Austin news

• SXSW starts signing up volunteers for 2018 events

  21-01-2018 23:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — South by southwest is looking for help for its upcoming festival.
  The event held its first volunteer meeting Sunday at the Austin Convention Center.
  People came to sign up for volunteer work and to earn badges in return.
  SXSW Director of Event Staffing and Resources Tami Richter said most of their volunteers end up coming back the following year.
  “I always like to compare it to summer camp,” she said. “We have a lot of return volunteers from all over the w
  
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• Recent bad weather means make-up time for some Central Texas students

  21-01-2018 23:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some students will be required to spend a little extra time in school this May to make up for the bad weather last week.
  In a letter to parents, the principal at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School told parents they would be changing the first two days of finals from half days to full days.
  That means students will be in from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on May 24 and 25.
  They will go back to having half days after that.
  The principal says the changes are to make sur
  
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• Recent bad weather means make-up time for some AISD students

  21-01-2018 23:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some Austin-area students will be required to spend a little extra time in school this May to make up for the bad weather last week.
  In a letter to parents, the principal at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School told parents they would be changing the first two days of finals from half days to full days. LBJ High School will have to do the same. That means students at both schools will be in from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on May 24 and 25. They will go back to havin
  
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• Hill Country Ride for AIDS to raise money for Central Texas AIDS services

  21-01-2018 20:27 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In just a couple of months, hundreds of cyclists will pedal through the Texas Hill Country for the 19th year as part of the Hill Country Ride for AIDS.
  The ride is the largest fundraiser in Central Texas for HIV/AIDS services and all the money go toward funding nine local non-profit organizations that provide critical AIDS care services for Central Texas.
  Ride Director Prentiss Douthit says in the 19 years that the ride has been on, the organization has raised 8.7 mill
  
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• PHOTOS: Nearly 7,000 runners took on the 3M half marathon, Sunday

  21-01-2018 19:39 via kxan.com
  Nearly 7,000 Austinites participated in 3M Half MarathonRunners hit the pavement on Jan. 21, 2018 for the 3M half marathon. (KXAN Photo) Runners hit the pavement on Jan. 21, 2018 for the 3M half marathon. (KXAN Photo) Runners hit the pavement on Jan. 21, 2018 for the 3M half marathon. (KXAN Photo) Runners hit the pavement on Jan. 21, 2018 for the 3M half marathon. (KXAN Photo) Runners hit the pavement on Jan. 21, 2018 for the 3M half marathon. (KXAN Photo) Runners hit the pavement on Jan. 21, 20
  
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• PHOTOS: 7,000 runners hit Austin streets for 3M Half Marathon Sunday

  21-01-2018 19:39 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thousands of runners laced up their shoes Sunday morning for the 24th Annual 3M Half Marathon.
  The 13.1-mile race started in north Austin and finished near the State Capitol.
  “I’m training for the Austin Marathon in four weeks, so it was a good little preview, a little dress rehearsal, for that,” said participant Joseph Whelan of Spring Branch, Texas.
  More than 7,000 runners participated. Nearly 7,000 Austinites participated in 3M Half MarathonRunners hit
  
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• Police locate abducted 2-year-old boy and father suspected of killing his mother

  21-01-2018 18:06 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO (KXAN) — The San Antonio Police Department has located a 2-year-old boy and his father who police say abducted him earlier on Sunday morning after killing his mother.
  SAPD says they are treating Richard Concepcion for a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that he is in grave condition. They say the child was found in the backseat of a truck unharmed in Guadalupe County.
  In an Amber Alert issued late Sunday morning, police said they were searching for the boy, Aaron Joseph Concepci
  
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• Amber Alert issued for child abducted by homicide suspect in San Antonio

  21-01-2018 18:06 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO (KXAN) — The San Antonio Police Department is searching for a 2-year-old boy who they say was abducted by his father afterkilling his motherkilling.
  In an Amber alert issued late Sunday morning, police say the boy, Aaron Joseph Concepcion, is Hispanic and is about 30 inches tall, weighing 20 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes and wearing white colored pajamas.
  Police are also searching for the boy’s father 37-year-old Richard Jose Concepcion who they believe abducted the
  
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• Taliban siege on Afghan hotel ends after 13 hours, 18 dead

  21-01-2018 17:03 via kxan.com
  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Afghanistan’s capital killed at least 18 people, including 14 foreigners, and pinned security forces down for more than 13 hours before the last attacker was slain Sunday. The casualty toll expected to rise.
  The heavily guarded luxury hotel is popular among foreigners and Afghan officials. Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the 18 killed included 14 foreigners and a telecommunications official fro
  
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• Afghan forces end Taliban siege at Kabul hotel; 18 dead

  21-01-2018 17:03 via kxan.com
  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Security forces said Sunday they had killed the last of six Taliban militants to end an overnight siege at Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel that left at least 18 people dead, including 14 foreigners. Some of the 150 guests fled the gunbattle and fire sparked by the assault by shimmying down bedsheets from the upper floors.
  The militants, who wore suicide vests, pinned down security forces for more than 13 hours after the attack began about 9 p.m. Saturday. The
  
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• Afghan forces end deadly Taliban siege at Kabul hotel

  21-01-2018 17:03 via kxan.com
  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Security forces said Sunday they had killed the last of six Taliban militants to end an overnight siege at Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel that left at least 18 people dead, including 14 foreigners. Some of the 150 guests fled the gunbattle and fire sparked by the assault by shimmying down bedsheets from the upper floors.
  The militants, who wore suicide vests, pinned security forces down for more than 13 hours after the attack began about 9 p.m. Saturday. The
  
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• UT police searching for man accused of attacking female student

  21-01-2018 15:55 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Police at the University of Texas are searching for a man who they say attacked a female student Sunday morning.
  UT police say they were notified by Austin Police that the student was walking near the Tyler's store on Guadalupe Street when a man approached her from behind and pulled down her pants and underwear. Police say the suspect fled the area. Police say the suspect is a Hispanic man in his early twenties and was wearing "hipster" style glasses. If you have
  
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• President Trump says he shares immigration views with Barbara Jordan

  21-01-2018 15:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — President Donald Trump surprised many when he honored Barbara Jordan, and claimed he shared similar ideas on immigration as the Democratic politician and civil rights leader.
  The White House sent a presidential message on Jan. 17, the 22nd anniversary of her death, praising Jordan for “adopting an immigration policy that puts American citizens first.” Jordan emerged as an icon after she became the first African-American woman to serve in the Texas Senate and the
  
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• Governor proposes plan to cap local property taxes

  21-01-2018 15:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – On a day when a winter storm kept many Texans home from work, Governor Greg Abbott unveiled a plan that he says will slow the pace of property tax increases. On Tuesday, the Governor came to Houston to announce his proposal to cap those taxes.
  “Enough is enough,” Governor Abbott said at the news conference. He said that local property taxes in Texas rose 195 percent since 1997, forcing some Texans out of their homes. “Texans are fed up with property taxes
  
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• AFN to broadcast championship games

  21-01-2018 10:56 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON(AP) The American Forces Network will broadcast the NFL’s conference championship games despite the federal government shutdown.
  There was some question about access to the games for military outside the U.S. after the AFN put a message on its Facebook page on Saturday that its services would not be available because of the shutdown. The network airs American radio and television programming in Europe and other locations outside the U.S.
  But White House Press Secretary Sarah Huck
  
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• Parents, kids explore summer camp options at Austin fair

  21-01-2018 04:16 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Families around Austin are getting a head start on planning what they’ll be doing on summer vacation.
  Austin Family magazine hosted their 20th annual summer camp fair Saturday.
  The event was free to the public and gave families the chance to explore more than 80 camps.
  The camps are both in- and out-of-state options that included everything from robotics to dance to performing arts.
  “Kids love to come here, too. They get to experience some of the activities that
  
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• Explosions shake houses on Travis/Hays border; AFD says cause was exploding tannerite

  21-01-2018 02:03 via kxan.com
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – Multiple law enforcement agencies investigated reports of loud explosions coming from Hays County near the border with Travis County, said the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
  People contacted KXAN to say they heard loud explosions that shook their houses. The Austin Police Department said calls about the explosions started coming into 911 at about 6:25 p.m.
  At 6:54 p.m., the Austin Fire Department tweeted that the explosions were caused by a person on priv
  
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• Exploding tannerite causes homes to shake along Travis/Hays border

  21-01-2018 02:03 via kxan.com
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – Multiple law enforcement agencies investigated reports of loud explosions coming from Hays County near the border with Travis County, said the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
  People contacted KXAN to say they heard loud explosions that shook their houses. The Austin Police Department said calls about the explosions started coming into 911 at about 6:25 p.m.
  At 6:54 p.m., the Austin Fire Department tweeted that the explosions were caused by a person on priv
  
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• Dallas man convicted of murder in teen’s 2015 death

  21-01-2018 00:15 via kxan.com
  DALLAS (AP) — A Dallas man has been convicted of murder in the 2015 death of a teenager who went missing after she had stopped to return a rented DVD while on her way to church.
  Jurors had deliberated for almost 23 hours over several days before reaching a verdict on Saturday in the trial of Antonio Cochran.
  Prosecutors had sought a capital murder conviction against the 37-year-old Cochran, who authorities say abducted 18-year-old Zoe Hastings, drove her to a nearby creek bed and sexually
  
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• US marches for women’s rights slam Trump, encourage voting

  21-01-2018 00:07 via kxan.com
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Demonstrators from Los Angeles to New York marched in support of female empowerment and denounced President Donald Trump’s views on immigration, abortion, LGBT rights and women’s rights on Saturday, the anniversary of his inauguration.
  People marched in Casper, Wyoming, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Houston. In Park City, Utah, where the annual Sundance Film Festival is in full swing, actress Jane Fonda and nationally kno
  
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• US flu season gets worse, has ‘lot more steam’ than expected

  21-01-2018 00:06 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — The flu season in the U.S. is getting worse.
  Health officials last week said flu was blanketing the country but they thought there was a good chance the season was already peaking. But the newest numbers out Friday show it grew even more intense.
  “This is a season that has a lot more steam than we thought,” said Dr. Dan Jernigan of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  One measure of the season is how many doctor or hospital visits are because of
  
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