Free Republic

Austin’s progressive district attorney is facing criticism in the community after a man who allegedly killed two while committing his 7th DUI is walking the streets after his charges and bond were reduced. Roberto Rangel, 52, was arrested last year in Travis County, Texas, for his 7th DUI that resulted in the deaths of 22-year-old Kate Garcia and 23-year-old Mark Narvaez, Fox 7 Austin reported. Rangel, who has been sentenced to over 14 years in prison for DUIs dating to 1989, reportedly pulled out of a Chick-fil-A parking lot in Austin at 2:45 a.m. and parked his car sideways in...

The Austin Police Association is pointing the finger at Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza after a homeless man – who was let back out on the street, despite violent assault charges – was arrested once again for allegedly stabbing another homeless man to death. The case concerns Hilario Adrian, a 56-year-old homeless man who was arrested in April after he was involved in a violent altercation with another homeless man. Court documents say Adrian attacked the other homeless man with a golf club, and threatened him with a hatchet. He was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Congress on Tuesday during a private briefing that if they do not pass more aid to Ukraine, it would “very likely” lead to U.S. troops fighting a war in Europe.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday that if Israel could face “strategic defeat” if it was not more careful about how it fought Hamas, because more Palestinians might be driven to support the terrorist group . Austin seemed not to know that the vast majority of Palestinians already support Hamas, at least in one recent opinion poll.

The Austin American-Statesman reports that Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo made a comment this week regarding San Antonio at a news conference touting recent successes against the Mexican Mafia. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said the 309 years doled out on Friday are “a tremendous gift to the people of Austin.” “The Mexican Mafia is not welcome in Austin,” Acevedo said. “I hope they go back to San Antonio.” Federal, state and Austin law enforcement officials took part in the Tuesday presser. The Statesman reported: The FBI said the case is the largest joint prosecution of the gang in Austin....

A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly planning to commit a mass casualty incident at a Tesla-sponsored event hosted by CEO Elon Musk. Advertisement According to a Travis County arrest warrant, Paul Ryan Overeem, 28, was booked on suspicion of making a terrorist threat, which is a third-degree felony. Authorities said that on November 9th, the 28-year-old, going by the handle “ufotnoitalumis,” made many online threats against Tesla’s Cybertruck promotional event in Austin, Texas, on Thursday. He conveyed these messages via an Instagram exchange. The threats included: “But yeah so at teh (sic) Tesla event I’m planning to attach...

Despite The Fed’s attempts at cooling inflation down to 2%, we are seeing a re-animation of price increases. this time with home prices. On a year-over-year basis, the Freddie Mac National FMHPI was up 6.0% in October, from up 5.1% YoY in September. The YoY increase peaked at 19.1% in July 2021, and for this cycle, bottomed at up 0.9% in April 2023. … vv Austin TX is the big loser, down -11.2% from peak. Followed by Idaho (largely people escaping from Newsomland (California) and speculators. The sixth leading area is Lake Havasu AZ. Freddie HPI CBSA As of October,...

I think at some point, all of us started referring to [Barton] spring as ‘The Spring,’” said Pedro Villalobos, Chair of the Parks and Recreation Board. “That’s because of the baggage that it carries with it.” We are recommending based off of William Barton’s known ownership of enslaved people – and given the Confederate Monument Resolution passed by City Council – we are recommending that there be an effort to rename Barton Springs,” Villalobos, who served on the working group, continued. William Barton was known as someone who wanted to participate in the extinction of Native Americans,” Marshall said in...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine for the third time on Monday, to reassure its leaders that the United States “will continue to support Ukraine,” despite waning American public support for doing so. “I wanted to reassure the leadership that the United States of America will continue to support Ukraine. And so, you know, we talked about the things that we’re going to continue to do to make sure that they have what they need to be successful on the battlefield,” Austin said at a press conference with reporters.

The footage appears to show the groups outside the Voodoo Room on the historic Sixth Street of Austin's entertainment district. The altercation seems to start when one woman grabs a phone out of the hands of another and a Marine tries to intervene. Then, a man in a white long-sleeve shirt attempts to throw a punch at a different Marine and misses, as a group of his fellow military men rush to his defense. While some Marines try to separate the men as they curse at each other, tensions seem to escalate and an all-out brawl begins. The civilians and...

The gunman who shot dead a hero Texas SWAT officer during a hostage situation was on the terror watchlist, DailyMail.com can reveal. The shooter, who has not been officially named, was flagged to the FBI before he killed elite Austin cop Jorge Pastore on Saturday. Three others who died in the hostage situation were Eman Ahmed El Nemr-Nassar, a mother, Ahmed Mohamed Nassar, 35, her son and Riad Mohamed Nassar, 32, her other son, as confirmed by member's of Austin's Islamic community.

The heads of the State Department and Pentagon on Tuesday warned senators that should lawmakers approve funding for Israel but not Ukraine, Russian President Putin will win. Speaking during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Secretary of State Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin urged senators to keep intact the Biden administration’s $106 billion supplemental request for Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.Though many lawmakers in both parties support a joint package, House Republicans skeptical of additional Ukraine aid have threatened to sink the plan. And Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is pushing an Israel-only package that would also cut billions in funding for...

A grandmother was savagely mauled by three pit bulls while walking down a neighborhood in Austin, Texas. The brutal attack left Maria Perez, 55, with wounds requiring more than 100 stitches and now the family says they want justice. On Monday, Perez was taking an evening stroll with her nephew near her home in Round Rock. A neighbor opened their front door and three aggressive pit bulls leaped out. The dogs started running towards Perez and her nephew. The pair were chased down a dead-end street but the nephew was able to leap out of the way, which left the...

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had sharp words Friday for pro-Palestine protesters who blame Israel for prompting the horrific Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. “This is no time for neutrality or for false equivalence, or for excuses for the inexcusable,” Austin told reporters in Tel Aviv. “There is never any justification for terrorism, and that’s especially true after this rampage by Hamas.”

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Police are asking for the community’s help to find the person who shot and killed a woman in north Austin after what they describe as a “road rage homicide” this past weekend. Homicide Det. Israel Piña told reporters Tuesday afternoon that the victim’s name is Teressa Gandy Ferguson, 46. He said police believe she died from a gunshot wound after getting into a minor crash with someone. This happened at about 6 p.m. Saturday near exit 240 on North Interstate 35, which is the area between Rundberg Lane and Anderson Lane. Police said Ferguson called a friend...

The House Wednesday passed an amendment proposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that would slash the salary of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to $1. Republican lawmakers voted to cut Mr. Austin‘s salary from more than $221,000 annually because of their discontent with his job performance.

With artificial intelligence seemingly infiltrating every facet of our lives, one church decided to experiment with the technology for one of its services last week. The Violet Crown City Church, located in Austin, held an AI-generated service on Sunday, describing the experiment as "uncharted territory." "This Sunday we’re entering somewhat uncharted territory by letting ChatGPT create the order of worship, prayers, sermon, liturgy, and even an original song for our 10 a.m. service," the church wrote on its official Facebook page. "The purpose is to invite us to consider the nature of truth and challenge our assumptions about what God...

Shocking footage has exposed the scene in an Austin park filled with liquor bottles, needles, Narcan and junk 'as far as the eye can see,' as a homeless encampment continues to grow. The videos were of the West Bouldin Creek Greenbelt were posted on Monday by activist Jamie Hammonds, who reports from the Texas capital on the X page @DocumentingATX. 'Another Greenbelt destroyed here in Austin... nothing but trash and junk as far as you can see... this is absolutely horrible,' Hammonds said, adding that the encampment was at least the size of a football field, and you could smell...

Austin police in Texas are asking residents to call 311 if they get robbed near an ATM as the department struggles amid an increase in urban crime and staffing shortages. The Austin Police Department posted a graphic in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, to urge residents to call 311 or make an online report if they’re robbed — 311 is a number usually used for non-emergency requests, as opposed to 911. […] The new protocol comes as the Texas capital grapples with an increase in crime. Compared to 2020, Austin has had a 77% increase in auto...

Austin police in Texas are asking residents to call 311 if they get robbed near an ATM as the department struggles amid an increase in urban crime and staffing shortages. The Austin Police Department posted a graphic in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, to urge residents to call 311 or make an online report if they’re robbed – 311 is a number usually used for non-emergency requests, as opposed to 911. “Even if you are cautious & follow all the safety advice, you may still become the unfortunate victim of a robbery,” the Austin Police Department wrote...