Austin news

• Austin's Best Places to Work in 2022

  30-06-2022 23:51 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (ABJ) -- Austin's Best Places to Work in 2022 have been ranked and revealed at the annual celebration luncheon — this time with a space theme at the new Moody Center.More than 600 employees across 70 winning companies dressed up in space-age suits and came to celebrate their status — which can be a big feather in the cap of any executive trying to hire and retain top talent during the Great Resignation.The winners were categorized by size.Check out the list and read the full s
  
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• Austin-area senior care facility sued after March sexual assault incident

  30-06-2022 23:49 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – A lawsuit was filed against an Austin-area senior living and memory care facility Tuesday after an employee was seen on a Ring security camera video in March sexually assaulting an elderly patient with Alzheimer's and related dementia.The Auberge at Bee Cave is being sued by the husband of the woman assaulted -- both individually and on behalf of his wife, according to the lawsuit. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police: Ring camera catches sex assault at Austin-area senio
  
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• Detectives investigating suspicious death near Jonestown

  30-06-2022 22:56 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Travis County sheriff deputies are investigating a suspicious death after a man was found unresponsive on Tuesday.Deputies responded to the 11200 block of Beach Road, near Jonestown, around 3:30 p.m. after a 911 caller reported a man was overdosing.When they arrived, deputies found Kevin Clevish, 39, unresponsive. Despite efforts by deputies and medics with Austin-Travis County EMS, Clevish was unable to be resuscitated, and he was pronounced dead at 4:10 p.m.
  
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• Police looking for two suspects after Home Depot robbery

  30-06-2022 22:37 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are searching for two suspects they say robbed a Home Depot in southeast Austin earlier this month.Police say the robbery happened around 7:50 a.m. June 21, at the intersection of I-35 and Slaughter Lane.According to police, one of the suspects approached a female store employee at the self-checkout to distract her by handing her money. The suspects approached the exit door where she was standing and hit her with items they had allegedly stolen from the store.
  
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• ACC fashion, computer programing & anthropology students unite to study Austin flooding

  30-06-2022 22:37 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Community College turned to some unique citizen scientists in a recent project examining flooding in Central Texas: fashion, UX design and anthropology majors. The project is part of the school's Citizen Science Undergraduate Research Experience and is funded by National Science Foundation.As part of the project, the students discovered some startling facts about who's prepared for flooding, who is most impacted and how flooding impacts Barton Creek and Barton Spring
  
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• State of Texas: Searching for solutions after Uvalde mass shooting

  30-06-2022 21:00 via kxan.com
  
  This story is part of a series of reports called “Stop Mass Shootings,” providing context and exploring solutions surrounding gun violence in the wake of the deadly Uvalde school shooting. We want our reports to be a resource for Texans, as well as for lawmakers who are holding hearings after the events in Uvalde to discuss how the state should move forward. Explore all “Stop Mass Shootings” stories by clicking here.
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) - After a gunman murdered 19
  
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• LIVE State of Texas: Searching for solutions after Uvalde mass shooting

  30-06-2022 21:00 via kxan.com
  
  This story is part of a series of reports called “Stop Mass Shootings,” providing context and exploring solutions surrounding gun violence in the wake of the deadly Uvalde school shooting. We want our reports to be a resource for Texans, as well as for lawmakers who are holding hearings after the events in Uvalde to discuss how the state should move forward. Explore all “Stop Mass Shootings” stories by clicking here.
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) - After a gunman murdered 19
  
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• Hamilton Pool could reopen to swimmers soon, pending test results

  30-06-2022 20:52 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Hamilton Pool could reopen for swimming as soon as this weekend, as results for recent bacteria testing are expected to come back Thursday or Friday, according to Travis County.A county spokesperson said the pool portion of the preserve had reopened in May but closed again due to high bacteria levels.
  Last summer, the pool also closed to swimmers, because the February 2021 winter storm caused rocks to fall from the cliffs into the pool. The stretch of the trai
  
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• Post-Roe, what other 14th Amendment cases could be revisited?

  30-06-2022 20:42 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Less than a week after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling protecting federal abortion access, attention has turned to which potential rulings could be revisited next.While Roe focused specifically on federally protected abortion access, one Supreme Court justice voiced his support of reanalyzing other landmark rulings. In a concurring opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas, he invited future revisits to Griswold v. Connecticut, Lawrence v. Texa
  
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• University of Texas System approves $16.5M for student mental health services

  30-06-2022 20:10 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The University of Texas System on Tuesday dedicated $16.5 million over the next five years for student mental health support and alcohol education.
  Programs for mental health and student safety and alcohol-related initiatives have been overseen by the University of Texas at Austin. During the board vote Tuesday, Chancellor James B. Milliken said the university has "tremendous capacity" in this area, and the programs have grown to benefit students across the University of Te
  
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• Headed to Bull Creek? Car break-ins are on the rise this year

  30-06-2022 19:57 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A popular Austin waterhole is also becoming popular with criminals.
  There have been more burglary and theft calls at Bull Creek this year than in all of 2019, 2020, or 2021, according to 311 data.Theft is unlawfully taking someone's property. Burglary is when someone enters a private habitation with the intention of committing a felony, theft, or assault, according to Texas law.
  Kristy Jenkins experienced it first-hand about a week ago.
  "Not 10 minutes after we parked, put some
  
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• APD searching for vehicle involved in deadly hit and run

  30-06-2022 19:50 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police are asking for the public's help in locating a vehicle and driver involved in a deadly hit and run crash.The crash happened shortly before midnight June 25 on the northbound Interstate 35 service road, just north of Slaughter Lane. MAP: Where have Austin’s fatal crashes occurred in 2022?Police say a pedestrian was hit and killed. The pedestrian, described as a white male, has not been identified by police.Police believe the vehicle involved was a 2017-20
  
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• What you need to know about 4th of July travel as COVID-19 cases trend upward

  30-06-2022 19:27 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — COVID-19 metrics, including hospitalizations, are starting to trend upward again in Austin-Travis County. The local health authority attributed the uptick to the BA.4 and BA.5 offshoots of the omicron variant in a Travis County commissioners court meeting Tuesday.The increase in cases comes as many prepare to travel over the Fourth of July holiday. Health leaders warn against traveling if you're sick or have been around someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
  The
  
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• Kaitlin Armstrong captured in Costa Rica, records show bail set at $3.5 million

  30-06-2022 18:02 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Kaitlin Armstrong, the woman accused of killing cyclist Moriah Wilson, was captured at a Costa Rica hostel Wednesday over a month after the murder.
  U.S. Marshals said it worked with Homeland Security and authorities in Costa Rica to find her at the hostel on Santa Teresa Beach, which borders the Pacific Ocean. She will be deported and returned to the U.S.
  Travis County court records show Armstrong's bond will be set at $3.5 million. She will be required to surrender her pas
  
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• Kaitlin Armstrong captured in Costa Rica, officials say she used a phony passport

  30-06-2022 18:02 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Kaitlin Armstrong, the woman accused of killing cyclist Moriah Wilson, was captured at a Costa Rica hostel Wednesday, over a month after the murder.
  U.S. Marshals said it worked with Homeland Security and authorities in Costa Rica to find her at the hostel on Santa Teresa Beach, which borders to Pacific Ocean. She will be deported and returned to the U.S.
  Investigators found Armstrong, 34, used a phony passport on May 18 to board a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Je
  
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• Monkeypox in Texas: State health officials say 12 cases found

  30-06-2022 18:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After testing, state health officials said at least 12 monkeypox cases were found in Texas so far. Some of those patients haven't traveled outside of the state recently.The Texas Department of State Health Services said Thursday while the first cases were patients who traveled internationally, at least three patients reported they didn't travel in the three weeks before getting sick. That means they were likely exposed to the virus in the state.On Tuesday, Austin Public Hea
  
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• TxDMV fights paper tag fraud with fingerprinting

  30-06-2022 17:31 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — All Texas car dealers, or those hoping to become one, will have to be fingerprinted, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles decided Thursday.In an 8-1 vote, the TxDMV approved the fingerprint requirement. The measure comes in response to widespread fraud tied to temporary paper license plates, which KXAN has investigated.Existing car dealers will have to submit fingerprints when their licenses are renewed, which is every two years. New applicants will be required to pay the
  
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• Biden can end 'Remain in Mexico' policy, Supreme Court rules

  30-06-2022 16:18 via kxan.com
  
  EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) -- In a win for President Joe Biden, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that his administration can end the "Remain in Mexico" policy.
  The "Remain in Mexico" policy, officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program, forces asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for the duration of their immigration proceedings.The Trump administration implemented MPP in January 2019 to "address the urgent humanitarian and security crisis at the Southern border."Happening
  
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• Development agreement altered for huge neighborhood planned for Elgin

  30-06-2022 16:15 via kxan.com
  
  ELGIN, Texas (Austin Business Journal) — Nearly 2,500 residences are set to be constructed in a new neighborhood in Elgin.Elgin City Council on June 21 approved an amendment to a development and consent agreement for the Brickston Municipal Utility District. The city entered into the agreement with developer Texas Bridle Trails LLC in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a lengthy delay for the start of construction.The Brickston MUD, situated on 637.3 acres on the western side of E
  
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• Austin-based company wants you to eat cricket protein bars

  30-06-2022 15:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you're looking for an extra few grams of protein to add to your diet, a tiny bug may give you the biggest gains. Golden Cricket, an Austin-based company founded by the creators of Cards Against Humanity, is making a new protein bar made of, well, crickets.Meteorologist Sean Kelly spoke with Eli Halpern about the bar, why he got into the protein business, the advantages of eating bugs and how it can help you save the planet. If you're interested in trying the bars, KXAN v
  
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• Austin Fire officials warn hot, dry conditions not suitable for fireworks

  30-06-2022 14:59 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Fire Department does not want a repeat of last year's Fourth of July when officials said fireworks were to blame for a fire that damaged three homes in northeast Austin.The fire resulted in $240,000 in damages. Austin Fire officials said the fire sent more than eight of its a-shift crews to the scene.‘It scared me, because there are families there’: Fireworks blamed for 3 house fires in NE AustinThis year, AFD will have its special enforcement teams o
  
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• APD identifies driver who died after fiery crash on I-35 last week

  30-06-2022 14:55 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police on Wednesday identified a driver who died after a fiery crash on Interstate 35 in north Austin last Friday.
  Police said he was Carl Anthony James, 27.PAST STORY: One in critical condition following fiery crash on I-35The crash took place just before 3 a.m. on June 24 in the 14600 block of N. Interstate 35 northbound. That's near Wells Branch Parkway and Howard Lane.
  APD said the crash involved two vehicles — one rear-ended the other.
  Medics took James to
  
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• 6 places to see exotic animals near Austin

  30-06-2022 14:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Central Texans can take a drive on the wild side this summer at one of several zoos and drive-thru safaris in our area.These local zoos include a variety of exotic animals like giraffes, large cats, emus and lemurs. Some offer up-close encounters with specific species and sell feed to hand to the animals. Fredericksburg zoo lets guests see rhinos, giraffes up close — and sleep next to themHere are several places that offer safari trips and animal encounters and what y
  
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• Dell Children's offers vaccine clinic

  30-06-2022 13:25 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Central Texas parents were able to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19 on Wednesday.Dell Children’s Medical Center and the Travis County Vaccine Collaborative offered Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccines for kids. APH to keep east Austin vaccine clinic open due to pediatric demandOne mother at the clinic told KXAN the decision to vaccinate her child was difficult, but she wants him to be healthy.“Weighing this whether to get him vaccinated or not was, it
  
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• More Texas horned lizards hatched, as zoo works to 'bring back' the species

  30-06-2022 13:05 via kxan.com
  
  SAN ANTONIO (KXAN) — The San Antonio Zoo said it marked another success in its effort to breed and preserve the state reptile of Texas.
  The Center for Conservation and Research at the zoo announced Wednesday another successful Texas horned lizard hatching. It said the lizards will be released into the wild in the fall.Nearly 400 shark fins found at Texas restaurant, officials sayIn a press release, the zoo called the arrival of the 34 hatchlings, a "tremendous step forward" for the Texas H
  
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• Austin Parks and Rec to open more pools

  30-06-2022 12:48 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Parks and Recreation Department is opening more pools across the city as it hires more lifeguards.
  The city said it will open Martin Neighborhood Pool on Nash Hernandez Sr. Road and Dottie Jordan Pool on Loyola Lane Sunday.Ramsey Pool on Burnet Road and Mabel Davis Pool on Parker Lane reopen the following Sunday, July 10.
  Deep Eddy Pool is delaying its normal monthly closure to make room for holiday crowds.
  The pool will open Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for la
  
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• Hottest June on record ends with a low rain chance

  30-06-2022 12:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Our last day of June is looking similar to how we spent most of the month - hot and mainly dry.Today will feature afternoon highs in the upper 90s with some increase in clouds compared to the morning. A few stray showers or isolated thunderstorms may develop this afternoon through mid-evening, but rain chances look minimal (10%) and are not worthy of rearranging plans.Rain chances are highest in our eastern counties, but also in the Hill Country, keeping the rain potential
  
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• Forecast trending drier as tropical low trends east

  30-06-2022 12:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Our last day of June is looking similar to how we spent most of the month - hot and mainly dry.Today will feature afternoon highs in the upper 90s under a mix of sunshine and scattered clouds. A few stray showers may develop late day, but rain chances look minimal (10%) and are not worthy of rearranging plans.The tropical low spinning just off the coast of Texas is expected to push onshore later today. The newest forecast data continues to push this disturbance (and all the
  
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• SXSW expands to Australia for 2023

  30-06-2022 05:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — South by Southwest announced Wednesday that it's expanding from Austin to Sydney, Australia. SXSW Sydney will hold its first abroad festival in October 2023.The move is intended to bring opportunities that are characteristic of SXSW to Asia Pacific creators, according to a release. PHOTOS: SXSW 2022 celebrity sightings“The purpose of SXSW is to help creative people achieve their goals, and Sydney is the ideal city to serve as a home for the cross-collaboration that ex
  
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• Caught on Camera: Downtown Austin grocery store employee punched in face

  30-06-2022 04:33 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Craig Staley, owner of Royal Blue Grocery, has a stack of surveillance footage capturing crime at his downtown stores.One video from earlier this month shows a man assaulting an employee."He punched him in the face," Staley said. "Huge black eye. And we lost him as an employee. He was a great employee, had been with us a number of years."A surveillance image moments before a store manager was punched in the face.Staley says police had previously cited the suspect for criminal tr
  
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• Free school meals for all set to end, what does it mean for your student?

  30-06-2022 04:27 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A federal waiver that made school meals free to all students regardless of their family's income is set to expire June 30, and some say it is coming at the worst time.The free school meals program began in March 2020 when Congress authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue dozens of child nutrition waivers.President Joe Biden signed the Keep Kids Fed Act on June 25, extending some food assistance measures for children through the 2022-23 school year, but it does
  
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• Austin FC's Brad Stuver finalist for ESPN Sports Humanitarian Award

  30-06-2022 04:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver is not only good at his job, but he's also using his job for good.Stuver, recently named to the Team of the Week for Week 12 of the Major League Soccer season, is one of four professional athletes nominated for the 2022 Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award, presented by ESPN. Austin FC releases 2022 TV scheduleBrad Stuver, alongside a nonprofit called Current Initiatives, hosted the "Austin Laundry Project," which works with local laundrom
  
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• Dripping Springs skate park moving forward after Hays County bond approval

  30-06-2022 02:53 via kxan.com
  
  DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) -- The Dripping Springs skate park is moving closer to reality after a pause in plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.Hays County recently approved $624,000 in park bonds for the project. The money will be used to build a 12,000-square-foot, plaza-style skate park in the city.Efforts to build the park have been ongoing since 2014, but the project gained more steam in 2020 after voters approved it as a recommended project on a Hays County park bond vote.Organizers hope
  
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• NFL insists on indefinite suspension at Watson hearing

  30-06-2022 01:59 via kxan.com
  
  The NFL and Deshaun Watson’s legal team presented their arguments before a disciplinary officer for a second day Wednesday, with both sides holding firm as the hearing is scheduled to continue in Delaware on Thursday.The league is insisting on an indefinite suspension and Watson’s side is arguing there’s no basis for a punishment that significant, two people in attendance told The Associated Press. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the hearing isn’t publ
  
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• Texas looks to switch entire state to 'Next Generation 911' system

  30-06-2022 01:55 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Some progress has been made toward getting Texas’ emergency operations switched over to an updated 911 system. The system will help first responders across all districts better communicate.$150 million was set aside for the Next Generation 911 program, according to the president of Texas 911 Alliance Chip Vansteenberg. There are 28 regional communication districts, per Vansteenberg.He said some larger districts like Houston are already using this new system. H
  
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• APD arrests suspect for string of robberies in Austin, Travis County

  30-06-2022 01:42 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Officers arrested a man in connection to a string of aggravated robberies that occurred over the weekend.The Austin Police Department said it suspected 26-year-old Alexander Jordan of being involved in nine armed robberies that occurred between 8:19 p.m. Saturday and 4:12 p.m. Sunday throughout Austin and the surrounding areas.According to APD, the investigation determined these cases were part of Austin’s 27th multi-agency robbery series of 2022.“Eight of these
  
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• Justice Thomas seeks case to challenge Lawrence v. Texas ruling; Paxton evaluating 'new territory'

  30-06-2022 01:18 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurrence to the Supreme Court's June 24 opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that the court should reconsider decisions in previous "due process" cases, such as Lawrence v. Texas, which ruled criminal punishment for sodomy (non-reproductive sexual acts) as unconstitutional.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in an interview with NewsNation's Leland Vittert, was asked if he would hypothetically lead a challenge agains
  
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• What to do if you have COVID symptoms, but your at-home test comes back negative

  30-06-2022 00:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — New confirmed COVID-19 cases are the highest they've been since January in Texas. One in four Central Texans who get tested are testing positive, and those numbers don’t include all of those testing at home. Several viewers replied to a KXAN inquiry, asking if anyone had tested negative with an at-home test, only to test positive with a PCR test shortly after.  COVID-19 mutations spreading in Austin-Travis County, reinfections may be more severeCurative, a t
  
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• Men hold teens at gunpoint during Manor home invasion, police say

  30-06-2022 00:16 via kxan.com
  
  MANOR, Texas (KXAN) — Manor Police are looking for a group of men who held "several victims under the age of 19" at gunpoint during a suspected home invasion June 28.MPD said 3-5 men, described as a mix of Hispanic and Black men, "unlawfully entered the residence," on Andesite Road in the Stonewater subdivision. That's north of downtown Manor and near Manor High School.Manor Police believes a group of 3-5 men, described as both Hispanic and Black, left the scene of a home invasion June 28
  
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