Austin news

• Luck of the draw helps Republicans hold Virginia House

  04-01-2018 23:47 via kxan.com
  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Republicans cheered Thursday when their candidate won a state House of Delegates race by luck of the draw, having his name chosen first out of ceramic bowl.
  But inside a conference room in Richmond’s Capitol Square, where the drawing was held, it was all agony of defeat and no joy of victory. That’s because Republican David Yancey skipped the drawing, while Democratic challenger Shelley Simonds and many of her supporters absorbed it in stunned sile
  
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• Sears at Tech Ridge closing in April

  04-01-2018 22:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Sears Grand store in north Austin is one of 34 stores being shuttered across the country as part of the company’s “strategic assessment.”
  Sears Holdings said the stores its closing are some of its unprofitable locations. The company is also closing 64 of its Kmart stores.
  All of the stores will close between early March and early April of this year. The company says eligible associates that are impacted by the closures will receive severance
  
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• Flames rip through roof of north Austin apartment complex

  04-01-2018 22:46 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Firefighters were called to a 2-alarm apartment fire at 8800 N. Interstate 35, just south of Rundberg Lane, at 3:22 p.m. Thursday.
  A TxDOT camera shows a large presence of firefighters next to the three-story Avesta Solano apartment complex, with flames initially shooting through the roof. As of 4 p.m., the fire was under control and crews have since put out the fire in the attic.
  The southbound I-35 frontage road is down to one lane due to the emergency response. Central T
  
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• 30 people displaced by fire that ripped through north Austin apartments

  04-01-2018 22:46 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Firefighters were called to a 2-alarm apartment fire at 8800 N. Interstate 35, just south of Rundberg Lane, at 3:22 p.m. Thursday. Thirty people and five animals have been displaced by the fire, but no one was injured.
  The Austin Fire Department said the cause of the fire, which likely started in the attic, is under investigation. AFD Battalion Chief Josh Portie said a building technique called a draft stop helped keep the fire from spreading. “It’s essentially
  
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• Oregonians come to terms with pumping their own gas

  04-01-2018 22:34 via kxan.com
  PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A new law means people in some counties will have to learn how to do something many Oregonians might not even know how to do.
  In counties with fewer than 40,000 residents, residents will now be pumping their own gas.
  The change in a long-held way of life for Oregonians resulted in a viral freak out on a Facebook post from CBS affiliate KTVL in Medford subsequent online mocking from well beyond the state.
  One woman wrote “I don’t
  
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• Robber locked inside Houston store prays, begs to be released

  04-01-2018 22:08 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (WCMH) — A robber got down on his knees and began to pray after quick-thinking employees locked him inside the cell phone store he was trying to rob.
  Houston police released the video from the April 2017 robbery this week after the man was sentenced to five years in prison.
  The video shows John Bell walking into the Latino Cellular store in Houston and asking an employee to open the register. She tells him no and starts walking towards the door.
  Other customers and employees, inclu
  
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• It’s so cold in Florida, iguanas are falling from trees

  04-01-2018 21:59 via kxan.com
  MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It’s so cold in Florida that iguanas are falling from their perches in suburban trees.
  Temperatures dipped below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) early Thursday in parts of South Florida, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.
  That’s chilly enough to immobilize green iguanas common in Miami’s suburbs.
  Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino tweeted a photograph of an iguana lying belly-up next to his swimming pool. WPEC-TV p
  
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• Macy’s, Penney see holiday sales growth

  04-01-2018 21:53 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Macy’s and J.C. Penney both reported holiday sales growth, offering encouraging signs that if department stores struggling to hold their own against online retailers had a decent period, other retailers did as well.
  The results, announced Thursday, came after both retailers focused on improving their online services while highlighting more exclusive offerings. Low unemployment, a strong stock market and other factors set the stage for a good holiday season. The Nation
  
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• Shaking, no damage in San Francisco Bay Area quake

  04-01-2018 21:32 via kxan.com
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Bay Area residents were shaken out of their slumber by a magnitude 4.4 earthquake that was felt over a wide area but caused no major damage early Thursday.
  The quake struck at 2:39 a.m. about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from Berkeley, just across the bay from San Francisco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The magnitude was revised after it was initially reported as magnitude 4.5. It happened at a depth of 8 miles (13 kilometers).
  Social media posts sh
  
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• Police negotiation failure will impact Austin city budget

  04-01-2018 21:12 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After a failed contract negotiation, Austin police officers now are getting paid based on Texas civil service law. That could drastically impact the city budget in 2018 after the Austin City Council already decided what it was going to pay for.
  The Austin Police Department is funded through the city’s general revenue fund. If there are savings, they will go into the general revenue fund. If that money is not spent by Sept. 30, they go into the city’s budget stab
  
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• Austin City Council has power to assist with cost of failed police negotiations

  04-01-2018 21:12 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After a failed contract negotiation, Austin police officers now are getting paid based on Texas civil service law. That could drastically impact the city budget in 2018 after the Austin City Council already decided what it was going to pay for.
  The Austin Police Department is funded through the city’s general revenue fund. If there are savings, they will go into the general revenue fund. If that money is not spent by Sept. 30, they go into the city’s budget stab
  
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• Contestant loses $3,200 for mispronouncing ‘gangsta’ on Jeopardy

  04-01-2018 19:55 via kxan.com
  (WFLA) — One letter can change an entire word and apparently make a man lose his fortune.
  Contestant Nick Spicher appeared on Jeopardy’s first episode of 2018.
  Longtime show host Alex Trebek read the “Double Jeopardy” $1,600 clue, which would amount to $3,200. He read, “A song by Coolio from Dangerous Minds goes back in time to become a 1667 John Milton classic.”
  Spicher answered, “What is Gangster’s Paradise Lost,” i
  
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• Far away from Hollywood, children benefit from Golden Globes

  04-01-2018 19:41 via kxan.com
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nine-year-old Adalyn Ficken snuggled next to her dad in the reclining movie-theater seats, clutching a teddy bear in one hand and a cup of popcorn in the other, waiting for the film to start.
  A pudgy 5-year-old boy tugging an IV pole behind him raced into the theater, his mom rushing up behind him. Some of the moviegoers wore hospital gowns or arrived in wheelchairs.
  Far away from the starry happenings around Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, this Lollipop Theater Netw
  
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• How a Colorado woman helped police nab Round Rock abduction suspect

  04-01-2018 19:35 via kxan.com
  CUCHARA, Colo. (KXAN) — Within four hours of releasing surveillance photos of Terry Miles, the man accused of abducting two Round Rock girls, authorities in Colorado had him in handcuffs thanks in part to an alert citizen.
  The Round Rock Police Department said on Wednesday evening, the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office received a tip reporting Miles was in an area near Cuchara, which is approximately 60 miles northwest of Trinidad, the town which Miles was spotted in on Dec. 30
  
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• Kevin Durant donates $3M to University of Texas

  04-01-2018 19:07 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — NBA all-star Kevin Durant is giving back to his former university — to the tune of $3 million. It’s the largest outright gift from a former Texas Basketball student-athlete, according to the University of Texas at Austin.
  Most of the donation from the former Longhorn — $2.5 million — will go toward Texas Basketball, while the rest will go to the Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation, which works to cultivate character development and leadership
  
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• Train hits, kills 11-year-old girl who was looking at phone

  04-01-2018 18:20 via kxan.com
  HAINES CITY, Fla. (AP) — An Amtrak train struck and killed an 11-year-old girl as she walked home from a restaurant near her home in Florida.
  Polk County Sheriff’s officials said in a news release that the train’s conductor told investigators Yazmin White was looking down at her phone as she crossed the tracks on Wednesday afternoon and gave no indication she was aware the train was approaching.
  The train, which had 12 passenger cars and two engines, was going about 68 miles pe
  
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• Country music legend Mickey Gilley suffers minor injuries in crash

  04-01-2018 18:02 via kxan.com
  CORRIGAN, Texas (KXAN) — Country music legend Mickey Gilley and his son, Michael, were involved in a crash in East Texas Wednesday.
  KJAS reports the crash happened around 11 a.m. in Corrigan along Highway 59 as the father and son were making their way from his home in Pasadena to Branson, Missouri, where Gilley owns a theater and regularly performs. Gilley’s wife, Susan Gilley, told KJAS her husband suffered a broken ankle and shoulder but otherwise should be okay.
  “He’s
  
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• White House barring personal phones in West Wing

  04-01-2018 17:03 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is cracking down on staff using personal cellphones at work.
  White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says in a statement Thursday that “the security and integrity of the technology systems at the White House is a top priority for the Trump administration and therefore starting next week the use of all personal devices for both guests and staff will no longer be allowed in the West Wing.”
  She said aides would “conduct business on th
  
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• Powerball jumps to $550M after no winning tickets sold

  04-01-2018 16:55 via kxan.com
  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — No winning tickets were sold for the $460 million Powerball drawing.
  The winning numbers selected Wednesday night were 2, 18, 37, 39 and 42, and the Powerball number was 12.
  The jackpot jumps to an estimated $550 million for Saturday’s drawing. That would make it the nation’s 8th largest lottery prize ever.
  Powerball is played in 44 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning are one in 292.2 million.
  
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• Washington sues Motel 6 for giving guest information to US

  04-01-2018 16:28 via kxan.com
  SEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s attorney general sued Motel 6 on Wednesday, alleging the national budget chain disclosed the private information of thousands of its guests to U.S. immigration authorities in violation of the state consumer protection law.
  Attorney General Bob Ferguson said motel employees divulged the names, birthdates, driver’s license numbers, license plate numbers and room numbers of at least 9,150 guests to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents without
  
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• Washington sues Motel 6 for giving guest information to ICE agents

  04-01-2018 16:28 via kxan.com
  SEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s attorney general sued Motel 6 on Wednesday, alleging the national budget chain disclosed the private information of thousands of its guests to U.S. immigration authorities in violation of the state consumer protection law.
  Attorney General Bob Ferguson said motel employees divulged the names, birthdates, driver’s license numbers, license plate numbers and room numbers of at least 9,150 guests to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents without
  
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• Sessions terminates US policy that let legal pot flourish

  04-01-2018 16:03 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration threw the burgeoning movement to legalize marijuana into uncertainty Thursday as it lifted an Obama-era leniency policy that kept federal authorities from cracking down on the pot trade in states where the drug is legal. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will now leave it up to federal prosecutors to decide what to do when state rules collide with federal drug law.
  Sessions’ action, just three days after a legalization law went into effect in C
  
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• Sessions ending federal policy that let legal pot flourish

  04-01-2018 16:03 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded an Obama-era policy that paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country, creating new confusion about enforcement and use just three days after a new legalization law went into effect in California.
  President Donald Trump’s top law enforcement official announced the change Thursday. Instead of the previous lenient-federal-enforcement policy, Sessions’ new stance will instead let feder
  
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• AP NewsBreak: US to end policy that let legal pot flourish

  04-01-2018 16:03 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding the Obama-era policy that had paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country, two people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. Sessions will instead let federal prosecutors where pot is legal decide how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana law, the people said.
  The people familiar with the plan spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it
  
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• Eagle snatches dog, but it lives to bark another day

  04-01-2018 15:45 via kxan.com
  BOWMANSTOWN, Penn. (AP) — Felipe Rodriguez says he thought he was hallucinating when an eagle snatched his sister’s little white dog from her yard, flapped its massive wings and disappeared over the trees.
  Did he really just see that?
  He had. Zoey the 8-pound Bichon Frise was gone, taken by a hungry raptor Tuesday afternoon not 50 feet from his sister’s house on the banks of the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania, Rodriguez said.
  “It seemed like something from the ‘Wizard
  
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• WATCH: How the cold weather is affecting a Texas Longhorn in the Panhandle

  04-01-2018 14:48 via kxan.com
  PALO DURO CANYON STATE PARK (KXAN) — Texas’ cold snap caused people to bundle up against freezing temperatures, but it also affected some creatures spending time outside.
  Texas Parks and Wildlife took a video of T-Bone, a Texas Longhorn, trying to get a drink from a partially-frozen water tank at the Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo. T-Bone takes a giant sluuuuuurp through the ice.
  Rangers in the park kept busy breaking up ice that formed in that tank and others meant for th
  
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• Several CapMetro bus routes affected by construction

  04-01-2018 14:15 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN)– If you need to travel through downtown or on The Drag by public transportation over the next few days, schedule some extra time. Capital Metro warned passengers on Twitter that the UT West Mall Station will be closed from approximately 11:00 a.m. starting Thursday, Jan. 4, until Sunday, Jan. 7, due to construction on Guadalupe Street.
  CapMetro bus riders who normally use the West Mall Station will need to use bus stops at Guadalupe & 21st Streets. Several routes are 
  
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• Massive winter storm bringing snow, cold to huge swath of US

  04-01-2018 13:21 via kxan.com
  HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A massive winter storm swept from the Carolinas to Maine on Thursday, dumping snow along the coast and bringing strong winds that will usher in possible record-breaking cold.
  Up to 18 inches of snow was expected in eastern New England. Blizzard warnings and states of emergency were in effect, schools and government offices closed for the day and motorists were warned to be careful as conditions worsened.
  People who take to the roads are in for an “ugly, long co
  
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• Massive storm roars into East Coast; record cold to follow

  04-01-2018 13:21 via kxan.com
  HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A massive winter storm roared into the East Coast on Thursday, dumping as much as 18 inches of snow from the Carolinas to Maine and unleashing hurricane-force winds that closed schools and offices and canceled thousands of flights.
  Forecasters expected the system to be followed immediately by a blast of face-stringing cold air that could break records in more than two dozen cities, with wind chills falling to minus 40 in some places this weekend.
  Blizzard warnings an
  
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• Huge swath of US hit by winter storm bringing, snow, cold

  04-01-2018 13:21 via kxan.com
  HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Residents across a huge swath of the U.S. were hunkered down as a massive winter storm packing snow, ice and high winds, followed by possible record-breaking cold, moved up the Eastern Seaboard, with the worst conditions expected from the Carolinas to Maine.
  The massive storm expected on Thursday began two days ago in the Gulf of Mexico, first hitting the Florida Panhandle. It has prompted thousands of canceled flights, shuttered schools and businesses and sparked fe
  
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• The Latest: Trump left ‘furious,’ with Bannon over new book

  04-01-2018 12:56 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on a new book about President Donald Trump (all times local):(backslash)(backslash)
  3:30 a.m.
  The White House says President Donald Trump was left feeling “furious” and “disgusted” after claims by his former top adviser Steve Bannon in a new book. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders complained Wednesday the book contained “outrageous” and “completely false claims against the president, his administration
  
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• Airbnb bans renter who threw raucous New Year’s party

  04-01-2018 12:43 via kxan.com
  SEVEN HILLS, Ohio (AP) — Airbnb says it has permanently banned a man who threw a huge New Year’s party at a house in suburban Cleveland where he was renting a room.
  Police say about 250 people were crammed inside the home in Seven Hills, Ohio, when officers arrived. They reported seeing partygoers vomiting and breaking windows.Airbnb guest accused of hiding cameras in host’s bathroomInvestigators say the man advertised the party online and charged $5 to enter. He was renting a
  
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• Celebratory NYE gunfire goes through window, hits sleeping Bastrop County man

  04-01-2018 07:03 via kxan.com
  MCDADE, Texas (KXAN) — Longtime Bastrop County resident Roger Jeansonne says he knows New Year’s Eve can be a dangerous night, with fireworks in the air and drunk drivers on the road.
  That’s why he says he and his wife stayed home this year in McDade — a town on US 290, about 15 miles northeast of the city of Bastrop — and went to bed early.
  That decision almost cost him his life. “The bullets came through the window here,” Jeansonne said, pointing
  
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• Plane bound for Georgetown last seen on radar over Gulf of Mexico

  04-01-2018 05:54 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A plane that took off from Oklahoma City heading to Georgetown was last seen on radar over the Gulf of Mexico.
  A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said the Cirrus S22T left Wiley Post Airport Wednesday afternoon. The pilot had filed a flight plan to Georgetown, but instead of landing, continued on the same course and was unresponsive to air traffic control instructions.
  The aircraft was last seen on radar at 15,000 feet heading into the Gulf of Mexico, th
  
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• Pilot bound for Georgetown likely unconscious as plane flew over Gulf of Mexico

  04-01-2018 05:54 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A plane that took off from Oklahoma City heading to Georgetown was last seen on radar over the Gulf of Mexico.
  A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said the privately-owned Cirrus S22T left Wiley Post Airport Wednesday afternoon. The pilot had filed a flight plan to Georgetown, but instead of landing, continued on the same course and was unresponsive to air traffic control instructions. The Coast Guard reported the person was likely unresponsive due to hyp
  
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• Abducted Round Rock girls to return to Texas, suspect will be questioned

  04-01-2018 04:03 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Two girls abducted from Round Rock have been found safe in Colorado, according to Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks. Terry Miles, 44, is currently in custody in Colorado Springs with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
  The man accused of taking the girls, 44-year-old Terry Miles, was pulled over by a member of the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office around 7:30 p.m. mountain time near the town of Trinidad, Colorado, after the department was tipped t
  
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• Abducted Round Rock girls found safe in Colorado; suspect in custody

  04-01-2018 04:03 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Two Round Rock girls abducted from Round Rock have been found safe in Colorado, according to Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks.
  The man accused of taking the girls, 44-year-old Terry Miles, was pulled over by a member of the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office around 7:30 p.m. mountain time near the town of Trinidad, Colorado, after the department was tipped that Miles was seen in the area.
  When the deputy pulled behind the vehicle, Miles began driving err
  
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• Central Texas blood supply at ‘dangerously low level’

  04-01-2018 02:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A critical shortage of blood, particularly O negative and O positive, is currently affecting We Are Blood, formerly known as the Blood Center of Central Texas.
  The agency says donations during the holiday season were lower than the need for blood in the area, bringing the community’s supply to a dangerously low level.
  Any Central Texan with O negative or O positive blood is asked to donate in the coming days to help bring the supply back to a safe level.
  Visit WeAreBl
  
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• Fake highway signs jab at new California immigration law

  04-01-2018 02:32 via kxan.com
  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Drivers heading to California saw fake signs decrying a new immigration policy on at least two highways, welcoming them to an “official sanctuary state” that’s home to “felons” and gang members.
  State officials removed a sign Tuesday on the Arizona line and another Monday near the Nevada border, Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Dinger said.
  The signs take aim at California’s sanctuary state law that kicked in Jan. 1 a
  
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• Taco Bell launches $1 Nacho Fries

  04-01-2018 01:36 via kxan.com
  IRVINE, Calif. (WCMH) — Taco Bell is introducing its own twist on French fries in stores nationwide later this month as it looks to widen its dollar menu options.
  The new Nacho Fries “will be crisped to perfection with bold Mexican seasoning and served with warm Nacho Cheese dipping sauce.” They will be available Jan. 25.
  Customers can also get the Nacho Fries served Supreme for $2.49 or Bell Grande for $3.49 and can be topped with things such as beef, nacho cheese, sour cream,
  
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• Community health centers delaying hiring due to uncertainty of federal funds

  04-01-2018 01:16 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Uncertainty and instability.
  Those are the words frequently used to describe what community health centers across Texas are feeling right now as they wait for Congress to pass long-term funding.
  “We had hoped for five years,” Regina Rogoff said. “At this point, I think we would settle for two years.”
  Rogoff is chief executive officer for People’s Community Clinic in Austin. The center provides a wide variety of services helping infants and adul
  
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• AISD: 90 schools have submitted work orders for heating issues

  04-01-2018 01:15 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Students at Austin ISD’s Reagan High School arrived back from winter break to cold classrooms — and KXAN learned they’re not the only ones.
  AISD says it has received heat-related work orders from 90 of its 130 schools. It’s important to note that heating may not be out at entire schools. Work orders may be submitted for just a particular wing or one classroom. But, at this time, the specifics have not been released.
  After KXAN brought several complai
  
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• AFD arson investigator charged with sex assault of woman in parking lot

  04-01-2018 00:41 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin Fire Department lieutenant and arson investigator accused of sexually assaulting a woman stopped on an Interstate 35 frontage road has been indicted on four charges of sexual assault and misuse of official information.
  Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore says Marcus Reed, 48, also faces misdemeanor offenses of official oppression and abuse of official capacity for the March 2, 2017 incident.
  The DA says Reed turned himself into the Travis County Sheriff
  
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• Brush fire south of Taylor burns 5 acres

  04-01-2018 00:14 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Firefighters from several agencies are working to keep a brush fire from spreading in an area just south of Taylor.
  The fire started around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday along County Road 483 just east of State Highway 95. As of 4 p.m. the fire had burned around 5 acres.
  Williamson County authorities say no structures are threatened at this time. A total of six fire agencies are working to contain the fire. STAR Flight is also helping with water drops.
  For a cu
  
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