Austin news

• Hays County judge says people 'deserve answers' after inmate fatally shot at hospital

  13-12-2022 23:26 via kxan.com
  
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra in a statement Tuesday said the people of Hays county deserved answers after an officer was placed on administrative leave Monday for fatally shooting an inmate.According to a release from the Hays County Sheriff's Office, an inmate attempted to escape while receiving medical treatment at Seton Hospital in Kyle and assaulted the corrections officer, then ran on foot through the emergency room. Hays County corrections officer on leave a
  
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• Hays Co. judge says people 'deserve answers' after inmate fatally shot at the hospital

  13-12-2022 23:26 via kxan.com
  
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra in a statement Tuesday said the people of Hays county deserved answers after an officer was placed on administrative leave Monday for fatally shooting an inmate.According to a release from the Hays County Sheriff's Office, an inmate attempted to escape while receiving medical treatment at Seton Hospital in Kyle and assaulted the corrections officer, then ran on foot through the emergency room.The corrections officer shot the inmate, an
  
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• Skeletal remains found in Panola County identified as missing Texas woman from 2019

  13-12-2022 21:54 via kxan.com
  
  PANOLA COUNTY, Texas (KETK) - The Panola County Sheriff's Office announced on Tuesday, that skeletal remains found by a work crew in July have been identified as a woman who has been missing since 2019. VANISHED: Lauren Elizabeth ThompsonSheriff Cutter Clinton said the remains were identified as Lauren Elizabeth Thompson who went missing from the Rock Hill community on Jan. 10, 2019. She was 32 years old at the time.Panola County is in East Texas on the Texas-Louisiana border."Our office will be
  
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• Why does this part of Cedar Park see more mental health calls?

  13-12-2022 21:49 via kxan.com
  
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Near the bustling intersection of U.S. Hwy 183 and Ranch to Market 1431, you'll find schools, hospitals, and medical offices. It's exactly those resources that allow for more response to mental health crises in the city.Andrea Richardson, executive director of Bluebonnet Trails Community Services, said because there are more locations like schools and hospitals in the two-mile radius around the crossroad, signs of mental health or medical treatment for mental hea
  
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• Suspect in custody after shooting at law enforcement, Blanco County says

  13-12-2022 19:26 via kxan.com
  
  BLANCO COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Texas Rangers and the Zavala County Sheriff's Office arrested a suspect who Blanco County says fired at law enforcement.Mark E. Skladany was taken into custody Tuesday morning, after Blanco County law enforcement responded Monday to a report of an aggravated assault in the 6700 Block of Middle Creek Road.
  "Deputies took gun fire from the suspect," after they tried to connect with him Monday night, a release said. It did not specify if anyone was hurt.Blanco Co
  
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• Man hit 2 people with vehicle, charged with capital murder, Blanco County says

  13-12-2022 19:26 via kxan.com
  
  BLANCO COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Texas Rangers and the Zavala County Sheriff's Office arrested a suspect who Blanco County said ran over two people with a vehicle and fired at law enforcement.31-year-old Mark E. Skladany was taken into custody Tuesday morning after Blanco County law enforcement responded Monday to a report of an aggravated assault in the 6700 Block of Middle Creek Road.On Wednesday, BCSO said Skaldany was charged with capital murder in Zavala County. His bond is set at $2 mil
  
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• Raccoon found outside Cedar Park school tests positive for rabies

  13-12-2022 19:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A dead raccoon found outside a Cedar Park elementary school tested positive for rabies, Cedar Park police said in a tweet.Cedar Park Animal Control found it Dec. 11 and sent it to the Texas Department of State Health Services, which tests for the disease. On Monday, the test showed the racoon was positive for rabies.It said right now it doesn't know of any humans or pets that touched it, and used the opportunity to warn people to not come in contact with any stray or wild a
  
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• 1st multi-level H-E-B coming to west Austin

  13-12-2022 18:43 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An H-E-B store now three years in the making has an official open day in west Austin. The Lake Austin store at 715 S. Exposition Boulevard will open Feb. 15 after pandemic-related delays, H-E-B said.It also will be the first multi-level H-E-B in the Austin area, built above an underground parking garage and including a two-story porch.Construction began on the store in October 2019. The same firm, Lake Flato Architects, that designed H-E-B's Mueller location also worked on
  
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• Affidavit details UT basketball coach Chris Beard's alleged assault against fiancée

  13-12-2022 17:59 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Court documents obtained by KXAN reveal new details related to the University of Texas men's basketball coach Chris Beard's arrest early Monday morning, including allegations that he choked his fiancée. PREVIOUS REPORTING: Texas basketball coach Chris Beard suspended after family assault charge arrestThe woman told police after they arrived at a home on Vista Lane that she and Beard had been having relationship issues and had been upset with each other for several da
  
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• Austin FC announces MLS Next Pro Team, with games to begin in 2023

  13-12-2022 17:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin FC officials announced Tuesday the program is rolling out its own MLS Next Pro team, Austin FC II. The MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the U.S. that's the third tier in the U.S. soccer league system.Team heads announced in a release Tuesday Austin FC II will incorporate first-team players on MLS contracts, players signed directly to the team as well as academy players on amateur contracts."The structure of Austin’s MLS NEXT Pro team is des
  
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• Mississippi State pioneering football coach Mike Leach dead at 61

  13-12-2022 15:24 via kxan.com
  
  LUBBOCK, Texas (KLBK/KAMC) – Mississippi State University head football coach Mike Leach died Monday, according to his family in a statement. He was 61.
  “We are uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father’s life,” Leach's family said.Leach was taken on Sunday from Starkville, Mississippi, to the U
  
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• River deltas seeing massive changes amid climate change, human action

  13-12-2022 14:57 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — River deltas along the Mississippi River have seen some massive changes in recent years. Not only are many parts of the delta losing land, but there are also areas that are growing — and climate change and human action in the area are to blame for some of these changes.NASA's Delta-X research satellite has been monitoring these changes as part of an ongoing research project.Meteorologist Sean Kelly spoke with researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory about the sate
  
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• Nuclear fusion breakthrough: U.S. lab produces groundbreaking clean energy reaction with lasers

  13-12-2022 13:50 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Department of Energy announced today that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has produced a fusion reaction using lasers. This experiment is the first successful one of its kind. It occurred on Monday, December 5th.
  "They shot a bunch of lasers at a pellet of fuel and more energy was released than the energy they put in," said White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director, Dr. Arati Prabhakar.The Department of Energy hopes that the experime
  
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• Nuclear fusion breakthrough: Biden administration making announcement this morning

  13-12-2022 13:50 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A major scientific breakthrough in the realm of clean energy is expected to be announced this morning by the U.S. Department of Energy. While little is confirmed, here's what we've been able to gather:
  Scientists have used lasers to create a fusion reaction.The discovery was made at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.The reaction generated more power than it took to produce, according to NBC News.The reaction does not produce radioactive waste or fossil fu
  
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• Ryan Alter projected winner for City Council District 5

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Voters in District 5 will decided who will represent them on Austin City Council during Tuesday's runoff election. It was between Stephanie Bazan or Ryan Alter. City Council District 5 is in south Austin. IN-DEPTH: Meet the candidates for Austin City Council District 5Neither received more than 50% of the vote on Nov. 8, which triggered the runoff election. Bazan received 29% of the vote (9,568 votes) to Alter's 24% (7,903) during that election.KXAN projected Tuesday that Alter
  
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• LIVE: Ryan Alter projected winner for City Council District 5

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Voters in District 5 will decided who will represent them on Austin City Council during Tuesday's runoff election. It was between Stephanie Bazan or Ryan Alter. City Council District 5 is in south Austin. IN-DEPTH: Meet the candidates for Austin City Council District 5Neither received more than 50% of the vote on Nov. 8, which triggered the runoff election. Bazan received 29% of the vote (9,568 votes) to Alter's 24% (7,903) during that election.KXAN projected Tuesday that Alter
  
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• LIVE: Austin runoff election: Qadri defeats Guerrero for City Council District 9

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Zohaib "Zo" Qadri has defeated Linda Guerrero in the race for the City Council District 9 seat. District 9 contains downtown Austin, the UT Austin campus area and portions of central and south Austin. IN-DEPTH: Meet the candidates for Austin City Council District 9Qadri secured about 51% of the vote compared to Guerrero's 49%. Qadri won by about 300 votes.
  "I think it's about realizing the situation we're in in the city. We are in a housing crisis," said Qadri, who also emp
  
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• Kyle runoff election: Stark, Heiser running for City Council District 1

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — The District 1 seat for Kyle City Council is up for grabs in Tuesday's runoff election. The two candidates vying for that spot are Amanda Stark and Bear Heiser.
  They were the two out of the previous six candidates in the general election with the highest and second highest number of votes.Neither received more than 50% of the vote on Nov. 8. Stark received 29% of the vote (3,120 votes) to Heiser's 20% (2,217 votes) during that election.See election results for the
  
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• José Velásquez wins Austin City Council District 3 seat

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — José Velásquez is the projected winner for Austin City Council District 3.Velásquez defeated Daniela Silva with 53% of the vote, earning the opportunity to represent parts of east and southeast Austin. Velasquez received 4,165 votes to Silva's 3,646. Austin runoff election: Kirk Watson elected as mayorNeither received more than 50% of the vote in the Nov. 8 election, which is why they moved to a runoff. They were a few percentage points different in tha
  
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• Bear Heiser wins Kyle City Council District 1 runoff

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) —Bear Heiser has been elected to Kyle City Council.Heiser defeated Amanda Stark for the Kyle District 1 seat. Heiser earned nearly 72% (760 votes) of the vote, while Stark had 28% (300 votes).Heiser and Stark went to a runoff after receiving the highest and second-highest number of votes in the November general election.See election results for the Kyle City Council District 1 runoff below.Heiser listed his top priorities as promoting small businesses, addressing Kyle's
  
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• Austin runoff election: Velásquez, Silva run to represent City Council District 3

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — José Velásquez and Daniela Silva are running to represent Austin City Council District 3, in parts of east and southeast Austin. Tuesday's runoff will decide which will be that district's new leader.IN-DEPTH: Meet the candidates for Austin City Council District 3Neither received more than 50% of the vote in the Nov. 8 election, which is why they're now part of the runoff. They were a few percentage points different in that election — Velásquez had
  
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• Austin runoff election: Qadri defeats Guerrero for City Council District 9

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Zohaib "Zo" Qadri has defeated Linda Guerrero in the race for the City Council District 9 seat. District 9 contains downtown Austin, the UT Austin campus area and portions of central and south Austin. IN-DEPTH: Meet the candidates for Austin City Council District 9Qadri secured about 51% of the vote compared to Guerrero's 49%. Qadri won by about 300 votes.
  "I think it's about realizing the situation we're in in the city. We are in a housing crisis," said Qadri, who also emp
  
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• Austin runoff election: Kirk Watson elected as mayor

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Kirk Watson was elected as Austin's next mayor in Tuesday's runoff election.MAP: How did your neighborhood vote in Austin’s mayoral election?The runoff was a tight race between Celia Israel and Kirk Watson. Both mayoral candidates received the most votes in the Nov. 8 election, but neither got more than 50%, triggering a runoff. Israel received the most votes, picking up a majority in many east and south Austin precincts. Watson won precincts in west Austin during tha
  
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• Austin runoff election: Guerrero, Qadri running for City Council District 9

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Zohaib "Zo" Qadri and Linda Guerrero are running for the Austin City Council District 9 seat. District 9 contains downtown Austin, the UT Austin campus area and portions of central and south Austin. IN-DEPTH: Meet the candidates for Austin City Council District 9Neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote, prompting Tuesday's runoff election. Qadri received 30% (10,759 votes) of the vote, while Guerrero received 22% (8,028 votes) of the vote in the district.See ele
  
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• Austin runoff election: Celia Israel, Kirk Watson vie for mayor

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tuesday's runoff election will decide which candidate will be Austin's next leader: Celia Israel or Kirk Watson. MAP: How did your neighborhood vote in Austin’s mayoral election?The two mayoral candidates received the most votes in the Nov. 8 election, but neither got more than 50%, triggering a runoff. Israel received the most votes, picking up a majority in many east and south Austin precincts. Watson won precincts in west Austin during that election.See election re
  
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• Austin runoff election: Alter, Bazan running for City Council District 5

  13-12-2022 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Voters in District 5 will decide who will represent them on Austin City Council during Tuesday's runoff election: Stephanie Bazan or Ryan Alter. City Council District 5 is in south Austin. IN-DEPTH: Meet the candidates for Austin City Council District 5Neither received more than 50% of the vote on Nov. 8, which triggered the runoff election. Bazan received 29% of the vote (9,568 votes) to Alter's 24% (7,903) during that election.See election results for the Austin City Council D
  
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• Biden to sign gay marriage bill at White House ceremony

  13-12-2022 11:13 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is inviting thousands to celebrate at the White House on Tuesday as he signs into law gay marriage legislation before a bipartisan crowd that reflects growing acceptance of same-sex unions.Lawmakers from both parties will be there, as will first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. Singer Cyndi Lauper, a longtime advocate for gay rights, will perform.“For once, our families, mine and a lot of my friends &
  
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• Biden signs gay marriage law, calls it 'a blow against hate'

  13-12-2022 11:13 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A celebratory crowd of thousands bundled up on a raw Tuesday afternoon to watch President Joe Biden sign gay marriage legislation into law, a joyful ceremony that was tempered by the backdrop of an ongoing conservative backlash over gender issues.
  “This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms,” Biden said on the South Lawn of the White House. “And that’s why this law matters to every single American.”Singers Sa
  
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• Biden signs gay marriage bill at White House ceremony

  13-12-2022 11:13 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed gay marriage legislation into law Tuesday before a crowd of thousands, a ceremony that reflected growing acceptance of same-sex unions.
  “This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms," Biden said on the South Lawn of the White House. "And that’s why this law matters to every single American.”Lawmakers from both parties were there, as well as first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris a
  
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• Under cloud of uncertainty following coach's arrest, No. 7 Longhorns defeat Rice 87-81 in OT

  13-12-2022 05:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas guard Marcus Carr scored a season-high 28 points to lead the No. 7 Longhorns to an 87-81 overtime win over Rice on Monday at Moody Center.The win comes after head coach Chris Beard was suspended without pay until further notice by the university following his arrest early Monday morning. Beard faces a third-degree felony domestic violence charge and posted a $10,000 bond to be released from Travis County Jail.Associate head coach Rodney Terry takes the court against R
  
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• 'Real critical,' Two days to help Austin families this Christmas through Blue Santa

  13-12-2022 04:32 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- For 45 years, Margarine Beaman has been a part of Austin Police Operation Blue Santa.
  As board president, she oversees a busy warehouse -- a workshop, of sorts.
  But this year is different.
  "I think this is the lowest we've seen our donations coming in," she said.
  Austin Police say both toy and monetary donations are down.
  "I think it's because of the economy and inflation. Everything is making a big difference on that," Beaman said.PREVIOUS: More families sign up for APD’s
  
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• Chronically understaffed Texas prisons set stage for prison bus escape and massacre of family

  13-12-2022 04:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (The Texas Tribune) -- Seven months after Texas saw one of the nation’s deadliest prison escapes, investigations into what went wrong have come back to one factor: The state’s lockups are dangerously short-staffed.On May 12, convicted murderer Gonzalo Lopez was on a prison transport bus in Central Texas when he managed to escape his handcuffs, cut into the driver’s compartment and stab the driver with a makeshift weapon. He stole the officer’s gun, wrestl
  
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• Hays County corrections officer on leave after fatal officer-involved shooting at hospital in Kyle

  13-12-2022 02:39 via kxan.com
  
  HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- A Hays County Corrections officer was placed on administrative leave Monday after reports of an officer-involved shooting at a hospital in Kyle, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a news release Monday.According to the release, an inmate attempted to escape while receiving medical treatment at Seton Hospital in Kyle and assaulted the corrections officer, then ran on foot through the emergency room.The corrections officer shot the inmate, and medical
  
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• Texas man uses bullying experience to lift up others like him

  13-12-2022 02:16 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin man who struggled with bullying in school is now helping lift others. Education experts say most bullying victims don't report it.“I got relentlessly bullied through high school, it was never physical, but verbal, just, you know, tore me to pieces, and I could never figure out what I was doing wrong. And I realized as I got older, I wasn't doing anything wrong, I was just an easy target. I think people mistook my kindness for weakness,” Josh Job said a
  
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• Uvalde families not satisfied with review of sheriff's department

  13-12-2022 01:46 via kxan.com
  
  UVALDE, Texas (KXAN) – Uvalde County Commissioners on Monday presented the findings of an independent review of their sheriff’s department to families of the victims of the May massacre at Robb Elementary School.Beginning in October, the county commissioned an independent party to review the department’s policies and procedures – notably absent from the report’s scope, however, was any mention of the May 24 mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.&ldq
  
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• Report: Uvalde Sheriff’s Dept. did not have active shooter training until September

  13-12-2022 01:46 via kxan.com
  
  UVALDE, Texas (KXAN) – Uvalde County Commissioners on Monday presented the findings of an independent review of their Sheriff’s Department to families of the victims of the May massacre at Robb Elementary School.The county commissioned a third party this October to review the department’s policies and procedures – notably absent from the report’s scope, however, was any mention of the May 24th mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.“I can proba
  
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• Austin FC signs 10-year MLS veteran forward Gyasi Zardes

  13-12-2022 01:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin FC bolstered its stable of goal scorers with the signing of Gyasi Zardes, the club announced Monday.Zardes, who has scored 97 goals in 267 Major League Soccer appearances with the LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew and most recently the Colorado Rapids, signed a three-year contract with a fourth-year club option. He won two MLS Cups with the Galaxy in 2014 and the Crew in 2020, and he was part of two U.S. Men's National Team squads that won CONCACAF Gold Cup titles in 2017 and
  
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• Thief steals hopes for north Austin restaurant expansion

  13-12-2022 01:11 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hopes to expand a north Austin restaurant's operations are now hobbled after a brazen theft early Sunday morning.
  A surveillance camera captured someone driving a large, dark-colored truck steal a food trailer from a parking space directly in front of the Le Bleu Vietnamese restaurant, located at 9070 Research Blvd. near Burnet Road. Trinh Nguyen, the restaurant's co-owner, said this happened sometime at about 6 a.m."It's lost," Nguyen said while looking at the empty parkin
  
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• Road rage incident leads to assault in Pflugerville, court records show

  13-12-2022 00:50 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- An arrest warrant was issued for a man who was accused of assaulting another man in a road rage incident in Pflugerville last week, court records said.Around 8 a.m. last Thursday, the Pflugerville Police Department was dispatched to an active disturbance near the area of E. Pecan Street and Farm to Market Road 685, court records said.According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, Reynaldo Alvarez, 40, was attempting to pass Christian Prieto on a single lane road
  
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• In-Depth: What a switch to El Niño could mean for central Texas weather in 2023

  13-12-2022 00:35 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN)-- The predicted changeover from the current multi-year La Niña pattern to El Niño next year could have large-scale changes on our local weather.The warmer, drier-than-normal weather, made more likely by La Niña, has indeed had a hand in our current drought conditions, as well as in Lake Travis levels dipping to their lowest since 2015. We first warned you last week, however, how new projections from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center call for the current "tripl
  
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• Lizzo honors Robb Elementary teacher's sister, other activists during People's Choice Awards speech

  13-12-2022 00:18 via kxan.com
  
  (KXAN) -- Lizzo had a special night at the People's Choice Awards last week, where she was named the People's Champion of 2022 and presented the award by none other than her own mother.
  When Lizzo accepted her award, instead of claiming the spotlight for herself, she shared the stage with and honored 17 activists who she believed deserved the recognition.
  "When I first heard about this award, I was on the fence about whether I should accept because if I'm the peoples' champ, I don't need a troph
  
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• Gas leak shuts down traffic near Arrow Point business park

  13-12-2022 00:14 via kxan.com
  
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) -- A gas leak in Cedar Park has shut traffic down near a business park off of E. Whitestone Boulevard.
  The Cedar Park Fire Department and Cedar Park Police responded to the scene of the gas leak, which is in the 1800 block of E. Whitestone Blvd.
  Traffic was shut down at the intersection of Arrow Point Drive and E. Whitestone Blvd.Officers are asking drivers to avoid the area.
  
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