Authorities are looking for answers in the two mass shootings over the weekend that killed 31 people and left several dozen wounded.
Investigators in the El Paso, Texas shooting are zeroing in on a racist screed posted online before the shooting to try to link it to the suspect.
In Dayton, Ohio, even more questions remain about what spurred the suspected shooter to target a popular nightlife stretch in an attack that left the suspect’s sister among the dead.
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President Trump’s suggestion of passing Red Flag gun laws in the wake of the shootings in El Paso and Dayton is not expected to garner much support at the State Capitol. These laws would allow the courts to order the seizure of guns from people deemed to be an imminent threat. Alice Tripp of the Texas State Rifle Association testified against the laws after the shooting at Santa Fe High School and she stands by that today.
“This is ‘your ex-mother-in-law doesn’t like you, take your gun bills.’ It’s an allegation. There’s no support, there’s no due process. It’s terrible,” she says.
Despite Red Flag gun laws having the support of 72-percent of Texans the latest State Republican Party Platform opposes them.
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Austin’s City Manager is recommending the City grab for all it can as he presents the proposed 2020 Austin City budget. City Manager Spencer Cronk says the city should put the tax rate at eight percent, just shy of the current roll back rate.
“The resulting additional revenue will enable us to make a substantial, one-time investment in two of our highest priority strategic outcomes: housing and homelessness,” Cronk says.
According to Cronk, this would place the city budget in the strongest financial position before the state’s new roll back rate a-k-a tax caps take effect.
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A major warning for pet owners. The City of Austin says you should keep your pets out of Lady Bird Lake following the recent deaths of two dogs. While the city can’t confirm the cause of either death, there are tests being run on blue-green algae samples which may be toxic. Some blue-green algae can fatally impact a dog’s liver. The city says about 40-percent of the surface is covered in algae.
