Austin news

• Shots fired report led to police response in Floresville before vice president’s visit

  08-11-2017 23:26 via kxan.com
  FLORESVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — A report of shots fired at Pecan Park in Floresville triggered a large police response, Wednesday afternoon, according to KSAT12.
  Video from the scene showed police with guns drawn, a helicopter overhead and K-9s near the park. KSAT reports the incident began when someone fired shots at a nursing home, and the situation has since been cleared.
  While there are no reports of any injuries, police were searching for a possible suspect about a mile south of the Flore
  
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• Armed suspect leads to police response in Floresville before vice president’s visit

  08-11-2017 23:26 via kxan.com
  FLORESVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — A man with a pistol has been reported at Pecan Park in Floresville, according to KSAT12.
  Video from the scene shows police with guns drawn near the park. KSAT reports the incident began when someone fired shots at a nursing home.
  While there are no reports of any injuries, police are searching for a possible suspect about a mile south of the Floresville High School stadium where Vice President Mike Pence is expected to speak shortly for a vigil honoring the vict
  
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• Church elder, wife killed in shooting were expecting 4th great-grandchild

  08-11-2017 22:54 via kxan.com
  SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — If you remember one thing about Dennis and Sara Johnson, two of the 26 victims in the Sutherland Springs church shooting, their family would want it to be the devoted lives they led together.
  “We want them remembered for the amazing people they were and not for how their lives ended,” their daughter Kati Wall told NBC News. Dennis, 77, and Sara, 68, celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary in July and were expecting their fourth great-grandch
  
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• St. Edward’s student dies in fall during study abroad in Myanmar

  08-11-2017 22:11 via kxan.com
  BAGAN, Myanmar (KXAN) — A St. Edward’s University junior was severely injured and later died following a fall in Bagan, Myanmar, a major tourist site in the southeast Asian country filled with thousands of temples.
  Kassandra “Kassie” Braun was traveling as part of a Semester at Sea cruise, a study abroad program that takes students to multiple continents around the world.
  The program says Braun was on independent travel in Bagan at around 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday when
  
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• SXSW to break ground on new office space next week

  08-11-2017 22:10 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — By the end of 2019, the South by Southwest team will be housed in brand new, state-of-the-art 13-story building at the corner of Lavaca and 14th streets.
  Crews will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking for the SXSW Center, located at 1400 Lavaca Street, next week. Once completed, the 145,000-square-foot building will also have a 13th floor penthouse and rooftop deck with views of the Texas State Capitol.
  While SXSW will only occupy the top three floors, three floors will be lea
  
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• Devoted, longtime church members killed in shooting

  08-11-2017 22:10 via kxan.com
  SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Ricardo “Richard” Rodriguez and his wife Theresa were longtime members of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, CNN reports.
  Richard, 64, and Theresa, 66, were active in their church and would sometimes take their grandchildren there as well. Richard’s daughter, Regina, told CNN the children were not with them on the day of the shooting.
  “The oldest ones, they’re the ones that are taking it hard,” Regina said.
  
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• Ex-President Barack Obama shows up in Chicago for jury duty

  08-11-2017 19:49 via kxan.com
  CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Barack Obama, free of a job that forced him to move to Washington for eight years, showed up to a downtown Chicago courthouse for jury duty on Wednesday morning.
  The 44th president’s motorcade — considerably shorter than the one he had when he lived in the White House — left his home in the Kenwood neighborhood on the city’s South Side and arrived at the Richard J. Daley Center shortly after 10 a.m.
  Obama — wearing a dark sport
  
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• Barack Obama shows up in Chicago for jury duty; not chosen

  08-11-2017 19:49 via kxan.com
  CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Barack Obama, free of a job that forced him to move to Washington for eight years, showed up to a downtown Chicago courthouse for jury duty on Wednesday morning. Then he heard the words most prospective jurors pray for: You’re dismissed.
  The 44th president’s motorcade — considerably shorter than the one when he lived in the White House — left his home in the Kenwood neighborhood on the city’s South Side and arrived at the Richar
  
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• Hutto officer describes Sgt. Chris Kelley’s condition when they found him

  08-11-2017 19:46 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — In Day 2 of the murder trial for Colby Williamson, Lt. Dwain Johnson with the Hutto Police Department testified about what he saw when he pulled up the the scene where Sgt. Chris Kelley was hit.
  Johnson’s dash cam video was shown in court. In the video, you can see another officer giving Kelley CPR and you can hear Johnson saying to Kelley, “Come on Kelley, fight, come on.”
  Even though Kelley hadn’t been pronounced dead yet, Johnson could
  
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• Husband, wife were part of praise team at First Baptist Church

  08-11-2017 19:39 via kxan.com
  SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Robert and Shani Corrigan often sang worship for First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. They were high school sweethearts and originally from Michigan, CNN affiliate WWTV reported.
  Robert Corrigan served in the Air Force for 29 years, according to Clare County, Michigan, director of Veterans Services Renee Haley. The couple, both were 51 years old, moved to Texas after Robert retired.
  Haley told CNN they have two sons in the military. Another
  
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• Water levels in Venice force tourists to wade through high water

  08-11-2017 19:37 via kxan.com
  VENICE, Italy (NBC News) — Water levels in Venice reached the highest level in four years this week, forcing tourists to wade around in the ankle-deep water to get around the city.
  Five percent of the city was covered with water that reached a level of 4 feet. Authorities have set up wooden platforms in St. Mark’s Square to help tourists move around.
  The high water levels are thought to be the result of local tides being affected by a strong winter called The Bora, which affects the
  
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• Mother and two daughters from Castroville killed in church shooting

  08-11-2017 19:08 via kxan.com
  SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Joann Ward, 30, was attending church service with her three children on Sunday.
  Ward’s stepson, Ryland, was shot five times, reports NBC News. Ward along with her two daughters, Brooke Ward, 5, died at the church. Her 7-year-old daughter, Emily Garcia, was taken to the hospital where she died.
  Ward’s brother Michael, who was also at the church, carried his nephew out of the church when the shooting stopped.
  Kelly Lookingbill, Ward’s sist
  
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• 16-year-old killed in church shooting dreamed of being a nurse

  08-11-2017 19:03 via kxan.com
  SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Haley Krueger was 16 years old and was excited about the bright future ahead of her. She was one of four teenagers killed while worshiping at First Baptist Church.
  “Haley loved life,” her mother Charlene Uhl said according to a GoFundMe page.
  Haley loved babies and hoped to be a neonatal intensive unit nurse, the page set up to support her family said. That morning, she helped set up for breakfast at the church, her mother told CNN. The c
  
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• Army veteran, wife were visiting church for first time when they were killed

  08-11-2017 18:51 via kxan.com
  SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Robert and Karen Marshall were visiting First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs for the first time on Sunday. The couple recently moved to Texas to be closer to Karen’s family and they were looking for a new church to join, WPXI reports.
  Both husband and wife were 56 years old. Robert was an Army veteran who served in Korea, according to WPXI in Pittsburgh. Karen was also in the service but she was planning on retiring soon.
  Robert’s father
  
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• RideAustin to provide free rides to veterans

  08-11-2017 17:31 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Veterans will be able to get free rides to medical, dental and mental health appointments starting in November.
  Bluebonnet Trails Community Services partnered with RideAustin to help out those in north Austin, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Pflugerville and greater Williamson County areas. RideAustin will also provide $35,000 in in-kind contributions for the program.
  “We recognize access to healthcare services is critical to healthy lives — yet a lack of transportation
  
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• Man found guilty of slaying 6 at Texas campsite in 2015

  08-11-2017 17:29 via kxan.com
  BRYAN, Texas (AP) — A man has been convicted of capital murder in the brutal slayings of six people at a remote Texas campsite in 2015. The Eagle reports that a Brazos County jury found 35-year-old William Hudson guilty Tuesday on three counts of capital murder for his role in killing 77-year-old Carl Johnson, 40-year-old Hannah Johnson and four other members of their extended family.
  Prosecutors say the Johnsons and their family were camping on property they’d recently bought from H
  
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• Transgender woman wins Virginia House seat, making history

  08-11-2017 17:23 via kxan.com
  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A transgender candidate defeated an incumbent Virginia lawmaker who sponsored a bill that would have restricted which bathrooms she could use.
  Democrat Danica Roem, a former journalist, is set to make history as the first openly transgender person elected and seated in a state legislature in the United States. She unseated Republican Del. Bob Marshall, one of the state’s longest serving and most socially conservative lawmakers. The race was one of the year’
  
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• Central Texas man arrested in slaying of woman, toddler

  08-11-2017 17:21 via kxan.com
  TEMPLE, Texas (AP) — Investigators say a Central Texas man has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a toddler believed to be his daughter and the child’s mother.
  McLennan County jail records show 26-year-old Christopher Paul Weiss of Temple was being held without bond Wednesday on a capital murder charge.
  Sheriff Parnell McNamara says Weiss was arrested late Tuesday over the deaths of 24-year-old Valarie Martinez and her 1-year-old daughter, Azariah.
  McNamara says Weiss is married
  
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• Vice President Mike Pence visits Sutherland Springs survivors

  08-11-2017 16:26 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO (KXAN) — Vice President Mike Pence touched down in San Antonio Wednesday to meet with victims and learn more about the devastation wrought when a gunman opened fire in a small church in Sutherland Springs — about 30 miles away.
  Pence and his wife, Karen — along with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Reps. Will Hurd, R-El Paso, and Henry Cuellar, D-San Antonio — met up with Gov. Greg Abbott there. The vice president and second lady visited survivors in th
  
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• Vice President Mike Pence to visit Sutherland Springs survivors Wednesday

  08-11-2017 16:26 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO (KXAN) — Vice President Mike Pence will touch down in San Antonio Wednesday to meet with victims and learn more about the devastation wrought when a gunman opened fire in a small church about 30 miles away.
  Pence and his wife Karen — along with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Reps. Will Hurd, R-El Paso, and Henry Cuellar, D-San Antonio — will meet up with Gov. Greg Abbott there. The vice president and second lady will visit survivors in the hospital before travel
  
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• Matthew McConaughey delivers 4,500 Thanksgiving turkeys on his birthday

  08-11-2017 16:03 via kxan.com
  LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. (KXAN) — Matthew McConaughey’s hometown may be Austin, but he brought some Thanksgiving cheer to families in Kentucky last weekend.
  He surprised 250 volunteers by joining their numbers last Saturday as they worked with Wild Turkey Bourbon to pass out 4,500 free turkeys to people in Lawrenceburg, Ky., where the whiskey is made. McConaughey is a brand spokesman and Facebook lived the experience.“Thanksgiving, gratitude — we believe in our family that the m
  
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• VIDEO: Woman rescues tiny kitten from storm drain

  08-11-2017 15:12 via kxan.com
  TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Tampa police officers see a lot of interesting things during the overnight shift. A woman emerging from the catacombs of the Tampa storm drain system clutching a kitten in her hands may be one of the more unique calls they’ve responded to.
  The woman, who only gave her name as Maria, said she heard a kitten mewing loudly from a drain near 22nd Street and Adamo Drive.
  In an attempt to hoist the gray tabby from the storm drain, she tried to locate some twine outside
  
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• 110 million Netflix users targeted in email scam

  08-11-2017 14:48 via kxan.com
  NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Netflix has issued a warning to its customers about a new email scam targeting viewers.
  The company says the scam is targeting 110 million Netflix customers. Users get an email that appears to come from Netflix with the subject line, “Your Suspension Notification,” and it tells users that Netflix needs them to update their billing information.
  The link in the email takes victims to a fake website, where they are asked to enter their customer
  
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• Changes coming to Snapchat and Twitter to gain more users

  08-11-2017 13:36 via kxan.com
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A pair of struggling social-media darlings have decided they need to take on new looks if they want to prosper.
  Twitter is rolling out a 280-character limit for nearly all its users, abandoning its iconic 140-character limit for tweets.
  And Snapchat, long an app popular with young people, will undergo a revamp to make itself easier to use, in the hopes it can attract a wider audience.
  Both companies announced the moves Tuesday as they look for ways to expand beyond the
  
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• Local girl a finalist in nationwide invention contest with sidewalk chalk idea

  08-11-2017 12:55 via kxan.com
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — A girl from central Texas is poised to win $250,000 as one of five finalists in a national invention competition that saw more than 13,000 entries.
  Anna Kreager, 9, from Cedar Park, came up with the idea for what she’s calling “Chalkers” to submit to the Dreamvention contest run by the snack company Frito-Lay. The devices strap on to your shoes and hold a piece of chalk on the ground to draw with your feet.
  Kreager, who said she spends just abou
  
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• Pedestrian hospitalized after being hit on I-35 frontage road

  08-11-2017 09:44 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police say a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle in north Austin late Tuesday night. Austin-Travis County EMS says the man in his 30s was taken to Dell Seton with potentially serious injuries.
  The crash happened on the southbound lanes of the Interstate 35 frontage road near Powell Lane just before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night. According to APD, the driver of the vehicle stayed on the scene.
  
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• Texans approve 7 proposed amendments to state Constitution

  08-11-2017 05:11 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas voters have ratified all seven amendments proposed to the state Constitution.
  No statewide offices were up for grabs on Tuesday’s ballot, and congressional and legislative elections are still a year away.
  The seven amendments range from issues related to property tax exemptions for disabled veterans to reducing restrictions on Texans borrowing against equity in their homes.
  Proposition 7 lets banks and credit unions offer raffles and other prizes to people
  
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• Democrats sweep Virginia, New Jersey governor’s races

  08-11-2017 05:07 via kxan.com
  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Voters in Virginia and New Jersey gave Democratic gubernatorial candidates large victories Tuesday and sent a clear message of rebuke to Republican President Donald Trump.
  In Virginia’s hard-fought contest, Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam defeated Republican Ed Gillespie. In New Jersey, front-running Democrat Phil Murphy trounced Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno to succeed unpopular GOP Gov. Chris Christie.
  The victors said Tuesday’s electoral results sen
  
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• Travis County voters approve infrastructure bonds

  08-11-2017 04:58 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two bond initiatives totaling $185 million for transportation and parks projects were approved by Travis County voters on Tuesday.
  With both items passing, homeowners with an average home valued at $305,173 will pay around $24 more per year.
  The transportation and road safety bond package, valued at $93.4 million, includes projects mainly in the eastern half of the county. The largest of which will be extending Harold Green Road from State Highway 130 to Austin Colony Boule
  
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• Lake Travis voters approve school bond and tax ratification

  08-11-2017 04:49 via kxan.com
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Two major election items at Lake Travis Independent Schoo District were approved by voters on Election Day.
  With the approval of the $253 million bond package, district leaders say the bond money will be used to build new schools in order to keep up with the rapid growth packing campuses. More than $109 million of the quarter-of-a-billion-dollar package will go toward building a new middle school off of Vail Divide in Bee Cave and a new elementary school
  
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• Buda voters ax plans to reintroduce fluoride to city water

  08-11-2017 04:45 via kxan.com
  BUDA, Texas (KXAN) – Some Buda voters spent election night in a tavern across the street from City Hall, where a large group waited to see if the city rejected a proposition to put fluoride back into the city’s water supply.
  About 67 percent of voters chose to vote against Proposition A — with 100 percent of the vote in — which means residents in Buda will continue to drink fluoride-free water.
  The city of Buda receives its water from the San Marcos treatment plant. In 20
  
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• Election roundup: Central Texas school bonds

  08-11-2017 04:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Numerous school districts across Central Texas had bonds on the ballot. Here is a rundown of whether or not they passed.
  Austin ISD Bond – Passed
  The Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a bond election for $1,050,984,000. Despite the record amount of bond money, the district says the bond would not increase the tax rate.
  Voters approved the proposition with nearly 70 percent of votes in favor of the bond.
  Bastrop ISD Bond –
  
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• Domestic abuse advocates say gun surrender laws may help prevent more shootings

  08-11-2017 04:09 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As investigators piece together the deadly Sutherland Springs church shooting, some organizations are looking at ways to prevent other shootings like it.
  Domestic violence advocates say it’s possible something like this could have been prevented.
  “So often we hear that this came out of nowhere and there were no warning signs,” said Bronwyn Blake, a legal director for the Texas Advocacy Project. “But when you look at the interpersonal relationships of
  
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• ‘He was aiming at us to kill us’: I-35 shooting spree victim speaks out

  08-11-2017 03:07 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) —  Shots were fired across an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 35 from Wells Branch Parkway to Stassney Lane early Saturday morning. For the first time, we’re hearing from one of the victims in the I-35 shooting spree who dodged bullets on Austin’s busiest highway.
  “When I looked back behind me, I noticed a guy standing by with a rifle and as soon as I noticed him I quickly stepped on the gas and sped off and automatically he started shooting at us,&r
  
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• Family opens community center’s doors to help Sutherland Springs recover

  08-11-2017 03:04 via kxan.com
  SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — When a major event happens like the shooting in Sutherland Springs, amazing stories of people stepping up to help make headlines. Just moments after the shooting, a small family jumped in and started the job of major recovery organizations.
  Sutherland Springs is a small town with just one blinking light, a handful of city streets and an entire population less than most elementary schools in Central Texas. Since Sunday, hundreds of investigators and dozens
  
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• Voters approve Austin ISD’s $1 billion bond

  08-11-2017 02:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The largest bond proposal in Austin Independent School District’s history was approved by a large margin of votes.
  The bond was passed with nearly 70 percent of votes cast. You can follow real-time results here.
  The $1,050,984,000 bond proposition was shaped by the district’s Facility Master Plan, which serves as a guideline for all AISD facilities over the next 25 years. The bond package was the culmination of almost two years of intensive work. The b
  
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• UT banned torches, masks day before rally by ‘American Fascist’ group

  08-11-2017 02:39 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The University of Texas at Austin made new rules prohibiting things like masks and open flames on campus on Nov. 3, a day before demonstrators with those items gathered on campus.
  The rules were enforced right away, and demonstrators were asked by campus police to leave early Saturday morning.
  The rules ban masks, facial coverings or anything that conceals the wearer’s identity. They also prohibit open flames, unless approved by the UT Fire Marshal, and body armor. Ad
  
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• Outpouring of support remains steady for church shooting victims

  08-11-2017 01:50 via kxan.com
  SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — With news vans lining the streets near First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs and crime scene tape blocking off the building the last three days, the growing makeshift memorial outside and Donna Watkins’ table filled with teddy bears show a glimmer of hope within the tears and sorrow.
  “You don’t have to go at it alone,” Watkins said. “There are people that do care.”
  Watkins leads the Homicide Survivors Support Group
  
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• Rep. Dawnna Dukes blames fellow Austin Democrats for her absences

  08-11-2017 01:43 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — State Rep. Dawnna Dukes claims fellow Austin area Democrats intentionally made her look more absent than she was during the 2017 legislative session.
  In a live-streamed event moderated by Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune, she specifically said Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin was “the ringleader” and Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, “followed up”.
  Despite her claim, the representative was still not at her desk when lawmakers began their daily work on the House
  
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• A year on, Trump makes election win a key topic on Asia trip

  08-11-2017 01:29 via kxan.com
  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — While President Donald Trump contends with the looming threat from North Korea, thorny trade disputes and the delicate dance of international diplomacy, he has had another thing on his mind: last year’s Election Day.
  Through the first two legs of his five-country swing through Asia, Trump has been mentioning his upset victory in the 2016 presidential election, one year ago Wednesday.
  White House officials haven’t said how Trump intends to mark the occa
  
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• 11-year-old boy accused of robbing woman with toy gun

  08-11-2017 01:16 via kxan.com
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KARK) — An 11-year-old boy is facing a charge of aggravated robbery in juvenile court after police say he tried to rob a woman at an ATM Saturday night in Little Rock, Ark.
  Police say the weapon he pointed at her was a toy.
  The 68-year-old victim told police the boy hit her in the face with a plastic gun after she got into her car and tried to lock the door but accidentally rolled down the window instead. The victim said there were three other boys with the suspect.
  Offi
  
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• GoFundMe creates hub for Sutherland Springs donation pages

  08-11-2017 00:20 via kxan.com
  SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Crowdfunding website GoFundMe has compiled a “centralized hub” of donation pages for victims of the Sutherland Springs church shooting.
  One million dollars has been raised by more than 15,000 donors on the various pages, the company said. Twenty-six people were killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Sunday, Nov. 5, after shooter Devin Kelley opened fire around 11:20 a.m.
  Around $500,000 has been raised for a single donatio
  
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