Austin news

• Willie Nelson honored with prestigious Texas award: 'We're here tonight to clap for Willie.'

  12-05-2023 23:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) –The LBJ Foundation honored Willie Nelson with its most prestigious award, the LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award, Friday at a gala dinner at the LBJ Presidential Library.Lyndon B. Johnson's daughters Luci and Lynda Johnson presented Nelson with the award."When I think of rural America, I think of Lyndon Johnson. And when I think of rural America and who cares [for them], I think of Willie Nelson," Luci Johnson told KXAN before the ceremony. "Wille Nelson has done a prem
  
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• Country music stars to perform at gala where Willie Nelson will be honored with prestigious Texas award

  12-05-2023 23:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) –The LBJ Foundation will honor Willie Nelson with its most prestigious award, the LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award, Friday at a gala dinner at the LBJ Presidential Library.Willie Nelson, who just celebrated his 90th birthday, won’t be the only country musician in attendance. The gala will also feature performances by Eric Church, Sam Hunt, Elle King and Lyle Lovett. Only several other people have received the prestigious award since it was created in 2010. O
  
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• Win tickets to see 'Hairspray'

  12-05-2023 23:00 via kxan.com
  
  Win two tickets to see the Tuesday, June 13, 8 p.m. production of “Hairspray” at Bass Concert Hall. The contest opens on May 15 and closes on May 21.
  
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• Can this wetter weather affect our lakes?

  12-05-2023 22:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) –With much wetter weather expected this weekend than the region has seen for a while, the Lower Colorado River Authority said it is monitoring rainfall and inflows into the Highland Lakes, ready to move floodwaters downstream through the series of dams on the Highland Lakes if necessary.The Highland Lakes are a chain of manmade lakes built between 1935 and 1951 on the Colorado River northwest of Austin. The lakes were built to protect communities from flooding events, generat
  
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• LIST: Cancellations, postponements in Central Texas due to inclement weather

  12-05-2023 21:02 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Due to the upcoming inclement weather, several events across Central Texas and the Austin area have been canceled or postponed.Find a running list below.Showtime in the ParkThe event presented by Impact Arts has been postponed. It will now take place June 9. The free event is from 5 - 9:30 p.m. in Pease Park, 1100 Kingsbury St.This free event includes a double feature of Summer Stock Austin’s original movie musicals, live musical performances, an a
  
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• Texas House to try third swing at debating bill to ban transgender healthcare for minors

  12-05-2023 20:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — After two previous attempts that were delayed by parliamentarian moves, the Texas House is set to debate a bill Friday that would ban gender transition care for Texas minors.Texas House Democrats twice leveled a successful procedural objection to Senate Bill 14 last week, presenting a roadblock to the Republican priority legislation after a vote was delayed earlier in the week when opponents filled the chamber’s gallery in protest.LGBTQ protesters ma
  
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• Texas House advances bill banning transgender healthcare for minors

  12-05-2023 20:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — After two previous attempts that were delayed by parliamentarian moves, the Texas House advanced a bill that would ban gender transition care for Texas minors.
  Senate Bill 14 passed the Texas House on second reading. The bill still needs final approval on third reading to advance. That vote has yet to be scheduled, but will likely come Monday.Texas House Democrats twice leveled a successful procedural objection to SB 14 last week, presenting a roadblock to
  
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• Dallas Cowboys' 2023 schedule considered one of league's 'toughest'

  12-05-2023 19:30 via kxan.com
  
  FRISCO, Texas (Nexstar)-- The Dallas Cowboys 2023 schedule was released Thursday. Three preseason game dates and times were still listed as to be determined (TBD).“The schedule is headlined by six primetime slots, beginning with a Sunday Night Football matchup at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants to open the season,” the Cowboys said in a press release.The Cowboys finished the previous regular season with a 12-5 record behind the eventual NFC champion Eagles in the NFC East
  
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• Tiny home community for people experiencing homelessness opens in east Austin

  12-05-2023 18:35 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Fifty tiny home units are now occupied by people experiencing homelessness at the Esperanza Community in east Austin.
  The Other Ones Foundation (TOOF), which operates the community, plans to build a total of 200 on the site, divided into four neighborhoods. In addition to the cabins, the property also consists of communal areas, food access areas and hygiene facilities. PREVIOUS: Businesses help nonprofit build transitional shelter at sanctioned homeless encampment“It has
  
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• Austin Watershed Protection prepares for weekend storm

  12-05-2023 18:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin's Watershed Protection department director said it is clearing and monitoring "hot spots" known to experience flooding ahead of storms rolling into central Texas this weekend.
  Those hot spots include street inlets and storm culverts that run along Austin's vast stretch of creek beds. Storm culverts became clogged with tree debris during a storm on April 20 which led to the flooding of homes along Mearns Meadow Boulevard.
  Clearing creek beds
  The city council passed a resol
  
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• Bills by the handful perish as Texas House hits crucial late-session deadline

  12-05-2023 17:50 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) -- Some lawmakers cheered, others anguished as the Legislature zoomed past a crucial midnight deadline Thursday, leaving more than 140 House bills on the scrap pile.Democrats had maneuvered since the start of the week to delay action in the House, dragging out debate in an effort to wear down the Republican majority, which still had multiple bills on guns and the treatment of transgender Texans awaiting passage at the deadline.The “chubbing,” as the delaying st
  
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• Southeast Austin charter school increases security after threatening letter

  12-05-2023 17:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – An Austin charter school said Friday it would operate on a normal schedule after it informed parents on Thursday of a letter threatening harm to the campus on Monday, May 15.
  According to officials at Wayside: Sci-Tech Middle School, they contacted Austin Police about the threatening letter and "the investigation determined where the threat originated and the individual was taken into custody."Wayside told parents in the letter there was "no longer an active threat to the S
  
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• TxDOT prepping for weekend flooding risk

  12-05-2023 17:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUTIN (KXAN) -- Emergency crews across the region are preparing to respond to this flood risk, and that includes the Texas Department of Transportation.Traffic anchor Erica Brennes sat down with Bradley Wheelis, a spokesperson for the TxDOT Austin office to learn more about the role they play during flooding events.Erica: "Brad, there's a lot of rain predicted for the Austin area. Multiple inches. What are the TxDOT crews doing to prepare for this upcoming storm?"Brad: "TxDOT crews are on standb
  
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• EMS sending boats to South Texas in preparation of flash floods

  12-05-2023 17:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Heavy rainfall in the forecast could bring about flash flooding this weekend, and with the potentially severe storm, Austin-Travis County EMS has deployed a boat team to south Texas.Around 6 a.m. Friday, a crew consisting of five special rescue operations personnel towed off two boats from the ATCEMS Station 1 in south Austin.In Austin, two other fully staffed MS boats would stay in town to help locally, while a third boat is on standby. Their deployment is part of a partne
  
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• City to hold ceremony to honor historic Austin park

  12-05-2023 15:58 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Parks and Recreation Department said a new Texas Historical Commission Marker will be unveiled at a downtown Austin park Friday morning.
  The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. at Wooldridge Square Park at 900 Guadalupe St, according to Parks and Rec.The department said in an April 28 release the historical marker "replaces an existing outdated marker and provides an expanded explanation of the park's historic significance."According to the Parks Department release, when
  
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• Stimulant used to treat ADHD remains in short supply as recent study finds more children are abusing it

  12-05-2023 15:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A recent study published in JAMA Network Open examined the prevalence of middle and high school students misusing drugs prescribed to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD.It found as many as 1 in 4 students surveyed, used medication such as Adderall without being diagnosed with ADHD.The study’s lead author tells NBC News, “the findings should be a major wake-up call.”Dr. Gregory Mattingly treats many children with the condition.“ADHD is
  
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• Stimulant for ADHD treatment remains in short supply

  12-05-2023 15:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A recent study published in JAMA Network Open examined the prevalence of middle and high school students misusing drugs prescribed to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD.It found as many as one in four students surveyed, used medication such as Adderall without being diagnosed with ADHD.The study’s lead author tells NBC News, “the findings should be a major wake-up call.”Dr. Gregory Mattingly treats many children with the condition.“ADH
  
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• Figuring out Texas: From guns to immigration, here's how one state's challenges echo the country's

  12-05-2023 15:26 via kxan.com
  
  HOUSTON (AP) — Thirteen people dead in two mass shootings. Eight immigrants killed when an SUV slams into a crowded bus stop. The likely approval of legislation that would let the Republican governor overturn elections in the most populous county, a Democratic stronghold. All in the past two weeks.These issues and the forces behind them — anger and guns, immigration turmoil, deep political divisions about what democracy means — are playing out acro
  
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• Elon Musk says he's found someone to lead Twitter as new CEO

  12-05-2023 14:44 via kxan.com
  
  Elon Musk said Thursday he has found a new CEO for Twitter, or X Corp. as it’s now called — and it's a woman. He did not name her but said she will be starting in about six weeks.Musk, who bought Twitter last fall and has been running it since, has long insisted he is not the company’s permanent CEO. The Tesla billionaire said in a tweet Thursday that his role will transition to being Twitter's executive chairman and chief technology officer.In mid-November, just a few weeks af
  
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• Toll problems not unique to Texas. How other states hold vendors accountable

  12-05-2023 14:00 via kxan.com
  
  Investigative Summary:This story is part of KXAN’s “TxTag Troubles” investigative project launched May 7, 2023. Following related reports in recent years, our team rededicated its resources to this major consumer issue, after hundreds of viewers complained to usabout resurfaced billing and customer service problems with the state’s tollway operator and its contracted vendors. During our reporting, the Texas Department of Transportation began reaching out to viewers who h
  
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• ALERT: Heavy rain with a flash flood risk moving through Central Texas

  12-05-2023 13:50 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Heavy rain and strong thunderstorms are pushing through the Hill Country into the Austin Metro Counties. NEW BLOG: HOW TO PREPARE FOR FLASH FLOODINGWhile our main concern overnight and this weekend is flash flooding, the leading edge of the heavy rain may bring a brief severe risk for damaging winds.A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for Blanco and Gillespie Counties until 2 a.m. to account for the wind damage threat initially posed by the storms.Severe Thunderstorm Wat
  
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• Following up on the Texas bills that might make you say ‘huh?’

  12-05-2023 13:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Last November, KXAN perused the new bills pre-filed by Texas legislators and pulled four that we thought were peculiar. With the end of the 89th legislative session nearing, we wanted to update you on how they are doing.Pregnant women can drive in High Occupancy Vehicle lanes In July 2022, an officer pulled over a pregnant woman for driving in an HOV lane without a passenger. She fought the citation because she argued her unborn fetus should count as another passenger.
  
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• Car hits train in Austin after police chase, driver dies

  12-05-2023 12:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said the driver of a car that hit a train Friday morning in east Austin following a chase between police has died. Officials believed the chase was with a suspected drunk driver.According to police, officers attempted to stop the driver at East Seventh and Neches Streets at 2:36 a.m. but the driver took off.
  The driver then hit the train at the crossing of Seventh Street and Northwestern Avenue. That's just west of Pleasant Valley Road.
  According to Austin Tra
  
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• Car hits train after chase, driver dies; traffic delays expected

  12-05-2023 12:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said the driver of a car that hit a train Friday morning in east Austin following a chase between police has died. Officials believed the chase was with a suspected drunk driver.According to police, officers attempted to stop the driver at East Seventh and Neches Streets at 2:36 a.m. but the driver took off.
  The driver then hit the train at the crossing of Seventh Street and Northwestern Avenue. That's just west of Pleasant Valley Road.
  According to Austin Tra
  
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• Car hits train after chase; driver dies

  12-05-2023 12:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said the driver of a car that hit a train Friday morning in east Austin following a chase between police has died. Officials believed the chase was with a suspected drunk driver.According to police, officers attempted to stop the driver at East Seventh and Neches Streets at 2:36 a.m. but the driver took off.
  The driver then hit the train at the crossing of Seventh Street and Northwestern Avenue. That's just west of Pleasant Valley Road.
  According to Austin Tra
  
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• Why Wisconsin's no-toll road solution may not work in Texas

  12-05-2023 11:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As more energy-efficient and electric vehicles make their way into the American market, transportation departments across the country are grappling with one key question: How do we fund future infrastructure projects without a dependable gas tax?Currently, Texas collects 20 cents per gallon on gasoline and diesel fuels' sales, according to the Comptroller of Public Accounts. Billions of dollars in revenue collected go toward building and maintaining state highways, roads an
  
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• Austin property owner finds ankle monitor on his roof

  12-05-2023 05:42 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A south Austin property owner said he is fed up and concerned after he found an ankle monitor on the roof of his business."We put up the fence on Tuesday," said Peter Morales as he walked through his property on South Lamar.Morales noticed someone had recently moved into the alley on his property, leaving the area trashed."Laptops and a bunch of bags, and needles and drugs," said Morales as he showed video of the camp. "I actually had to hire someone to do the removal"He al
  
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• Unaccompanied Veteran burial taking place in Killeen May 17

  12-05-2023 04:28 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery will conduct an unaccompanied Veteran burial for US Navy Veteran Richard James Betti, according to a news release from the Texas General Land Office.The burial will take place at 11 a.m., Wed., May 17, at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, the release said.Betti was born June 26, 1953 and served from August 1972 to May 1974, the release said. Betti also received the National Defense Service Medal.According to the relea
  
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• Longhorns' series with Spartans to start with Friday twinbill due to stormy forecast

  12-05-2023 04:11 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With heavy rain and storms expected in the Austin area over the weekend, Texas and San Jose State are going to frontload its 3-game series with a Friday doubleheader.The first game is scheduled for 2 p.m. with the nightcap at 6:30 p.m., leaving Saturday open as that is when the forecast calls for the heaviest rain and potential flash flooding around the area. The weather Sunday is forecast to be a little better, and the teams will figure out when or if they'll play a third
  
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• 5.5 magnitude earthquake shakes Northern California

  12-05-2023 03:30 via kxan.com
  
  (KTXL) — A 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck in Northern California Thursday afternoon around 4:19 p.m., with the shaking felt across the northern half of the state, including the Pacific coast and parts of the Bay Area, as well as parts of the state of Nevada.
  Preliminary readings had the quake at 5.7 magnitude, but the USGS website later updated its reading to 5.5.
  The quake struck less than a mile from the Earth's surface near the southern half of Lake Almanor, about 120 miles directly no
  
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• Central Texas prepares for severe weather this weekend

  12-05-2023 02:04 via kxan.com
  
  DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) - All throughout Central Texas crews are getting ready for severe weather coming our way.The Hays County Office of Emergency Management said it's monitoring low water crossings. If the water gets too high, they said they'll close the area off. They said they have cameras stationed at different locations so they can watch as the storm moves through.RELATED COVERAGE: Severe and flash flooding concerns begin late FridayWhile they're monitoring the flooding, the City o
  
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• Insight: What kind of raise should you expect in 2023

  12-05-2023 01:47 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — New numbers show worker's raise expectations were off from what employers planned to pay out. ABJ: Here's how big of a raise employees are expecting in 2023KXAN's Tom Miller talked with the Austin Business Journal's Will Anderson about how much you can expect.Read a transcription of the discussion below or use the video player above to watch.Tom: Let's start with a look back. How big have raises been in years past and what's been driving that?Anderson: Yeah, with more jobs
  
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• Late homers propel big comeback win for Longhorns in Big 12 softball tournament

  12-05-2023 01:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Down four runs with two outs in the sixth inning, the No. 7 Texas Longhorns softball team decided to hit the ball out of the park.Three home runs worked the game back to a 6-6 tie, and then the Longhorns took care of Texas Tech 7-6 in eight innings in the opening round of the Big 12 Conference softball tournament Thursday in Oklahoma City.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/
  
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• Jarrell homeowner shoots suspected burglar entering home

  12-05-2023 00:28 via kxan.com
  
  JARRELL, Texas (KXAN) -- A homeowner shot a suspected burglar Thursday morning in Jarrell after he forced his way into the home, according to a Williamson County Sheriff's Office release.The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Juan Sanchez Palafox, was found dead by WCSO deputies after they were called to the home on County Road 239, the release said.Deputies were called to the home around 12 a.m. Thursday, the release states.WCSO said the investigation was ongoing. If anyone has information abou
  
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• PHOTOS: Two displaced baby red-tailed hawks reunited with parents

  12-05-2023 00:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Just in time for Mother's Day, these two baby red-tailed hawks were reunited with their parents two days after being separated, per an Austin Wildlife Rescue post on social media. The makeshift nest Austin Wildlife Rescue staff made for the displaced red-tailed hawks. (photo courtesy: Austin Wildlife Rescue)
  Lower Colorado River Authority workers found the youngsters displaced from their nest and transported them to Austin Wildlife Rescue for care.A couple of days late
  
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