Austin news

• Girl bitten by rattlesnake in Burnet County back home

  26-01-2018 23:07 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Five-year-old Emily Rose Oehler is out of the hospital and back home as she recovers from a western diamondback rattlesnake bite at Longhorn Canyon State Park in Burnet County.
  On Wednesday, Emily Rose suffered a setback and needed additional doses of antivenom, her mother, Alicia Oehler, said.
  Oehler said her daughter is currently in a wheelchair because she can’t step or stand on the foot where she was bitten. Eventually she’ll progress to using a walker to ge
  
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• No topless bar for South Padre Island

  26-01-2018 22:37 via kxan.com
  SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (KXAN/KVEO) — Plans to bring a topless bar to South Padre Island came to a screeching halt after county commissioners blocked the move in a vote that could prompt legal action.
  Cameron County Commissioners voted against the local attorney’s plans for adult entertainment. The court voted to deny Larry Mark Polsky’s application for the South Padre Island business.
  Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said not only would it have a negative impact on the comm
  
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• Elderly Panhandle couple missing for a week as family scours state

  26-01-2018 22:15 via kxan.com
  BOVINA, Texas (KAMR) — The family of a missing elderly couple from Bovina, Texas are desperately asking for the public’s help finding them.
  Rosendo Lara, 81, and his wife, Hortencia, 84, were last seen at their home in Bovina around noon on Friday, Jan. 19.
  Their daughter, Anna De La Cruz, said she lives across the street and had seen the couple that morning when she gave her father his dementia medication.
  When she came home around 4:30 Friday afternoon her parents were nowhere in s
  
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• Erin Cargile talks Winter Olympics on MTTS

  26-01-2018 21:48 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — KXAN’s Erin Cargile is set to embark on an Olympic journey going to PyeongChang for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Roger Wallace sat down with Cargile before her trip.
  
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• Three children die in Killeen house fire

  26-01-2018 21:35 via kxan.com
  KILLEEN, Texas (KXAN/KWKT) — Three children died in an early morning house fire in Killeen, Texas Friday.
  Firefighters were called to the home around 2 a.m. and arrived to find the structure engulfed in flames. Neighbors told our sister station KWKT they believed the children were inside when the fire broke out.
  It took several hours for officials to confirm the children were dead; A justice of the peace made the pronouncement around 1:30 p.m.
  The children’s names and ages weren&rsqu
  
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• Butler Shores off the table as possible MLS stadium site

  26-01-2018 21:20 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The lakefront location for a Major League Soccer stadium preferred by the team’s owner has been taken off the table, after several rounds of criticism from the neighborhood and some City Council members.
  With the Butler Shores at Town Lake Metro Park/Toomey Fields site no longer in the running, that leaves Guerrero Metro Park and 10414 McKalla Place in north Austin as possible sites under consideration.
  “Some in the community and the neighbors near Butler Shores
  
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• Escaped prisoner caught sneaking home-cooked food back into prison

  26-01-2018 20:43 via kxan.com
  BEAUMONT, Texas (KXAN) — A federal inmate was caught sneaking back into a Beaumont prison with a duffle bag full of snacks, fruit, liquor and tobacco Thursday.
  The U.S. Marshals and Jefferson County Sheriff’s office were acting on a tip when they set up a surveillance operation on private property near the prison. Officers watched as a vehicle drove onto the land and dropped off a large duffle bag. Then, about two hours later, they watched an inmate from The Federal Correctional Comp
  
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• Kittens cared for by inmates will be up for adoption Saturday

  26-01-2018 19:43 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some kittens will go from being cared for by inmates to finding new homes on the other side of the bars.
  Starting Saturday, the group of cats will be up for adoption. For the past six weeks, inmates have socialized and trained the cats as part of a program approved in November. These are skills some may be able to put on résumés someday because of the partnership between the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and the Austin Animal Center.
  “It’s a
  
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• Daughter: EPA official wore disguise to spy on driving test

  26-01-2018 19:09 via kxan.com
  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Cathy Stepp wore a fake nose and sunglasses to try to help her daughter pass a 2011 Wisconsin driving test after she failed her initial attempt.
  Stepp had her daughter, Hannah, introduce her when she addressed her staff for the first time Jan. 11 after President Donald Trump appointed the former Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources secretary to be the EPA Region 5 administrator, the Chicago Tribune reported .
  Staf
  
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• Teen charged with assault after exposing classmate with allergy to pineapple

  26-01-2018 18:08 via kxan.com
  BUTLER, PA (WCMH) — Police say a teenager has been charged with assault after she intentionally gave a high five with pineapple juice on her hand to a classmate who is allergic to the fruit.
  “This was an intentional act,” Lt. Matt Pearson of the Butler Township Police told WPXI. “They sat at the lunch table right next to her and talked about doing it. Some had reservations, but they went through with it.”
  According to police, two 14-year-old girls and a 13
  
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• U.S. Customs and Border Protection couple sentenced in marriage citizenship scam

  26-01-2018 17:32 via kxan.com
  DEL RIO, Texas (AP) — A husband and wife who were U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in South Texas have been sentenced in a marriage and citizenship scam.
  A federal judge in Del Rio on Thursday sentenced 46-year-old Isabel Metzler to six months in prison. Officials say 37-year-old Luis Morales received five years’ probation.
  Metzler pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. Morales pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a federal agent.
  Prosecutors say t
  
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• Body found near Pennybacker bridge near where man disappeared after boat crash

  26-01-2018 17:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The body of a man believed to be in his 40s was found on Lake Austin near the 360 Bridge Friday morning, near the scene of a boat crash Tuesday night.The Austin Police Department Dive team found the body around 8:48 a.m. near the location of a boat crash Tuesday night. At the time of the incident, police were searching for a person believed to be missing as a result of the crash. They have not confirmed whether the body they found is related to the crash.
  Friday morning, Au
  
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• Body found in Lake Austin three days after nearby boat crash

  26-01-2018 17:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The body of a man believed to be in his 40s was found in Lake Austin near the Pennybacker Bridge Friday morning, near the scene of a boat crash Tuesday night.
  The Austin Police Department dive team found the body around 8:48 a.m. Friday. At the time of the collision between two boats on Tuesday, police were searching for a person believed to be missing as a result of the crash. They have not confirmed whether the body they found is related to the crash.
  Witnesses told first
  
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• Deputy responds to fatal crash and learns his son has died

  26-01-2018 17:19 via kxan.com
  BAXTER COUNTY, Ark. (KARK) — The name Stephen covers all corners of the Pineville Volunteer Fire Department In Izard county.
  “This is grandpa,” Mike Stephen points out in the firehouse.
  Mike Stephen is the chief. His dad, wife and sons make up part of his crew. Mike also works as a deputy for the sheriff’s office in neighboring Stone county.
  Joe Stephen died Monday in a car collision (KARK Photo)
  “I wear many hats,” Stephen says.
  But, no hat and no traini
  
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• North Korean skaters share podium with Americans at Olympic tune-up

  26-01-2018 17:13 via kxan.com
  Pairs figure skaters Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik stood on the podium as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played and a North Korean flag was raised beside two American flags.
  Ryom and Kim, two of 22 North Korean athletes added to the PyeongChang Olympics by the IOC, finished third Friday in a tune-up for the Winter Games at the Four Continents Championships in Taipei.
  “We don’t expect a medal [at the Olympics], but just we can improve and challenge ourselves,” Kim
  
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• Dreamers worried about families despite their own potential path to citizenship

  26-01-2018 15:35 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Dreamers tell us they aren’t finding any comfort in President Trump’s plan to give young undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship. The proposal includes tougher restrictions on legal immigration and $25 billion for a border wall. But, some say it’s a step in the right direction.
  “For me and for a lot of students right now, everybody is kind of on edge, everybody is kind of not sure what the future holds and I think we’ve had that f
  
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• Houston woman undergoes first-of-its kind bionic eye surgery

  26-01-2018 15:22 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (KPRC) — Victoria Lopez’s 61-year-old mother was diagnosed at 17 years old with a disease that left her blind.
  Lopez said in the last 10 years her mother’s vision completely disappeared.
  “She’s lost pretty much, pretty much everything. She’s not even legally blind, she’s just blind at this point,” Lopez explains. “At this point, she’s pretty much dependent. She has to have somebody, when she leaves her home, she has to have some
  
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• UT unveils new 4,000 square-foot mural

  26-01-2018 14:02 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A massive, 4,000 square-foot artwork now graces the wall of the University of Texas at Austin’s new Rowling Hall events space.
  International artist José Parlá painted the mural in the atrium of the building on 300 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It is 25 feet tall and stretches 160 feet wide and is called “Amistad América.” Parlá says it’s his largest and most “thematically ambitious” project. It’s a
  
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• Nutella discounts spark chaos in French supermarkets

  26-01-2018 13:22 via kxan.com
  PARIS (AP) — Brawls have broken out in French supermarkets as shoppers scramble to get their hands on discounted pots of chocolate and hazelnut spread.
  Chaotic scenes were filmed in several supermarkets across the country operated by the Intermarche chain, which offered massive discounts on pots of Nutella.
  The promotion, launched on Thursday, reduced the price of more than a million 950-gram pots from 4.70 euros ($5.85) to 1.41 ($1.75).
  In one video posted on Twitter, customers are seen s
  
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• Trump immigration plan draws criticism from top Senate Dem

  26-01-2018 12:42 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top Democrat dismissed President Donald Trump’s immigration proposal as a “wish list” for hard-liners on Friday as the plan drew harsh reviews from Democrats and some conservatives.
  Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., expressed satisfaction that Trump had provided some clarity to his immigration goals, which have befuddled members of both parties and hindered progress in Congress. The White House plan unveiled Thursday offers a path
  
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• Moving past the wall: Trump plan takes on legal immigration

  26-01-2018 12:42 via kxan.com
  The most contentious piece of President Donald Trump’s new proposal to protect the so-called Dreamers has nothing to do with them. It’s the plan’s potential impact on legal immigration that sparked fierce Democratic opposition Friday and appeared to sink chances for a bipartisan deal in Congress.
  The proposal outlined Thursday by the White House would end much family-based immigration and the visa lottery program, moves that some experts estimate could cut legal immigration int
  
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• One dead in officer-involved shooting in central Austin

  26-01-2018 12:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — One person died in an officer-involved shooting in central Austin Friday morning.
  Austin police confirmed the “subject is dead” and that it may have started as either a burglary or home invasion call. Numerous police cars are on the scene at 45th Street and Avenue G as police investigate the area and what led up to the shooting around 4 a.m. Police have not specified the circumstances surrounding the shooting, but did say the scene was secured at 4:15 a.m. and
  
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• Officer shoots, kills home invasion suspect in central Austin

  26-01-2018 12:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — One person died in an officer-involved shooting in central Austin Friday morning.
  Residents called 911 around 3:40 a.m., saying someone was inside their home on the 4500 block of Avenue G. They hid in a closet and stayed on the call, telling police around 3:43 a.m. that they heard gunshots. According to the Austin Police Department, the suspect fired shots both inside and outside the home.
  “They didn’t have any contact because they stayed inside the closet, but
  
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• Three stabbed at northeast Austin mobile home park

  26-01-2018 05:57 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Three people were stabbed at a mobile home park in northeast Austin Thursday night. One, a woman in her 30s, has potentially life-threatening injuries, according to Austin-Travis County EMS.
  Medics were called to the 500 block of East Howard Lane near South Heatherwilde Boulevard at 10:12 p.m.
  The other two patients, both in their 20s, have minor injuries. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office is at the scene investigating.
  Additional information on the incident was not
  
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• Police searching for man with machete after three stabbed at mobile home park

  26-01-2018 05:57 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Law enforcement officials are searching for a man who allegedly tied up an ex-girlfriend and stabbed her and two others at a mobile home park in northeast Austin Thursday night.
  The woman in her 30s has potentially life-threatening injuries, according to Austin-Travis County EMS.
  A warrant has been issued for Carlos Mejia, 22. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office said the car he left the scene in was found abandoned in Bexar County.
  Carlos Mejia, 22 (Photo provided
  
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• VIDEO: Baby one-horned rhino calf plays in shower at Toronto Zoo

  26-01-2018 05:16 via kxan.com
  TORONTO (WFLA) – A baby one-horned rhino calf enjoyed some time in water for the first time this month.
  In a video posted to the Toronto Zoo’s YouTube account, the baby is seen playing in a shower with his mom.
  The zoo said the baby was only four days old at the time and wasn’t too sure of the water, especially when he was splashed by his mom.
  
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• Report: Trump wanted Mueller fired, backed off

  26-01-2018 05:09 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller last June, but he backed off the order after White House lawyer Don McGahn threatened to resign, according to a report Thursday in The New York Times.
  The newspaper reports that Trump demanded Mueller’s firing just weeks after the special counsel was first appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
  McGahn said he would not deliver the order to the Justice Department, according to T
  
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• Federal report shows punch of last year’s Hurricane Harvey

  26-01-2018 05:05 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP/KXAN) — The official numbers for last year’s Hurricane Harvey are in, and they go beyond the 68 dead and $125 billion in damage.
  Two locations got more than 5 feet of rain and 18 different parts of Texas logged more than 4 feet of rain.
  And Harvey spawned 57 tornadoes.
  That’s from a report released Thursday by the National Hurricane Center.
  Harvey was the first of three monster storms to hit the United States in 2017. Tallies on Irma and Maria are still being com
  
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• Round Rock bank robbery leads to police chase into Bell County

  26-01-2018 04:58 via kxan.com
  ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — A bank robbery in Round Rock led authorities to a chase into Bell County, before the suspect crashed.
  At 5:22 p.m. Thursday, Round Rock officers were called to the Austin Telco Federal Credit Union at 121 University Oaks Blvd., in the University Oaks Shopping Center next to Interstate 35 and University Boulevard.
  Officers arrived and found a vehicle matching a description given to them and tried to pull the driver over. The driver, who could not be confirmed by p
  
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• After driest fall on record, Texas farmers desperate for ‘liquid gold’

  26-01-2018 04:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As drought conditions worsen throughout the Lone Star State, farmers worry about their bottom line. Conditions in West Texas and the Panhandle have cotton growers like Steven Brosch doing their best versions of a “rain dance.”
  “We need another good year around here,” Brosch said, explaining that the key to preventing a nightmare scenario requires more of that liquid gold: rain.
  Data from the United States Drought Monitor indicates approximately half
  
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• Buda man arrested after neighbors catch him touching himself in view of children

  26-01-2018 03:07 via kxan.com
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – A father says he’s afraid to let his children outside after he caught his neighbor inappropriately touching himself within sight of his kids.
  “Right in this front window of his house,” said Brad Simmons as he walked towards his neighbors home. “The blinds were completely open and the sun was setting and there was just a big spotlight right on him completely nude.”
  Simmons says it happened Tuesday afternoon on Dragon Ridge Road just
  
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• Buda man arrested after neighbors catch him touching himself in eyesight of children

  26-01-2018 03:07 via kxan.com
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – A group of people just outside of Buda says they’ve caught their neighbor on two occasions watching from his window while masturbating.
  Ross Lueck lives next door to the man and says something has to be done. “He pulls the blinds all the way up and just stands there naked watching us masturbating,” he said.
  On Tuesday, Hays County deputies were called to the neighborhood after people said he was caught twice in a matter of hours. On Thursday af
  
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• Austin owner of Bullion Direct accused of stealing millions from customers

  26-01-2018 01:20 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin man who ran Bullion Direct, Inc. (BDI) is accused of taking money from customers who thought they were getting precious metals in return but never did to the tune of $16 million.
  According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Charles McAllister, 47, was indicted on federal wire fraud and money laundering charges in connection with a scheme to defraud customers. Investigators determined from 2009 to 2015, the money sent to Bullion Direct was not used to purchase prec
  
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• Center that provides help for child abuse victims opens location in Lakeway

  26-01-2018 01:10 via kxan.com
  LAKEWAY, Texas (KXAN) — To better serve child abuse victims throughout Travis County, the Center for Child Protection opened a satellite office in Lakeway Thursday.
  The nonprofit’s new location will provide forensic and therapy services to victims and their families. The new center has private rooms where children can go for recorded interviews as well as medical exams.
  The agency helps law enforcement investigate and prosecute crimes against children. While the main location site is
  
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• $2M in grants aims to find out why so many Texas moms die after giving birth

  26-01-2018 01:00 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas has the highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths in the industrialized world. While the state has a task force working on a solution, one hospital foundation is also targeting the issue.
  One-year-old Jack Ferguson began his life in the St. David’s North Austin Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit. Jack was born 11 weeks premature. The daily visits became overwhelming for the preemie’s mother, Sonja. She started experiencing postpartum d
  
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• NBC hit show ‘This Is Us’ sparks Crock-Pot fears on social media

  26-01-2018 00:38 via kxan.com
  TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Spoiler alert! If you haven’t seen the latest “This Is Us” episode on NBC, don’t read any further.
  But if you’re a diehard fan like the rest of us, you understand why Jack’s inevitable death has ignited a frenzy on social media.
  The flickering light of the Crock-Pot that was switched to off and mistakenly turned back on from a faulty knob had viewers freaked out.
  Me looking at our crockpot#ThisIsUs pic.twitter.com/W2VlaKfyKz
  &md
  
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