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The children were sexually and physically abused and suffered from neglectful supervision and medical neglect while at The Refuge, a facility located in Bastrop contracted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, a current Refuge employee reported to state authorities on Jan. 24. The court and the court monitors — watchdogs of the foster care system appointed by the judge — were not notified until Thursday. That employee said a former staff member sold nude photos of two children in the facility’s care, using the proceeds to purchase illegal drugs and alcohol that were then supplied to the...

Amid mounting calls for Rodney Reed's exoneration, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is just the latest in a long line of state leaders, politicians, and celebrities calling on Governor Greg Abbott to take a closer look at evidence, and to at least put a pause on the execution process. Reed is scheduled to be executed November 20, but on Monday, CBS Austin caught up with Cruz at a Veterans Day event in Pflugerville, where he said the state needs to take a harder look at the evidence in the Reed case. "This particular case, there had been meaningful and serious questions...

3:25 a.m. update: As Tropical Storm Harvey has dropped more than a foot of rain in several parts of Bastrop County over the past 24 hours, officials have issued mandatory and voluntary evacuations. Two homes along the 500 block of Texas 95 north of Bastrop are under mandatory evacuation, according to Bastrop County officials. Officials have also issued voluntary evacuation orders to residents along 2 Mile Lane from FM 535 to Texas 71; the entire Ponderosa Road south of the 200 block, including Brody Blvd., Baily Blvd., Peyton Place, Guinn Road and Nut Lane; and Crafts Prarie Road from Mesa...

To hear the conspiracy theorists tell it, a labyrinth of tunnels is being built under Walmart stores for military attacks on civilians, and an orchestrated financial crisis will lead to martial law, U.S. troops patrolling chaotic streets, and a dictatorship under President Barack Obama. […] While such views represent the fringes of American political opinion, they reflect a broader suspicion of the federal government that has run deep in Texas for years. The U.S. Army Special Operations Command exercise, called Jade Helm 15, has brought these fears to a crescendo, particularly in Bastrop. Some of the exercises, scheduled from July...

The engulfing flames of a Texas wildfire quickly shifted directions and burned two-thirds of the 6,000-acre park at Bastrop State Park. This clip from the Texas Park and Wildlife Department shows the intensity of the flames in real time.

An armed man hijacked a Capital Metro transit bus Saturday afternoon and led police on a 30-mile chase from Austin to Bastrop before pulling the bus over and killing himself, police say. The man had boarded the bus about 4:30 p.m. in the 8000 block of Thaxton Road in Southeast Austin. He forced the driver and all of the passengers off the bus at gunpoint before taking the wheel of the bus and heading east. At some point, police spotted the bus and began to pursue it. They headed east on Highway 71 as police several times tried to get...

BASTROP, Texas – The number of homes destroyed by a Texas wildfire has risen to 1,554 and is expected to further increase as firefighters enter more areas where the blaze has been extinguished, officials said Sunday. Seventeen people remain unaccounted for.

Firefighting-trained volunteers from around the state converged on Bastrop and Smithville Tuesday to lend a hand to the beleaguered local firefighters battling the Bastrop County Complex Fire — only to be sent away as federal officials arrived at the scene and took command, apparently because local officials never made a formal request for volunteers. “We were at the station getting set up into strike teams, and this guy came up and said that the U.S. Forest Service had ‘assumed control of the situation, and that ‘If you don’t have a vehicle that squirts water, go home,’” said Gordon Greer of...

UPDATE 7:30 P.M.: Mark Stanford, the fire chief for the Texas Forest Service , said subdivisions have been evacuated there but they have no estimate on what structures have been lost. People are being told to evacuate to the First Baptist Church in Smithville and Bastrop Middle School, Stanford said. In addition, State Highways 71 and 21 in Bastrop County have been closed, Stanford said. Update, 6:48 p.m.: Wildfires have consumed more than 6,000 acres in Bastrop County, and firefighters are still working to get the blazes under control. According to Bastrop Police Department Spokesman Michal Hubbard, hundreds of homes...

New age philosophy! False gods! Violence on the walls! Slaves in the cotton fields! Scandalous, I tell you. “When she showed it to me, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ ” said Hansell, who added that the mural presents a new age idea of peace and unity that could be confusing to Christian students. Hansell said she’d also like a more positive image of African Americans. “It doesn’t even represent even a fingernail of the faith here in Bastrop County and what (residents) believe.”Among the images on the mural are an Aztec sun, ancient Egypt’s King Tutankhamen, Buddha and Shiva,...

BASTROP (TV8) - Morehouse Parish Sheriff Danny McGrew confirms two Bastrop police officers were shot and killed Friday afternoon in downtown Bastrop. McGrew says one suspect was also shot and killed. Two emergency medical technicians were shot and wounded. One was reported to be in surgery at Morehouse General Hospital. At least one other suspect was said to be in a standoff with police at the Best Budget Inn on South Franklin Street near the courthouse square. McGrew said the suspects were possibly persons of interest in a double homicide in Texas, but that was not confirmed. TV8 News reporter...

TX Freepers: I need a couple of favors: First, please send out prayers to the family of Kimberly "Kim" Goss, age 32, who died on Valentine's Day in a car wreck near Austin, TX where she lived. Second, if you can find out any additional information on the accident such as any alcohol impairment, negligence, other factors or details, etc., please let me know. DPS is being very quiet about the guy that killed Kim. They have only told us that he is male, no age, name, condition, etc. Third, if someone near there could tell me where this accident...