AUSTIN (KXAN) – A slew of authors have dropped out of the lineup for this weekend’s Texas Book Festival (TBF).

“Goosebumps” author R.L. Stine, along with 17 others, won’t appear at the festival due to “unforeseen circumstances,” according to a news release Friday:

• Brian Goldstone
• David A. Graham
• Peter Guralnick
• Alejandro Heredia
• Nathalia Holt
• Julia Ioffe
• Basia Irland
• Graci Kim
• Patricia Lockwood
• Cappy McGarr
• David Nasaw
• Mayra Olivares-Urueta
• Lyla Sage
• Crystal Silva-McCormick
• Peter Swanson
• Jennie Erin Smith
• Bryan Washington

The release came after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued repeated ground delays and limited flights at airports across the country due to the ongoing government shutdown. 

Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1. The staffing shortages have put pressure on the FAA to take precautions, with the agency announcing Wednesday it would make cuts in “high-volume markets.”

While Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is not among the 40 airports experiencing these cuts, 35 of those airports have direct flights arriving from AUS. 

Festival organizers did not specify if writers pulled out as a result of delayed or cancelled flights, only writing that one reason they pulled out was “ongoing flight challenges.”

The 2025 Texas Book Festival is Nov. 8-9 in downtown Austin. Admission is free, but there are ticketed sessions for select authors. Those currently scheduled to to appear include Chelsea Handler and Matthew McConaughey. 

TBF is a non-profit that brings authors to K-12 schools and awards grants to Texas public libraries to encourage literacy, according to the organization’s website.

POLK COUNTY, Texas — Nearly three years after a deadly crash that claimed the lives of two Texas college students, Texas Rangers have made two arrests in connection with the case, bringing long-awaited movement for the families who’ve been demanding justice.

The crash happened in January 2023, killing 19-year-old Graylan Spring, a former Vandergrift High School athlete, and 18-year-old Micah McAfoose of Houston. Both were Stephen F. Austin State University students. Investigators say their vehicle collided with an 18-wheeler that was turning left onto a highway from a side road in Polk County.

Spring’s mother, Krista, says her family hasn’t been able to properly grieve since that day. “Honestly, we haven’t even given our time to mourn the death of our son because we went from the death to the injustice immediately,” she said.

ALSO | Elgin police investigating after car, driver recovered from pond

On Wednesday, Texas Rangers arrested Marlin Kendall Hughes, the owner of the trucking company, and Antonio Sandoval Jr., the truck’s driver, on charges of tampering with evidence.

According to an affidavit signed by Ranger Joshua Benson, Hughes called Sandoval after the crash and asked if the truck had a dash camera system. When Sandoval confirmed it did, Hughes told him to bring it to him. By the time the camera was turned over to authorities, Spring says, the footage had been erased. “Someone didn’t want us to see what was on that video,” she said.

Spring said the family is grateful for the progress made this week, but still wants full accountability. “We’re thankful for the arrests made; that’s just one step in the right direction. Praise the Texas Rangers for their investigation,” she said.

Polk County District Attorney Shelly Bush Sitton confirmed her office is reviewing the case with the Rangers. “I don’t have any information on the case yet,” she said. “I’ve talked to the Rangers. They’re bringing it in. We’ll be sitting down and going through it with them and making a determination of how to proceed,” Sitton said.

Both Hughes and Sandoval were released on bond Thursday morning.

Graylan Spring’s legacy lives on through organ donation and the Graylan Spring Foundation, which supports student athletes.

“I don’t know if we’ll get the results that we truly want in the end, but that’s what we’re seeking,” his mother said. “True justice is indictments.”

A half-naked woman was allegedly tortured and chained up in the backyard of a Texas home for months — leading to the arrest of five people who allegedly starved and shot at the defenseless victim with BB guns.

The Austin Police Department responded to a home on the south side of the city at around 9 a.m. on Oct. 30 after a 911 call was made regarding a woman screaming for help and handcuffed to metal exercise equipment in the backyard, according to a press release.

Officers arrived to find the unnamed woman suffering from severe injuries, naked from the waist down, and shackled to a punching bag stand.

The first responders quickly sprang into action and attempted to free the woman, but “due to the conditions of the restraints,” they had to call in the Austin Fire Department to bring special equipment to cut through the metal.

“The woman showed signs of physical distress and had visible injuries consistent with prolonged restraint,” police said.

As they worked to free the woman, five adults inside the home noticed what was happening and tried to flee, but were immediately caught and detained.

Police also found two small children living at the home who were placed in the care of Child Protective Services for safety and support.

The suspects — Michelle Garcia, 51, Crystal Garcia, 21, Mache Carney, 32, Juan Pablo Castro, 30, and Maynard Lefevers, 21 — had allegedly held the victim captive for months, police said.

The victim told investigators that she’d been friends with Michelle Garcia, but stated that the group “at some point, they decided they no longer liked her,” and the five decided to keep her as a captive, according to an affidavit obtained by the Austin American-Statesman.

She said she was forced to live outside for weeks and beaten whenever she tried to flee. It’s unclear when the victim was taken captive and exactly how many months she was held.

Detectives said the woman was fed just one plate of food a day and shackled to a metal exercise stand — sometimes with both wrists locked behind her.

Michelle Garcia allegedly told investigators she limited the woman to one meal a day because she thought the victim had gotten “chunky.”

However, investigators said the woman appeared severely malnourished.

The victim also said that the night before being found, her pants slipped down and she “got in trouble.” She was then shot with a BB gun, cuffed to a backyard stand and left there half-naked overnight as “punishment” while temperatures plunged into the 40s, the affidavit revealed.

During her captivity, she sustained extensive injuries, including open wounds, severe swelling of the wrists, loss of tissue from her hands and feet, widespread scarring from BB gun pellets, and significant facial trauma.

After being transported to a local hospital, doctors determined her injuries matched weeks of torture and restraint. Scans also found a BB was lodged in her right eye.

Castro allegedly told police he shot the woman with an electric rifle-style BB gun because he “didn’t want to touch her.”

He also allegedly admitted that when he would get home from work, he would grab the BB gun from his closet, and “chase her around the yard,” expressing that he “f–king hates her,” according to the affidavit.

One of the children found at the home — a four-year-old boy identified as Castro’s son — said his dad shot the woman whenever she was “bad,” and that his mom, Carney, usually stood by and watched.

All five suspects were arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, injury to the elderly or disabled, and unlawful restraint. They are all currently locked up at the Travis County Jail on $305,000 bail.

Carney and Michelle Garcia return to court on Nov. 18 and 21, while Crystal Garcia, Castro, and Lefevers are set to appear on Dec. 15.

The case remains under investigation.