Gowalla, Austin’s little check-in app that could, has gained steam by connecting to a big engine. CNN’s very popular public news feature, iReport -- which boasts submitted footage from every country in the world and the hundreds of thousands of words those pictures are worth -- has called Gowalla users to its aid. more ›

SXSW: By the numbers from CNN on Vimeo.

At yesterday's "Texas-sized Town Hall" at the Austin Convention Center, Senator Hillary Clinton's media entourage was forced to work out of a men's bathroom in a nearby community center. "It was immediately interpreted as something of a metaphor for the Clinton campaign's attitude to the press: With Sen. Hillary Clinton at Austin's convention center for 'a Texas-sized townhall,' her media entourage was taken to its work space — in a men's room of a separate community center." A campaign representative was quick to apologize, saying, "These accommodations should in no way be taken as a commentary on the quality of our media coverage.” Still, too late for the ensuing shit storm. more ›

...Obama delineates his popularity, and receives the longest applause yet. Hillary shifts, the glow in her eyes flickers. Something has changed, and she can taste it. Maybe the phrase that crosses her mind is 'tipping point'. more ›

Photos from last night's historic CNN/Univision Debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton. All photos by Steve Hopson for Austinist.com. more ›

Photo by Steve Hopson for Austinist.com
• For those who are watching from home but don't have access to CNN, local PBS affiliate KLRU will be airing the debate on tape-delay, starting at 9pm
• DailyKos has an informative rundown of each democratic candidate's proposed legislation and their record in the Senate (thanks, MikeB)
• Chelsea Clinton will speak at ACC’s South Austin Campus tomorrow morning at 9:45am. The event is free and open to the public

CNN today announced that Campbell Brown, NBC News' White House correspondent during President George W. Bush's first term and host of a new prime-time news program that's set to debut this month, will anchor next Thursday's debate. CNN chief national correspondent John King and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos will serve as panelists asking questions of the candidates during the debate. more ›

*Here's a hint: We've heard a rumor that in past CNN debates, they want more undecideds in the audience. Take that for what it's worth... more ›

If you'd been holding out hope to attend next week's historic Presidential Debate at UT Austin, you're in luck! Make that a tiny bit of luck. more ›

Well, while we were all was guessing The LBJ Library, Hogg Auditorium or The Frank Erwin Center, UT has announced that the February 21 Democratic Debate will officially be held at The Recreation Sports Center. more ›

Meanwhile, both Obama and Clinton are pulling out all the stops to appeal to our state's Hispanic population, which account for as much as 25% of Texas' eligible voters, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Obama today launched a Spanish radio ad (mp3) stressing his humble working-class roots. Each campaign is also spending upwards of $1 million on TV ads that began running this week. more ›

Image of the winning plate from TxDOT
• We're hoping for Soledad O'Brien as moderator: Obama and Hillary to appear next Thursday the 21st in CNN/Univision-sponsored debate in Austin.
• Bloggers can moderate debates, too: Eileen Smith from In the Pink Texas (and Texas Monthly) and Karen Brooks from the DMN will moderate the Democratic Senate debate between candidates Noriega and McMurrey in Austin this Wednesday, Feb. 13.
• 4 men arrested for the kidnapping last week of Adrian Jaimes; one of them is his father's cousin.

Today's Mega News Bits by Patrick Dentler and Rebecca Onion
• Asian markets fall; the Fed is really, really worried.
• Not convinced Giuliani's a dangerous, power-mad nutcase? Read this.

In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and... more ›

Logo from Austin Jewish Book Fair Keynote Lecture: "Iraq, Al Qaeda, and the Future of Israel" with Jeffrey Goldberg and Lawrence WrightSunday, November 11Jewish Community Association of Austin (7300 Hart Lane)7:30pm, $12 Gen Ad, $10 Students/Seniors/JCC Members[info] | [tickets] Austin Graphics and Comics Night with Paul Benjamin and Terry and Patty LaBanThursday, November 8Barnes and Noble Westlake (701 S. Capital of Texas)7:30pm, Free[info]Less than four days are left in the 2007 Austin Jewish Book Fair,... more ›

In case you’ve been holed up in your apartment/home/condo with no electricity for the past few days, we’re sad to tell you that Southern California is currently being devoured by raging wildfires, and there are no signs of the fires stopping. CNN is updating like, every 2.3 minutes, and it’s one of the most devastating things we’ve ever seen. Times like these, it feels like there’s not much you can do but sit and refresh... more ›

Having nearly completed world domination, Google turns eyes to the heavens. Gross: Think about your parents having sex. Grosser: Think about your grandparents having sex. Grossest: Think about your grandpa having sex on his 85th birthday. Move over Travolta, Cate Blanchett dons Ray Bans, leather jacket to look like Dylan in upcoming film. Proof that those bug-eyed glasses sorority chicks wear are totally deceiving: The "Barbie Bandits" admit to bank robberies. "Dude, but I... more ›

As temperatures climbed over the 100-degree mark for the third straight day on Tuesday, the Texas Longhorns are taking innovative measures to beat the heat. The Longhorns are one of a handful of college and pro teams using the CorTemp ingestible core body thermometer pill. Before practice, a player swallows a silicone-coated capsule the size of a large vitamin. Inside the capsule is a sensor that transmits core body temperature to a data recorder.... more ›

How much flesh would a woodchuck eat if a woodchuck were totally rabid? Why would anybody veto children's health? What does CNN think of Austin? (Okay, that's not so hypothetical.) How much property would a president block if a president could block property? What do you mean, benchmarks don't alleviate fear? How much money would a little dog eat if a little dog could eat money? (Given the decline of the dollar, maybe that... more ›

Last night, Bush, Karzai, and Musharraf had dinner at the White House. There is no punch line here. Yesterday, surgeons operated on some French guy's arm in almost zero gravity. This story contains the phrase "...slicing off the yellow growth that floated away from the patient, tied to a string." Sorry. Too much testosterone kills brain cells. Boy, it really works our last nerve when navel-gazing scientists spend money to prove things we already... more ›

LOCAL: The NAACP of Austin and the Texas Civil Rights project have sued the state and Travis County over electronic voting machines. They claim that E-Slate voting machines violate the state election code because they don't provide a paper record of the vote transaction. STATE: A federal judge has ruled that former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay must remain on the ballot for the 22nd Congressional District race. It seems DeLay's little scheme to temporarily... more ›

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Can the Spurs finally repeat as NBA Champions? ESPN doesn't think so. CNN/SI, not so much. Charles Barkley? No. And the Spurs' first opponent, Ron Artest and the Sacramento Kings? Absolutely not. So despite the emergence of Tony Parker as an All-Star, the addition of Michael Finley to their bench, and a record-setting 63-win season, the Spurs go into the playoffs...as decided underdogs. Wild, eh? Most of the naysayers believe that the Spurs will... more ›

Rep. Tom DeLay is apparently pulling out of the race for re-election to his House seat. CNN has reported that, just minutes ago, DeLay completed a conference call with the Texas delegation to the House, announcing his plans. In order to field a Republican candidate for the general election, there will be a special election for DeLay's place on the ballot. The Mayor of Sugarland is expected to be one of the candidates running.... more ›

Austin's real estate market is still as crazy as ever, with the median house price now just shy of $170,000, according to numbers published by the Austin Board of Realtors and reported by the Statesman today. Along with the price increase is a jump in the number of houses sold -- a whopping 15 percent rise in existing home sales from last February. Coupled with the decreasing number of homes available on the market (down 11 percent last month), it looks like we're soon heading into an even worse buyer's frenzy: more ›

There’s been a whole mess of talk out on the internets concerning the effects of the Katrina evacuee influx to Texas. None of it has been particularly positive. In fact, Dallas and Houston appear to be fed up with their respective sets of evacuees. Either that, or sick of themselves, and are engaging in some wafer-thin scape-goating. It’s difficult to tell where the truth really sits, and really, we’d understand their issue either way (sucks to be in either city, with/without a evacuee/refugee “problem”). more ›

Right, right, right. This isn’t “Austin-specific”, but it’s damn-sure important. more ›

UPDATE: Tim Goodman, at the San Francisco Chronicle says,"The funniest show on television is all but dead." Come on. How could a show with a character named "Bob Loblaw" (played by the irrepressible Scott Baio) die? ! more ›