This week, KUT News reports on the past, present and future of manned space flight.

A proposed Wal-Mart that was fiercely opposed by neighborhood groups in North Austin will open on Wednesday.  But the store has been sharply scaled down from the original 225,000 square foot plan.

The original plans also called for the construction of a 300,000 square foot parking garage, and would have seen the store operate 24/7.

Tornadoes touched down near Dallas over the weekend, according to the Dallas Morning News and the AP.

A tornado is believed to have touched down in Rice, near Interstate 45, about 45 miles south of Dallas.

The weather service also believes a second tornado hit near the Hunt County city of Lone Oak, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas near Lake Tawakoni.

Historical Club Burns Down

Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi was in Austin yesterday for a human rights event. She was the reporter imprisoned in Iran on charges of espionage. KUT’s Erika Aguilar managed to score an interview with Saberi. You can hear it here.

The Central Texas unemployment rate dipped a little in September, falling to 6.8%.  

The Texas Workforce Commission says the government, education and health services sector added the most jobs in the Austin area last month.  But unemployment is still a subject of deep concern for the Austin metro area.

PMC-Sierra Inc., a California-based semi-conductor company, has agreed to buy Austin-based Wintegra, Inc. for $213 million the companies announced Thursday.

PM-Sierra will pay the initial $213 million in cash, but has promised to pay an additional $60 million if Winetegra can match certain financial goals by the end of 2011.

As Texans across the state continue to hit the polls this week for early voting, several reports have surfaced of voter intimidation. The Houston Chronicle reports the most recent allegations have been in Harris County:  

Early Voting Turnout High

It always comes as something of a shock to political junkies this time of year that not everyone’s a political junkie! (You may actually know people like this, yourself.)

Those in the political world (and those covering it) find themselves living from campaign claim to opposition counterclaim in the weeks leading up to Election Day.