A big win in West Virginia boosts Clinton, but the math still favors Obama Death toll for China earthquake rises as troops rush to plug dam A new storm may hit cyclone-ravaged Myanmar 19-year-old OU freshman elected mayor of Muskogee Florida officials arrest a man they believe set the wildfires ravaging that state Two top female athletes -- golf's Annika Sorenstam and tennis' Justine Henin -- are retiring Company introduces "peel and stick" tasers......

It may be best to stay off IH35 this weekend; the highway closure in Buda will surely slow down traffic in Austin. Don't forget the municipal election tomorrow! Yeah, yeah, we know already: Perry reaffirms that he will run again for governor in 2010. Sinkhole overtaking the town of Daisetta....

Obama wins big in North Carolina; Clinton ekes out Indiana Cyclone deaths in Myanmar may top 22,000 New Russian president sworn in; Putin to become prime minister 96 arrested in San Diego State University drug bust Sprint, Clearwire team up on plans for national high-speed wireless network Team readies artificial beak for wounded bald eagle Lakers' Kobe Bryant named NBA Most Valuable Player......

First the traffic cams, now this: Chief Acevedo wants surveillance cameras on high-crime zones. Rep. Krusee from Round Rock, who fought for harsher DWI laws, was arrested last night on DWI charges. Blame a water main break on why you were stuck in traffic this morning near Lavaca and Fifth. American Lung Association gives our city a D for ozone pollution....

Primary results from national/state/local races: So even though it seems that Hillary won the Texas primary (it's interesting that Obama led in statewide early voting), Obama may beat her in delegate numbers. In the GOP race, McCain is now the GOP candidate as Huckabee gives up the ghost. In Travis County, Ron Paul won 17% of the vote . . . ...

When Norman Mailer and Hunter Thompson wrote about political showdowns, they were incapable of resisting the fight metaphor. They knew that there is no such thing as a contest of ideas, a balanced measure of experience and aptitude. That a political debate is most akin to boxing, that it’s both a brawl and a dance. But if a political debate is tantamount to a heavyweight title, then it is one cast in negative: Even if he wins, Americans don’t want to see their man take too many shots on the chin....

The Daily Texan has announced its list of endorsed candidates, with one glaring omission. ...

After eight years of having Texas be a no-contest state for all presidential hopefuls, this election year it could play kingmaker for one of the two Democratic candidates. The Ohio and Texas primaries on March 4 have already been dubbed Super Tuesday Two by many news outlets. Between the two states, close to 400 delegates are at stake. Texas with 126 and Ohio with 140 (not counting superdelegates). Austin accounts for 8 of the total Texas delegates....

If you want to vote in Texas' presidential primary elections but haven't registered yet, time is running out. Monday is the last day for voter registration....

Venezuelan voters didn't want Chavez as a ruler for life after all. Putin's party wins the Russian election, warns against Westerners who may say the election was unfair. Best feminist candidate: Obama? Later this week, Romney will publicly address his Mormon faith and how it may affect his possible presidency. Looks like it will be Texas v. Arizona State at the Holiday Bowl. Conan O'Brien will pay his "Late Night" crew from his own......

Sign of global warming? Two butterflies make their first appearance in the Valley; they haven't ventured this far North before. Austin lawyer forged judges' signatures on personal bonds. KXAN shows how an Austin couple's startup is making it simple to buy from Shanghai (see video at right). GOP Presidential hopeful Huckabee was in town fund-raising last night. Operation Blue Santa needs volunteers. And so does the Human Rights Commission! State Rep. Mike Krusee won't......

Photo from LiveStrong.orgIs Austin hero and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong mulling over a possible gubernatorial bid? Some folks seem to think so. After championing last month's pro-cancer research bill, Prop 15 (which passed almost unanimously, despite the fevered efforts of some vocal neocons), and hobnobbing with the likes of President George H. W. Bush, Armstrong seems well-positioned to run for political office in the next few years. Both State Sen. Kirk Watson......

Senator Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech to thousands of die-hard supporters this past Saturday at the Backyard, touching on just about every hot issue at the core of next year's election debates. Pledging to shut down Guantanamo, restore habeas corpus, and renew the hunt for Al Qaeda, Obama stressed the need for a stronger international agenda and quoted Kennedy's famous inaugural address—"Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear......

Image by the "Subway Cyrano," from GothamistNew York City was at its strangest and swellest this week. On Sunday, tens of thousands people ran in the NYC Marathon, including Mrs. Tom Cruise, aka Katie Holmes, who ran it in just under 5 hours, 30 minutes. Gothamist also found out that limes in Corona are sometimes illegal, the weird maple syrup might be back and a famous punk music pioneer-turned-real estate broker was possibly killed by......

All state constitutional amendments passed in the election yesterday. Famed architect Frank Gehry is being sued by MIT for the design for the Stata Center. "Product of a judicial system dominated by men": According to the Board of immigration appeals, genital cutting isn't enough to grant asylum, but forced sterilization is. Anti-Musharraf protesters angry about emergency rule were beaten by police in Pakistan today. Surgery to remove 4 extra limbs from an Indian girl......

Photo by CAVE CANEM on flickrToday's the day to cast your vote in the statewide Constitutional Amendment Election. If you're unfamiliar with the sixteen propositions appearing on the ballot, we've reprinted them after the jump. Austinist is officially recommending that you vote "NO" on Prop 12, which would authorize the Texas Transportation Commission to issue up to $5 billion in bonds for so-called "highway improvement projects"—read about it here. We're also recommending a wholehearted "YES"......

Photo by Matt Wright on flickr Sunday morning, a Cap Metro passenger was stabbed by another rider with a screwdriver. Gas line break off of Riverside this afternoon is being repaired. Cold front on its way tonight? Habitat for Humanity of Williamson County is starting its first Women Build in February. Even though Tejano music is popular among locals, it has been overtaken on the airwaves by Norteño. Shady fliers telling people to vote this......

Chemical spill closed highway in Williamson County for a good part of the day today. Perry defends the expensive rent for his Barton Creek-area temporary home, saying, "Texas ain't Arkansas." Man arrested at the border for a murder committed 13 years ago in Northeast Austin. Shocker: Secretary of State expects low voter turnout for this constitutional amendment election. Supposed chupacabra discovered in Cuero found to be just a coyote. "Get out of Iraq .......

We have a big crush on Tom Perrotta. We lurve the tales he crafts about ordinary people who end up in extraordinary predicaments because they just can't seem to bring themselves to say what they are thinking, even when knowing that it would save them a boat load of grief. We identify with being well-intentioned but sometimes ill-advised and from time to time believe that our own inner monologue is actually the narration for......

House Speaker Pelosi was in town this morning to talk about energy issues. Have you voted early already? Did you even know election time was upon us? A construction worker was trapped underground for an hour yesterday as he worked on a tunnel for a downtown condo project. Travis County-area man died when the bus he was unloading from his tow truck crushed him. Local car thieves are seemingly in accord over their preferred......

Will Wynn renewed calls for an Austin streetcar at today's Downtown Austin Association Annual Luncheon. Moving forward would require two votes in the 2008 election - one to allow the project and another for bonds to finance it. The new plan would include connections to the airport (along Riverside), downtown, UT, the Triangle and Mueller. We are generally fans of mass transit, rail especially, and naive optimism is our default position, so a streetcar sounds......

Kay Bailey Hutchison may be running for governor and detests your anonymous blog. Retiring Republican Reps may lead the Dems to a larger majority in the House when election time rolls 'round. Temporary pedestrian islands to go up on S. Congress Avenue, in the area between Riverside and Ben White. Live bat found at McNeil High School yesterday has tested positive for rabies. And another rabid bat was found this weekend at the Convention......

CAMPO's voting on tolling existing roads tonight. . . they say they won't toll the parts of the roads built with tax money. Guess we'll see how that works after tonight's meeting. Looks like rough waters ahead for councilmember Jennifer Kim in the upcoming May election. Woman's body found on UT campus this morning. Tyrell Gatewood, suspended indefinitely from the Longhorns in September for possession, is once again in trouble for. . . possession.......

One last go-round for Zeppelin seems to be in the works. We sort of thought they were all dead. "Why, Britney...why?" Hey, don't ask us. We stopped watching MTV a long, long time ago. Interesting article about doctors that gave an elephant LSD for reasons that aren't exactly clear. If you go swimming in Lake LBJ, you might want to...not do that. Another medical study suggesting that political leanings might actually be attributable to......

Adorably swollen former U.S. Congressman and blogger Thomas Dale Delay received a bit of good news today. The Statesman is reporting that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas has decided to uphold a lower court's 2005 decision to dismiss felony charges against Delay and his politickin' and redistrictin' homies, Jim Ellis and John Colyandro. The 2005 dismissal held that the state's conspiracy statutes would cover election codes in September of 2003, well over......

Yesterday, we told you a little bit about the films of gore wizard Herschell Gordon Lewis. But what we didn't tell you is that since his days in the movie business, Lewis has become one of the world's foremost experts on direct marketing. A prolific author, columnist, and all around brilliant guy, Lewis recently took time out of his busy schedule to chat with us about movies, showmanship, and the current state of advertising. Firstly,......

You look like you need a cupcake, and that is just what you will get tonight when the Austin Parks Foundation and the Alamo Drafthouse bring you Election, the second installment in the spring Movies in the Park series. However, that cupcake will be laced with arsenic icing and a heavy dose of satire extract. When we first saw Election back in the late 90’s, high school was still fresh enough in our minds that......

THURSDAY [10] music • Learning Secrets with Ramesh (Voxtrot), Ben Craven + Co at Whisky Bar music • Rock of Ages Cover Show with Preserve the Sound (50s), Consider the Source (60s), Seaflea (70s), Promisebreakers (80s), Say Hello to the Angels (90s) at Emo's music • The Postmarks, Shuttle Debris, Raleign at Stubb's music • Future Clouds & Radar at Waterloo Records (5pm, Free) music • Moonhangers, Love Gone Cold, Salvia Family Band, Shot Gun......

Everyone's favorite transient, transgendered Marine who tried to Keep Austin... Austin, but managed only 6.7% of the votes in the 2006 mayoral election, has left our town in a fresh attempt to Keep Dallas... Dallas. We're used to seeing Gale on street corners asking us for signatures (or money for the bus), but if you listen to the video above, you'll recognize her agenda is just a tad bit recycled from her 2006 Austin......

Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency of the United States is only thirteen days old, but standing in the middle of the crowd at Auditorum Shores Friday you would think it's been going on for thirteen years. The one-term Senator from Illinois has many saying he doesn't have the experience necessary for the job he seeks, but if you listened to him Friday afternoon, you might understand why most tend to overlook that. The......