The Week’s Biggest News in Brief: May 7-13

Sixth Street Shooting Not Tied to Terrorism: After investigating the March 1 West Sixth Street shooting that left four dead and 15 other injured for a little over two months, the FBI has said that they have found no evidence that supports the idea that the 53-year-old shooter, Ndiaga Diagne, was directed by a foreign terrorist organization. While the FBI did not find anything that indicates that Diagne was ordered by foreign terrorist groups, investigators said that the shooting was partially motivated by ongoing conflicts between the U.S. and Iran. According to the Statesman, the shooter had “specific personal triggers” in relation to the war between the two nations and evidence shows that he admired recently deceased Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

AISD Student Detained by ICE: 18-year-old Luis Fernando Cabrera was driving home around 2am on May 1 when a Texas state trooper pulled him over for expired tags. According to KVUE, the trooper determined that Cabrera, an Austin ISD student set to graduate this month, was “not lawfully present in the United States,” and turned Cabrera over to ICE agents. Last year, the Department of Public Safety signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, allowing officers to conduct some of the procedures that an ICE agent would typically perform. The trooper that pulled Cabrera over was a certified Delegated Immigration Officer under the program. The high school senior has resided in the country since he immigrated with his family when he was 11, and was awaiting a decision in his asylum case. As the student is held at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center just south of San Antonio, local lawmakers and advocates gathered on Monday, May 11, to call for his release.

Yogurt Shop Suspects to Receive $35 Million: In mid-February, four men – Maurice Pierce, Mike Scott, Robert Springsteen, and Forrest Welborn – who were previously accused of the infamous 1991 yogurt shop murders were officially exonerated after law enforcement identified Robert Eugene Brashers as the killer through the use of forensic and DNA evidence. Now, those four men are set to receive a $35 million settlement, which will be split evenly between the parties. “This settlement closes the final chapter of a devastating story in Austin’s history,” City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a statement. “For 34 years, our community sought answers to this senseless and heartbreaking crime, and, thanks to the dedicated commitment of the Austin Police Department, we delivered those answers in September 2025.”

Obama, Talarico, and Hinojosa Get Tacos: Former President Barack Obama paid Austin a visit on Tuesday, May 12, to meet with U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico and state gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa. The three stopped by the Taco Joint on San Jacinto Boulevard to speak and take photos with restaurantgoers for about 30 minutes, the Statesman reported. The two Democratic campaigns have raised hopes and attracted national attention ahead of the November general election, where Hinojosa will face off against the Republican incumbent Greg Abbott and Talarico will challenge whichever Republican wins the May 26 primary runoff, John Cornyn or Ken Paxton.  

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Credit: John Anderson

City’s Largest Bond Sale Ever: Last week, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport secured $1.18 billion through a Airport System Revenue bond sale with the city, marking the largest bond sale in Austin’s history. The funding supports the airport’s Journey With AUS expansion program, aimed to modernize the airport, increase capacity, and strengthen passenger experience. The airport said that it plans to issue approximately $4.2 billion in additional bonds through 2030 to further the expansion program.

Arts Commission Says City Withheld Millions: Leaders of the city’s Arts Commission recently spoke out against the city, alleging that millions of dollars in funding for the Art In Public Places program has been wrongly withheld for years. According to the Austin Current, a share of funds spent on city capital improvement projects has gone to the public art program since 1985; however, after reviewing the process, the arts community has said that the city is actually giving less to the program than city code outlines. When the city created the program, the ordinance ordered the city to allocate 1% of construction costs to the arts. That code was updated in 2002 to increase those funds to 2%. As the arts community investigated the program’s funding, they found that the discrepancy between the city and arts leaders is what the city considers to be “construction costs.” Now, the city and the Arts Commission are in a back-and-forth as they try to come to an agreement on how funds should be distributed moving forward.

Credit: Getty Images

Delayed 911 Response Sparks Council Feedback: At a Tuesday, May 12, special-called meeting of the city’s Public Safety Committee, City Council members questioned why the city is behind on planning to consolidate emergency communication services, according to Statesman reporting. Council Member Krista Laine, who brought forward a resolution in August to strengthen first responders’ response time, said that the details that the committee illustrated fall short of the original request. Council members now wonder if public safety officials will be able to provide a sufficient plan to enhance emergency response before the Council adopts next year’s budget in August. “We are six months past the deadline for the strategic plan and cost estimates,” Laine said. “It is quite concerning that we don’t even have a road map to getting there.”

Paxton Not So Chill About Netflix: Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Monday, May 11, that he is suing Netflix “for spying on Texans, including children, and collecting users’ data without their knowledge or consent.” The A.G. said that the streaming platform violated state laws by collecting consumer data for years and providing that information to data brokers and advertising companies. He said that the company earns billions each year by secretly selling this data. A Netflix spokesperson told Politico that “this lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information.” 

Texas 71 Shutdown: A SWAT team shut down sections of Texas 71 in South Austin last Thursday, May 7, as they responded to reports of an individual throwing items from the overpass onto Ben White Boulevard, damaging vehicles. Law enforcement detained the suspect in the late afternoon. Texas 71 experienced traffic delays throughout the day.

U.S. Senator John Cornyn Credit: Jana Birchum

Cornyn’s I-47 Future Interstate Act: Through the I-47 Future Interstate Act, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is working to designate US-287 as Interstate 47, which would be recognized as Trump Interstate. According to KXAN reporting, the act would not only change the name of the highway, but also advance freight transportation, strengthen economic opportunities, improve public safety, and ease traffic. “Texas is Trump Country, and this bill cements that legacy by designating nearly 1,800 miles of open-road from Texas’ Gulf Coast to the edge of the U.S.-Canadian border as I-47 to forever be remembered as Trump Interstate,” Cornyn said. The senator’s proposal comes as he attempts to win a runoff against A.G. Ken Paxton to represent the Republican Party in November’s U.S. Senate election. Trump has not yet endorsed either candidate.

Texas State Professor Firing Blocked: After Texas State University professor Idris Robinson spoke out about conflicts between Israel and Palestine at an off-campus event in 2024, the university refused to renew his contract when it expired in June 2025. In March, Robinson filed a lawsuit against the institution’s leaders, alleging that the school violated his constitutional rights when they refused to renew his contract due to his talk. On Monday, May 11, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright blocked the university from firing Robinson and ordered Texas State to maintain his employment contract, pay, and affiliation for one year or until the case has been resolved.

Avride Federal Investigation: An autonomous vehicle company not named Waymo found itself in headlines this week, as Avride, a driverless vehicle company based in Austin, was placed under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to KVUE, investigators claim that they have received 16 reports of Avride crashes in both Austin and Dallas. Of the reported crashes, one person allegedly suffered a minor injury. In all of the instances, there was an in-vehicle operator supervising the system.

Credit: Getty Images

Del Valle Grocery Store: Following years of reviewing data, planning, obtaining funding, and garnering support, the Del Valle Food Co-op hopes to soon open a long-awaited grocery store at the corner of Ross Road and Sky Harbor Drive, according to the Austin Current. Currently, the closest grocery store to Del Valle is an H-E-B about 10 miles away, as most residents turn to convenience stores to get their groceries. Chris Reyes, board chair at the co-op, said that the store will be within a 24-by-64-foot renovated school portable at 5807 Ross Rd., stocked with fruit, vegetables, and other grocery store mainstays.

Potential Gas-Powered Peaker Plant: At next week’s Council meeting, city leaders will decide whether or not to move forward with the development of natural gas-powered peaker generation units that are aimed to act as an “insurance policy” during extreme weather and long-duration events that traditional resources cannot cover. As part of Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan to 2035, the city’s recommendation for action states that the new units “produce far less emissions than existing peakers and will only run when needed in alignment with emissions guardrails.” Funding for the development is available in Austin Energy’s Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget. Critics that have opposed the Council item said that the development of the peakers conflicts with the city’s goal of providing 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035 and will be costly for the city.

Austin Energy Annual Report: Austin Energy’s Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report was released last week, outlining progress in clean energy, grid resilience, and customer energy solutions. The city department, which celebrated 130 years of service last year, implemented the Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan to 2035 with record solar growth, strengthened demand response, and improved electric system resiliency. Along with the introduction of the Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan to 2035, Austin Energy said that some of the key highlights include the addition of 18.8 MW of local solar capacity; securing an agreement for up to 100 MW of battery storage capacity; advancement of the Electric System Resiliency Plan, and more.

Emergency Town Hall Addresses Violent Acts: Last Thursday, May 7, nonprofits aimed at spreading awareness about and reducing violence in the city gathered at Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex for a community town hall to discuss recent acts of violence in Austin. The meeting comes after a shooting outside of Sam’s BBQ in East Austin in late April, a shooting inside of Down South CaJJun Eats in Pflugerville last week, and March’s Sixth Street shooting. The conversation focused on community responses to these violent acts in order to strengthen neighborhood relationships and brainstorm practical solutions. “If we care about preserving the fabric of our communities, then we must act with urgency right now,” said Chas Moore, organizing director of Austin Justice Coalition. “We cannot normalize violence or become numb to loss.”

Waymo Still Made the News: After multiple of the company’s autonomous vehicles had issues when responding to flooded roadways during Central Texas’ most recent round of rainfall, Waymo has issued a recall on thousands of its vehicles. KXAN reported that the company’s fifth- and sixth-generation automated driving software was experiencing issues, according to a safety recall filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. On high-speed roads, the vehicle’s software was not able to fully stop when detecting a flooded lane. 

Los Braseros Shooting: One individual was shot and killed outside of North Austin’s Los Braseros Mexican Restaurant on Saturday, May 9, after he intervened in a fight, KVUE reported. Following reports of a shooting, the Austin Police Department arrived at the restaurant around 12:30am where they found 35-year-old Andres Omar Reyes injured with multiple gunshot wounds. The first responders’ life-saving measures failed, as Reyes was pronounced deceased shortly after their arrival. A restaurant employee wrestled the firearm away from the 16-year-old suspect before the suspect fled the scene. The suspect remains at large.

Texas Lottery Director Indictment: Last month Gary Grief, former executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission, was indicted in Travis County on a felony charge for abuse of official capacity in relation to an April 2023 lottery win, where a group of investors bought up almost every number combination to secure a $95 million jackpot. After Grief retired in 2024, the state accused him of “intentionally and knowingly misus[ing] government property, services, personnel, or a thing of value belonging to the government.” But just three days after Grief’s indictment, Travis County Assistant District Attorney Rob Drummond signed a motion to dismiss his case for “prosecutorial discretion.”

Public School Enrollment Dropoff: According to a recent study, enrollment rates in Texas public schools saw the second-largest decline in the last 40 years. During the 2025-26 school year, enrollment dropped below 5.5 million students, a 1.4% decline, resulting in the state losing over 76,000 students. The 2021-2022 school year saw an even heavier dropoff, as the state faced a 2.2% decline. This data comes amidst the rise of private school vouchers and charter school enrollment, Austin ISD’s decision to close multiple school campuses, and the district’s $181 million budget deficit that it is actively working to balance.

Measles in Austin: Austin Public Health announced last Thursday, May 7, that it had confirmed the first reported case of measles in Travis County since 2025. The department said that the unvaccinated adult male was exposed to the virus while traveling internationally and was infectious when he visited St. David’s Emergency Center on Monday, May 4. Individuals who were potentially in close contact with the patient are being reached by Austin Public Health. According to the department, the best form of protection from the disease is to receive the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. 

City Warns of Mosquito Season: Following recent rains throughout the metro, Austin Public Health is warning the community of the uptick in mosquito presence. With mosquito season running from May through November, the city is reminding Austinites how they can prevent the spread of diseases through mosquitoes, such as wearing clothing that covers skin when outside, applying insect repellent, and removing standing water in residential areas. Mosquitoes can carry diseases that contribute to infections such as Zika, West Nile virus, dengue fever, encephalitis, and canine heartworm.

Power Outages Amidst Heavy Storms: According to the Statesman, over 15,000 Austin Energy customers lost power on Sunday, May 10, as a severe thunderstorm rolled through town. The heavy rainfall resulted in 230 outages throughout the city, leaving many residents without power throughout the night. The city department worked overnight to reestablish lost power for impacted customers.

Bailey at Berkman and Stassney Groundbreaking: The city is inviting Austinites out to the Bailey at Stassney site at 5516 Humming Bird Ln. tomorrow, May 15, to celebrate the joint groundbreaking of Bailey at Berkman and Bailey at Stassney – two 104-unit income-restricted apartment communities. Developed by National CORE, partner Diva Imaging LLC, and consultant Structure Development, the communities will serve households earning 30%, 50%, and 60% of the area median income. Multiple city leaders will be in attendance to provide remarks.

Bike to Work Day: Bike to Work Day in Austin is tomorrow, Friday, May 15, and Austin Transportation and Public Works, along with partner organizations Get There ATX, Ghisallo Cycling Initiative, Movability, and CapMetro Bikeshare, is inviting the community to celebrate at City Hall. The city encourages Austinites to partake in group rides before gathering at City Hall with city leaders for free coffee and tacos and giveaways to celebrate the day.

Credit: casar.house.gov QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“He is sitting in an ICE detention center for no reason other than a routine traffic stop. Donald Trump said he was going after the worst of the worst. Fernando is the best of us.”

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar at a press conference regarding the arrest of high schooler Luis Fernando Cabrera

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