Austin, TX
Nearly 1 million people asked to avoid drive-thru lanes in Austin, Texas
Residents in Austin, Texas, and the surrounding metropolitan area were asked to avoid restaurant drive-thru lanes on Monday to avoid worsening ozone conditions in the area.
On Sunday afternoon, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) declared an Ozone Action Day for the Austin and San Antonio area on Monday. This includes the nearly 1 million residents living in Austin, according to recent census data.
“Atmospheric conditions are expected to be favorable for producing high levels of ozone air pollution in the San Antonio area on Monday,” said the air quality alert, which was shared on the National Weather Service (NWS) website.
“You can help prevent ozone pollution by sharing a ride, walking or riding a bicycle, taking your lunch to work, avoiding drive through lanes, conserving energy, and keeping your vehicle properly tuned,” the alert said.
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Ozone season runs roughly from March to November in Texas, according to the TCEQ. Each day during that time, the TCEQ alerts residents if an Ozone Action Day is in place, which is when ozone levels are higher than normal and can have an impact on health. It’s possible another Ozone Action Day will be declared for Tuesday. If so, the alert will be issued by 3 p.m. local time on Monday.
Newsweek reached out to the TCEQ by email for comment.
Air quality changes depending on the time of day and weather conditions, the NWS said. However, some factors contribute to unusually high and persistent levels of ozone pollution, including “increased emissions of chemicals and faster ozone formation rates due to heat, along with low winds and stagnant weather.”
Hot weather has been occurring across the Austin area, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the NWS office in San Antonio/Austin.
“The broken record pattern of dry weather, warm to hot days and seasonally mild nights continues,” the office posted over the weekend.
AirNow, a coalition between the U.S. government and tribal agencies that monitors air quality, says members of sensitive groups may experience health effects when the air quality index is between 101 and 150. AirNow’s forecast shows that air quality is expected to reach that level across Austin on Monday. Tuesday’s forecast shows slight improvement, with a moderate AQI expected.
The air quality is considered moderate when the index measures between 51 and 100. Anything below 50 is considered good quality. Unhealthy levels are reached when the index is 150 to 200, very unhealthy is when levels are 201 to 300, and hazardous levels occur when the index is 301 or higher.
People can take certain actions to reduce emissions that worsen ozone, according to the TCEQ alert, including avoiding drive-thru lanes, as idling vehicles can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, conserving energy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which in turn can help prevent a worsening of the ozone readings.
Air quality also can be affected by pollution and wildfire smoke.
AUSTIN, Texas – A Texas court has ordered that the domain name of a porn website be locked down after failing to comply with the state’s age-verification law.
What we know:
According to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the state sued Kick Online Entertainment, the parent company of the site, in 2024 after it didn’t follow a law enacted in 2023. It requires that porn sites displayed in Texas institute age-verification measures to restrict minors’ access to sexually explicit material.
The company ignored the lawsuit and subsequent default judgment, according to officials.
A Travis County district court judge has since ordered the company that owns the domain registry for the site to lock it down until a $9.14 million bond and age-verification is implemented by Kick Online Entertainment.
What they’re saying:
“This court order establishes a huge precedent that websites can be stripped of their domain if they ignore the law and harm children with pornographic content,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “This affirms that protecting children from pornographic content is not only about collecting a penalty but also shutting down websites that refuse to obey the law. My office will continue to take action against any website that harms kids by allowing them access to pornographic content.”
The backstory:
Texas’ age-verification law was challenged on free-speech grounds. It was upheld in June 2025 by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Some sites have opted to block access to computers in Texas rather than comply with the law.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Attorney General’s Office and previous FOX Local reporting.
US-based robotics company Apptronik has opened a newly expanded robot training centre in Austin, Texas, and launched Apollo 2, its latest humanoid robot, as part of efforts to advance real-world robot deployment.
Developed in collaboration with Google DeepMind, the Austin facility provides space for large-scale data collection and training of humanoid robots. This development is part of Apptronik’s strategy to move robots beyond pilot projects and into commercial production.
Apollo 2, made public at the opening of the facility, is available in both bipedal and wheeled-base designs.
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According to Apptronik, this modularity enables data collection and training of robots in a range of environments, including logistics, manufacturing, and retail.
By deploying operational fleets of Apollo 2 robots at the Austin site and at customer and partner locations globally, the company is increasing the diversity and volume of data used to train robotics models.
The data collected is intended to support the advancement of Gemini Robotics, the foundational AI models for robotics being developed by Google DeepMind.
Through a mixture of teleoperation and autonomous operation, Apollo 2 robots gather data across customer sites, including at Apptronik’s research partner Google DeepMind, and at customers such as Mercedes-Benz and GXO.
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Apptronik CEO and co-founder Jeff Cardenas said: “What we’re building is a continuous learning loop with the Google DeepMind Robotics team: robots working, collecting data, and improving with every cycle, in real environments, on real tasks.
“Robot Park enables the data collection that is fuel for that, and Apollo 2 is the machine that makes it possible. That’s how you move from early prototypes to real, deployable humanoid robots.”
Apptronik’s approach combines teleoperation, autonomous execution, and high-fidelity physics simulations. This allows its robots to learn from varied experiences and adapt as advances are made in the field of embodied AI.
Apptronik chief commercial officer Barry Phillips said: “By developing Apollo as a modular platform, we’re able to deploy the same core humanoid technology across different configurations, including wheeled robots that align with current industrial safety standards, and bipedal robots for maximum adaptability.
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“This approach helps us build better robots for customers today while laying the groundwork for broad adoption of humanoid systems in the future.”
The company has stated that data and experience from Apollo 2 will inform the development of its next-generation humanoid robot, Apollo 3.
The Austin facility anchors a growing network of Apptronik Robot Parks at partner and customer sites worldwide, with plans for expansion into additional cities.
Earlier this year, Apptronik raised $520m in a Series A–X round, backed by existing investors such as B Capital, Google, Mercedes-Benz and PEAK6, alongside new participants including AT&T Ventures, John Deere and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Prior to this, in March 2025, Apptronik completed its Series A funding round, securing $403m.
“Apptronik opens robot training hub in Austin, Texas and debuts Apollo 2” was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.
AUSTIN, Texas – Three fugitives who were on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders list were arrested in three separate operations throughout the state.
The arrests involve local agencies from Hidalgo, Plano and Houston, as well as state and federal law enforcement agencies, according to DPS officials.
3 Texas Most Wanted Sex Offenders Captured
Local perspective:
53-year-old Leroy Lewis Jr. was arrested June 22 at a residence in south Houston.
Leroy Lewis Jr. (Texas DPS)
DPS special agents assigned to the Texas Anti-Gang Center worked with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Houston Police Department and the Texas attorney general’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit to locate and arrest him.
Lewis had been wanted since March on a Harris County warrant charging him with failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
According to DPS, Lewis was convicted in the 1990s of murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. Authorities said the kidnapping involved a 20-year-old woman whom Lewis intended to sexually abuse. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, paroled in 2012 and required to register as a sex offender.
Tip leads to capture of Plano fugitive
Dig deeper:
64-year-old Kenneth Wayne Patterson was arrested on June 24 at a Plano apartment complex after investigators followed up on a tip.
Kenneth Wayne Patterson (Texas DPS)
DPS special agents, Plano police officers and members of the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force made the arrest. Patterson had been wanted since December 2025 on a Dallas County warrant alleging failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
Patterson was convicted in Dallas County in 1989 of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl and sentenced to eight years in prison, according to DPS. Authorities said he has a history of failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
Hidalgo border arrest
What’s next:
32-year-old Eduardo Quinones Fuentes was arrested on June 22 at the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge, after U.S. authorities took him into custody upon his return from Mexico.
Eduardo Quinones Fuentes (Texas DPS)
DPS identified Fuentes as a documented Tango Valluco gang member who had absconded to Mexico. Fuentes had been wanted since October 2025 on parole violation and obstruction warrants. A Hidalgo County warrant charging him with failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements was issued in November 2025.
Since 2016, Fuentes has been convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault, assault, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and human smuggling, according to DPS.
Rewards and 2026 Arrest Stats
What they’re saying:
DPS said 44 fugitives on its 10 Most Wanted lists have been arrested so far this year, including 32 sex offenders and eight documented gang members. The agency said $61,500 in Crime Stoppers rewards has been paid in connection with those arrests.
Texas Crime Stoppers offers rewards for information leading to the arrest of fugitives on the state’s 10 Most Wanted lists.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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