1. SOUTHEAST TEXAS POUNDED BY FLOODWATER
Floodwaters are starting to recede in most of the Houston area after the remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda flooded parts of Texas, leaving at least two people dead.
Officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, say there’ve been a combination of at least 1,700 high-water rescues and evacuations to get people to shelter.
The storm also flooded parts of southwestern Louisiana.
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2. TRUMP AT ODDS WITH CONGRESS OVER WHISTLEBLOWER
The government’s intelligence watchdog says a whistleblower’s blocked complaint that never got to Congress is “serious” and “urgent.” President Donald Trump’s administration is keeping Congress from even learning what exactly the whistleblower is alleging. The whistleblower’s reported complaint is about incidents including a private conversation between Trump and a foreign leader.
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3. AMAZON EXPANDS IN AUSTIN… AGAIN
Back in March, Amazon announced a plan to expand its presence in the Domain and add up to 800 new jobs there. Now, the online retailer has announced another expansion which will add 600 new employees to its tech hub in North Austin. Amazon employs more than 5600 people across the metro.
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4. HOMELESS CAMPING RESTRICTIONS UP FOR COUNCIL VOTE
Today is the day the Austin City Council will take a final vote on changes to the homeless ordinances regarding sitting, lying, and camping in public. On Wednesday, the council sat through a marathon five-hour meeting on the issue, hearing from dozens of people. Critics say the council is pandering to activists. Supporters of the current ordinance accue those critics of wanting to criminalize homelessness
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5. PUBLIC POOPERS FACE DOWNTOWN DELAY
Austin City Council member Kathie Tovo is extremely disappointed the solar powered public restrooms for downtown are not ready for delivery and installation.
The company making the restrooms reports manufacturing delays. Delivery is now set for 2020.
Taxpayers will pay up to $140,000 for three solar powered restrooms. Tovo says the public restrooms were needed years ago.
