Austin news

• Rex Tillerson out as secretary of state, Trump says

  13-03-2018 13:56 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON, D.C. (KXAN) — In a morning tweet, President Donald Trump announced Rex Tillerson would no longer be U.S. Secretary of State.
  Trump said current CIA director Mike Pompeo would replace Tillerson in the role. “He will do a fantastic job!” Trump added and thanked Tillerson for his service.
  Trump also announced Gina Haspel will become the new CIA director. She will be the first woman to head that agency.
  Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of
  
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• One dies after bus with Houston students aboard plunges into Alabama ravine

  13-03-2018 13:48 via kxan.com
  LOXLEY, Ala. (KXAN/WKRG) — A tour bus carrying students returning to Houston from a school trip plunged into a ravine off an interstate in Alabama.
  Officials report one person died and between 12 and 20 people were hurt and that up to 45 people may have been on the bus, according to KXAN sister station WKRG. Interstate 10 eastbound was shut down on the Alabama side, west of the Florida border.
  It is not known which school students were returning from or where they went for their trip.
  
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• How to get free FAFSA help before early deadline Thursday

  13-03-2018 13:28 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — College isn’t getting any cheaper, and a local community group wants to make sure you or your future grad is getting as much financial aid as possible.
  Foundation Communities operates its College Hub to help people file their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form to meet Thursday’s priority deadline. Doing so ensures prospective college students get as much money in aid as possible. Filing the form by the early deadline opens
  
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• Man tries to use sledgehammer to stop hit-and-run driver

  13-03-2018 13:05 via kxan.com
  MIAMI (WFLA/CNN) – A crazy scene unfolded in Miami on Sunday when a driver tried to leave the scene of a car accident.
  In a video posted to Facebook, two men are seen yelling at the driver to stop as they pound on his car and try to open the doors. The driver manages to pull onto another street, and the crowd follows.
  A man pulled out a sledgehammer and began to break the windows of the driver’s car.
  The driver eventually pulled away again.
  Maxwell Lagutenko, 25, was later arrested.
  
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• Bali to shush social media for Day of Silence

  13-03-2018 11:28 via kxan.com
  BALI, Indonesia (AP) — Bali’s annual Day of Silence is so sacred that even reaching for a smartphone to send a tweet or upload a selfie to social media could cause offense. This year it will be nearly impossible to do that anyway.
  The head of the Bali office of Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications, Nyoman Sujaya, said Tuesday that all phone companies have agreed to shut down the mobile internet for 24 hours during “Nyepi,” a day marking New Year on the predominant
  
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• Employee at Amazon facility in San Marcos charged with terroristic threat

  13-03-2018 07:11 via kxan.com
  LOCKHART, Texas (KXAN) — A Snapchat post by an employee of the Amazon fulfillment center in San Marcos that read, “Don’t go to Amazon tomorrow” along with a photo of three rifles led to the employee’s arrest.
  Joshua Logan Hawkins, 19, was reported to police on March 9. In a Facebook post by the Lockhart Police Department Monday, officials say Hawkins, who has been charged with terroristic threat, lives in Lockhart.
  After seeing the Snapchat post, police got a warran
  
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• What we know about the victims of Monday’s package bombings

  13-03-2018 05:14 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Friends and family members are posting to social media about the young man who was killed in one of Monday’s package explosions. KXAN is choosing not to release his name, as the Austin Police Department is still notifying family members of his death.
  However, several friends and neighbors spoke with us, saying the 17-year-old had a big heart and was loved by many. They also say he was a talented bass player, about to graduate high school with a bright future.
  “H
  
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• Chief Manley answers your questions about the package bombs

  13-03-2018 05:01 via kxan.com
   
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — KXAN’s Phil Prazan sat down with interim Chief of Police Brian Manley to answer your questions about the package bombs that have gone off in Austin in the past two weeks.
  In a one-on-one interview, Manley said up to 100 federal officials are helping Austin police investigate what led up to the three package explosions that claimed two lives and injured two other people.
  Other than perhaps the most infamous mail bombing case of Ted Kaczynski — who, better
  
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• Cole and Vela face off for Dawnna Duke’s seat in first debate after primary

  13-03-2018 04:51 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — East Travis County voters decided to vote out 22-year incumbent State Rep. Dawnna Dukes in favor of someone new. Two people will face off in a May runoff election, immigration attorney “Chito” Vela and former Austin Mayor pro-tem Sheryl Cole.
  Both candidates came into KXAN to debate the issues facing House District 46.Read more about primary election nightTexans vote in their primary runoffs May 22.
  
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• Austin package bombs draw parallels to the ‘Unabomber’

  13-03-2018 03:36 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The bomber who police believe packaged and planted three bombs on home porches is not amateur according to a “parcel bomb” expert.
  Package bombs explode on a monthly basis across the world but most of it spurs from political groups in Europe and South America. Less so in the United States. The ATF investigated around 700 explosions in 2016 — the latest information available — but only three were hand placed inside boxes.
  “Usually there’s
  
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• Austin explosions prompt reminders, worries of package safety

  13-03-2018 01:23 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After two more explosive packages were left on Austin porches Monday, people across the city expressed their worries and talked about how to keep their homes safer.
  Monday, Austin police investigators determined a package bomb that killed a teen and injured a woman was likely connected to a bomb that killed a man on March 2. Investigators say it appears the packages were placed on porches instead of being left by a delivery driver. APD believes these explosions are part of
  
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