Austin news

• Manor High School launches Special Olympics team

  30-09-2017 19:30 via kxan.com
  MANOR (KXAN) — For the first time in school history, Manor High School is forming a team to compete in the 2017-2018 Texas Special Olympics.The first Manor ISD team to participate in the Special Olympics will be a bowling team with plans to expand to basketball and track and field in the future. The bowling team is training ahead of their first competition at the 2017 Area Bowling Fun League on October 6.The school district held a kick-off event Saturday morning where members of the team s
  
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• Williamson County helping residents dispose of leftover waste

  30-09-2017 18:52 via kxan.com
  TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — While volunteer efforts in Hurricane Harvey continue, Williamson County is stepping in to help residents dispose of leftover waste. Residents can dispose of chemical and hazardous waste for free with the Williamson County and Waste Management Saturday.
  The county is collecting items at the Williamson County Expo Center where residents can drop off a variety of products like household cleaning products, old lightbulbs and motor oil. They ask that visitors bring produc
  
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• Fire destroys Leander home; no one hurt

  30-09-2017 17:44 via kxan.com
  LEANDER (KXAN) — Fire crews with Travis County ESD 1 say a home in Leander was destroyed by a fire late Friday night.
  According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, crews were dispatched at 9:30 p.m. to the home off Yaupon Trail and Juniper Trail in the Sandy Creek neighborhood of Leander. The first units found the home engulfed in flames and it has now been declared a total loss.
  No one was home when the fire broke out and no injuries have been reported.
  Crews from the
  
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• Trump lashes out at San Juan mayor who begged for more help

  30-09-2017 16:30 via kxan.com
  BRANCHBURG, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at the mayor of San Juan and other officials in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico, contemptuous of their claims of a laggard U.S. response to the natural disaster that has imperiled the island’s future.
  “Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help,” Trump said in a series of tweets a day after the capital city’s mayor appe
  
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• APNewsBreak: No increased danger after Yosemite rocks fall

  30-09-2017 16:24 via kxan.com
  YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A geological analysis Friday found there was no more danger than usual of another giant rock fall after two huge slides, including one involving a slab of granite the size of a 36-story building, occurred this week on the famed El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park.
  One person was killed and two injured in the successive rock falls on Wednesday and Thursday at the climbing mecca.
  “If we felt any area was unsafe we wouldn’t be
  
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• Far East Fest to highlight Asian Culture

  30-09-2017 15:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin group wants to help you experience the flavors of the Far East on Sunday. The Far East Fest is Austin’s new Asian food festival featuring cuisines from Thai to Indian and Chinese. The event will be held at the Austin American Statesman building at 305 S. Congress Ave. VIPs get in at noon. General admission begins at 1.
  General admission tickets are $55 and VIP tickets are $100. Kids 12 and under get in for $15.
  More than 30 food vendors will be offering
  
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• Med students on Dominica when hurricane hit return to Austin

  30-09-2017 07:17 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two medical students living on the island of Dominica have returned home after being stuck after Hurricane Maria.
  Yasmine Bargoti and Denzel Gosey study at Ross University Medical School.
  They were finishing up their second year of medical school on the island when Maria hit a week ago Monday, destroying many parts of the island.
  Bargoti and Gosey had to hide in the bathroom of their apartment after windows started to be blown out, and they saw roofs flying off of other bui
  
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• High School Football Week 5: Hendrickson vs. Cedar Ridge

  30-09-2017 06:55 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Cedar Ridge blows past Hendrickson 43-27 Friday night at the Palace. Cedar Ridge (4-1, 1-0) is at Round Rock McNeil next week. Hendrickson (2-3, 0-1) hosts Westwood next week
  
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• Pet owner spreading vaccination awareness after senior pet’s death

  30-09-2017 06:39 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Joann Saathoff’s 14-year-old Pomeranian, Lexy, died on Sept. 24, and she believes the round of vaccinations Lexy received 12 days earlier led to her death.
  Now Saatoff is trying to raise awareness about the options owners of senior pets have when it comes to getting shots for their furry friends.
  It all started when Lexy went in for her annual check up. She was evaluated by the vet first, who said Lexy was in good health. Then Lexy received five shots, the same exact
  
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• Police: Suspect in Round Rock spa robbery behind other armed robberies

  30-09-2017 05:25 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The man who police say robbed the Seven Day Spa on Sam Bass Road in Round Rock on Monday — using an AK-47 — was responsible for other aggravated robberies in Austin, according to police.
  On Sunday, Sept. 24 at around 10:30 p.m., Austin police rushed to a 911 call at the Holiday Inn Express at 701 E. Stassney Ln. in south Austin.
  They arrived to find a woman who said a man had approached her from behind, grabbed her and put a gun to her head. The woman pleaded fo
  
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• Investigator says sheriff’s office made crucial mistakes in Rachel Cooke case

  30-09-2017 02:30 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The FBI is awaiting tips, after they increased reward money this week to $100,000 for information leading to Rachel Cooke.
  A former lieutenant who worked the missing person case during his time with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office hopes the money will help. But he said the sheriff’s office made crucial mistakes when Cooke first disappeared.
  “There was no reason to think she was a runaway, she had no history of it,” John Foste
  
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• Slaughter Creek I-35 overpass reopens after renovations

  30-09-2017 01:26 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Drivers reliant on the Slaughter Creek overpass can now get back to their regular route. The overpass at I-35 is now open after the road was closed last May for improvements.
  The Friday event kicked off with a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a motorcycle parade led by State Senator Kirk Watson, D-Austin. This marks the first project to be completed under the Mobility35 program which began in 2011.
  The overpass was renovated to have a wider bridge with improved frontage
  
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• Could Oprah run against Trump for president in 2020?

  30-09-2017 01:14 via kxan.com
  (WKRG) — A tweet by Oprah Winfrey is sparking a ton of speculation over whether she might be considering a run for president.
  The media mogul on Thursday tweeted a New York Post article calling her the “best hope” for Democrats in 2020.
  In the article, writer John Podhoretz spoke highly of Winfrey’s performance as moderator in a political discussion with Michigan voters on “60 Minutes” Sunday.@jpodhoretz Thanks for your VOTE of confidence!Democrats&r
  
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• Texas man indicted on 2 counts of killing bald eagles

  30-09-2017 00:36 via kxan.com
  DALLAS (AP) — A Texas man has been indicted on two counts of killing bald eagles.
  The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced Friday that 82-year-old Jackie Brister, of Bend, Texas, had been indicted by a Lampasas County grand jury on the counts related to a January incident.
  Brister faces additional charges on allegations that he captured and killed other protected non-game birds including several types of vultures.
  The charges stem from an investigation launched by game wardens in
  
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• VIDEO: Thief breaks into Round Rock market, gets away with cash register

  30-09-2017 00:20 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Round Rock police are investigating two burglaries after surveillance video captured suspects breaking into stores in the same strip mall in less than a week’s time.
  Late Sunday night, Sept. 24, a man broke into the Indo Pak Supermarket store located in the Turtle Creek Market, 1500 A.W. Grimes Blvd. Video surveillance footage released to KXAN shows the shirtless suspect hopping over the front counter and removing the cash register. The burglar got awa
  
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• Austin Energy launches new mobile alert tools for power outages

  30-09-2017 00:07 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Energy, the city’s community-owned electric utility, has launched new mobile communication tools for customers to use when the power goes out.
  The new tools include a mobile-friendly outage map, proactive text messages that provide updates to customers and the ability to report outages via text message.
  The upgraded, bilingual outage map is now mobile-friendly and includes many new features to improve the customer experience. Customers can view and report outag
  
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