• Putin visits Chavez in Russian bid to expand influence.
• U.S. to implement new airport security measures.
• U.S. Army backtracks on gay discharges, no moratorium.

The 83rd Texas Relays began yesterday at the University of Texas, bringing together some of the world's best track athletes for one of the spring's major meets. more ›

• One man, 400 I.D.s.
• Sex abuse scandals testing the Catholic Church.
• U.S. ally Saudi Arabia sets beheading date for 'sorcerer'.

The Austin chapter of the NAACP is planning a protest of Highland Mall this Saturday, April 11. People will be gathering at the mall at 9am. NAACP President told News8Austin, "We're going to encourage folks, number one, to not to shop at Highland Mall, pretend it's still closed." This after the mall closed early last Saturday afternoon because the Texas Relays were in town; the mall management defended the action by saying they lacked adequate security. [News8Austin] more ›

The hubbub caused by the news of the Saturday afternoon closing of Highland Mall and proposed Relays weekend closure of a couple downtown clubs has still not completely silenced, but police have released the arrest and citation numbers for downtown this past weekend and the numbers are less than in past years. There were 25 arrests and citations in the downtown area this Relays weekend (compared to 46 in 2008 and 39 in 2007). That number is less than half that of either Mardi Gras (57 arrests/citations) or the last two days of SxSW this year (52 arrests/citations). more ›

Several Austin establishments have announced alternate hours or complete shut-downs this weekend, due to the Texas Relays. No specific or unified reason has been offered, but all the entities have mentioned safety concerns, poor revenue in past years, and post-SXSW blues. more ›