McCallum High School in Austin was placed on lockdown Wednesday after a bomb threat was called in around 2:30 p.m. by someone claiming they were going to bomb and shoot up the school. While still on the phone with the staff, the caller also said they had explosives and were in the neighborhood near the campus.
The origin of the call remains unknown, and authorities report the caller used a voice-altering device. Like a previous threatening call, this one also originated from an unidentified number. The individual, if apprehended, will be charged with false alarm and terroristic threat.
A fifth-grade teacher at Baranoff Elementary School was arrested after he was accused of possessing child pornography.
Jackson Bauer, a mathematics teacher and golf coach at Austin High School, died over the weekend, school officials announced. (CBS Austin)
Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura has scheduled a meeting today with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Segura initiated the meeting with ICE Deputy Field Office Director Sylvester Ortega to gain insight into ICE’s operational practices within Central Texas.
With looming Department of Education budget cuts, Austin educators are expressing heightened concerns about the future of disability services.
The Texas House Committee on Public Education held an exceptionally long hearing, stretching from Tuesday into Wednesday morning, to deliberate the chamber’s Education Savings Account bill, a voucher-like proposal that would allow parents to use state tax dollars for private school tuition. (KUT 90.5)
Senate Bill 568, by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would overhaul the formulas Texas uses to budget for its 775,000 students with disabilities, increasing overall funding, offsetting schools’ costs for initial evaluations and adding new grants and teacher incentives. (Austin American-Statesman)
One person is dead and another was injured after a crash in east Austin last night.
Authorities in Cedar Park reported an accident early this morning.
Austin police have released more information about two recent fatal crashes.
The Hays County Sheriff’s Officed announced the arrests of one adult and one juvenile in an auto burglary spree in the Belterra area.
Austin police continue their investigation into the Sunday shooting death of a writer for InfoWars, a far-right conspiracy website.
The City of Austin’s Homeless Strategy Office closed a 37-acre homeless encampment located near the intersection of westbound Ben White Boulevard and Montopolis Drive. As a result, 32 people were moved to the Northbridge and Southbridge shelters. (Fox7 Austin)
An Austin retailer that sold the recent $83.5 million Lotto Texas jackpot ticket is being investigated by the Texas Lottery Commission for alleged rule violations, following license revocations for other retailers involved with lottery courier services. (Austin American-Statesman)
An outbreak of measles that began here in Texas has now spread to 14 other states and that has medical experts alarmed.
Austin Public Health officials are seeking more bond money for various services and projects. (Austin Monitor)
Austin has launched a hiring campaign to help fill its 2,400 open jobs and they’re targeting those who have been recently laid off. (KUT 90.5)
Dozens of UT Austin students rallied Wednesday against crackdowns on free speech at college campuses.
The demonstration was in response to the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, and an “ongoing crackdown” on protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
SpaceX’s facility in Bastrop is set to expand by one million square feet over three years after receiving a Texas grant. (Austin Business Journal)
Bungalow, a popular spot on Rainey Street that closed in 2022 is reopening. (Austin Business Journal)
The latest from South By Southwest…
Former First Lady Michelle Obama is expected in town today for an appearance at SXSW.
Austin-Travis County EMS has set up a field hospital downtown to quickly respond to emergencies and 911 calls in the area during SXSW. (CBS Austin)
WEATHER
5-DAY FORECAST /AUSTIN, TEXAS
A potentially historic severe weather outbreak, threatening widespread tornadoes and life-threatening conditions, is forecast across a vast 500,000-square-mile region of the central and southern United States, home to over 100 million people. (AccuWeather)
Take a look up at the skies overnight and early tomorrow morning to see the sun, moon and Earth aligning, creating a “blood worm moon.”
The four fastest growing counties in Texas are Kaufman, Liberty, Montgomery and Caldwell. (Texas Tribune)
An explosion at substation caused green and yellow flames to burst out of a manhole at Texas Tech on Wednesday.
Robert Morris, founding pastor of Gateway Church, a megachurch in Southlake, has been indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, stemming from alleged incidents dating back to the 1980’s.
Two measures penalizing the distribution of AI-generated sexual content depicting children and non-consenting adults now move to the House. (Texas Scorecard)
A push by Republican legislators aimed at helping property owners deal with squatters may actually weaken rights for all renters. (Texas Tribune)
The Texas Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would create a task force to combat the escalating issue of petroleum theft in the state. (Texas Public Radio)
Today’s episode of Texas Minute…
And the latest episode of NPR’s Texas Standard looks at how the fight against the measles outbreak in West Texas is being hampered in part by poor infrastructure.
Will the tariff battle between affect Texas?
SPORTS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Freshman guard Tre Johnson and graduate guard Tramon Mark both posted 19 points to lead Texas (18-14) to a 79-72 victory over Vanderbilt (20-12) in a SEC Tournament First Round contest in Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, the Longhorns advance to face No. 14/16 Texas A&M today at 2:30 p.m. (Texas Longhorns)
In the Big 12 Conference Tournament today, the No. 1 seeded Houston Cougars face 16-seed Colorado while second-seeded Texas Tech goes against 7th-seeded Baylor. (Yahoo! Sports)
COLLEGE BASEBALL: The Texas Longhorns are in Starkville this weekend for a series against Mississippi State.
NBA: De’Aaron Fox had 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs snapped a three-game skid, beating the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks 126-116 on Wednesday night. (Yahoo! Sports)
Jalen Green had 29 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-104 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night in a game where Houston’s Steven Adams and Phoenix’s Mason Plumlee were ejected for fighting. (Yahoo! Sports)
All three Texas teams are idle tonight.
Today we’re daytripping to Port Arnasas…
