Austin news

• Zilker shuttle services return this summer

  09-05-2024 23:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The City of Austin confirmed Thursday its free shuttle services will return to Zilker Metropolitan Park this summer.It marks the third summer of weekend and specialty holiday services. Shuttle operations will run from noon to 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from May 25 through Sept. 2, including on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day.Zilker-Shuttle-Route-Map-revisedDownloadShuttle riders can utilize free parking at the One Texas Center garage at 505 Barton Spr
  
  Read more

• Legal fees related to DA José Garza removal petition could cost Travis County taxpayers $50K

  09-05-2024 23:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Travis County Commissioners Court approved up to $50,000 in legal defense costs for Travis County District Attorney José Garza related to a petition calling for his removal from office.The petition, filed in the 455th Travis County District Court, argues “incompetency and official misconduct” related to the policies enforced by Garza about who and what criminal offenses his office prosecutes.KXAN requested a comment from Garza and asked whether he has
  
  Read more

• Issues from cyber security event continue at Ascension

  09-05-2024 23:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – On Wednesday, Ascension, a healthcare company in Central Texas, announced that they detected unusual activity on network systems, which they believed to be a "cyber security event."In a statement, Ascension said: "Our care teams are trained for these kinds of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible. There has been a disruption to clinical operations, and we continue to assess the im
  
  Read more

• Student from Cedar Park named 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar

  09-05-2024 23:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education announced the 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars, which included a student from Cedar Park.According to the department, the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects students based on “academic success, excellence in the arts and in technical education, through essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as a demonstrated commitment to community service and leadership.”Cedar Park reside
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Austin nonprofit provides free open-heart surgery for 2-year-old

  09-05-2024 22:33 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin pediatrician assisted in bringing a Ugandan boy and his mother to the United States for an open heart surgery, nonprofit HeartGift Foundation said in a release.HeartGift helps connect children from around the world with free heart surgeries with congenital heart defects. Dr. Lori Hines traveled to Uganda to bring two-year-old Aaron and his mother to Austin for Aaron's procedure at Dell Children's Medical Center.Austin pediatrician Dr. Lori Hines helped guide two-y
  
  Read more

• Paxton moves to shut down charity housing undocumented migrants

  09-05-2024 22:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- For nearly 50 years, Annunciation House has provided shelter, food, and education to refugees and undocumented immigrants in El Paso. The State of Texas is trying to shut them down, citing concerns they are harboring fugitives and thwarting law enforcement's efforts on the border.In a new legal filing, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues "Annunciation House is engaged in systematic conduct that constitutes illegal alien harboring and operation of a stash house, as a matt
  
  Read more

• Two political consultants plead guilty in Henry Cuellar bribery case

  09-05-2024 22:26 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Two political consultants agreed to plead guilty to charges that they conspired with U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar to launder more than $200,000 in bribes from a Mexican bank, according to recently unsealed court documents that show the consultants are cooperating with the Justice Department in its case against the Laredo Democrat.Cuellar, a powerful South Texas Democrat, was indicted with his wife Imelda on charges of accepting almost $600,000 in bri
  
  Read more

• WATCH: Truck likely deemed total loss after lightning strike in Hutto

  09-05-2024 22:20 via kxan.com
  
  HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) — "Zeus himself decided I no longer needed my truck."That's how Jeremy Jameson reacted after his truck was struck by lightning on April 28. The Hutto resident said he bought the truck — brand new — from Covert Ford in November, and it only had about 11,000 miles on it. Where and when are lightning deaths most common?Video Jameson posted to Instagram shows the lightning strike. The headlights can then be seen flashing. Jameson said he heard the loud crash aro
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Texas group reports uptick of anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in 2023

  09-05-2024 22:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Statewide political advocacy organization Equality Texas responded to an uptick in anti-LGTBQ+ incidents each month in 2023 compared to 2022, officials told KXAN this week.It comes as leadership said they are preparing for additional LGBTQ+-related bills to be filed in the upcoming legislative session, beginning in January. That session will come on the heels of the 2023 session, where lawmakers filed 141 bills -- a historic high -- related to the LGBTQ+ community.Chloe Goo
  
  Read more

• Longhorns flip DT transfer Lole from Oklahoma

  09-05-2024 20:50 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Not many areas of the Texas football roster could realistically be considered question marks. The one position group that appears thinner than others was defensive tackle, but the Longhorns flipped a transfer to bolster their defensive front.Louisville transfer Jermayne Lole announced his commitment to Texas on social media Thursday. The 6-foot-3, 310-pound defensive tackle originally announced his intention to transfer to Oklahoma.The flip to Texas is big for a team that h
  
  Read more

• Affidavit: Warrant issued for man who allegedly shot, killed ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend

  09-05-2024 20:26 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Travis County Sheriff's Office issued an arrest warrant for a man deputies said shot and killed a man at a bar in southeast Travis County early in the morning of Friday, May 3, according to court documents.TCSO said the homicide happened at a business located in the 5600 block of South U.S. 183, which is close to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Deputies said they initially responded to a call there at about 12:25 a.m. for reports about a “disturbance involving
  
  Read more

• Leaders to host grand opening for $305M Austin State Hospital next week

  09-05-2024 20:25 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin and state leaders will host a ribbon-cutting Wednesday as the new 240-bed replacement facility for Austin State Hospital is set to open soon after years of work and hundreds of millions of dollars spent.
  According to a release, the Texas Legislature and Gov. Greg Abbott approved roughly $305 million for the new psychiatric hospital, which will replace the facility that's been open since 1861.
  According to a release, that hospital offers inpatient mental health services to
  
  Read more

• Man arrested after carrying gun during UT protests, court documents say

  09-05-2024 20:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Police with the University of Texas at Austin arrested Michael David Maule, 26, after they said he carried a gun on UT's campus during a protest on April 29, according to an arrest affidavit.According to court documents, the Austin Police Department received a report of "two protesters armed with guns." DPS sent 115 personnel on first day of protests at UT AustinPolice received descriptions of the individuals and approached them separately near the Main Building at UT. Court doc
  
  Read more

• APD files search warrant after dead dogs found in south Austin creek

  09-05-2024 20:08 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Law enforcement officials filed a search warrant Wednesday in Travis County after multiple dead dogs were found near a south Austin residential area April 14.Neighbors previously told KXAN they found 11 dead dogs in South Boggy Creek.PAST COVERAGE | Neighbors say dead dogs found in creek, police investigatingThe warrant was for data that could connect a past resident of the area to an offense of cruelty to non-livestock animals.According to the warrant, the Austin Police De
  
  Read more

• Austin Ghost Bike Project memorializes cyclists killed in crashes

  09-05-2024 20:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — At intersections and roadways across Austin are white bikes—memorials honoring the memory of cyclists killed in traffic crashes. It's part of the Austin Ghost Bike Project's ongoing mission to raise public awareness about the number of cyclists killed while the organization advocates for improved safety infrastructure for bikers."Our goal, really, is to draw attention to and to start to prevent so many needless deaths, accidents, crashes in our city," said Rhodney Wil
  
  Read more

• Man sentenced in fatal 2023 hit-and-run

  09-05-2024 20:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man was sentenced on two charges April 30 in connection with a fatal crash that occurred in March 2023. MAP: Where have Austin’s fatal crashes occurred in 2023?According to Travis County court documents, 26-year-old Milton Castanon-Villatoro pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and accident involving death and was given seven years in prison for each charge.The sentence was related to the death of 57-year-old  Elias Saenz, which occurred t
  
  Read more

• MAP: Road closures, available parking for UT Commencement weekend

  09-05-2024 18:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hook 'em!Thousands of students at the University of Texas at Austin will cross the stage and earn graduate status at this weekend's commencement ceremonies. With those celebrations comes plenty of proud family, friends and loved ones and — you guessed it — traffic.Here's a day-by-day breakdown of planned road closures and traffic changes amid this weekend's pomp and circumstance.For those driving to the ceremonies, the University of Texas at Austin Police Depart
  
  Read more

• Disney+, Hulu, Max team up for streaming mega bundle

  09-05-2024 17:56 via kxan.com
  
  (WXIN) - Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up for a new streaming bundle to include Disney+, Hulu and Max.According to the announcement on the Walt Disney Company’s website, the services will be offered together this summer, providing an “unprecedented selection of content” from ABC, CNN, DC, Discovery, Disney, Food Network, FX, HBO, HGTV, Hulu, Marvel, Pixar, Searchlight, Warner Bros. and many more.People will be able to get the bundle from any of the three platfor
  
  Read more

• Torchbearers begin Olympic flame's journey across France

  09-05-2024 17:53 via kxan.com
  
  MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Joyful crowds gathered along the streets of France’s southern port of Marseille on Thursday to see torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame through the city's most emblematic sites, a day after it arrived on a majestic three-mast ship for a welcoming ceremony.It was the first leg of an 11-week journey across the country for the torch, which will be carried by about 10,000 bearers as it passes through more than 450 towns until the Games' opening
  
  Read more

• Texas ranch owner missing dozens of ostriches after extreme flooding

  09-05-2024 17:53 via kxan.com
  
  VALLEY MILLS, Texas (KWKT) – The flooding in Texas over the weekend has ruffled some feathers, and one ranch is seeking to find dozens of missing ostriches.The Superior Ostrich Company in Valley Mills is looking for many of its birds that got loose."I've always had a finger in the ranching operation here all my life and I've seen several floods, but this was one of the granddaddy of all floods," said Reg Lindberg, Superior Ostrich Company founder.Lindberg believes the floodwaters carried t
  
  Read more

• Austinites are getting a say in the city's 2024-25 budget, here's how

  09-05-2024 15:23 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- City of Austin residents have the opportunity this month to provide input on how the city's 2024-25 budget should be allocated.
  The city launched an interactive budget survey tool that people can use to choose their top priorities from a comprehensive list of options.
  City of Austin's 2024-25 budget survey (Screenshot of the City of Austin's website)
  The city said the tool aims to provide participants with a "meaningful opportunity to engage with the City and ensure that the bud
  
  Read more

• Jarrell City Council talks sexual harassment, discrimination reported by city manager

  09-05-2024 14:03 via kxan.com
  
  JARRELL, Texas (KXAN) — At their meeting Tuesday night, Jarrell city council members discussed and responded to allegations made in a sexual harassment and discrimination complaint filed by the city's manager. The complaint alleges inappropriate behavior from three male council members and at least one instance of unwanted touching.In a social media post on May 4, Mayor Patrick Sherek said the council would address harassment and sexual discrimination reported by City Manager Danielle Sing
  
  Read more

• At least 20 allegations of abuse against former Austin pastor

  09-05-2024 14:00 via kxan.com
  
  Investigative Summary:Allegations of sexual misconduct against a former Lutheran pastor have split a North Austin congregation and sparked an extensive church investigation. KXAN spoke with people alleging abuse, dug into the pastor’s long history of ministry and followed the church’s effort to move forward with accountability and transparency.AUSTIN (KXAN) – For decades, Dr. Helen Maidment carried mixed memories of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in North Austin.On one side, there
  
  Read more

• What exactly is a tornado emergency?

  09-05-2024 13:27 via kxan.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — The first-ever tornado emergency in Michigan was issued Tuesday, one of many called across the country in recent weeks as severe weather tears through states in the Plains and Midwest. As massive storms barrel East, homes and property have been destroyed and thousands of people have gone without power.The National Weather Service called an emergency for areas of Michigan on Tuesday evening amid forecasts of a damaging tornado and hail. At the time, other spots in M
  
  Read more

• UT Board of Regents respond to DPS presence at campus protests

  09-05-2024 05:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Following law enforcement responses at recent protests on University of Texas campuses, the Board of Regents removed all doubt today about the lead up to those events."Many have questioned the use law enforcement from outside agencies. To be clear, no president in the UT system made those decisions on their own. The chancellor and I and this board are always involved in those decisions. They were the right decision, and we will do it again, if needed," said Kevin Eltife, chairma
  
  Read more

• Longhorns track and field aiming for titles in last Big 12 meet

  09-05-2024 04:41 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When the Texas Longhorns move to the Southeastern Conference next year, there's something head track and field coach Edrick Floreal is going to miss about the Big 12."The trophies," he said, with a laugh. "We've won our fair share, and lost our fair share, but we've been pretty consistent at the top." UT jumper Ackelia Smith eyeing Paris 2024 Olympic Games for JamaicaUnder Floreal in his sixth season, the Longhorns are gunning for their fifth-consecutive women's outdoor tra
  
  Read more

• Air you can wear: What's with all the haze?

  09-05-2024 04:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We haven't had much sun the last week here in Austin, but even when the sun has been out, visibility has been limited. The haze in the air has made it tough to see distant buildings, distant clouds or the blue in the sky. You can blame three things for this: Humidity, agricultural burning in Mexico, and particulate pollution.Hazy Thursday evening from Westlake HillsHigh humidityThe humidity has been tropical with dew points in the 70s making even the early mornings feel unc
  
  Read more

• Despite Texas' record budget surplus, schools face deficits

  09-05-2024 01:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Parents of Cy-Fair ISD students criticized state and district leaders this week, frustrated that their schools are some of many facing budget cuts due to widespread deficits after state lawmakers failed to increase basic school funding last year."The decisions being made by our governor, senators, TEA Commissioner, and CFISD Board of Trustees are stumping us both academically and inspirationally," one parent told the board.Cy-Fair fears they may have to remove nearly 300
  
  Read more

• Ippei Mizuhara, ex-interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, to plead guilty in sports betting case

  09-05-2024 00:52 via kxan.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case in which prosecutors allege he stole nearly $17 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.The scandal surrounding Ippei Mizuhara shocked baseball fans from the U.S. to Japan when the news broke in March.Mizuhara will plead guilty to one count of bank fraud and o
  
  Read more

• Shoal Creek Conservancy wants people to be able to swim in the creek, trail to be 13 miles long

  09-05-2024 00:45 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Shoal Creek Conservancy celebrated its 10th anniversary Wednesday, remarking on all the improvement projects it has already accomplished and signaling what is to come. Shoal Creek is the oldest hike and bike trail in Austin. The Shoal Creek Conservancy was formed in late 2013 to enhance the trail and improve the creek’s water quality. “We are the active champions for Austin's oldest hike and bike trail,” said Ivey Kaiser, the executive direct
  
  Read more

• RECALL: Dog eyelid wipes may expose pets, owners to bacteria, fungi

  09-05-2024 00:35 via kxan.com
  
  (NEXSTAR) — Pharmaceutical company Bausch + Lomb is recalling about 32,000 units of its Project Watson Eyelid Wipes for dogs over concerns that the products may unintentionally grow bacteria and fungi in their containers.According to the recall, Bausch + Lomb has received seven reports of growths in the product's containers, though there have been no reports of illness in either pets or humans.The recalled products can be identified by the following features:
  The words "Project Watson" and
  
  Read more

• 'High-end,' ultra rare pineapple coming to US

  09-05-2024 00:35 via kxan.com
  
  (WJW) – It’s being billed as an "ultra-premium luxury 'designer' fruit that appeals to high-end consumers."Yes, you read that right — we're talking about a piece of fruit.This week, Rubyglow pineapples, with their red, distinguishing shells, were officially introduced to the U.S. market. Fresh Del Monte Produce first debuted the fruit in China in January 2024, with demand quickly outpacing supply, prompting a "global waitlist," according to the company.This particular variety &
  
  Read more

• House blocks Greene’s resolution to oust Johnson

  09-05-2024 00:34 via kxan.com
  
  The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to protect Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from a conservative coup, torpedoing an effort by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to oust the GOP leader from the top job.The chamber voted 359-43-7 on a motion to table Greene’s motion to vacate, preventing the removal resolution from hitting the floor for a vote.The final vote — which was widely expected amid bipartisan opposition to the ouster gambit — deals a major blow to Greene, w
  
  Read more

• DPS sent 115 personnel on first day of protests at UT Austin

  09-05-2024 00:16 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Three units with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) sent a total of 115 personnel to the University of Texas at Austin campus April 24 as people gathered at a protest in support of Gaza.KXAN obtained this information through a public information request to DPS. Leaked memo reveals inside details of UT’s protest responseDuring the first day of the protest, 57 individuals were arrested.San Antonio response sent the most with 50 DPS personnel, Capitol FFO Team s
  
  Read more

Follow @Austin_News_US on Twitter!