Austin news

• Legionnaires’ disease forces Round Rock hotel to close

  05-10-2017 23:55 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — A recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at a Round Rock hotel has forced the hotel to close while they determine the source of the problem.
  The Texas State Department of Health Services says there have been four confirmed cases of Legionnaires at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Round Rock, located at 2960 Hoppe Trail. The Williamson County Health District says there were two cases on Friday and two more on Monday.
  The hotel says the four confirmed c
  
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• Rare Selena video recovered in donation to the Smithsonian

  05-10-2017 23:49 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (KXAN) — A rare video of Selena has been discovered in a donation to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
  The footage of Selena Quintanilla-Perez, “the queen of Tejano music,” at Hemisfair Park in San Antonio, was taken in April 1994 and found in a TV camera donated to the museum’s Spanish-language television project by Univision.
  The Smithsonian says the production manager of San Antonio’s KWEX-TV put an unlabeled 3/4-inch tape in
  
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• Lake Travis High softball coach reinstated after inappropriate conduct claim

  05-10-2017 23:35 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The head coach of the Lake Travis High School softball team has been fully reinstated by the school district.
  Coach Billy Coleman was placed on paid administrative leave on Thursday, Sept. 28 after he was accused of inappropriate conduct.
  Details of the allegations were not disclosed. A large number of team parents met with the high school’s principal after Coleman was placed on leave, because they felt the claims were false.
  Following an investigation, a district spo
  
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• West Campus lighting in the spotlight with new survey

  05-10-2017 22:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the city of Austin and the University of Texas work in tandem to address safety concerns in the West Campus area, the city wants your thoughts on the neighborhood’s lighting.
  On Tuesday, the city launched a survey to solicit feedback from anyone in the community, not just UT students.
  “Feedback is critical to creating positive sustainable safety changes in West Campus,” says Joell McNew, vice president of SafeHorns, a group started by UT parents focused
  
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• Therapy dog found days after massacre in Las Vegas

  05-10-2017 22:34 via kxan.com
  LAS VEGAS (WFLA) — Four days after Sunday’s shooting in Las Vegas, a California man has refused to leave.
  According to CNN, his dog ran off amid the chaos and the gunfire and he was determined to find her.
  Little Rou was back in her owner’s arms, after being lost for days.
  Ryan Meedham finally spotted her Wednesday night in a field not far from Mandalay Bay, near where the gunman killed 58 people on Sunday.
  Needham had been driving around all day, following hundreds of tip
  
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• Gas leak causes traffic issue on Dessau Road at Braker Lane

  05-10-2017 22:00 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A gas leak had Dessau Road shut down in both directions at Braker Lane in northeast Austin for a couple of hours Thursday afternoon.
  The Austin Police Department says the gas line was damaged around 1:45 p.m. A spokesperson for Texas Gas Service says a third party contractor damaged the line at or near a construction site.
  The company says the gas was shut off around 4:30 p.m., but they will continue to make repairs. One southbound lane of Dessau Road will remain closed as
  
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• Texas girl rescued from gun safe at sporting goods store

  05-10-2017 20:28 via kxan.com
  DENTON, Texas (AP) — Fire officials in Texas say a child has been rescued after being trapped in a gun safe at a sporting goods store.
  Denton firefighters used hand tools to pry open the gun safe at an Academy Sports and Outdoors store Tuesday. The girl had been in the safe for more than 30 minutes.
  Fire department spokesman Kenneth Hedges says the girl’s mother talked to her to keep her calm. Fire officials estimate the girl is about 4 or 5 years old.
  Hedges says the safe has a lock
  
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• Josh Abbott Band cancels Waco show after Las Vegas shooting

  05-10-2017 20:25 via kxan.com
  WACO, Texas (KWKT/KXAN) — Country singer Adam Hood will replace Josh Abbott Band at the Heart O’ Texas Fair & Rodeo in Waco.
  Thursday morning country star Josh Abbott announced he was canceling all of his band’s planned performances over the weekend. That includes his concert at the Heart O’ Texas Fair & Rodeo Saturday, Oct. 7.
  The Texas-based Josh Abbott Band performed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas just minutes before a man opened fire on the audi
  
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• How to get to ACL Festival this year

  05-10-2017 19:43 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With no parking at Zilker Park and restricted parking nearby, Austin City Limits Music Festival attendees can turn to other transportation options to get to the venue.
  What to know about ACL this year
  Changes to what you can and can’t bring
  Ticket refunds allowed after Las Vegas shooting
  Shuttles
  ACL is providing free shuttle service from downtown Austin. People can get picked up at Republic Square Park at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Guadalupe Street and will be dr
  
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• Minnesota man facing his 28th DWI charge

  05-10-2017 19:29 via kxan.com
  OTTER TAIL COUNTY, Minn. (KARE) — A Minnesota man is facing his 28th Driving While Intoxicated charge, and was using a valid license at the time of the alleged offense.
  It’s difficult to even count all of Danny Bettcher drunk driving convictions.
  The Minnesota Department of Public safety knows of 23. North Dakota’s online court records show four more convictions, to total 27, and the only records available date back to 1980. Bettcher has been driving since the late 1960s.
  Bettc
  
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• 3 bears found rummaging inside Texas woman’s SUV

  05-10-2017 19:08 via kxan.com
  LAKE CITY, Colo. (KXAN/NBC News) — A Texas woman visiting Colorado came across some furry hitchhikers this week.
  Liddy Bredeen says when she woke up Morning morning, she found three bears rummaging through her SUV in Lake City, Colo. Breeden says the burglars gained access to her SUV because it was unlocked.
  After eating what food was in the vehicle, the bears — a mother and her two cubs — eventually ran off. Breeden says she plans on taking her car to the shop to see if they c
  
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• Texas’ 2011 cuts to schools still being felt, reports finds

  05-10-2017 18:43 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Legislature’s $5-plus billion in 2011 cuts to public education mean that Texas’ classroom funding still lags behind its pre-Great Recession levels due to booming enrollment growth — with low-income students hit hardest.
  That’s the conclusion of a report released Thursday by University of Texas professor Michael Marder and Chandra Villanueva, of the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities.
  They found that, despite increased funding m
  
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• MetroRail, MetroRapid hours extended for ACL Music Festival

  05-10-2017 18:27 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — To meet the increased demand of 75,000 festival-goers attending the Austin City Limits Music Festival, Capital Metro will ramp up MetroRapid and MetroRail service during both weekends of the event.
  “We like to go earlier in the day to see people we don’t know, it’s less crowded,” says one festival attendee who is planning on attending the first weekend of the event. “There are tons of people, kind of mayhem down here close to the festival.
  
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• Spacewalkers installing new hand on station’s robot arm

  05-10-2017 17:53 via kxan.com
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts worked at giving the International Space Station’s big robot arm a new hand Thursday.
  Commander Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei tackled the job on the first of three NASA spacewalks planned over the next two weeks.
  The latching mechanism on one end of the 58-foot robot arm malfunctioned in August. It needs to be replaced before an Orbital ATK supply ship launches in November.
  Within an hour-and-a-half, the spacewalkers had unbolted
  
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• LIVE FEED: Spacewalkers installing new hand on station’s robot arm

  05-10-2017 17:53 via kxan.com
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts worked at giving the International Space Station’s big robot arm a new hand Thursday.
  Commander Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei tackled the job on the first of three NASA spacewalks planned over the next two weeks.
  The latching mechanism on one end of the 58-foot robot arm malfunctioned in August. It needs to be replaced before an Orbital ATK supply ship launches in November.
  Within an hour-and-a-half, the spacewalkers had unbolte
  
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• Uber app helps riders learn ASL to communicate with deaf drivers

  05-10-2017 17:12 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tasha Lemke says it’s not so hard communicating with her passengers.
  She’s deaf and she’s driven for Uber over the last year and a half. She said living in Austin makes driver and rider communication easier.
  “I don’t feel like there are really any barriers,” she said.
  Austin has a rather large deaf community. She said more deaf people drive for Uber than people probably realize.
  She says there may at times be some initial awkwardness when
  
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• Las Vegas gunman may have scoped out other music festivals

  05-10-2017 17:02 via kxan.com
  LAS VEGAS (AP) — Investigators are looking into whether gunman Stephen Paddock scoped out bigger music festivals in Las Vegas and Chicago — and perhaps Boston’s Fenway Park — before setting up his perch in a casino hotel and raining deadly fire on country music fans.
  Paddock booked rooms overlooking the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in August and the Life Is Beautiful show near the Vegas Strip in late September, according to authorities reconstructing his movements bef
  
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• Did Las Vegas gunman target other music festivals?

  05-10-2017 17:02 via kxan.com
  LAS VEGAS (AP) — In the days and months before he mowed down concertgoers from his high-rise hotel suite, gunman Stephen Paddock rented rooms overlooking two other music festivals in Las Vegas and Chicago, authorities said.
  They gave no details on what his intentions might have been.
  The disclosures came as investigators struggled for a fourth day to explain what led the 64-year-old high-stakes gambler to open fire Sunday night on an open-air country music festival from the 32nd floor of t
  
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• APD searching for man who allegedly exposed himself multiple times

  05-10-2017 16:53 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department is asking for the public’s help to find a man they believe was involved in several indecent exposure cases in south Austin. They believe he may have other victims.
  Police say a man allegedly exposed himself to women six different times between Sept. 21 and Oct. 1 in a neighborhood near Manchaca Road and Frate Barker Road. Five happened at night after 8 p.m. and one was at noon. The women were either working outside their homes or walk
  
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• 6 cases of man exposing himself in south Austin in the past 2 weeks

  05-10-2017 16:53 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department is asking for the public’s help to find a man they believe was involved in several indecent exposure cases in south Austin. They believe he may have other victims.
  Police say a man allegedly exposed himself to women six different times between Sept. 21 and Oct. 1 in a neighborhood near Manchaca Road and Frate Barker Road. Five happened at night after 8 p.m. and one was at noon. The women were either working outside their homes or walk
  
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• SMU suspends fraternity accused of making new members eat until sick

  05-10-2017 16:47 via kxan.com
  DALLAS (AP) — Southern Methodist University has suspended a fraternity accused of forcing new members to eat hot peppers, red onions and milk until they threw up.
  The Dallas Morning News reports that the Dallas school and the national office of the Kappa Alpha Order have suspended the fraternity’s Beta Lambda chapter at SMU.
  The suspension follows an investigation into reports of hazing at the fraternity during the spring semester. The university says in a letter to parents that evid
  
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• Netflix raising US prices by 10 percent for most popular plan

  05-10-2017 16:11 via kxan.com
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix is raising the price for its most popular U.S. video streaming plan by 10 percent — a move that could boost its profits but slow the subscriber growth that drives its stock price.
  The change announced Thursday affects most of Netflix’s 53 million U.S. subscribers.
  What goes up
  Netflix will now charge $11 per month instead of $10 for a plan that includes HD and allows people to simultaneously watch programs on two different internet-connected devices
  
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• Massive wave of butterflies lights up Denver weather radar

  05-10-2017 15:23 via kxan.com
  DENVER (AP) — A lacy, cloud-like pattern drifting across a Denver-area radar screen turned out to be a 70-mile-wide wave of butterflies, forecasters say.
  Paul Schlatter of the National Weather Service said he first thought flocks of birds were making the pattern he saw on the radar Tuesday, but the cloud was headed northwest with the wind, and migrating birds would be southbound in October.
  He asked birdwatchers on social media what it might be, and by Wednesday had his answer: People repo
  
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• Austin Energy truck hits woman in southeast Austin

  05-10-2017 15:09 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — One woman was taken to the hospital Thursday morning after an Austin Energy truck hit her in southeast Austin.
  It happened near the intersection of Teri Road and Freidrich Lane at 7:22 a.m., an area that’s about a block southeast of Interstate 35. The truck’s driver stayed at the scene and called 911.
  ATCEMS reports the woman was taken to St. David’s South Austin with non-life threatening injuries. APD told KXAN the woman was sitting up and talking at the
  
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• Multi-car collision causes heavy traffic delay in southeast Austin

  05-10-2017 14:54 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Drivers are experiencing heavy delays in southeast Austin after multiple cars collided on State Highway 71.
  Austin Police Department reported at least four and possibly 8 vehicles were involved. The right lane of westbound SH 71 is blocked, and there is a very heavy delay from State Highway 130 to U.S. 183. Anyone heading to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport can expect delays.
  There is no word on how many people were injured.
  Check traffic conditions on your route by f
  
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• Austin City Council to discuss Confederate monuments, Indigenous Peoples’ Day

  05-10-2017 14:16 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Here’s a quick rundown of some of Thursday’s top agenda items. Overall, it’s expected to be a pretty light agenda.
  Homeless Outreach Street Team
  This item authorizes an amendment to the agreement the city has with Integral Care for the Homeless Outreach Street Team. This amendment would add four 12-month renewal options, costing $242,354 each.  HOST connects individuals experiencing homelessness with necessary services to begin the process o
  
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• ‘Glee’ actor Mark Salling admits to possessing child porn

  05-10-2017 13:49 via kxan.com
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former “Glee” actor Mark Salling has reached a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to possession of child pornography.
  The plea agreement filed Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles states the actor is admitting he possessed images of prepubescent children. The agreement states a search warrant found more than 50,000 images of child porn on Salling’s computer and a thumb drive.
  Prosecutors and Salling have agreed to ask a judge to sentence the actor
  
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• Deadline to renew DACA Thursday

  05-10-2017 12:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thursday is the deadline for those who came to the U.S. as children to renew their DACA application. It allows hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants to obtain work permits that last two years. Since the program launched, it has benefited more than 800,000 recipients including more than 124,000 Texans.
  Once the program ends in two years, employers are bracing for thousands to lose their jobs in industries like technology, medical and engineering. Meanwhile a
  
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• American Red Cross has raised $350 million for Harvey relief

  05-10-2017 12:21 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — The American Red Cross reports that it has raised $350 million in donations designated for Hurricane Harvey relief in the month since the storm hit the Texas coast.
  In a statement issued Wednesday, the Red Cross reported that it has authorized payments of $400 in direct financial help to each of more than 380,000 households affected by the storm, amounting to a total of more than $150 million.
  The Red Cross also says it allocated $2.5 million for health and mental health ser
  
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• VIDEO: Men rescue baby dolphin caught in crab trap

  05-10-2017 05:43 via kxan.com
  CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Two men rescued a baby dolphin from a crab trap in Ozello on Sunday.
  Misha Miller captured the rescue on camera.
  Miller told News Channel 8 someone called Island Outpost, a local store, telling them a dolphin was trapped. The person also called FWC.
  Drew McWhirter and his friend were at the store at the time of the phone call, so they hopped in their boat with Miller and found the dolphin in the St. Martin’s River.
  They found the mother dolphin circling h
  
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• AFD plans surprise inspections to prevent bar overcrowding during ACL

  05-10-2017 05:12 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Fire Department inspectors are planning to be out in force this weekend for the kickoff of the Austin City Limits festival, dropping by bars and clubs without warning to make sure they’re not overcrowded.
  Sixth Street is busy enough on a normal weekend, let alone during an event which hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend, overflowing into downtown venues for after-party shows. Firefighters want to make sure owners aren’t going overboard
  
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• DA: Second suspect in Greg Kelley case not likely to face charges

  05-10-2017 04:55 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick confirmed to KXAN Wednesday evening his office does not anticipate filing charges against Johnathan McCarty as part of the Greg Kelley investigation.
  In August, investigators revealed there were three suspects in the reopened child sex assault case against Kelley, including McCarty and an unidentified person. Kelley’s attorney believes the victim confused McCarty with Kelley.
  Kelly was convicted and sentenced to 25 years
  
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• Cops: Shoplifting suspect crashes, leaves 2-year-old son to die in vehicle

  05-10-2017 04:26 via kxan.com
  TULLYTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A New Jersey man has been jailed on charges he left his 2-year-old son to die after a crash that occurred as he fled from a Philadelphia-area Walmart after allegedly stealing television speakers.
  Twenty-seven-year-old Christopher Kuhn, of Hamilton, remained in the Bucks County jail Wednesday on third-degree murder and other charges. There was no attorney listed in court records.
  Tullytown police say Kuhn fled the store at Levittown Town Center early Tuesday afternoon
  
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• Motorcyclist killed in crash with SUV in eastern Travis County

  05-10-2017 03:52 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — DPS troopers are investigating after a 25-year-old motorcyclist died and another man was seriously injured in a crash with a vehicle in eastern Travis County on Wednesday night.
  Austin-Travis County EMS medics were called at 8:33 p.m. to the intersection of Farm to Market 969/Webberville Road and Farm to Market 973, just west of State Highway 130.
  The Department of Public Safety says the motorcyclist, Julio-Oscar Gomez Torres, was riding south on FM 973 at a high rate of sp
  
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• Man killed in crash between motorcycle and vehicle in east Travis Co.

  05-10-2017 03:52 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man in his 30s is dead and another man injured in a crash between a vehicle and motorcycle in eastern Travis County, Wednesday night.
  Austin-Travis County EMS medics were called at 8:33 p.m. to the intersection of Farm to Market 969/Webberville Road and Farm to Market 973, just west of State Highway 130.
  The injured man, also in his 30s, has critical, life-threatening injuries and has been taken to Dell Seton Medical Center.
  Drivers should expect closures and avoid the ar
  
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• Judge won’t release Iraq War veteran fighting deportation

  05-10-2017 02:56 via kxan.com
  SEATTLE (AP) — An immigration judge in Washington state declined to release an Iraq War veteran from custody Wednesday while he fights the government’s efforts to deport him.
  Chong Kim, a South Korean immigrant and green card holder from Portland, Oregon, struggled with drug addiction, homelessness and post-traumatic stress following his time in Iraq in 2009 and 2010, leading to convictions for burglary and other charges.
  Kim’s lawyer and friends have said he has done well sinc
  
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• Texas water board creating statewide flood plan after Harvey

  05-10-2017 01:53 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (Nexstar) — The state is working on a plan designed to help Texans during future flooding, so agencies can be prepared when the next disaster hits.
  The state’s House Committee on Natural Resources met in Houston on Wednesday to determine “the role of regional entities in developing projects to control flooding, both through new infrastructure and enhancing existing infrastructure.” They also looked at mitigation efforts that would reduce the impact of future flood
  
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• Donation bin deaths highlight trapping danger

  05-10-2017 01:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Roger Autry reached into a north Austin charity donation bin to fish out some clothes early on the morning of Sept. 8, 2016. He stood on top of a grocery cart, stuck his upper body through the door of the metal box and reached in with a crudely fashioned metal hook.
  Then the bin’s door slammed shut on the 52-year-old man, who police describe as homeless. One hinge crushed Autry’s right arm and a jaw-like security door clamped down on his throat. There Autry hung
  
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• Crowbar flies through windshield, narrowly misses driver

  05-10-2017 01:23 via kxan.com
  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (WESH) — A driver miraculously escaped injury when a crowbar went flying through the windshield of a pickup Wednesday on Interstate 95 in Daytona Beach.
  The pickup was traveling on I-95 between International Speedway Boulevard and LPGA Boulevard when the crowbar flew into and through the driver’s side of the windshield.
  Daytona Beach fire officials said the pickup was behind a semi that drove over the crowbar, causing it fly into the air.
  Read more: http://bit.ly/
  
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• Father pens emotional letter after son is killed in Las Vegas shooting

  05-10-2017 00:55 via kxan.com
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Sonny Melton, of Paris, Tennessee, was among the 59 people murdered in Las Vegas when a gunman opened fire on thousands of concert goers late Sunday night.
  Melton was enjoying the Jason Aldean concert with his wife, Heather, and reportedly died shielding her from the gunfire. She was never physically injured.
  In the wake of his passing, the 29-year-old’s father took to Facebook, penning an emotional open letter about his son’s life
  
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• Every former president will be at A&M hurricane relief concert

  05-10-2017 00:48 via kxan.com
  COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KXAN) — All of America’s former presidents will join music legends on stage this month at Texas A&M University to raise money for hurricane relief.
  The Oct. 21 show at Reed Arena will feature ALABAMA, the Gatlin Brothers, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and additional special guests.
  Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter have come together for the “One America Appeal” to raise millions for victim
  
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• Some Republicans open to banning ‘bump stocks’ used in Vegas

  05-10-2017 00:47 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior congressional Republicans said Wednesday they are open to considering legislation banning “bump stocks” like the shooter in Las Vegas apparently used to effectively convert semi-automatic rifles into fully automated weapons.
  The comments from lawmakers including the No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, marked a surprising departure from GOP lawmakers’ general antipathy to gun regulations of any kind. But they were far from a guarantee of
  
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• Hurricane Maria survivor makes it to Central Texas

  05-10-2017 00:40 via kxan.com
  LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — After not hearing from his mother for five days after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, Andre Collazo didn’t know if she was even alive.
  “Our worry was communicating with our family,” said Collazo’s mother Luz Huertas-Martinez.
  Huertas-Martinez finally got in touch with her son, who lives in Leander, through a relative. The communication was confirmed after Huertas-Martinez and her husband made contact with a hand-held radio operator who was c
  
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• PHOTOS: Superheroes descend on Dell Children’s Medical Center

  05-10-2017 00:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Batman, Captain America, Spiderman, Wolverine and Wonder Woman joined forces Wednesday morning to bring smiles to the faces of children fighting their own battles.
  Austin police officers dress up as the superheroes, rappelling down the glass walls of Dell Children’s Medical Center and putting on quite the show for patients.
  Captain America, who arrived by helicopter, told KXAN, “It’s a great experience to help lift these kids’ spirits just for a
  
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