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'Pivotal moment': Department of Homeland Security launches AI task force

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The Department of Homeland Security is launching an artificial intelligence task force in an effort to keep up with foreign threats, but the American Civil Liberties Union says the endeavor is setting off alarm bells.Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the task force on Friday, which will work to figure out how to best use AI tools to combat threats."The pivotal moment we are now in requires that we also act today," Mayorkas said. "To advance our critical homeland security missions."Mayorkas said he wants to use AI to screen cargo for illicit drugs like fentanyl, to identify and rescue child abuse victims, and to defend against China."We must never allow ourselves to be susceptible to failures of imagination," he said. While he promised transparency, the ACLU said that's something the department has failed to do for decades."DHS has an appallingly bad track record when it comes to transparency," said Patrick Toomey, the deput...

APD, ATCEMS respond to tactical situation in Travis County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department and Austin-Travis County EMS were called to assist an agency serving a warrant in Elgin Friday, APD said.At approximately, 1:15 p.m., APD responded to a call to assist in the 17800 block of Rye Spring Drive, according to police. Photos provided to KXAN showed SWAT personnel at the scene.Medics also confirmed it responded to a tactical assist call for APD in the 13000 block of Mussel Run.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Weekend forecast brings both sunshine and rain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Quiet weather returned following Thursday night's severe thunderstorms and flash flooding.We will enjoy clear, cool conditions overnight into early Saturday with sunshine to kick off the weekend. As a northwesterly flow aloft continues, however, additional storms are heading to Texas over the next 7 days.The next disturbance approaches late Saturday, increasing clouds through the afternoon and evening and potentially bringing a late-evening thunderstorm to the Hill Country. As of now, the severe weather risk is quite low.Low risk of severe storms Saturday nightThe storm system and cold front arrive Sunday, leading to a cooler, rainy second half of your weekend. Sunday looks to bring beneficial rain with another low threat of severe thunderstorms.Low risk of severe storms SundayDaily rain chances continue through Thursday, leading to a widespread 1-2" of total rainfall over the next week.Recap of Thursday's severe weather eventA complex of severe thunderstorms brough...

Homeowners frustrated with city after flood waters damage properties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Multiple homes located on Mearns Meadow boulevard became surrounded by a rushing river during Thursday night's torrential downpour after a nearby storm culvert became clogged with dead trees and debris. Homeowners in the area are cleaning up the mess and say they are frustrated with the city for not doing more to prevent this level of flooding. Severe flooding damageRyan Albright and his wife were enjoying their first night of their month-long European trip when their alarm system kept alerting them of movement outside their house. The movement Albright's security camera picked up was not a car or intruder. It was rushing water. "Water that's knee high or higher rushing down up against your house and there's nothing you can do," Albright explained. His mom and dad drove up from San Marcos to help with the beginning efforts of cleaning up. A cleaning crew at the house gave an estimate of $7,000 to just dry the floor boards in his home. Albright's neighbor, Scott Ste...

Georgetown man sentenced to life in prison in wife's death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A Georgetown man who plead guilty to murder this week in the 2021 death of his wife was sentenced to life in prison, according to court records.Travis Hall, 50, faced murder and tampering with evidence charges in the disappearance of his wife, Julie Hall. He pleaded guilty to murder Monday. The tampering charges were dismissed, documents state. Georgetown husband facing murder charge after investigation into wife’s disappearance In opening statements of the trial Monday, prosecutors said Hall allegedly beat Julie to death with a pipe wrench in their Georgetown apartment and then wrapped her body in sheets and put her into a suitcase. Prosecutors said video evidence shows Hall putting a heavy suitcase in their apartment complex's trash compactor. Williamson County prosecutor Mike Waldman said the compacted trash was taken to a Creedmoor dump where police searched but Julie's body was never found. Hall's defense acknowledged that this is not a typical case for the j...

Austin could get rid of minimum parking requirements city-wide this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council could strip mandatory parking minimums from its overarching zoning requirements this year. Council Member Zohaib Qadri intends to put forward a resolution next month that would change the city's land development code (LDC). Council item aims to limit parking lot requirements for bars to curb drunk driving Right now, the city mandates how many parking spots you're required to have on a property. Transit and affordable housing advocates have for years asked the city to strip those requirements from the LDC to promote different forms of transit and allow for developers and small businesses to utilize land differently. The resolution, if passed, would get the process started for the elimination of that requirement city-wide. It would also direct the city manager to look at ways to require developments to provide accessible parking spaces if it plans to build no on-site parking. It's something the city has already done. Since 2013, the downtown are...

‘Canceled’ Broadway star Laura Osnes set to perform in Burnsville

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

Controversial Broadway star Laura Osnes is returning to Burnsville, the town where she was born, to perform with the Minnesota Valley Women’s Chorale and Genesis Jazz Orchestra.The pair of concerts, which celebrate the 10th anniversary of the chorus, are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 5 and 6 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Tickets are $20 via mvwcsings.org.Osnes, 37, graduated from Eagan High School and studied musical theater at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for a year before dropping out to pursue an acting career. She was playing Sandy in “Grease” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres when she was chosen to compete in the 2007 NBC competitive reality show “Grease: You’re the One that I Want.” She won the show and went on to portray Sandy in a Broadway revival of “Grease.”Osnes went on to establish herself as one of Broadway’s brightest young talents, starring in “South Pacific,” “Anything Goes” and “Bandstand.” She received Tony Award nominations for her roles in “Bonnie an...

MN senator files ethics complaint over message with link to ‘disturbing’ video

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

Minnesota Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Glen Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, over an email he sent to the chamber’s 34 Democrats containing a link to a video labeled “transgender surgeries on minor children.”Maye Quade said the video included images of “children’s genitalia” that Gruenhagen himself called “extremely graphic and disturbing.” Maye Quade said the email was against Senate rules because it amounted to a violation of “accepted norms of Senate behavior, that betrays the public trust, or that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor or disrepute.”Maye Quade mentioned the ethics complaint during a news conference Friday before the Senate was expected to debate legislation making Minnesota a refuge for families where transgender youth can receive gender affirming care.“This crossed the line,” Maye Quade said of the email.In response to the complaint, Gruenhagen said ...

High demand for roof repair after hail hits St. Louis region

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

TROY, Mo. - Roofing companies and insurance adjusters are getting a lot of calls this week after numerous storms producing large hail rolled through the St. Louis region. Roofing companies have some warnings for homeowners dealing with damage. “[The hail] came in, and it was pea size, and then it was quarter size, and it was crazy,” said Troy resident Taylor Jones. Trending: Is it legal to collect rainwater in Missouri & Illinois? Another round of hail-producing storms rolled through the St. Louis area for the second time in five days, causing significant damage to roofs and siding. Lincoln County was among one of the hardest hit areas on Thursday. These latest storms hit less than a week after severe weather struck on Saturday, producing hail larger than golf balls just west of St. Louis. “With the storms that have moved through, obviously we’re seeing a real explosion in business right now,” said Kerry House, owner of Lane House Roofing and Exteriors. With all the damage, re...

3 children, 2 adults hurt in north St. Louis County highway crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:53 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Three children and two adults are hospitalized after a highway crash Thursday evening in north St. Louis County. The crash happened around 7 p.m. Thursday, near the meeting point of Interstate 270 and Interstate 170. Each of the five people involved suffered serious or moderate injuries, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. MSHP reports that a 61-year-old woman was driving a car with two-year-old boy, eight-year-old girl and 10-year-old girl during the collision. The driver lost control of the vehicle, struck a guardrail, then struck another car as she attempted to reenter the roadway. Top Story: Missing Texas teens sold for sex in Missouri The driver in the other car, a 38-year-old man, then struck a concrete median barrier. All five involved in the crash were hospitalized, and the toddler was airlifted to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital for treatment. MSHP states in the report that neither driver was using a seat belt. Troop C, which covers much of t...