Austin news

• Police seek suspect in south Austin sex assault

  20-01-2018 23:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Police Department said it is searching for a suspect in the sexual assault of a woman in South Austin last Monday.
  They said it happened at about 2:46 a.m. Monday in the 1800 block of Fortview Road east of Manchaca Road and north of Ben White Boulevard.
  Police said the victim was walking from the Casino South Side Lounge in the 1500 block of Ben White Boulevard back to her home. While walking, a man attacked her from behind, then sexually assaulted her on Fortvie
  
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• 3 in Dallas family get prison for stomping pregnant teen

  20-01-2018 19:36 via kxan.com
  DALLAS (AP) — Three members of a Dallas family who beat a pregnant teen and stomped on her belly until she miscarried have been sentenced to prison.
  The Dallas Morning News reports that the now-19-year-old victim was eight months pregnant when she was attacked in 2013. She reported the attack in 2015.
  This week, 47-year-old Sharon Jones was sentenced to 12 years; her daughter, 28-year-old Cecilia McDonald, was sentenced to seven years; and her son, 29-year-old Cedric Jones Jr., got five ye
  
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• Women’s March, other protests underway in downtown Austin

  20-01-2018 19:11 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hundreds gathered in downtown Austin on Saturday to rally against the Trump administration on the anniversary of his inauguration.
  Protesters assembled at city hall with signs high in-hand, calling for President Trump’s impeachment and an end to what they called “lawlessness.”
  Only one arrest has been made so far, Austin Police confirmed, but authorities described the environment at the assembly as “peaceful.”
  The rally will be followed by a Wo
  
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• Protesters fill Austin streets to push back against Trump on inauguration anniversary

  20-01-2018 19:11 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hundreds gathered in downtown Austin on Saturday to rally against the Trump administration on the anniversary of his inauguration.
  Protesters assembled at city hall with signs high in-hand, calling for President Trump’s impeachment and an end to what they called “lawlessness.” before marching through city streets blocked off by state and local police.
  “This is what democracy looks like,” Nancy Pousson said during the march.
  The collection of vo
  
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• Police: Pennsylvania man sliced girlfriend with razor blades as part of ‘satanic ritual’

  20-01-2018 18:36 via kxan.com
  NORTH HUNTINGDON, PA (WCMH) — A Pennsylvania man is facing charges after slicing his girlfriend multiple times as part of what he told her was a satanic ritual.
  According to North Huntingdon Police, Kyle Parker, 21, sliced his girlfriend with a razor blade multiple times at his house on Jan. 10. The woman told police she and Parker got into an argument and she started hyperventilating before passing out.
  “Before she could leave, he grabbed her and got a razor blade and sliced her pal
  
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• Government shutdown: What’s closed, who’s affected

  20-01-2018 14:41 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of federal employees began their weekends gripped with doubt, uncertain of when they’ll be able to return to work and how long they’ll have to go without being paid after a bitter political dispute in Washington triggered a government shutdown.
  Many government operations will continue — U.S. troops will stay at their posts and mail will get delivered. But almost half the 2 million civilian federal workers will be barred from doing their jobs if
  
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• TX State professor, students helping NBC at the Winter Olympics

  20-01-2018 06:18 via kxan.com
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — A professor and two students from Texas State University are about to embark on the opportunity of a lifetime.
  They’re heading to South Korea to help behind-the-scenes of NBC’s Today Show during the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
  “I’m a self-declared Olympic nerd,” said Dr. Michael Burns.
  The Texas State communications professor is about to pack his bags for his fifth Olympic games.
  “My first games was in Torino
  
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• Kyle police see slight increase in car burglaries compared to same time last year

  20-01-2018 05:17 via kxan.com
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) – A Kyle woman hopes her story helps prevent more thefts after her car was stolen from a popular movie theater parking lot and found in another county.
  She’s asked us not to identify her but says it happened about two weeks ago at the EVO movie theater near Interstate 35. “Kyle is a fairly safe town to live in and to be in and to go out in. You just don’t expect something like this to happen,” she said.
  In the past year Kyle’s population has
  
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• US government shuts down; Dems, GOP blame each other

  20-01-2018 04:52 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government shut down at the stroke of midnight Friday, halting all but the most essential operations and marring the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration in a striking display of Washington dysfunction.
  Last-minute negotiations crumbled as Senate Democrats blocked a four-week stopgap extension in a late-night vote, causing the fourth government shutdown in a quarter century. Behind the scenes, however, leading Republicans and Dem
  
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• Judge in New Braunfels said God told him to tell jurors they shouldn’t convict woman

  20-01-2018 04:42 via kxan.com
  NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (AP) — A defense attorney says a Texas judge mentioned God while defending his efforts to convince jurors to acquit a woman accused of trafficking a teenager.
  Sylvia Cavazos said Friday she’ll seek a retrial over state District Judge Jack Robison interrupting deliberations last week to tell jurors they shouldn’t convict her client. Jurors ignored his pleadings and returned a guilty verdict.
  The New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung reported that Robison then recused
  
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• Donut shop sells edible Tide Pods in light of viral online challenge

  20-01-2018 04:22 via kxan.com
  WICHITA, Kans. (KSNW) – A local donut chain used the latest social media stunt, called the Tide Pod challenge, to promote a new kind of donut Wednesday.
  The challenge involves people, mostly teenagers, eating the laundry capsules on video for others to see on social media.
  Hurts Donut joined in on the craze by selling the donut version of the laundry capsule.
  “We just kind of put out the post as just a funny alternative to a more serious topic,” said Trista Patterson, owner of
  
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• Man wanted in Pflugerville on child sex assault charges arrested in Kansas

  20-01-2018 03:05 via kxan.com
  PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — A man wanted on charges of sexually abusing two different children in Pflugerville and Temple has been arrested in Kansas.
  Pflugerville police say 55-year-old Michael Lee Lopez, of Wichita, Kansas, was arrested by the Wichita Police Department’s Exploited and Missing Child Unit at a home there Friday afternoon.
  Lopez had multiple warrants out for his arrest by the Pflugerville Police Department, including continuous sexual abuse of a child, aggravated sex
  
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• Cities clash over plans to replace old, outdated Redbud Trail bridge

  20-01-2018 01:59 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — No one contests that the 70-year-old Redbud Trail Bridge, perched between the cities of Austin and West Lake Hills, needs to be replaced, but the two cities have differing opinions on what the new bridge should look like.
  Engineers say the bridge, built in 1948, does not meet current structural standards.
  “Back then, those bridges were built theoretically for a 50 year lifespan,” said city of Austin Public Works Bridge Engineer Pirouz Moin. “So the bridge
  
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• Autopsy: Tom Petty died of accidental drug overdose

  20-01-2018 01:40 via kxan.com
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tom Petty’s family says his death last year was due to an accidental drug overdose.
  His wife and daughter released the results of Petty’s autopsy via a statement Friday on his Facebook page. Dana and Adria Petty say they got the results from the coroner’s office earlier in the day that the overdose was due to a variety of medications.
  The statement was posted moments before the Los Angeles coroner’s office issued its official findings, which confi
  
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• Texas sues tree company 6 years after Bastrop County wildfire that killed 2

  20-01-2018 01:31 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas is suing a vegetation management company that it alleges caused the 2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Texas history.
  The lawsuit filed Friday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges the Asplundh Tree Expert Co. failed to clear easements around power lines and remove dead trees before Tropical Storm Lee hit the area. Fire officials previously said the fire that burned for a month across 32,400 acres, killing two people and des
  
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• Software issue slowing down check-in at Austin airport

  20-01-2018 01:08 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A computer issue at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is causing a slight delay for people who are trying to check into their flight.
  A spokesperson for the airport says the problem likely stems from automated updates done overnight. The delay is causing slightly longer lines at the ticket counters.
  Customers are encouraged to check in online with their airline from home just in case the situation persists.
  The airport IT department doesn’t expect the issue to la
  
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• Camp fosters bond with children of fallen first responders

  20-01-2018 00:45 via kxan.com
  BATESVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — A special hunting trip for kids of fallen first responders offers a chance to bond with some of the men and women from their loved one’s agency.
  The program, StarKids, launched last year with a goal to connect children of first responders who were killed in the line of duty with members of the agency their parent worked for. The free weekend retreat comes in the form of a hunting trip at Thumbtack Ranch in Batesville — about 75 miles southwest of San
  
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• New state death registry leads to better reporting, improved health policy

  20-01-2018 00:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some physicians fear the state may be missing more vital public health information because the state’s current death registry reporting system needs a major upgrade. Some believe the key to helping more Texans stay alive and thrive may be better record keeping for those who have died.
  “It’s a really important system that we get it right,” said Austin/Travis County Public Health Medical Director Dr. Phil Huang.
  The leading cause of death in Austi
  
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• Stadium drama: ZACH Theatre says MLS stadium next door would cause ‘major issues’

  20-01-2018 00:16 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The ZACH Theatre is urging its patrons to contact city council members days after Butler Shores was named as the preferred location for a stadium by the company hoping to move its Major League Soccer team to Austin.
  “Bringing 20,000 people per event to the Butler Shores site would cause major issues for our theater and our Zilker neighbors, with traffic, noise pollution, and parking being the most significant as the proposal includes no additional parking for the stad
  
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• APA! waiving adoption fees for cats this weekend to make room for more felines

  20-01-2018 00:15 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Pets Alive! says the agency needs cat lovers to step forward to adopt a pet as it gets ready to take in more cats from outside agencies in need of assistance. APA! says it will waive all adoption fees on all cats this weekend to make room for the new cats.
  The group says it’s attempting to help Arlington Cats Alive save 28 senior cats after their owner passed away. Once the senior cats are rescued, they will need foster families or adopters to care for the
  
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