RUSK – The Rusk City Council is currently considering who will serve as its next city manager after Bob Goldsberry resigned from the position last week, according to our news partner KETK.
Rusk City Council member for district 4, Martha Neely said Goldsberry submitted his resignation last week as he’s retiring from a long career in public leadership. Before serving as Rusk city manager, Goldsberry also served as executive director of the Rusk Economic Development Corporation.
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into Celsius Holdings, Inc. (“Celsius”) based on the company’s representations and practices regarding its energy drinks marketed to teens and children. Celsius owns Alani Nutrition, LLC (“Alani”), which sells the popular energy drink commonly known as Alani Nu.
Alani Nu is a popular, low calorie, caffeine energy drink marketed toward young adults. Each 12-oz can contains 200 mg of caffeine. This is a level medical professionals consider dangerous for children and adolescents. Despite this, the brand employs colorful packaging, playful design elements, and youth-oriented branding strategies that appeal directly to younger consumers, raising serious questions about whether the company is deliberately marketing a potentially harmful product to an at-risk population.
The National Institutes of Health strongly advises against energy drink consumption by children and teens, citing documented risks including elevated heart rate, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, anxiety, and dehydration. Despite these concerns, Alani Nu’s packaging typically only lists the caffeine amount and does not provide any additional warnings related to age or potential heart-health risks. These are not hypothetical risks. Multiple children and young adults across the country have reported adverse health effects following consumption of high-caffeine energy drinks. For example, the family of a 17-year-old from Weslaco, Texas, is suing the distributor of the energy drink Alani Nu after the teen died from an enlarged heart allegedly caused by excessive caffeine consumption. The lawsuit claims the product failed to provide adequate warnings about its caffeine content—a failure that may have cost a young Texan her life.
“Texas families deserve to know that the products marketed to their children are safe and not filled with dangerous levels of certain ingredients,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The tragic death of a 17-year-old Texas girl allegedly caused by consuming a highly caffeinated energy drink is a sobering reminder of what is at stake when companies prioritize profit over the safety and wellbeing of our children. I am looking into Celsius and Alani Nu to prevent more cases like this one and to ensure Texans are made aware of the any risks that come with consuming certain energy drink products.”
The Office of the Attorney General will investigate whether Celsius and Alani mislead Consumers regarding the safety of its product for teens and children in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“DTPA”).
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – The New World screwworm fly is threatening the $113 billion U.S. cattle industry for the first time in more than a half century, with an infestation from its flesh-eating larvae confirmed in south Texas.
The infestation was discovered in a single 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio and 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal and state officials had been working to keep the parasite from reaching Texas, home to $17 billion worth of the nation’s cattle, making it the industry’s No. 1 state.
The deadly flies were detected in Mexico in late 2024 after years of being contained in Panama.
The fly was an annual warm-weather scourge of cattle ranchers from at least the 1930s through the 1960s, until the U.S. eradicated the pest by breeding sterile male flies and dropping swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females. The USDA said the most recent case was the first in Texas since 1966.
Here is what to know about the fly, the threat it poses and the response:
Being unusual makes the flies a threat
The New World screwworm fly in the Western Hemisphere and its Old World cousin in Africa and Asia are unusual among flies because their larvae, or maggots, eat live flesh and fluids instead of dead material. Females lay their eggs in open wounds and mucous membranes after mating only once in their monthslong lives.
Any warm-blooded animal, including wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans, can be infested.
Livestock are vulnerable because of how they’re handled, Lee Haines, an associate research professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, said in an email Thursday. Standard practices with cattle can break the skin, including shearing and de-horning, or even moving them in and out of corrals can cause scrapes and cuts. Birth would also make a mother and calf vulnerable, she said.
Stephen Diebel, a Texas rancher and president of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, added that even wounds “as small as a tick bite,” can put cattle at risk.
“These flies can lay eggs in very, very small places,” he said.
Scientists and cattle groups say that infested wounds become foul-smelling and cause animals great pain or death if an infestation is not treated. In decades past, ranchers had tens of millions of dollars in losses — potentially billions in today’s dollars.
But agriculture officials were quick to note that the fly does not infest food.
Officials sounded alarms for nearly 2 years
Federal and state officials and cattle industry leaders have been sounding public alarms about the fly’s movement through Mexico and toward the U.S. since a case was confirmed in southern Mexico in November 2024.
The spread has hit Mexico’s beef industry hard, particularly after U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins closed ports of entry along the border to livestock imports in July 2025 to prevent the fly from reaching Texas.
Mexico has confirmed thousands of infestations, and Rollins has argued that the government there has not done enough to control animals moving within the country, a suggestion Mexican authorities have rejected. Rollins also has blamed former Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, arguing that weak border security has been a factor in the flies’ migration.
But Haines said climate change is a key element in the spread of a tropical species that thrives in warm weather and disappeared after cold snaps in the U.S.
“The cold snaps that once suppressed stray populations in marginal northern regions are becoming rarer and less severe, thus removing a natural biological check on the flies’ migration north,” she said. “ Warmer temperatures are also expanding the geographical band of suitable habitat northward.”
Officials quarantine a swath of Texas
Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges imposed a 12-mile (20-kilometer) quarantine zone covering much of Zavala County, home to La Pryor, and a small part of neighboring Uvalde County. Animals cannot leave that zone without being inspected. Dinges has urged people to check their animals — including pets — and to “stay put.”
Rollins said the fly doesn’t travel hundreds or even tens of miles on its own. “The only way this spreads is through animal movement,” she said.
Local ranchers are concerned that the fly will spread among wildlife, particularly deer. The last U.S. outbreak was largely among deer in the the Florida Keys in 2016, though one case was confirmed last year in a Maryland man who had traveled to El Salvador and recovered. In the 2016 Florida instance, the fly was eradicated within six months by releasing sterile male flies to mate with the females.
In Texas, Haines predicted, “Their numbers will continue to expand in wildlife populations.”
In Texas, shots and fly drops
Rollins said that the USDA has been dropping millions of sterile male flies in south Texas since February in hopes of blocking the insects’ spread. The plan is to continue doing so.
The USDA opened a center in south Texas in February to disperse flies bred in Panama, and it invested $21 million in a new fly-breeding facility in southern Mexico that is expect to start operations next month.
Diebel, whose family ranch is about 200 miles (322 kilometers) east of the quarantine zone, said ranchers are proactively giving injections that prevent screwworm infestation. They’re also taking extra care to treat wounds from ear tagging and other practices and keeping a close eye for signs of illness.
“Surveillance is one of the biggest things — just constantly monitoring those cattle,” Diebel said.
He said he wouldn’t be surprised to see other isolated cases confirmed, but added, “I’m very confident we can keep this at bay.”
Officials rely on time-tested science
Government and industry officials are confident that they contain the fly in the U.S. because the best method for eradicating the pest is both time-tested and highly effective: releasing sterile male flies into the wild. While males are “promiscuous,” in the scientific sense, females are not, and if their one mating hookup is with a sterile male, no eggs from that female will hatch.
Once sterile males are prevalent enough — and millions a week can be released — the fly’s population declines and then dies out.
The U.S. shut down its own fly factories after the pest was eradicated decades ago, leaving only an international breeding facility in Panama in the Western Hemisphere until the new one in Mexico opens. However, the USDA also is spending $750 million to build a fly factory in southern Texas that can produce up to 300 million sterile flies a week.
“The sterile insect is not only the most effective tool we have, but it is also considered one of the most environmental friendly insect pest control methods ever developed,” Rollins said.
President Joe Biden, left, walks off stage with first lady Jill Biden, right, following the presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Former First Lady Jill Biden is on TV and out on the interview circuit promoting her book titled, “View from the East Wing: A Memoir.”
In the book and in interviews, she tells us that she was just gobsmacked by her husband’s shocking performance during his debate with Donald Trump last June. We all remember it. It was that debate at the CNN Studios in Atlanta on June 27, 2024 that brought Joe Biden’s reelection bid, along with his nearly five-decade career in politics, to an ignominious end.
In a CBS Sunday Morning interview that aired this week the former First Lady said that she was afraid that her husband – the President of the United States – was having a stroke. She went on to say, “I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since.”
I have questions.
First, if you truly feared that your spouse was having a stroke, would you just sit there? It has been drilled into us – time is the enemy on strokes. If Jill Biden thought her husband was having a stroke, she should have taken immediate action to get him medical attention.
But we all know she didn’t think he was having a stroke. She thought it was Thursday. That is to say, she had, “…seen Joe like that before,” because we had all seen Joe like that before. We had all seen the shaking hands with invisible people, and his inability to exit a stage, and the garbled sentences, and the vacant stare and the inability to complete a thought.
That sets up my second question. Will the country ever get to a tipping point on being lied to? The HBO mini-series “Chernobyl,” has a great line that I have appropriated. A Soviet nuclear scientist says at a state inquiry on the disaster:
Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Eventually, that debt comes due.”
When will that happen in our politics? Politicians have always “gilded the lily.” But today’s politicians – particularly Democrats protected by the media – lie with shocking boldness.
Will that rapidly increasing ‘debt to the truth’ ever reach critical mass after which a political tsunami ensues, washing the entire scurrilous lot of lying politicians and their lying apologists out of our lives? And will the legacy media ever stop enabling the lying and start realizing that their very continued existence depends on finding a way to regain the trust of the American heartland?
There’s no way that Jill Biden didn’t know that the president was a cognitive mess. Any of us who have ever had a relative sink into the abyss of dementia – and most of us have – knew exactly what we were seeing.
We could see that the President of the United States was mentally unfit.
But all that time the administration, the media and the lefty pundit class were in unison. ‘Sharp as a tack,” they said. ‘Outrunning us all.’
They were all lying then. Jill Biden is lying now.
And the debt to the truth remains unpaid – while interest accrues.
LINDALE – The cause of death for 8-year-old Adrian Thompson, who had a medical emergency at Velma Penny Elementary School in Lindale in April, has been announced by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. Adrian Sue Thompson died in a pediatric intensive care unit on April 16 at around one in the morning. According to a recent report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, her death was determined to be accidental and to have been caused by choking. Continue reading Student cause of death revealed
TYLER — Bass Pro Way is now officially open as of Thursday morning, improving access in and around South Tyler.
According to our news partner KETK, Bass Pro Way, previously Settlers Landing, links South Broadway Avenue to the popular shopping center, Cumberland Village and later Centennial Drive creating easier access to local shops, businesses and neighborhoods.
The city plans on continuing renovations to roads in the area by extending Centennial Drive to Paluxy Way to create an additional Route for travelers coming in and out of Tyler.
POLK COUNTY (KETK) — Authorities are actively searching for a man wanted on a deadly conduct charge in the Onalaska area, police announced Thursday morning.
The Onalaska Police Department is looking for 35?year?old Bryant Todd Arnold, who is accused of firing shots near occupied homes in the Canyon Park area. Officers launched an investigation on April 18 after receiving reports that two suspects were driving through the neighborhood and shooting near residences.
“The safety of our citizens remains our highest priority. Reckless and dangerous behavior that threatens our neighborhoods will not be tolerated,” the police department said. “We are grateful for the continued support and partnership of our residents, whose vigilance and cooperation play a vital role in keeping Onalaska safe.”
Anyone with information about Arnold’s location is urged to contact the Onalaska Police Department at 936-646-5676. Anonymous tips can be submitted through P3 Tips, the P3 App or by calling Polk County Crime Stoppers at 936?327?STOP.
NEW YORK (AP) — American Airlines is temporarily suspending some of its routes this summer, as steep jet fuel costs continue to strain carriers’ budgets amid the war with Iran.
In a statement, American said it had adjusted service for “select routes” in August and September — and that impacted travelers would be offered alternative arrangements or refunds. The Texas-based airline cited elevated fuel costs, and maintained that these changes were in line with wider industry trends.
American also said that it was not cutting any of its routes indefinitely and that it was proud to “offer an industry-leading network with more flights than any other U.S. airline.”
Still, the summer suspensions could cause more headaches for travelers already facing fewer flights options and higher price tags across their budgets. Airlines around the world have canceled numerous flights or similarly trimmed schedules through the coming months — and many have are also hiking fees or cutting other perks in efforts to save money.
That’s because the cost of jet fuel — which can account for about 30% of airlines’ total expenses — has soared during the war. A barrel averaged at nearly $142 last week, according to the International Air Transport Association. That’s down from an April peak, but still far higher than the $99 jet fuel was going for per barrel before the U.S. and Israel launched the war with attacks on Iran in late February.
Most traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the world’s flow of oil, has remained at an effective halt over the last three months. Prices have cooled some recently as markets hope for an eventual reopening the passage, but the U.S. and Iran have yet to actually reach a concrete agreement. And the longer traffic stays stalled, the worse the energy crisis could get.
Consumers aren’t only feeling the squeeze in air travel. Gasoline, food and other everyday essentials are also being hit by these supply shocks.
American Airlines did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ requests for further information about which flights would be suspended in August and September. But other outlets reported six routes would be affected — largely from Los Angeles, among other destinations in North America.
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TYLER – Federal charges have been brought against two women who have ties to an East Texas company where an FBI operation was carried out on Tuesday. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell announced the federal indictments of Keyla Valdivia and Virginia Ponce Gamez on Wednesday during a court appearance at the federal courthouse in Tyler. They both filed not guilty pleas. Multiple agencies, including the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety, responded to Ximena’s Furniture at 10623 Highway 69 North and 10713 US 69 North. Neither the FBI nor local law enforcement agencies have publicly confirmed the nature of the operation. Gamez is charged with conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants, trafficking and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Valdivia is charged with conspiracy to harbor undocumented people and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
(NEW YORKI) --Drivers stung by high gas prices have enjoyed some welcome relief over the last couple of weeks, even as the impact of the Iran war continues to choke off oil supply.
The national average price of a gallon of gas stood at $4.26 on Wednesday, marking a decline of 30 cents, or 6.5%, since a recent peak on May 21.
Still, prices remain well above where they clocked in before a historic oil shock set off by the war. In late February, the average gallon of gas ran less than $3.
The dropoff in gas prices owes to a decline in oil costs over the latter part of last month, which coincided with a slump in demand following Memorial Day weekend, some analysts said.
Still, they cautioned, gas prices may rise again as oil prices jump and the war shows little sign of an imminent resolution. If the war continues, some analysts said, gas price could top $5 a gallon by next month.
"It's so volatile," Patrick Penfield, a professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University, told ABC News. "If the war ended, prices would likely go down. But if it continues, you'll see prices go up."
In Georgia, the state with the lowest average gas prices, a gallon costs about $3.79, AAA data shows. In all, the AAA data says six states currently sell gas at or below an average price of $4 per gallon.
By contrast, the cost of a gallon of gas in California stands at $5.99, making it the state with the highest prices, AAA data shows. Even in California, however, the average price has fallen about 10 cents over the past week.
At the outset of the war, gasoline prices surged in response to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of global crude supply.
Oil prices began to fall in mid-May, however, as Iran and the U.S. appeared willing to strike an agreement that would reopen the strait. Crude oil is the main ingredient in auto fuel, accounting for more than half of the price paid at the pump, according to the federal U.S. Energy Information Administration.
On Friday, U.S. oil prices fell as low as about $86 a barrel, marking a drop of about 20% over a 10-day stretch.
"Gas prices have seen a big push because crude prices have dropped. Crude prices have dropped largely because the president has been indicating that we're close to an agreement with Iran," Ramanan Krishnamoorti, a professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Houston, told ABC News.
The U.S. is a net exporter of petroleum, meaning the country produces more oil than it consumes. But since oil prices are set on a global market, U.S. prices move in response to swings in worldwide supply and demand.
Oil prices have ticked up in recent days, but they remain below $100 a barrel. As long as oil prices remain under that benchmark, gas prices may continue to hold steady or even decline, Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at Dow Jones Energy, told ABC News.
A near-term drop in gas prices appears possible because gas sellers are holding onto unusually large profit margins, meaning they could reduce retail prices even if their input costs maintain current levels, Cinquegrana said. Over the past two years, the average margin for sellers came in at about 34 cents per gallon, he added, but it currently stands at 50 cents per gallon.
"There's still some room for gas prices to move down," Cinquegrana said.
Looking weeks or months into the future, however, analysts cautioned about a rise in oil and gasoline prices unless normal tariff resumes in the Strait of Hormuz.
"It's still possible later this summer, even ahead of July 4, we could see the national average pass $5 a gallon," Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, told ABC News Live on Monday.
"We could be seeing much higher gas prices in very short order if the strait doesn't reopen," he added.
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DALLAS (AP) — Opening statements were set for Thursday in the murder trial of a former Texas high school athlete accused of taking out a knife during a track meet and fatally stabbing a 17-year-old competitor from a rival team in the stadium’s bleachers.
The killing last year stunned an affluent Dallas suburb where the teenagers attended school and quickly drew wider attention, in part over social media posts that amplified the case in racial terms.
Karmelo Anthony, now 19, faces up to life in prison if convicted in the killing of Austin Metcalf. According to an arrest report, Anthony told police he was protecting himself when the teenagers got into a confrontation during a high school track meet in Frisco, a booming city in Dallas’ sprawling north suburbs.
A jury was seated this week under increased security at a Collin County courthouse and a judge has set strict rules over the proceedings, including prohibiting attorneys from discussing the case publicly.
“We know this case has struck a deep nerve — here in Collin County and beyond,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said while announcing the indictment against Anthony last year.
The stabbing happened on a rainy morning in April 2025. Witnesses told police the confrontation began when Anthony sat under a tent belonging to Metcalf’s team, according to an arrest report. The teens went to different high schools in Frisco.
When Metcalf told Anthony that he needed to move, Anthony reached inside his bag and allegedly replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” the report said.
A short time later, Metcalf allegedly grabbed Anthony, who then pulled out a knife and stabbed the other teenager in the chest, the report said.
A police officer said in the report that Anthony told him that Metcalf had put his hands on him, and that he was protecting himself.
Mike Howard, Anthony’s attorney, said following the indictment last summer that he expects prosecutors would “not be able to rule out the reasonable doubt” that his client may have acted in self-defense once the full details of the confrontation come out.
The parents of both teens have said they were good students who planned to go to college.
Metcalf’s father has condemned those who have seized on the race of the teenagers after the killing. Anthony is Black; Austin Metcalf was white.
“This was not a race thing. This is not a political thing. Please do not comment if you do not know what happened,” Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, said on Fox News’ “America Reports.”
“This is a human being thing,” he said. “This person made a bad choice and it affected both his family and my family forever.”
Authorities have also issued warnings about online discussions surrounding the killing. Frisco Police Chief David Shilson has urged people to beware of posts spreading “misinformation, hate, fear, and division.”’
UPDATE: Additional child-sex charges have been filed against Doyle Hodge II, a church volunteer of Polk County who was arrested after allegations of ongoing sexual abuse surfaced last week.
Hodge has now been charged with criminal solicitation of a minor and continuous sexual abuse of a child, according to the sheriff’s office. A warrant is being issued for indecency with a child by sexual conduct and his bond has totaled $325,000.
POLK COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — After receiving multiple allegations of ongoing sexual abuse, Polk County officials have arrested a volunteer of several local churches last week.
Mugshot of Doyle Hodge II, courtesy of Polk County Sheriff’s Office
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, they received reports on May 27 from adults and minors that 40-year-old Doyle Hodge II was sexually abusing them. After opening an investigation, deputies identified five possible victims, with additional individuals continuing to come forward.
Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Hodge to ensure the safety and well-being of the children involved. On Friday, he was taken into the Polk County Jail for sexual assault of a child and is being held on a $100,000 bond.
The investigation remains active, and additional charges are expected to be filed.
According to the sheriff’s office, Hodge was a volunteer at several of the local churches. Anyone with any additional information regarding the case or who believes they may be a victim is encouraged to contact investigator Kayla Hemperly at 936-327-6810.
LONGVIEW — A 27-year-old man from Longview was recently arrested after being accused of having an inappropriate online relationship and sexual assault of a child. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by our news partner KETK, a deputy from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office spoke with the victim’s mother in April 2025, who had recently discovered her 12-year-old daughter was having a sexual relationship with an adult man.
The victim’s mother told authorities that she did not initially report the incident because she was under the impression that the suspect was 14 years old. The mother discovered that the suspect was an adult after going through her daughter’s phone, where she also found information proving that the suspect had sexual relationships with her daughter.
As she continued searching her daughter’s phone, the victim’s mother told officials that she had discovered that the suspect had allegedly come to her home and had allegedly sexually assaulted her daughter. The victim’s phone was later taken to the Smith County Technology Lab to be searched. Continue reading Man arrested for minor relationship, assault
EAST TEXAS (KETK)– Gov. Greg Abbott announced an energy grant on Wednesday that will strengthen electric reliability in Northeast Texas.
The funds from the grant will go toward a project to upgrade 700 miles of power equipment and are expected to impact more than 192,000 Texas consumers. Upgrades will include replacing aging copper wire with stronger aluminum and replacing existing utility poles.
“Reliable electricity powers every part of Texans’ daily lives,” Abbott said. “As our state grows, we will ensure families, businesses and communities have the reliable, affordable power they need. Through these investments to upgrade power line infrastructure, Texas will remain the energy capital of the world.”
The project is expected to be completed by early 2031.
TYLER — A debate over how East Texans should protect their land and water came to a head Tuesday, when the Smith County Commissioners Court split 2–2 on whether to form a subregional commission with Van Zandt County — effectively killing the proposal, according to our news partner KETK. After being tabled multiple times, the measure returned for a vote and resulted in a split 2–2 decision. As the court could not reach a majority, the effort to create the subregional commission failed.
FOR: Precinct 1 Commissioner Christina Drewry, Precinct 3 Commissioner J. Scott Herod
AGAINST: Smith County Judge Neal Franklin, Precinct 4 Commissioner Ralph E. Caraway
*Precinct 2 Commissioner John Moore was not present.
What the 391 Commission Would Have Done
The subregional commission, which would have been formed under Chapter 391 of the Texas Local Government Code, was proposed by Van Zandt County to address citizens’ concerns as new infrastructure pressures from growing industries look to utilize land and natural resources in the area.
Van Zandt County commissioners asked Smith County to join a subregional commission with the intention to create a council that would oversee and assess the possible creation of industrial farms, centers and units in the region. Continue reading Land protection commission fails
RUSK COUNTY — A routine traffic stop in Rusk County led to the seizure of approximately 11 pounds of suspected cocaine and the arrest of a Missouri man on a felony drug charge, according to the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office. The traffic stop occurred on Tuesday at the intersection of State Highway 315 and Farm-to-Market Road 95. Authorities said deputies stopped a rental vehicle displaying Florida license plates.
During a consensual search of the vehicle, deputies allegedly discovered suspected cocaine concealed inside the vehicle’s door panels. Investigators estimate the seized narcotics have a street value of approximately $80,000. The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, 38-year-old Jerry Williams of St. Louis, Missouri, was arrested at the scene. Williams was charged with manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, penalty group 1, 400 grams or more, a first-degree felony. If convicted, he could face up to 99 years in prison.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tyler office was notified of the seizure and is assisting the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office with the ongoing investigation. Williams remains in the Rusk County Jail on a $250,000 bond.
SMITH COUNTY — Two additional gang members have been sentenced in connection to a crack cocaine trafficking scheme that led to the arrest of several people during a lengthy investigation last year. According to an arrest warrant, Derrish Graydon and Jeffery Padilla were involved in a 12-person operation of distributing narcotics and engaging in a money-laundering conspiracy connected to the 5-2 Hoover Crips street gang.
On March 5, 2025, Tyler Police Department officers surveilled a residence at 1101 N. Moore, believed to have crack cocaine, evidence of narcotics sales and usage inside. Officers observed that Padilla left the residence on several occasions while attempting to conduct counter-surveillance, the warrant said. Graydon was also observed to leave the location and later meet Samatraus Forge, who was spearheading the operation by investigators. After Graydon met with Forge and returned to the residence on North Moore, several people began coming and going, indicating narcotics sales.
Officers conducted a controlled purchase from the residence a week later, where Padilla sold an informant .4 grams of crack cocaine. Additionally, Graydon later sold an informant 3.2 grams. Continue reading Gang members sentenced in drug scheme
Governor Greg Abbott announced Wednesday the second agreement under the Texas Energy Fund (TxEF) Outside-ERCOT Grant Program (OEGP) with Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO). The grant, administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), funds a project that will upgrade approximately 700 miles of power equipment in Northeast Texas, ensuring electric reliability for more than 192,000 Texas consumers.
“Reliable electricity powers every part of Texans’ daily lives,” said Governor Abbott. “As our state grows, we will ensure families, businesses and communities have the reliable, affordable power they need. Through these investments to upgrade power line infrastructure, Texas will remain the energy capital of the world.”
“The TxEF is producing tangible results for Texans,” said PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson. “This project will modernize critical electric equipment, strengthen reliability for more than 192,000 consumers, and ensure Northeast Texas communities have the dependable power they deserve. This is exactly the kind of lasting improvement the TxEF was created to support.”
“This TxEF grant allows us to accelerate critical infrastructure improvements while minimizing the financial impact on our customers,” said SWEPCO president and chief operating officer Brett Mattison. “It’s a win for reliability, affordability and the communities we serve. Across SWEPCO, our teams are united in our shared mission to serve customers, and we work diligently to pursue state and federal grants that help improve service while minimizing customer costs.”
The project will upgrade approximately 700 miles of powerline infrastructure and improve nearly 200 circuits in Northeast Texas. Upgrades include replacing aging copper wire with stronger aluminum alloy conductors and replacing existing utility poles. The project will improve the reliability and resilience of the electric distribution system and improve storm resilience in SWEPCO’s territory.
The PUCT approved a grant award of approximately $200 million for the project through the OEGP, which provides funding for electric infrastructure projects that improve reliability and resiliency for Texans served by electric utilities outside the ERCOT region.
SWEPCO’s project is expected to be completed by early 2031.
The OEGP is one of four TxEF programs. More information about these programs is available on the PUCT’s website.
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A museum in Georgia’s oldest city on Wednesday welcomed a truckload of treasures from the earliest period of U.S. history — 17 cannons that experts believe sank to the bottom of the Savannah River during the American Revolution and remained undiscovered for nearly 240 years.
Workers carefully hoisted the big guns one-by-one from the back of a truck and wheeled them inside their new home at the Savannah History Museum, which will put them on display just in time for the Fourth of July celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
“They look brand new,” said Andrea Farmer, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers archaeologist who was part of the team that researched and preserved the cannons. “They could pretty much be fired if someone wanted to.”
The artifacts were discovered in 2021 when a dredge scooping sediment from the riverbed as part of an Army Corps project to deepen Savannah’s shipping channel pulled up a cannon in its metal jaws. The crew soon dug up two more.
In the course of just over a year, a total of 19 cannons were hoisted from the location just downstream from Savannah, which is where Georgia was founded in 1733 as the last of Britain’s 13 American colonies.
After being pulled from the river, most of the cannons left Georgia for several years to undergo cleaning and preservation work at a Texas lab.
Archaeologists initially assumed the cannons likely dated to the Civil War. But further research indicated they’re likely almost a century older and sank during the buildup to the American Revolution’s bloody siege of Savannah.
Savannah was under British occupation in the fall of 1779, when colonists planned an attack to retake the city with help from French allies.
When French ships carrying troops were spotted off the Georgia coast, British forces scuttled at least six ships in the Savannah River downstream from the city to block the French vessels.
The land battle that followed was one of the bloodiest of the war. British forces killed nearly 300 colonial fighters and their allies, and wounded hundreds more.
The Savannah History Museum sits right next to the battlefield. Its staff on Wednesday hoisted the cannons, weighing up to 1500 pounds (680 kilograms) apiece, onto custom display mounts that staffers likened to giant wine racks.
The cannons will be part of a new exhibit on Savannah’s role in the American Revolution, which is scheduled to open Fourth of July weekend, said Samantha Moss, the museum’s curator.
“Our great team has been prepping for months — building mounts and planning how we can safely display these very large, very special artifacts,” she said.
Cleaning the crusty cannons took years
Each of the iron cannons emerged from the river covered by a thick crust of mud and minerals.
Two were left in that raw state and put on display at the museum. The other 17 were sent to Texas A&M University, which has a lab that specializes in preserving underwater artifacts. Its staff spent years painstakingly cleaning the big guns and coating them in paint and wax to prevent rusting and corrosion.
“A lot of them have scour marks on the side from anchors or dredging, so there’s some scarring on the cannons,” said Chris Dostal, a professor of nautical archaeology who leads Texas A&M’s Conservation Research Lab. “But most of them look pretty exceptional.”
Most of the cannons arrived with wooden plugs still sealing their bores, which remained packed with cannonballs and gunpowder charges.
Dostal said radiocarbon dating of the wooden stoppers placed them roughly in the late 1700s. His team shared the cannons’ measurements and other details with experts in London, who concluded three of them were very likely forged by the British military.
The rest appeared to be of French design but bore no telltale markings. Dostal said he suspects those guns may have been cast in America around the time of the war.
Other artifacts found with the cannons included pieces of anchors and a portion of a ship’s bronze bell. Like the cannons, none of them bore engravings indicating which ship they came from.
That means many details of the cannons’ origins remain a mystery.
“You don’t have all of the information,” Farmer said. “You’re trying to piece it together as best as you can.”
TYLER – The North Tyler Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to deny a zone change for a proposed metal recycling business. The change would have converted areas designated as light commercial and single-family residential into an industrial district. According to our news partner KETK, the board’s decision came after 90 minutes of public comment at a public hearing, during which the majority of speakers expressed opposition to the proposed development. The site for the planned business was located near the southwest intersection of Loop 323 and West 34th Street. Continue reading Metal recycling business is nixed
TYLER — The Texas summer heat doesn’t just take a toll on people; it can be dangerous and even deadly for pets. A 2024 report from the SPCA of Texas shows the state ranks number one in the nation for heat?related pet deaths, a statistic that worries veterinarians across East Texas. Our news partner KETK talked to Dr. Gary Spence of Spence & White Veterinary Hospital in Tyler. Dr. Spence says the extreme temperatures seen across the region each summer put all dogs at risk.
“Hot weather, particularly in Texas, is a big challenge because we get such heat extremes,” Spence said.
While any dog can suffer from heat stroke, he says, overweight, elderly and long-haired dogs are especially vulnerable. Warning signs can appear quickly. Continue reading Pet risks in Texas heat
MARSHALL – Students and faculty from the East Texas Baptist University Teague School of Nursing recently returned from a medical mission trip to Costa Rica, where they served local communities through healthcare clinics and patient education.
Led by Assistant Professor of Nursing, Dr. Kelly Arraf, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Dr. Britney De La Rosa, and Assistant Professor of Nursing, Dayna Davidson, ETBU nursing students partnered with local churches, translators, and healthcare providers to deliver compassionate care in multiple communities. Students assisted with triage, patient education, pharmacy services, and clinical support while gaining firsthand experience in global healthcare missions.
On the first day of ministry, students established a clinic inside a local church and immediately began serving patients with a variety of needs. Among the memorable experiences were witnessing a mother see her baby on an ultrasound for the first time, assisting during a tooth extraction, and teaching patients non-pharmacological methods for pain management and wellness. Continue reading ETBU nursing students back from Costa Rica
TYLER – There are some traffic changes to note in downtown Tyler. The intersection of North College Avenue and West Erwin Street is now open. Both College Avenue and West Erwin Street in that area will operate as two-way streets. Drivers heading northbound on North Broadway Avenue are now able to turn left onto West Erwin Street. Drivers are encouraged to exercise caution at the intersection due to the new traffic patterns.
College Avenue is operating as a two-way street from West Ferguson Avenue to West Front Street. West Erwin Street is operating as a two-way street from Bois D’Arc Avenue to North Broadway Avenue. The intersections of North College Avenue and West Erwin Street, North College Avenue and Elm Street, and West Erwin Street and Bois D’Arc Avenue are operating as four-way stops. Continue reading Downtown traffic changes
SMITH COUNTY – A man was taken into custody in Smith County on Tuesday on suspicion of sexually abusing a fifteen-year-old girl. Tony Rincker, 60, was placed in the Smith County Jail on a $500,000 bond after being accused of sexual assault of a minor. An arrest affidavit states that a student claimed to have seen a video on the teen’s Snapchat account showing the alleged victim being sexually assaulted. What looked to be a child’s bedroom was shown in the video. Continue reading Man accused of sexual assault
HENDERSON COUNTY – A Scurry man who was found guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing a child in Henderson County, and given a life sentence, was upheld by an appeals court. Manuel Lynn Tijerina, 42, appealed his conviction to the Twelfth Court of Appeals, claiming the trial court had improperly admitted testimony from the victim’s relative, according to the Henderson County District Attorney’s Office. Testimony revealed Tijerina exposed the victim to pornography, touched her inappropriately, and made sexual remarks to her. Continue reading Sexual abuse conviction upheld
AUSTIN (AP) – The two biggest conferences in college sports released a statement Tuesday saying they do not support the current version of a bipartisan bill designed to regulate an industry struggling for answers in a quickly changing era in which some players make millions.
The Southeastern and Big Ten conferences said the “bill leaves critical issues unresolved,” including not “meaningfully” preempting state laws with a federal one, which has long been considered a key element for a measure to get support from the NCAA and the conferences.
In an interview last week, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who drafted the bill with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told The Associated Press “the bill is drafted to preempt state laws that conflict with the provisions in this bill.”
The SEC-Big Ten statement came out less than 24 hours before a scheduled hearing about the bill in front of the Senate Commerce Committee. Cruz chairs the panel and Cantwell is the ranking Democrat.
The legislation has received support from the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conferences, but the Big Ten and SEC, as the two richest leagues that also have decision-making power over the future of the College Football Playoff, hold the biggest cards.
One of the bill’s key provisions would give conferences an option to pool their media rights — an idea the Big Ten and SEC have long claimed would not result in a financial windfall that proponents suggest. The leagues’ statement did not speak to that issue.
A spokesperson for the Commerce Committee that Cruz chairs acknowledged the Big Ten-SEC position.
SMITH COUNTY – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department awarded $6.17 million in statewide recreational trails grants to improve 21 parks and trail projects across the state. According to our news partner, KETK – $354,000 is set to be distributed between parks in East Texas. The parks will receive the grant money for much needed upgrades. Continue reading Parks awarded $300,000 to improve trails
TYLER– A public meeting was held in Tyler on Tuesday to discuss the proposed extension of Toll 49, a project designed to relieve congestion and provide shorter travel times. According to our news partner KETK, during the meeting in Tyler community members had the opportunity to review project layouts and data detailing the potential positive impact on drivers.
The proposed extension would stretch from State Highway 110 to US 271 and aims to provide shorter travel times for both local and regional traffic. NET RMA Project Consultant Randall Dillard explained why he believes the extension is needed.
For those unable to attend the recent Tyler session, another public meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, June 9. This upcoming meeting will take place in Longview at the Maude Cobb Convention Center. If the project is approved, construction for the Toll 49 extension is expected to commence around 2033.
