After being denied a recount, Austin mayoral hopeful Carmen Llanes Pulido conceded to incumbent Mayor Kirk Watson late on Friday.
A Bastrop school district bus carrying 44 students was involved in a crash at the intersection of Highway 71 and Blue Flame Road early Friday, but no one on board was seriously injured. (Austin American-Statesman)
ATCEMS responded to two late night crashes that injured a total of eleven people.
A man was sentenced to eight years in prison after seriously injuring two Bexar County deputies in a crash in 2020. (Fox7 Austin)
The Austin Police Department is seeking the public’s help to find a suspect wanted in connection with a north Austin robbery that happened last month.
Delta Air Lines announced a new nonstop route from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Jacksonville, FL starting May 7, 2025. (CBS Austin)
Hawaiian Airlines is canceling its only nonstop flights between Austin and Honolulu in March 2025. It is the only direct flight from Central Texas to Hawaii. (My SanAntonio)
ABIA says it’s expecting passenger traffic to pick up next week and they’re working to be prepared. Staffing issues with air traffic control officers have been an issue recently. (CBS Austin)
American Airlines is expanding a new system to catch passengers who try to sneak ahead in line. (Austin CultureMap)
Austin lawmakers are proposing plans to build a high-speed rail on I-35. The goal of House Bill 483 is to connect Dallas, Austin, and San António, using high-speed rail.
With ongoing construction closures and frequent accidents creating hours of gridlock, some Austin-area residents are turning to public transportation. (KVUE-TV)
A proposal more than a decade in the making could bring additional toll lanes to the MoPac Expressway in South Austin.
Trader Joe’s is planning a fourth location in the Austin area. The specialty grocery store filed plans on Nov. 22 — this one in Bee Cave. (Austin Business Journal)
A judge is weighing whether a temporary injunction halting the construction of an industrial warehouse near Bee Cave should remain in place until the case can go to trial. (Austin American-Statesman)
The Republic tower downtown has a new tenant, and with it downtown Austin’s tallest office tower is now 50% leased.
New York-based Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, an international law firm, signed a full-floor lease at the under-construction Republic, taking all 28,000 square feet of the 32nd floor.
The lease was signed as the 48-story tower rapidly approaches its topping out early next year, and Pillsbury joins several other law and financial services firms in the Fourth Street office building. (Austin Business Journal)
The Austin Fire Department held a demonstration yesterday on the dangers of deep frying your Thanksgiving turkey. (Austin American-Statesman)
Local business owners will now have a way of getting involved with sustainable energy while making passive income through a new incentive program from Austin Energy.
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
The city of Austin will simplify its process for activating cold weather shelters by activating the shelters when the forecasted overnight temperatures are 35 degrees or below, which is a change from the city’s “multi-tiered activation system.” (KXAN-TV)
The Texas State Board of Education narrowly approved a controversial set of state-developed instructional materials Friday that’s received significant backlash from some teachers, parents and civil rights groups for the inclusion and prevalence of Bible stories in the elementary reading lessons.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and three senior aides do not have to testify in a wrongful termination case filed by four whistleblowers against Paxton’s office. (Austin American-Statesman)
A group of Texas Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about the expansion of a University of Texas System program that would pay for the tuition of some qualifying Texas students. (Fox7 Austin)
Texas State University will receive a $1.3 million federal grant to help train schools in the state to better tackle the rising threat of violence against teachers. (Austin American-Statesman)
President-elect Donald Trump nominated former state House lawmaker Scott Turner to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday night, the first Texan to find a seat in Trump’s second Cabinet. (Texas Tribune)
The San Antonio City Council officially declared that drug overdoses are a public health crisis.
More than a dozen abandoned migrants were recently rescued from the rugged terrain near the Texas-Mexico border.
Border Patrol agents received a distress call on Nov. 16 after multiple migrants and several children were found in what officials described as an “extremely remote” area of Big Bend National Park. (KVUE-TV)
A Florida man and business owner was arrested this week for pretending to be billionaire Elon Musk and defrauding an elderly Texas woman out of at least a quarter million dollars. (My SanAntonio)
SPORTS
Digital game program: (.pdf file)
No. 15 Texas A&M is at Auburn tonight at 6:30 p.m. (Yahoo! Sports)
Freshman Tre Johnson recorded a game-high 17 points to pace Texas (5-1) to a 67-58 victory against Saint Joseph’s (4-2) in the championship game of the UKG Legends Classic Friday evening in Barclays Center.
No. 14 Texas Volleyball rolled to a sweep of Oklahoma, 25-14, 25-15, 25-19, behind an incredible match from Madisen Skinner on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,325 at McCasland Field House.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: All the scores from regional high school football playoff action. (KXAN-TV)
In the NBA last night, the Dallas Mavericks were down 24 points to Denver but rallied and defeated the Nuggets on the road 123-120. (Yahoo! Sports)
Dallas is off tonight while the Houston Rockets host Portland and the San Antonio Spurs host Golden State. (Yahoo! Sports)
Tonight in hockey, the Dallas Stars (12-6) are in Tampa to face the Stanley Cup champion Lightning (10-6-2) at 6:00 p.m. (Yahoo! Sports)
Meet Caleb Helsel, an avid birder turned dragonfly enthusiast from Austin.
As scientists use new Environmental DNA (eDNA) technology to help track dragonfly species all over the world, enthusiasts like Caleb still play a crucial role in their conservation and protection.
