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OpenAI, company behind ChatGPT, files for IPO

(NEW YORK) -- OpenAI, the artificial-intelligence company behind ChatGPT, announced Monday night it had filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO), setting up the firm to raise fresh funds as it competes with deep-pocketed tech giants in the fast-growing AI industry.
In a post on X, OpenAI said it had not determined when the company would begin listing on public markets.
"We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best," the company said.
The move would subject the privately held company to new scrutiny from public investors and regulators, as well as ongoing financial reporting requirements. OpenAI valued itself at $852 billion after a round of funding in March.
This story will be updated shortly.
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Drowning victim identified
SMITH COUNTY — A woman has died following a reported drowning at Lake Tyler over the weekend. According to a Tyler Police Department news release, Shelly Snow, 35, of Whitehouse, reportedly went under the water around 4:45 p.m Sunday. A Texas Game Warden arrived at approximately 4:50 p.m. and assisted with CPR.
Snow was transported to a local hospital, were she was later pronounced dead.
The investigation is ongoing.
Judge clears QB Brendan Sorsby to play for Texas Tech despite NCAA ban for gambling
AMARILLO (AP) – A Texas judge granted Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby a temporary injunction that clears the way for him to play this fall despite being declared ineligible by the NCAA for wagering on college sports, including bets made on his own team while he was at Indiana.
The decision sent shock waves across college sports since bans for gambling are a bedrock rule of the NCAA and many professional sports.
The NCAA said it strongly disagrees with the ruling and “is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports.” The NCAA said it would appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo.
Sorsby, whose school said he has a gambling problem that he is addressing through treatment, will miss the Red Raiders’ first two games next season under a judge-approved penalty that had been proposed by his attorneys. The NCAA, which usually handles such punishments, was not involved.
The ruling by Judge Ken Curry prevents the NCAA from being able to block the transfer QB’s eligibility for what will be his final college season with a team among the favorites to win the Big 12 Conference and return to the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive season.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said the ramifications of the ruling “could have broad impacts across college athletics, creating great concern amongst our membership.” He called a meeting this week of his league’s athletic directors and executive board, and been in touch with NCAA President Charlie Baker.
Texas Tech opens the season on Sept. 5 at home against Abilene Christian. The Red Raiders then play Oregon State before their Big 12 opener at home on Sept. 18 against Houston.
“I’m very grateful for the endless support I have received throughout this entire process,” Sorsby posted on social media. “I am also grateful for the chance to rejoin my teammates. This opportunity comes with the responsibility to remain focused on my personal growth, the ability to learn from this experience, and to be able to use my situation to help others going forward.”
The judge’s ruling
Curry held a two-hour hearing last week in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech is located. In his decision, he wrote that he agreed Sorsby would suffer “a probable, imminent and irreparable injury” if he cannot practice or play for the Red Raiders.
The injunction comes with conditions that Sorsby must continue counseling for his gambling and to participate in peer support through Gamblers Anonymous or a similar group. He also must continue treatment to address “the underlying anxiety that served as the primary driver of (his) gambling behavior.”
Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said a comprehensive support structure, including clinical care, monitoring and compliance checks, will remain fully in place for Sorsby during his time at the school.
“As we have said before, we do not believe that the circumstances of Brendan’s case warranted permanent ineligibility,” Hocutt said. “As he returns to our football program, we remain committed to supporting Brendan’s recovery and ensuring his compliance with the court’s order.”
Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor told Yahoo Sports he was disappointed by the ruling.
“It is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team,” he told the outlet.
Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen confirmed to The Associated Press that his coaches have been told to not schedule Texas Tech in any sport, as first reported by Yahoo Sports. Georgia also will not schedule Texas Tech in any sport, according to multiple media outlets.
“This may be one of those seminal moments we’ve all been waiting for,” Dannen said in a text to the AP.
A significant setback against the NCAA
NCAA attorney Taylor Askew had said during the hearing that allowing Sorsby to play another college season would provide “reputable harm” to the governing body.
“Saying the NCAA is now the first league in America that allows you, without punishment, to bet on its own contests, that’s a reputable harm to the NCAA,” Askew told the court. “This would be the first league in America that does that. … We should not say for the first time serial gambling is OK.”
Court records show that Sorsby has acknowledged making thousands of impermissible bets totaling at least $90,000 during his time at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. That included 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on any of the games he played in with the Hoosiers.
While some guidelines for penalties related to gambling have changed in recent years, NCAA rules still call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team.
Sorsby was at Indiana for two seasons before the past two at Cincinnati.
The Texas native transferred in January to Texas Tech for a reported multimillion-dollar deal. The Red Raiders brought him in to be the starting quarterback when trying to defend their first Big 12 title and return to the CFP.
What led to the NCAA investigation
According to court filings, on March 11 the NCAA received a tip about Sorsby’s gambling activity from an online sportsbook, which had been informed by law enforcement. Texas Tech was notified April 14 that an investigation was underway by the NCAA.
Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who negotiated the $2.8 billion House settlement against the NCAA and now represents Sorsby, told the court that the 22-year-old quarterback has a diagnosed addiction and anxiety-driven compulsion. Sorsby recently completed a monthlong stay in a residential treatment program in Arizona that he entered after the start of the NCAA’s investigation.
According to a clinician who treated Sorsby, Kessler said, not allowing the quarterback to play would hurt his mental health and hamper his recovery.
The NCAA in its statement Monday said it is “committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport.”
The lawsuit and NCAA appeals
The injunction came in Sorsby’s lawsuit filed May 18 against the NCAA seeking the restoration of his eligibility. That case was initially assigned to District Judge Phillip Hays, a Lubbock native and Texas Tech graduate who later recused himself. Curry is a retired judge from Tarrant County, nearly 300 miles away.
Since the filing of that lawsuit, the NCAA has twice denied Texas Tech’s petition to restore the quarterback’s eligibility.
When the school on May 26 revealed the first denial and its intent to appeal, university president Lawrence Schovanec wrote in a letter to the Texas Tech community that the school felt “the NCAA’s ruling should be reversed or modified.”
That comment illustrates the difficult landscape for the NCAA, which has lost multiple court cases challenging rules that were put in place by the very schools that make up its membership. Many focus on eligibility, with athletes contending they should be allowed to play and continue to earn money that was made available under the House ruling.
The NCAA is on the verge of approving a new eligibility model following meetings among stakeholders and even President Donald Trump. The NCAA continues to also seek limited antitrust protections from Congress in hopes of eliminating or at least smoothing the state-by-state rulings that have thrown the industry into chaos.
“There is no better example of why targeted intervention from Congress is necessary,” Baker said on social media after the ruling. “When you have schools and deep-pocketed supporters willing to look the other way on the glaring integrity threat of betting on your own team — and judges whose rulings effectively strip away our ability to stop them — only Congress can equip the NCAA to apply this common sense rule to everyone fairly and consistently. The Protect College Sports Act would empower the NCAA to enforce rules including the gambling restrictions — it’s needed now more than ever.”
OpenAI files confidential SEC paperwork for IPO, opening the door to a Wall Street debut
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – ChatGPT maker OpenAI filed preliminary paperwork that would open the door to it becoming a publicly traded company, the third in a powerhouse trio of artificial intelligence companies racing to Wall Street debuts.
The San Francisco-based company said Monday it has filed confidential paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“We expect it to leak so we’re just announcing it,” the company said in a statement. “We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.”
OpenAI’s move follows its rival Anthropic’s June 1 disclosure that it is also moving toward an initial public offering of shares. Both are now following Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, which has started an IPO roadshow pitching itself as an AI-focused space company.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first publicly floated the possibility of an IPO last fall, describing it as the “most likely path” for the company given its size and the need for vast amounts of capital to advance its technology.
OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the common good and is now a company valued at $852 billion.
The filing comes at a “precarious moment” for OpenAI as it appears to be losing ChatGPT’s strong early leads with consumers and businesses to Google and Anthropic, said Emarketer analyst Nate Elliott.
“But OpenAI doesn’t have a lot of other places to look for the enormous capital required to support its costs,” Elliott said.
Paving the way for going public was OpenAI’s decision last year to reorganize its business structure and convert itself into a public benefit corporation even as it remains technically under the control of a nonprofit.
OpenAI cleared another obstacle last month with its victory against Musk in a federal jury trial. Musk, an OpenAI co-founder and early donor, had sued the company seeking to oust Altman from its leadership and unravel its conversion to a for-profit business. A judge dismissed the case after the jury found Musk filed his lawsuit too late.
OpenAI has not yet publicly disclosed how much money it is making or when it plans to turn a profit. Much like Anthropic and SpaceX, the company has been losing more money than it makes because of the huge costs of building out the venture. OpenAI faces fierce competition from Anthropic, maker of the increasingly popular chatbot Claude, and Google’s AI assistant Gemini.
In an April interview, OpenAI’s chief financial officer Sarah Friar declined to give a timeline for a potential IPO but said the company was already “acting with the good hygiene of a public company,” such as by measuring its revenue in the way a publicly traded firm would have to report earnings to the SEC.
“I want us to be ready,” she told The Associated Press. “I think it’s good to be able to tap the public markets. They’re much bigger than the private markets.”
She said OpenAI’s current valuation would make it one of the 15 biggest companies in the S&P 500.
She also said there is a “credentializing moment of being a public company.”
“At that point, people are checking your balance sheet, the SEC is governing you and so on,” she said.
In a separate statement Monday published around the same time as the announcement of the confidential filing, Altman outlined a broad vision for OpenAI including three big goals: building an automated AI researcher, accelerating economic growth and giving “everyone on Earth a personal AGI,” which stands for artificial general intelligence or a form of AI that surpasses humans at many tasks.
Altman said OpenAI started out in AI research and moved into commercial product development but is now moving into its third phase involving a “broad distribution of power” as the economy reshapes around AI technology.
He said OpenAI is “working to ensure the gains are widely shared. Everyone should have an opportunity for a meaningful share in the prosperity AI creates.”
The remarks follow Altman’s visit last week with Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is pushing a plan for the public to take a 50% ownership stake in AI companies such as OpenAI, as well as comments from President Donald Trump embracing giving the public a stake in AI’s growth.
Man in Texas is accused of using a fake boarding pass to get on a United flight
HOUSTON (AP) – A Texas man is accused of using a fake boarding pass to get on a United Airlines flight before he was found hiding in a restroom, forcing the plane back to the gate before it could take off at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, court documents say.
The 25-year-old Houston man was discovered on the plane bound for Los Angeles in mid-May as it was taxiing to a runway when a passenger alerted a flight attendant, according to authorities.
He was charged last week with impairing or interrupting operation of critical infrastructure facility. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney Monday.
Surveillance cameras showed the man first having trouble with his boarding pass at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint when he arrived at the Houston airport early on May 18, according to a criminal complaint.
He was eventually screened at the checkpoint and then tried to board a different flight to LA, but he was turned away when he tried to scan his pass, the complaint said.
About two hours later, the man went to another gate and waited until United employees who were checking boarding passes became distracted, the court document said. He then pretended to show his pass, walked by the employees and boarded the plane, the complaint said.
TSA said in a statement that the man first presented a valid boarding pass and went through standard screening and did not have any prohibited items. It referred other questions to Houston police and United Airlines. United referred all questions to law enforcement.
Once onboard the flight, the man tried to find a seat before going into a bathroom and a passenger noticed and told a flight attendant, the complaint said. He gave the flight attendant a fake name and then it was discovered he was not a passenger on the flight, the court document said.
Everyone on the flight had to get off the plane while it was checked for explosives, delaying its departure by three hours, the complaint said.
A United employee later told authorities the man had made a reservation, but it was canceled because he did not pay for it, the court document said.
He did show Houston police a confirmation number on his phone and what looked like a boarding pass, but a United employee told authorities the pass was fake and could not have been obtained without payment, the complaint said.
A flesh-eating cattle parasite spreads beyond Texas as new screwworm cases are found
KERRVILLE (AP) – Three more cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed, including one outside the main cluster in Texas, demonstrating the difficulty of stopping a resurgent pest that could devastate the nation’s cattle industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday.
The screwworm is actually a fly larva that eats living flesh instead of dead material. The flies lay their eggs in open wounds of animals like cattle, but wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans can be infested. The government has a program to breed sterile male flies and drop swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females, which kept screwworm contained at the southern end of Panama for decades.
So far, there are five confirmed cases: three calves and a goat in Texas and a dog from neighboring Lea County, New Mexico. The small dog, which the USDA initially reported as a Texas case, lives in New Mexico and was reclassified as the first in that state.
The dog had not traveled to Mexico or Texas, so authorities were investigating around the property where the pet lived. If they find infected flies, animal inspections in the area will increase, New Mexico State Veterinarian Samantha Holeck said during a virtual news conference Monday.
Screwworm cases continue to climb
The first two screwworm cases were discovered last week in calves a few miles apart in south Texas. A case was announced Monday in a calf in La Salle County, southwest of San Antonio, and in a goat in Gillespie County, west of Austin.
In each case, officials have set up a 12-mile (20-kilometer) quarantine zone to try to slow the parasite’s advance.
Along with cattle and other warm-blooded livestock, scientists worry screwworms could devastate the millions of wild white-tailed deer in Texas.
Scientists expect new cases could pop up in the coming days and weeks, but it doesn’t mean screwworm is spreading rapidly, said Edward Burgess, a University of Florida entomologist who studies the fly.
“When that first case is seen, everyone is being vigilant and their eyes are on it more intensely,” Burgess said. “And when you are looking for something, you are more likely to see it.”
A race to stop the screwworm now moves to Texas
Screwworm gets its name from the maggots’ habit of burrowing — or screwing — into a wound, according to the USDA. The pest eats the flesh of the animal, further opening wounds and increasing the risk of deadly bacterial infections. Animals can die within a few weeks if not treated. There are a dozen government-approved medications to treat livestock.
The agency and the U.S. cattle industry have been racing to prevent an outbreak since screwworm was detected in Mexico late in 2024. The USDA has been dropping sterile flies in south Texas since February and is working to both increase sterile fly production in plants outside the U.S. and build a $750 million fly factory in Texas.
So far, screwworm’s reappearance hasn’t greatly affected beef prices, which are already near record levels because there are fewer cows in the United States. Although the parasite attacks live cattle, it does not infest meat or fruit.
Canada temporarily stopped importing cattle, horses or other livestock from Texas on Friday. The parasites prefer humid areas where temperatures are at least 77 F (25 C), making them more of a summer problem up north.
Fighting screwworms with sterile male flies
Burgess said the long-term solution — breeding sterile male flies — is months away. Since wild female flies mate just once, if that encounter is with a sterile male, outbreaks can eventually be halted as the flies die out.
The goal is to have enough sterile flies to stop the pests from returning in 2027 after the winter kills off most of them, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a news conference at the U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, Texas.
Scientists are also working on ways to sterilize only male flies to make the program even more effective.
Texas officials encouraged ranchers to keep a close eye on their herds and local wildlife. There’s now a 24-hour screwworm hotline and a website and map for reported cases.
“This is a highly treatable condition if you act on it immediately,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said.
However, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller — who lost the recent Republican primary to a candidate backed by Abbott — said the federal response will take too long and risks crippling the cattle industry.
Instead, he says a poison bait could eliminate the screwworm problem in a few months, even if the USDA and other experts say the bait hasn’t been proven effective and could poison other flies, animals and even humans.
“What the hell is a good fly?” Miller said in an interview.
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This story has been updated to reflect that the USDA revised the dog screwworm case to New Mexico, not Texas as the agency initially reported, and to correct the spelling of Kerrville.
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Associated Press writers Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
City swears in first district police chief
LONGVIEW – Longview ISD held a ceremony on Monday to swear in Benjamin Kemper as the first police chief of the newly developed district police department. Prior to joining the district’s police department, Kemper worked with the Longview Police Department for twenty-four years, where he most recently served as Assistant Police Chief. Over his career, he has led patrol operations, criminal investigations, support services and special operations, including service as SWAT Commander and Captain of the Operations Bureau.
Before joining Longview ISD, Kemper earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Oklahoma.
During the ceremony Kemper spoke about what his new job means and why he believes it is a important role in the community.
“It’s the commitment to protecting everybody within the school district. It’s not just the students or staff, it’s about making sure that we can create the safest learning environment we can for everybody,” Kemper said. “So our students can come to school every day without the fear of safety concerns.So our students can come to school every day without the fear of safety concerns. and they can come here to learn what our district is about.”
Pedestrian killed in crash
KILGORE – A pedestrian was killed on Monday morning at the CB Tire Shop in Kilgore after a truck left State Highway 135. According to the Kilgore Police Department, emergency services were sent out to the 700 block of State Highway 135 at around 8:07 a.m. on Monday because of a reported pedestrian crash. Upon arrival, responding personnel learned that a white 2024 Ford pickup truck was traveling south on State Highway 135 when the vehicle left the road and hit a pedestrian at the CB Tire Shop.
The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene following the crash. Kilgore PD said their preliminary findings show that the driver of the Ford had a medical emergency before their vehicle crashed off the road.
Kilgore PD is still investigating this crash.
Police chief resigns, city water issues
TRINIDAD – The chief of police for the Trinidad Police Department has resigned as the Henderson County community continues to deal with ongoing water woes. Our news partner KETK News has learned from a Trinidad Police Department officer that Chief Charles Gregory has submitted his two-week notice to city leadership, notifying them that he’s resigning from his position.
This news comes as Trinidad community residents gathered at the Trinidad Community Center on Monday to discuss solutions to the city’s ongoing water issues, which have prompted frustration with the city’s leadership, two lawsuits and calls for new leaders. On Thursday, the Trinidad City Council met to discuss the water problems. At that meeting, city council members voted 3 to 1 to dismiss Municipal Judge Shella Bievens and the city attorney.
Cornyn, Republican colleagues introduce ‘smash-and-grab’ crimes bill
AUSTIN – U.S. Senator John Cornyn joined Senator Lindsey Graham, and 17 other republican colleagues in introducing the Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) Protection Act to address the “dangerously high number of smash-and-grab thefts.” The bill targets gun dealers by enhancing penalties for criminals who steal firearms from federally licensed firearms and ammunition dealers.
“Criminals who steal firearms from gun stores should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would prevent gun thefts by strengthening the consequences for those who break the law, and I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to support it.”
Background:
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reported 4,046 FFL theft incidents from 2021 to 2025. During these burglary, larceny, and robbery incidents, a total of 23,319 firearms were stolen from Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs). Texans have been directly impacted by these crimes as thieves have stolen 2,737 firearms from FFLs across the state during this same four-year period of 2021 to 2025.
The FFL Protection Act would:
• Increase the statutory maximum penalty for knowingly stealing any firearm in an FFL’s business inventory from 10 to 20 years;
• Impose a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for burglary from an FFL and five years for robbery from an FFL;
• Criminalize the attempted theft of a firearm from a licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector.
The legislation is being led by Sen. Graham (R-SC) and is cosponsored by Senators Ted Budd (R-NC), Katie Britt (R-AL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Jim Justice (R-WV), Jim Risch (R-ID), Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Thom Tillis (R-NC).
Cornyn’s office said the legislation is endorsed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
Quadruple murderer gets life
CHEROKEE COUNTY — A Cherokee County man was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for his role in a 2021 murder in New Summerfield that left four people dead. According to our news partner KETK, Jesse Pawlowski was sentenced to life in prison on Monday without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to the murders of John Clinton, Jeff Gerla, Ami Hickey and Amanda Bain.
Arrest affidavits revealed, that Pawlowksi along with with Dylan Welch and Billy Phillips planned to meet Clinton at his trailer home and attempted to steal a handgun from him. After receiving a report of a dead body near the home, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office found that Clinton had been shot in the head. Continue reading Quadruple murderer gets life
Texarkana man arrested after girlfriend’s baby brought to hospital with skull fracture
TEXARKANA – A baby’s arrival to a Texarkana hospital with a critical head injury last Thursday has led to the arrest of a man, after investigators discovered the baby was under his sole care when the incident occurred.
Officers were called to the CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital after a three-month-old baby arrived with a skull fracture, according to our news partner, KETK and Texarkana Police.
Detectives opened an investigation and found that injuries occurred while the baby was under the care of the mother’s 22-year-old boyfriend, Michael Cridell Jr.
Cridell was arrested last Friday and booked into Bi-State Jail for injury to a child causing serious bodily injury. His bond was set at $500,000.
The baby was later airlifted to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital that night. She remains hospitalized and is currently in serious but stable condition.
Marshall water shut off for Scenic Loop
MARSHALL – Phase one of Marshall’s water stabilization project which beganMonday, meaning temporary loss of water for some residents. The shut off started at 4 p.m. around U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 43. Affected areas are said to include the Scenic Loop area between Pinecrest Drive and Bell Street. Water should be back on for all residents by 10 p.m. Tuesday night, according to the City of Marshall website.
Authorities say the water will be shut off while contractors tie into the newly repaired 16-inch water line that runs under the highway. This outage is required to complete the connections and place the infrastructure into service.
As well as a water shut off, the City of Marshall has issued a boil water notice for the same area.
Police break up outdoor party
UPSHUR COUNTY – Law enforcement officials broke up an unauthorized private party with over 60 minors in attendance on Sunday.
According our news partner KETK, and the Upshur County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, social media posts were circulating promoting a party for minors that was supposed to happen off of Wren Road, in rural Upshur County on Sunday. The posts caused local law enforcement to be concerned that drugs or alcohol at the party.
Officers from the Upshur County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office, the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Game Wardens and the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office went out to the party on Sunday and found more than 60 juveniles gathered at an unauthorized private property off of Wren Road.
They also discovered alcoholic beverages at the scene along with several juveniles who were apparently intoxicated. Drivers at the party were given Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and several minors were given citations for consumption of alcohol.
Law enforcement then dispersed the crowd of minors after they helped collect trash from the scene.
Pedestrian dies in one vehicle crash
KILGORE – Authorities are reporting a pedestrian was killed on Monday morning at the CB Tire Shop in Kilgore after a truck left State Highway 135.
According our news partner KETK and the Kilgore Police Department, emergency services were sent out to the CB Tire Shop on Highway 135 at around 8:07 a.m. on Monday because of a reported pedestrian crash.
Upon arrival, first responders learned that a white 2024 Ford pickup truck was traveling south on State Highway 135 when the vehicle left the road and hit a pedestrian at the tire shop.
The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene following the crash. Kilgore PD said their preliminary findings show that the driver of the Ford had a medical emergency before their vehicle crashed off the road. Kilgore PD is still investigating this crash.
Habitat selects new CDO
Tyler – Habitat for Humanity of Smith County is pleased to announce the naming of it’s new Chief Development Officer. He is Tyler-native and veteran communications specialist Mike Landess.
Mike has served on the Smith County Habitat Executive Board for the past 6 years and is a volunteer with their construction teams.
He and his wife, Maddie, moved back to Tyler in 2019 after his highly successful, multi-decade career in broadcast journalism. That career began here in Tyler as a high school senior.
Ken Paxton’s attorney in his impeachment trial endorses James Talarico in US Senate race
AUSTIN (AP) — A lawyer who represented Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for nearly a decade over accusations of corruption and securities fraud is supporting Democrat James Talarico — and not his former client — in one of the biggest U.S. Senate races.
Talarico on Monday drew attention to his campaign winning the endorsement of Houston attorney Dan Cogdell, who was part of Paxton’s defense team during the Republican’s historic impeachment trial in 2023 that ended in acquittal.
The legal troubles that shadowed Paxton in public office in Texas are a central attack line of Talarico’s campaign, though in his endorsement, Cogdell didn’t cite concerns about his client’s past.
Cogdell said he didn’t dislike Paxton as a person and felt that Texas lawmakers were right to eventually acquit the attorney general. But as a politician, Cogdell said, Paxton is too focused on appeasing President Donald Trump.
“I worked my ass off for the man for nine years,” Cogdell said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But that’s a different inquiry, my obligation to Ken ended at the courthouse steps and my obligation as a citizen is to do what I think is the right thing.”
Cogdell said Texas needs a lot of work, pointing to education and health care, “and to simply bootlick or rubber stamp Trump, that’s not what we need in D.C. right now.” He also recently spoke to Talarico at length on Cogdell’s podcast.
Asked for comment, an aide to Paxton’s campaign said Cogdell is a Democrat and called the endorsement unsurprising.
The lead defense attorney in Paxton’s impeachment trial, Tony Buzbee, reiterated that on X. Buzbee added that he was supporting Paxton in the race.
Cogdell said he’s a registered Democrat, but considers himself a moderate, and has voted and donated more to Republicans than Democrats.
Talarico has given Democrats hope of flipping the statewide seat in Texas blue as the party scrambles to retake control of the U.S. Senate in November.
Paxton’s insurgent campaign beat Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican Senate primary runoff last month, helped by a Trump endorsement in the final days of the race.
Two US pilots die after plane crashes in the Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A pilot and co-pilot from the United States have died in a fiery plane crash as they attempted an emergency landing in the Dominican Republic, authorities said.
The incident occurred Sunday near the southern coastal town of La Romana, according to a statement by the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation, which identified the pilot and co-pilot as U.S. citizens. It wasn’t immediately known what caused the crash. No passengers were aboard.
MLB All-Star former catcher Yadier Molina said on social media that the plane was bound for Texas to pick him up, along with family and friends.
“My condolences to the pilots and their family!” he wrote. Molina and his group were headed to Puerto Rico.
Officials said the plane had departed from Puerto Rico and landed in the Dominican Republic to refuel before heading to Texas.
The pilot and co-pilot reported an emergency shortly after taking off from the Dominican Republic, authorities said.
Two more Texas screwworm infections found in animals far apart, USDA says
KERVILLE (AP) — Two more cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed in Texas, demonstrating the difficulty of stopping the spread of a pest that could potentially devastate the nation’s cattle industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday.
The screwworm is actually a fly, which produces a larvae that eats live flesh instead of dead material. Females lay their eggs in open wounds of any warm-blooded animal such as cattle, but wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans can be infested.
The USDA said the new cases were found in a calf and a dog, hundreds of miles apart in La Salle and Andrews counties. That brings the total number of confirmed cases to four. The screwworm was first discovered in a 3-week-old calf last week, and a second case was found only miles away in a young calf.
“While we address these instances that require immediate attention, and continue to sample suspected cases, we are simultaneously working to eradicate the pest entirely,” Dudley Hoskins, the USDA’s marketing and regulatory undersecretary, said in a statement.
Before it was eliminated in the U.S. in the 1960s, the fly was an annual warm-weather scourge of cattle ranchers.
The USDA and the U.S. cattle industry have been racing to prevent an infestation since the pest was detected in Mexico late in 2024 after decades of being contained at the southern end of Panama.
The government fights the fly by breeding sterile male flies, which then mate with wild females that only mate once in their monthslong life. By mating with sterile flies, the females don’t produce more flies and outbreaks can eventually be halted.
The USDA has announced plans to increase sterile fly production in plants outside the U.S. while it builds a fly factory in Texas.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins will be briefed on the infestation Monday afternoon at the U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerville, Texas.
Scoreboard roundup — 6/7/26
Former Broaddus ISD teacher under investigation for alleged grooming behavior
BROADDUS, Texas (KETK) – Broaddus ISD has announced that one of their former teachers has been referred to law enforcement over allegations that they had an inappropriate relationship with a student.
According to the district, administrators received information on Thursday that alleged a teacher was having an inappropriate relationship with a student involving “grooming behavior” and possible physical contact.
Broaddus ISD immediately notified the proper law enforcement authorities so they could investigate the allegations. The teacher is no longer employed by Broaddus ISD.
The district said there was no indication that there was any threat to any students.
“Broaddus ISD remains committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment and will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement and all appropriate authorities throughout the investigative process,” Broaddus ISD said. “The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority. We appreciate your understanding and support as this matter proceeds. Due to the ongoing investigation and privacy laws, the district will not be providing additional details at this time.”
One shot near elementary school in Nacogdoches
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK) – One person was injured in a shooting that happened near Carpenter Elementary School in Nacogdoches on Sunday.
According to Nacogdoches Police Department, officers responded to 1005 Leroy Street near Carpenter Elementary School at around 12:52 a.m. because of reported gunshots near there.
Officers arrived at the scene and were told that a person was shot and then taken to a local hospital for treatment. The officers went over to the hospital and were told that an unknown person had shot the victim with a firearm.
One person the officers talked to during their investigation was arrested after they were found to be in possession of a controlled substance. Anyone with information about the shooting can contact Nacogdoches PD at 936-559-2607.
One dead after ATV crashes into fallen tree in Nacogdoches County
APPLEBY, Texas (KETK) – Nacogdoches County officials said one man has died after his ATV ran into a fallen tree on Saturday near Lake Naconiche.
According to Nacogdoches County Precinct 3 Constable Roger Dudley, a man was driving his ATV on County Road 134, north of Appleby and to the south of Lake Naconiche, just before 11 p.m. on Saturday when the ATV struck a tree that fell across the county road.
Hitting the tree caused the ATV to flip into the air, ejecting the driver before the ATV landed upside down, according to Dudley. The Central Heights/Appleby Fire Department, the Nacogdoches Fire Department and the Nacogdoches Ambulance Service responded to the crash scene and attempted life saving measures but the victim’s injuries were too serious.
Dudley said the victim’s wife informed his office that her husband did not survive his injuries from the crash. Dudley asked the public for many prayers for her family following this loss.
In Focus: 06/07/26 – Paul Gleiser, Geoff Roark and Melissa Kiser – Current events
Sheriff searching for crash suspect
RUSK COUNTY – The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for a man wanted in connection to a crash that happened on Highway 79 on Friday. According to the sheriff’s office, a two-vehicle crash happened at around 6 p.m. on Friday on Highway 79 near County Road 341 in Chapman. Dispatchers were told that two people fled from the crash scene on foot.
The Texas Department of Public Safety was able to locate one of those suspects from the crash scene but one man wasn’t found during their search on Friday. The sheriff’s office identified that man as Derek Laningham. On Saturday at around 8 a.m., a resident called the sheriff’s office from County Road 341 because a man had entered his home and took his car keys and clothes. The sheriff’s office said this man was also identified as Derek Laningham.
Deputies searched the area near the caller’s home on foot and in ATVs but they still haven’t found him as of Saturday night. Laningham now has a warrant out for his arrest and the sheriff’s office asked residents to call them at 903-657-3581 if a suspicious person is spotted near County Road 341.
One arrest in fatal crash
ATHENS – An 18-year-old man was arrested recently in connection to a February fatal crash that left one woman pedestrian dead on FM 2709 near Athens. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and our news partner KETK, Martha Anette Belcher, 73 of Athens, was walking along the westbound lane of FM 2709 near Highway 19 at around 7 a.m. on Feb. 25, when she was hit and killed by a gray Chevrolet Silverado.
Texas State Troopers then investigated to try and identify the vehicle and driver involved in the hit-and-run crash. A DPS press release identified 18-year-old Alexis Davila of Athens as the driver of the Chevrolet. DPS officials said Davila fled the scene of the crash and never reported it to law enforcement. He was arrested on May 29 for collision involving death and tampering/fabricating physical evidence.
Davila was released from the Henderson County Jail on May 30 after posting a $30,000 bond.
Kidnapping charges for fleeing boyfriend
MARSHALL – A man is wanted after police said he kidnapped his ex-girlfriend in Marshall on Saturday, before fleeing to Louisiana. According to our news partner – KETK – and Marshall police, dispatch received a call requesting a welfare check at a property in the 1300 block of East Pinecrest Drive at around 7:29 a.m. Officers responding to the scene, met a woman, who said she had just been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend.
Officers determined the woman had escaped from her ex-boyfriend, who fled from the scene before they arrived. Police identified the ex-boyfriend as Jamichael Brown.
Brown’s vehicle was later found abandoned in Greenwood, La. Marshall police joined with the Joint Harrison County Violent Crime and Narcotics Task Force, the Waskom Police Department, the Greenwood Police Department, and the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office to conduct a joint search of the area near his vehicle, but were unable to locate Brown. Continue reading Kidnapping charges for fleeing boyfriend
Deputies searching for missing man
CAMP COUNTY – Camp County Sheriff’s Office deputies are currently searching for a man who was last seen near FM 556 and FM 1519 W. Richard Spence is listed as a white man with brown hair and a goatee who’s about 5-foot 6-inches to 5-foot 8-inches tall and weighs between 120 to 140 pounds.
Spence was last seen wearing a brown t-shirt with yellow print on the front and blue jeans while he was in the area of FM 556 and FM 1519 W.
Anyone with information about Spence’s location or disappearance is asked to call Lt. Randy Huggins at 903-856-6651.

