OVERTON – 
The former Overton City Secretary and Municipal Court Clerk was arrested for using city funds for personal use by purchasing gasoline for her boat according to our news partners at KETK. The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office arrested Katherine McCandless for felony theft on Sept. 16 and her bond was set at $10,000. According to the Overton Police Department, they were made aware of an unauthorized charge on their city fuel credit card on Sept. 10 and began investigating. In their investigation, police determined McCandless used the fuel card to purchase a 40 gallons of gasoline pumped into her personal recreational boat. Police said that McCandless made 20 unauthorized charges on the fuel card between June 5 and Aug. 19, totaling to $1,192.64. Rusk County Jail records indicate McCandless has posted bail.
Fed cuts interest rate by half a point
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point, a dramatic shift after more than two years of high rates that helped tame inflation but also made borrowing painfully expensive for American consumers.
The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflects its new focus on bolstering the job market, which has shown clear signs of slowing. Coming just weeks before the presidential election, the Fed’s move also has the potential to scramble the economic landscape just as Americans prepare to vote.
The central bank’s action lowered its key rate to roughly 4.8%, down from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months as it struggled to curb the worst inflation streak in four decades. Inflation has tumbled from a peak of 9.1% in mid-2022 to a three-year low of 2.5% in August, not far above the Fed’s 2% target.
The Fed’s policymakers also signaled that they expect to cut their key rate by an additional half-point in their final two meetings this year, in November and December. And they envision four more rate cuts in 2025 and two in 2026.
In a statement, the Fed came closer than it has before to declaring victory over inflation: It said it “has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.â€
Though the central bank now believes inflation is largely defeated, many Americans remain upset with still-high prices for groceries, gas, rent and other necessities. Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden-Harris administration for sparking an inflationary surge. Vice President Kamala Harris, in turn, has charged that Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on all imports would raise prices for consumers even further.
Rate cuts by the Fed should, over time, lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, boosting Americans’ finances and supporting more spending and growth. Homeowners will be able to refinance mortgages at lower rates, saving on monthly payments, and even shift credit card debt to lower-cost personal loans or home equity lines. Businesses may also borrow and invest more. Average mortgage rates have already dropped to an 18-month low of 6.2%, according to Freddie Mac, spurring a jump in demand for refinancings.
In an updated set of projections, the Fed’s policymakers now collectively envision a faster drop in inflation than they did three months ago but also higher unemployment. They foresee their preferred inflation gauge falling to 2.3% by year’s end, from its current 2.5%, and to 2.1% by the end of 2025. And they now expect the unemployment rate to rise further this year, to 4.4%, from 4.2% now, and to remain there by the end of 2025. That’s above their previous forecasts of 4% for the end of this year and 4.2% for 2025.
The Fed’s next policy meeting is Nov. 6-7 — immediately after the presidential election. By cutting rates this week, soon before the election, the Fed is risking attacks from Trump, who has argued that lowering rates now amounts to political interference. Yet Politico has reported that even some key Senate Republicans who were interviewed have expressed support for a Fed rate cut this week.
The central bank’s officials fought against high inflation by raising their key rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023. Wage growth has since slowed, removing a potential source of inflationary pressure. And oil and gas prices are falling, a sign that inflation should continue to cool in the months ahead. Consumers are also pushing back against high prices, forcing such companies as Target and McDonald’s to dangle deals and discounts.
The Fed’s decision Wednesday drew the first dissent from a member of its governing board since 2005. Michelle Bowman, a board member who has expressed concern in the past that inflation had not been fully defeated, said she would have preferred a quarter-point rate cut.
Yet after several years of strong job growth, employers have slowed hiring, and the unemployment rate has risen nearly a full percentage point from its half-century low in April 2023 to a still-low 4.2%. Once unemployment rises that much, it tends to keep climbing. Fed officials and many economists note, though, that the rise in unemployment this time largely reflects an influx of people seeking jobs — notably new immigrants and recent college graduates — rather than layoffs.
At issue in the Fed’s deliberations is how fast it wants to lower its benchmark rate to a point where it’s no longer acting as a brake on the economy — nor as an accelerant. Where that so-called “neutral†level falls isn’t clear, though many analysts peg it at 3% to 3.5%.
Man found dead under unoccupied tow truck in Carthage
CARTHAGE – 
The Carthage Police Department is trying to find answers after a man was found dead under an unoccupied tow truck, according to our news partners at KETK. Carthage PD said they were notified of a crash at 11:22 p.m. on Tuesday in the 800 block of S. Adams Street “involving an out-of-county tow truck and a passenger car.†Officers reportedly found both vehicles unoccupied, and found “the apparent tow truck driver†dead under the tow truck. The Carthage Fire Department helped work the scene and Texas DPS were contacted to help reconstruct the crash. Police are still investigating and the identity of the victim has not been released at this time.
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Water main break in Gladewater
GLADEWATER – 
Our news partners at KETK report the City of Gladewater said due to a water main break Wednesday morning portions of the city will not have water. Gladewater ISD officials said all students will be released early at 1 p.m. due to the S. Main Street water main break. City officials said they will provide updates as soon as they receive them on their Facebook page.
Abilene Christian to build nuclear reactor on campus
AUSTIN – the Dallas Morning News reports federal nuclear power regulators have given the go-ahead for the first research nuclear reactor in more than 40 years, and it’s here in Texas. Abilene Christian University will be home to the advanced nuclear reactor, which the university’s NEXT Lab and Abilene-based nuclear company Natura Resources will build on campus. The permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is a milestone in the research and development of smaller-scale nuclear reactors in Texas and could become the state’s first new nuclear reactor since the Comanche Peak power plant’s second unit was licensed to operate in 1993. The NEXT Lab reactor could generate enough energy to power the equivalent of only about 250 homes. However, it will create a testing ground for a type of reactor that its developers believe can be scaled to larger utility-scale reactors. It will be housed in the university’s Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center, which was completed in August 2023.
“With the NRC’s issuance of the construction permit, we are one step closer to making that a reality. The performance-driven approach of Natura Resources to advanced reactor deployment has quickly moved them from a relative unknown to a leader in the upstart advanced reactor industry,†said Phil Schubert, university president. Federal inspectors will monitor the construction of the reactor, which will not produce electricity until ACU obtains additional federal approval to fuel the reactor with uranium. “This is the first research reactor project we’ve approved for construction in decades, and the staff successfully worked with ACU to resolve several technical issues with this novel design,†Andrea Veil, director of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, said in a news release. Molten salt will be used to cool the reactor, which can reach extreme temperatures. Heat that radiates through the molten salt can then be used to create electricity. While this method of cooling has existed for more than 50 years, it is not widely used. Legacy reactors generally rely on water to cool fuel rods.
Travis County sues Texas officials over voting
AUSTIN (AP) – Travis County officials sued Attorney General Ken Paxton and Secretary of State Jane Nelson on Tuesday over the state’s attempt to block voter registration efforts ahead of a hotly contested presidential election.
The new federal lawsuit escalates a pre-election war between Republican state officials and Democratic urban county leaders over voter registration efforts and accuses Texas officials of violating the National Voter Registration Act. Developments in the ongoing battle continue unfolding as the Oct. 7 deadline to sign up to vote looms.
“Today, Travis County, once again, fights back,†Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said during a press conference Tuesday.
Paxton’s office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
The federal suit is in response to Paxton turning to state courts to try and block the county from mailing out voter registration applications to people identified as eligible voters who aren’t currently on the rolls. Travis County is home to Austin and has long been a Democratic stronghold in the state.
Paxton’s lawsuit argued that the Texas Election Code did not grant a county officials the ability to collect information about private citizens to convince them to vote and claimed that such an effort is illegal. But Democrats, local leaders and election experts disagree with Paxton’s interpretation of state law.
In interviews with conservative personalities and on social media, Paxton has also pushed false accusations that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris intentionally allowed undocumented immigrants into the country so that they can vote for Democrats. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee this year, has repeated similar claims, including during this month’s presidential debate against Harris, the Democratic nominee.
Paxton has argued that mailing voter registration applications could lead to ineligible voters signing up to vote. Voter registration applications are returned to county offices and are reviewed to confirm eligibility. The Secretary of State’s Office also verifies eligibility.
“Travis County has blatantly violated Texas law by paying partisan actors to conduct unlawful identification efforts to track down people who are not registered to vote,†Paxton said in a statement earlier this month. “Programs like this invite fraud and reduce public trust in our elections. We will stop them and any other county considering such programs.â€
Jeremy Smith, the CEO of Civic Government Solutions, the company contracted by Travis County to identify unregistered voters, also denied that his organization engaged in partisan tactics in identifying eligible voters who haven’t yet signed up to cast a ballot in November.
“All of our contracts, 100% of them, are nonpartisan. It is written in,†Smith said. “We are under restrictions and obligations to prove that and maintain that and provide that data for accountability back to all of our clients.â€
Garza said the new legal filings transfers Paxton’s state lawsuit to federal court. Travis officials are asking the federal court to allow them to continue sending out voter registration applications. The filing came one day after a judge denied Paxton’s request to block Bexar County, home to San Antonio, from mailing out voter registration applications to its residents. The court found no reason to grant the request since the county had already mailed out the forms. Bexar County is also strongly Democratic.
Travis officials allege Paxton violated Title 52 of the Voting Rights Act by trying to prevent them from carrying out their duties to promote people’s right to vote. They accuse Nelson of doing nothing to stop Paxton’s alleged unlawful conduct. They argue that the state law not only allows them to send out the applications, but also encourages them to do so.
Nelson’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Garza pointed out that a state law provision states that local governments can be reimbursed for mailing out voter registration applications to its residents.
“Travis County was going about its business serving the citizens of our community and dutifully complying with federal and state election laws,†said Travis County Judge Andy Brown.
Update: U.S. 59 has reopened after a seven-hour traffic delay
UPDATE: U.S. 59 has reopened after a seven-hour traffic delay.
LUFKIN – One person is injured after a wreck involving three 18-wheelers Wednesday morning on US Highway 59 in Lufkin, according to our news partners at KETK.
According to Lufkin officials, the crash happened just before 8 a.m. near the intersection of Southwood Drive and FM 324.
Courtesy of City of Lufkin
Authorities are asking drivers to avoid the area if possible and to expect delays. Officials said one of the vehicles lost its load on the highway and clearing the scene “will take a considerable amount of time.â€
Officials said southbound US 59 traffic is rerouted into one of the northbound lanes.
One of the drivers was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, Lufkin officials said.
“Northbound lanes are also expected to experience closures and delays as heavy-rotation wreckers are brought in for cleanup,†authorities said.
Speaker Johnson takes another crack at spending bill linked to proof of citizenship for new voters
Americans can now renew passports online and bypass cumbersome paper applications
Homes near Houston still under evacuation orders as pipeline fire continues to burn
DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — A pipeline fire that erupted in a suburban Houston neighborhood burned throughout a second day and into the night Tuesday with still no definitive word on when the blaze would finally go out, when nearby residents may be able to return home or why a car drove through a fence and hit a valve before the destructive explosion.
Although the fire was getting smaller, the disruptions caused by the Monday morning explosion in a grassy corridor between a Walmart and a residential neighborhood left some locals increasingly weary. On Tuesday, people could be seen returning to their homes to get clothes and other items before quickly leaving again.
“We literally walked out with the clothes on our backs, the pets, and just left the neighborhood with no idea where we were going,†Kristina Reff said. “That was frustrating.â€
Over 36 hours after the blast — which shot towering flames like a blowtorch above the suburbs of Deer Park and La Porte — authorities have provided few details about the circumstances leading up to the explosion.
Investigators said it happened after the driver of a sport utility vehicle went through a fence near the Walmart and struck an above-ground valve. As of Tuesday evening, authorities had not still not identified the driver or said what happened to them.
Deer Park officials have said police and FBI agents found no preliminary evidence to suggest the explosion of the pipeline, which carried natural gas liquids, was a coordinated or terrorist attack. In a statement Monday night, the city said it “appears to be an isolated incident†but officials have not provided details on how they came to that conclusion.
The car was incinerated by the explosion, which scorched the ground across a wide radius, severed power transmission lines, melted playground equipment and ignited some homes.
The valve, which appears to have been protected by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, is located within a long grassy field where high-voltage power lines run. Several pipelines run underground.
Authorities evacuated nearly 1,000 homes at one point and ordered people in nearby schools to shelter in place. By Tuesday afternoon that number was down to just over 400.
“The fire is still burning, but the good news is that the pressure within the pipeline is continuously dropping, which means we are getting closer to the fire going out,†Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement.
Operators shut off the flow after the explosion, but Hidalgo has said that 20 miles (32 kilometers) of pipeline stretched between the two closed valves and the chemicals inside had to burn off before the fire would stop.
Robert Hall, a senior advisor at the nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust, said it’s not surprising that it’s taken more than a day for the material to stop burning.
“You’re talking about 20-inch pipelines and miles between valves, so it takes a long time to burn down,†Hall said.
On Tuesday, the Texas Railroad Commission that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry said its inspectors only will enter the site after it is deemed safe by emergency authorities.
Houston is the nation’s petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries and plants and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight, and some have been deadly, raising recurring questions about industry efforts to protect the public and the environment.
Hall, who previously oversaw pipeline and hazardous materials investigations for the National Transportation Safety Board, said there are few regulations that govern the location of pipelines near homes and businesses.
“That becomes a very local issue, community by community,†Hall said, adding that some jurisdictions require bollards — sturdy pipes filled with concrete — to prevent vehicles from crashing into sensitive infrastructure.
Hidalgo said Tuesday that Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based owner of the pipeline, has said it was working to isolate parts of the pipeline closest to the fire by clamping it on each side.
Energy Transfer did not immediately respond to a question about what safety precautions were in place near the valve.
Hall said regulations from 2022 aimed at reducing deaths and environmental damage from ruptures were geared toward gas lines, not those carrying liquids, and would not have applied to this pipeline. He added that many new safety regulations that have been put in place do not apply retroactively to pre-existing pipelines.
Both Energy Transfer and Harris County Pollution Control were conducting air monitoring in the area and have found no health issues, according to Deer Park officials.
Since leaving home, Reff and her family have been staying in a hotel room paid for by Energy Transfer. But they were eager to return.
“It would be nice to be in our own beds,†she said.
___
Murphy reported from Oklahoma City. AP writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, Ken Miller in Oklahoma City and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed.
Palestine man, facing death penalty, files for clemency
PALESTINE – According to our news partner KETK, a group of advocates for a Palestine man on death row filed a petition on Tuesday to stop his execution just 30 days before he is expected to be put to death. They argue the science used to sentence him is questionable. It’s been 21 years since Robert Roberson was convicted of murdering his two-year-old daughter Nikki. Experts who have studied or are involved with this case say she died of other causes. Nikki dealt with medical issues long before her death, including breathing apnea spells that started before the age of one.
“The death of Robert’s daughter Nikki was not a crime. It was a tragedy,†said one of Roberson’s attorneys, Gretchen Sween.
“My testimony helped convict him of murder and send him to death row, but for all the years since, I have believed that justice was not done,†one of the lead investigators on this case, Brian Wharton, said. Continue reading Palestine man, facing death penalty, files for clemency
Senate Republicans again block legislation to guarantee women’s rights to IVF
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have blocked for a second time this year legislation to establish a nationwide right to in vitro fertilization, arguing that the vote is an election-year stunt after Democrats forced a vote on the issue.
The Senate vote was Democrats’ latest attempt to force Republicans into a defensive stance on women’s health issues and highlight policy differences between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in the presidential race, especially as Trump has called himself a “ leader on IVF.â€
The 51-44 vote was short of the 60 votes needed to move forward on the bill, with only two Republicans voting in favor. Democrats say Republicans who insist they support IVF are being hypocritical because they won’t support legislation guaranteeing a right to it.
“They say they support IVF — here you go, vote on this,†said Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the bill’s lead sponsor and a military veteran who has used the fertility treatment to have her two children.
The Democratic push started earlier this year after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Several clinics in the state suspended IVF treatments until the GOP-led legislature rushed to enact a law to provide legal protections for the clinics.
Democrats quickly capitalized, holding a vote in June on Duckworth’s bill and warning that the U.S. Supreme Court could go after the procedure next after it overturned the right to an abortion in 2022.
The bill would establish a nationwide right for patients to access IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies and a right for doctors and insurance companies to provide it, an effort to pre-empt state efforts to limit the services. It would also require more health insurers to cover it and expand coverage for military service members and veterans.
Republicans argued that the federal government shouldn’t tell states what to do and that the bill was an unserious effort. Only Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with Democrats to move forward on the bill both times.
Meanwhile, Republicans have scrambled to counter Democrats on the issue, with many making clear that they support IVF treatments. Trump last month announced plans, without additional details, to require health insurance companies or the federal government to pay for the fertility treatment.
In his debate with Harris earlier this month, Trump said he was a “leader†on the issue and talked about the “very negative†decision by the Alabama court that was later reversed by the legislature.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said that Democrats are trying to create a political issue “where there isn’t one.â€
“Let me remind everybody that Republicans support IVF, full stop,†Thune said just before the vote.
The issue has threatened to become a vulnerability for Republicans as some state laws passed by their party grant legal personhood not only to fetuses but to any embryos that are destroyed in the IVF process. Ahead of the its convention this summer, the Republican Party adopted a policy platform that supports states establishing fetal personhood through the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which grants equal protection under the law to all American citizens. The platform also encourages supporting IVF but does not explain how the party plans to do so.
Republicans have tried to push alternatives on the issue, including legislation that would discourage states from enacting explicit bans on the treatment, but those bills have been blocked by Democrats who say they are not enough.
Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, said in a floor speech then that his daughter was currently receiving IVF treatment and proposed to expand the flexibility of health savings accounts. Republican Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas have tried to pass a bill that would threaten to withhold Medicaid funding for states where IVF is banned.
Cruz, who is running for reelection in Texas, said Democrats were holding the vote to “stoke baseless fears about IVF and push their broader political agenda.”
Longview man dies after being hit by SUV
LONGVIEW — A Longview man has died after a Monday night pedestrian car accident. According to our news partner KETK, 62-year-old Johnny Ray Johnston died about 7:50 Monday night. Police said that Johnston was walking on Alpine Road, about one block from Ed’s concrete construction, when he was hit by a Ford SUV going south. Reports said that Johnston failed to yield the right of way when he walked into the roadway where he was hit by the SUV. Johnston was taken to a hospital where died from his injuries.
Teen arrested at Carthage High School with gas mask, airsoft rifle
CARTHAGE – A 17-year-old was arrested after allegedly trespassing on a Carthage ISD campus with an airsoft rifle on Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK, the 17-year-old was arrested by Cathage Police and charged with making a terroristic threat, criminal trespass and public intoxication and was booked into the Panola County Jail.
Police said they got a call at before school opened Tuesday morning, that a suspicious man was seen at the Carthage High School campus. Officers responded and talked to Campbell, who is not a Carthage ISD student. Police described him as “agitated and seemed to be intoxicated.â€
Campbell had a backpack containing a gas mask, a long gun and multiple magazines. Police said the rifle was determined to be a brightly colored airsoft rifle.
The case remains under investigation by city, state and federal law enforcement.