The
UT posted the following statement on its website:
Evacuation due to threats on campus. Immediately evacuate ALL buildings and get as far away as possible. More information to come.
The Austin American-Statesman quoted a UT official as saying the university had received “multiple bomb threats to multiple buildings”. Here’s more from the Statesman:
At 8:35 a.m. the university received a call from a male with a middle eastern accent claiming to have placed bombs all over campus. He said he was with Al Qaeda and these bombs would go off in 90 minutes. President Powers was notified and it was decided to evacuate all of the buildings out of an abundance of caution.
Updated at 10:30 a.m.: Another campus, North Dakota State University in Fargo, is being evacuated this morning, according to www.valleynewslive.com. Here’s more.
Updated at 11:15 a.m.: Another campus threat is being reported, this one at Valparaiso University in Indiana. No evacuations there; the University’s website is alerting students and others on campus to “an unspecified threat.”
NPR’s blog The Two Way is following the developments here.
Updated at noon: UT has reopened buildings on campus, according to the official university Twitter feed. Classes are canceled the rest of the day; other campus activities will resume at 5 p.m.
Texas Rangers top 3 million in home attendance
The Texas Rangers have topped 3 million in home attendance for the first time in club history.
The mark was set with paid attendance of 36,102 for Thursday night's game in Arlington. The Cleveland Indians snapped a five-game losing streak, beating the Rangers 5-4.
Rangers officials say total attendance so far this season has reached 3,003,143. Texas still has 10 home games, including Friday night against Seattle.
The previous home attendance record for the Rangers was set last year at 2,946,949.
AP
3 bodies found after Killeen apartments burn
Firefighters have discovered three bodies in the burned rubble of a Central Texas apartment complex.
The Killeen Fire Department did not immediately identify the bodies located Friday morning. Fire Chief J.D. Gardner says all three bodies were in the same unit.
Gardner says a woman at the scene reported that her mother and another woman were unable to escape the flames that destroyed the 24-unit Casa Tejas Apartments.
Killeen police say two people were hurt and have been taken to a hospital. Their conditions weren't immediately released.
KWTX-TV reports authorities believe the blaze started in a lower unit of the two-story complex. No cause has been determined. The fire was brought under control by about 3 a.m. Friday.
AP
Big Day For Big Givers In North Texas
North Texas Giving Day – yesterday – set an all-time record: $14.4 million in 17 hours.
Brent Christopher is CEO of Communities Foundation of Texas – organizer of the day-long event to benefit local non-profit organizations. He says he’s blown away by the generosity.
“We had no way of knowing that the response on this year’s North Texas Giving Day would be so off the charts great,” said Christopher. “To our knowledge this is the most generous amount of community giving on a single day, giving day initiative, anywhere in the country.”
Yesterday’s donations surpassed last year by 35 percent. Christopher says it shows how much the North Texas community values the work non-profits do.
BJ Austin, KERA News