AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A federal judge is fining Texas Health and Human Services officials $100,000 dollars per day for failing to investigate abuse and neglect allegations in the foster care system in a timely manner.  According to an order issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Janis Jack found HHSC's Executive Commissioner Cecile Erwin Young in contempt for violating two of the judge's previously ordered reforms to these types of investigations. BACKGROUND: Texas foster kids’ lawyers ask federal judge to consider ‘drastic’ step for reforms For more 13 years, Jack has presided over an ongoing fed ..read more

AUSTIN (KXAN) — One person was arrested following a deadly early morning crash on East Riverside Drive in southeast Austin, according to a release from the Austin Police Department. APD said police responded to a vehicle-pedestrian crash around 2:26 a.m. on April 12 near 1700 East Riverside Drive and Lakeshore Boulevard. The pedestrian, identified by police as 37-year-old Aaron Alcala Hernandez, was pronounced dead at the scene ..read more

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Advocates are pointing to new pictures and videos filmed inside two temporary housing locations for some Texas foster children as evidence that longstanding issues in the state's child welfare system persist. Houston-based human rights advocate Dr. Candice Matthews also provided KXAN with a first-hand account from a child who described living in one of the state's unlicensed placements with broken walls and a lack of food. ‘Nightmare’: Former Texas foster care workers describe dangerous living conditions inside unlicensed placements As KXAN has previously reported, the state o ..read more

AUSTIN (KXAN) - People who live near Shiloh Drive off of Menchaca Road in south Austin saw what they counted as 11 dead dogs in Boggy Creek. “It’s pretty disturbing,” said Jason Brooks, who saw the dogs. “I’m an animal lover. [It] was a hard day for me.” The Austin Police Department said it is “currently conducting an investigation in the vicinity of Shiloh Drive” in collaboration with Animal Protection. The department said it’s in the preliminary stages of the investigation, and it does not have any further information to release at this time. Brooks said he walks his dogs on the trail next t ..read more

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) -- The Leander Police Department is investigating a deadly crash that is causing heavy traffic delays, the agency said on social media Monday. The crash happened on U.S. Highway 183 at Sheila Drive, according to police. Police said southbound U.S. 183 and Sheila at Glass Drive are closed, and northbound U.S. 183 is open. Drivers should expect delays or seek an alternate route, as police said the closure "will last for hours ..read more

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — Jordan McCloud won conference player of the year in the Sun Belt in 2023. When James Madison's head coach left for Indiana, McCloud entered his name in the transfer portal in hopes of finding a new home for his seventh year of college football. Not only will he have seven years of college football under his belt, but McCloud is now with his fourth team. After spending three seasons at South Florida, two at Arizona and one at James Madison, he's now at Texas State ..read more

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Many dog owners believe their pets understand and respond not only to commands such as “sit” and “stay,” but also to words referring to their favorite objects. “Bring me your ball” will often result in exactly that. But science has had trouble determining whether dogs and other animals genuinely activate a mental image in their minds when they hear the name of an object, something that would suggest a deeper grasp of language, similar to the kind that humans have. A new study in Hungary has found that beyond being able to respond to commands like “roll over ..read more

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) -- Popular tax preparer H&R Block experienced issues with the company's electronic filing software Monday as many tried to submit their taxes by the end of day on April 15. Many users said they got "bad gateway" or "502" errors when filing online. The issue started Sunday night and extended into Monday, the deadline day for individual income tax returns, according to user reports and DownDetector. Many users commenting on DownDetector also claimed to have repeated H&R Block charges for each failed filing attempt. Just before 4 p.m. EST, H&R Block reported tha ..read more

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After the Texas Longhorns made a big splash in the transfer portal Sunday with three commitments, two of their most productive players announced Monday that they'll leave the program. Dillon Mitchell announced on social media that he'll enter the transfer portal and test the NBA Draft waters again like he did last season before returning to Texas. Mitchell scored 9.6 points per game and grabbed 7.5 rebounds in his sophomore season for the Longhorns. MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at k ..read more

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- An arrest warrant was issued for who police believe is a suspected organizer of a July 2023 street takeover in Austin. On July 29, 2023, the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to the events, which ended at the intersection of South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Springs Road. Three people were taken to the hospital after the street takeover, according to police ..read more