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. ...

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

NYC Cops acquitted in shooting death of bridegroom Sean Bell. Internet sales tax coming to New York. Texas rejects creationist science degree. China offers to meet with Dalai Lama envoys. Tax rebates to start arriving Monday. Al-Sadr may restart full-scale fight against US in Iraq. YEAH, TAKE IT, YOU TAKE IT!......

Noooooooooooo. . . Perry plans to run again in 2010. Body found yesterday in Lady Bird Lake was a middle school teacher. 20 classrooms at Cedar Park Middle School vandalized overnight. UT police on the lookout for a robbery suspect. Custody case over the FLDS kids moving extremely slowly....

Ethics Reform Commission hosting City Council candidate forum Thursday evening. UT student in trouble with campus police after bringing his gun on campus. Copperas Cove High School student suspended after answering a call from his dad (who is stationed in Iraq) between classes; the school doesn't allow cell phones. Richardson man arrested for traffic violation, mistakenly chosen from a lineup by victim of another crime and jailed for 23 years has been cleared by DNA evidence....

McCallum High School student arrested after bringing gun and knives on campus. 18-wheeler drove into San Marcos River from IH35 this morning. Another reason not to live in Dallas: Dubya and Laura are moving back there. Schleicher County Sheriff tells why he didn't raid the FLDS compound earlier than last week. Storms (including some tornadoes) tear through West Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma....

Photo by slopjop on flickr More information has been released about some of the goings-on at the FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) compound near Eldorado. A witness told authorities that beds at the "temple" there was used by older men to deflower their young (underage) brides. When authorities stormed the "temple", they discovered a bed in a dishevelled state, with a long hair therein. Found in the "temple annex" were......

Now more than 400 children in care of Texas CPS after being removed from Eldorado compound. Slight earthquake hits South Texas early this morning. Interactive feature on the fate of Brownsville's Sabal Palm Audubon Center as the border fence threatens to split it from the US. UT named in federal suit for their admission policies....

Since Thursday, state & local law enforcement officials have removed over 200 people - 159 of them children - from the polygamist compound out near Eldorado, Texas. Condi Rice for Vice President? From his cold dead hands...like, right now. Why do some smokers get lung cancer while some don't? A recent study says: The answer might be in your genes. Yet another terrible idea endorsed by the Bush Administration: "The FDA's decision on whether......

Texas is hot in more ways than one, apparently. Umlauf family selling some of their sculpture pieces (not the ones donated to the city). All-female jury rules in favor of the police officers in the Ramon Hernandez lawsuit. Time Warner wants you to switch to digital cable: they are taking the weather radar channel off the basic lineup....

Easter Bunny at Lakeline Mall arrested after injuring a child. Tejano star Emilio in critical condition after his tour bus crashed over the weekend in Houston. UT Men move on to the Sweet 16. Out of 3,700 Austinites who are reported missing each year, about 2,600 are runaway teens....

Warneta Overton, elderly widow of a local civil rights leader, has been missing for two days. Missing camper's body found at Pace Bend Park. Carole Keeton Strayhorn for Austin mayor . . . again? Con artist targeted Austin homeowners, claiming to be a lawyer and real-estate agent. The Statesman's Addie Broyles gets a makeover from TLC's What Not to Wear and tells all about it....

ACL Fest lineup to be announced April 15. Rodney Reed's lawyers argued before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today. New federal study will figure the environmental impact of coal plants north of Austin. Texas Monthly publisher upset over new City Manager's appointment to head EMS. Wildfire in the Valley covers 25,000 acres and causes hundreds of people to evacuate their homes....

145 pounds of marijuana found in truck bed after driver was pulled over on 183 near Lake Creek Parkway. Williamson County woman sentenced to 35 years in jail for her "serial" drug dealing. Austin couple donates $55 million to the music school at UT. Almost all flights cancelled at Dallas Love and DFW today because of the weather. And it wasn't much better for travelers at the Houston airport....

Texas not affected (so far) by national economic downturn? Bastrop man pleads guilty to money laundering charges. Suspect charged with murdering a disabled South Austin woman has died in jail. District attorney says Texas' castle law in its current state will protect criminals and not the people it was meant to protect. Box (found to be full of books) causes the Alamo to be evacuated this afternoon....

Burn ban in place for Williamson County. Wildfire just south of San Marcos is heading near homes in the area. Bastrop High principal on administrative leave after allegedly making racial remarks. Round Rock PD uncovers pickup truck packed with 12 illegal immigrants. Marble Falls teenager shoots his friend in the head while playing a video game....

Theft of large pickup trucks in the area is up 150%. Toyota plant in San Antonio slows down production of Tundras. APD releases video of Mayor Wynn's assault incident from two years ago. Williamson County caucus paperwork mailed to wrong location. Chimp's death after escaping medical research facility in Bastrop will be investigated....

It's supposed to freeze tonight . . . but isn't it March? Villa Muse may not set shop in the outskirts of Austin after all. Huston-Tillotson is growing. Police have released a sketch of the woman abducted at a Bastrop Whataburger yesterday morning. "I'm so sorry. I left a lot of girls pregnant. Can you tell me more about you?": Texas man had at least 4 illegitimate children by various teenage girls during his 28 years as a priest....

Before we let Texas fade off the political radar for a while, let's take a look at the Texas Democratic elite who will likely have the final say in who their nominee for president will be. ...

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 . . . ...

The Democratic party of Williamson County didn't order enough ballots; some precincts had used half of their ballots before the afternoon and evening rush. Today is the day of judgment for some of Craddick's Democratic supporters. Austin's Pluck purchased by Demand Media. Alfonso Royal, aide to Gov. Perry, named as chief of staff for TYC. The man who tried to steal copper from an East Austin electrical substation last week has died. ...

Reason the power was out in East Austin Wednesday afternoon: a copper theft gone seriously wrong. The Cowboy Breakfast this morning kicked off the rodeo in town by providing a free breakfast to everyone there at 6am. Slightly reminiscent of "Daisy": Obama campaign unhappy with Hillary's new "Children" campaign ad. Clinton attends funeral of Dallas cop who died while serving in her motorcade. Huckabee makes campaign stop in Waco today. Show your voter registration card and ride the bus for free on election day....

"We're not publishing the list in our news columns, period": Statesman Editor Oppel on why the paper will not include a listing of precinct voting locations on election day. McCain stopped in San Antonio today. Bill Clinton spoke in town today. On the primary race between Glen Maxey and incumbent Nelda Wells Spears. Power outage in East Austin this afternoon. While her father was tied up, a robber sexually-assaulted a 15-year-old girl in a South Austin apartment yesterday morning. Semi veers off Dallas highway ramp and falls onto Continental Avenue; at least 3 are dead. ...