Austin news

• Unfinished, vandalized homes in south Austin torn down

  19-03-2025 23:46 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) --- Unfinished homes in south Austin, that had broken windows and tattered roofs, are now torn down. The homes were covered in graffiti, with tall weeds growing in the driveway.The city of Austin’s Development Services Department told KXAN as of March 12, all the residential structures on the property were demolished.The City of Austin's Development Services Department said site plans show the owner plans to build condominiums. (Photo: KXAN)The City of Austin's Development Se
  
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• Ultrasound technology offers non-invasive treatment for liver cancer

  19-03-2025 23:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new technology is giving doctors a non-invasive method for treating liver cancer, without requiring incisions or surgery.
  Histotripsy uses ultrasound waves to create tiny air bubbles in the tissue. As the bubbles shrink and expand, they physically damage cells in a certain area. Doctors can specify which areas receive the treatment by drawing around them on a computer screen. This ensures that only the selected cells are affected, without harming healthy tissue."It's kind
  
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• Texas representative calls for increased oversight of TEA spending

  19-03-2025 23:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Democrat from the Texas House is siding with Republican parents and public education advocates to highlight state education spending.Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, recently filed a bill that would increase legislative oversight of state education spending and reallocate taxpayer dollars to directly benefit students and teacher in Texas."I filed House Bill 5419, which is a DOGE of the Texas Education Agency," Hinojosa said. "It is a zero base budgeting bill to cut through t
  
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• APD: 2 arrested, accused of aggravated kidnapping of 7-year-old

  19-03-2025 22:55 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Two people were arrested after they were accused of a kidnapping that happened at a southeast Austin apartment complex last week, according to the Austin Police Department.Those people were identified as 56-year-old Jeffrey Caneen and 32-year-old Taylor Brasher, according to police. They were both charged with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony.Attorney information was not available for Caneen as of Wednesday. KXAN reached out to Brasher's attorney for a statement. We
  
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• Lawmakers looking to ban cellphones in Texas classrooms

  19-03-2025 21:26 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On Tuesday, the Texas House Committee on Public Education first laid out State Rep. Caroline Fairly's, R-Amarillo, House Bill 1481 -- banning cellphones in school during instructional hours. Despite being left pending in committee, the bill has broad bipartisan support, with over half the Texas House listed as co-authors."[For] the generation I'm in it's very real, it's here, it's now," Fairly said. At 26, Fairly is the youngest Republican woman in the history of the Tex
  
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• Round Top Shopping Tips With Audrey Scheck Design

  19-03-2025 20:12 via kxan.com
  
  One of Texas's tiny towns, Round Top, is hosting its annual spring Antique Fair from March 22nd to April 5th. Local designer, Audrey Scheck, stopped by Studio 512 to tell us more about why she loves this event, and to offer some tips for shoppers."Nestled in the heart of Texas with a population around 90, Round Top may be small, but it has made a big name for itself as a must-visit destination for vintage and antique enthusiasts. Twice a year, during spring and fall (and now a short period in wi
  
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• Man gets 18 years after pleading guilty in 2023 fatal shooting

  19-03-2025 19:59 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man was sentenced Feb. 18 related to a June 2023 fatal shooting.According to Travis County court documents, 48-year-old Brandon Miller pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced on the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter. A second count of murder was also waived during sentencing.The charge was related to the June 30, 2023 death of 47-year-old Larry Jennings, who died from a gunshot wound in the 8800 block of Redfield Lane. RELATED | Fugitive task for
  
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• Austin resident claims $1M Powerball prize

  19-03-2025 18:51 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- An Austin resident claimed a second-tier Powerball prize worth $1 million in the March 8 drawing, according to a release from the Texas Lottery. The claimant of the prize has chosen to stay anonymous, Texas Lottery officials added.The winning ticket matched all of the white ball numbers (2-4-16-23-63), but it did not match the red Powerball number (13), according to the release. What does the Texas Lottery’s revenue help fund?The resident purchased the $1 million winning t
  
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• Could the tomahawk become the official steak of Texas?

  19-03-2025 18:48 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A concurrent resolution filed in the Texas House of Representatives could soon designate the tomahawk ribeye as the official steak of Texas — but there's a bit of beef between the House and Senate on which steak cut is supreme.Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian), filed House Concurrent Resolution 101 in response to the Senate Concurrent Resolution 26, which had proposed renaming the New York Strip steak as the Texas Strip and classifying it as the official state steak. In a so
  
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• Austin to debate $10.6M for art at the airport, artists selected are not local

  19-03-2025 18:42 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Three contracts for artwork at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) totaling $10.6 million will be discussed at next week's Austin City Council meeting. According to council documents, the funding is available from the airport's capital budget.The art will be showcased in new portions of the airport created by its expansion. What’s the latest on Austin’s airport construction projects?Those three contracts will go to: Saya Woolfalk, Jim Campbell and Yvette May
  
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• Agenda items on art at Austin airport removed from next council meeting

  19-03-2025 18:42 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A city office asked Austin city council leaders to postpone a planned discussion that relates to contracts for artwork at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).Three contracts for artwork at AUS totaling $10.6 million were initially set to be discussed at next week's Austin City Council meeting on March 27. However, the Office of Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment (ACME) sent a memo Wednesday evening to Austin city leaders withdrawing the items from the agenda.Th
  
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• 'This is a poison': Texas Senate passes bill that would ban THC products from being sold

  19-03-2025 18:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick held a press conference on Wednesday to discuss his passionate support of Senate Bill 3, which would ban the sale of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. This bill comes nearly six years after Texas lawmakers legalized the sale of consumable hemp, including products with THC levels under 0.3%. Since then, more than 8,000 stores selling THC products have popped up across the state, Patrick said. “They used a loophole to get aroun
  
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• 'This is a poison': Texas bill seeks to ban THC products from being sold

  19-03-2025 18:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick held a press conference on Wednesday to discuss his passionate support of Senate Bill 3, which would ban the sale of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. This bill comes nearly six years after Texas lawmakers legalized the sale of consumable hemp, including products with THC levels under 0.3%. Since then, more than 8,000 stores selling THC products have popped up across the state, Patrick said. “They used a loophole to get aroun
  
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• Fewer bluebonnets to bloom in Central Texas this year — here's why

  19-03-2025 18:04 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Amid ongoing drought conditions in Central Texas and miniscule rain levels last fall, Central Texans aren't likely to see the same picturesque bluebonnets this wildflower season, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center confirmed in its 2025 wildflower forecast.“If predicting the weather is a challenge, then predicting the wildflower bloom for a big state like Texas is even more of a challenge,” said Andrea DeLong-Amaya, Wildflower Center horticulture director, i
  
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• Man arrested in Manor on murder charge out of Austin

  19-03-2025 17:26 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Law enforcement arrested a man in Manor last Thursday related to a December 2024 murder that occurred in southeast Austin. RELATED | Police identify victim in homicide near East Oltorf, release photos of person of interestAccording to the Austin Police Department, 26-year-old Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Gomez was arrested in the 15200 block of Sparks Run Road and charged with first-degree murder related to the death of 34-year-old Mario Damian-Rayas.Rodriguez-Gomez’s attorn
  
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• Zed's to open 2nd ice cream shop in Austin this spring

  19-03-2025 17:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Zed's Real Fruit Ice Cream is expanding its footprint in Austin, with a second dessert shop set to open in the Tarrytown neighborhood this spring.The Portland-based ice cream shop opened its first Austin location at 1814 Harvey St. back in mid-2021. Now, the business is expanding out to the west side of town, with its second shop slated for 2727 Exposition Blvd., Ste. 128 in the Tarrytown neighborhood, per project documents.In a social media post Wednesday, Zed's confirmed
  
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• Dormant Lawns: When grass will return and how to help prevent dryness

  19-03-2025 16:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Wildfire issues have been consistent and frequent through March and with the lack of rainfall the grass can be tinder for the perfect fuel for fires to spread.Bo Jenkins with ABC Home and Commercial Services said the end of March usually signals when our grass will start to come out of dormancy and become a bit more green."A lot of that is temperature-driven," Jenkins said. "The biggest thing we notice is it's all about the nighttime temperature—that takes us into the
  
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• WATCH: Dramatic car chase ends in discovery of missing Texas teen

  19-03-2025 14:32 via kxan.com
  
  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WFLA) — Video released by the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office shows the moment a missing teenager from Texas was found after a car chase.Last Saturday, deputies spotted a car associated with the missing girl in Durbin Pavilion shopping center in St. Johns, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville.
  The vehicle, driven by 19-year-old Jesus Esteban Arellano, sped away as deputies approached, prompting the chase.
  The deputies in pursuit quickly utilized a precision immobilizatio
  
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• 4-year-old dies days after crash involving APD vehicle

  19-03-2025 13:49 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Tuesday, the Austin Police Department said a 4-year-old girl died following a March 10 three-vehicle crash in north Austin that involved an APD patrol vehicle.The department said the patrol vehicle was responding to a call with its lights and sirens activated when a vehicle pulled out from a private drive in front of the patrol vehicle, resulting in the crash. RELATED | Austin police officer injured in north Austin car crashAustin-Travis County EMS responded to the 8900
  
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• These are the most common cars being stolen in Texas

  19-03-2025 13:00 via kxan.com
  
  (NEXSTAR) – After years of spiking vehicle thefts, the tides have turned. The number of stolen cars reported in 2024 was down substantially, breaking the pattern of year-after-year increases set off in 2020.About 850,700 vehicles were stolen in the U.S. last year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). That's down from more than 1 million stolen vehicles in 2023.
  Despite the trend, some vehicles are still being targeted fairly often by thieves. The NICB reports two H
  
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• Lawsuit accuses man of killing, eating patients at SC mental health facility

  19-03-2025 04:25 via kxan.com
  
  Warning: Graphic content may be disturbing to some readers.
  RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) - The case against a South Carolina mental health facility where a man is accused of murdering and cannibalizing patients could be heading to trial.A lawsuit filed by the family of 22-year-old Jared Ondrea claims Richland County's New Hope Home Solutions, facility owner Brittany Reynolds-Jackson and the South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) are responsible for his death.According to documents, O
  
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• 'Meltdown hotline': Tillamook offers free ice cream in response to viral 911 call

  19-03-2025 04:21 via kxan.com
  
  PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon’s top dairy brand is serving as a first responder for those facing a different kind of emergency: stolen ice cream.On Tuesday, Tillamook launched its “meltdown hotline” for customers wanting their ice cream replaced after having it nabbed by others in their household. Legendary Jimi Hendrix, ecology workers awarded with Washington’s most prestigious medalsThe company said its new hotline is inspired by a trending story out of Wisconsin
  
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• Astronauts return home aboard SpaceX capsule after being stuck for 9 months

  19-03-2025 04:16 via kxan.com
  
  (The Hill) — The SpaceX capsule tasked with bringing back two NASA astronauts that have spent months on the International Space Station (ISS) after thruster issues following the launch of Boeing's Starliner mission last year have returned to Earth.
  The SpaceX capsule carrying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico in the early evening, just hours after departing the International Space Station. Splashdown occurred off the coast of Tallahassee in the Fl
  
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• Here are the remaining JFK assassination files

  19-03-2025 04:13 via kxan.com
  
  (NewsNation) — The remaining classified files on the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy were released Tuesday evening on the National Archives website.It is unclear which documents are new and which ones have been released unredacted. JFK assassination files releasedA White House official tells NewsNation that 50,000 pages will be on the website and 30,000 pages will be available Wednesday, totaling 80,000 pages.104-10004-10143 (C06932208)DownloadClick here for all
  
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• Longhorns basketball feeling a 'breath of fresh air'

  19-03-2025 03:46 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) - The season for Texas men's basketball didn't go how they envisioned. For a group that started the season ranked in the AP Top 25, the 2024-2025 campaign for the Longhorns has been in many ways a disappointment.None of that matters now.The Longhorns are where they wanted to be; the NCAA Tournament. Yes, they have to play in the First Four. No, they don't seem to care.Head Coach Rodney Terry has led a group that has battled through injuries this season but enters Wednesday night's
  
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• ATCEMS: 1 dead after vehicle, motorcycle crash on Loop 360

  19-03-2025 02:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- One person is dead after a crash between a vehicle and a motorcycle on Loop 360, according to Austin-Travis County EMS.ATCEMS medics said on social media it responded to the crash around 5:08 p.m. at 1801 S. Capital of Texas Highway northbound. One person was pronounced dead.The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) said on social media it closed northbound lanes at Loop 360 and Westbank Drive. Drivers should expect traffic delays or seek an alternate route.No other details
  
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• Police seek public help finding 39-year-old woman last seen in Pflugerville

  19-03-2025 02:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Pflugerville Police Department is seeking public help to find a 39-year-old woman who was last seen March 14, the agency said on social media Tuesday.Kreacha Jones, 39 (Photos: Pflugerville Police Department)Kreacha Jones, also known as Kreacha Sims, is described as a Black woman, 5 feet 5 inches, weighs 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, according to police.Anyone who has any information can contact PPD at (512) 990-6700.
  
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• Abbott, DPS launch community reporting system

  19-03-2025 01:55 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) launched the iWatchTexas community reporting system to "protect the public from coercion and harassment by foreign adversaries", according to a news release.DPS said the feature will allow individuals to indicate their concern is related to foreign influence when submitting a report.“Texas’ No. 1 priority is to protect the safety and security of Texans,” said Abbott. “Last year,
  
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• APD: 1 arrested, 1 at large after officer injured in crash prompted by police chase

  19-03-2025 00:31 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A suspect was arrested, and another remained at large, after an officer was injured in a crash prompted by a police chase Tuesday morning in north Austin, the Austin Police Department told KXAN in a statement.APD officers responded to a report of a person breaking into a gate of a parking lot in the 10600 block of Jollyville Road around 5:35 a.m., police said. As officers responded, the suspect drove away from the scene, and then a short police chase was prompted, according to A
  
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• 'They refused to listen': Rain on 4th emptied by city of Austin over capacity discrepancy

  19-03-2025 00:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A popular queer nightclub, Rain on 4th, said it was shut down for more than an hour by the city of Austin after a "false claim of being over capacity."
  Rain's owners said they were told to empty their space and "conduct people recounts", despite actually being under capacity by roughly 100 people, they claimed on social media."This is about the fact that one of the few spaces which is dedicated to our community, and just making sure they feel comfortable and safe, and especially
  
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