ATX PULSE 1/28-30/26 (free) (sponsored by Kelsey Easton, COMPASS): ATX Storm Response Winds Down, Warm Weather Shelters Remain Open Through Feb. 1 // UT-Austin Now NSF’s #1 Funded Campus // APD Seeks Help Identifying Suspect in NW Austin Bank Robbery // City of Austin Paid $143M in Employee Overtime in 2025 // Austin FC Signs Torres

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2026 - FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2026

Compiled by Matt Mackowiak

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WEATHER

Today: H: 45° / L: 25°.

Sunday: H: 60° / L: 37°.

Monday: H: 69° / L: 58°.

Tuesday: H: 72° / L: 44°.

Wednesday: H: 67° / L: 37°.

TOP NEWS

"Austin storm response winds down; overnight shelters to operate through Feb. 1" Community Impact | News's Ben Thompson – Austin has officially ended the local emergency operations that ramped up in response to the past week’s severe winter weather, while overnight cold weather shelters will continue to operate through Feb. 1.

The Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center deactivated at noon Jan. 28. The center was first activated Jan. 24 in response to the recent weather event that included local disaster declarations by Austin and Travis County officials.

The city and county have now transitioned to “ongoing recovery and monitoring operations,” a news release states, with most Austin facilities returning to normal operations after public buildings were closed or had delayed openings to start the week.

(Community Impact | News)

"Austin businesses join national ICE protest with Friday closures" Austin American-Statesman's Ana Gutierrez – On Friday, Jan. 30, a coalition of businesses, labor groups and advocacy organizations in Austin will join a nationwide day of action calling for a shutdown of schools, workplaces and retail outlets to protest the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Organizers say the day of no work, no school and no shopping is intended to send a clear message: “Stop funding ICE.”

The protest comes in response to the killings of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Silverio Villegas González, and Keith Porter Jr., all civilians who died during encounters with federal agents. Supporters of the protest say these individuals were exercising their First Amendment rights rather than engaging in criminal activity.

(Austin American-Statesman)

"UT Austin becomes NSF’s top-funded campus, driven by computing and AI" Austin American-Statesman's Lily Kepner – The University of Texas at Austin was the top university for research funded by the National Science Foundation nationally in fiscal year 2024 — a sign of the university’s leadership in scientific research.

Federal funding pays for 60% of UT’s research. In 2024, NSF dollars made up $176.4 million of that funding, accounting for roughly one-quarter of UT’s total federal research dollars.

The National Science Foundation’s mission is to advance scientific discovery, national prosperity and national security. The federal agency funds thousands of projects at 1,900 universities annually. UT’s top rank means the Texas flagship received more funding than any other institution, according to a Higher Education Research and Development survey.

(Austin American-Statesman)

"UT Launches Ackerman Program on Jewish and Western Civilization, Rosenthal-Levy Scholars" The University of Texas at Austin's Jacey Yarbrough – AUSTIN, Texas — Recognizing the significant impact of Jewish thought and the state of Israel on the modern world, The University of Texas at Austin is launching two collaborative initiatives that will deepen our students’ understanding of the foundations of Western civilization and the American tradition of ordered liberty. These initiatives are being bolstered through $12.5 million of generous philanthropic support from Tomas and Abby Ackerman, Gary and Lee Rosenthal, and Paul and Karen Levy.

Students in the Ackerman Program on Jewish and Western Civilization and the Rosenthal-Levy Scholars program will study in UT’s School of Civic Leadership, which equips the next generation of leaders to understand America’s constitutional democracy. Both programs will begin in Fall 2026.

“The School of Civic Leadership is leading the way toward the renewal of classical liberal education in America,” said Tomas Ackerman, who is a UT alumnus.-

(The University of Texas at Austin)

"What's making people in Austin sick? Here's what's popping up in local clinics" Austin American-Statesman's Nicole Villalpando – We are in the middle of cold and flu season as well as in the heart of cedar fever season in Central Texas.

Here's what local clinics are seeing right now:

Most of the flu seen locally and nationally has been flu A, specifically the H3N2 subclade K variant. This variant was not targeted in the flu shot, but the flu shot has been keeping people out of the hospital.

The group hardest hit by the flu continues to be children. In Texas, two children have died from the flu this season.

This year's flu has the classic symptoms: fever, body aches, runny or stuffy nose, cough, chest congestion, headache, sore throat, fatigue, sweating and chills, but some people also have experienced nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain.

(Austin American-Statesman)

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