While there is nothing new to college kids swilling cheap alcohol to excess, a new malt drink has been raising eyebrows nationwide as it combines the sugary taste and energy kick of a Red Bull with the alcohol content of many fortified wines.

The drink, Four Loko, has gained notoriety because it was banned from Central Washington University after it sent nine of the school’s students to the hospital with alcohol poisoning. As KTRE-9 in East Texas reports:

A South Texas lawmaker has been found guilty of multiple crimes in a case involving allegations that he sold access to the legislature.  The Austin American-Statesman reports the jury returned a verdict this morning for State Rep. Kino Flores (D-Mission).

Looking to go camping on the Gulf Coast in Corpus? Bummer alert: Corpus Christi City Council has instituted a curfew on Corpus Christi Beach between midnight and 5 p.m.

If you've driven past Dean Keaton and Guadalupe Streets recently, you may have noticed a new building going up in the northeast corner, on top of what used to be a parking lot.

That building will eventually house KUT, along with classrooms, labs and offices for the University of Texas College of Communication.  The photo-op ground breaking was held back in March, and progress appears to have been steady ever since.

Millions of dollars have funneled into the Texas legislative campaigns over the last month as interest groups try to maximize their influence in the upcoming election. The donations, primarily from trial lawyers and business owners around the area, have come late so as to reduce the exposure of the donors themselves.

Some contribute late so that donators can ride the coattails of a winning campaign. As The Austin American-Statesman reports:

The Texas Republican Party just revealed the location of its election night celebration: the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch. 

KUT is in the middle of broadcasting a weeklong series about the US space shuttle program. NASA is retiring the shuttle in early 2011, and we are reporting on what the program has meant to Texas and what its cancellation will mean for our future.

Cindy Walker may be the biggest name in country music you’ve never heard. As a teenager in the 1930s, her songs were recorded by some of the most popular artists in the genre, including Bob Wills.  Cindy wrote one of Wills’ many hits, “Dusty Skies”, when she was just 12 years old.

KUT photo intern Chris Kosho made this cool time lapse video of Lady Bird Lake, but he is certainly not the first person to highlight Austin's beauty using the videographic technique. Here are five cool time lapse videos of the ATX worth checking out.

The Austin Film Festival has taken over the Austin movie scene for the past week and a half.  Back in 1994, the event dubbed itself the first festival of its kind –specifically dedicated to writing for film.  17 years later, the festival attracts screenwriters, directors, editors, producers and actors from across the globe to participate in panels, premiers and script readings.  But in the ‘Live Music Capital of the World,’ where does music assert its place among filmmakers?