In what sounds like the setup for a horror movie, in Little Rock, Arkansas a Southwest Airlines Employee found 40-to 60 heads -- or parts of human heads -- in an unlabeled biohazard container. The container was bound for Dallas Love Field. more ›

• Ken Starr (of Whitewater fame) was just named president of Baylor. Yes, he’s promised to join a Baptist church after moving to Waco!
• Dallas-based Southwest Airlines kicked actor/director Kevin Smith off a plane this weekend, citing his size as a reason. He was very, very displeased about this. Now Southwest is trying to deal with the situation.
• A University of Texas student group has formed to try and save the Cactus Cafe.

• Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is Time's Person of the Year
• Al Gore takes the stage at the Copenhagen climate summit
• FTC sues Intel, accusing the chipmaker of trying to stifle competition

Roy Spence, the Austin advertising legend and co-founder of the GSD&M ad agency, has recently taken a more prominent role in the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. more ›

Photo by mybloodyself on flickr
• Paramedic who came to the scene of Erica Smith's accident last month in San Antonio didn't check her pulse; she died after being left for dead for an hour at the site of the accident.
• Wooten Elementary was placed on lockdown this afternoon because police thought someone in a residence nearby was holed up with a weapon; the home was found to be clear.
• At an Academy store in Round Rock, a suspected shoplifter backed over a store clerk who was trying to mark down her license plate number.

Wait a minute; monkeys actually DO steal stuff in real life, not just in movies? Desertion rate in the Army is 80% higher than it was in 2003 when we invaded Iraq. Austin concert promoter C3 Presents encountering political obstacles in bringing music festival to Philadelphia. The first completely legal mp3 blog, RCRD LBL, went up Thursday. That girl who was asked by Southwest Airlines personnel to show less skin before boarding is now... more ›

• Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo takes place this weekend. Shuttles will be running from Highland Mall to TPW headquarters on Smith School Rd.
• Canyon Lake Gorge, formed in 2002 floods, will open for guided tours tomorrow. The next two months' tours are already full.
• Archeological conservancy v. Cedar Park family: who owns land where Ice Age woman was found in 1982?

One burrito to rule them all: 10,000 lb burrito to be built at October fundraiser for local charities. Texan Dan Rather is suing CBS (and others related to his ouster) for $70 million. GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson visited Dell today. Southwest Airlines is sticking with open seating, but families with small kids will no longer get to go first. A rabid bat was found this morning at St. Edwards. A local filmmaker is... more ›

Violinist Charles Yang. Photo by Eric Uhlir Three weeks ago, Austin's newest arts organization, strataTX, launched with a successful kickoff gala at the Design Center of Austin. The latest giving group of the Texas Cultural Trust, strataTX brings together enthusiastic young professionals of all industries and backgrounds to help sustain and expand the Lone Star State's arts community. StrataTX Launch Party Attendees. Photo by Eric Uhlir Amidst heavy fanfare, TCT Deputy Director Jennifer Wijangco... more ›

The 21st Annual Lake Travis Parks Cleanup is this Saturday, June 17 from 9 a.m. to noon. Last year, the event drew more than 400 volunteers who were able to clean up over 4,500 pounds of garbage. All linterested volunteers are welcome, and will be invited to a thank-you party following the event, which will have free t-shirts, food, and entertainment. This year's event is part of the Texas Department of Transportation's Don't Mess with... more ›

Southwest Airlines, the number one carrier at ABIA, announced its new mobile wireless flight check-in system on Monday. The system will allow passengers to use a special mobile website to check in for their flight while not at a computer or flight kiosk. Great news for all you on-the-go SWA flight types who always have to board in the first group. more ›

JetBlue launched its non-stop service from Austin to New York (JFK) and Boston (Logan) this morning. The carrier, which offers Southwest Airlines prices without the Greyhound bus conditions, is starting off with three daily flights to New York City and a single roundtrip to/from Boston. Until next week (Jan 26), you can still take advantage of their super low intro fares ($79/one-way), so long as you fly by May 24th. At these rates, we're more than a little inclined to take a weekend shopping trip in the Big Apple. more ›