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Lionsgate has acquired the film "Silk Road," a crime thriller based on the true story of Austin native and criminal Ross Ubricht in his endeavors to create the Internet's first anonymous, unregulated marketplace.
Lionsgate is planning to release the film in theaters, on digital and video-on-demand on Feb. 19, with a DVD and Blu-ray release on Feb. 23.
The film, based on the Rolling Stone article "Dead End on Silk Road" by David Kushner and directed by Tiller Russell, chronicles Westlake High School graduate and young entrepreneur Ulbricht, played by Nick Robinson, as he builds the Silk Road, which became the fastest-growing black market for drugs in the world.
The website catches the attention of disgraced DEA agent Rick Bowden, played by Jason Clarke, whose affinity for substance abuse arms him for an elaborate game of hide-and-seek against Ulbricht, with high-stakes consequences and constant paranoia looming overhead.
"Silk Road is a thrilling story with the kind of stranger-than-fiction details that can only come from a true story," Lionsgate VP of acquisitions Lauren Bixby said in a statement. "This movie will keep audiences riveted by its cat-and-mouse game of a criminal mastermind being tracked by a hot-headed narc."
Ulbricht grew up in Austin and earned a bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Texas at Dallas followed by a master's in materials science and engineering at Pennsylvania State University. He returned to his home city after graduating and, following an unsatisfying attempt at regular employment, turned toward entrepreneurship.
After a few failed business attempts, Ulbricht ran the Silk Road from 2011 to 2013, under the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts," after the character in the novel and film "The Princess Bride." He was arrested in 2013 and charged with a double life sentence plus 40 years without possibility of parole after being convicted of money laundering, conspiracy to commit computer hacking, and conspiracy to traffic narcotics.
At the time of seizure, Ulbricht had amassed $28.5 million.
Today is my 2,500th day in prison. If you believe I deserve to be freed and returned home, I ask that you please… https://t.co/391nG5q6Px— Ross Ulbricht (@Ross Ulbricht)1596549219.0
The Silk Road has continued to make headlines, even years after the investigation into its operations was concluded. The site was shut down in 2013, though still housed $1 million in bitcoin until recently—signaling that the darkest parts of the web may yet to be uncovered.
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Grant Weddle, 23, isn't totally sure how he contracted COVID-19.
"I had this girl, we weren't dating … but we were talking and hanging out and whatnot," he told Austonia. She went out to the bars one night in early December, and after spending time with her, they had both developed symptoms.
<p>Now that Weddle has recovered from COVID, he feels differently. "I don't feel as at risk as before," he said. </p><p>Others feel similarly. </p><p>Lynn, a 23-year-old server who works in North Austin and asked to be identified by her middle name, tested positive for COVID in late December after experiencing mild, allergy-like symptoms. Since then, she has noticed an attitude shift. "It sounds bad to say but I feel kind of invincible," she said. "In my head, I should be free from COVID at least through March." </p><p><strong>Germ theory </strong></p><p>The 20- to 29-age group is less at risk for hospitalization and death due to COVID, accounting for 26% of the confirmed cases in Travis County but only 8% of hospitalizations and 1% of deaths. But local public health officials have stressed that they can easily spread the virus to others and should observe precautions to avoid doing so. </p><p>This concern became especially acute in the wake of the Christmas and New Year's holidays when nearly half of the new cases confirmed in Travis County were in the 20-29 and 30-39 age groups, which officials attributed to social gatherings and travel. They also criticized state-level loopholes that allow <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-bars-stay-open" target="_blank">some bars "masquerading as restaurants"</a> to remain open.</p><p>There is still confusion about how long a person who has recovered from COVID may be immune to it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p><p>Weddle knows this. "I'm not naive in thinking that I'm home free, and I'll never get (COVID) again," he said, adding that he continues to take precautions—such as masking while in public—to avoid acting as a carrier.</p><p>Still, having COVID has changed his outlook. </p><p><strong>Risk assessment </strong></p><p>Weddle, who works as an essential worker and asked that his exact job title not be used, said he has taken the pandemic seriously since it began in March. Because his job puts him in contact with strangers every day, he traded out nights on Sixth Street for board game nights at home. </p><p>But it's not that easy for someone in their early twenties to avoid socializing—especially those who have recovered from COVID and now feel the chances of getting it a second time are almost nonexistent. </p><p>Weddle went out to the bars for New Year's Eve, which he acknowledged was risky. "I guess being locked inside for as long as I was (with COVID), I was cooped up and I needed a release," he said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="2344" data-rm-shortcode-id="1756f6097ef396e8d00f42e10d92eb7c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUzNTMyMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMjAxMzM4Nn0.ovo9QzEag_mKemNZhgc73K5lXzDMkyF5g8jjefXZfbM/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="3509" id="b52ec" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">(File photo)</small></p><p>Weddle feels comfortable talking to his friends and posting on social media about his experience with COVID—in part because he feels blameless as far as how he contracted the disease. "I got it because someone else went out and gave it to me," he said. "It's not my fault."<br/></p><p>Lynn, who is also an essential worker, feels similarly. She said her social media feeds are full of people who appear to be taking fewer precautions than she is. "Not necessarily in shoulder-to-shoulder bars but going out to eat, getting brunch with a friend, on Sixth Street," she said. "Because my friend group is just as lax as I am, I'm not necessarily worried about how I'll be received."</p><p>Despite feeling invincible and taking some risks, Lynn feels like she is taking adequate precautions to prevent spreading the virus to other people should she be exposed to it again. When visiting her mom, who lives outside of Fort Worth and works in the medical field, she avoids going out the week or two prior. She is also comforted by the fact that her mom has received the first dose of the vaccine and is regularly screened for COVID at work. "She has way more access to testing than anyone else that I know, so I feel more chill," she said.</p><p>Still, Lynn is eager for more people to get vaccinated, including her. She said wants the vaccine so she can feel more secure working and going out. "As soon as the vaccine is readily available, I will be first in line," she said. </p>
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U.S. House Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, met with members of the Texas National Guard on Friday.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, spent the afternoon of Jan. 6 barricaded in his office in the Rayburn House Office Building, with a sofa and a baseball bat as protection against what he called the terrorists on the other side of the door.
"It was a really dark day for the United States," he told Austonia.
<p>As Congress prepared to vote on whether to certify the results of the November presidential election, former President Donald Trump had spoken that morning to a group of supporters at "Save America" rally at the Ellipse, a 52-acre park south of the White House, where he repeated baseless claims that the election had been "stolen" from him. Afterwards, thousands of attendees marched to the U.S. Capitol, where they breached police lines and scaled the walls of the building itself. </p><p>"The members were evacuated off the floor. The alarms went off," McCaul said. "I barricaded myself in my office, which is right off the Capitol. The terrorists, if you will, (we) could hear them outside of my office trying to get in. So we barricaded the office with a sofa, and all I had, really, was a baseball bat to protect myself and my staff."</p><p>Capitol police were soon on the scene. "The mob were dressed in kind of paramilitary-style uniforms. The Capitol police came up and there was a big skirmish between the two," McCaul continued. "We want to thank the Capitol police for saving us." </p><p>Nearly three hours after rioters began to clash with police on the Capitol steps, the D.C. National Guard <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2021/01/06/dc-protests-capitol-riot-trump-supporters-electoral-college-stolen-election/6568305002/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">was sent in</a> as reinforcement, and congressional leaders <a href="https://twitter.com/Phil_Mattingly/status/1346937291793641475" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">were evacuated</a> from the Capitol complex. By 8 p.m. Congress had reconvened—and four people were dead. </p><p>McCaul spoke to Austonia about his experience at the Capitol that day, as well as his thoughts on impeachment, the inauguration and border security. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.</p><p><strong>After the riot</strong> </p><p>After the deadly riot, McCaul voted against objecting to the electoral votes of two states: Arizona and Pennsylvania. The majority of House Republicans, however, voted differently. Of the 211 Republican members, 121 objected to Arizona's votes and 138 to Pennsylvania's. But they were outnumbered by Democrats, and by 4 a.m. both the House and Senate had voted to certify the votes of the Electoral College, validating then President-elect Joe Biden's victory. </p><p>"It's not our job to overturn or second guess the certificates if they're authentic," McCaul said. "The states have certified. The Founding Fathers gave the states that power, not the federal government or Congress."</p><p>Despite breaking with his caucus on certification and condemning Trump's behavior leading up to the riot, McCaul opposed impeachment on the grounds that the process had been rushed. "We have not been given the time to truly look at the facts and the evidence before this impeachment was hurried to the House floor," he said in <a href="https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccauls-statement-on-impeachment-vote" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a Jan. 13 statement</a>. "We haven't been given the opportunity to hear from a single witness, or hold even one hearing." </p><p>McCaul did admit to doubt. "I don't know what's out there, what decisions were being made with respect to the use of the National Guard to protect the members of Congress," he told Austonia, adding that the Senate trial may uncover answers to these questions. But he also has reservations about whether the trial should move forward at all. "I think the country, to be quite honest with you, is ready to move forward with the new administration and not live in the past," he said. </p><p>It remains to be seen whether Trump will face consequences as a result of the riot, but McCaul is optimistic that some of the rioters will. This session, he reintroduced a bill that would allow the Justice Department to charge individuals with domestic terrorism, which would carry corresponding sentencing of up to life in prison or death. "(The riot) was definitely an act of domestic terrorism, and I think we need to address that," he said, adding that he thinks the bill failed last session because of a focus on international terrorism. "But I think what happened on Jan. 6 has changed everything." </p><p><strong>A new administration</strong> </p><p>McCaul was at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, one of several he has attended during his 16 years in office. "This one was obviously very different in the sense that we have a global pandemic, and we were at the United States Capitol, which was under attack just a few days ago," he said. </p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aea6629addc3023b9f2b375757a6bc3d" id="1f364"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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</div></blockquote></div><p>Although there was heavy police presence and no crowd, the ceremony was similar to past inaugurations in other ways. "It's really the day our nation comes together as Americans first to honor the peaceful transition of power that we've done for over 200 years," he said. "So it has a very sacred feeling to it." </p><p>McCaul is serving his eighth term as the representative of the 10th District of Texas, which spans from Central Austin to the northwest Houston suburbs. He ranks middle-right in terms of ideology and high in terms of leadership, according to the <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/michael_mccaul/400654" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Congressional tracking site GovTrack</a>. He is married to Linda Mays McCaul, whose father is the billionaire founder and former chairman of Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia. They have five children.</p><p>Prior to holding elected office, McCaul served as the chief of counter terrorism and national security in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas and as a federal prosecutor for the Department of Justice. As a self-described supporter of the DOJ and intelligence communities, he stressed the importance of nonpartisanship in those areas. </p><p>"You have political appointees, but you don't want to inject politics in our federal criminal justice system. Our intelligence community should be protected from that as well," he said. "I hope the Biden administration will move forward in that way of thinking."</p><p>McCaul has a balanced view on the issues of border security and immigration reform. "Trying to tackle immigration reform is very difficult, and it brings out the best and the worst in people," he said, adding that he believes any policy needs to combine technology, infrastructure and manpower. "We need to know who's coming into this country to be able to control and protect Americans." </p><p>Where many Republicans flaunt their ideological rigidity, McCaul believes that the two parties can—and should—work together. He is hardly a centrist, however. A <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/michael-t-mccaul/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FiveThirtyEight analysis found</a> he voted in line with Trump 93.6% of the time.</p><p>"You know, I got ranked by Georgetown University as the <a href="https://www.thelugarcenter.org/ourwork-Bipartisan-Index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=20abfc4c-e01c-49d2-8a26-5d420d4918fb" target="_blank">most bipartisan lawmaker from Texas</a>—and <a href="https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccaul-named-third-most-effective-lawmaker-of-the-115th-congress?fbclid=IwAR3atoTb4eLwoUvcOm5jLJwa0mGKG4Nmh_P-8oiQ8O7P465oG3SDdtfOSjs" target="_blank">third most effective</a>," he said. "The way I get things done is I work across the aisle."</p>
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