Austin news

• Plumbers expect more emergency calls during holidays

  24-12-2021 23:48 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Christmas is supposed to be a merry time, but when there are plumbing issues, things can become very unpleasant very quickly.With more emergency calls coming in during the holidays, plumbers, like Mike Marugo and his team at ABC Home & Commercial Services, are ready for anything."Most of the calls we get during a holiday are garbage disposal related," Marugo said. "A lot of people are doing a lot more cooking."Drain problems, water heater issues and backed-up sewage als
  
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• Top-3 warmest Christmas Eve & Day in your forecast

  24-12-2021 21:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Temperatures today are forecast to climb to 79° in Austin -- a tie for the fourth-warmest Christmas Day in Austin. Temperatures are even warmer in the Hill Country, climbing well into the 80s.
  Consider leaving Santa a glass of ice water as warm conditions continue overnight. A low of 62° in Austin tonight would make it the third-warmest Christmas Eve on record. Low clouds and isolated areas of fog build in again.While Christmas morning will again be gray and cool, m
  
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• Pleasant, but unusually warm, Christmas holiday

  24-12-2021 21:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Temperatures today are forecast to climb to 79° in Austin -- the 6th-warmest Christmas Eve day on record, out of 124 years of data. Expect even warmer 80s in much of the Hill Country.
  Consider leaving Santa a glass of ice water as warm conditions continue overnight. More sunshine and gusty south winds will bring even warmer weather to Central Texas on Christmas. Highs in the low 80s in Austin will be well above average, but we are not expecting a new record. The record
  
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• New app helps Austin businesses fill the labor shortage gap

  24-12-2021 20:11 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new app is helping fill the gap for the Austin metro area's leisure and hospitality industry, which is still short thousands of workers compared to pre-pandemic levels.
  According to the Austin Chamber of Commerce's most recent economic report released this week, the industry added 1,400 jobs in November, but it's still short 7,000 compared to February 2020.Latest increase in COVID-19 cases may mean changes to your favorite Austin spots
  Gigpro launched in Austin in October
  
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• Local company aims to reduce baby clothing waste and save you money

  24-12-2021 16:50 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Babies bring so much joy to everyone with whom they encounter. But one thing they also bring is tons of waste. Every year, millions of tons of baby clothes get thrown away each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.Austin local and new mother, Salwa Kahn, ran into the issue many new parents do with their new bundles of joy — trying to figure out what to do with all of the clothes her baby was growing out of so quickly. NASA built a time machine! How t
  
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• Fire that burned north Austin fourplex late Thursday 'intentionally set'

  24-12-2021 14:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Fire Department said a fire in north Austin was "intentionally set" Thursday night.AFD tweeted about the blaze at 11:55 p.m. reporting a fourplex went up in flames at 8605 Fireside Drive, between U.S. Highway 183 and Burnet Road, north of Ohlen Road.AFD said no one was injured and crews had the fire contained around midnight.
  
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• Fire burns north Austin fourplex late Thursday

  24-12-2021 14:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Fire Department is investigating the cause of a fire late Thursday night in north Austin.
  AFD on scene of a structure fire in a fourplex 8605 Fireside Drive. Fire knocked down. Crews are overhauling. No injuries. Cause under investigation pic.twitter.com/IjuSZMnxDa— Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) December 24, 2021
  AFD tweeted about the blaze at 11:55 p.m. reporting a fourplex went up in flames at 8605 Fireside Drive, between U.S. Highway 183 and Burnet
  
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• Central Texas dogs and cats need your help, pet food drive ends Christmas Eve

  24-12-2021 14:33 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Christmas Eve marks the final day of Tomlinson's annual Pound 4 Pound pet food drive. This year, the annual fundraiser aims to collect 200,000 pounds of food for dogs and cats.
  The food will go to around 35 Central Texas organizations, including Lizzy's Animal Hospice which focuses on rescuing older dogs from kill shelters around Texas. Leander animal shelter looking for families to take dogs ‘Home for the Holidays’"I love older dogs. They're special. They're al
  
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• Emergency contraceptive requests are up 90% in Texas

  24-12-2021 14:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Texas women are tough. And for millions of them, so is getting a doctor's appointment. More than 1.7 million Texan women live in areas lacking comprehensive health centers. These areas are known as contraceptive deserts and they're more common in Texas than most realize.Dr. Cassandra Cashman with Nurx, a digital practice for women's health, says women trying to reach in-person medical care in Texas is a big issue.
  "Contraception deserts are really a huge problem for patients all
  
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• Granger family honors teen killed in crash, raises motorcycle awareness

  24-12-2021 04:15 via kxan.com
  
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Christmas 2021 will be Careta Miller's third without her son Travis."I just miss him, and nothing's the same," she said, crying. One year after losing his son, this Granger father wants you to be aware of motorcycles on the roadTravis Miller was 17 years old when he died. He was on his way home from work at H-E-B when his parents say a truck didn't yield at the intersection of Texas Highway 95 and FM 1331.
  "He should be off doing Army stuff and coming home
  
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• Musk: Austin Tesla plant grand opening, public tours coming in early 2022

  24-12-2021 03:49 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Tesla's gigafactory in Travis County is set to open in style come early next year.CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter Sunday, "Tesla will hold a Giga Texas grand opening party with factory tours for the community in early 2022."
  Tesla will hold a Giga Texas grand opening party with factory tours for the community in early 2022— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2021
  This comes after Musk said last week the new factory will create at least 20,000 direct jobs
  
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• Warmest December on record likely across state of Texas

  24-12-2021 02:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Afternoon high temperatures Thursday in Austin were capped at 71° since morning clouds were slow to burn off, but earlier sun each day and warmer winds should cause temperatures to soar much higher on Christmas Eve and Day.Temperatures on Friday are forecast to climb to 78° in Austin -- the 6th-warmest Christmas Eve day on record, out of 124 years of data.With more sunshine and an even warmer westerly wind direction blowing in behind a dryline on Christmas Day, temp
  
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• Pleasant Christmas Eve, but unseasonably warm weather continues

  24-12-2021 02:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Afternoon high temperatures Thursday in Austin were capped at 71° since morning clouds were slow to burn off, but earlier sun each day and warmer winds should cause temperatures to soar much higher on Christmas Eve and Day.Temperatures on Friday are forecast to climb to 78° in Austin -- the 6th-warmest Christmas Eve day on record, out of 124 years of data. Expect even warmer 80s in much of the Hill Country.
  Forecast high temperatures Christmas Eve dayWith more sunsh
  
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• LA police kill 14-year-old girl while firing shots at male suspect

  24-12-2021 02:00 via kxan.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police fatally shot a 14-year-old girl who was inside a clothing store dressing room Thursday as they fired at a suspect who had assaulted a woman earlier, authorities said.The male suspect was also killed in the police shooting, authorities said. The woman who had been assaulted was taken to the hospital with moderate to serious injuries.The shots were fired around 11:45 a.m. at a Burlington Coat Factory store in the North Hollywood area of the San Fernando
  
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• How accurate are at-home COVID-19 tests?

  24-12-2021 01:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the omicron variant continues battering global COVID-19 infection rates, pharmacies nationwide are running out of at-home rapid test kits.Earlier this week, Austin-Travis County began handing out free tests for residents, but demand was so high sites were forced to close once supplies ran out within a day.
  At-home tests, or antigen tests, are quicker and easier to perform than molecular tests like the PCR, which take much longer and are processed in laboratories.COVID-19
  
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