Rep. Moran fights illegal Chinese vapes

Rep. Moran fights illegal Chinese vapesTYLER — In a letter addressed to the Treasury Secretary and U.S. Trade Representative on Monday, U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran joins other House members in urging the Trump Administration to address the importation of illegal Chinese e-cigarettes without FDA approval. According to the letter, Chinese vape exports to the U.S. surpassed $10 billion in 2025. The smart vapes are able to connect to smartphones, enabling unauthorized access to personal data, cameras, microphones and more, the letter said.

Representatives raise their concerns about the unauthorized importing of the vapes, as they are sold near schools and military bases.

“These illegal Chinese vapes are a threat on every front,” Moran said. “They contain toxic levels of lead and carcinogens, and are deliberately marketed to target our kids with candy flavors and social media influencers. They are sold near schools and military bases by foreign nationals, and their ‘smart’ technology risks funneling sensitive data directly to the Chinese Communist Party,” Continue reading Rep. Moran fights illegal Chinese vapes

Boil water notice issued for Chesswood Water System in Polk County

POLK COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – A boil water notice has been announced for customers in the Chesswood water system as of Monday.

According to a press release, this notice was issued by a “production issue” at the water plant, leading to an outage. All customers are now advised to boil their water before consumption. Children, seniors and individuals with weakened immune systems are particularly susceptible to harmful bacteria.

To effectively eliminate the bacteria, water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and kept boiling for an additional two minutes. Alternatively, individuals can purchase bottled water or source water from other means for drinking and consumption.

Once the notice is lifted, Texas Water Utilities will inform its customers. For any inquiries, people can contact the company at 866-654-7992.

Dashcam video captures Missouri driver hitting Texas police vehicle in pursuit

LIVINGSTON, Texas (KETK) — Newly released footage from the Livingston Police Department captures a dramatic Monday morning car chase, leading to the arrest of a 22-year-old suspect.

The Livingston Police Department said they were notified by the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office that a stolen vehicle may be heading into their area on State Highway 146. Officers later located the vehicle traveling northbound on 146, south of the city limits, and attempted to initiate a traffic stop in the area of Red Barn.

The driver continued to flee from authorities and officers conducted a PIT maneuver to prevent the suspect from getting back onto 146. Despite the maneuvers, the suspect continued to drive into the city limits of Livingston.

As the pursuit continued, deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office deployed spike strips near Garner Street, disabling the vehicle’s tires. However, the driver continued on to East Church Street, where he collided with a department vehicle.

According to officials, the suspect exited his vehicle on Old Woodville Road and fled into a wooded area. Officers successfully deployed a taser against the suspect and took him into custody.

Following his arrest, the suspect was identified as 22-year-old William Rivera from Lee’s Summit, Mo., and charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and evading arrest with a vehicle.

“This is a great example of difficult and split decisions officers are forced to make in dangerous situations,” Livingston PD Lieutenant Jake Mueller said. ” Our officers handled the situation with professionalism and brought the pursuit to a safe conclusion. The suspect is in custody and no one was injured.”

Police pursuit ends in crash

Police pursuit ends in crashHENDERSON COUNTY– A 17-year-old man from Trinidad was arrested on Wednesday after a car chase in Henderson County, where officials said he struck another vehicle. According to an arrest affidavit and our news partner KETK, officers from the Tool Police Department were dispatched to Arnold Hills Road after receiving reports regarding a suicidal man who had stolen a dark colored 2022 Kia Soul.

After locating the suspect, an officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop on Lyndell Drive, but the driver disregarded the officer and continued to flee from authorities.

As the pursuit continued, the suspect collided with another vehicle that was traveling on State Highway 274. After the collision, the pursuit continued toward Tool and eventually ended in Trinidad.

Following the pursuit, the suspect was identified as Caidyn Farris. He was booked into the Henderson County Jail after being charged with evading arrest, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful use of a vehicle.

One arrest after reported shooting

TYLER – A man was arrested after a shooting was reported in the Montgomery Gardens Boulevard area in Tyler on Monday. Deputies responded to the 2200 block of Montgomery Gardens Boulevard at around 1:30 p.m. on Monday for reports of shots fired. Our news partner KETK reports that two individuals arrived at a house and exited their vehicle to speak with the occupants. An argument ensued when a man emerged from the house while brandishing a weapon.

One of the people from the vehicle had returned to the passenger seat when the man who had emerged from inside the house allegedly started firing at the car’s passenger side door.

The man inside the vehicle was uninjured, according to the sheriff’s office. The man who fired at the car was arrested and will be charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and booked into the Smith County Jail.

Judge temporarily blocks RFK Jr.’s efforts to reshape childhood vaccine policy

Judge temporarily blocks RFK Jr.’s efforts to reshape childhood vaccine policy

(MASSACHUSETTS) -- A Massachusetts judge ruled on Monday in favor of medical organizations in their litigation against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his changes to federal vaccine policy.

The judge temporarily blocked changes to the childhood vaccine schedule that were made at the beginning of this year, in which Kennedy reduced the number of recommended shots from 17 to 11. 

The judge also suspended the appointments of the 13 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory committee, who were all appointed unilaterally by Kennedy after he fired all the preceding members. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Morris County oil spill

Morris County oil spillLONE STAR — Local and state officials are continuing to investigate an oil spill that spread across much of the shoreline at Ellison Creek Reservoir, with inspectors identifying the source at a well site on U.S. Steel property. According to our news partner KETK, Morris County Judge Doug Reeder met with the Precinct 2 Commissioner and the County Attorney on Monday morning to review the status of the oil spill at Ellison Creek Reservoir.

Reeder also added, a Railroad Commission inspector is on site and continuing an inspection of the spill in coordination with a Texas Game Warden. The inspector determined the source of the unauthorized oil release was a reserve pit at a oil well site located on U.S. Steel property. Investigators with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are expected to meet with the Railroad Commission inspector Monday to continue assessing the scale of the spill, its environmental impacts and any possible next steps.
Continue reading Morris County oil spill

Afghan man who worked with US military dies after taken into ICE custody

HOUSTON (AP) — An Afghan immigrant whose family said had worked with U.S. forces in his home country died at a Texas hospital after having been detained by immigration authorities, according to officials.

Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, died at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on Saturday, a day after having been taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

A cause of death is still pending. But Paktyawal’s family said he was not ill.

“We still cannot understand how this happened. He was only 41 years old and was a strong and healthy man. His children keep asking when their father will come home,” the family said in statement.

In a statement, ICE said that Paktyawal had been arrested for committing fraud against SNAP, the government’s biggest food aid program, on Sept. 16. ICE said he had also been arrested for theft on Nov. 1.

Paktyawal was arrested during a targeted enforcement action and at the time of his arrest and processing on Friday, he did not report any prior medical history, according to ICE.

Paktyawal began complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains Friday night while in an ICE Dallas field office processing hold room, according to ICE. He was taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas where he received treatment and was kept overnight.

On Saturday, Paktyawal was eating breakfast when staff noticed his tongue had become swollen. Medical staff performed multiple lifesaving efforts but he died at 9:10 a.m. Saturday, according to ICE.

“His passing is currently under active investigation,” ICE said.

Paktyawal had previously served alongside U.S. military special forces in Afghanistan and came to the United States as a refugee following the withdrawal by U.S. troops and the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021, according to #AfghanEvac, a San Diego-based group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war.

Paktyawal had been living in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas, with his family while his asylum case remained pending, according to #AfghanEvac. He was married and had six children.

Deaths in ICE custody have soared during Trump’s second term.

The agency reported 14 custody deaths from the start of the government’s fiscal year Oct. 1 through Jan. 6, well on pace to surpass the previous 12-month count of 24. ICE reported 12 custody deaths in the 2024 fiscal year and 12 in the previous three years combined.

ICE has increased the number of people in its detention centers to more than 70,000 from about 40,000 at the start of Trump’s second term. It plans to spend $38.3 billion to boost capacity to 92,600 beds by the end of November, including converted warehouses that house up to 10,000 each

Day-care bus, pick-up collide

Day-care bus, pick-up collideSMITH COUNTY – One person has been injured following a head-on collision involving a day-care bus and a pick-up truck on Monday morning. According to our news partner KETK and the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened in Tyler, on FM 2493, near Whataburger and Tyler Legacy Trails at around 8:20 a.m. Monday.

The driver of the pickup truck sustained injuries and was transported to the hospital, according to Nikki Simmons, the public outreach coordinator for Smith County Emergency Services District 2. No children were aboard the bus at the time of the crash and the driver had no reported injuries. However, both vehicles were heavily damaged.

A $10.5 billion deal would create a self-storage giant in the U.S.

(AP) – A proposed megadeal in the self-storage business would create a $57 billion company overseeing square footage, if it were combined in a single location, of a small city such as Cupertino, California, or Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Public Storage said Monday that it will buy National Storage Affiliates in an all-stock deal worth about $10.5 billion, creating a company with 327 million square feet of storage at nearly 4,600 locations in the U.S.

Public Storage said it wants to expand its presence in areas like the Sun Belt and other regions that are likely to grow in population.

The deal, if approved, would combine the largest and the fourth-largest U.S. self-storage companies by market capitalization. Extra Space Storage and CubeSmart are the next two largest companies.

Public Storage, which has been based in Glendale, California, said this year that it is relocating to Frisco, Texas, near Dallas. National Storage is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, a suburb of Denver.

Investors that hold National Storage common stock and operating partnership units will receive 0.14 of a share of Public Storage common stock or partnership units for each National Storage share or unit that they own. This represents $41.68 per share.

Shares of National Storage jumped nearly 30% at the opening bell, while Public Storage’s stock fell less than a percent.

Before the transaction closes, Public Storage and limited partners in National Storage’s operating partnership will form a joint venture that includes 313 properties on National Storage’s operating platform comprising 19.6 million rentable square feet across 28 states and Puerto Rico with an estimated value of approximately $3.3 billion.

Operating partnership unitholders are expected to own about 80% of the joint venture at its start, with Public Storage holding the remaining stake. Public Storage will exclusively manage the joint venture portfolio and will earn customary property management, asset management and tenant reinsurance income.

The deal, which was approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to close in the third quarter. It still needs approval from National Storage equity holders as well as regulators.

More than 2K without power

More than 2K without powerTYLER – As severe weather moves through East Texas, many power companies and electricity co-operatives have reported thousands of power outages across the area.
Lake O’ the Pines marina docks flipped over by high winds

Our news partner KETK has compiled the following list of East Texas counties from the Texas power outage map and as of 11:00 a.m. on Monday, about 2,694 customers were without power. You can view that list here.

Four charged, trafficking drugs in eczema cream

Four charged, trafficking drugs in eczema creamATHENS – Four people have been charged for attempting to bring suspected cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and illegal pills into the Henderson County Jail with a tube of eczema cream. According to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and our news partner KETK, a narcotics investigator was investigating drug trafficking in Henderson County when they learned about a plan to deliver illegal drugs to the Henderson County Jail on Saturday morning.

Several sheriff’s office investigators and K9 deputies were able to intercept the delivery of drugs, which reportedly made use of a Gold Bond eczema cream tube to hide balloons of suspected cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and pills.

The sheriff’s office has arrested Megan Chapman, 36 of Eustace, and Shannon Boyle, 47 of Eustace, with allegedly attempting to make the delivery to two inmates in the jail, Jessy Pierce, 28 of Mabank, and Joshua Sallings, 40 of Mabank. Continue reading Four charged, trafficking drugs in eczema cream

Marina docks flipped over by high winds

Marina docks flipped over by high windsJEFFERSON, Texas (KETK) – The Bullfrog Marina on Lake O’ the Pines was damaged by high winds during severe weather on Sunday. According to the Lake O’ the Pines Chamber of Commerce, the outer section of the marina’s boat slips were entirely flipped over by Sunday’s high winds, likely damaging many boats docked there.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office reported multiple downed trees and a downed stop sign on Sunday as well.

Local firefighters sent to battle fires

Local firefighters sent to battle firesEAST TEXAS — Several East Texas firefighter crews have been deploy to help respond to wildfires and elevated fire conditions being reported across the state. According to our news partner KETK, Smith County Emergency Services District 2 has deployed a NWCG qualified dozer operator, a dozer operator trainee and a heavy equipment boss trainee to Childress to help fight wildfires there.

The district said this was the first time the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) has been used to deploy their dozer operators. TIFMAS Coordinator Josh Bardwell said their deployment has been years in the making.

“A couple of us former TFS heavy equipment operators that came to the County years ago are proud to see this come to fruition,” Bardwell said. “We retooled the county’s fire dozer training and qualification process to meet state standards years ago and it’s paying off.” Continue reading Local firefighters sent to battle fires