Some Austin music news is hard to miss, especially when one of this sonically obsessed community’s most buzzed about and beloved groups comes out with a new record. Rock foursome White Denim are releasing their latest album, D on the 24th, and we recently caught up with the band’s guitarist/vocalist James Petralli to talk a little bit more about the new studio experience, playing overseas, and calling Austin home base. The band are playing at Waterloo records at 5pm today, so hop on over if you'd like to hear new material before the band head out on the road for a summer tour. If you need a little visual enticement, watch their video for “Drug” here. more ›

The community service: to sing in the Hudspeth County Courthouse in West Texas (Sierra Blanca, to be exact). In November 2010, Nelson had been pulled over in that county and charged with marijuana possession after authorities found 3-4 ounces of the drug on his tour bus. Kit Bramblett, Hudspeth County District Attorney, said in a radio interview on WOAI, "You can bet your ass, I'm not going to be mean to Willie Nelson." If the judge approves the plea deal, Nelson will just have to pay a small fine along with performing at the courthouse. [WOAI] more ›

• Deaths reported in Iran's protests.
• Egyptian military sets constitution deadline.
• Facebook on its role in Middle East protests: no comment.

• Census results released yesterday; Texas to gain four seats in the House!
• Texas: one of the few places you can visit a 65 foot tall version of Sam Houston.
• Opiate overdoses are on the rise in Travis County.

• Texas to Federal Gov: We don't need your sex ed money.
• The Flagship Hotel on Galveston’s Seawall will likely be torn down for an amusement park
• Lacharlesla Edwards, girlfriend of Baylor University basketball player LaceDarius Dunn (and mother of his 3 year-old son), wants assault charges dropped. Edwards claims Dunn didn’t hit her, and her jaw isn’t broken.

• Among the films playing Fantastic Fest is the fantastic stop-motion/ animation mash-up In the Attic about a bunch of Czech toys. The film screens at 6:55 today!
• Texas’ students need protecting’ from a pro-Islam, Anti-Christian version of history…at least according to a guy from the Odessa school board.
• That recent massacre in Tamaulipas might indicate that the drug-gangs in Mexico are expanding their reach into people smuggling. This is not good news.

• When in doubt, blame Bush.
• Iran will soon be able to generate 1.21 gigawatts! That just so happens to be the exact amount to power love. Get it?
• From the makers of Mad Cow, Bird Flu, Foot & Mouth, comes Superbug!

• Watch out for the purple drank! That crap can kill you.
• Cross your fingers for the recovery of the marsh grass in the gulf!
• Galveston copes with the oil spill.

• The New York Times informs us that an epic summer camp was born when Austin's own Topher Bradfield of BookPeople asked some kids: “Wouldn’t it be great if Camp Half-Blood was a real place?”
• Like, OMG! Forever 21 now has like totally the cutest maternity clothing ever! For realz! And the line is only being launched in five states with the highest teen pregnancy rates…including Texas.
• Road trip? Lois, the stinky #corpseflower in H-town, is opening.

68-year-old service station attendant Johnnie Limuel was injured earlier this month when 17-year-old Jose Alejandro Ramirez attempted to rob the E. 51st St. Speedy Stop with a caulk gun. When the young man pointed his "weapon" at Limuel before dawn on June 7 and demanded money, the older man thought he was kidding. Ramirez went on to hit the attendant with the home-improvement tool, and Limuel hit back with a plastic trash can. The attacker then left the scene quickly in his red truck along with the transgender prostitute he had picked up earlier in the night. The prostitute, Kenneth Williams, told officials that Ramirez had spent the evening searching for money to buy crack. Williams had asked that they stop at the service station so he could buy cigarettes. APD has charged Ramirez with aggravated robbery, but no arrest has been made yet. [Statesman Blotter] more ›

• The numbers get worse with each look at oil flow.
• Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage.
• NATO's Afghan strategy taking longer than expected.

• Doh! Don't rob a Sonic in a Caddy. People will notice.
• The New York Times Magazine profiled Liz Lambert. As @Andylanger quipped on Twitter on Sunday, "Huge colorful spread on @thelizlambert in today's New York Times Style mag. Thinking her publicist might need a raise." @thelizlambert quipped back, "dude! don't let it go to her head!"
• Stop the Internets! Willie cut off his pigtails!

• South Korean ship sinking, North attack suspected.
• Personal income drops across the country.
• California voters could legalize pot in November election.

• 'Weeds' this ain't: $6 million pot bust in Travis County.
• France's President Sarkozy vows to lift veil.
• North Korea: "Have fun, or else."

• Sarah Palin: global warming "a bunch of snake oil science."
• And Sarah is always right.
• Puxatawney Phil's predictions ain't no joke.

• Alleged Fort Hood shooter paralyzed from waist down, lawyer says.
• Obama's options limited by Afghanistan and Pakistan's less-than-reliable governments.
• Federal drug reform legislation in the Congress.

• More than 200 people dead in Italy; Berlusconi refuses foreign help with rescue effort.
• Obama in Iraq.
• Black labs are chowhounds, even in Russia.

• Man tries to hide his baggie where the sun don't shine during strip search at Travis County Jail, police make him take a laxative.
• Taylor man arrested for housing 277 pot plants (as well as illegal firearms) on his property.
• Manor High School student tries to sell pot in class.

City Manager Ott removes library hour cutbacks from his proposed cuts today. Mayoral candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn held a presser yesterday, speaking about council member salaries and library budget cuts. TxDOT Commission will hold special meeting next Thursday on projects to be funded by stimulus package. Burned corpse found yesterday morning belongs to a woman last seen attending Mardi Gras festivities on Sixth Street. Lago Vista man found with about 200 grams of meth in his car seat. Current St. Paul superintendent named lone finalist for AISD superintendent position. 91-year-old Pflugerville resident who played a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz has died. more ›

• Pres gets sorta apocalyptic with it.
• GM cuts 10,000 jobs - of the management variety.
• Good to see the energy efficiency question is still out there, despite cheap gas.

• NPR: "More Americans lost jobs in January than in any month in the past 34 years."
• Austin a location contender for possible car battery manufacturing plant.
• ACC breaks ground on Round Rock campus.

• Super Bowl Sunday will be another one of APD's no-refusal nights.
• Lance Armstrong held a press conference yesterday to throw his support behind the statewide smoking ban.
• Tally of Austin's homeless was attempted last night.

• ExxonMobil posts record $45.2 billion profit.
• IL Senate votes 59-0 to impeach Rod R. Blagojevich.
• Alaska volcano appears headed toward eruption. Say it ain't so, Joe.

• This is what $140,000 of your tax dollars went towards, and probably the only way you'll get to see it (video - also at right).
• Southwestern U. student killed last night as he tried to cross Texas 29 on foot in Georgetown.
• 1.7 pounds of Black tar heroin found in a house off Clayton Ln.

This past Sunday morning a Temple cop pulled over an 18-wheeler on IH35 for a traffic violation. After noting the driver's suspicious behavior, the cop asked to search the truck, where he came to find 872 pounds of pot (about $872,000 worth) in the trailer. The truck driver, who hails from Laredo, has been arrested and faces federal charges for narcotics trafficking. [Statesman] more ›

Travis County asks you to please vote early if you can. KOOP will air a debate on Prop. 2 tomorrow afternoon. Police issue arrest warrant for Georgetown woman after her infant tests positive for meth exposure. The parents of a 3-year-old who was seriously injured in a Bastrop County car accident earlier this month are asking for a no-texting-while-driving law. Despite some parents' attempts, the Round Rock School Board votes to keep TTYL on the shelves of the middle school library. World's largest beach ball touches down in Dallas. Two men tried shoplifting equipment from a Kerrville WalMart to use in a planned robbery of a Super S store. They were not successful. more ›

Capital Area Food Bank still needs your help and donations for Ike evacuees. The Office of the Attorney General warns Texas hurricane victims to be wary of possible clean-up scams. Bob Barr (Libertarian candidate for Prez) suing to get McCain and Obama's names removed from the Texas ballot. One of the largest drug seizures in American history today; 175 suspects arrested (22 of them from the North Texas area.) Police looking for 3 men who assaulted a CapMetro driver in August. more ›

• Palin has brought all the voters who only care about smushmortion out of the woodwork.
• Yeah, we thought we felt Rove behind this.
• Obama needs $$, despite his known status as an "eastern elite."

Doug Hall, spokesman for Pride Surveys, has stated that there appears to be “a pretty serious marijuana problem in the area.” But, like Austinist, he isn’t surprised. In a neighborhood where the average home price is $606,216, Hall believes the association between the wealthier community and higher teenage drug use is clear. more ›