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Croom said he fears his son may have been inspired by the 2007 film "Into the Wild." The movie was inspired by the real-life events of Christopher McCandless, a young hiker who sought isolation in the Alaskan wilderness. Authorities found Johnathan Croom's 2000 green Honda CR-V abandoned in Riddle, Ore., on Wednesday. The teen's wallet, photo ID, $200 cash and a book on outdoor survival tactics were left inside, leading police to believe he may not want to be found. Croom was due back last weekend before his classes began at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz., on Aug. 19,

The Allen Police Department released audio Wednesday of a call the longtime lieutenant governor made at 10:15 p.m. on Aug. 3 on behalf of Ellen Bevers. Dewhurst said during the call that Bevers inadvertently walked out of a Kroger with $57 in goods she didn’t pay for, along with $42 of items she did buy... “Sergeant, you don’t know me, but I am every year the No. 1 pick of all of the law enforcement agencies within Texas. The No. 1 pick,” Dewhurst said. “And I’m a supporter of you. You don’t know it, but I’m a supporter of you....

Youssef was transferred from a federal detention center during the past few weeks to an undisclosed halfway house as part of preparation for his release, Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Ed Ross said. He is due to be freed on September 26 but will remain under the supervision of probation officials for the next four years, Ross said.

The “Student/Parent/Principal Contract For Eliminating Guns and Weapons at School” was sent as part of the district’s registration packet for the 2013-2014 school year. Under the contract, parents must agree to teach “…including by personal example, my teenager about the dangers and consequences of the misuse of guns and weapons and I will keep any guns and all weapons under lock and away from school grounds and away from my children.”

Have at it.

The U.S. Census finds that the number of people in poverty in Austin's suburbs more than doubled in the last decade -- up a whopping 142 percent. Meanwhile, Williamson County started off with 11,735 people living in poverty in 2000 and ended up with 34,069 by 2010. That figure includes a lot of working poor. People who perhaps accepted a limited time offer of a job and a place to live. And others lost their job altogether in the economic downturn of 2008.

The social media post quickly picked up thousands of comments, many of them negative, criticizing Rolling Stone for the decision to feature him on the cover.

For the first time since a pair of bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others in mid-April, the surviving bombing suspect is expected to be in court to hear charges leveled against him Wednesday. A probable cause hearing for Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, will be held at 3:30 p.m. ET at the same South Boston federal courthouse where notorious Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger's trial is underway. Authorities told ABC News there will be a heavy police presence around the courthouse as charges contained in a 30-count indictment against...

University of Virginia student spent a night and good part of the next day in jail after seven plain-clothes agents from the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control division ambushed her. The student, 20-year-old Elizabeth Daly, made the mistake of walking to her car with bottled water, cookie dough and ice cream in a dark supermarket parking lot near the UVA campus...

Can anyone explain what sort of questions are asked at property tax protests? I understand I need proof why I'm being charged too much but what all can I use? I'm guessing research between the county appraisal listings for similar square footage and such. My house isn't similar to others in the area so maybe take pictures of inside and out? Perhaps go on a real estate site to see other homes' improvements as opposed to mine? I'm doing this on my own because the legal help fell through. Neighbors were supposed to get together with legal help on this...

The driver called his boss, and the police, and reported the truck stolen. A short time later, after leaving the supermarket with his boss, the driver spotted his truck being driven along Harry Hines Boulevard. The driver again called the police, who were able to stop the driver and take him into custody. A quick search of the truck revealed that, according to the driver's statement in the police report, 100 boxes, or more likely cases, worth an estimated $5,000, were missing from the truck.

The animal-welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says Austin ranks first on its list of most vegan-friendly cities in the United States. Paul McCartney presented the award to Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell while in town for a concert two weeks ago. Los Angeles, New York and Chicago round out the top five. Seattle is No. 6.

Too short to excerpt. This is a must watch video. Dzhokhar and mama both saying to each other not to say anything. The brothers were supposed to fly to Dagestan on the day the FBI released their pictures.

There is a beach in Fort Bragg, California, that’s famous for the iridescent sea glass that shimmers on its shores. A dump until the 1960s, Glass Beach underwent massive cleanup projects in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the glass from bottles and other items remained, worn smooth over time as it tumbled through the ocean... In fact, even though removing sea glass from the beach is prohibited, rangers from California State Parks, which owns the beach, see people taking the smooth, pebble-like glass pieces home in Ziploc bags and buckets all the time

Convicted killer Joran van der Sloot is planning to wed a Peruvian woman in the prison where he is serving a 28-year sentence... The couple hopes to be able to marry within the next two weeks, Altez said. They reportedly met while she was visiting another inmate at Miguel Castro Castro prison in San Juan de Lurigancho.

Military law allows defendants to represent themselves. But the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, is expected to ask Hasan's attorneys to stay throughout the trial in case he asks for their help.

Billie Sol Estes, a flamboyant Texas huckster who became one of the most notorious men in America in 1962 when he was accused of looting a federal crop subsidy program, has died. He was 88... One of the strangest episodes in his life involved the death of a U.S. Department of Agriculture official who was investigating Estes just before he was accused in the fertilizer tank case. Henry Marshall's 1961 death was initially ruled a suicide even though he had five bullet wounds. But in 1984, Estes told a grand jury that Johnson had ordered the official killed to prevent...

Just three weeks before he's to stand trial for the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage, an Army psychiatrist wants his trial delayed until this fall. Maj. Nidal Hasan's attorneys are to ask a judge Thursday to delay the court-martial from late May until Sept. 1

At 105-YEARS-OLD, Pearl Cantrell most definitely wants bacon with that. "I love bacon, I could eat it for every meal - and I do!", the Texas granny told a local TV station... News of her faith in bacon reached a local producer, Oscar Mayer. They organised a special treat via fast food outlet Weinermobile.

The dinosaur was seized by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after it was sold at auction in New York for over $1 million last year. The government said the skeleton was mislabeled as reptile bones from Great Britain. By law, any dinosaur fossils found in Mongolia belong to the country and its people. "It's really important that as nations, we recognize there's a difference between art sold in the regular course of business, and then there are things that are truly national heritage," said ICE director John Morton.