AUSTIN, Texas – The Austin Police Department (APD) Lake Patrol Unit will be enforcing the City Ordnance that prohibits the use and operation of personal watercraft, wet bikes, motorized surfboards, and similar devices on Lake Austin.

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department and the Austin Police Department want the public to enjoy the parks and lakes but urge people to make this a safe holiday.

This city ordinance only applies to Lake Austin.

Personal watercraft ban

The backstory:

This ban will go into effect beginning at sunset on Friday, July 3, and ending on Sunday, July 5, at sunrise as outlined in Ordinance 8-5-81. 

Non-motorized devices such as kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards can still be used along with watercraft designed for the conventional manner of sitting or standing in the vessel.

The annual ban on personal watercraft is necessary to ensure the safety of many people using the lake and parks over the July 4th holiday weekend. 

Police will patrol Lake Austin this holiday weekend and urge people using waterways to follow the Texas Water Safety Act and City of Austin boating laws and ordinances. Police urge all boaters to practice safe boating and to call 9-1-1 for all reckless operation of boats or emergencies.

What is city ordinance 8-5-81?

1. A person may not use or possess a jet ski, wet bike, motorized surfboard, or similar device on Lake Austin:From sunset on the Friday before Memorial Day until sunrise on the Tuesday after Memorial DayFrom sunset on the Friday before Labor Day until sunrise on the Tuesday after Labor DayFrom sunset on July 3 until sunrise on July 5
2. From sunset on the Friday before Memorial Day until sunrise on the Tuesday after Memorial Day
3. From sunset on the Friday before Labor Day until sunrise on the Tuesday after Labor Day
4. From sunset on July 3 until sunrise on July 5
5. A person operating a motorboat on Lake Austin shall stay on the right side of the lake, except when assisting a downed water skier.
6. A person may not operate a watercraft on Lake Austin at a speed that is greater than reasonable and prudent under the existing circumstances.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.