1. BATTERED BAHAMAS IN NEED AFTER DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.
Thousands of desperate hurricane survivors in the island nation are seeking help in Dorian’s aftermath as the death toll reaches 20. The Category 3 hurricane leaves tens of thousands without power as it threatens to inundate low-lying coasts from Georgia to Virginia with a life-threatening storm surge.
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2. POLICE RESPONSE TIMES GROW LARGER
It’s taking police longer to get to you these days than it once did. That’s according to Cory Jaster, president-elect of the Greater Austin Crime Commission who tells Fox 7 response times have gone up by about two minutes since 2011 at an understaffed police department with a rapidly growing workload.
“Especially now with this homeless problem,” he says. “Our officers are having to not only deal with that, and deal with their calls, and deal with day-to-day jobs, and on top of that, trying to get in the community.”
The average response time is now up to 8 minutes and 40 seconds, up from 6 minutes and 45 seconds.
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3. TEXAS DEMS DEMAND SPECIAL SESSION
On Wednesday, Texas House Democrats waged a state-wide effort to pressure Governor Abbott into calling a Special Session of the State Legislature to deal with Gun Violence. Rice University Political Scientist Mark Jones says there’s also plenty of pressure on Abbott NOT to call one.
“With the controversy surrounding Dennis Bonnen, I think the last thng the government would actually want is a special session. Essentially ripping open all of the wounds of the Texas GOP,” Jones says.
Jones adds that a special session would also lead to a flood of gun control legislation Texas Republicans don’t favor.
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4. HIDDEN CAMERA FOUND INSIDE LAKEWAY RESTAURANT
The general manager of the Canyon Grill at Rough Hollow restaurant in Lakeway has been accused of secretly taking video of women. Police say Jean-Christophe Barrett is facing four counts of invasive visual recording. A 16-year-old girl found the camera in the restaurant’s bridal room, which may have recording women changing their clothing.
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5. HOUSE GOP NUMBERS DWINDLE FURTHER
Two more House Republicans are retiring rather than seek reelection next year, bringing the number of GOP retirements to 15. At least four of those House seats present an opportunity for Democratic pickups, complicating the GOP’s bid to take back the majority. Joining their Republican colleagues in retirement are Wisconsin’s Jim Sensenbrenner and Texas’ Bill Flores. A House Democrat, Susan Davis of California, says she too won’t run again, joining three other Democrats so far.