Austin news

• Houses spared by massive fires bring joy and sense of loss

  16-10-2017 23:59 via kxan.com
  SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — Tom and Catherine Andrews live on the edge of devastation.
  On one side of their mid-century style home, the deadly wildfires that ravaged parts of Northern California for more than a week wiped away the houses of neighbors they have known as long as two decades. On the other side, were those like the Andrews, who were spared.
  On Monday as calm winds gave an advantage to firefighters trying to tame the flames, the couple balanced their good fortune against the loss
  
  Read more

• Better weather gives leg up to crews on California wildfires

  16-10-2017 23:59 via kxan.com
  SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — The winds eased, some of the smoke began to clear and the forecast Monday offered a tantalizing chance of rain to thousands of firefighters trying to corral the wildfires that have laid waste to the nation’s most celebrated wine-making region.
  The progress was tempered by word of the first death from the weeklong firefighting effort — a driver who was killed Monday when his truck overturned on a winding mountain road.
  The driver, who had been deliverin
  
  Read more

• Vote online to help Pflugerville police’s K-9 team grow

  16-10-2017 23:53 via kxan.com
  PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — Just a click can help the Pflugerville Police Department’s K-9 team grow by putting them a step closer to winning a $5,000 grant.
  Aftermath, a trauma cleaning and biohazard removal company, is offering the grant to the first place winner of the online vote. Second through fifth places will also get a prize, ranging from $4,000 down to $1,000.
  Pflugerville police posted to their Facebook page asking for help winning the contest. “K-9s Cora and Roy ar
  
  Read more

• Boat carrying Rohingya Muslims capsizes, killing at least 12

  16-10-2017 23:44 via kxan.com
  DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — An overcrowded boat carrying Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar capsized Monday in the Bay of Bengal near a Bangladeshi fishing village, killing 12 people, including six children, police said.
  Survivors of the capsizing told local officials that up to 65 people were on board and almost half of them were children, local police official Sheikh Ashrafuzzaman said. The capsizing occurred as the boat was approaching Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar district
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Pregnant woman accused of robbing south Austin bank didn’t make it far

  16-10-2017 23:06 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Police say 23-year-old Stephanie Benavides, accused of robbing a south Austin bank last week, only made it a few blocks before she was pulled over by an officer.
  A 911 call reporting the robbery brought officers to the Chase Bank at 701 E. Stassney Ln., just west of Interstate 35, at 9:22 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13.
  The caller walked into the bank and saw the suspect pointing a gun at a bank teller and saw two people lying on the ground. He quickly backed out of the bank befor
  
  Read more

• Fish jumps down man’s throat as he tried to kiss it

  16-10-2017 23:02 via kxan.com
  BOURNEMOUTH, England (WFLA) — A kiss took an unexpected turn for one fisherman after the fish he was smooching jumped down his throat.
  Sam Quilliam is an amateur fisherman in Britain and he was going to kiss the fish before releasing it in a tribute to an Australian fishing show.
  The fish blocked his airways, triggering a heart attack. Friends rushed to perform CPR before paramedics arrived.
  Removing the fish had to be done carefully as its gills and barbs dug in. One paramedic said t
  
  Read more

• Mom requests birthday cards to celebrate impaired son’s birthday

  16-10-2017 23:00 via kxan.com
  PARIS, Tenn. (WFLA/AP) – The mother of a severely impaired 4-year-old Tennessee boy is hoping to give her son birthday cards from across the country to mark a milestone that some thought the child might never reach.
  Writing on the Hope for Kaiden Facebook page, Kaiden’s mother Rachel Ann Houston said she wants to be able to give her son birthday cards from all 50 states.
  Kaiden has been diagnosed with numerous health conditions, including heart failure. He is unable to talk, cra
  
  Read more

• Macy’s to open on Thanksgiving, ahead of Black Friday

  16-10-2017 22:21 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN/NBC News) — If your Thanksgiving evening includes a trip to the mall for some pre-Black Friday shopping, Macy’s plans to open its doors at 5 p.m. to get your business.
  BlackFriday.com, which tracks retailers’ holiday deals and hours, received confirmation from six shopping centers across the country that their Macy’s location will open on Thanksgiving Day.
  Macy’s opened its doors on Thanksgiving for the first time in 2013 — at that time they opene
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Houston couple lost in Utah wilderness for a week tell their story

  16-10-2017 21:51 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (KPRC) — An elderly couple from Houston, Texas was rescued after spending six days stranded in a remote desert area of southern Utah.
  Helena and Gerald Byler were on vacation in Utah when they decided to drive two hours from their motel to Lake Powell.
  The couple was routed onto dangerous dirt roads with big drops by their GPS. They ended up eight hours away from their destination in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
  “The rocks were too big to climb,” Helena
  
  Read more

• Gov. Abbott’s removal of ‘tasteless’ nativity scene deemed improper

  16-10-2017 21:01 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN/NBC News) — A federal judge has determined that Gov. Greg Abbott engaged in improper censorship when he ordered a mock nativity scene be removed from the Texas State Capitol in 2015.
  The controversial display had three of the Founding Fathers next to the Statue of Liberty standing over the Bill of Rights which was depicted in a manger.
  In December of 2015, Abbott asked the State Preservation Board to immediately remove the Bill of Rights-themed nativity display claiming it was
  
  Read more

• RideAustin driver accused of sexually assaulting passenger

  16-10-2017 20:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A RideAustin driver is in the Travis County Jail accused of sexually assaulting a woman he gave a ride to over the summer.
  According to an arrest affidavit, on June 10, 2017, the victim said she called for a ride because she had been out “socializing and drinking.” The RideAustin app indicated the driver who showed up was Osmani Limonta-Diaz, 40.
  The victim told police she sat in the rear passenger side of the car as he took her to her central Austin home.
  
  Read more

• Ride Austin driver accused of sexually assaulting passenger

  16-10-2017 20:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Ride Austin driver is in the Travis County Jail accused of sexually assaulting a woman he gave a ride to.
  According to an arrest affidavit, on June 10, 2017, the victim said she called for a ride because she had been out “socializing and drinking.” The Ride Austin app indicated the driver who showed up was Osmani Limonta-Diaz, 40.
  The victim told police she sat in the rear passenger side of the car as he took her to her central Austin home. When they got
  
  Read more

• How scrapping the local tax deduction would impact Travis County

  16-10-2017 20:13 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – President Trump and Congressional Republicans are ramping up their efforts to simplify the tax code and reduce tax rates across the country. One aspect of the debate centers on getting rid of local and state tax deductions.
  If those deductions were scrapped, it’s estimated the United States would gain $1.3 trillion dollars over the next 10 years. Republicans would then lower taxes across the board with those savings, according to some proposals.
  According to the lates
  
  Read more

• ‘Supermarket Sweep’ is coming back to a TV near you

  16-10-2017 20:08 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — If pushing a grocery cart down the soda aisle is your idea of a fun time, then you’ll probably be happy to know that the TV game show Supermarket Sweep is coming back!
  FremantleMedia recently announced they acquired the global rights to the show and the company plans to bring it back and make it relevant for a “21st century audience.” The show, which was created in 1965, was adapted in 13 territories worldwide.
  On the show, three teams of two battle it out
  
  Read more

• Suspect who led officers on Williamson Co. chase was facing sexual assault trial

  16-10-2017 19:50 via kxan.com
  BELTON, Texas (KXAN) — A man who authorities say took his own life after leading Williamson County Sheriff’s Office deputies on a chase last week had a pending court date on aggravated sexual assault of a child charges.
  KWTK reports Alva Joe Gwinn, 39, of Fort Hood, was arrested in June 2016 and indicted by a Bell County grand jury in August of 2016 on the charges. His trial was set for Nov. 6.
  On Thursday, Fort Hood officials contacted the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office to
  
  Read more

• Soldier who led officers on Williamson Co. chase was facing sexual assault trial

  16-10-2017 19:50 via kxan.com
  BELTON, Texas (KXAN) — A soldier who authorities say took his own life after leading Williamson County Sheriff’s Office deputies on a chase last week had a pending court date on aggravated sexual assault of a child charges.
  KWTK reports Master Sergeant Alva Joe Gwinn, 39, of Fort Hood, was arrested in June 2016 and indicted by a Bell County grand jury in August of 2016 on the charges. His trial was set for Nov. 6.
  On Thursday, Fort Hood officials contacted the Williamson County Sheri
  
  Read more

• Scientists witness huge cosmic crash, find origins of gold

  16-10-2017 19:32 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — It was a faint signal, but it told of one of the most violent acts in the universe, and it would soon reveal secrets of the cosmos, including how gold was created.
  Astronomers around the world reacted to the signal quickly, focusing telescopes located on every continent and even in orbit to a distant spot in the sky.
  What they witnessed in mid-August and revealed Monday was the long-ago collision of two neutron stars — a phenomenon California Institute of Technology
  
  Read more

• Suspect tried to outrun officer who is a long-distance runner

  16-10-2017 19:11 via kxan.com
  MOSES LAKE, Wash. (KXAN) — A man who tried to run away from a police officer in Washington wasn’t able to get very far, thanks to the officer’s particular set of skills as a long-distance runner.
  The officer was on Patrol Oct. 12 in Moses Lake, Wash., when he spotted a man named Jeremiah Hamilton, 34, who had felony warrants out for his arrest. According to a Facebook post from the police department, the officer tried to speak to Hamilton around 12:45 p.m.
  A suspect tried to ou
  
  Read more

• Sound on Sound Fest release list of rescheduled shows

  16-10-2017 18:37 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The organizers of the now-defunct Sound on Sound Fest are still making an effort to reschedule some of the artists to play at other venues across Austin the same weekend the festival was originally slated to happen.
  On Monday, the group announced the current artists that have been rescheduled. SOS says it is still working to reschedule more artists from the festival to make-up dates throughout the remainder of 2017 and 2018.
  Two of the top artists, The Shins and Grizzly Bea
  
  Read more

• 4-year-old girl among 2 killed in Houston attack; 2 survive

  16-10-2017 18:37 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities say a man opened fire outside of a Houston apartment complex, killing a man and a 4-year-old girl and wounding the girl’s mother and another man.
  Police say the gunman got away after the Sunday night shooting. They haven’t disclosed a possible motive for the attack.
  Investigators say the four were in a breezeway at the complex when the attacker opened fire.
  The girl, Ashley Perdomo, was pronounced dead at a hospital and 31-year-old Miguel Marquez was
  
  Read more

• Jury selection begins in 2015 West Campus murder trial

  16-10-2017 18:10 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Jury selection started Monday morning in the murder trial against Bryan Canchola, 22, who is accused of beating his boyfriend to death during a fight at their West Campus apartment in July of 2015.
  On Friday, July 17, 2015 at approximately 5:49 a.m., Austin police responded to the GrandMarc Austin Apartments located on West 26th Street for a check welfare. When officers arrived, they found Stephen Sylvester, 18, unconscious with a head injury. Sylvester was taken to the hos
  
  Read more

• Man builds 2-story ‘Star Wars’ vehicle replica for Halloween

  16-10-2017 17:24 via kxan.com
  PARMA, Ohio (AP) — A two-story, Star Wars-inspired Halloween yard display in Ohio should be enough to make any trick-or-treating Darth Vader proud.
  Nick Meyer has built a replica four-legged All Terrain Armored Transport, or AT-AT walker, nearly as tall as his Parma home.
  Meyer tells Cleveland.com he used wood, hard foam and plastic barrels. He says he enjoys the Star Wars movies but isn’t a fanatic and simply thought the display would be unique.
  He’s not the onl
  
  Read more

• Man shot to death in front of San Marcos apartments

  16-10-2017 17:13 via kxan.com
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — The San Marcos Police Department is investigating its fourth homicide this year after a 31-year-old man was found shot to death at an apartment complex on Hunter Road.
  Police say the shooting happened outside an apartment at the Twin Lakes Villas located at 2917 Hunter Rd. around 2:17 a.m. Monday. When officers arrived, they found Robert Lee Casteneda face down and unresponsive with gunshot wounds to his torso and arm.
  Casteneda died at the scene.
  Detectives are
  
  Read more

• TxDOT expands free roadside assistance program in Austin-area

  16-10-2017 16:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More drivers stranded on Texas highways will have a chance to get a free fix for their cars now that the Texas Department of Transportation has expanded its Highway Emergency Response Operator, or HERO, program.
  HERO is a free roadside assistance program. It can help drivers fix minor issues, support first responders at crash scenes, remove roadway debris and tow minor crashes away from the roadway. The trucks also got a redesign featuring a red, white and blue motif.
  As of
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Judge accepts Bergdahl’s guilty pleas

  16-10-2017 16:33 via kxan.com
  FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on the court-martial of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who walked off his post in Afghanistan (all times local):
  11:20 a.m.
  A military prosecutor says he has made no agreement to limit punishment for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in return for the soldier’s guilty pleas to charges that he endangered comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009.
  After Bergdahl entered guilty pleas to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, the prosecutor, Maj. Jus
  
  Read more

• Texas woman accused of beating teens, locking them in garage

  16-10-2017 16:30 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A 38-year-old San Antonio woman has been arrested on charges alleging that she used an aluminum bat to beat two teenage brothers in her home and locked them in a garage.
  Authorities say Marissa Monica Cano was arrested Sunday and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. An arrest affidavit obtained by KSAT-TV says a 15-year-old boy escaped from the house Saturday and went to a fast-food restaurant where police were called.
  The teen had severe i
  
  Read more

• Man gets $37,500 after police mistake doughnut glaze for meth

  16-10-2017 15:54 via kxan.com
  ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man arrested in Florida after police mistook doughnut glaze in his car for meth has received a $37,500 settlement.
  Daniel Rushing told the Orlando Sentinel that he received a check last week from the city of Orlando. The money would be enough to buy 1,693 dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
  Rushing was arrested in December 2015 when Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins spotted flakes of glaze on his car’s floorboard and thought they were pieces of crystal methamphetamine. Rushi
  
  Read more

• Michelle Obama arrives in Austin for tech conference

  16-10-2017 15:19 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Former first lady Michelle Obama is headed to Austin to speak at the “Smart Social Summit” this week.
  The three-day event organized by Austin-based Spredfast helps businesses improve their social media use. It’s already sold out, with more than 700 people attending.
  Obama is expected to attend the welcome reception Monday at 5 p.m. Then she’s scheduled to speak at 12:35 p.m. Tuesday in what organizers describe as a moderated conversation.
  Last year O
  
  Read more

• California becomes first state to ban sales from puppy mills

  16-10-2017 14:46 via kxan.com
  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California has become the first state to ban the sale of animals from puppy mills.
  Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday that he has signed a law requiring pet stores to work with animal shelters or rescue operations if they want to sell dogs, cats or rabbits. It still allows private breeders to sell animals directly.
  Thirty-six cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, already have similar bans on mass breeding operations. In 2010, Austin passed an ordinance b
  
  Read more

• Man killed in southeast Austin suspected hit and run

  16-10-2017 13:33 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man died Monday morning after a vehicle hit and killed him in southeast Austin. Austin police suspect it was a hit and run, but say there are a lot of moving pieces.
  Police initially got a call for a welfare check just before 6 a.m. and found a man lying in the roadway at E. Stassney Lane and Nuckols Crossing Road. That’s near the Sonic Drive-In east of I-35.
  Someone stopped at a nearby gas station and called 911. Police say they are not sure if that person was
  
  Read more

• Kaepernick files grievance against NFL, alleging collusion

  16-10-2017 13:26 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL on Sunday, alleging that he remains unsigned as a result of collusion by owners following his protests during the national anthem.
  Kaepernick started a national conversation about political activism by athletes last season when he decided to sit, and then kneel, during the anthem to bring attention to mistreatment of African-Americans by police. Other players have continued the protest
  
  Read more

• How Austin is addressing the thousands who miss school every year

  16-10-2017 12:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — There are new efforts underway to prevent what’s become a big problem in Central Texas: chronic absenteeism. That’s when a student misses 20 days out of the 180 school year — or about one out of every 10 days of school.  For the first time a summit will be held in Austin to help district leaders learn new ways to curb the problem.
  According to E3 Alliance, 2.3 million individual students missed school within the last five years in Central Texas. That
  
  Read more

• How you can benefit from new UT Austin specialty clinics

  16-10-2017 05:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Ahead of the anticipated launch of the UT Health Austin specialty clinics Tuesday, KXAN got a first look at the new facilities Sunday.  The clinics are run by Dell Medical School at UT Austin, and everyone in the medical school — from new students, to residents, to faculty — has the opportunity to help in offering this care for the Austin community.
  Starting Oct.17, the clinic will offer:
  Women’s health services, helping women with pelvic floor issues
  
  Read more

• First look: New UT Health Austin specialty clinics put focus on patients

  16-10-2017 05:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Ahead of the anticipated launch of the UT Health Austin specialty clinics Tuesday, KXAN got a first look at the new facilities Sunday.  The clinics are run by Dell Medical School at UT Austin, and everyone in the medical school, from new students, to residents, to faculty, have the opportunity to help in offering this care for the Austin community.
  Starting off Oct.17, the clinic will offer:
  Women’s health services, helping women with pelvic floor issues and gyne
  
  Read more

• Regulators push tougher baby bathtub safety requirements

  16-10-2017 05:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) —  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission approved new infant bathtub safety standards.  The commission says parents should buy infant bathtubs that were manufactured on or after Oct. 2.
  “This means that it is now illegal to sell infant bathtubs in the United States that were manufactured on or after that date, if they do not meet the new regulation,” said a news release.
  These bathtubs must meet new safety requirements which include better&nbs
  
  Read more

• ‘Blade Runner’ actress Sean Young courts Austin film fans with new tour venture

  16-10-2017 03:52 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Visitors from around the world have a lot of reasons to visit Austin. Now there is a new way to enjoy some of the city’s attractions.
  Veteran actress Sean Young has appeared in dozens of movies including her latest film, “Blade Runner 2049.”
  “Our culture is so filled with movies, and we compare our lives to a lot of the movies we watch,” Young said.
  Young recently made Austin her adopted hometown, and she is already making her mark here thanks
  
  Read more

• Texans win behind big game from Watson

  16-10-2017 02:27 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson wants more.
  After setting two rookie touchdown records in a win over Cleveland on Sunday, Watson wasn’t completely satisfied.
  Watson threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first rookie in NFL history with at least three TD passes in three straight games, helping give the Texans the 33-17 victory.
  Watson has thrown 15 touchdown passes this season, the most in NFL history by a rookie in a team’s first six games. It
  
  Read more

• Free adoptions ease overcrowding at Williamson County Animal Shelter

  16-10-2017 01:32 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The Williamson County Animal Shelter said their “free adoption weekend” to help alleviate overcrowding was a success.
  People adopted 41 dogs and 58 cats, said shelter director Cheryl Schneider. An additional seven dogs were placed in foster homes.
  “We are no longer over capacity, and all are safe,” Schneider said.
  The shelter announced last week that it would be offering free adult dog and cat adoptions from Friday, Oct. 13, to Sunday, Oct
  
  Read more

• ‘I’m intact,’ Tillerson says, brushing off drama with Trump

  16-10-2017 01:12 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday ducked, danced and sidestepped the question of whether he truly called President Donald Trump a “moron,” dismissing the brouhaha as the “petty stuff” of Washington. Though they keep coming, Tillerson insisted the persistent queries aren’t hindering his mission as the nation’s top diplomat.
  Asked about a leading GOP senator’s comment — “You cannot publicly castrate your own sec
  
  Read more

• Southbound I-35 Airport Boulevard exit to temporarily close for new ramp construction

  16-10-2017 00:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Starting Sunday night at 9 p.m., the southbound Interstate 35 exit for Airport Boulevard  — Exit 237A — will close so that crews can construct a new entrance ramp and exit ramp to Airport Boulevard.
  In the meantime, drivers will need to exit at 51st street, and take the frontage road to get to Airport Boulevard.
  Drivers from US 290 can take either the Airport Boulevard exit from US 290 or take the flyover to southbound Interstate 35 then proceed to the sout
  
  Read more

• Southbound I-35 Airport Boulevard exit closed for new ramp construction

  16-10-2017 00:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Starting Sunday at 9 p.m., the southbound Interstate 35 exit for Airport Boulevard  — Exit 237A — will close so that crews can construct a new entrance ramp and exit ramp to Airport Boulevard.
  In the meantime, drivers will need to exit at 51st Street, and take the frontage road to get to Airport Boulevard.
  Drivers from US 290 can take either the Airport Boulevard exit from US 290 or take the flyover to southbound Interstate 35, then proceed to the southboun
  
  Read more

• Girl, 3, drowns in grease pit at Alabama ice cream shop

  16-10-2017 00:01 via kxan.com
  AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Authorities say a 3-year-old girl is dead after she fell into a grease pit at an Alabama ice cream shop and drowned.
  The Opelika-Auburn News reports the girl’s body was pulled Saturday from an in-ground container used to trap cooking grease at Brewster’s Real Ice Cream in Auburn.
  Lee County Coroner Bill Harris said in a news release the death appears to be an accidental drowning. He said video evidence from the scene showed the girl playing with siblings whe
  
  Read more

Follow @Austin_News_US on Twitter!