Austin news

• Hottest May ever observed underway with little relief in sight

  10-05-2022 23:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The calendar says May... but the forecast screams July as the unusual heat and dry weather continues through the week.This morning's low temperature will likely go down as the warmest low on record for the day with Austin's temperature only "cooling" to 77 degrees (current record stands at 76 degrees last set in 2015). It won't become official until after midnight but there is high confidence in a new record being set.In addition to a record warm morning, afternoon temperat
  
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• BEAT THE HEAT: How to donate to the 32nd Family Eldercare Summer Fan Drive

  10-05-2022 22:41 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Family Eldercare Summer Fan Drive is BACK, and as always, we need YOUR help.Today's First Warning Weather ForecastFamily Eldercare has been serving the Central Texas community for three decades now in one of the largest efforts of its kind dedicated to providing relief from the searing Texas heat for those in need. As temperatures continue to climb to unseasonable highs, this mission is more important than ever.This May is the hottest on record in Austin, and it’s
  
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• Austin anxiety — Spurs owner says team will stay in San Antonio

  10-05-2022 22:31 via kxan.com
  
  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs owner Peter J. Holt on Tuesday told fans not to worry: The team isn't going anywhere.A plan to have the Spurs play a few games in Austin, 80 miles away, had raised some local anxiety that the owners may be considering moving the team.“I want to reassure you that the Spurs are in San Antonio to stay,” Holt said in a message posted on Twitter.“My family became involved in the Spurs in the 90s because there was a real threat the team
  
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• Caldwell County fugitive now accused of murder, federal agency joins search

  10-05-2022 22:17 via kxan.com
  
  DALE, Texas (KXAN) — Caldwell County authorities said Tuesday that the suspect they are looking for in connection with a May 8 shooting is now accused of murder.In an update Tuesday, the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office elevated an arrest warrant for Ismael Miguel Barrientos-Gallegos, 47, from aggravated assault to murder and aggravated kidnapping. CCSO said it is still looking for Gallegos with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Texas Rangers.Ismael Miguel Barrientos-Gallegos (
  
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• Caldwell County fugitive now accused of murder, federal agencies join search

  10-05-2022 22:17 via kxan.com
  
  DALE, Texas (KXAN) — Caldwell County authorities said Tuesday that the suspect they are looking for in connection with a May 8 shooting is now accused of murder.In an update Tuesday, the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office elevated an arrest warrant for Ismael Miguel Barrientos-Gallegos, 47, from aggravated assault to murder and aggravated kidnapping. CCSO said it is still looking for Gallegos with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Texas Rangers.Ismael Miguel Barrientos-Gallegos (
  
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• For first time in a decade, drug ODs were leading cause of accidental deaths

  10-05-2022 22:07 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY (KXAN) — For the first time in a decade, drug overdoses were the leading cause of accidental deaths in Travis County.Newly released data from the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office 2021 annual report found that 308 people died from accidental drug toxicity, compared to 282 fatal falls and 170 motor vehicle fatalities in 2021. Historically, falls have been the leading cause of accidental deaths countywide.Accidental drug overdoses surpassed both falls and motor vehicle de
  
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• This May is the hottest on record in Austin, and it's not even close

  10-05-2022 21:52 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Today's forecast of 96° follows the past several days of 97°, 98° and 97° highs. It's been a hot few days in Austin. Unseasonably hot.In fact, we're currently living through the hottest May on record.Through May 9, the average temperature at Camp Mabry this month — when combining the high and low for each day — has been 81.6°.Let's put that into perspective: According to data from the National Weather Service, the "normal" average temperature
  
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• Trial Day 2: No cameras in classrooms at the center of a Texas assault case

  10-05-2022 21:18 via kxan.com
  
  HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) – For the first time, during the trial of a Texas special education director, jurors got to see the only surveillance video showing part of her interaction with a Williamson County 17-year-old who is non-verbal and severely autistic.The video shows the hallways of Hutto High School on Nov. 29, 2018 — specifically, the hallways between two of the special education classrooms where Hutto Independent School District special education director Dr. Stacie Koerth is acc
  
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• APD running out of space for seized guns in evidence room

  10-05-2022 20:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Homicides involving firearms are up 35% across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  That's based on the below report comparing how many guns were used in homicides in 2020 versus 2019.Homicides involving firearms are up 35% across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  Sergeant William Flannery with the Austin Police Department's (APD) firearms unit said there's a backlog when it comes to clearing
  
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• Elon Musk says he will reverse Donald Trump's Twitter ban

  10-05-2022 20:12 via kxan.com
  
  (KXAN) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday he would reverse Donald Trump's Twitter ban.Musk made the comments during a live interview Tuesday with Financial Times. You can watch Musk's full Financial Times interview here.Musk called Twitter's decision to permanently ban the former president from the social media platform "morally wrong and flat-out stupid."
  "I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump," Musk said during the live stream. "I think that was a mistake because it alie
  
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• New research suggests how to hold events safely during future COVID-19 waves

  10-05-2022 19:42 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — On the same day the Austin City Limits Music Festival announced which artists will perform this year, a new report came out Tuesday to share suggestions about how organizers can hold large events safely during future COVID-19 waves.
  Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin's COVID-19 Modeling Consortium along with local public health experts worked together on an analysis of how different safeguards, like a masking or testing requirement, could affect the risk of in
  
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• CBP: Rare pest found in shipment of fruits near Texas border

  10-05-2022 19:40 via kxan.com
  
  PHARR, Texas (ValleyCentral) —Agriculture specialists with U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered a rare pest at the Pharr International Bridge.
  On May 2, specialists at the cargo facility conducted an inspection of fresh fruit that arrived from Mexico, according to a release from CBP.
  The specialists found a leaf beetle later identified as Cochabamba sp. in a box of mangosteen.
  According to the release, the beetle can cause "agricultural and economic damage as their larvae skeleton
  
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• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott voices support for school voucher plan

  10-05-2022 19:26 via kxan.com
  
  (Texas Tribune) — Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday voiced support for a school voucher plan, offering his clearest embrace in recent memory of letting parents use taxpayers dollars to send their kids to non-public schools.“We can fully fund public schools while also giving parents a choice about which school is right for their child,” Abbott said during a campaign event in San Antonio. “Empowering parents means giving them the choice to send their children to any public school,
  
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• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott voices support for parents' choice, school voucher plan

  10-05-2022 19:26 via kxan.com
  
  (Texas Tribune) — Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday voiced support for a school voucher plan, offering his clearest embrace in recent memory of letting parents use taxpayers dollars to send their kids to non-public schools.“We can fully fund public schools while also giving parents a choice about which school is right for their child,” Abbott said during a campaign event in San Antonio. “Empowering parents means giving them the choice to send their children to any public school,
  
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• Travis vs. Williamson: Leander's CapMetro vote split along county lines

  10-05-2022 18:26 via kxan.com
  
  LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — CapMetro services will remain in Leander for at least the next five years after voters approved a proposition to continue transit services in the city.Proposition A passed Saturday with 58.5% of the vote. MAP: Here’s where Austin’s Prop A got the most support from votersThe city is now eligible for about $9.3 million in funding from CapMetro for transit-supportive infrastructure projects. A city spokesperson tells KXAN city council will look at eligible
  
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• Why are teens smoking menthol cigars? FDA could ban them

  10-05-2022 17:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With one major move by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, we could soon see the biggest crackdown on cigarettes in more than decade.The FDA is proposing a ban on all menthol cigarettes and cigars.Advocates for the proposed ban have said Black Americans will benefit most from the ban.“Largely because of more addictive menthol cigarettes, Black smokers have a harder time quitting smoking and die at higher rates from tobacco-related diseases like cancer, heart diseas
  
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• Austin students need your help to win national rocketry competition

  10-05-2022 17:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — High school students from Harmony School of Endeavor need your help to compete in the American Rocketry Challenge.Two teams from the school were chosen to participate in the national competition. They're heading to Washington, D.C. later this week and need help raising funds to pay for hotels, food and tours of our nation's capital.You can donate to the teen's trip on their GoFundMe page.Students launch a rocket as part of a national rocketry competition.(Courtesy: Harmony
  
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• CapMetro CEO Randy Clarke takes top position with DC transit authority

  10-05-2022 16:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — CapMetro President and CEO Randy Clarke is leaving Austin for Washington, D.C. to lead the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, CapMetro said Tuesday.
  Clarke will take on the role of general manager and CEO at WMATA later this summer with an annual salary of $485,000, according to WMATA. The agreement is for five years.
  WMATA said its board of directors chose Clarke after "an exhaustive nationwide search." The agency's current general manager and CEO plans to ret
  
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• Red Hot Chili Peppers, P!nk, Lil Nas X to headline ACL Festival 2022 lineup

  10-05-2022 16:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The 2022 Austin City Limits Music Festival lineup is out.The festival will return to Zilker Park Oct. 7-9 and Oct. 14-16 with more than 100 performances across eight stages. The 2022 lineup was released Tuesday.
  Headliners for this year's festival include Red Hot Chili Peppers, P!nk, The Chicks, Kacey Musgraves, SZA, Flume, Paramore and Lil Nas X. How much money did last year’s Austin City Limits Festival funnel into Austin?Attendees will also see performances from Au
  
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• Red Hot Chili Peppers, P!nk, Lil Nas X to headline ACL Festival 2022

  10-05-2022 16:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The 2022 Austin City Limits Music Festival lineup is out.The festival will return to Zilker Park Oct. 7-9 and Oct. 14-16 with more than 100 performances across eight stages. The 2022 lineup was released Tuesday.
  Headliners for this year's festival include Red Hot Chili Peppers, P!nk, The Chicks, Kacey Musgraves, SZA, Flume, Paramore and Lil Nas X. How much money did last year’s Austin City Limits Festival funnel into Austin?Attendees will also see performances from Au
  
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• How much money did last year's Austin City Limits Festival funnel into Austin?

  10-05-2022 15:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin will learn just how much money the 2021 Austin City Limits Music Festival brought into the city Tuesday morning.
  Mayor Steve Adler will announce the festival's economic impact during a 10 a.m. press conference at Georgian Acres Neighborhood Park.
  The amount of charitable donations for the Austin Parks Foundation gathered from the 2021 festival will also be released. Those proceeds will go toward improvements for parks across Austin.
  KXAN plans to stream the press con
  
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• 2021 Austin City Limits Music Festival contributes $369M to city's economy

  10-05-2022 15:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The 2021 Austin City Limits Music Festival funneled about $369.1 million into the city, according to the group behind the event, surpassing its economic impact from 2019.
  Mayor Steve Adler and several other council members held a press conference Tuesday morning at Georgian Acres Neighborhood Park where they announced the festival's impact on the city.
  C3 Presents, the group that puts on the music festival, said the $369.1 million fed into Austin's economy is equivalent to
  
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• 2021 Austin City Limits Music Festival contributes $345M to city's economy

  10-05-2022 15:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The 2021 Austin City Limits Music Festival funneled about $345 million into the city, according to the group behind the event, surpassing its economic impact from 2019.
  Mayor Steve Adler and several other council members held a press conference Tuesday morning at Georgian Acres Neighborhood Park where they announced the festival's impact on the city.
  C3 Presents, the group that puts on the music festival, said the $345 million fed into Austin's economy is equivalent to 3,57
  
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• STAAR testing returns with slight change to school rating system

  10-05-2022 14:18 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tuesday, third- through eighth-grade students will take the STAAR math test in person.This is the first time in several years the test results could actually impact schools. The Texas Education Agency canceled the exam in 2020 when the pandemic started.
  Last year, students had to take the test again, but not to hold schools accountable. The point was to see how far kids had fallen behind due to the so-called "COVID slide." Students who didn't go to school in person every da
  
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• Austin Animal Center workers voice concerns about work environment

  10-05-2022 13:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Workers and volunteers said there is a hostile work environment inside Austin Animal Center. They made the claims at Monday night's Animal Advisory Commission meeting.One worker said she took the risk to speak out to bring attention to some of the challenges."I ask that an immediate moratorium be placed on the killing of long-stay dogs under the guise of behavioral concerns. This is nothing more than emotional blackmail, and not only doesn't help with our space crisis, but
  
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• Unusual May heat rivaling afternoon and overnight records

  10-05-2022 12:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The calendar says May... but the forecast screams July as the unusual heat and dry weather continues midweek.This morning's low temperature will likely go down as the warmest low on record, with the current record standing at 76 degrees last set in 2015. It wont' become official until after midnight but there is high confidence in a new record being set.In addition to a record warm morning, afternoon temperatures will rival current records with Austin's forecast high of 96
  
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• Olympic-size pool coming to Kyle

  10-05-2022 11:13 via kxan.com
  
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) -- A local company known for providing swimming lessons will soon open a swim center in Kyle featuring an Olympic-size competition pool.Ground will be broken Tuesday morning on the 40,000 square foot Nitro Swimming Kyle location. It is located on the east side of FM 1626, just north of Kohlers Crossing.The swim center will have an instructional and a competition pool.According to a press release from the City of Kyle, the instructional pool will have 5
  
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• Big Stacy Pool closed all day Tuesday

  10-05-2022 11:10 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – One of Austin’s favorite cooling off spots will be shutdown Tuesday.Austin Parks and Recreation will keep Big Stacy Pool in south Austin closed for maintenance all day.The pool will reopen on Wednesday, May 11 at 6 a.m. for lap swimming.Big Stacy is free for everyone to use. Jan. 2020: Big Stacy closed for leak repairParks and Rec says you have four other options for cooling off Tuesday:Bartholomew Pool, 1800 E 51st St.Barton Springs Pool, 2131 William Barton Dr.Deep
  
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• New research: The gap is growing between family income, housing prices in the Austin metro

  10-05-2022 06:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Median family income in the Austin metro area grew by 11.5% from 2021 to 2022, but that hasn't been enough to keep up with housing affordability, according to researchers.
  In their new housing affordability outlook report for the area, researchers at Texas A&M University's Texas Real Estate Research Center said the rise in home prices has been outpacing the increase in income.
  They said the year-over-year growth in median home sales price was 21.8%.
  "What we're seeing i
  
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• New research: Gap is growing between family income, housing prices in Austin metro

  10-05-2022 06:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Median family income in the Austin metro area grew by 11.5% from 2021 to 2022, but that hasn't been enough to keep up with housing affordability, according to researchers.
  In their new housing affordability outlook report for the area, researchers at Texas A&M University's Texas Real Estate Research Center said the rise in home prices has been outpacing the increase in income.
  They said the year-over-year growth in median home sales price was 21.8%.
  "What we're seeing i
  
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• Texas artist finishes 4th in NBC's American Song Contest

  10-05-2022 05:12 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A champion was crowned in America’s new singing competition on KXAN.UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 25: AleXa attends NBC's "American Song Contest" Semifinals at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 25, 2022 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)American Song Contest, a Eurovision-inspired show brought artists from all 50 states, five major U.S. territories and Washington D.C. Hosts Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg helped artists naviga
  
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• SWAT called to north Austin apartment complex after shooting

  10-05-2022 04:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A SWAT team is responding to an apartment complex in north Austin after a shooting, the Austin Police Department said Monday.APD said one person was shot and has life-threatening injuries after an incident at the Wildwood Apartments, located at 7610 Cameron Road. That's at the intersection of Cameron Road and East Anderson Lane/U.S. Highway 183.APD said it received the call at 7:42 p.m., and at least one of the suspects is inside an apartment.An APD public information offic
  
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• SWAT call ends with no one found in north Austin apartment complex after shooting

  10-05-2022 04:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police say a SWAT call ended early Tuesday morning when officers found no one inside an apartment in north Austin after a shooting.According to APD, one person was shot Monday night at the Wildwood Apartments on Cameron Road. That's at the intersection of Cameron Road and East Anderson Lane/U.S. Highway 183. Police say that person has life-threatening injuries.
  APD said it got the call at 7:42 p.m. At the time, it said at least one of the suspects was inside an apart
  
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• 'Thousands of bees': Texas man attacked by bees Monday morning

  10-05-2022 01:16 via kxan.com
  
  SNYDER, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) - A Snyder, Texas man was attacked by bees Monday morning.
  The Snyder Volunteer Fire Department responded to the bee attack on the 2700 block of 37th Street around 11:00 a.m.
  Fire officials, who did successfully remove the hive, posted pictures and video on social media, saying there were thousands of bees inside that were acting 'particularly aggressive' and they could still be swarming in the area.It's currently unknown if the bees are Africanized and it's also unknow
  
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• Leander is staying in Capital Metro. Here's what happens next

  10-05-2022 01:02 via kxan.com
  
  LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — For the third time, Leander voters chose to keep the city's Capital Metro membership.
  In 1985, 42 of 70 voters chose to join the Capital Metro transit authority as a member city. Then, 491 of 738 voters said they wanted to continue service in 2000. A 2004 election, which included all member cities, approved commuter rail service. On Saturday, unofficial May election results showed that 3,896 voters, or 58.5%, said they wanted to continue in Capital Metro. 
  
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• Vicky White dies, escaped Alabama inmate in custody after manhunt ends in Indiana

  10-05-2022 00:16 via kxan.com
  
  EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT/WHNT) - The manhunt has ended for an escaped Alabama inmate and wanted corrections officer, law enforcement officials announced Monday.
  U.S. Marshals chased down Casey White, 38, and Vicky White, 56, in a vehicle in Evansville, Indiana, said Alabama officials. Casey was driving and Vicky was a passenger, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said. (While the two have the same last name, they are not related.)Casey White was in custody and Vicky White was taken to the ho
  
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• Manhunt for escaped Alabama inmate, jailer ends in Indiana

  10-05-2022 00:16 via kxan.com
  
  EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) - The manhunt has ended for an escaped Alabama inmate and wanted corrections officer, law enforcement officials announced Monday.
  U.S. Marshals chased down Casey White and Vicky White in a black pickup truck in Evansville, Indiana, said Alabama officials. Casey was driving the car and Vicky was a passenger, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said. (While the two have the same last name, they are not related.)Casey White was in custody and Vicky White was taken to th
  
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• Jailer dead, escaped Alabama inmate in custody after manhunt ends in Indiana

  10-05-2022 00:16 via kxan.com
  
  EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT/WHNT) - The manhunt has ended for an escaped Alabama inmate and wanted corrections officer, law enforcement officials announced Monday.
  U.S. Marshals chased down Casey White, 38, and Vicky White, 56, in a vehicle in Evansville, Indiana, said Alabama officials. Casey was driving and Vicky was a passenger, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said. (While the two have the same last name, they are not related.)Casey White was in custody and Vicky White was taken to the ho
  
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