Austin news

• Wild dog chase: Officers, drivers get dogs off busy freeway

  01-03-2018 23:17 via kxan.com
  PHOENIX (KXAN) — It was a nail-biting hour on Interstate 17 in Phoenix Wednesday when two dogs ran onto the freeway.
  Troopers, firefighters and even good Samaritans ran from their cars and chased after the dogs, who were determined not to get caught. Helicopter video from affiliate KNXV obtained by CNN shows the intense chase, with a number of close calls between the dogs and other cars.
  When police were able to get one dog safely, the other ran into a nearby RV park where it was rescued.
  
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• Fader Fort’s history with SXSW highlighted in new book

  01-03-2018 23:11 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — For many who attend South by Southwest, scoring a pass to get into Fader Fort is a top mission.
  What started in a hotel room more than 15 years ago as a way for artists to chill out and let loose between performances during SXSW Music has now become home to some of the largest acts during the festival.
  All the music and mayhem that Fader Fort has brought to Austin over the years is now documented in a new book titled FADER FORT Setting the Stage, which goes on sale Wed
  
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• Lockhart ISD hopes new program will increase number of students it sends to college

  01-03-2018 23:00 via kxan.com
  LOCKHART, Texas (KXAN) – Lockhart ISD is hoping a new grant awarded to the district will help it increase the number of students who go to college.
  In 2016, the district says only 36 percent of students who graduated enrolled in college. “We know that we aren’t sending enough of our students to college directly out of high school,” said LISD Superintendent Susan Bohn.
  The grant program, called Gear Up, awarded the district $1.89 million and will provide support for every
  
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• Police believe man dressed as woman robbed bank in Walmart

  01-03-2018 22:04 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Police believe a man dressed as a woman robbed a bank in north Austin Walmart Thursday morning.
  The Austin Police Department initially described the suspect as a black female or black male dressed as a woman, between 6-foot and 6-foot-2, thin build and around 140 pounds.
  Photos were released by APD of the suspect wearing all black with white shoes and sunglasses.
  A Woodforest National Bank branch is located inside the Walmart at 12900 N. Interstate 35. Anyone with informati
  
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• PHOTOS: Woman robs bank inside north Austin Walmart

  01-03-2018 22:04 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A woman possibly wearing a wig robbed the bank inside a north Austin Walmart Thursday morning.
  The Austin Police Department described the suspect as a black female, between 6-foot and 6-foot-2, thin build and around 140 pounds.
  Photos released by APD of the suspect show her wearing all black with white shoes and sunglasses.
  A Woodforest National Bank branch is located inside the Walmart at 12900 N. Interstate 35. Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call the A
  
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• Case involving Lake Travis High students on campus under investigation

  01-03-2018 21:39 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An incident involving Lake Travis High School students while on campus is currently being investigated by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
  In a letter sent home to parents Wednesday, the Lake Travis Independent School District says the alleged incident is under investigation and the parents of the students involved have been notified.
  A spokesperson for TCSO says since the case involves juveniles, they cannot release any details regarding the allegations but can co
  
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• Medical benefits for officer with carbon monoxide poisoning extended a year

  01-03-2018 21:32 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin police sergeant will continue to receive full pay and all of his medical benefits as he recovers from carbon monoxide poisoning. The city agreed to extend Sgt. Zachary LaHood’s leave of absence for another year.
  LaHood was injured in the line of duty last March when his Ford Explorer police cruiser started leaking carbon monoxide. He said he became light-headed, nauseous and developed cognitive difficulties, headaches and blurred vision.
  Doctors say symptoms
  
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• Texas Wesleyan University fires baseball coach after Colorado comment

  01-03-2018 20:29 via kxan.com
  FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Texas Wesleyan University has fired its baseball coach after he told a high school player from Colorado that the team doesn’t recruit from the state because players there fail drug tests.
  President Fred Slabach said Mike Jeffcoat was fired Thursday both for his remark and amid an investigation into an NAIA violation regarding players’ eligibility.
  Jeffcoat said in the email exchange last month that his program previously decided not to accept players fr
  
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• Texas university fires baseball coach after Colorado comment

  01-03-2018 20:29 via kxan.com
  FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Texas Wesleyan University has fired its baseball coach after he told a high school player from Colorado that the team doesn’t recruit from the state because players there fail drug tests.
  President Fred Slabach said Mike Jeffcoat was fired Thursday both for his remark and amid an investigation into an NAIA violation regarding players’ eligibility.
  Jeffcoat said in the email exchange last month that his program previously decided not to accept players fr
  
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• Expecto Patronum! Police ease fears after dementors reported at Michigan park

  01-03-2018 20:06 via kxan.com
  ESSEXVILLE, Mich. (WATE) – Nearly seven years after the final movie of the Harry Potter series was released, magic is still strong with Potterheads throughout the country. Especially in Michigan where officers responded to a report of a deadly apparition from the series.
  Dementors are ghost-like, hooded figures from the series which can extract the soul from a human and leave them in a cold, unresponsive state. They are primarily agents of the antagonist, Voldemort, and his follo
  
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• Cedar Park testing bicycle detection tech to make green lights longer

  01-03-2018 20:01 via kxan.com
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — As you make your way around Cedar Park you’ll see more and more people getting around on bicycles.
  On a sunny day, Deya Cruz, her son and their neighbor took to two wheels to go get a tasty treat. “We’re biking to get a snowcone,” Cruz says.
  Taylor Philpot says he cycles around his Cedar Park neighborhood. “It saves a lot of money compared to a car, but it’s definitely how I get around,” Philpot says. “I got to
  
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• Kroger to stop selling guns at Fred Meyer chain to people under 21 years old

  01-03-2018 19:56 via kxan.com
  CINCINNATI, OH (WCMH) — Kroger announced its Fred Meyer chain will stop selling guns to anyone under the age of 21.
  According to CNN, Kroger sells guns and ammunition at 45 Fred Meyer stores in four western states.
  Kroger joins Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart, who also announced a new policy of not selling guns to anyone under 21 years old.
  “In response to the tragic events in Parkland and elsewhere, we’ve taken a hard look at our policies and procedures for firear
  
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• Ex-Vandegrift High student accused of posting threatening Instagram photos

  01-03-2018 19:17 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A former Vandegrift High School student was arrested this week, accused of posting threatening images and posts against the school on his Instagram account.
  On the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 28, the Leander Independent School District contacted the Travis County Sherif’s Office stating there was a “serious situation” involving a student who graduated last year, identified as Viet Quoc Duong, 18. According to an arrest affidavit, on Tuesday night, as the Va
  
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• Romantically-involved cousins accused of robbing home

  01-03-2018 18:15 via kxan.com
  CARSON CITY, Nev. (WATE) — Police in Nevada are asking for help in the search to find a pair of romantically-involved cousins suspected in a home burglary.
  The search comes after a burglary in Carson City where the local Sheriff’s Office says “a significant amount of property was taken from the residence,” according to a KOLO report.
  According to detectives with Carson City Sheriff’s Office, they’ve identified Anna Devine, 18, and Devin Leeper, 21, a
  
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• Police identify person of interest after pickup runs over woman

  01-03-2018 18:09 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police say they have identified a person of interest in a case where a pickup truck ran into a woman as she was walking in a south Austin gas station parking lot a few weeks ago.
  “We do have a person of interest identified. It’s an ongoing investigation and that’s all the details we can provide,” Austin police said Thursday.
  Surveillance video captured the crash around 2 a.m. Friday, Feb. 9 in the Walmart parking lot in the 700 block of East B
  
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• AISD officer owns truck impounded by APD in hit-and-run caught on camera

  01-03-2018 18:09 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police say they have identified a person of interest in a case where a pickup truck ran into a woman as she was walking in a south Austin Walmart gas station parking lot a few weeks ago. The Austin Police Department confirms the suspect vehicle has been impounded and taken to an APD impound lot.
  “We do have a person of interest identified. It’s an ongoing investigation and that’s all the details we can provide,” Austin police said Thursday.
  Ac
  
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• AISD officer owns truck impounded by APD in hit-and-run case caught on camera

  01-03-2018 18:09 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police say they have identified a person of interest in a case where a pickup truck ran into a woman as she was walking in a south Austin Walmart gas station parking lot a few weeks ago. The Austin Police Department confirms the suspect vehicle has been impounded and taken to an APD impound lot.
  “We do have a person of interest identified. It’s an ongoing investigation and that’s all the details we can provide,” Austin police said Thursday.
  Ac
  
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• Trump says some lawmakers too fearful of NRA to act on guns

  01-03-2018 17:41 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) – Putting fellow Republicans in the hot seat, President Donald Trump is calling for quick and substantial changes to the nation’s gun laws even as he criticizes lawmakers for being too fearful of the National Rifle Association to act.
  Trump held a freewheeling, televised meeting with lawmakers at the White House that stretched for an hour Wednesday, and he rejected both his party’s incremental approach and its strategy that has stalled action on gun legislation.
  
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• Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” released 45 years ago

  01-03-2018 17:16 via kxan.com
  COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The Pink Floyd album “The Dark Side of the Moon” was released on this day 45 years ago.
  Released on March 1, 1973, “Dark Side of the Moon” was the British band’s eighth studio album and featured songs like “Money,” “Us and Them,” and “Any Colour You Like.”
  According to Spinditty.com, the songs on the concept album tell the tale of an unfulfilled life and the concepts that can lead to a person’s i
  
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• Person using stolen identity nominates Trump for Peace Prize

  01-03-2018 16:30 via kxan.com
  COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which selects winners of the peace prize, says someone using a stolen identity has nominated U.S. President Donald Trump for the award, the Norwegian news agency said Thursday.
  The NTB agency quoted committee secretary Olav Njolstad as saying it appears the same person was responsible for forging nominations in 2017, as well.
  Njolstad who could not immediately be reached for comment, declined to identify the person, adding that Norw
  
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• Council to vote on adding all city employees to paid sick leave

  01-03-2018 15:43 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two weeks after Austin City Council approved a mandatory sick pay ordinance for the private sector, members could pass a resolution to update sick leave policies for all City of Austin employees.
  The idea is to ensure all employees, including part-time, temporary and seasonal city employees, have the ability to earn paid sick leave as well. The resolution calls for a revised internal policy to be included in the FY2018-2019 budget and include any additional funding nec
  
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• Amplify Austin 24-hour fundraiser begins Thursday night

  01-03-2018 15:21 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s 24 hours of fundraising for organizations in the Austin community, and it all begins Thursday night.
  Amplify Austin is raising money for hundreds of local non-profits in seven Central Texas counties beginning at 6 p.m. Last year, it raised more than $9.8 million. While people can use Amplify Austin to donate to their chosen charity year-round, on Amplify Austin Day, many of the donations will be matched by sponsors.
  Avance is one of the almost 700 groups that ben
  
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• Proceeds from bullet-proof backpacks go to Parkland shooting victims

  01-03-2018 14:51 via kxan.com
  SANFORD, Fla. (KXAN) — In the wake of the Florida school shooting and concerns about gun violence in schools, one father has created a backpack he hopes can help protect children.
  Yasir Sheikh is the president of Guard Dog Security in Sanford, Florida, more than 200 miles from Parkland, where 17 people died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a former student opened fire there. But it was another school shooting at Sandy Hook in 2012 that first gave Sheikh the idea to create a bul
  
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• Army Corps predicted flooding lawsuits, chose not to act

  01-03-2018 14:44 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — An analysis more than two decades ago by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that homeowners near two reservoirs in Houston might sue the Corps if they were flooded, as they were in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, but had little likelihood of success, according to a newspaper report.
  The assessment by the Corps in 1995 supported decisions at the time not to pursue upgrades to the Addicks and Barker reservoirs in west Houston. The Houston Chronicle obtained a copy of th
  
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• Limited-edition Selena bags are coming to H-E-B

  01-03-2018 13:44 via kxan.com
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (KXAN) — Selena fans will have a new way to show their love of the star, after the Selena Foundation teamed up with H-E-B to create limited-edition bags.
  The bags show black and white photos of the late singer with a pink border, and “Queen of Cumbia” written on one side. Selena’s sister, Suzette Quintanilla, joined an H-E-B spokeswoman in unveiling the bags in a Facebook video posted Wednesday evening.
  “We thought we would do it not the t
  
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• Angry mother brings fetus to Virginia city council to make a point

  01-03-2018 13:10 via kxan.com
  RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) — A mother of three gave an emotional plea to Richmond, Virginia’s city council Tuesday night, calling for better living conditions in the city’s public housing neighborhoods.
  Sha’Ronda Taylor shocked everyone in attendance when she displayed what she said was her miscarried fetus.
  Taylor says she moved out of her Creighton Court apartment due to lack of heating and a mice infestation that went on for months.
  She says the Richmond Redevelopment and Ho
  
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• Part-time BBQ pitmaster up for prestigious cooking award won’t quit her day job

  01-03-2018 12:51 via kxan.com
  LEXINGTON, Texas (KXAN) — Thursday marks 15 years since the best barbecue joint in Texas, according to Texas Monthly’s hallowed list, opened for business in a town about an hour outside Austin.
  This weekend, Snow’s BBQ in Lexington is hosting a party for all its customers, featuring live music, Bloody Marys, prize drawings and, of course, the smoked meats that bring visitors from all over the world to the town of under 1,200 people.
  The pitmaster there, “Tootsie” To
  
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• Local BBQ pitmaster up for prestigious cooking award didn’t know awards existed

  01-03-2018 12:51 via kxan.com
  LEXINGTON, Texas (KXAN) — Thursday marks 15 years since the best barbecue joint in Texas, according to Texas Monthly’s hallowed list, opened for business in a town about an hour outside Austin.
  This weekend, Snow’s BBQ in Lexington is hosting a party for all its customers, featuring live music, Bloody Marys, prize drawings and, of course, the smoked meats that bring visitors from all over the world to the town of under 1,200 people.
  The pitmaster there, “Tootsie&rdqu
  
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• Astronomers glimpse cosmic dawn, when the stars switched on

  01-03-2018 12:23 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — After the Big Bang, it was cold and black. And then there was light. Now, for the first time, astronomers have glimpsed that dawn of the universe 13.6 billion years ago when the earliest stars were turning on the light in the cosmic darkness.
  And if that’s not enough, they may have detected mysterious dark matter at work, too.
  The glimpse consisted of a faint radio signal from deep space, picked up by an antenna that is slightly bigger than a refrigerator and costs
  
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• Parents of two boys killed in Cedar Park racing crash sue drivers for $15M

  01-03-2018 05:50 via kxan.com
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — The parents of two young boys killed in a racing crash in Cedar Park have filed a $15 million lawsuit against the drivers and their parents.
  Twenty-two-year-old Blake Kirkpatrick and 18-year-old Michael Hammer are charged with two counts of racing on a highway causing death.
  Cedar Park police say the two were racing westbound on West Whitestone Boulevard on Jan. 10 when Hammer slammed into Zara Salman’s Nissan Rogue as she was turning left onto Walton Way.
  
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• ‘Thank your liberal politicians’: Coach at Texas college in hot water over email

  01-03-2018 04:42 via kxan.com
  FORT WORTH, Texas (WFLA) — The head baseball coach of Texas Wesleyan University sent an email to a recruit that is going viral.
  In the email, Mike Jeffcoat says he doesn’t recruit players from Colorado because other players have had trouble passing drug tests in the past.
  Jeffcoat goes on to say, “You can thank your liberal politicians.”
  The full email reads:
  “Hi Gavin, Thanks for the interest in our program. Unfortunately, we are not recruiting players from th
  
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• Dell Children’s cutting basic pediatric dental services

  01-03-2018 04:13 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Dell Children’s Medical Center is making some cuts to its pediatric dental services. The hospital spokeswoman told KXAN, “After careful consideration, we’ve determined the most efficient way to deliver comprehensive dental services is through partnerships with community providers.”
  We first heard about the cuts after a viewer sent us a Report It e-mail, saying there are surgeries and office visits that must now be canceled, and he’s worrie
  
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• Ariea Bastami providing the soundtrack to Texas sports

  01-03-2018 03:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the middle of an interview, Ariea Bastami interrupts himself to shout hey to a passerby in front of Gregory Gym.
  He might very well be the most popular kid at Texas.
  “I’d walk up and down Guad going to classes and stuff, and people stop me and take a picture with me,” the sophomore journalism major said. “I’m like, ‘Why are you taking a picture with me?’ And then they’re like, ‘Dude, you’re the guy that raps. C
  
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• Local customers react to Dick’s Sporting Goods’ gun sales decision

  01-03-2018 03:18 via kxan.com
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Wednesday, major retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods shared an announcement: they would no longer be selling assault-style rifles and high capacity magazines. They also are opting not to sell guns of any kind to people under the age of 21.
  This comes after the deadly shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida where the shooter, a 19-year-old, was found to have purchased a gun from Dick’s Sporting Goods — though it wasn’t the gun he used in
  
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• Lawmakers, toll operators at odds on what new cap on fees means

  01-03-2018 02:49 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – A measure capping toll fees for delinquent users goes into effect on Thursday, but state lawmakers and a local transportation agency still disagree about who is affected by the new law.
  Regardless of how either interprets Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s opinion about the law, it’s clear that the issue will be discussed during the interim and next legislative session.
  Rep. Tony Dale, R-Cedar Park (KXAN photo)
  “People just want the fines to come down and
  
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• Austin’s Movies in the Park series releases its 2018 lineup

  01-03-2018 01:51 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Parks Foundation has announced the lineup for its 2018 Movies in the Park series, starting off with the instant-classic “Moana.”
  The first of the free series will take place on March 8 at Ramsey Park in central Austin. The series will then continue throughout the year at various parks in Austin, offering a mix of classics, recent box office hits and something for the whole family.
  The Austin Parks Foundation is partnering with Alamo Drafthouse, and presen
  
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• Prepare yourself for severe weather season

  01-03-2018 01:36 via kxan.com
  NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (KXAN) — As the next severe weather season approaches, meteorologists urge Texans to prepare themselves and their families for the possibility of dangerous conditions.
  Despite a traditional severe weather season spanning the spring months, Texas’ size and scope offer a certain unpredictability.
  “Severe weather can happen year-round here in Texas,” National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Paul Yura said. “While sometimes part o
  
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• Oklahoma lawmaker believes Austin political consultant ‘Dr. Dirt’ was spying on him

  01-03-2018 01:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Oklahoma judge is asking a Travis County judge to order an Austin-based political consultant to go to Oklahoma to testify before a state grand jury. The grand jury is investigating who–and how–a GPS tracking device ended up on a state lawmaker’s pick up truck.
  Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, found the tracker on his truck on Dec. 4, 2017, an affidavit filed in Travis County shows. Just three days earlier McBride reported to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Inve
  
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• Austin political consultant subpoenaed in GPS tracking investigation of Oklahoma lawmaker

  01-03-2018 01:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Oklahoma judge is asking a Travis County judge to order an Austin-based political consultant to go to Oklahoma to testify before a state grand jury. The grand jury is investigating who–and how–a GPS tracking device ended up on a state lawmaker’s pick up truck.
  Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, found the tracker on his truck on Dec. 4, 2017, an affidavit filed in Travis County shows. Just three days earlier McBride reported to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Inve
  
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• Austin political consultant accused of placing tracker on Oklahoma lawmaker’s truck

  01-03-2018 01:24 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Oklahoma judge is asking a Travis County judge to order an Austin-based political consultant to go to Oklahoma to testify before a state grand jury. The grand jury is investigating who–and how–a GPS tracking device ended up on a state lawmaker’s pick up truck.
  Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, found the tracker on his truck on Dec. 4, 2017, an affidavit filed in Travis County shows. Just three days earlier McBride reported to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Inve
  
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• Walmart sets age of 21 to buy firearms, ammunition

  01-03-2018 01:18 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart announced Wednesday that it will no longer sell firearms and ammunition to people younger than 21 and would also remove items resembling assault-style rifles from its website.
  The move comes after Dick’s Sporting Goods announced earlier in the day that it would restrict the sale of firearms to those under 21 years old. It didn’t mention ammunition.Dick’s also said it would immediately stop selling assault-style rifles, and its CEO took on the Natio
  
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• Want to rename AISD Confederate-named schools? Here’s your chance

  01-03-2018 00:57 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin ISD board is inviting community members to submit nominations for the renaming of four campuses and one facilitiy named for Confederate soldiers.
  The nomination process is now open and will close at 5 p.m. on March 16. Staff will then compile the nominations submitted and coordinate with each Campus Advisory Council to get ready for the board to make the final renaming decisions.
  The schools are:John T. Allan Facility
  Zachary Taylor Fulmore Middle School
  Sydney L
  
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• Scammers target senior citizens ahead of new Medicare cards rollout

  01-03-2018 00:32 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than 50 million senior citizens will get a new Medicare card starting in April.
  The new cards are designed to better protect seniors, like 71-year-old Jack Schmitt. He knows he has a new Medicare card coming. The problem is scammers do, too. Schmitt said they have been calling him and his wife, Jeanne Bazar, to fork over some cash.
  “The first call came in at 7:15 in the morning,” said Bazar, who thought it was one of her grandchildren calling her Leand
  
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• Texas’ largest solar panel installation to power 50,000 homes in Austin

  01-03-2018 00:16 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More of Austin’s homes and businesses are about to be powered by the sun.
  A five-hour drive west of Texas takes you to Pecos County, where developers just broke ground on what will become the largest solar panel installation in the state.
  Once complete, the Midway Solar project will generate enough power to run 50,000 home. And all of that energy is coming to Austin, boosting Austin Energy toward their aggressive renewable energy goals.
  As it stands now, 35 percent of
  
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