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ALVORD, Texas (AP) — Four people were killed and 10 were injured when a van rolled multiple times after the driver veered off a Texas highway and then overcorrected Wednesday, authorities said.

The crash happened just before 8 a.m. on U.S. 287 in Alvord, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Dallas, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. DPS said the vehicle that 14 people were traveling in was headed north when the driver veered into the median and then overcorrected.

Three people, including the driver, were pronounced dead at the scene, and one passenger was pronounced dead at a hospital, DPS said.

Two of the passengers were hospitalized with critical injuries, while seven had injuries that weren’t critical and one passenger had a minor injury, DPS said.

DPS Sgt. Josue “Tony” De La Cerda said the van was traveling from Florida but he did not know its intended destination. The agency said troopers were working to identify all of those involved, and their names will be released once next of kin has been notified.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A series of raids in Texas on the homes of Latino campaign volunteers has outraged civil rights groups who want federal action after officers seized electronics and documents as part of a state investigation into alleged election fraud.

No charges have been filed against those who had their homes searched this month around San Antonio. The targets of the raids, including an 87-year-old campaign volunteer, and their supporters say they did nothing wrong and have called the searches an attempt to suppress Latino voters.

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office is leading the investigation, has said little beyond confirming that agents executed search warrants.

Here’s what to know:
Why were the homes searched?

Paxton has said his office’s Election Integrity Unit began looking into the allegations after receiving a referral from a local prosecutor.

He said that the investigation involved “allegations of election fraud and vote harvesting” and that a two-year probe provided sufficient evidence to obtain a search warrant.

“Secure elections are the cornerstone of our republic,” Paxton said in a statement last week. “We were glad to assist when the District Attorney referred this case to my office for investigation

Last week agents entered the homes of at least six people associated with the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC one of the nation’s oldest civil rights groups. Among them were Cecilia Castellano, a Democratic state House candidate, and Manuel Medina, a San Antonio political consultant.
What was taken?

Medina told reporters that agents searched his home for several hours and seized numerous documents, computers and cellphones. Castellano also had her phone taken.

Lidia Martinez, who instructs older residents on how to vote, said nine investigators rummaged through her home for more than two hours and took her smartphone and watch.

Martinez, 87, said officers told her they were there because she filed a complaint that seniors weren’t getting their mail ballots. The search warrant ordered officials to confiscate any election-related items.

“They sat me down and they started searching all my house, my store room, my garage, kitchen, everything,” Martinez said at a news conference Monday.

She also said officers interrogated her about others who are associated with LULAC, including Medina.

“I’m not doing anything illegal,” Martinez said. “All I do is help the seniors.”
What’s next?

LULAC has asked the Justice Department to investigate. CEO Juan Proaño said Wednesday that the group has been in contact with the department blocking further search warrants and potentially pursuing criminal and civil charges against Paxton’s office.

Spokespersons for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

A Texas district judge has granted Medina a protective order to stop authorities from sifting through his records. A hearing on the matter is set for Sept. 12.
Texas’ pursuit of alleged election fraud

In recent years the state has tightened voting laws and toughened penalties that Democrats and opponents say are attempts to suppress minority turnout. Republican lawmakers deny that and say the changes are necessary safeguards.

Paxton, whose failed effort to overturn the 2020 election based on false claims of fraud drew scrutiny from the state’s bar association, has made prosecuting voter fraud cases a top priority. He campaigned against judges who stripped his office of the power to prosecution election fraud without permission from local district attorneys.

Earlier this year, a state appeals court overturned a woman’s voter fraud conviction and five-year prison term for casting a ballot in 2016 while on probation for a felony conviction, which she did not know was illegal.

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Lathan is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

NACOGDOCHES – One person is in critical condition after a two-vehicle collision Tuesday night where a semi-truck failed to yield, the Nacogdoches Police Department said.

According to city officials, and our news partners at KETK, the police department is investigating a collision that happened around 8:18 p.m. on the 2300 block of Douglass Road.

“At this time of the investigation it is believed that a black 2000 Freightliner pulling a flatbed trailer was traveling eastbound when it attempted to make a u-turn in the 2300 block of Douglass Rd failing to yield the right of way to westbound traffic,” a release said.

A 1999 Chevy pickup truck that was travelling westbound when it hit the semi-truck. Officials said the driver of the pickup truck was hospitalized and is believed to be in critical condition and the driver of the semi was not injured.

The road was closed for several hours as authorities responded to the scene. It has since reopened, officials said.

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports that Dallas wants to send out recruiting materials to attract candidates for a new city manager next month. But the search firm hired by the city to lead the headhunting must ensure it advertises the right city first. Several City Council members were puzzled Monday after reviewing a seven-page draft of the job ad brochure. The cover displayed downtown skyscrapers they couldn’t quite place. “I hate this photo. I don’t think it’s representative of Dallas,” said council member Cara Mendelsohn during an ad hoc committee on administrative affairs meeting. “And I had to look at it for quite a few minutes before I realized it actually was the city.” It wasn’t.

The cover page from firm Baker Tilly says “City of Dallas” and displays the city’s logo at the top. But a reverse image search of the photo shows that it features towers part of downtown Houston’s skyline, including the Gulf Building, One Shell Plaza building and 71-story Wells Fargo Plaza building. City Council members identified a new cover photo that was “identifiably Dallas” among a series of other suggested edits for the final version of the booklet. “To me, this looks old and dated,” said council member Jesse Moreno, representing parts of downtown Dallas. “We have one of the best skylines in the country, and I think we need to be able to highlight that.” Other pictures inside the booklet had Dallas markers like City Hall, Klyde Warren Park and the downtown Dallas skyline. “The first page is a cover page, kind of like the headline,” Edward Williams, a public sector executive recruitment director at Baker Tilly, told the council during the meeting. “The idea here is that people see something they find of interest, and it captures their attention and invites them to continue reading and hopefully apply at the end of that review.” Nicole Berkeland, a Baker Tilly spokeswoman, told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday that the firm appreciated the council feedback and is “working with the city to update the cover to reflect the unique identity of Dallas”. “The selection was sourced from a trusted image library that had tagged the image as representing Dallas,” she said.

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News says a Corsicana Independent School District administrator said her right eye was knocked out of its socket after a student threw a wooden hanger at her during the first week of school. Candra Rogers, an assistant principal at Collins Intermediate School, said at a news conference Tuesday morning that during lunch Aug. 15, a call for assistance came over the school radio. When Rogers arrived at the classroom, she said the teacher and other students were outside the room, with one student holding his head after being assaulted by an “irate” student who remained in the classroom. Inside the room, Rogers said furniture had been overturned. She said she tried to calm the student, who then picked up a chair and threw it at her. Rogers said she was able to catch the chair, and she used it to block two chairs the student threw at other assistant principals who arrived to help. The student threw a wooden hanger at Rogers, which struck her in the face and knocked her right eye out of its socket, she said.

“I grabbed my face while blood was pouring out of my head and stumbled out of the classroom door,” Rogers said. “Nurses and 911 were called, and I asked for my cellphone to call my husband to come get me, not realizing the extent of the damage.” Rogers said she was airlifted to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, roughly 50 miles away. Doctors were able to reinsert her eye back into the socket, but Rogers said she will likely be permanently blind. Rogers said she still needs to have surgery on her eyelid and said it is possible her damaged eye will have to be removed. “I still believe in God for a miracle for restoration of my sight,” Rogers said. A Corsicana ISD statement said the student has been “restricted to a specific location” and is prohibited from campus. District officials said the matter has been referred to the Navarro County district attorney’s office and the Juvenile Probation Department. The statement said district officials expect the student’s actions will be handled through the juvenile court system.

FORT WORTH – The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker is calling on board members in the city’s largest school district to do more to move its students forward academically, saying lackluster educational outcomes hamper students’ opportunities after high school. In a letter to board members in the Fort Worth Independent School District, Parker noted that Fort Worth is the fastest-growing major city in the country, and said the city is proud of its cultural richness and growth in business and higher education. “A great city demands a great public education system, and our future depends on it,” Parker wrote. “Fort Worth ISD is one of 12 school districts in the City of Fort Worth, and unfortunately, it has not kept pace with our city’s rapid ascent.” The letter, which was co-signed by a number of other city council members and leaders of businesses, philanthropic groups and advocacy organizations, went to every member of the school board ahead of its meeting Tuesday evening. Parker was also scheduled to speak during the public comment section of Tuesday’s board meeting.

In the letter, Parker noted that Fort Worth ISD’s state test scores lag behind those of other large urban districts across the state. On last spring’s state tests, 33% of Fort Worth ISD’s third-graders scored on grade level in reading, placing the district nine points behind Dallas ISD and 12 points behind Houston ISD. She also noted that the district came in 22nd out of the 24 Texas districts that serve more than 20,000 students with similar student populations. “These results are unacceptable,” Parker wrote. “For our city’s children, these results can significantly narrow their ability to access the life and opportunities that they want and deserve. And for our city, there are significant long-term consequences in the areas of workforce, economic development, poverty, public health, and much more.” Parker called on the board to set clear, ambitious student achievement goals, implement high-quality instruction in every classroom and prioritize academic intervention for struggling students. She also called on Fort Worth ISD to pause spending on bond-funded building projects until the district has a facilities plan “that enhances teacher capacity and student resources.” The letter comes two weeks after a closed-door meeting involving Parker, Superintendent Angélica Ramsey and a number of other city leaders. Neither the mayor’s office nor the district would offer details about what was discussed at the Aug. 9 meeting. A Fort Worth ISD spokesperson said only that Parker invited Ramsey and her deputies “to attend a meeting with community members to provide information regarding the district.”

TEXAS (AP) – Freight railroad BNSF is generally striving to improve safety on a consistent basis, but that message doesn’t always reach front-line workers who often don’t feel comfortable reporting safety concerns for fear of being disciplined, according to an assessment released Wednesday by regulators.

The Federal Railroad Administration’s review of BNSF’s safety culture also found that the company continues to be held back by some of the same issues that have been common across the industry for years.

This new report is the second one the agency has completed to address railroad safety concerns following the disastrous February 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as it works to review all the major railroads.

The BNSF review is more positive than last summer’s Norfolk Southern report, which said executives at that railroad were too often satisfied with only doing the minimum for safety.

The FRA found that company leaders consistently stressed safety as a core value, but at the lower levels of the railroad, some managers still prioritize keeping the trains moving ahead of safety.

“Changes in messaging create doubt among front-line craft employees as to the true goals, priorities and commitments of the railroad,” the agency said in the report.

Regulators also reiterated their recommendation for BNSF and all the major freight railroads to sign on to the confidential federal safety reporting hotline for workers to report concerns without fear of being punished.

BNSF earned praise for launching a pilot program with that hotline for its dispatchers earlier this year, but the FRA said it needs to be available to all rail workers. The industry has a long history of retaliating against workers who report too many safety concerns, because those issues slow down the trains while repairs are made.

All the major railroads promised to join that federal reporting system after East Palestine, but so far only BNSF and Norfolk Southern have announced limited pilot programs.

“Effective reporting systems improve safety by reducing risks and allow for changes and repairs to be made so safety incidents do not recur,” according to the report.

BNSF didn’t immediately comment on the report after its public release early Wednesday.

BNSF is one of the nation’s largest railroads, with tracks crossing the Western United States. It is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate of Omaha, Nebraska.