TRINITY COUNTY, Texas (KETK)— The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation after gallon barrels of chemicals and paint were illegally dumped into a local creek.
According to the sheriff’s office, 55-gallon barrels containing chemicals, paint and unknown substances were dumped from a white rental truck into a creek near the Port Adventure subdivision, less than half a mile from Lake Livingston.
“Dumping chemicals into our waterways can harm wildlife, contaminate drinking water, and create long-term environmental damage that affects this county for years to come,” Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace said.
A cleanup effort to remove the chemicals from the water has begun and crews from Lone Star Hazmat are currently on the scene. The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who witnessed the products being dumped to contact authorities at 936-642-1424 so they can build a strong case against potential suspects.
“If we allow this kind of behavior, we are inviting more of it,” Wallace said. “A dirty environment attracts more crime, more dumping, and more people who have no respect for this county.”
TYLER — The WAGES Act, introduced by Representative Nathaniel Moran (R), Texas, looks to give manual labor companies more support in apprenticeship programs through a tax credit. According to our news partner KETK, Moran is making waves in East Texas blue-collar industries through his new Workforce, Apprenticeship Growth and Education Support (WAGES) Act. He’s making the pitch this week to companies in the Pineywoods and if passed, the new law would allow companies with a registered apprenticeship program to pay apprentices and mentors while covering program expenses.
WAGES would help the next generation of workers at Trane Technologies get adapted to their work environment before taking on the job.
“It says we want to give you an employment tax credit up to $5,000 per apprentice per quarter against those taxes you’re paying every quarter,” Moran said. Continue reading Moran pitches WAGES Act
SAN AUGUSTINE, Texas (KETK)– An East Texas man was sentenced to 99 years in prison on Thursday after committing murder with a crossbow in 2022.
Lorenza White was arrested in December 2022 after deputies from the San Augustine County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding an unresponsive and bloodied man lying in the front yard of a house on FM 711.
Once on the scene, deputies found the victim dead from injuries he sustained after being shot by a crossbow in the back. White was later arrested in Lufkin after he was seen driving in the victim’s truck, which had been reported stolen.
After being placed under arrest, White admitted to officials that he had shot the victim with a crossbow and then stole his truck. White was later charged with murder, aggravated robbery and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
On Thursday, White was sentenced to 99 years in prison after being found guilty by a jury of murder.
EL PASO (AP) – A group of civil rights organizations on Monday filed a new lawsuit seeking to stop parts of the law that would let Texas police arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
The law can go into effect next week after a federal appeals court lifted a lower court ruling that had kept it paused for years.
Senate Bill 4, as the law is known, created a state-level crime for entering the country without authorization and created pathways for state authorities to remove such people from the country if convicted.
Courts have long held that immigration enforcement is the sole responsibility of the federal government, but with the state law, Texas Republicans sought to challenge that precedent.
The Texas Civil Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, and ACLU argue in Monday’s lawsuit the law is unconstitutional because immigration law is exclusively the federal government’s domain and should preempt the state law.
They are trying to stop four provisions of SB 4: the creation of a crime for re-entering the country without authorization, even if a person has since obtained legal status; granting state magistrates authority to order a person’s deportation; the creation of a crime for failing to comply with a magistrate’s order; and requiring that magistrates continue a prosecution even if a person has a pending immigration case such as an asylum claim.
“Our fight against SB 4 isn’t over until justice wins,” Kate Gibson Kumar, of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said in a statement. “SB 4 is not only unconstitutional, but a vile law that uses our Texas resources to harm communities across our state.”
The lawsuit is the latest effort to stop the 2023 law, passed by the Legislature in response to record border crossings that GOP state leaders argued amounted to an invasion.
The Biden administration was among the plaintiffs to initially challenge the law in 2024, but the Trump administration last year terminated the Department of Justice’s participation in the lawsuit amid his immigration crackdown.
That lawsuit continued until two weeks ago, when a federal appeals court lifted an injunction that had stopped the law when it ruled that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue.
The law can go into effect May 15 unless it’s halted by another court.
EAST TEXAS — Nearly one-third of students who applied for Texas’ new school choice program have been approved so far, according to updated data from the Texas Comptroller’s Office and our news partner KETK.
Of the 8,855 East Texas students who submitted applications, 2,744 have been accepted to receive a Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA). The update comes after Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced Monday that more than 53,000 additional students statewide are expected to be awarded TEFA funding for the 2026–27 school year in Tier 2. Those awards follow the 42,600 students approved late last month in Tier 1.
“Texas families have waited a long time for school choice, and the response to TEFA shows just how much this opportunity means to parents across our state,” Hancock said. “This first year is groundbreaking for Texas. Continue reading Area students approved for choice program
TYLER — Hundreds of miles off the East Coast and unconnected from the internet, Tylerite Sorayda Rivera was enjoying what was supposed to be a relaxing cruise, but quickly became a search for a way back home after Spirit Airlines canceled her flight in its spontaneous shut down.
On Saturday, Spirit Airlines said that it has officially gone out of business after 34 years. According to our news partner KETK, Rivera, who had flown to Miami from the DFW Airport, found out this morning immediately after reaching cell service at the end of her cruise.
“As soon as we got to Florida this morning,” Rivera said, “I turned on my phone, got my airplane mode off and I went to my Spirit app. It turned out that Spirit canceled all their flights because they’re no longer in business.”
Stock photo of a colorized electron micrograph of the Hantavirus. (Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Lib/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) -- A rare rodent-borne disease may be behind an outbreak aboard a cruise ship.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says there has been one laboratory confirmed case and five suspected cases. Of those six people, three have died.
The deaths occurred between April 11 and May 2 and the variant of hantavirus identified in at least one patient who is currently in intensive care, according to the WHO.
The WHO ?said on Monday that investigations into the deaths and illnesses are ongoing, including further laboratory testing.
The outbreak was reported on the MV Hondius, run by Oceanwide Expeditions, which was traveling between Argentina and the Canary Islands via Cape Verde.
Currently, the ship is off the coast of Cape Verde with 149 people on board representing 23 different nationalities, Oceanwide Expeditions said in a press release on Monday.
Here's what you need to know about the outbreak, what hantavirus is and how it spreads.
Timeline of the outbreak
South African health officials said in a statement on Monday that the first two deaths occurred in a married couple from the Netherlands. The 70-year-old male passenger became ill first with a fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea. He passed away upon arriving in St. Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, according to the statement.
The deceased passenger's wife, 69, collapsed at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport while trying to connect to fly home to the Netherlands, according the country's department of health. She was taken to a medical facility in nearby Kempton Park, where she also passed away, the statement said.
Another patient, a British national, fell ill while the ship was traveling from St. Helena to Ascension, also a British territory, according to the statement.
"Despite medical treatment provided to him at Ascension, his condition did not improve and necessitated his medical evacuation to a South African private health facility in Sandton for further medical management," the statement said.
The patient is currently in critical condition in isolation but receiving medical attention, according to health officials, who said his laboratory test results came back positive for hantavirus.
Oceanwide Expeditions said in Monday's press release that the first death occurred on April 11 and that the company learned of the second death on April 27. The British national also fell in on April 27.
A third passenger of German nationality died on May 2 from causes not yet known, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.
Meanwhile, two crew members – one of British nationality and one of Dutch nationality – are on board the MV Hondius with acute respiratory symptoms. One has a mild illness and one has severe symptoms, with both requiring urgent medical care, Oceanwide Expeditions said, adding that no other people with symptoms have been identified.
The company said that hantavirus has not been confirmed in the two patients still on board the ship, nor has it been confirmed as the cause of the three passenger deaths.
"Strict precautionary measures are in process on board, including isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring. All passengers have been informed and are being supported," the company said. "We understand the considerable interest and concern and will share new information as soon as it has been verified."
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreysus said in a post on X on Sunday that the organization is working closely with both member states and ship operators in response to the suspected hantavirus cases.
"WHO is facilitating medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, conducting a full risk assessment, and supporting affected people onboard," Ghebreysus wrote.
The viruses cause two syndromes: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). HPS is mostly found in the Western Hemisphere, including the U.S., and HFRS is mostly found in Europe and Asia.
Surveillance for hantavirus in the U.S. began in 1993 during an outbreak in the Four Corners region, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet, the CDC said. Between 1993 and the end of 2023, 890 cases of hantavirus disease have been reported in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Hantavirus became more widely known after being identified as the cause of death of the wife of actor Gene Hackman after the couple was found dead at their New Mexico home in February 2025.
How does hantavirus spread?
Hantaviruses are usually spread through rodents, including rats and mice, mostly from exposure to urine, droppings or saliva. Although the viruses can spread through a rodent bite or scratch, such infection is rare, the CDC says.
Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person but that also is rare and only suspected for one subtype from South America, according to the WHO.
What are the hantavirus symptoms?
HPS symptoms typically appear from one to eight weeks after contact with the virus, with early signs including fever, fatigue and muscle aches, according to the CDC. Half of HPS patients will experience headaches, chills, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
The CDC says that between four and 10 days after the initial phase of illness, the late symptoms will appear, including coughing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest as the lungs fill with fluid.
About 38% of people who develop HPS respiratory symptoms may die from the disease, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of HFRS usually develop one to two weeks after exposure and typically include intense headaches, fever, chills, back pain, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, the CDC says.
Later symptoms may include low blood pressure, lack of blood flow, internal bleeding and acute kidney failure. Depending on the virus causing the infection, fatality among infected humans can range from less than 1% to as high as 15%, the CDC says.
What hantavirus treatments are available?
No specific treatment is available for hantavirus infection, with the CDC recommending patients receive supportive care such as rest, hydration and treatment of symptoms.
Because HPS can cause breathing difficulties, patients may need breathing support, such as intubation, the CDC says.
Because HFRS can disrupt kidney function, infected patients may need dialysis to remove toxins from the blood, according to the CDC.
HOUSTON COUNTY (KETK) – The Houston County Sheriff’s Office recently recovered several items that had been stolen from homes near State Highway 7, including pieces of jewelry and sports memorabilia. According to our news partner KETK, on April 7, sheriff’s office deputies were sent out to a home on State Highway 7 west to investigate a reported robbery. Several items were reportedly missing from this first home.
Then, on April 25, a deputy responded to another home on State Highway 7 west where several purses, credit cards and debit cards were stolen. Hours after that robbery, one of the debit cards was reportedly used at an ATM in Crockett.
The sheriff’s office got bank video from the ATM and identified a suspect in the robberies as the person trying to use the stolen debit card. The sheriff’s office added that information from several citizens was essential in identifying the suspect.
On Wednesday, April 29, deputies headed to a residence in the area near the burgled homes. Once at the residence, deputies located the suspect and found probable cause to arrest them and charge them for burglary of a habitation, burglary of a vehicle and credit card abuse.
LINDALE – Residents of Lindale gathered together on Saturday to remember Adrian Sue Thompson, an 8-year-old girl who died on April 16. Saturday’s public memorial service for Adrian was held at the Bethel Bible South Campus in Lindale. The service included congregational hymns, remarks from Adrian’s parents and friends, a presentation on Adrian’s life and a message from Rev. Eric Barton.
Adrian was a Christian and a member of Bethel Bible Church. Outside of school, she was involved in jazz and ballet dancing and enjoyed playing the video game Minecraft and visiting her grandparents in the summer.
The Texas Rangers are investigating Adrian’s death from choking, which has prompted calls for mandatory Heimlich Maneuver training for teachers in Texas.
TYLER – The 2026 BMW of Tyler Patriot Golf Classic raised $123,350 to benefit The University of Texas at Tyler scholarship program.
“Every scholarship created through this tournament represents a student who can focus on learning rather than worrying about financial barriers,” said UT Tyler President Julie V. Philley, MD. “We are grateful to our volunteers, participants and community for their commitment and belief in our students.”
Since 1986, the Patriot Golf Classic has been one of the university’s largest annual fundraisers benefiting UT Tyler student scholarships at its four campuses. Proceeds fund an endowment that totals nearly $3 million. Continue reading Golf tourney raises more than 120K
EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — Authorities in Oklahoma were looking for suspects Monday in a weekend shooting at an unsanctioned lakeside party packed with young adults that left at least 23 people injured, some critically, according to police and hospital officials.
It wasn’t clear how many of those injured had suffered gunshot wounds, according to a statement released by police Monday. No arrests had been made.
The shooting broke out Sunday night during a party near a campground at Arcadia Lake, a popular swimming and boating spot in Edmond, just outside Oklahoma City, said Edmond police spokesperson Emily Ward.
At least 18 people were treated at hospitals in the Oklahoma City area. One healthcare system said the victims it treated ranged in age from 16 to 30. It said three people were in critical condition and four were listed as serious.
Jason Hearne told ABC News that he was nearby when the shooting started and saw people who had been shot in the legs and one young woman with a head wound who was still breathing.
“These kids came out to have a, probably a good time, and for this to break out, I know that wasn’t what they expected, and it’s just tragic,” he said.
Police in Edmond said Monday that the party was not a permitted or reserved gathering and had been advertised across social media, drawing a large crowd of mostly young adults from across the Oklahoma City area.
“There is no reason to believe there is an ongoing threat to the public,” police said in a statement.
Some of those injured were transported from the scene while others sought treatment on their own, police said.
Integris Health said it treated 13 people at its hospitals in Edmond and Oklahoma City. Seven remained in Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, including three in critical condition.
OU Health said it received five people at its trauma center but provided no other details.
While police did not provide more details about the party, a flyer circulated on social media after the shooting suggested that an event called Sunday Funday was scheduled at a pavilion near the lake until midnight.
It advertised food, drinks, music and “good vibes, good people.”
Arcadia Lake sits just north of Oklahoma City and is dotted with picnic pavilions, campgrounds, a fishing pier, and swimming beaches.
It was built in the 1980s for outdoor recreation and flood control and also provides water to the city of Edmond, a suburb with about with about 100,000 residents.
Forty years ago, Edmond was the site of one of the deadliest workplace shootings in U.S. history. On Aug. 20, 1986, postal worker Patrick Sherrill shot 20 co-workers, killing 14 of them. He then killed himself.
Over the weekend, another shooting at a party in the Texas Panhandle left two people teenagers dead and 10 others wounded. Police in Amarillo said two people opened fire at an apartment complex early Saturday.
Are you on the lookout for a text-to-speech reader? Go get David Rancken’s App Of The Day. It’s called Voice Dream Reader. You can find Voice Dream Reader in the Apple Store.
SULPHUR SPRINGS – Authorities in Sulphur Springs are working to identify human remains found Saturday morning.
The Sulphur Springs Police Department said officers were dispatched to Mark Street, across from the Hopkins Veterinary Clinic, at around 8:55 a.m. , where they discovered human remains near a residence. Criminal investigators and the Texas Rangers searched the surrounding area and found additional remains.
The skeletal remains have since been transported to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas, where they will attempt to identify the remains and the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing, the Sulphur Springs Police Department said.
AUSTIN — A Richardson resident claimed a Lotto Texas jackpot prize worth an estimated $41 million for the drawing held on April 20. The cash value option was selected at the time of purchase and the winner received $22,574,163.57 before taxes. The winning Quick Pick ticket matched all six of the numbers drawn (21-28-33-34-43-44). The ticket was purchased at 7-Eleven Convenience Store on Interstate Highway 30, in Mesquite.
“We haven’t missed a Lotto Texas drawing in 30 years,” said the claimant, who elected to remain anonymous.
After the claimant’s spouse checked the ticket several times to confirm the jackpot win, the spouse woke the claimant late at night with the exciting news. The spouse went straight to sleep, but the claimant told the Texas Lottery, “I stayed up all night thinking about it!”
When asked what they may do with the winnings, the winner shared that they look forward to using the prize to help their children and grandchildren, along with making time to travel, adding, “There’s a whole world out there I need to see!”
ARLINGTON (AP) – Just months into the pandemic, Matthew Haines, like landlords across the country, learned he was barred from evicting tenants who didn’t pay their rent under a federal eviction moratorium that lasted almost a year — costing him and his investors over $1 million.
Now, the 57-year-old Texan is hoping to get some relief.
Haines is among more than 1,500 property owners who filed a federal lawsuit arguing the moratorium enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention violated the Fifth Amendment by unlawfully denying them compensation. Plaintiffs range from those who lost thousands of dollars to one who lost over $14.5 million.
After initially losing in the Court of Federal Claims in 2022, the plaintiffs won on appeal and are now in settlement discussions with the Justice Department. Landlords are hoping to recoup as much as $1.5 billion — a fraction of what the industry lost.
“It’s important for us to stand up when a group like the CDC unilaterally, functionally, decides that they have a right to oversee our business,” said Haines, who owns three rental communities with 240 units in Arlington and Irving, Texas.
“What I hope that we will accomplish and, to some extent, we already have, is vindication for ourselves,” he said. “But what’s more important to me is that hopefully my investors will recover some of that money that they should have had coming in over the last six years.”
The federal eviction moratorium lasted from September 2020 through July 2021, and was among the pandemic’s most divisive policies. It ended after the Supreme Court ruled the CDC lacked authority to impose the ban without congressional authorization.
The Justice Department, responding to Associated Press questions about the landlords’ case, said it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Landlords say moratorium was bad for business
Moratoriums were also imposed in 43 states and scores of cities, which lasted longer than the federal ban because states and cities have broader regulatory powers than federal agencies like the CDC.
Landlords say the bans devastated their businesses. Unable to collect rent, many were forced to take on debt, lay off staff, delay repairs and, in some cases, sell their property. They say the impact lingers, with longer delays for evictions, tighter screening for riskier tenants and growing numbers of owners getting out of the rental business altogether.
Tenant advocates counter that eviction bans were a lifesaver. They credit them with keeping millions of tenants housed during the pandemic and slowing the spread of the coronavirus. They also argue landlords were already paid — in the form of tens of billions of dollars in rental assistance.
From the moment the pandemic hit, Haines said he knew he was in trouble: Many tenants lost their jobs, so he didn’t require new leases and tried to be flexible with those who couldn’t pay.
But when the moratorium took hold, it was the biggest threat he’d faced in 30 years in real estate.
“It was terrifying,” Haines said. “We knew almost immediately that we were going to a massive deficit in cash flow that we probably weren’t going to be able to cover.”
A survey by the National Rental Home Council, a trade association, published weeks after the federal moratorium ended, found that half of small landlords had tenants who missed rent and a third sold or planned to sell properties. The moratorium and backlog of eviction cases cost owners $57 billion, according to the lawsuit, with more than 10 million delinquent renters in just the ban’s first four months.
“Public health measures like this, they may be well intentioned,” said Creighton Magid, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “But when the government imposes this type of moratorium, the financial burden should be borne by the government, not individual property owners.”
Liz Leone, who has 52 apartments in Las Vegas and is part of the lawsuit, said the moratorium almost forced her out of business. She lost over $250,000, she said, and borrowed $60,000 from the federal Small Business Administration “just to keep my nose above water.” She’s still paying it off.
“I was definitely questioning whether I would survive,” said Leone, who’s been in the business for 35 years. “You delay all the expenses you can, but we still had to pay our property taxes. We still have to pay our utilities. … So that’s what you did: I borrowed.”
Moratorium prevented homelessness
Housing advocates maintain the policy kept families housed, noting a significant spike in evictions after the moratorium ended.
Eviction bans “were a powerful intervention to keep people in their homes,” said Kathryn Leifheit, assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and lead author of a study published in April in the medical journal JAMA Network Open that found homelessness rose 11% in a typical state in 2022, and would have increased 20% without state eviction moratoriums.
That was the case for Dulcee Barnes. The 28-year-old and her two roommates lost their restaurant jobs in Miami during the pandemic. Two months behind on rent, they would have been evicted if not for the moratorium.
“It gave us breathing room. It took away the fear of having to possibly pack up within 24 hours and live in somebody’s car or couch surfing,” she said.
Landlords already got paid
Eric Dunn, director of litigation at the National Housing Law Project, a tenants’ rights nonprofit, disputed that landlords suffered significant losses, saying they were able to collect rent and sell their properties during the moratorium.
They also benefited from $46.5 billion in federal emergency rental assistance, which the Eviction Lab at Princeton University found in April was largely targeted to areas where landlords filed the most evictions before the pandemic.
Landlords said rental assistance never fully compensated them for their losses, contending programs were often mired in red tape and poorly run. States were slow to spend the money, struggled to set up programs and, in the case of Arkansas and Nebraska, didn’t accept all federal funding.
Landlords also complained some tenants took advantage of the moratorium to live rent free. “They were doing things like buying cars,” Leone said. “They didn’t have to pay rent, and here I was driving a car that was 18 years old.”
Lingering effects of moratorium
Despite the moratorium ending five years ago, landlords say fallout from the policy remains. They are taking fewer risks and being more cautious about renting to tenants with checkered rental histories.
Rick Jones, vice chairman of Management Services Corporation, which owns 4,000 apartment units in Virginia and is party to the lawsuit, said that’s partly due to increasing fraud. Applicants fake employment records and payroll checks, he said, adding: “There are companies that just advertise really creating a whole new identity for you.”
“Most property owners and managers realize that it’s more important to keep that unit vacant than to put a bad resident in. That’s probably what the eviction moratorium reinforced,” said Jones, whose company lost more than $230,000 in unpaid rent during the pandemic.
“When you have somebody that’s bad and you can’t get them out, you’re helpless.”
Haines said he’s increased tenant screenings and turns away some low-income applicants he might have accepted before the pandemic. That’s partly because evicting a tenant takes months longer than before the pandemic, he said.
“It’s done more harm,” he said, to low-income people “that we might have considered leasing an apartment to that now we simply can’t take the risk.”
