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AM Update: Fort Hood Bombing Trial, AISD Tax Talk, Longhorn Tourney Time

Jurors are being selected in the trial of Naser Abdo this week.
Photo by Matt Largey for KUT News
Jurors are being selected in the trial of Naser Abdo this week.

Jury selection begins for Fort Hood bomber suspect

Jury selection is set to begin this morning in the trial of a soldier accused of planning to blow up a Killeen restaurant filled with Fort Hood soldiers.

Private First Class Naser Abdo could face up to life in prison if convicted of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and other charges.

Killeen police arrested Abdo last July after a gun store owner told them Abdo was acting suspiciously. Abdo was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The trial is being held in a federal court in Waco.

Austin ISD to tackle tax ratification this week

The Austin ISD school board has to decide this week whether to hold a tax ratification election in November. The board will talk about their options tonight during their regular board meeting. They are trying to decide when to ask voters to raise property taxesthis November, next June or November 2013.

The board is facing a deadline of Friday in order to stay on-track to pass a budget in June. Right now, the proposal would cost the owner of an average Austin home an extra $100 dollars a year.

The tax hike would bring in about $15 million for the district each year and could help pay for a three percent compensation increase for all employees.

The public meeting starts at 7 p.m. at AISD headquarters.

Update: The AISD board will send out a public advertisement of their intention to hold a tax rate election on Friday just to ensure that they are legally covered should they in fact decide to hold the tax rate election this November. After they issue the advertisement, they are not bound to hold the election this November and are also not bound to use the rate published in the advertisement. According to board president Mark Williams, board members will likely decide in June when to hold the tax rate election.

Longhorns advance in baseball and softball tournaments

It’s tournament time for UT-Austin baseball and softball.

 The third-seeded Longhorn baseball team will open the Big 12 Championship tournament with a game against six-seed University of Missouri on Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

 UT softball is advancing to the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament. They’ll host Oregon next week. The winner will move on to the Women’s College World Series.

Laura first joined the KUT team in April 2012. She now works for the statewide program Texas Standard as a reporter and producer. Laura came to KUT from the world of television news. She has worn many different hats as an anchor, reporter and producer at TV stations in Austin, Amarillo and Toledo, OH. Laura is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, a triathlete and enjoys travel, film and a good beer. She enjoys spending time with her husband and pets.
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