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Former Round Rock pastor pleads guilty child pornography charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A former Round Rock pastor pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to an "enhanced charge of possession of child pornography," according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.David Lloyd Walther, 57, knowingly searched for, downloaded, distributed and possessed child sexual abuse material, including child pornography—some of which depicted prepubescent minors—using BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file sharing network, according to the DOJ.Two large computers were found during a search of Walther's home and vehicle in November 2022 that contained more than 100,000 images and more than 5,000 videos of child sex abuse material, the release said. DOJ: Round Rock pastor arrested on child pornography charges Walther was the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Round Rock at the time of his arrest, the release said.According to the DOJ, Walther faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. A federal district court judge will determ...

Texas lawmaker files bill to ban affirmative action after SCOTUS ruling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action admissions for private and public universities Thursday, a Texas representative filed legislation to codify it.State Rep. Carl Tepper, R-Lubbock, filed House Bill 54 to prohibit public universities and colleges from adopting affirmative action policies. Only one school, University of Texas-Austin, uses affirmative action. Tepper admits, his proposal's chances are "not strong," considering lawmakers just commenced a second special session with only one call on the agenda: property tax relief. "You never know, it might inspire somebody to add to add it to the call," he said. "We want people to not have an advantage or disadvantage of their race going into the future and giving them the privileges of higher education or a job," he said. In Texas, only the governor has the power of setting the agenda for special sessions. Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to eventually call legislators back for a special sessi...

Why an article you may have seen on Austin homelessness is 'not based in fact'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for June 29, 2023AUSTIN (KXAN) -- An article written by a news outlet outside of Austin claims there are 10,000 people living in tent communities in the city right now. KXAN viewers have reached out asking why we haven't reported the number. The answer: It isn't contextually accurate. So let's break it down. Where does the 10,000 number come from? The article cited a page of the City of Austin's website, which very briefly describes an external study done in 2020: "While the most recent Point in Time Count estimated that 2,506 people experience homelessness on any given night, National Consultants put our homeless population at about 10,000 out of the million Travis County residents, so roughly 1 percent." But looking through the study hyperlinked shows national consultants largely used city and Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) data to model the number of people who may use se...

Some folks in Bee Cave were left with little water pressure Thursday. Here’s why. 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Some West Travis County Public Utility Agency customers were left with little to no water pressure Thursday morning. A Bee Cave city official said this was due to an increased number of residences irrigating their lawns amid drought restrictions. “We had a string of very hot days, and we had the highest irrigation demand that we've had so far this year,” Bee Cave City Manager Clint Garza said.“That will drain the storage tanks that we have in place, and it takes a while for the system to recover. So we lost pressure on portions of the system,” he continued. Garza said the West Travis Couty PUA is currently in stage 1 of drought restrictions. This means that homes and businesses are allowed to irrigate their outdoor living spaces only twice a week. “We don't have a ton of users that consistently irrigate on off days, but of course, that does happen,” Garza said. “On the other side, some folks want to make sure that their investment in their landscaping ...

Report: Texas' abortion restrictions led to nearly 9,800 more births

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Senate Bill 8, the Texas law called one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country at the time of its passing, resulted in almost 9,800 more births in the state, according to a new analysis.The study, from Johns Hopkins University, estimates 9,799 births in Texas between April and December 2022 were because of the state law.SB 8, signed by Gov. Abbott in May 2021, prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. While the bill doesn't specify a timeframe, heartbeats can be detected as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant.A previous study, led by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, found a 39.7% decrease in facility-based abortions in the month after SB 8 went into effect. Out-of-state abortions that same month increased by 500%."There has been a lot of speculation about how restrictive abortion policies will affect the number of babies being born. This research adds valuable information...

Wild add lots of center depth (and more Minnesotans) in 2023 NHL Draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — There’s no doubt the Wild loved their selection of Rosemount native Charlie Stramel in the first round of the NHL draft on Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena. They had the 18-year-old center highly rated on their list of players and were thrilled he was available for them with the No. 21 overall pick.That said, the Wild still had a tough decision on their hands when they were on the clock because they actually had someone else ranked ahead of Stramel on their list.Though he wouldn’t provide the name of the other prospect, general manager Bill Guerin confirmed Thursday that the Wild did indeed skip over the best player available to instead pick Stramel because he fills a position of need.“Yeah,” Guerin said while acknowledging the lack of center depth within the prospect pool. “We really felt we needed to fill that void.”That’s emblematic of a blueprint that the Wild followed throughout the 2023 NHL draft. They added six ...

New wellness program for older adults in Castleton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

CASTLETON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A housing complex for older adults is launching a new program to help its residents stay active. The Spinney at Pond View in Castleton held a ribbon cutting on Thursday to celebrate the start of Spinney Life, a wellness program designed for active adults living in their communities.Organizers said it will benefit the physical and mental health of the residents. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "But it's more than just providing them with a roof over their head," Livewell Group Pres. and CEO Morgan Ruthman said. "It's providing them with the types of resources that they can thrive with. That they can interconnect with their community members with."They also hope the program can be a model as more people live longer and want to remain independent.

57 groups receive Love Your Block funding in Albany

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Dozens of Albany neighborhood projects received new funding through the city's Love Your Block program. The grant, now in it's second year, helps Albany homeowners, businesses, and community groups make repairs to their buildings.The money will also finance some community events that officials said will help uplift and connect neighborhoods. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "We aim to fight blight through material services and resource distribution, but another just as important way to fight blight is having people depend on each other as neighbors because we cannot improve Albany alone," Love Your Block Fellow Erin Johanns said.Fifty-seven recipients received this year's funding. Projects will begin in July and are expected to continue through the end of October.

Plans discussed to reopen North Adams Regional Hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (NEWS10) -- Berkshire Health Systems is working to expand access to healthcare in northern Berkshire County. Officials unveiled plans on Thursday to reopen North Adams Regional Hospital within the next year. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! It would hold up to 25 in-patient beds as well as imaging, lab and pharmacy services, and an emergency department. New federal regulations made the hospital eligible for a critical access hospital designation, meaning it can receive additional federal funding. The exact opening date depends on approval from state and federal regulators.A union representing nurses applauded the decision and said community members have suffered from years of a lack of access to care. They're calling on Berkshire Health to open the hospital even if it does not receive a critical access hospital designation.

State fire marshal urges Missourians not to set off fireworks amid drought

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:37 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - It's hot and dry and because of drought conditions across Missouri. The state fire marshal is asking residents to avoid using fireworks this Fourth of July.As drought conditions continue to worsen, the state's top fire official is warning Missourians, anything that can cause a spark, like a cigarette or firework, have a greater change of starting a fire and because of this dry weather, it can spread twice as fast."We are alarmed at the conditions and if people aren't wise and considerate of that, we could see some dramatic situations," Missouri State Fire Marshal Tim Bean said.With nearly all of Missouri currently experiencing a drought, firework safety is even more pivotal this year. Under state statute, Bean does not have the authority to prohibit firearms because of the drought. Instead, county commissioners can decide to put a burn ban into place. ‘Devastating loss’ – Sk8 Liborius burns down in overnight fire "I have taken many phone calls in the last sev...