The storm hit the Capitol last night, breaking windows and throwing down trees on the grounds. Was your property damaged by the storms last night? Kerouac's scroll manuscript of On the Road on display the the Ransom Center until June 1. Another Austin-area teacher in trouble for having improper relations with a student. California's supreme court says a state gay marriage ban is unconstitutional; Sen. Cornyn now set to work on a national ban. ...

The Walt Disney Company plans to open a advertising research lab in Austin by the end of the year....

Photo by Lepti on flickrThe director of the Austin Clean Energy Incubator is leaving to become an entrepreneur-in-residence at one of the nation's top venture capital firms. According to the Earth2Tech blog, Joel Serface was selected by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to work on a Department of Energy program that focuses on commercializing clean energy technology that comes out of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. Serface came to Austin in 2006......

A ferocious thunderstorm ripped through Central Texas last night, dropping large chunks of hail, smashing up trees, and leaving thousands of Austinites without power. Near Zilker Park, the power seemed to go out even before the storm hit. Golf ball-sized hail left many of the cars on Kinney Avenue dented, though the damage wasn't as bad as in parts of town further north. A family in Clarksville found a tree resting on top of their car, but seemed to take it in good spirits. ...

Australian investment company wants to operate ABIA. Man found this morning hanging from Oak Hill cell phone tower. 18-year-old Austinite found guilty of killing a Tennessee state trooper. Invasive species: Crazy rasberry ants swarming in Houston. Good news for the Cowboys? Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo are dunzo, supposedly....

The Harry Ransom Center at UT Austin today announced two impressive acquisitions to its already massive collection: letters from cherished American playwright Tennessee Williams and equally cherished American novelist John Steinbeck....

Photo by mkw87 on flickrAs of last week, a large sinkhole the size of three football fields has been eating up large parts of Daisetta - a tiny East Texas oil town 60 miles northeast of Houston. All kinds of crap keeps falling into the tar pit-like cavern these days including a tractor, oil barrels, tires, two grain trucks, utility poles and a shitload of trees. Up next on Mother Nature’s list are a wastewater......

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......

Austin the most "digitally-savvy" city in the nation? At least 12% of residents buy purchases off the internet. Fire at Northwest Austin home leaves a woman critically injured. Someone drove a Jeep into a house off of E. 12th near Pleasant Valley last night. Allstate Insurance will pay its Texas customers $71 million in refunds, credits and rate reductions for homeowner policies after a settlement with the state....

Photo by liewcf on flickrHeads up, Texans -- the sales tax break you've been getting by buying online at Amazon.com may be in jeopardy. The Dallas Morning News reports that officials from the state comptroller's office are investigating whether Amazon's Irving-based distribution center establishes a "physical presence" in Texas, which would put the online retailer under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that allows states to collect sales taxes from out-of-state retailers under those conditions. Amazon......

Thousands and thousands and thousands of people are dead in China. McCain comes out in favor of carbon caps. Teenagers who smoke pot are likely to be depressed later on, gov't says. Biggest immigration raid of the year, at a meat packing plant, means hundreds are arrested. If Congress is banning flavored cigarettes, why aren't menthols part of the package? Could this be true? Man claims Jet Blue made him sit on a toilet......

Earthquake in China is thought to have killed thousands of people in a county of the Sichuan province. Scientists say that atmospheric CO2 levels are at record highs. After a weekend of tornadoes through the midwest, this year could have the highest number of twisters since the '50s. ...

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....

According to this disturbing article in the Houston Chronicle, three Houston men have been accused of exhuming a human body and smoking marijuana out of its decapitated head. ...

Someone called the cops after spying the Undie Run on campus. Texans like their concealed handguns, it seems. Hope the prom was worth it: two teens try to rob a South Austin tuxedo store. Witnesses call Cedric Benson's arrest "uncalled for." Round Rock water bills are going up....

It was announced yesterday that ABC will set up multimedia bureaus at five different college campuses, and the UT School of Journalism is one of them (the other bureaus will be at Arizona State, Syracuse, UNC at Chapel Hill, and the University of Florida). This new program will allow students the opportunity to create stories on local issues and produce content for "Nightline", "World News with Charles Gibson", mtvU, abcnews.com and more under the ABC News umbrella....

Junta allowing aid supplies to slowly come into Burma. Chinese team takes the Olympic torch up Everest. Oklahoma hit by severe storms. Campaign official basically admits that Clinton will be out of the race by June 15. American women waiting later and later in life to have their first babies. Vote for the best character on TV: c'mon, Olive Snook (or Liz Lemon)! What happens when gas costs over $7 per gallon?......

Fire Chief J.J. Adame resigned today. Some non-stop flights from ABIA to be discontinued. Man charged in yesterday afternoon's shooting off Decker Lane. Dr. Pepper shares debuted at the NYSE today to tepid reception. Prospective juror for Houston marijuana possession trial caught smoking a joint by the courthouse....

Owner of the Salt Lick going forward with his plans to develop the area surrounding the restaurant, 215 acres of which will remain green space. Shooting at a Decker Lane apartment complex this afternoon leaves one man in the ICU; the shooter is on the run (as of this writing). US District Court in Austin hearing case of a KBR worker found in possession of child porn while in Iraq. Twenty-something who didn't signal his turn was arrested while driving in Melissa over the weekend....

Yes, you can breathe again, Austin. The Villa Muse saga has, at long last, come to its fiery end. Which is fine by us, since we're kind of tired of writing about it. Ha-Ha. Um, but seriously....

Indiana and North Carolina vote today. Saddam thought that he might get VD from the American guards in his prison. Never let anyone tell you that European news is sooo much more dignified than American news. They are currently fascinated by this Austrian father-daughter sex slave story (but who can blame them?) First Texas needle exchange program will not come to pass. Scientists have now found that being smart may not lead to evolutionary......

Former Longhorn/current Chicago Bear Cedric Benson arrested over the weekend for driving (boating) while intoxicated and resisting arrest. Couple arrested for making meth in their Hutto home; 2 of their kids had the drug in their system. Someone left their pickup packed with 1,200 pounds of pot on the side of the highway in Baytown. Rick Noriega closing in on Sen. Cornyn in recently released poll numbers. Oh yeah, Jenna Bush gets married in Crawford on Saturday....

UT's Ransom Center has acquired the archives of Jim Crace, author of such award-winning novels as Being Dead (winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award) and Quarantine (Booker Prize shortlist)....

Employers cut fewer jobs in April. Hooray for April! Stocks jump after employment report. Barbara Walters had an affair with U.S. senator and I just threw up a little in my mouth. Bush wants $70 billion for war fund for 2009. Look at the size of this bridge! Texas gas prices continue upward trajectory. Madonna has some issues.......

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....

Perry names two (including his former chief of staff) to the Texas Transportation Commission. Authorities say some boys from the FLDS compound may have been sexually abused there. Four people died in a head-on collision near Bastrop last night. 21-year-old man tries to get a Ft. Worth bank to cash a $360 billion check that a) was forged (obvs) and b) not even made out to him....

As briefly mentioned in yesterday's Extra Extra, a student at UT now faces a third-degree felony charge after making terroristic threats. 20-year-old Justin Levi McCelvey, a self-described Spurs fan (based off a now-deleted Myspace account), was overheard bemoaning that he "wished he could go into a classroom and shoot everybody," and "blow up this campus and blow up Austin" ... "Virginia Tech style." A fellow student relayed his comments to university counselors, who in turn......

Obama "outraged" by ex-pastor's "ridiculous propositions" US troop deaths hit 7-month high in Iraq What recession? Economy grows slightly in first quarter Albert Hofmann, father of drug LSD, dies in Switzerland Happy 75th birthday, Willie Nelson Paula Abdul gets confused on "American Idol" Spurs eliminate Suns to advance in NBA playoffs......

UT student charged with making a terroristic threat after telling a pal he wanted to hit the campus "Virginia Tech style." Postal worker upset over loose dogs in his neighborhood leaves a Chihuahua on the Irving mayor's doorstep over the weekend. One of the teenage girls from the FLDS sect is giving birth in San Marcos today. $3 million worth of pot found by Border Patrol in El Paso as the driver attempted to truck it into the States in a shipping container....

Tornadoes hit Virginia. Will Ashley Dupre be the one to finally bring "Girls Gone Wild" down? Only click on this link if you can stand really sick-o crime stories. A dolphin died after a collision with another dolphin at Sea World over the weekend. Supposedly, the new Grand Theft Auto is really, really good. Sex tape of Jimi Hendrix now for sale.......