TYLER – Starting on Monday, East Texans will have the opportunity to vote early for the upcoming Nov. 4 Texas constitutional amendment election. Our news partner KETK News has put together the following list of early voting locations and hours when East Texans can vote early this year.
East Elm Street closing for sewer work in Tyler
TYLER – The City of Tyler has announced that East Elm Street will be closed between Spring Avenue and Broadway Avenue which started on Monday, Oct. 20. According to our news partner KETK, the part of East Elm Street that’s closing this week will be shut down until Friday so Tyler Water Utilities can improve sewer capacity in the area as a part of Consent Decree Group 2 Segment 13a2, which is expanding 18,141 linear feet of sanitary sewer lines in Tyler.
The city added that after Friday the road will be open until their work resumes in late November or in early December. Tyler officials are asking drivers to plan ahead for this closure and any future closures they announce.
Broadway Avenue, Spring Avenue, Ferguson Street and Locust Street will also be closed from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Nov. 8 while a business uses a helicopter in the area.
One dead after fatal pedestrian crash in Longview
LONGVIEW – Our news partner KETK is reporting that at least one person was killed in a crash involving a pedestrian on Saturday. According to Longview PD, the crash happened on Saturday night on U.S. Highway 80 near McCann Road around 8 p.m. The initial investigation revealed the vehicle was going westbound when it hit a man who was attempting to cross the road.
“Currently, the investigation indicates the pedestrian failed to yield the right of way to the vehicle while crossing the roadway,” the Longview Police Department said. “The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.”
In Focus: 10/19/25: Tiffany Damskov – Executive Director Meals on Wheels
Triple homicide remains under investigation
HENDERSON COUNTY — Three people have died, and the suspect in the East Texas murders has been hospitalized after shooting himself in the head following a vehicle crash at a Buc-ee’s according to our news partner KETK.
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said the homicides occurred at 2:30 a.m. at the Cedar Creek Cove Subdivision in Mabank. Earlier this morning, the sheriff’s office was looking for the suspect, now identified as Christopher Kyle Reid Jr, in connection with the ongoing investigation, who was believed to be driving a 2003 maroon Dodge Caravan or a 2019 grey Subaru. When deputies arrived at the shooting scene on Taos Drive in Creek Cove Subdivision, they found an adult woman and an adult man dead from gunshot wounds. Another woman shot at the scene was transported to a hospital in Gun Barrel City where she died.
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office identified the three deceased victims as Kimberly Simpson, 51, Connie Patrick, 72, and Ronny Hammonds, 57. The sheriff’s office said that Simpson and Connie were both shot multiple times along with Hammonds who also had injuries from blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds. Continue reading Triple homicide remains under investigation
Lufkin club shooting under investigation
LUFKIN – Our news partners at KETK report that the Lufkin Police Department are investigating a Saturday shooting at a dance club. Authorities say two adults are currently at large after they reportedly shot a teenager. Responding officers found a teenager laying in the parking lot near the entrance of the club. The shooting allegedly began after an altercation near a truck in the parking lot. The shooter was then reportedly seen getting back into his truck and leaving. Anyone with information is being urged to contact Lufkin PD.
Dallas Fed: Immigration crackdown likely contributing to weak Texas job growth
TEXAS – Although Texas job growth has slowed steadily since the recovery from the pandemic recession in 2021, the growth rate has now dipped further below its long-run trend rate of about 2 percent, in part due to a slower flow of immigration, according to new analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
The report was authored by the Dallas Fed’s Isabel Brizuela, Emily Kerr, Pia Orrenius and University of North Florida professor of economics Madeline Zavodny.
Recent results from the Dallas Fed’s business surveys suggest immigration enforcement may play an important role curbing labor supply in the region, contributing to weak employment growth.
“Given the decline in immigration inflows, increase in arrests and removals of immigrants already here and the chilling effect, labor supply is clearly being affected,” the authors write.
Key points from the report include:
By some estimates, Texas received at least 10 percent of the border immigration surge from 2021 to 2024—at least 550,000 extra immigrants—and firms grew more dependent on foreign-born workers.
Among Dallas Fed survey respondents over the summer, 20 percent said immigration policy had hampered or is expected this year to hamper their ability to hire and retain foreign-born workers.
Less immigration doesn’t necessarily mean higher or lower unemployment, but it will likely result in slower economic growth.
“Some—but likely not all—of the decline in labor supply will be offset with mechanization, technological innovation (including artificial intelligence) or offshoring,” the authors write. “Nevertheless, it bears noting that by 2031, all growth in the U.S. population is expected to come from immigration. Hence, when officials set immigration policy, they may also be setting the speed limit for the economy.”
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Smith County prepping for early voting
SMITH COUNTY, Texas – Smith County election officials want to remind residents that Monday, October 20, is the first day to early vote in the November 4 Constitutional Amendment and Joint Election, as well as several city and school elections throughout the county.
The county has plenty of resources for voters. This includes an interactive map to find your nearest voting location, a list of ID’s you can use, as well as a full list of locations and their hours for both early voting and November election day. All of which can be found on the county’s website.
Two arrested in Texas immigration detention center shooting now face terrorism-related charges
DALLAS (AP) — Two people arrested in a July shooting outside an immigration detention center in Texas are facing new charges that follow President Donald Trump’s order last month to designate a decentralized movement known as antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.
Autumn Hill and Zachary Evetts were indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Fort Worth on charges that include providing material support to terrorists and attempting to murder officers and employees of the U.S. government. Federal prosecutors accuse them of being members of an antifa cell that planned the shooting.
Hill and Evetts were already among 11 people facing attempted murder charges related to the July 4 shooting outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas, that injured a police officer.
In a post on X on Thursday about the new charges, Attorney General Pam Bondi called antifa “a left-wing terrorist organization,” and said, “they will be prosecuted as such.”
Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.
The indictment said the attack began when a group of people clad in black and wearing masks, some carrying firearms and wearing body armor, shot fireworks toward the center and vandalized vehicles and a guard shed. Then, as officers responded, one person yelled, “get to the rifles” and opened fire, striking an officer, according to the indictment.
The indictment said that the group brought 10 firearms to the July 4 attack.
Cody Cofer, an attorney for Hill, said in an emailed statement that the new terrorism-related charge “could be understood by some as an attempt to appeal to a mob mentality rather than relying on the evidence and the law.”
Patrick McLain, an attorney for Evetts, said that so far he’s seen “zero basis” for any of the charges against his client.
The original charges filed over the summer say searches related to the attack found items including anti-government materials and flyers with political messages, but those documents did not mention antifa.
Antifa is a domestic entity and, as such, is not a candidate for inclusion on the State Department’s list of foreign terror organizations. There is no domestic equivalent to that list in part because of broad First Amendment protections enjoyed by organizations operating within the United States.
The July 4 shooting took place as Trump ’s administration has ramped up deportations. Days after that shooting, a man with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents and a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen near the Mexico border, injuring a police officer. Authorities shot and killed the attacker.
One fatality in I-20 collision
GREGG COUNTY — The Texas DPS is investigating a fatal four-vehicle crash, including a school bus, that occurred on I-20 in Gregg County on Tuesday evening.
According to our news partner and the Texas DPS, all four vehicles were traveling westbound on I-20 when a box van collided into the rear of a truck tractor-semi trailer. Following the collision, the van was disabled in the roadway and was struck by a truck tractor-semi trailer, pushing the van into the path of a school bus, which caused damage to the left side of the bus.
Following the crash, the driver of the box van, 42-year-old Zuo Kpogba, was pronounced dead on the scene. The drivers of the other vehicles and the passengers on the school bus sustained no injuries.
The DPS states that the investigation is ongoing, and no additional information is available at this time.
Curtis’ brother speaks out against Roberson’s stay
TYLER – One family member of Nikki Curtis spoke with our news partner KETK’s Ashlyn Anderson on Thursday about why he is frustrated with Robert Roberson’s third stay of execution.
“This is my life every single day since I was five years old. Basically it’s been a repeat, repeat and repeat. My family has not been able to rest,” Nikki Curtis’ brother Matthew Bowman said.
Death row inmate, Robert Roberson received a last-minute stay of execution last week for the 2002 death of Nikki. His legal team said his conviction was based on junk science like Shaken Baby Syndrome, but Bowman disagrees.
“They haven’t showed any new evidence at all, it’s still the same stuff that we’re reviewing since 2016. It’s still blunt force trauma. It’s not shaken baby like everybody says. The autopsy makes that very clear,” Bowman said. Roberson’s attorney, Gretchen Sween said there is no evidence that Nikki was beaten to death. She added that those accusations are proven false by medical records and blood work. His team is pushing for a new trial. Continue reading Curtis’ brother speaks out against Roberson’s stay
One arrest in child pornography investigation
CHEROKEE COUNTY — 
Our news partners at KETK report a man was arrested in early October for possession of child pornography after a tip from the FBI led to an investigation by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, on Sept. 4, investigators received a tip from the FBI about allegations that Jeremiah James Maldonado was in possession of child pornography.
The sheriff’s office then launched a thorough investigation, which helped them uncover that the tip about Maldonado was correct. A month later, on Oct. 4, Maldonado was arrested for possession of child pornography by the Hays County Sheriff’s Office in San Marcos after fleeing from the investigation. Maldonado was then transferred back to Cherokee County on Oct. 7 and booked into the county jail.
David Rancken’s App of the Day 10/16/25 – Fuzion!
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Texas Rose Festival Queen visits elementary schools
TYLER — The Texas Rose Festival’s Rose Queen is visiting Tyler ISD elementary schools to read the Queen’s Tea to students and will be attending the Queen’s Tea event on Saturday, where students of all grades can meet the Queen and her Court. According to our news partner KETK, the annual tradition connects the Texas Rose Festival with local schools, giving students the opportunity to learn about community traditions and meet this year’s Rose Queen, Avery Craft Armstrong.
The Texas Rose Festival Queen’s Tea is a beloved community event where guests of all ages can meet the Queen and her Court in the beautiful Tyler Municipal Rose Garden on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Admission is free. Continue reading Texas Rose Festival Queen visits elementary schools