Austin news

• Austin Energy audit finds missing taxes, significant inconsistencies

  12-02-2018 23:23 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – An independent audit of Austin Energy’s tax billing appears to show significant inconsistencies, including taxes failing to be included on bills, according to a copy of the audit obtained by KXAN on Monday.
  Austin Energy initiated the audit after a KXAN investigation in September 2016 found the utility was incorrectly levying a metropolitan transit authority tax on customer bills in southern Williamson County. The utility later said 6,000 customers were affected by th
  
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• Bruno Mars will perform at COTA during F1 weekend

  12-02-2018 23:08 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The entertainment acts at Austin’s Formula 1 keep getting bigger and bigger. After headliners Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake took the stage, who else can stand up to them? Bruno Mars. Yep, that guy.
  On Monday, Bruno Mars released the tour dates for his extended 24K Magic tour through North America. One of the dates includes a stop at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, Oct. 20 — right smack dab during F1 weekend.
  Prior to his Austin date, Bruno Mars wil
  
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• Gas station clerk pistol-whipped during southeast Austin robbery

  12-02-2018 22:49 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are searching for a man who they say violently robbed a Chevron gas station in southeast Austin Saturday night.
  The robbery happened just before 10 p.m. at the gas station located on the westbound frontage of East Ben White Boulevard near Interstate 35. Police say the suspect entered the store, assaulted the clerk with a handgun before running off with an undisclosed amount of cash. The clerk suffered minor injuries.
  The suspect was seen getting into a white 2
  
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• DirecTV tech accused of stealing handguns from homes

  12-02-2018 22:33 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A subcontractor for DirecTV is accused of stealing firearms from several homes where he worked last year.
  According to an arrest warrant, David Rocha, 19, of Round Rock, is linked to three cases where homeowners reported handguns missing shortly after work was done. The first theft report came in on May 5, 2017, from a homeowner in northwest Austin who said he was missing two firearms.
  The homeowner told police the only people who had been in the house besides him and his w
  
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• Leander parent objects to daughter, 12, drawing slave picture of self

  12-02-2018 22:18 via kxan.com
  LEANDER, Texas (AP) — A Leander parent has objected to a Civil War-related history assignment in which her 12-year-old daughter was told to draw a picture of herself as a slave.
  Tonya Jennings of Austin on Friday contacted the Leander Independent School District about seventh-graders studying slave life in Texas in the 1850s.
  Students were told to draw a picture of themselves as slaves, color the picture, then write a sentence that describes the surroundings using each of the five senses &
  
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• Cave in Brushy Creek neighborhood now 200 feet long

  12-02-2018 21:11 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Homeowners who live near Cambria Drive and Ephraim Road in southern Williamson County still don’t know how safe the cave is that runs beneath their homes.
  Several structural engineers went into the cave Monday morning and determined the cave runs 200 feet east, longer than the 170 feet hydrogeologists estimated on Friday. Engineers are trying to figure out how stable the cave is, after part of its ceiling collapsed last week.
  Hydrogeologists are expe
  
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• Number of flu-related deaths in Travis County rises to 34

  12-02-2018 20:57 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the past week, another two people in Travis County have died due to the flu, which brings the total number of flu-related deaths this season to 34.
  State data shows 2,897 people have died from the flu this season. Twelve of those victims were 4 years old or younger. The Texas Department of State Health Services says influenza activity remains high across the state.
  In Austin, hospitals across the area are dealing with an influx of flu patients. “We saw almost 1,500
  
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• San Marcos constructs new antenna to control city traffic signals

  12-02-2018 20:46 via kxan.com
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – The city of San Marcos is constructing a new telecommunications antenna which will support communication equipment for city emergency services and traffic signal management.
  The current pole providing that service stands on a large water tank near the San Marcos Cemetery, 115 feet in the air. The new antenna will be located in the back corner of the cemetery and will stand on its own, at 195-feet tall.
  Crews expect to have the antenna construction complete by Feb
  
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• TIME-LAPSE: Installation of skybridge connecting Hilton Austin to Convention Center

  12-02-2018 20:13 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Construction crews worked quickly over the weekend to install the new overhead pedestrian walkway connecting the Hilton Austin to the Austin Convention Center.
  The new sky bridge sits 50 feet above East Fourth Street and runs from the hotel’s sixth floor to the fourth floor of the Austin Convention Center. While the main part of the installation is complete, the bridge won’t be ready for use until late May or early June.
  The hotel had numerous cameras filming th
  
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• Home invasion suspect targeted Austin YouTube celebrities, police say

  12-02-2018 20:11 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Albuquerque man shot and killed by Austin police following an apparent home invasion was targeting the YouTube celebrities who lived there, according to court documents.
  Christopher Giles, 23, drove 11 hours from New Mexico to the spot in Austin near Avenue G and 45th Street in search of Megan Turney and Gavin Free, according to a search warrant from the Albuquerque police
  Documents show Giles had numerous notes on his phone about Turney — who has video blogs on an
  
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• Man tries to lure siblings walking to northwest Austin schools

  12-02-2018 20:03 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An alert is going out to students and parents of Anderson Mill Elementary and Grisham Middle School after two students were approached by a stranger telling them to get in his car Monday morning.
  The Round Round Independent School District says the siblings were walking to school around 7 a.m. when a man in white sedan came up to them near the Anderson Mill Baptist Church, which is at the corner of Lake Creek Parkway and Millwright Parkway.Grisham MS student accused of hiri
  
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• What to watch tonight in PyeongChang: Chloe Kim goes for gold in women’s snowboard halfpipe final

  12-02-2018 19:24 via kxan.com
  There are multiple high-profile events on the 2018 Winter Olympics schedule Monday night.
  The U.S. could potentially sweep all three podium spots in the women’s halfpipe final while Shaun White will begin his attempt to win a third Olympic gold medal. Ted Ligety makes his 2018 Olympic debut in the Alpine skiing men’s combined. The U.S. women’s hockey team is also set to continue pool play and mixed doubles curling will conclude with a pair of medal matches.
  Check out all o
  
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• Beluga whale calf from Alaska will find new home in San Antonio

  12-02-2018 19:18 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KXAN) — A young, endangered beluga whale from Alaska will soon find a new home in the nation’s second-largest state. The 5-month-old will soon join Sea World San Antonio’s nine other beluga whales.
  The calf was found stranded in Cook Inlet back in September when he was less than a month old. His mother likely either abandoned him or died, and he became the first beluga whale from the area to be successfully rescued and rehabilitated. Staff caring for hi
  
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• UPS coworkers surprise single father who walks 11 miles roundtrip to work

  12-02-2018 19:02 via kxan.com
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KARK/KXAN) — Every day, Trenton Lewis, 21, walks 5.5 miles from his home to his job at the UPS center in Little Rock, Ark. And then he makes that trip back home.
  Lewis says he gets up in the middle of the night to get to work by 4 a.m. Sometimes he would get rides, but most of the time he walks. He’s had the same routine for the past seven months.
  “I don’t want to miss work at all,” Lewis said. “I wanted to be with my daughter, to be a
  
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• Austin police identify ‘new’ suspect in Thanksgiving night murder

  12-02-2018 18:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police have identified a new suspect in a Thanksgiving night murder after murder charges were dropped against the first suspect they arrested. Police have arrested and charged 18-year-old Edgar Perez-Gamez with murder.
  On Nov. 23, 2017, police responded to a shooting at a parking lot at 9616 North Lamar Blvd. When they arrived, they discovered two people had been shot and both were taken to the hospital in private cars. One of the victims, Samuel
  
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• Mouse is over scurrying, takes a ride on a patrol car

  12-02-2018 17:24 via kxan.com
  ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KXAN — A deputy in the Bay Area of California had an unusual passenger recently.
  As a K-9 deputy with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office was driving along in his patrol car, a mouse popped up on his windshield. The sheriff’ office says the deputy was headed to an assignment at the Golden State Warriors Game, so they believe the rodent was “likely a San Antonio Spurs fan trying to intimidate us.”
  To remove the mouse from his patrol
  
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• Residents work to understand CodeNEXT third draft

  12-02-2018 16:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austinites had the chance to review the latest draft of Austin’s re-write of its land development code Monday. CodeNEXT’s third draft was posted online at 5 p.m., the same time the city hosted an open house to discuss the latest changes.
  Austin’s land development code hasn’t been updated in 30 years. It affects everyone in Austin, setting rules for affordable homes, green infrastructure, mobility options and the character and look of neighborhoods. T
  
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• CodeNEXT set to release third draft Monday

  12-02-2018 16:50 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Residents will have a chance to review the latest (and final) draft of Austin’s re-write of its land development code Monday. CodeNEXT’s third draft will be posted online at 5 p.m., the same time the city is hosting an open house to discuss the latest changes.
  Austin’s land development code hasn’t been updated in 30 years. It affects everyone in Austin, setting rules for affordable homes, green infrastructure, mobility options and the character and l
  
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• Obama portraits unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery

  12-02-2018 16:47 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Portrait Gallery is unveiling portraits of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
  Barack Obama’s portrait was painted by Kehinde Wiley — an artist best known for his vibrant, large-scale paintings of African-Americans. For Michelle Obama’s portrait, the gallery commissioned Baltimore-based artist Amy Sherald, first-prize winner of the Portrait Gallery’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.
  The painti
  
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• PHOTOS: Chris Mazdzer wins first US men’s singles luge medal

  12-02-2018 16:22 via kxan.com
  PHOTOS: Chris Mazdzer wins first US men’s singles luge medalChris Mazdzer of the United States celebrates after he won silver in the Luge Men's Singles on day two of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) David Gleirscher of Austria is congratulated by a teammates after winning gold while Chris Mazdzer of the United States celebrates in the background. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) Chris Mazdzer of the United States celebrates after he won silver i
  
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• Raccoon Café gives visitors thrill of interaction

  12-02-2018 16:15 via kxan.com
  PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (KXAN) — When it comes to the cuisine of South Korea, one café stands out among the crowd. There’s not really food here, just a few furry friends. That’s right, raccoons.
  “In Korea we have lots of people who love the animals,” explains Ji Hyoyeon, the owner of Table A Raccoon Café, and he’s one of them.
  He says the raccoons in his café were born in Korea, and are more kind and clean than the dumpster-divers we&rsqu
  
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• Olympics highlight iconic Seoul palace

  12-02-2018 16:15 via kxan.com
  SEOUL, South Korea (WOOD) — The name means “palace greatly blessed by heaven.” But its history would say otherwise.
  Gyeongbok Palace, one of Seoul’s most iconic structures, has been restored twice — and for good reason.
  South Korea is a country with a rich and complicated history. And the palace, which is the best symbol of what its people have endured, is tucked between the skyscrapers that dot Seoul’s skyline.
  “This palace [is] actually a symbol of Kor
  
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• PHOTOS: Sunday Figure Skating’s Ups and Downs

  12-02-2018 16:12 via kxan.com
  In day two of the Figure Skating Team Event – Pairs Free Skating, Canada won the pairs free skate Sunday with Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford.
  While Canada, which has stressed the importance of taking home the team gold for nearly four years after finishing second to host Russia in Sochi, the United States has been hopeful of replicating its third-place finish in 2014. That became more difficult Sunday when Italy surged within a single point, 36-35. PHOTOS: Sunday Figure Skating’s Ups
  
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• Mr. T is now a curling fan

  12-02-2018 16:12 via kxan.com
  The self-proclaimed “Professional pitier of fools,” Mr. T is an Olympic fan, tweeting out his respect specifically for curling.
  Mr. T tweeted “I am really Pumped watching the Winter Olympics. I am watching events I never thought I would watch before, like curling. You heard me, curling Fool!” – and – “Curling is kind of different, but it’s Exciting. It’s not as easy as it looks. It takes some skills that’s for sure. I like it!&rdqu
  
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• Matthew McConaughey congratulates Eagles QB, Austinite Nick Foles

  12-02-2018 15:56 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — One Austin celebrity is showing his support for a Super Bowl champion from Austin. Matthew McConaughey took out a full-page ad in the local newspaper to congratulate Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles on his team’s win.
  “From one local to another, Congratulations Nick Foles,” the ad said, also showing an image of Texas filled with the Texas flag and a heart over Austin. “Just keep livin, Matthew McConaughey.”
  Bromance, Austin-style
  
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• Ex-Texas death row inmate now questions prosecutors

  12-02-2018 14:39 via kxan.com
  DALLAS (AP) — A man who was exonerated after spending 12 years on Texas’ death row is getting the chance to question lawyers who are running to become Dallas’ top prosecutor.
  Anthony Graves on Saturday moderated a panel of candidates for Dallas County district attorney. He called the event an opportunity to push forward changes in the criminal justice system in the nation’s most active death penalty state.
  Convicted in 1994 of murder, Graves was cleared in 2010 after an a
  
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• Donations boost collection of books by minority authors at east Austin library

  12-02-2018 13:22 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A local social justice advocacy group wants to expand access to books written by authors of color for people who use an east Austin library.
  The Austin Justice Coalition is asking community members to donate copies from a specific list of fiction and nonfiction titles to the Carver Branch of the library system. The city came up with the list of 126 works at the group’s request, and the donations will expand Carver’s collection.
  “For me, even if we get two
  
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• Florida bill would let bullied students go to private school

  12-02-2018 12:56 via kxan.com
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — From third to fifth grade, Alyson Hochstedler says bullies slammed her son into lockers and punched him. One threatened to stab him. The public school’s administration did little to stop his tormentors, she says, so the mother of five transferred her son to private school, using a state grant for low- and middle-income families to pay his tuition.
  The Florida Legislature is considering a proposal that would give parents like Hochstedler a second, more con
  
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• What you missed last night in PyeongChang: Mirai Nagasu, Jamie Anderson, Chris Mazdzer make history

  12-02-2018 12:52 via kxan.com
  Primetime spotlight
  The team figure skating event dominated the night’s coverage. Adam Rippon dazzled in his debut, while Mirai Nagasu made history. It was a great night for the duo, who four years ago were sitting at home together instead of competing in Sochi. Nagasu became the first American female to land a triple Axel at the Olympics.Mikaela Shiffrin’s PyeongChang debut was put on hold after wind delayed the women’s giant slalom. Unlike her competitors, Shiffrin decid
  
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• Grant aims to help young girls who may be vulnerable to opioid misuse

  12-02-2018 05:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Travis County coalition is hoping to prevent opioid addiction early when it comes to young girls.
  The Travis County Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition was awarded a grant recently which will be used over the next few years to train school nurses. The coalition says preteen and teen girls handle stress differently leaving them especially vulnerable to opioid misuse. The focus will be girls ages 10 to 17.
  “There seems to be a gap there and a need,” said
  
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• Fire department to close block of 12th Street Monday morning

  12-02-2018 04:09 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Fire Department said it will shut down a portion of 12th Street on Monday for a flow test.
  The roadway will be blocked for about three hours starting at 9 a.m. between Guadalupe Street and Lavaca Street near the State Capitol, AFD said.
  Crews will stretch a fire hose across the street to conduct the test.
  Officials ask drivers to plan alternate routes and avoid the area.
  
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• Shaun White finds (and eats) “Flying Tomato” burger in Korea

  12-02-2018 04:02 via kxan.com
  PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (NBC) — Shaun White fans can be dedicated. So much so that PyeongChang restaurant owner Cha Gwen So created the “Flying Tomato” burger, named for the snowboarding legend’s nickname, earned at the 2006 Torino Games. There are only two requirements to eat the burger: fork over one million won (which is about $920), and literally be Shaun White (You’d have to be just to afford it.)
  That’s right. The Flying Tomato burger is only for the Fl
  
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• Rockets win 8th straight

  12-02-2018 04:02 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden scored 27 points, Chris Paul added 25 and the Houston Rockets easily handled the short-handed Dallas Mavericks to get a 104-97 win on Sunday night.
  The Rockets have won eight straight and 12 of 13.
  The Rockets led for most of the game, but the Mavericks kept it close until a couple of runs in the third quarter allowed Houston to pull away.
  They were up by 12 to start the fourth quarter and led 93-77 after four straight points by Nene early in the quarter. Yogi F
  
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• Advocates: ICE targets Houston apartments for arrests

  12-02-2018 03:37 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — Immigrant advocates in Houston say they’re concerned about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeting apartment buildings with large Latino populations for arrests.
  The group FIEL Houston said Friday that ICE agents last month arrested Carlos Gudiel Andres, a citizen of Guatemala, at his Houston apartment complex. According to Andres’ family, agents approached him to ask if he knew people they were looking for. Then they asked for identification an
  
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• Blackout hits northern Puerto Rico following fire, explosion

  12-02-2018 03:25 via kxan.com
  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An explosion and fire at an electric substation threw much of northern Puerto Rico into darkness late Sunday in a setback for the U.S. territory’s efforts to fully restore power more than five months after Hurricane Maria started the longest blackout in U.S. history.
  The island’s Electric Power Authority said several municipalities were without power, including parts of the capital, San Juan, but they were optimistic it could be restored within a da
  
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• Attorney general suit: Weinstein Co. failed to protect women

  12-02-2018 03:20 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general is accusing Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein of “repeatedly and persistently” sexually harassing female employees at his film company, according to a lawsuit filed on Sunday by the state prosecutor that could impact the company’s potential sale.
  “As alleged in our complaint, The Weinstein Company repeatedly broke New York law by failing to protect its employees from pervasive sexual harassment, intimidation,
  
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• TxDOT has no real explanation for how some toll bills are going to wrong addresses

  12-02-2018 01:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Vanessa Zabala used to take the toll road to work every day to cut down her commute from Hutto to Austin. That changed when she logged onto her TxTag account and saw she owed nearly $41,000. Her bill had skyrocketed after the collections agency charged a $25 fee for each individual toll.
  Zabala said the Texas Department of Transportation, which oversees TxTag, offered her a discount and several payment plan options in November, including one that would require her to pay $7
  
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• New law will cap administrative fees associated with delinquent toll bills

  12-02-2018 01:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Vanessa Zabala used to take the toll road to work every day to cut down her commute from Hutto to Austin. That changed when she logged onto her TxTag account and saw she owed nearly $41,000. Her bill had skyrocketed after the collections agency charged a $25 fee for each individual toll.
  Zabala said the Texas Department of Transportation, which oversees TxTag, offered her a discount and several payment plan options in November, including one that would require her to pay $7
  
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• Austin Jewish congregation celebrates new Torah, first in Texas written by a woman

  12-02-2018 01:05 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Jewish woman’s wit and wisdom led her to make a major accomplishment Sunday and a synagogue in Northwest Hills is celebrating it.
  Congregation Agudas Achim asked Jen Taylor Friedman, a female soferet, or scribe, to write a new Torah. This is a big deal because scholars believe that only about 20 women in the world are trained to do this. And, this is the first full Torah — which is Jewish scripture — written in Texas by a woman.
  She said the project took
  
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• Austin Jewish congregation celebrates first Torah in Texas written by a woman

  12-02-2018 01:05 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Jewish woman’s wit and wisdom led her to make a major accomplishment Sunday and a synagogue in Northwest Hills is celebrating it.
  Congregation Agudas Achim asked Jen Taylor Friedman, a female soferet, or scribe, to write a new Torah. This is a big deal because scholars believe that only about 20 women in the world are trained to do this. And, this is the first full Torah — which is Jewish scripture — written in Texas by a woman.
  She said the project took
  
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• Bikers trek from San Antonio to Austin to raise awareness of PTSD

  12-02-2018 01:04 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A group of motorcyclists braved the cold weather Sunday morning for the Third Annual Chris Kyle Memorial Ride.
  Police found the Navy Seal and his friend dead at a Texas shooting range in February 2013.
  Hundreds of motorcyclists from the Comal River Rider’s Club rode from San Antonio to Cowboy Harley Davidson in south Austin Sunday morning.
  The group hopes to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder and its effects on members of the military and first responde
  
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