Russian Premier, er, we mean President Putin using Soviet-style measures to suppress political opposition? The evidence just keeps on rolling in... Yesterday, British forces formally handed the province of Basra to the Iraqi government. This is the ninth province transferred to Iraqi control by American-led forces since July 2006. The week-long U.N. climate-change conference, held in Bali, ended last Friday. A ranking has been released showing which countries have the most proactive greenhouse gas......

Photo by jmtimages on flickr Help out: Volunteers needed to take people with mobility issues through the Trail of Lights. Austin/Travis County EMS asks people to not block the driveways at fire and ambulance stations; it's not against the law, but it does slow their response to emergencies. The NY Times thinks the Justice Dept. needs to take a look at the Texas Youth Commission. Body of murder victim's mom found in San Marcos. Jerry......

Photo by Broken Piggy Bank on flickrThe Texas Youth Commission was in court Monday defending itself against advocacy groups claiming the TYC has overused pepper spray on its inmates. Texas Appleseed and Advocacy, Inc. say the TYC has doubled its use of pepper spray even after a settlement with the TYC back in September forced them to cut back. TYC has not commented on the case but Jim George, an Austin attorney who chairs the......

The construction worker who fell 30 feet yesterday at a downtown condo construction site died today. The City of Austin is being sued by various groups over the plans to move the animal shelter. Federal officials arrested 22 immigrants in Austin today. Texas Youth Commission failed to adequately oversee lockup run by private contractor; teen criminals were suffering unhealthy conditions at the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center, closed only yesterday. Louisiana company will build......

Hurricane Humberto leads to one death and Orange, Jefferson, and Galveston counties being declared disaster areas. More trouble for the Longhorns: Senior player arrested for marijuana possession. More trouble in the Texas Youth Commission: the overuse of pepper spray. Austin city council has allocated $40,000 to find a new City Manager, but they're not all very happy about it. Dallas County DA stops inmate's execution scheduled for tonight. Domo arigato, Roboto boy: Richardson inventor......

Hall of Famer and Lady Longhorns coach Judy Conradt resigned earlier this week after 31 seasons at UT. MTV is in town this week filming for a special on alternative spring breaks. The Austin crew will be focusing on the "Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break" activities going on at UT. State Rep. Garnet Coleman has put forth a bill in the Lege that would supply free condoms to Texas inmates. Warning to City of......