Austin news

• San Antonio woman wins $1M for coming up with Lay’s crispy taco flavor

  11-10-2017 23:04 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO (KXAN) — A San Antonio woman that came up with one of the three finalists for the new Lay’s potato chip flavor was announced as the winner Tuesday.
  In addition to walking away with $1 million, Ellen Sarem will have bragging rights every time she passes the chip aisle in her local grocery store.
  “See that bag of chips?” she could say to fellow shoppers. “I made it.”
  Sarem told WOAI she came up with the recipe for the crispy taco flavor after going o
  
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• Hutto ISD fires contract employee over claim he had relationship with student

  11-10-2017 22:55 via kxan.com
  HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) — A contract employee who worked with the Hutto High School band was fired over allegations he had a relationship with a student, the district said Wednesday.
  The school district says the inappropriate student-teacher relationship allegedly happened during the spring 2015 semester. Hutto High and district administrators say they were notified on Oct. 4, 2017 of the allegation.
  The now former student was a 17-year-old senior at the time. The employee was with the distric
  
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• Central Texas customers experiencing AT&T outage

  11-10-2017 21:45 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — AT&T is experiencing a major outage that is impacting customers across Central Texas, according to downdetector.com.
  The outage map shows the outage extends from San Marcos to Round Rock. The city of Kyle posted on Facebook stating phone calls in and out of city offices are not going through because of the outage.
  A spokesperson for AT&T says, due to a fiber issue, customers in Driftwood and the surrounding area may have issues with their wireless services. “W
  
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• Florida teen accused of stealing car with baby inside

  11-10-2017 21:43 via kxan.com
  MARGATE, Fla. (NBC News/KXAN) — A teenager in Florida was arrested after police say he stole a car with a baby still in the backseat.
  On Tuesday, police say the mother left the 9-month-old girl inside a running vehicle while she went inside the post office in Margate, Fla. That’s when the 17-year-old suspect jumped into the car and took off with the baby inside.
  The vehicle was found a short time later in North Lauderdale. The baby was unharmed. While officers were waiting to get in
  
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• Wells Fargo in south Austin robbed

  11-10-2017 20:55 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are working a bank robbery at a strip mall along East Ben White Boulevard Wednesday.
  The Wells Fargo bank at 500 E. Ben White Blvd., just west of Interstate 35, was robbed around 12:13 p.m.
  Authorities have not released any more information regarding how the suspect robbed the bank. 
  
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• Man wearing Longhorns cap robs south Austin Wells Fargo

  11-10-2017 20:55 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are working a bank robbery at a strip mall along East Ben White Boulevard Wednesday.
  The Wells Fargo bank at 500 E. Ben White Blvd., just west of Interstate 35, was robbed around 12:13 p.m. Police say the suspect entered the bank and handed the teller a note demanding money.
  The suspect left the scene in a white 2006-2010 “Eddie Bauer” edition Ford Explorer with silver trim and running boards.
  No one was injured during the robbery.
  Austin poli
  
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• Travis County transitions into state-of-the-art medical examiner’s office

  11-10-2017 20:43 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Medical examiners will have a new place to work as they determine how and why people died in Texas. Officials dedicated the new facility Wednesday, and allowed a first look at the state-of-the-art Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office.
  The new location is at 7723 Springdale Rd. in east Travis County, about 7 miles away from the current facility in downtown Austin. It’s 52,000 square feet and will serve 42 counties in Texas. The Travis County Commissioners
  
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• Round Rock K9 Dega memorialized with full officer’s ceremony

  11-10-2017 20:05 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — A four-legged officer with the Round Rock Police Department was memorialized Tuesday after dying from an inoperable tumor.
  K9 Dega, a black Labrador, joined the department in 2008 and worked until she was diagnosed this past April. Over the past nine years, Dega helped officers seize more than 200 pounds of drugs and more than $150,000 in cash.
  Her partners, Sgt. Eric Mount and Ofc. Robert Ramos, also spent time with Dega at community events educating the public
  
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• Whataburger charm, McDonald’s Szechuan sauce sell for huge markups on eBay

  11-10-2017 19:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — According to the rules of supply and demand, a Whataburger jewelry charm might be sold for three times its original price and a free sample of McDonald’s sauce can go for $1,000. At least, that’s what sellers on eBay are hoping.
  Both items were in high demand this past week.
  Someone is asking $1,000 for a packet of McDonald’s Szechuan sauce (eBay Photo)Saturday brought fans of the Adult Swim TV show “Rick and Morty” out to try to snag some free
  
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• In historic shift, Boy Scouts to expand girls’ participation

  11-10-2017 19:34 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — In its latest momentous policy shift, the Boy Scouts of America will admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year and establish a new program for older girls based on the Boy Scout curriculum that enables them to aspire to the coveted Eagle Scout rank.
  Founded in 1910 and long considered a bastion of tradition, the Boy Scouts have undergone major changes in the past five years, agreeing to accept openly gay youth members and adult volunteers, as well as transgender bo
  
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• In historic change, Boy Scouts to let girls in some programs

  11-10-2017 19:34 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Embracing a historic change, the Boy Scouts of America announced Wednesday plans to admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year and to establish a new program for older girls using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts.
  Under the plan, Cub Scout dens — the smallest unit — will be single-gender, either all-boys or all-girls. The larger Cub Scout packs will have the option to remain single gender or welcome both genders. The program for older girls is expec
  
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• Texas Tech students, staff honor fallen officer

  11-10-2017 19:29 via kxan.com
  LUBBOCK, Texas (KLBK) — Students and faculty gathered on Tuesday for a vigil to honor Officer Floyd East Jr. who was shot in the line of duty on Monday night on campus. Students said they’re still processing what happened but trying to honor the officer anyway they can.
  On Tuesday, students wrote notes thanking officers for keeping them safe. On Tuesday evening, a vigil was held with hundreds of people in attendance. And when the sun went down, the Jones AT&T stadium had blue lig
  
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• Blue Santa delivers toys to kids affected by Hurricane Harvey

  11-10-2017 19:11 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Volunteers packed boxes to the brim and loaded them onto a truck, destined to bring smiles to the faces of children whose lives changed following Hurricane Harvey in August.
  After a huge response from the Austin community to donate emergency supplies, at the beginning of September, Austin Mayor Steve Adler put out another call. This time, it was to collect toys and team up with Operation Blue Santa to sort them and get them where they need to go. The group normally works on
  
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• Expert coroner throws doubt on original timeline of Stacey Stites’ death

  11-10-2017 19:01 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — Dr. Michael Baden has investigated the deaths of JFK, Martin Luther King Jr. and Michael Brown. Wednesday he was brought in as an expert forensic pathologist to question the original sequence of events that led to Rodney Reed’s 1996 rape and murder conviction.
  At one point, Rodney Reed was days away from being executed for the murder of Stacey Stites. During the original trial, prosecutors said Reed raped and murdered Stites as she pulled over for a pit stop
  
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• Expert coroner casts doubt on original timeline of Stacey Stites’ death

  11-10-2017 19:01 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — Dr. Michael Baden has investigated the deaths of JFK, Martin Luther King Jr. and Michael Brown. Wednesday he was brought in as an expert forensic pathologist to question the original sequence of events that led to Rodney Reed’s 1996 rape and murder conviction.
  At one point, Rodney Reed was days away from being executed for the murder of Stacey Stites. During the original trial, prosecutors said Reed raped and murdered Stites as she pulled over for a pit stop o
  
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• Police to arrest 10 people in LSU fraternity pledge’s death

  11-10-2017 18:46 via kxan.com
  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Ten people will be arrested on hazing charges in the death of a Louisiana State University fraternity pledge after a night of drinking, LSU officials said Wednesday.
  One of the 10 suspects — Matthew Alexander Naquin, 19, of Boerne, Texas — also faces a negligent homicide charge in the death last month of 18-year-old Maxwell Gruver, a freshman from Roswell, Georgia, LSU said in a statement.
  An autopsy showed Gruver’s blood-alcohol content level at t
  
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• Police arrest 10 people in LSU fraternity pledge’s death

  11-10-2017 18:46 via kxan.com
  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Ten people will be arrested on hazing charges in the death of a Louisiana State University fraternity pledge after a night of drinking, LSU officials said Wednesday.
  One of the 10 suspects — Matthew Alexander Naquin, 19, of Boerne, Texas — also faces a negligent homicide charge in the death last month of 18-year-old Maxwell Gruver, a freshman from Roswell, Georgia, LSU said in a statement.
  An autopsy showed Gruver’s blood-alcohol content level at t
  
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• Police arrest 10 in drinking death of LSU fraternity pledge

  11-10-2017 18:46 via kxan.com
  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Ten people were arrested Wednesday on misdemeanor hazing charges in the death of a Louisiana State University fraternity pledge whose blood-alcohol content was more than six times the legal limit for driving, officials said.
  One of the 10 suspects — Matthew Alexander Naquin, 19, of Boerne, Texas — also faces a felony negligent homicide charge in the death of 18-year-old Maxwell Gruver, a freshman from Roswell, Georgia, who was trying to join Phi Delta Th
  
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• Middle school football players in Del Valle, Elgin injured during games

  11-10-2017 18:23 via kxan.com
  DEL VALLE, Texas (KXAN) — A Del Valle Middle School football player was rushed to the hospital Tuesday evening after he was injured during a game against Cedar Creek Middle School in Bastrop.
  A Del Valle Independent School District spokesperson says the student was taken by a medical helicopter to a nearby hospital but they’re not releasing any information on the type of injury the player sustained or the student’s condition.
  A similar accident happened around the same time at
  
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• Unruly fans forcing owner of ‘Breaking Bad’ house to install fence

  11-10-2017 18:14 via kxan.com
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE/KXAN) – Breaking Bad fans from all over the world want to see where Walter White lived, but their view is about to be blocked.
  A 6-foot wrought iron fence is being built around the famous northeast Albuquerque home.
  The people who actually live there are fed up with fans of the TV show acting badly, including re-enacting a scene from the AMC television series and throwing pizzas on their roof.
  “We feel like we can’t leave because when we do, somethi
  
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• Dear Amazon, please come to Texas: Cornyn, Cruz wooing e-commerce giant

  11-10-2017 17:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Amazon continues scouting for a location to set up its second headquarters, U.S. Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are teaming up to urge the mega-company to come to Texas.
  The senators sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Wednesday making their case as to why Texas it the best choice to setup shop for a headquarters.
  “Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes our economy, our skilled workforce, and our quality of life. Texas boasts the
  
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• Arizona man gets T-Mobile tattoo in exchange for free iPhone

  11-10-2017 17:02 via kxan.com
  PHOENIX, Ariz. (KXAN) — An Arizona man is sporting a corporate logo on his arm after striking a deal with the wireless company’s CEO in exchange for a new iPhone.
  It all began Oct. 6 when Philip Harrison tweeted “Hook me up with a iPhone 8 and ill (sic) tattoo the T-Mobile logo on my arm for all to see, you have my word.” He tagged John Legere, T-Mobile’s CEO.Hook me up with a iPhone 8 and ill tattoo the T-Mobile logo on my arm for all to see, you have my word @John
  
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• Couple killed in California wildfire wed 75 years

  11-10-2017 15:40 via kxan.com
  NAPA, Calif. (AP) — Mike Rippey stood among pieces of metal, porcelain and other remnants of the California home where his 100-year-old father and 98-year-old mother had died in the raging wine country wildfires.
  Rippey said Tuesday his brother had discovered their bodies after driving to the home and managing to get past security.
  He said his father Charles appeared to be heading to the room of his mother, Sara, when he was overcome by the smoke and flames.
  “My father certainly woul
  
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• “Scream booth” in downtown Austin lets people yell their stress away

  11-10-2017 15:25 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When the stresses of life get to be too much, sometimes people just want to scream. Well, now they can — using a special “scream booth” set up Wednesday in downtown Austin.
  The American Heart Association will set up the booth from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 242 W. Second St.
  “Step in the booth, identify your stressors and scream out your frustrations for a quick burst of stress relief and fun,” the organization wrote in a press release.The group want
  
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• Eminem goes off on Trump in lyrical tirade

  11-10-2017 14:42 via kxan.com
  DETROIT (AP) — Eminem has unleashed a lyrical tirade against President Donald Trump, saying he “came to stomp.”
  The rapper took aim at Trump in a 4½-minute freestyle rap video that aired as part of BET’s Hip Hop Awards on Tuesday night. Eminem focused several times on Trump’s ongoing campaign against NFL national anthem protests, rapping: “so we focus on that instead of talking Puerto Rico or gun reform for Nevada. All these horrible tragedies and he&rs
  
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• Austin rapper encourages students to study math and get ‘Mo’ Money’

  11-10-2017 14:31 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Knowledge is power.” A group of musicians and students in Austin want your kids to think of knowledge as money.
  “More math, more money, more chips. Don’t fall through the crack, get a grip. Step up your game, got to make a change, add it all up and the paper’s going to flip, come on,” stated the lyrics in a music video titled “Mo’Math, Mo’ Money” posted Tuesda
  
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• Car hits woman at east Austin bus stop

  11-10-2017 14:18 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A car hit a woman waiting at a bus stop in east Austin Wednesday morning.
  It happened around 6:40 a.m. on the southbound Interstate 35 frontage road near E. 32nd Street. The driver told Austin police that his steering wheel locked up on him. He stayed in the area.
  A woman went to Dell Seton Medical Center with critical, potentially life-threatening injuries, according to Austin-Travis County EMS. An Austin Police Department officer told KXAN at the scene that the woman was
  
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• Teen detained after crossing border fights to have abortion

  11-10-2017 12:24 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — Advocates for a pregnant 17-year-old being held in a Texas facility for unaccompanied immigrant children are asking a federal judge to allow her to get an abortion over the opposition of federal and state officials.
  A judge has scheduled a hearing Wednesday on a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. It accuses the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of refusing to let the girl be taken for the procedure.
  Rochelle Garza, a lawyer
  
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• Texas Tech shooting takes emotional toll on UT Austin police

  11-10-2017 09:19 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After a Texas Tech Police officer was shot and killed on the TTU campus Monday, the University of Texas at Austin Police Department is mourning with them, said UTPD Chief David Carter.
  Texas Tech student Hollis Daniels, 19, has been charged with the capital murder of police officer Floyd East Jr.
  Texas Tech Police said they responded to a dorm to check on the welfare of a student. They found him in a room along with evidence of drugs and drug paraphernalia.  Officer Ea
  
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• Texas Tech police shooting takes emotional toll on UT Austin law enforcement

  11-10-2017 09:19 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After a Texas Tech Police officer was shot and killed on the TTU campus Monday, the University of Texas at Austin Police Department is mourning with them, said UTPD Chief David Carter.
  Texas Tech student Hollis Daniels, 19, has been charged with the capital murder of police officer Floyd East Jr.
  Texas Tech Police said they responded to a dorm to check on the welfare of a student. They found him in a dorm as well as evidence of drugs and drug paraphernalia.  Officer Ea
  
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• US out of World Cup contention with 2-1 loss at Trinidad

  11-10-2017 04:34 via kxan.com
  COUVA, Trinidad (AP) — The United States was eliminated from World Cup contention Tuesday night, a shocking loss at Trinidad ending the Americans’ streak of seven straight appearances at soccer’s showcase.
  Twenty-eight years after a stunning victory here put the Americans back in the World Cup following a four-decade absence, their chances for next year’s tournament in Russia ended on this island nation off the coast of Venezuela.
  Trinidad and Tobago scored a pair of firs
  
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• Two years after fire, Austin condo owners still can’t go home

  11-10-2017 04:27 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s been 24 months since Denise Hurd has been able to go home.
  “It’s really hard to believe,” she said. “It’s been very stressful.”
  Next week marks two years since a three-alarm fire ripped through the Dry Creek West Condominiums in northwest Austin. Three firefighters went to the hospital after the second floor collapsed. But after an investigation into what happened and several other delays with construction, homeowners
  
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• Breast cancer survivors thank Austin police chiefs for their support

  11-10-2017 02:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Breast cancer survivors presented Austin police officers with pink ribbon pins Tuesday, which they will now wear for the month of October.
  Officer Angela Johnson battled breast cancer and pinned Interim Chief of Police Brian Manley at the ceremony at APD Headquarters.
  Her APD family and other survivors gave her the support she needed to get through her treatment. “The day of surgery there must have been — gosh, I know there were at least a dozen people at the ho
  
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• ‘We got him,’ says woman who followed suspected DWI hit-and-run driver

  11-10-2017 02:12 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After a suspected drunk driver hit a cyclist Friday night, a woman who watched it happen decided she wasn’t going to let the driver get away.
  “I just can’t get that out of my head,” April White said. She was coming home from work around 9:30 p.m. Friday, riding her moped down South First Street away from the city. As she approached the Texas School for the Deaf, White saw a cyclist to her right, headed up the hill with her.
  From behind them, she reme
  
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• Veteran police officer preaches fundamentals after Texas Tech shooting

  11-10-2017 02:01 via kxan.com
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — As news of the Texas Tech shooting spread across the state Tuesday morning, many are wondering what went wrong.
  “There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before we can start looking at this and saying this should have happened, this should not have happened, we don’t know enough yet,” said Texas State University criminal justice lecturer Howard Williams.
  Before teaching at the university Williams was a police officer for 36 years wi
  
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• Oak Springs Elementary unveils new playground after arsonist destroyed old one

  11-10-2017 01:21 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After five months of silence on the Oak Springs Elementary School playground, squeals of joy could be heard as children slid down the slide and climbed the monkey bars.
  On Tuesday, the school unveiled the new playground after someone burned down the old playground this past spring. The new playground was made possible with the help of donations from various organizations, such as the Austin Parks Foundation, C3 and regular people who just wanted to make sure the children ha
  
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• New PTSD program will bring services to vets who may not seek help

  11-10-2017 01:16 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A local non-profit says the “build it and they will come” mentality is failing our veterans when it comes to programs for post-traumatic stress disorder.
  Instead, Code VI Veteran Integration says it plans to meet veterans where they are, organizing what it calls “tribes” in Central Texas communities to create fellowship and promote healing.
  KXAN met with three generations of soldiers, brought together by the gap they see in car
  
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• Utah officer fired after nurse’s arrest caught on video

  11-10-2017 00:52 via kxan.com
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Authorities say a Utah police officer who was caught on video roughly handcuffing a nurse because she refused to allow a blood draw has been fired.
  A Salt Lake City Police spokesman said Chief Mike Brown made the decision Tuesday following an investigation into Detective Jeff Payne, who made the arrest that became a flashpoint in the ongoing national conversation about police use of force.
  Body-camera video showed nurse Alex Wubbels explaining hospital policy required
  
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• Bastrop police searching for vehicles that hit, killed man on SH 95

  11-10-2017 00:25 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — A 23-year-old man walking along State Highway 95 near the Fairview Cemetery in Bastrop was killed after he was hit by two vehicles Monday night.
  Bastrop police say Benjamin Avelar, of Bastrop, was walking northbound on SH 95 around 9:39 p.m. when he was struck by a driver who left the scene. Avelar was then hit again by a second vehicle which was also traveling north on the highway. Neither vehicle stayed at the scene of the crash.
  Avelar was taken to a Bastrop-area
  
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