Austin news

• Cops: Man’s GPS led him to drive into Pennsylvania river

  13-09-2017 23:14 via kxan.com
  EASTON, Pa. (AP) — Police say a driver’s global positioning system device caused him to drive into a Pennsylvania river.
  The Easton Express-Times says the motorist wound up in the Lehigh River in Easton shortly after 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
  They say the man’s GPS led him to drive along a bicycle path in a park. When the man realized he couldn’t drive on the path, he reversed course but found he couldn’t go that way either because of a tunnel under a low bridge.
  Police
  
  Read more

• Arkansas woman admits using county cash to buy dog tuxedo

  13-09-2017 22:57 via kxan.com
  HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — A former administrative assistant to an Arkansas county official has pleaded guilty to fraudulent use of a credit card after prosecutors accused her of using public money to buy personal items, including a tuxedo for her pet pug.
  Kristi Goss was set for trial this week but pleaded guilty Monday. Authorities accused Goss of fraudulently charging $200,000 to a Garland County credit card on purchases including the dog tuxedo, a diamond bracelet, tickets to Arkansas Ra
  
  Read more

• Stampede suspected in dozens of walrus deaths

  13-09-2017 22:56 via kxan.com
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Thousands of Pacific walrus are coming to Alaska’s northwest shore again in the absence of summer sea ice and not all are surviving.
  A survey Monday of a mile of coastline near the Inupiaq Eskimo village of Point Lay found 64 dead walruses, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told The Associated Press.
  Most of the animals were younger than a year old. The cause of death is not known, said agency spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros, but stampedes — set off when s
  
  Read more

• APNewsBreak: Walruses in Alaska may have died in stampede

  13-09-2017 22:56 via kxan.com
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Thousands of Pacific walrus are coming to Alaska’s northwest shore again in the absence of summer sea ice and not all are surviving.
  A survey Monday of a mile of coastline near the Inupiaq Eskimo village of Point Lay found 64 dead walruses, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told The Associated Press.
  Most of the animals were younger than a year old. The cause of death is not known, said agency spokeswoman Andrea Medeiros, but stampedes — set off when s
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Road rage murder victim’s family searches for clues to what happened

  13-09-2017 22:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – On Wednesday morning, the family of Alfred Lockett showed up to the CVS at the corner of East Parmer Lane and Dessau Road to try to piece together what led up to him being shot dead in the pharmacy parking lot.
  Austin police say on Tuesday afternoon, Lockett, 49, appeared to have been involved in a crash with a driver in a red Toyota Camry. While police don’t know where the crash occurred, the two vehicles ended up at the CVS.
  While Lockett remained in his car, the ot
  
  Read more

• Road rage murder victim’s family searches for clues, suspect still on the loose

  13-09-2017 22:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – On Wednesday morning, the family of Alfred Lockett showed up to the CVS at the corner of East Parmer Lane and Dessau Road to try to piece together what led up to him being shot dead in the pharmacy parking lot.
  Austin police say on Tuesday afternoon, Lockett, 49, appeared to have been involved in a crash with a driver in a red Toyota Camry. While police don’t know where the crash occurred, the two vehicles ended up at the CVS.
  While Lockett remained in his car, the ot
  
  Read more

• Soldier dies during medical helicopter hoist training on Fort Hood

  13-09-2017 22:35 via kxan.com
  FORT HOOD, Texas (KXAN) — A soldier was killed during training involving a Black Hawk medical helicopter on Fort Hood Tuesday night.
  The 1st Infantry Division HH-60M aircraft crew were conducting medical evacuation hoist training at around 10:30 p.m. when the incident happened. Military officials have not released how the soldier died.
  Officials say the soldier died on the Fort Hood range south of Robert Gray Army Airfield. The victim’s name will not be released until 24 hours after
  
  Read more

• Officials: Student killed confronting shooter at high school

  13-09-2017 20:57 via kxan.com
  ROCKFORD, Wash. (AP) — A student who opened fire in a hallway at a Washington state high school killed a classmate who confronted him Wednesday and wounded three others before being stopped by a staff member, authorities said.
  The suspect, who a classmate described as being obsessed with previous school shootings, was taken into custody. The wounded victims were expected to survive, officials said.
  The shooter brought two weapons to Freeman High School in Rockford, south of Spokane, but th
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• High school shooting in Washington state kills 1, injures 3

  13-09-2017 20:57 via kxan.com
  ROCKFORD, Wash. (AP) — A shooter opened fire at a high school in a tiny town in Washington state Wednesday, killing one student, injuring three others and sending worried parents to the school in a frenzied rush, authorities said.
  Brian Schaeffer of the Spokane Fire Department told reporters that one child died at Freeman High School in Rockford, south of Spokane, while three injured victims were taken to a hospital and expected to survive.
  “The shooter has been apprehended and is ta
  
  Read more

• Injured hawk ‘Harvey’ that gained online popularity released

  13-09-2017 20:12 via kxan.com
  PLANO, Texas (AP) — An injured hawk that sought refuge in a Houston taxicab before Harvey made landfall last month has been returned to the wild.
  Cabdriver William Bruso dubbed the female Cooper’s hawk “Harvey the Hurricane Hawk” in online videos . He found her Aug. 25 before the hurricane made landfall that night and took her home. As Harvey’s rains fell the next day, Liz Compton of the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition Wildlife Center picked her up.
  Compton
  
  Read more

• Williamson County K9s get new armored vests after social media call

  13-09-2017 19:59 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Less than a day after the Williamson County sheriff took to Twitter and Facebook asking for help to outfit the department’s K-9s with armored vests, a company stepped up to answer the call.
  Sheriff Robert Chody tweeted Tuesday that he was looking for grants or places that have the vests. He explained that deputies can’t start a GoFundMe page to specifically ask for monetary donations, but that they can accept items.Looking 4 grants or places th
  
  Read more

• Franklin Barbecue hosting Harvey relief fundraiser despite being closed

  13-09-2017 19:33 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Even though Franklin Barbecue has been closed for the past several weeks due to a fire that destroyed its smoke house, the restaurant still wants to help Hurricane Harvey victims.
  On Wednesday, the restaurant announced it’s hosting a barbecue benefiting Harvey relief. The fundraising event will be held Sunday, Sept. 17 at the Mohawk at 912 Red River St.
  Tickets are $30 at the door and the event starts at 11 a.m. The barbecue will be served until it runs out.
  The owner
  
  Read more

• Puppies from pet store chain sicken 39 people in 7 states

  13-09-2017 19:09 via kxan.com
  TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a multistate outbreak of infections linked to contact with puppies sold through Petland, a national pet store chain with locations in Kansas.
  The CDC said investigators are looking for the source of campylobacter infections in people and puppies so they can recommend how to stop the outbreak and prevent more illnesses.
  As of Monday, the outbreak includes 39 cases in seven states including Kansas
  
  Read more

• Man accused of stealing 105 gallons of diesel

  13-09-2017 18:38 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man is in jail accused of using cloned credit cards to purchase 105 gallons of diesel fuel and transporting it illegally.
  On Sept. 11, an officer with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Criminal Investigation Division was conducting surveillance on known fuel theft areas when he came across a suspicious situation at the Valero station at the corner of Rutland Drive and Parkfield Drive in north Austin. According to an arrest affidavit, the suspect, identified as Alex
  
  Read more

• Chip and Joanna Gaines of ‘Fixer Upper’ launch Target line

  13-09-2017 18:38 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Those looking to fix up their homes with some new furnishings will soon have an option inspired by renovation couple Chip and Joanna Gaines.
  Target announced this week it is partnering with the “Fixer Upper” family from Waco, Texas. Items from their new line called Hearth & Hand with Magnolia will hit store shelves Nov. 5. More than 300 items ranging in price from $0.99 to $129.99 will be available, according to a Target release.
  “Partnering with Chip
  
  Read more

• UT Health Austin launching specialty clinics for specific conditions

  13-09-2017 17:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new series of health clinics is opening to the public to help treat conditions from back pain to complex women’s health issues.
  UT Health Austin is a new practice that will target specific conditions at first, with plans to expand in the future. Women’s Health Institute, Musculoskeletal Institute and the Mulva Clinic for the Neurosciences will start seeing patients Oct. 17. Faculty and staff of the Dell Seton Medical School will work at them and try new method
  
  Read more

• The Latest: No fancy footwear for LA bid team

  13-09-2017 16:48 via kxan.com
  LIMA, Peru (AP) — The Latest on the Olympic bid votes (all times local):
  ___
  12:40 p.m.
  As if to show they’re not worried about today’s vote, members of the Los Angeles bid committee wore sneakers to their presentation.
  Bid chairman Casey Wasserman said the footwear reflects who they are, and the unique brand of California-cool they plan to bring to the 2028 Games.
  Wasserman, mayor Eric Garcetti and U.S. Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix are presenting, as the IOC prepares to
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Macron offers congratulations to Paris for 2024

  13-09-2017 16:48 via kxan.com
  LIMA, Peru (AP) — The Latest on the Olympic bid votes (all times local):
  ___
  2:20 p.m.
  President Emmanuel Macron says the award of the 2024 Olympics to Paris is a recognition of France’s “image and values” in the world.
  The French leader was among the first to offer congratulations to Paris after the International Olympic Committee officially confirmed Paris as the 2024 host, and Los Angeles for the 2028 Games.
  Macron spoke from the Caribbean, where he has been visiting F
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Los Angeles rekindles Olympic cauldron

  13-09-2017 16:48 via kxan.com
  LIMA, Peru (AP) — The Latest on the Olympic bid votes (all times local):
  ___
  8:30 a.m.
  The Olympic cauldron at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is blazing again, ahead of the expected official awarding of the 2028 Games to LA.
  The cauldron was lit early Wednesday morning at the stadium that was the site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics.
  An International Olympic Committee meeting in Peru is to make it official that LA will host in 2028 and that the 2024 Games will go to Paris.
  ___
  8 a.m.
  Beca
  
  Read more

• 5 die in nursing home after Irma as Florida death toll climbs to 18

  13-09-2017 16:47 via kxan.com
  HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — Florida residents struggling to put their lives back together in Hurricane Irma’s wake fell victim to new hazards, including oppressive heat, brush-clearing accidents, house fires and deadly fumes from generators.
  Five residents of a Hollywood nursing home that lost power in the storm died, authorities said Wednesday. They gave no immediate details on the cause. Police and fire crews began evacuating Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills after the deaths the
  
  Read more

• Justices allow Trump administration ban on most refugees

  13-09-2017 16:32 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to maintain its restrictive policy on refugees.
  The justices on Tuesday agreed to an administration request to block a lower court ruling that would have eased the refugee ban and allowed up to 24,000 refugees to enter the country before the end of October.
  The order was not the court’s last word on the travel policy that President Donald Trump first rolled out in January. The justices are scheduled to hear argu
  
  Read more

• Barges to provide housing for some Harvey-displaced Texans

  13-09-2017 16:15 via kxan.com
  PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) — Government officials say floating barges outfitted with living quarters will provide temporary homes for hundreds of Southeast Texas residents displaced by Hurricane Harvey.
  Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman on Tuesday announced the housing plan for as many as 600 people left homeless after Harvey. Freeman says two floating barges will provide living space and three meals a day, plus laundry facilities.
  Rockport family renovating home before Harvey hit face enormo
  
  Read more

• Sanders bill expands Medicare for all, lacks details on cost

  13-09-2017 15:46 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans would get health coverage simply by showing a new government-issued card and would no longer owe out-of-pocket expenses like deductibles, according to legislation Sen. Bernie Sanders released Wednesday.
  But the Vermont independent’s description of the legislation omitted specifics about how much it would cost and final decisions about how he would pay for it.
  Sanders was releasing his bill on the same day Republican senators were rolling out details of a l
  
  Read more

• Republicans unveil long-shot effort on health care

  13-09-2017 15:46 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators on Wednesday rolled out competing plans for the nation’s health care system, with a group of GOP senators making a last, long-shot effort to undo Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders proposing universal government-run coverage.
  Despite opposition and little time, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., proposed legislation that would do away with many of the subsidies and mandates of the 2010 law and in
  
  Read more

• Willie Nelson, Paul Simon to headline Hurricane Harvey benefit concert

  13-09-2017 15:35 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt are among the stars headlining a benefit concert next week to help Texas residents affected by Hurricane Harvey.
  Organizers said the “Harvey Can’t Mess With Texas” concert will be held in Austin on Sept. 22. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at 3 p.m. and prices range from $30 to $199. All the proceeds will benefit the Rebuild Texas Fund .
  Lyle Lovett, Leon Bridges, Nathaniel Rateliff & The
  
  Read more

• 5 AISD students sickened as Austin prepares for hard-hitting flu season

  13-09-2017 15:12 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Just a few weeks after classes began, the Austin Independent School District reports five students have come down with the flu at one school. Experts predict this flu season could hit hard — and it has to do with what’s happening now in Australia.
  Doctors at St. David’s Medical Center say that country has had more than twice the number of flu cases compared to last year, as well as double the number of deaths. Dr. Albert Gros says flu season here often mim
  
  Read more

• A decision to stay put despite Irma floods

  13-09-2017 13:50 via kxan.com
  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The floodwaters rose faster than they could pile their things on top of the furniture: the family photos up onto the dresser, the rugs up onto the bed.
  Her collection of hundreds of Beanie Babies was underwater before she could save them. Then went her 88-year-old husband’s model trucks and his favorite recliner where he likes to nap. They stuffed old records in the bathtub, but the water topped that, too, and poured right in.
  “We lost everything we ow
  
  Read more

• Internet falls in love with Florida police officers working during Irma

  13-09-2017 13:24 via kxan.com
  GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WFLA) — Three police officers from Florida have gone viral after sharing a photo on Facebook as they were getting ready to work during Hurricane Irma.
  On Sunday night, Officers Nordman, Hamill and Rengering were part of the night crew getting ready to work. The three snapped a photo and the Gainesville Police Department shared it on its Facebook page.
  Comments quickly started pouring in from people talking about how “hot” the officers are. As of Tuesday night
  
  Read more

• SCREENagers: How growing up has changed in the digital age

  13-09-2017 12:58 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Children who are now 10 years old share a birth year with one of the most well-recognized and constantly improving pieces of technology: the iPhone. Apple announced the first iPhone in 2007, with newer models coming out every year, leading to the latest iteration, the iPhone X, announced Tuesday.
  Most of those children born that year have never experienced life without a smart phone, and it’s a conversation parents and teachers are having as they determine how to bala
  
  Read more

• Shoal Creek Trail expansion could connect north Austin to downtown

  13-09-2017 12:23 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — There’s a new idea to get commuters to ditch their cars and opt for bikes and walking to get to some popular destinations between North Austin and downtown. The Shoal Creek Conservancy is proposing to expand the Shoal Creek Trail from 38th St. where it currently ends to the Walnut Creek Greenbelt. In total, it would run 13 miles, connecting Lady Bird Lake with North Austin.
  “It’s really about making connections along the Shoal Creek Trail and connecting to
  
  Read more

• ACC to offer classes in Apple’s programming language starting this fall

  13-09-2017 05:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) —  As part of an effort to expand opportunities in the tech sector, Austin Community College will offer students classes in Apple’s programming language Swift starting this fall.
  Gary Graber, the department chair in game design, animation and motion graphics at ACC, said that they’ve already seen a great deal of interest in the classes.
  “You spend a year and you could potentially go out and get a beginning level job,” he explained of the Swift pro
  
  Read more

• Supreme Court blocks lower court rulings on Texas districts

  13-09-2017 05:42 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP/KXAN) — A divided Supreme Court is blocking lower court rulings that ordered Texas to redraw some congressional and legislative districts.
  The 5-4 order issued late Tuesday means the state almost certainly will hold elections next year in districts that were struck down as racially discriminatory.
  The court’s four liberal justices, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, would have allowed the redrawing of the affected districts.
  In a stat
  
  Read more

• Pre-K enrollment on the rise as classrooms get even more crowded

  13-09-2017 05:01 via kxan.com
  PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — With more than 800 pre-kindergarten students enrolling in Pflugerville schools this 2017-2018 year, one viewer reached out to KXAN with concerns about classroom safety. We learned the district is already taking steps to balance out the numbers.
  The Pflugerville Independent School District says their average pre-K class has a 20-to-1 student/teacher ratio. In English pre-K classes, that ratio jumps to 22.5 students to one teacher.
  Also, in recent weeks, the dist
  
  Read more

• Catholic sister helps clear Hurricane Irma debris with chainsaw

  13-09-2017 04:25 via kxan.com
  MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — An officer in Miami-Dade County was off-duty Tuesday when she ran into a Catholic school principal taking a chainsaw to trees knocked down by Hurricane Irma.
  According to the police department, Sister Margaret Ann was cutting the trees to clear neighborhood roadways following Hurricane Irma.
  Sister Margaret Ann is the principal of Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School, a private Roman Catholic high school in Miami-Dade County.
  The police department post
  
  Read more

• Austin man among 8 victims in Plano shooting at Cowboys watch party

  13-09-2017 04:03 via kxan.com
  PLANO, Texas (AP/KXAN) — Plano police have identified 32-year-old Spencer James Hight as the gunman who killed eight people at a Plano home Sunday night.
  Hight was killed by an officer who responded to the scene, heard gunfire, was confronted by the armed man and shot him.
  Police say Hight’s 27-year-old ex-wife, Meredith Emily Hight, is among the victims.
  Thirty-three-year-old victim Anthony “Tony” Michael Cross was from Austin.
  His family said in a statement, “Time
  
  Read more

• Austin man among 8 victims in Plano shooting

  13-09-2017 04:03 via kxan.com
  PLANO, Texas (AP/KXAN) — Plano police have identified 32-year-old Spencer James Hight as the gunman who killed eight people at a Plano home Sunday night.
  Hight was killed by an officer who responded to the scene, heard gunfire, was confronted by the armed man and shot him.
  Police say Hight’s 27-year-old ex-wife, Meredith Emily Hight, is among the victims.
  Thirty-three-year-old victim Anthony “Tony” Michael Cross was from Austin.
  His family said in a statement, “Time
  
  Read more

• New lawsuits, gestures to customers in Equifax data breach

  13-09-2017 03:56 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Equifax faces new lawsuits and is trying to make new gestures to customers in the wake of its disclosure last week that it exposed vital data like Social Security numbers of about 143 million Americans.
  It’s already come under fire from members of Congress, state attorneys general, and customers.
  The company and its competitors, TransUnion and Experian, gauge how much of a risk people are for borrowing money. So they have some of the most sensitive information about A
  
  Read more

• Tax swap off the table as Austin City Council works on finalizing budget

  13-09-2017 03:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) —  Austin’s budget deadline approaches. The discussion is not sexy, but substantive, reaching every aspect of life in the capital city. Most of the $1 billion general fund is already earmarked. Now council members are haggling over just $5 million left to their discretion.
  “There are some extremely significant needs that aren’t included in the city manager’s proposed budget,” Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo told KXAN, saying the funding city counc
  
  Read more

• Austin City Council nears budget deadline as members differ on priorities

  13-09-2017 03:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) —  Austin’s budget deadline approaches. The discussion is not sexy, but substantive, reaching every aspect of life in the capital city. Most of the $1 billion general fund is already earmarked. Now council members are haggling over just $5 million left to their discretion.
  “There are some extremely significant needs that aren’t included in the city manager’s proposed budget,” Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo told KXAN, saying the funding city counc
  
  Read more

• Country singer Randy Travis asks federal court to block release of DWI arrest

  13-09-2017 01:18 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Country music singer Randy Travis is asking a federal court to block the release of “highly intimate” audio and video showing his 2012 arrest for a DWI charge. The lawsuit, filed Sunday in U.S. District Court, claims Travis was “discombobulated” when he left his house without wearing any clothes and drove his car while under the influence of alcohol.
  The Texas Department of Public Safety has audio and video of the arrest, which is considered public r
  
  Read more

• Texas-USC game officially a sell out

  13-09-2017 01:06 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The LA Coliseum is sold out prior to Saturday’s USC-Texas tilt according to USC officials.
  The 92,348-seat Coliseum will be full for a USC football game for the first time in four years. The last USC sell out was in 2013 when the Trojans hosted Stanford.
  Texas and USC are meeting for the first time since the 2006 BCS National Championship when the Longhorns defeated the Trojans 41-38 at the Rose Bowl. Fittingly, this will be Texas’ largest crowd away from home s
  
  Read more

• Donation organizers worry Rockport victims are being forgotten

  13-09-2017 00:51 via kxan.com
  ROCKPORT, Texas (Nexstar) — Trucks full of emergency supplies stop at donation centers across the Coastal Bend, but despite the support from Texans across the state, relief organizers say they need more donations and more volunteers.
  Rockport’s road to recovery will likely take years.
  “People have kind of forgotten about Rockport, this was in the eye of the hurricane that hit here,” frequent Rockport visitor Bill Thomas said. After the storm, he posted to Facebook, asking
  
  Read more

• After cuts, Texas non-profits to do more advertising, navigating for Obamacare

  13-09-2017 00:42 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The job of getting the word out about enrolling in Obamacare will now mostly be in the hands of Texas non-profits.
  Several groups are bracing for the burden after the Trump administration cut 90 percent of Obamacare’s advertising budget and around half of the budget meant to help people navigate through the process.
  The administration insists the Affordable Care Act is collapsing. Over the past week they have defended the cuts saying the money spent was not getting th
  
  Read more

• Seattle’s mayor resigns after 5th sex abuse claim emerges

  13-09-2017 00:29 via kxan.com
  SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced his resignation Tuesday after a fifth man — one of his cousins — came forward and accused him of sexual abuse decades ago.
  Murray, who had already announced that he would not seek a second term even as he denied wrongdoing, said he would step down effective 5 p.m. Wednesday.
  “While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our city government to conduct the
  
  Read more

Follow @Austin_News_US on Twitter!