State Headlines
Widespread power outages from deadly Houston storm raise new risk: hot weather
Posted/updated on: May 18, 2024 at 3:40 pmHOUSTON (AP) — As the Houston area works to clean up and restore power to thousands after deadly storms, it will do so Saturday under a smog warning and as all of southern Texas starts to feel the heat. The National Weather Service in Houston warned that with temperatures hitting around 90 degrees (32.2 C) this weekend, people should know the symptoms of heat exhaustion. ”Don’t overdo yourself during the cleanup process," it said in a post on the social platform X. The balmy weather is a concern in a region where more than 555,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity Friday night — down from nearly 1 million, according to PowerOutage.us. Fierce storms Thursday with winds of up to 100 mph (161 kph) blew ... Read More
Severe storms kill at least 4 in Houston, knock out power to 900,000
Posted/updated on: May 18, 2024 at 3:40 pmHOUSTON (AP) — Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas on Thursday for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area. Officials urged residents to keep off roads, as many were impassable and traffic lights were expected to be out for much of the night. “Stay at home tonight. Do not go to work tomorrow, unless you’re an essential worker. Stay home, take care of your children,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in an evening briefing. “Our first responders will be working around the clock.” The mayor said four people died during the severe weather. At least two of the deaths were ... Read More
Donald Trump will address the NRA in Texas. He’s called himself the best president for gun owners
Posted/updated on: May 18, 2024 at 3:40 pmDALLAS (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is expected to address thousands of members of the National Rifle Association in Texas a day after campaigning in Minnesota in the midst of his hush money trial. Trump has pledged to continue to defend the Second Amendment and has called himself “the best friend gun owners have ever had in the White House” as the country faces record numbers of deaths due to mass shootings. Last year ended with 42 mass killings and 217 deaths, making it one of the deadliest years on record. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has been criticized by President Joe Biden, specifically for remarks he made earlier this year after a school shooting in Iowa, which he called “very terrible” only to ... Read More
Border arrests are down
Posted/updated on: May 18, 2024 at 3:40 pmAUSTIN (AP) - Arrests for illegally crossing the U.S. border from Mexico fell more than 6% in April to the fourth lowest month of the Biden administration, authorities said Wednesday, bucking the usual spring increase. U.S. officials have largely attributed the decline to more enforcement in Mexico, including in yards where migrants are known to board freight trains. Mexico won’t allow more than 4,000 illegal crossings a day to the U.S., Alicia Barcena, Mexico’s foreign relations secretary, told reporters Tuesday, down from more than 10,000 Border Patrol arrests on some days in December. Migrants were arrested 128,900 times in April, down from 137,480 in March and barely half a record-high of 249,737 in December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. While still historically high, the ... Read More
Lawyers discuss role classified documents may play in bribery case against Texas Rep
Posted/updated on: May 18, 2024 at 3:40 pmHOUSTON (AP) — Prosecutors and defense attorneys on Thursday discussed whether classified documents might play a role in the planned trial of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, who is facing federal bribery and conspiracy charges over accusations he accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. During the hearing in a Houston federal courtroom, prosecutors declined to discuss publicly any information related to what type of classified documents might be part of the case. But Garrett Coyle, a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, said authorities didn’t anticipate disclosing any classified material to the defense. “Congressman Cuellar could have access to classified information,” Coyle said. Chris Flood, one of Cuellar’s attorneys, said the defense currently does ... Read More
Texas governor pardons ex-Army sergeant convicted of killing Black Lives Matter protester
Posted/updated on: May 18, 2024 at 3:40 pmAUSTIN(AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a full pardon Thursday for a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed demonstrator in 2020 during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice. Abbott announced the pardon just a few minutes after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles announced that it unanimously recommended that Daniel Perry be pardoned and have his firerams rights restored. Perry has been held in state prison on a 25-year sentence since his conviction in 2023 in the killing of Garrett Foster. Abbott, a Republican, had previously previously ordered the board to review Perry’s case and said he would sign a pardon if recommended. Under Texas law, the governor cannot issue a pardon without a recommendation ... Read More
Texas judge orders new election after GOP lawsuit challenged 2022 election result
Posted/updated on: May 18, 2024 at 3:40 pmHOUSTON (AP) — A Texas judge has ruled in favor of a Republican candidate challenging the results in a 2022 judicial race and ordered that a new election be held in the nation’s third-most populous county, a Democratic stronghold that’s been beset by GOP efforts to dictate how ballots are cast. A losing GOP candidate in a November 2022 judicial race had filed a lawsuit calling for a new election in her contest in Harris County, where Houston is located. Republican Tami Pierce lost her race to be a criminal court judge to the Democratic incumbent, DaSean Jones, by 449 votes. Pierce blamed her defeat on allegations that illegal votes were cast by people who did not live in the county and that some ballots ... Read More
Texas barge collision spills up to 2,000 gallons of oil
Posted/updated on: May 18, 2024 at 3:40 pmGALVESTON (AP) — Early estimates indicate up to 2,000 gallons of oil may have spilled into surrounding waters when a barge carrying fuel broke free from a tugboat and slammed into a bridge near Galveston, Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday. The barge crashed into a pillar supporting the Pelican Island Causeway span on Wednesday. The impact caused the bridge to partially collapse and cut off the only road connecting Galveston to Pelican Island, the Coast Guard said. Video shows splotches of oil had spilled from the barge into Galveston Bay. Jeff Davis of the Texas General Land Office said during a news conference Thursday that early cleanup efforts have not identified any impacted wildlife. The barge has the capacity to hold 30,000 barrels, ... Read More
Philadelphia still the 6th-biggest U.S. city, but San Antonio catching up, census data shows
Posted/updated on: May 18, 2024 at 3:40 pmPHILADELPHIA (AP) — New federal estimates show Philadelphia remains the nation’s sixth-most-populous city, despite a decline in population throughout the pandemic. But the U.S. Census Bureau data out this week also shows San Antonio, Texas, could surpass Philadelphia in the coming years if trends continue. The data shows that Philadelphia lost 3.3% of its population — roughly 53,000 residents — between April 2020 and July 2023, dropping the city’s overall population to about 1,550,542. San Antonio, meanwhile, saw the largest numerical increase in its population of any city in the country in 2023, adding about 22,000 residents last year. Its population now stands at 1,495,295, according to census estimates, or about 55,000 people behind Philadelphia. The data also shows Philadelphia is not the only major ... Read More
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