Austin news

• Walt Disney World now allowing dogs at 4 of its resorts

  13-10-2017 23:38 via kxan.com
  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) – Four hotels at Walt Disney World Resort will allow guests to bring dogs beginning Sunday.
  The hotels near Orlando, Florida, are Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, Disney Port Orleans Resort-Riverside, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and cabins at Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
  The Yacht Club adds $75 to daily room rates for canine guests, the other three add $50.
  The pilot program is accepting reservations through October 2018. Two dogs are per
  
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• Arena quits as US men’s coach after missing World Cup

  13-10-2017 23:22 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Bruce Arena resigned as U.S. men’s national team coach on Friday, three days after the Americans failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
  The U.S. Soccer Federation said within 10 days it will announce an interim coach for planned exhibition games next month.
  “There’s no point in me being around,” Arena said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I’m not going to be around for the next cycle. The on
  
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• Arena quits after US World Cup failure, Gulati stays for now

  13-10-2017 23:22 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Bruce Arena quickly resigned as U.S. coach after the Americans’ failure to qualify for the World Cup. U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati is staying around, at least for now.
  Arena quit Friday, three days after the ruinous 2-1 loss at 99th-ranked Trinidad and Tobago that ended the Americans’ streak of seven straight World Cup appearances.
  “There’s no point in me being around,” Arena said in a telephone interview with The Associated Pr
  
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• Dropping turkeys from planes triggers Arkansas festival flap

  13-10-2017 22:49 via kxan.com
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — To some it’s an Ozark Mountain Mardi Gras that includes live turkeys being dropped from a low-flying plane to an eager crowd below. To others, it’s just animal abuse.
  The 72nd Yellville Turkey Trot opened Friday with questions over whether the turkey drop portion would continue. The Chamber of Commerce for the small northern Arkansas city has distanced itself from the tradition it once endorsed and is hoping a “phantom pilot” won’t fly
  
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• Peter Gardere talks Texas-OU on More than the Score

  13-10-2017 22:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The only quarterback for either school to go 4-0 in the Red River Rivalry, Peter Gardere, joins Chris Tavarez on More than the Score.
  
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• Dog in East Texas found with arrow and pellets lodged in chest

  13-10-2017 22:43 via kxan.com
  LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK) — A horrifying discovery was made Wednesday when a dog in Longview was found impaled with an arrow and shot with pellets.
  He’s still alive. Found on the corner of Rawley Court and Glover Drive, he was picked up by animal control and brought to the Longview Animal Care and Adoption Center. Shelter supervisor Chris Kemper said, “He’s been nothing but sweet and cooperative.”
  That’s all they really know about this dog. Wednesday morning, ani
  
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• Elderly Texas couple found after being lost for week in Utah wilderness

  13-10-2017 22:04 via kxan.com
  KANE COUNTY, Utah (KTVX) — A day trip to the lake turned into a story of survival for an elderly Texas couple visiting Utah.
  When a rancher saw an elderly woman laying on the road he wasn’t sure what to think. Dell LeFevere was on Croton Road checking on cattle he has at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument when he spotted the woman. He immediately called police and headed to meet with officers to get the woman to the hospital as soon as possible.
  Police say 78-year-old He
  
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• List of wineries damaged by wildfires in Northern California

  13-10-2017 21:42 via kxan.com
  SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) — If you have a trip planned to Napa Valley or any of the other regions of northern California that are dotted with vineyards and wineries, you’re most likely keeping a close eye on how the area is doing.
  Throughout Northern California’s wine country, vintners able to get to their property surveyed the damage to vineyards, tasting rooms and storage while others had to wait for flames to die down.
  Speedy, wind-driven wildfires that started Sunday cam
  
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• Arkansas man accused of throwing feces at officer

  13-10-2017 21:16 via kxan.com
  CARROLL COUNTY, Ark. (KARK) — An Arkansas man has been arrested after being accused of throwing his poop at an officer during an incident.
  The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) says Eugene Walden, 44, was taken into custody following an incident on Oct. 2.
  Deputies say they had received a call that morning reporting a wreck along Highway 187. A deputy driving to the reported address said he was flagged down by a man, later identified as Walden, near the Missionary Baptist Church
  
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• Michigan linebacker crowned homecoming queen

  13-10-2017 20:18 via kxan.com
  GRAND BLANC, Michigan (KXAN/WEYI) — A Michigan high school student traded her football helmet for a crown last week. The inside linebacker became her school’s homecoming queen, then went back to the field with her teammates.
  The Bobcats ended up losing the game, but Alicia Woollcott’s story scored touchdowns on social media.
  Woollcott plays for the Grand Blanc High School’s varsity football team. She’s been playing football since 8th grade. In 7th grade she was a ch
  
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• South Carolina church vandalized with satanic messages and symbols

  13-10-2017 19:45 via kxan.com
  MAYESVILLE, SC (WSPA) – Four people have been arrested after satanic messages and symbols were spray painted on the Salem Black River Church in Mayesville, South Carolina according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
  The incident happened on Sept. 29. A church member said the door to the sanctuary had been kicked in, but it didn’t appear anyone went in. Two other building were also spray-painted.
  Deputies say they got several tips from the community, including Shaw
  
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• IHOP waiter with black belt takes down would-be robber

  13-10-2017 19:27 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO, Texas (WOAI) — An IHOP waiter and third-degree black belt went from serving pancakes to serving up justice on a would-be robber Thursday.
  Waiter and martial arts enthusiasts Elijah Arnold said when the group of three walked into the San Antonio, Texas, restaurant, something just didn’t seem right.
  “When I stepped into the galley, I just got that feeling where I needed to wait and listen,” Arnold said.
  Five to 10 minutes later, he heard the cash register
  
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• TxDOT supports Longhorns, takes jab at OU to promote safe driving

  13-10-2017 19:26 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Longhorns fans make their way up to Dallas this weekend for the Red River Showdown, they’ll see a fun  but informative message on the digital signs along Interstate 35.
  The Texas Department of Transportation switched some of the signs to read: HORNS UP, PHONES DOWN, FOR SAFETY, BE SAFE, DRIVE SMART, BEAT OU.
  According to TxDOT’s website, six of the digital signs are showing the message through Travis County. The agency says the signs are running along th
  
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• Trump won’t pull out of ‘worst’ Iran nuclear deal _ for now

  13-10-2017 19:14 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday angrily accused Iran of violating the landmark 2015 international nuclear accord, blaming the Iranians for a litany of sinister behavior and hitting their main military wing with anti-terror penalties. But Trump, breaking his campaign pledge to rip up the agreement, did not pull the U.S. out or re-impose nuclear sanctions.
  He still might, he was quick to add. For now, he’s tossing the issue to Congress and the other nations in the se
  
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• Trump: Iran violating nuke deal but he won’t pull out now

  13-10-2017 19:14 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday angrily accused Iran of violating the spirit of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, blaming it for a litany of malign behavior and hitting its main military wing with anti-terrorism sanctions. But Trump, breaking with a campaign pledge to rip up the agreement, said he was not yet ready to pull the U.S. out or re-impose nuclear sanctions.
  Instead, he kicked the issue to Congress and the other nations in the seven-country accord, telling lawmake
  
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• APD set to roll out body cameras as advocacy group asks for more oversight

  13-10-2017 18:58 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department is set to roll out body cameras for its officers after much back-and-forth regarding what options the agency wanted in its purchase.
  In a memo, the city states it is in the process of deploying 1,700 body-worn cameras — one for every officer.
  APD on Friday announced it had purchased — with state and federal grants — the first 736 cameras. The first 198 devices will be rolled out to east Austin officers starting next week, follo
  
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• APD finalizing steps to roll out 1,700 body cameras

  13-10-2017 18:58 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department is set to roll out body cameras for its officers after much back-and-forth regarding what options the agency wanted in its purchase.
  In a memo, the city states it is in the process of deploying 1,700 body-worn cameras — one for every officer.
  While the package includes an iPod Touch with each body camera, APD and the Communications and Technology Management Department determined that it was best to spend extra money for an upgrade to outf
  
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• KXAN launches two new channels bringing Central Texas more exciting programming

  13-10-2017 17:39 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two new television channels are coming to the Austin airwaves today; Bounce TV will launch on channel 14.2 and Escape will launch on channel 54.4. The new channels reflect KXAN-TV’s focus on delivering exceptional programming and service to local viewers.
  Commenting on the launch KXAN-TV, Vice President and General Manager of KXAN-TV stated, “KXAN is dedicated to anticipating the evolving needs and serving the interests of our local community. The upcoming
  
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• Masked woman robs Chase Bank in south Austin

  13-10-2017 17:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police responded to a bank robbery in south Austin Friday morning.
  The robbery call came in at 9:22 a.m. at the Chase Bank located at 701 East Stassney Ln., which is just west of Interstate 35.
  Austin police say a woman came into the bank wearing a ski mask, demanded money and then brandished a handgun. Police say the suspect got away in a car but was arrested about 2 miles away.
  This is the second bank robbery this week in south Austin. On Wednesday, a man donning a
  
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• Chase Bank robbed in south Austin

  13-10-2017 17:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are working a bank robbery in south Austin Friday morning.
  The robbery call came in at 9:22 a.m. at the Chase Bank located at 701 East Stassney Ln., which is just west of Interstate 35.
  This is the second bank robbery this week in south Austin. On Wednesday, a man donning a Longhorns cap robbed the Wells Fargo Bank along East Ben White Boulevard near I-35. Police are still searching for the suspect in the case.
  KXAN News will update this story as more informat
  
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• TV news report leads man to old shirt, $24 million jackpot

  13-10-2017 17:16 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — A New Jersey man says a television news report led him to check lottery tickets he had stuffed in an old shirt, and one was a $24 million winner.
  Jimmie Smith, of East Orange, claimed a $24.1 million New York lottery jackpot on May 23, two days before the prize would have expired.
  The New York Lottery released his name Wednesday after a review was completed.
  The retired security guard told lottery officials he’s been buying lottery tickets in New York and New Jersey s
  
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• Nigerian gets 3 years in US prison for $1.3M online fraud

  13-10-2017 16:46 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — Prosecutors say a Nigerian man living in Texas must serve three years in a U.S. prison for a more than $1.3 million internet scam with fake passports and romance schemes.
  Wiseman Oputa was sentenced Thursday by a federal judge in Houston. The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to wire fraud in April.
  Investigators say Oputa used counterfeit passports to open bank accounts in the Houston area. The passports had his photo but different names and identification.
  Prosecutors say he then
  
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• Stacey Stites’ mother takes the stand on the last day of Rodney Reed’s hearing

  13-10-2017 16:36 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — The fate of death row inmate Rodney Reed’s case will again be in the hands of the Court of Criminal Appeals, following a four-day hearing in which Reed’s defense team sought to cast doubt on the alibi of the victim’s fiance and the time of death estimate the state used to convict Reed.
  Visiting Judge Doug Shaver could take anywhere from six to eight weeks to make his ruling and send that to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. They will then decide
  
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• Rodney Reed hearing adjourned, could take 2 months for decision

  13-10-2017 16:36 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — The hearing for death-row inmate Rodney Reed adjourned Friday morning before 10 a.m. following closing arguments in Bastrop.
  Judge Doug Shaver could take anywhere from six weeks to two months to make his ruling and send that to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. They will then decide if Reed will get a new trial.
  Earlier in the morning, the victim’s mother Carol Stites took the stand. Carol Stites firmly believes Reed killed her daughter, Stacey Stites, and
  
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• 9-foot snake on the loose wrangled by Florida detective

  13-10-2017 16:18 via kxan.com
  LEON COUNTY, Fla. (KXAN/NBC) — A Florida detective used her sleuthing skills to find a 9-foot snake on the loose in Florida, but it was a different set of skills that helped her capture it.
  Detective Emily Shaw got the call Wednesday about the yellow anaconda. Fortunately, she was prepared — she has experience handling exotic snakes.
  She took a large tree branch and used it to put the snake into a gym bag. It only took her a few minutes.
  Florida Fish and Wildlife officials believe th
  
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• Country star Jason Aldean resumes tour after Vegas shooting

  13-10-2017 15:12 via kxan.com
  TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Country star Jason Aldean brought the party back Thursday in his return to the stage following the deadly mass shooting that broke out while he was performing in Las Vegas, but the fun was tempered by the sting of the tragedy.
  Three songs into his show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the singer launched into a five-minute speech that honored the 58 killed and nearly 500 hurt in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. But Aldean took a defiant tone in telling concertgoer
  
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• BMW recalls SUVs; passenger air bag may not inflate in crash

  13-10-2017 14:32 via kxan.com
  DETROIT (AP) — BMW is recalling more than 85,000 SUVs in the U.S. because a mat that detects front-seat passengers can fail, meaning the air bag might not inflate in a crash.
  The recall covers the X3 from 2006 through 2010.
  BMW says in government documents that the mat can wear and develop cracks that can interrupt electrical signals. That can cause the front air bag to switch off, activating a warning light. The mats are part of the system that changes how air bags inflate if children are
  
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• Friday the 13th brings in big crowds for tattoo parlors

  13-10-2017 13:34 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Tattoo parlors are getting ready for a steady flow of people this Friday the 13th.
  In ink culture, the superstition has turned into tradition.
  “I’m probably going to get another one along with my sister,” said Ashly Smith of Round Rock, who’s already gotten two Friday the 13th tattoos.
  D.C. Tatts owner Cindy Couch says large crowds are a guarantee at her shop in Round Rock, and others, on this auspicious day.
  “It’s a crazy day
  
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• The Latest: Man executed in Texas for prison guard’s death

  13-10-2017 13:25 via kxan.com
  HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The Latest on the execution of a Texas inmate who was convicted in a prison guard’s 1999 death (all times local):
  6:55 p.m.
  A Texas inmate convicted in the death of a prison guard has been executed after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his lawyer’s attempts to halt the punishment.
  Robert Pruett was given a lethal injection Thursday evening for the December 1999 death of corrections officer Daniel Nagle at a prison southeast of San Antonio. Nagle was rep
  
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• Austin’s only state park desperately needs volunteers

  13-10-2017 12:33 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The only state park in Austin is in desperate need of volunteers. The Halloween floods from 2013 and the Memorial Day floods of 2015 destroyed portions of McKinney Falls State Park and in an effort to get the community more involved, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department hopes community members will help revive portions of the park.
  It was during those massive flooding events that Onion Creek flowed out of its banks some 40 feet and destroyed the park’s visitor cent
  
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• Georgetown boy found after not returning home from school

  13-10-2017 06:07 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — A 12-year-old in Georgetown was found Friday morning after police say he did not return home from Benold Middle School Thursday afternoon.
  Georgetown police say they received a phone call from a Georgetown parent around 8:30 a.m. saying Conner Tart-Hisaw had spent the night at her house with her son and was safe.
  “The parent indicated she was not aware Conner was listed as missing until she heard about it this morning, at which time she contacted the Police
  
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• 12-year-old Georgetown boy has not returned home from school

  13-10-2017 06:07 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — A 12-year-old in Georgetown is missing after police say he did not return home from Benold Middle School, Thursday afternoon.
  Georgetown police are searching for the boy with the help with of a Department of Public Safety air unit. Authorities say he is possibly a runaway.
  Surveillance video shows Conner Tart-Hisaw leaving the school, located at 3407 Northwest Blvd., around 4 p.m. and walking toward Northwest Boulevard.
  Tart-Hisaw is 5-foot-2, with blonde hair, b
  
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• President Trump to halt subsidies to health insurers

  13-10-2017 05:44 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — In a brash move likely to roil insurance markets, President Donald Trump plans to halt payments to insurers under the Obama-era health care law that he has been trying to unravel for months.
  Two people familiar with the decision described the plan late Thursday night, seeking anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
  The White House said in a statement that the government cannot legally continue to pay the so-called cost sharing subsidies because they
  
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• Insurance pays $20K to families of teens who died after crashing stolen SUV

  13-10-2017 05:25 via kxan.com
  PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Not a day goes by where Ricky Melendez doesn’t think about the crash that nearly took his life.
  He feels the pain all the time. That feeling got a whole lot worse this week when a letter showed up in his mailbox from his insurance company, Geico, explaining that they paid $20,000 to the families of the three boys who crashed into Melendez back in August.
  “To be honest, it was like it ripped my heart out. It was like a punch in the gut like I never
  
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• Wildfire burns home of ‘Peanuts’ creator Charles Schulz

  13-10-2017 05:12 via kxan.com
  SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — The home of “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz burned to the ground in the deadly California wildfires but his widow escaped, her stepson said Thursday.
  Jean Schulz, 78, evacuated before flames engulfed her hillside home Monday and is staying with a daughter, Monte Schulz said.
  The Schulzes built the California split-level home in the 1970s and the cartoonist lived there until his death in 2000.
  “It’s the house he died in. All of their memora
  
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• 3 hurt in head-on crash between semi and truck on MoPac service road

  13-10-2017 05:06 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Three were injured — one with potentially life-threatening injuries — when a truck crashed head-on with an 18-wheeler on a MoPac Expressway service road Thursday evening.
  Austin-Travis County EMS medics were called to the crash, in the southbound service road near Howard Lane, at 7:23 p.m.
  One man was seriously injured, while two other men are not expected to have life-threatening injuries, medics said.
  Police didn’t say if one of the vehicles was heading
  
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• School districts affected by Hurricane Harvey ask lawmakers for help

  13-10-2017 02:51 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Several school districts affected by Hurricane Harvey pleaded with lawmakers to get additional help during a Texas House Public Education Committee meeting Thursday.
  Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Charles Dupre said in a few short days as Harvey slammed into Texas, their district “experienced more than $16 million in damage and loss.”
  “Fort Bend not only experienced significant damage to our schools and facilities, but many of our staff, students and fa
  
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• Woman who lost daughter, granddaughter in balloon crash takes fight to D.C.

  13-10-2017 02:26 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KXAN) — Next week the National Transportation Safety Board will hold its final hearing about last year’s deadly hot air balloon crash. The NTSB will determine the probable cause of the crash and will look at making safety recommendations for the industry.
  The hot air balloon crashed in a field just outside of Lockhart, killing all 16 people on board — the worst crash of its kind in U.S. history. Patricia Morgan lost both her daughter and granddaughter in the
  
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• Fire destruction out west reminds Texans of danger at home

  13-10-2017 01:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Thousands of acres have burned in California, hundreds of missing person reports have been filed and fire experts in Texas are bracing for bad news.
  “Nowadays in Texas you can pretty much have a wildfire season 365 days a year,” Lake Travis Fire Rescue Wildfire Specialist Will Boettner said.
  “If you have taken the steps to heart and your home against wildfire, you’re in a much better position to deal with the oncoming wildfire,” he explained
  
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• Officers ask for help finding east Austin 7-Eleven robbery suspects

  13-10-2017 01:37 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Police are asking for your help identifying the two suspects who robbed an east Austin 7-Eleven convenience store with a weapon last month.
  Police were called to the store at 3848 Airport Blvd., near Manor Road, at 5:55 a.m. on Sept. 4. The victim told officers the suspects entered the store and threatened him with a weapon while demanding money, according to the Austin Police Department.
  They then ran from the store with the cash in hand. No one was injured in the robbery.
  
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• Rally at Texas State Capitol kicks off National Red Ribbon Week

  13-10-2017 01:09 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than 1,000 fifth graders from across Texas joined the Red Ribbon Rally kickoff event at the State Capitol, pledging to live drug free.
  Students added their name to a pledge wall on the south side and also wrote letters to lawmakers. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission held the event.
  Organizers like Iris Marie Martinez say they hope the message to stay drug free will continue inside the classroom.
  “There’s a program called Substance Abuse Pr
  
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• Mosquito pool in west Travis County tests positive for West Nile

  13-10-2017 00:57 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — While the cooler weather may make it seem like mosquito season is over, Austin Public Health says it just confirmed its first positive West Nile mosquito pool for this year.
  The mosquitoes that tested positive were trapped and screened in the 78746 zip code, which is in west Travis County, near the area along Bee Cave Road. There have been no reported human cases of West Nile Virus in Travis County this year.
  Mosquito activity usually decreases as the nights become cooler a
  
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• Georgetown High student accused of bringing loaded gun to campus

  13-10-2017 00:37 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — A student was found with a handgun on the Georgetown High School campus Thursday and quickly taken into custody, the school’s principal said.
  The 18-year-old student, Christian Lima, was found with a loaded, .22 caliber pistol in his pocket thanks to another student who reported suspicious behavior and was concerned a student had a gun at the school, located at 2211 N. Austin Ave., according to police.
  Principal Wes Vanicek says the school was not placed on
  
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