Austin, TX
Vice President JD Vance visits Austin for fundraising event
AUSTIN, Texas – Vice President JD Vance is making a fundraising swing through Texas. His first stop is in Austin on Monday.
Why you should care:
Street barricades started going up around noon on Monday, March 23. The area in front of the Four Seasons Hotel, between Red River and Brazos, provided a protective buffer zone for a fundraising event featuring Vice President JD Vance.
The street closures may continue until Tuesday evening. The FAA has also issued a flight restriction notice over most of downtown Austin until Tuesday night.
Why is JD Vance in Austin?
The backstory:
The dinner at the Four Seasons with Vice President Vance is described as the Republican National Convention fundraiser for the midterm election.
Reportedly, individual tickets cost $50,000, with couples paying $100,000 and special access for couples costing a quarter of a million.
“Trips like this are absolutely critical because the midterms are critical,” said James dickey, the former chairman for the Texas GOP.
Dickey explained what big dollar donors are expecting to get from this high-profile meet-up.
AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN – MARCH 18: Vice President JD Vance speaks onstage at Engineering Design Services, Inc. on March 18, 2026 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. President Trump has appointed Vance as Vice Chairman of a newly formed Task Force to Eliminate
“I know what some of those donors are asking, which is, are you going to continue to fight? Are you going to continue to follow through on your promises? And what I hope and expect Vice President Vance and the administration will continue to say is what they have done, which we will keep our promises, we will execute the policies that will lead to a better, safer, more prosperous America,” said Dickey.
Software billionaire Joe Lonsdale reportedly is hosting the Austin event. He and other wealthy business owners, like Elon Musk, have now made Austin a destination for conservative politicians.
“Years ago, trips like this to Texas would only have happened in Dallas and Houston, then quickly came to San Antonio and Midland…It’s only fitting that now Austin takes its place among those other cities,” said Dickey.
Dig deeper:
But this realignment of fundraising territory, at least for now, isn’t about the Austin ballot box, according to SMU political analyst Mathew Wilson.
“The reality is that there’s a lot of money in Austin. We know that there has been a lot of tech entrepreneurship and Austin is increasingly important to the fundraising plans of people on both sides of the aisle, not just Democrats.
Vance’s visit to Austin, followed by stops in Dallas, and later in Nashville, is in a way, a case of catch-up. Texas Democrats announced back in February they were launching a $30 million campaign targeting key races in the Lone Star State.
Wilson believes Republicans will be able to make up ground and will have enough money to compete.
“But certainly, I think the reason that Vance is here now is that Republicans don’t want to be caught flat-footed, and you can’t wait until the summer to raise this money. So the money is there for Republicans, but they have to raise it, and they have to make their case to their donors that they’re taking these races seriously, that they can win. And more to the point that Democrats are a legitimate threat. And I think that’s the message that the vice president wants to convey to Republican donors is we can’t take things for granted in Texas,” said Wilson.
This visit is also a big chance for Vance to meet face to face with potential donors for his expected White House bid.
It gives him a head start of sorts on other possible contenders, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski
Austin, TX
Everything you need to know about Austin run clubs
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Data analyst Corey Yeung created the ATX Running Guide to help runners find community across Central Texas. What started as a personal project has become one of Austin’s most comprehensive running resources.
Looking for a Run Club? There’s a Map for That
When Corey Yeung moved to Austin three years ago, he had a simple question:
“How many run clubs are actually out there?” The answer wasn’t easy to find. While several websites listed local groups, Yeung felt none offered a complete picture. So, he decided to build one himself. What started as a spreadsheet evolved into ATX Running Guide, a website and social media platform that helps runners discover clubs throughout the Austin area.
“The list would be more useful if it were a map and search tool,” Yeung said. “The Instagram page was simply a way to communicate those free resources to the community.”
Today, the guide covers running groups from San Marcos to Hutto and serves as a one-stop resource for runners looking to connect. In this episode of KXAN’S Plus Simple Health, Corey Yeung walks us through everything you need to know about the 200-plus running clubs in Austin.
Austin, TX
Texas Volts begin first home slate Thursday at Dell Diamond
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Volts are off to a rough start in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, but maybe a little home cooking can help them get right.
After playing their first five games on the road, the Volts open play at Dell Diamond in Round Rock at 6 p.m. Thursday against the Utah Talons, kicking off an 8-game homestand.
It’s the first season the Volts will call Dell Diamond home. In the league’s inaugural season last year, the original four teams competed with a touring schedule that included a stop at Dell Diamond. This is the first year that the AUSL, now a 6-team league, will play in home markets.
They have a roster peppered with local stars, including 2-time NCAA national champion middle infielder Leighann Goode from the Texas Longhorns. Aliyah Binford, a New Braunfels native, played collegiately for Ole Miss and former Texas State pitcher Jessica Mullins made an appearance in the Volts’ previous series against the Carolina Blaze.
Goode said there’s been a bit of a learning curve, but she credits her teammates for helping her adjust to the league.
“This group has brought me in and taught me stuff, taken me under their wings,” she said. “They’ve done an awesome job.”
Legendary Texas pitcher Cat Osterman is the team’s general manager, and the head coach is Texas State’s Ricci Woodard.
“We’re ready to rock and roll at home,” Woodard said. “I’m anxious to see what happens now that we get to play in our own place.”
Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 draft, joined the team last weekend after a brief contract holdout.
The Volts are 1-4 this season, picking up their lone win over the Oklahoma City Spark on June 10. They’ll face the Talons in a 3-game series, the Chicago Bandits for a pair June 23-24, and finish the homestand with a 3-game set against the expansion Portland Cascade on June 26-28.
Ryan Sanders Baseball, the organization that owns and operates the Round Rock Express, is an operating partner with the Volts and an investor with the AUSL.
Austin, TX
Investigators seek clues in small jet crash that killed 1 in Texas, where bystanders rushed to help
(AP) – Investigators combed through wreckage Wednesday for clues to why a business jet crashed on a Texas highway, killing one person on board after its pilots reported mechanical problems while requesting an emergency landing at a nearby airport.
The fiery crash late Tuesday in Laredo near the Mexican border sent bystanders racing from their cars to help police rescue passengers and crew from the burning aircraft. The crash killed Joshua Baer, a leader in Texas’ technology and startup sectors, the president of Baer’s company told the Austin American-Statesman.
Video from the frantic scene showed someone trying to smash the cockpit glass with a sledgehammer, while others used makeshift levers as they worked to open the plane’s door. Local officials said a firefighter entered the smoke-filled jet to extract one person still inside after the rest had escaped.
“While the loss of life is deeply regrettable, it is nothing short of a miracle that this tragedy did not become a mass fatality event,” Laredo Mayor Victor Treviño told a news conference Wednesday.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating along with the National Transportation Board.
Laredo Police Chief Miguel Rodriguez Jr. said investigators working to reconstruct the crash were at the crash site Wednesday.
Crash victim worked to help entrepreneurs launch startups
Baer was the founder and chief executive of Austin-based Capital Factory, which helps entrepreneurs connect with investors and others to launch their businesses.
“Joshua was a fearless leader, a brilliant partner, and a dear friend to so many of us,” Capital Factory President Bryan Chambers told the Austin newspaper.
Capital Factory executives did not immediately return phone messages Wednesday from The Associated Press.
Baer lived in Austin with his wife and three children, according to his LinkedIn page. He recently taught a student entrepreneur class at the University of Texas at Austin.
“I help people quit their jobs and become entrepreneurs,” Baer said on his LinkedIn page.
In a social media post, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called Baer “one of the most significant figures driving innovation and entrepreneurship across America.”
Police did not release the name of the person killed, citing a request from family members. Rodriguez said those on the plane included two pilots and three teenagers.
Pilots reported low fuel, electrical issues, airport director says
The Cessna Citation Latitude twin jet departed Tuesday evening from the Mexican resort city of San José del Cabo and was bound for Austin, Texas, the FAA said in a statement.
The plane was operated by NetJets, a company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway that lets people buy part ownership in private jets. NetJets said in a statement it was cooperating with authorities.
The jet went down at about 10 p.m. Tuesday on the Loop 20 highway, just a few minutes after its pilots radioed the local airport seeking to make an emergency landing. Their call to air traffic controllers “mentioned low fuel and a power outage,” Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez said.
“They had mechanical issues and they lost communication with the tower,” Sanchez said Wednesday, “and that’s when the accident happened.”
Dashcam video posted on social media showed the aircraft careening down the highway and knocking down a light post before coming to a stop near the airport. The jet also barreled into a car, sending one motorist to a hospital in stable condition, said Laredo police investigator Jose Baeza.
Video posted to social media showed the plane on its side, smashed into a highway barrier with the tail ripped from the fuselage.
“It looked like part of a movie. I was in shock,” said Zayra Garza, an esthetician who was driving her co-workers home when she came upon the crash.
Garza, who shot video of the scene as her husband ran to help, saw motorists leave their cars to try to help smash the cockpit glass. She said the plane’s door opened and three people who looked like teenagers rushed out, followed by someone who appeared to be a pilot. Another crew member tried to pull out a person who seemed to be unconscious.
Smoke billowed from the plane as a firefighter climbed into the aircraft to rescue the remaining passenger. Police officers helping prop open the door had to back away as they doubled over coughing because of the intense smoke. Police said five officers were treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation.
“What was worrying me was the fire,” Garza said. “I was concerned that it could have just exploded at any time.”
This was the third significant aviation accident in as many days. A B-52 crashed Monday during a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base in California and killed all eight people aboard, while on Sunday, 12 people were killed when a plane on a skydiving outing in Missouri crashed.
___
Golden reported from Seattle; Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut; and Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. AP journalists Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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