming week, this ball game is going show everybody i
  
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• Tiger that was shot near Atlanta had performed in Ringling Bros. Circus

  07-09-2017 22:10 via kxan.com
  ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia police shot and killed a Bengal tiger on Wednesday after it escaped from a truck and wandered along a major interstate near Atlanta, frightening residents of a nearby subdivision.
  Feld Entertainment spokesman Stephen Payne said Suzy, a 6-year-old Bengal tiger that had once performed in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, somehow got loose when the truck hauling 14 big cats stopped south of Atlanta on its way from Florida to Tennessee.
  “We stopped
  
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• Police shoot and kill tiger that wandered on busy interstate

  07-09-2017 22:10 via kxan.com
  ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia police shot and killed a Bengal tiger on Wednesday after it escaped from a truck and wandered along a major interstate near Atlanta, frightening residents of a nearby subdivision.
  Feld Entertainment spokesman Stephen Payne said Suzy, a 6-year-old Bengal tiger that had once performed in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, somehow got loose when the truck hauling 14 big cats stopped south of Atlanta on its way from Florida to Tennessee.
  “We stopped
  
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• Hays CISD bus driver shortage causes route to be dropped

  07-09-2017 21:50 via kxan.com
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — Hays Consolidated Independent School District is experiencing an extreme shortage of bus drivers. So much so that if one driver calls in sick, they have to cancel a route and scramble other buses to the area to pick up students.
  Out of 159 bus driver positions, the district says it is short 58. Everyone in the district that holds a bus driver’s license including the mechanics have to pick up the slack to try and keep everything running smoothly.
  For the first tim
  
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• Owners of Cindy’s Gone Hog Wild indicted on tax fraud

  07-09-2017 20:38 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A husband and wife team who owned several restaurants in the Austin-area, including the popular Cindy’s Gone Hog Wild, have been indicted for tax fraud. Michael Herman and Cynthia Herman are accused of filing false corporate tax returns, among other things.
  The U.S. Department of Justice says the couple owned one restaurant in Travis County and two in Bastrop County. Cindy’s Gone Hog Wild, a restaurant and bar which was located along State Highway 71 in Del Vall
  
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• Nations rush to help islands devastated by Hurricane Irma

  07-09-2017 20:03 via kxan.com
  SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — French, British and Dutch rescuers struggled to rush aid to a string of Caribbean islands Thursday after Hurricane Irma left at least six dead and thousands homeless as it traced a course that could lead to a catastrophic strike on Florida over the weekend.
  A swath of South Florida — including much of the Miami metropolitan area of 6 million people — was placed under a hurricane watch, with forecasters saying Irma could punish the entire
  
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• Police: Taco Bell employees fatally shoot armed robber

  07-09-2017 20:00 via kxan.com
  CLEVELAND (AP) — Police say three employees of an Ohio Taco Bell opened fire on two armed robbers, killing one.
  Police have said two masked robbers entered the restaurant early Wednesday and ordered three employees to lie on the floor. Police say three other employees pulled out handguns and opened fire, shooting one of the suspects six times. The other suspect ran off.
  The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday said the man killed was 24-year-old De’Carlo Jackso
  
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• Trump picks Texas attorney general’s office No. 2 for judgeship

  07-09-2017 19:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump has tapped a top official at Texas’ attorney general’s office for a federal judgeship.
  First Assistant Attorney General Jeff Mateer was nominated Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The appointment requires U.S. Senate confirmation.
  In a statement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, “Judges who rule by the Constitution and the law are desperately needed today, and I am confident a Judge Ma
  
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• US won’t punish United over passenger-dragging incident

  07-09-2017 19:37 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Federal officials decided not to punish United Airlines over an infamous incident in which a passenger was dragged off an overcrowded plane.
  The Transportation Department said it found no evidence that United violated David Dao’s civil rights in the April 9 incident in Chicago. There was also not enough evidence that the airline violated rules regarding bumping passengers to take the case further, the department said.
  A Transportation Department lawyer told Un
  
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• SpaceX launches Air Force’s super-secret minishuttle

  07-09-2017 19:37 via kxan.com
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched the Air Force’s super-secret space shuttle on Thursday, a technology tester capable of spending years in orbit.
  The unmanned Falcon rocket blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, as schools and businesses boarded up for Hurricane Irma.
  It’s the fifth flight for one of these crewless minishuttles, known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle.
  The two Air Force space planes have already logged a combined 5 ½ years in or
  
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• Nolan Ryan Beef headquarters moves to Round Rock

  07-09-2017 19:18 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Nolan Ryan Beef has found a new home in Round Rock. The company announced it moved its headquarters from Conroe, Texas, to the new location as of Sept. 1.
  Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and rancher Nolan Ryan and other ranching partners say they decided to make the move to be closer to other Ryan family-owned businesses. One of those businesses is the Round Rock Express Triple A baseball franchise.
  Ryan also said the move will allow him to be more involved i
  
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• Austin police search for hit-and-run driver in Wells Branch Pkwy death

  07-09-2017 18:59 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are searching for a driver who left the scene after hitting and killing a man who was walking in north Austin Monday night.
  Richard Stacy Stader, 37, died at the scene at the corner of Wells Branch Parkway and the Interstate 35 frontage road. Preliminary investigations show Stader was crossing the road against the traffic signal around 9:40 p.m. when a 2010 blue Honda Accord traveling westbound hit him. Police later found the car, but not the driver.
  Police as
  
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• Austin’s new teaching hospital launches burn unit

  07-09-2017 18:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In Central Texas, if you are severely burned, you usually get transported to San Antonio Military Medical Center’s Burn Unit for treatment.
  Now, Austin’s new teaching hospital, Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, has a burn program that can treat patients who have burns covering less than 30 percent of their bodies. Patients with burn surface areas greater than 30 percent will still need to travel to San Antonio or Dallas for care.
  The bur
  
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• Fast-growing Williamson County gets new cancer center in Round Rock

  07-09-2017 17:26 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) – While Dolores Pinn is battling breast cancer, the added stress of driving from her home in Taylor to Temple to receive treatment was an added stress. Now, with the opening of the Baylor Scott & White Cancer Center in Round Rock, she longer worries about the long-distance travel.
  “The convenience of it is wonderful, right on the edge of round rock where it’s going to be easily accessible to all around us,” Pinn said.
  The center combines diagn
  
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• 81 identified in massive APD undercover drug sting near the ARCH

  07-09-2017 16:55 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police arrested dozens of suspected drug dealers specifically targeting “vulnerable” users near the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless during a multi-week operation called “Spero.” That word means “hope” in Latin.
  Undercover officers from the Street Narcotics team bought narcotics from 81 suspects over eight days between June 20 and July 20. An affidavit for one of the cases said officers were responding to “complaints o
  
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• 81 arrested in massive APD undercover drug sting near the ARCH

  07-09-2017 16:55 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police arrested dozens of suspected drug dealers specifically targeting “vulnerable” users near the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless during a multi-week operation called “Spero.” That word means “hope” in Latin.
  Undercover officers from the Street Narcotics team bought narcotics from 81 suspects over eight days between June 20 and July 20. The majority of the cases were for crack cocaine, but one case involved heroin. One of
  
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• Police search for man who exposed himself at Texas State University

  07-09-2017 16:24 via kxan.com
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — A man allegedly exposed himself to a Texas State University student Wednesday night, and police are searching for more information about the incident.
  The woman called police around 6:45 p.m. and said the man was outside Building 4 at Bobcat Village. He left before authorities arrived, according to a Texas State University Facebook post.
  University police say the man was black, about 18 or 19 years old, about 6 feet tall and was wearing gray sweatpants and a whit
  
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• Texas, US gas prices continue to surge in Harvey’s aftermath

  07-09-2017 15:56 via kxan.com
  COPPELL, Texas (AP) — Retail gasoline prices in Texas and across the country continue to surge in the aftermath of catastrophic flooding brought by Harvey.
  AAA Texas on Thursday reported the average price at the pump statewide this week was $2.54, up from $2.26 last week.
  Of the metro areas in Texas, drivers in Dallas are paying the most on average at $2.67 while motorists in Amarillo are paying the least at $2.37. The Austin and San Marcos area is averaging $2.56 a gallon.
  Look up gas pri
  
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• DeVos planning to scrap Obama rules on campus sexual assault

  07-09-2017 15:34 via kxan.com
  ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Thursday declared that “the era of ‘rule by letter’ is over” as she announced plans to change the way colleges and university handle allegations of sexual violence on campus.
  She said Obama administration rules established in 2011 to guide schools as they investigate and resolve complaints of assault have failed to protect students and done a “disservice to everyone involved.”
  “Instead of wor
  
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• DeVos expected to share plans on Title IX enforcement

  07-09-2017 15:34 via kxan.com
  Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has said Obama administration guidance on how colleges should handle sexual assault complaints isn’t working and suggested it needs revisions.
  She was expected to detail her plans Thursday in what the U.S. Education Department described as a “major policy address on Title IX enforcement.”
  Enacted in 1972, Title IX is a federal law that forbids discrimination based on sex in education. It was once seen as a measure to ensure equity in college spor
  
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• Blue Bell introduces Pink Camo ‘n Cream ice cream flavor

  07-09-2017 15:21 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Although it’s camouflage themed, it may be a little difficult to hide Blue Bell Ice Cream’s newest flavor in your freezer. The company announced Pink Camo ‘n Cream will be hitting store shelves on Thursday.
  The company says this new strawberry, milk chocolate and cream cheese ice cream swirl is the “sidekick” to last year’s Camo ‘n Cream flavor.
  “Our Camo ’n Cream was inspired by the camouflage design you see on just abo
  
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• Lane closures on US 183 and Loyola Lane through October

  07-09-2017 14:26 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Drivers on US Highway 183 in east Austin can expect lane closures to last through October.
  Starting Thursday evening, one of the two left turn lanes on southbound US 183 will be closed at Loyola Lane, and Loyola Lane will be reduced to one lane in each direction, according to the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. The agency says drivers will likely experience travel delays, and suggests taking alternate routes on Johnny Morris Road, Old Manor Road, Springdale/Manor
  
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• Man dies after car hits him in northwest Austin

  07-09-2017 13:21 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man died after a car ran into him in northwest Austin.
  The crash happened near 6600 McNeil Drive around 5:50 a.m., according to APD. EMS reports the man was in his 30s and died at the scene.
  Authorities are asking people to avoid the area as investigators begin working.
  
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• Amazon starts searching for second headquarters

  07-09-2017 12:50 via kxan.com
  SEATTLE (AP/KXAN) — Amazon has opened the search for a second headquarters, promising to spend more than $5 billion on the site.
  The online giant, based in Seattle, says that the new site would come with up to 50,000 jobs.
  Amazon buys Whole Foods, lowers prices
  The announcement Thursday will set off a scramble among cities vying to make the short list. The company estimates that investments in Seattle between 2010 and 2016 added $38 billion to the city’s economy.
  Cities and states ar
  
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• TxDOT plans to widen SH 130

  07-09-2017 12:28 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Another major highway in Central Texas is slated for construction. The Texas Department of Transportation wants to widen State Highway 130 to add one lane in each direction, widen the shoulder and build additional exit and entrance ramps. The 22-mile section between State Highway 45 to the north and State Highway 71 to the south has been open since 2008.
  During TxDOT’s last traffic count for the road in 2015, it found 46,646 drivers taking the section between SH 45 an
  
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• SSN: Mickey Spagnola on Ezekiel Elliott playing in opener

  07-09-2017 11:29 via kxan.com
  All along the Dallas Cowboys have been preparing Ezekiel Elliott as if he would be able to play.  Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said as for everybody else, they just need to focus on their job as the team prepares to face the New York Giants in the regular season opener Sunday.
  "Yeah, I think the biggest thing for all of us is to focus on what we need to do each and every day.  And that's been a point that we try to emphasize to our team for a long long time.  And our team unde
  
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• Austin budget request aims to better support survivors of sexual assault

  07-09-2017 05:03 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some city council members are pushing for more resources for sexual assault survivors in this year’s budget, following a recommendation from the Austin Commission for Women. They say police need more victim services counselors after cuts over the last decade and additional training is needed.
  As survivors are left waiting for justice in the midst of a major rape kit backlog, one tells KXAN the professional help made all the difference for her.
  “As a sexual assau
  
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• Texas issues company first license for medical marijuana

  07-09-2017 04:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The first marijuana medical license issued by the state of Texas will be going to a company called Cansortium Texas.
  The company, with administrative offices in Schulenberg, Texas, says they are humbled and honored to have earned a license as a low-THC dispensing organization.
  “Our commitment is to the patients of Texas suffering from epilepsy and their families who are enduring tremendous hardship,” the company said in a statement. “We are focused on comp
  
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• Florida sheriff says evacuees with warrants will be sheltered in jail

  07-09-2017 03:26 via kxan.com
  MIAMI, FL (AP) — People with active warrants in one Florida county might want to think twice about heading to a shelter for Hurricane Irma.
  Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd posted on his official Twitter account Wednesday that deputies will be checking identification at the county’s shelters, and anyone with a warrant will be arrested and taken to “the safe and secure shelter called the Polk County Jail.”
  Judd also posted that sex offenders and sex predators would not be ad
  
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• Houston cleanup has little crime and lots of helping hands

  07-09-2017 03:02 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — After riding out Hurricane Harvey in a motel and waiting an agonizing week for the waist-high waters to recede, 71-year-old Bob Janak returned to his wrecked home for the first time to find it swarming with people.
  They weren’t thieves or looters. They were volunteers who took it upon themselves to clean out the modest ranch house in outlying Magnolia, pushing wheelbarrows of sodden carpet and drywall and spreading armfuls of soggy, salvageable belongings on his front
  
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• Texas State starts fundraiser for students impacted by Harvey

  07-09-2017 02:06 via kxan.com
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – Thousands of Texans are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, many of those flooded sent their children to local colleges around the same time the storm was hitting.
  Texas State University estimates 8,500 of its students are impacted in one way or another.
  “So many of us, we have family, we have friends that lost their house, that lost their cars, that lost relatives,” said Texas State student Rachel Warwick.
  Warwick’s entire family lives in H
  
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• State audit: Texas Agriculture fees take in more money than necessary

  07-09-2017 01:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new audit shows Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller set fee increases too high and as a result collected 31 percent more than the agency should have at $6.5 million.
  Those fees eventually make their way to the consumer through increased prices. However, Commissioner Miller announced his department will look at lowering fees.
  The fees are part of the Texas Department of Agriculture’s “cost recovery” program, meaning certain areas of the agency must pay fo
  
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• KXAN and Nexstar Media Group raise over $2.5 million for Hurricane Harvey Relief

  07-09-2017 01:35 via kxan.com
  Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST), a leading diversified local media company headquartered in Irving, Texas announced today the expansion of its hurricane Harvey relief efforts with its organization-wide local community fundraising initiative Nexstar For Texas. The Texas Company has brought together local resources and personnel at all 170 owned or affiliated local television stations in 100 markets across the United States to support the expanded grassroots campaign. Nexstar For Texas ha
  
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• UT regent, telecom pioneer gifts $25 million to School of Social Work

  07-09-2017 01:32 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — One of the largest ever gifts to a public university’s school of social work was bestowed on the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday.
  R. Steven “Steve” Hicks, vice chairman of the UT System Board of Regents and a telecommunications pioneer, gifted $10 million to create a permanent endowment for student scholarships, $5 million in matching funds to encourage support of social worker education and $10 million to enhance social work education in the fi
  
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• Game Wardens urge Harvey victims to watch for wildlife

  07-09-2017 01:15 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — As Texans continue to clean up after Hurricane Harvey, Texas Parks and Wildlife wants to remind people that animals were also impacted by the storm.
  “A lot of folks are going to be going back [to their homes] and they are going to be focused on cleaning up the mess in the aftermath of the floods,” TPWD spokesperson Steve Lightfoot said. “But they are not going to be focused on is keeping a vigilant eye out for critters that might wander up into their ho
  
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• Austin officer quits months after allegedly staging death, fleeing to Mexico

  07-09-2017 00:59 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Almost five months after an Austin police officer disappeared into the interior of Mexico in what was called an “elaborate ruse” to stage his death, Officer Coleman Martin has resigned from the department.
  The Austin Police Department said Martin’s resignation was effective immediately. The 29-year-old, who turns 30 next week, triggered a massive search operation when his truck was found on the shores of Lake Amistad on the Texas border with Mexico with a
  
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• Cowboys happy to have Elliott, prepared to play without him

  07-09-2017 00:47 via kxan.com
  FRISCO, Texas(AP) Ezekiel Elliott practiced fully Wednesday for the first time since leaving the Dallas Cowboys for a lengthy – and ultimately unsuccessful – appeal of his six-game suspension over a domestic violence case.
  The star running back will play in the opener at home against the New York Giants on Sunday night essentially because of the timing of arbitrator Harold Henderson’s decision. Henderson backed the NFL process that concluded Elliott used physical force last su
  
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• Aerial mosquito spraying to start after Harvey

  07-09-2017 00:30 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON, Texas (AP) — Texas health officials say that because of the rains brought by Hurricane Harvey, aerial spraying targeting mosquitoes is set to start this week in two Southeast Texas counties.
  The Texas Department of State Health Services said Wednesday that aerial spraying is set to start around dusk Thursday over Refugio and Bee counties. The health department said it had activated its contract for aerial mosquito control and requested additional mosquito control assistance from t
  
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