Today is
Wednesday June 03, 2026
ST. LOUIS (AP) — On his son Nolan’s birthday, Jacob deGrom got the whole family a gift he’ll never forget.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner tossed five scoreless innings to earn his 100th career win as the Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Monday night.
“It’s really cool,” deGrom said. “As a kid, your goal is to just play major league baseball and for it to become a reality and win 100 games in the major leagues, it’s kind of crazy to think about. Today was Nolan’s third birthday, so I’ll always remember that being my 100th night on his third birthday.”
The right-hander notched his 99th victory May 10 when he threw seven scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs.
In his first three attempts at reaching the century mark, the 37-year-old deGrom (4-4) went 0-2 while allowing 12 runs over 15 innings. He finished 1-3 with a 5.72 ERA in five May starts, but Monday night was different after the calendar flipped to June. He yielded just four hits and struck out eight to help the Rangers win their fourth straight game.
“I was trying not to do too much,” deGrom said. “Having the meeting, talking to (catcher) Danny (Jansen) I was like, `Hey, tonight we’re hitting the glove as many times as we can. Mechanics are what they are. We’re throwing everything else out the window. We’re going back to how I used to pitch.'”
Selected in the ninth round of the 2010 amateur draft, deGrom debuted for the New York Mets in 2014 and was the NL Rookie of the Year.
Despite going 100-69 with a 2.61 ERA in 260 career starts, deGrom has only made 30 starts five times in his first 12 big league seasons, and 2025 was his first time making 30 starts since 2019.
“He’s never really felt 100%,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “I’ve said it before, he should be a Hall of Famer. I think he’s going to be a Hall of Famer. That’s how dominant he’s been throughout his career, and he’s still got a couple of years left in him, too.”
DeGrom is the 16th active pitcher to reach 100 career wins after Texas teammate Nathan Eovaldi became the 15th on July 30, 2025, against the Los Angeles Angels.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
TYLER – A 5-year-old child is currently in critical condition at a hospital in Dallas after they were shot at an apartment in Tyler on Friday night. The FBI is now offering up to $4,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect involved in the shooting. People are urged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. The Tyler-Smith County Crimestoppers is also offering up to $2,000 through June 5, which can be submitted anonymously by calling 903-597-CUFF (2833) or online at CUFF903.org.
The Tyler Police Department said the case is still under investigation.
According to the Tyler Police Department, officers responded to a reported shooting in an apartment complex at 2700 N. Grand Avenue at around 10:45 p.m. on Friday. The officers arrived at the scene and found that a five-year-old had been shot. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — As Downtown Tyler continues their improvement project, several roadways that have been closed throughout the construction were expected to reopen on Monday, but will be forced to remain closed due to delays.
“Due to a construction delay over the weekend, the streets originally scheduled to reopen on Monday, June 1, will remain closed temporarily,” the City of Tyler said. “The contractor was unable to complete the work as planned, which has delayed the final steps needed to safely reopen the area.”
According to our news partner KETK, once the roadways are reopened, drivers should be cautious due to new traffic patterns issued across downtown.
The intersection of North College Avenue and West Erwin Street was originally slated to reopen on Monday, but is now uncertain when the street will reopen as the city enters phase two of its downtown improvement project. After reopening, West Erwin Street will operate as a two-way road, allowing drivers heading north on North Broadway Avenue to turn left onto West Erwin Street. Read the rest of this entry »
FORT WORTH (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) — Republicans Michael Burgess and Joe Barton, former congressmen who represented North Texas in Washington, are alike in their support of Sen. John Cornyn.
They both endorsed the longtime Republican senator for a fifth term. They both saw him lose Tuesday night, when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton soundly won his runoff against Cornyn, an endorsement from President Donald Trump in tow.
But, Wednesday morning — after assessing the wreckage of a scathing primary season that fractured the state’s Republicans — the two men have reached different conclusions about their plans for the Nov. 3 general election, when Paxton will face Democratic nominee James Talarico.
“I do not plan to vote for Ken Paxton,” said Burgess, who now lives in Aubrey, after representing Congressional District 26 from 2003 to 2025.
He said the solution isn’t voting for Talarico.
“I may write John Cornyn’s name in,” he said. “I may write my name in. I don’t know what I’ll do.”
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But supporting Paxton?
“Just morally, it’s something I cannot bring myself to do,” he said.
Barton will.
“There is no way on God’s green earth I’m going to turn around and vote for the Democratic candidate,” said Barton, who has known Cornyn for years, having represented Congressional District 6 for more than three decades before retiring in 2019. Barton even put a sign in his front yard supporting his former colleague’s bid, he said.
There’s always the option to sit out altogether, but that’s a nonstarter for the former congressman.
“You could say, ‘I just won’t vote,’ but that’s not fair because you have an obligation,” Barton said. “Democracy eventually narrows things down to two candidates, and if you participate, you participate, and I will support Paxton.”
Many Republicans across the state are weighing the same question of what to do come November.
The run up to Tuesday was bruising as Cornyn went on the attack, going after Paxton’s personal and professional troubles that have loomed over his political career.
The attorney general has faced allegations of securities fraud, bribery, corruption and infidelity, but has come out largely unscathed. Meanwhile, he’s garnered a reputation as a conservative champion in the courtroom and a loyal friend to Trump and the MAGA movement.
Facing fears of a torn-apart party and an expensive fight ahead, there have been early calls for unity within the GOP, as the national party tries to keep its grip on the Senate in November and as Texas Republicans worry about keeping statewide and legislative seats red in what could be a vulnerable, midterm election cycle.
Republican U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill of Flower Mound told Paxton’s election night watch party attendees that they need to unify unless they’re ready to see Talarico in Washington.
“Now we’re at a point where it’s the Reds versus the Blues, it’s shirts and skins,” Gill said. “Now it’s time for Republicans to come together to unite to make sure that we send a Republican, Ken Paxton, to the Senate.”
Republican state Rep. Mitch Little was one of the most outspoken Paxton supporters during the primary election. Before being elected to represent part of Denton County in 2024, Little’s claim to political fame was as Paxton’s defense attorney in the impeachment trial.
He said Paxton is no stranger to garnering party support after a heated primary. In 2022, Paxton went head-to-head with challenger George P. Bush in a primary runoff for his seat as attorney general. After clinching the 2022 win, Paxton quickly turned to torn Republicans asking for alliance.
The same demand was a cornerstone of Paxton’s victory speech. He also gave a short statement of thanks to Cornyn for his years of service.
“Tonight is not the end of a campaign,” Paxton told supporters. “Tonight is the beginning of the fight to preserve every value we hold dear. The future of Texas and the future of America is on the line, and I intend to do everything I can to expand our movement. I won three statewide elections, because I know how critical it is for our party to come together, and that’s what we must do now.”
Little said politicians have to master the art of keeping short accounts.
“Once you’re in politics, you don’t tend to forget things like that,” Little said. “You know who ran the ugly ads and had negative things to say about you, but you have to put that in its proper compartment and just realize that the state of Texas is more important than any of those, any kind of personal grudge that you might hold.”
Cornyn didn’t mention Paxton by name in an election night speech, but did say he’d support the Republican ticket in the general election.
Burgess repurposed a quote from Trump as he reflected on Wednesday’s losing outcome for Cornyn.
“I’m not happy,” he said.
The president endorsed Paxton in the final days of the runoff, bucking Senate leadership’s preference of a Cornyn-Talarico ballot. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and members of the Republican establishment are now beginning to build bridges with Paxton in the wake of his decisive victory, Axios reports.
To Burgess, it seems, too many bridges have been burned to win over Cornyn voters like him.
“I don’t know how you make up that ground over the five months ahead … given just the amount of turmoil that’s going to be present in the electorate,” Burgess said.
Paty Hardy, a former State Board of Education member who endorsed Cornyn, has moderate Republican friends saying they won’t vote in the general election.
She has her reservations with Paxton — his character and her impression that he’s arrogant — but she won’t be joining her friends in staying on the sidelines. Cornyn has more of a “gentleman persona,” Hardy said.
“It probably was not wise for him to run again, because of the fact that he has been around for so long, but he’s — I just like the guy,” she said. “He’s a good man.”
Paxton wasn’t Hardy’s first pick, but the attorney general aligns with her conservative policy positions on issues like abortion and sports participation for transgender athletes more than Talarico does.
“I probably won’t go door to door or anything like that,” she said with a chuckle.
Cornyn could have been better about standing up to Republicans in the Senate and he and his peers more aggressive on the SAVE America Act, an election bill Paxton made a center point of his runoff bid, Hardy said.
The incumbent’s electability in November against Talarico factored heavily into her endorsement calculus.
Barton, the former congressman who is supporting Paxton going forward after endorsing Cornyn, said Cornyn lost not because he did a bad job — “he did a very good job” — but because voters wanted a change.
You’ve got to give Paxton credit, he said.
“It’s no small task to defeat an incumbent U.S. Senator of the stature of John Cornyn,” Barton said.
Paxton is a personable man who is good with people in small settings and will be an effective U.S. senator, Barton said. Asked if he has any lingering reservations he’d like to see Paxton overcome, Barton turned the conversation to Democrats.
“I have great faith in the Democrat Party to expose whatever they consider Mr. Paxton’s flaws to be ad nauseam,” said Barton, who is no stranger to scandal himself.
Paxton’s public divorce on “biblical grounds” was a feature of the primary. In a perfect world, people have a perfect private life and marriage, but that’s very rare, he said. What matters more is how officials conduct themselves in office, their voting record and service to constituents.
“I will not say that your private life does not matter,” Barton said. “I think it does matter, but it is not normally the determining factor.”
For Burgess, the way Paxton “has treated his spouse” is something he “almost can’t get over.”
Weighing whether there’s anything Paxton could do to win over his vote, Burgess replies, “We’ll see.”
“That’s his task for the next five months,” he said.
LONE STAR (KETK) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the results of a months long investigation into child exploitation on Friday, including the arrest of one East Texas man for possession of child pornography.
Operation Soteria Shield was conducted in the months of March and April with the goal of finding “offenders who exploit children through online platforms, social media, messaging applications, and other digital environments.”
In that time, the FBI’s Dallas field office cooperated with over 90 Texas law enforcement agencies to arrest 276 people, reportedly rescuing 89 children in the process. Operation Soteria Shield arrived in East Texas when the Lone Star Police Department was assigned a cybertip.
The cybertip was from the social media platform X, formerly called Twitter. The tip claimed a person living near Lone Star in Morris County was using the X artificial intelligence platform “Grok” to generate “life like images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).”
On March 27, Lone Star Police Department officers, Morris County Sheriff’s Office deputies , Ore City Police Department officers, Mt. Pleasant Police Department officers, Hawk Cove Police Department officers and FBI agents took Jesus Aleman Jr. into custody in connection to the cybertip.
According to Lonestar PD, Aleman admitted to having CSAM on his phone at his Morris County residence. After Aleman was arrested on a warrant for possession of child pornography, officers got a search warrant for his phone, which was found to contain over a thousand CSAM images.
“The men and women of East Texas Law Enforcement want all abusers and exploiters of children to know that the internet that was once your playground is now our hunting ground and you can no longer hide on the net,” Lone Star PD said on Friday.
Aleman was a registered sex offender from a previous conviction, meaning his case is being forwarded to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for federal prosecution, according to Lone Star PD.
“Operation Soteria Shield brought together over 90 agencies from across the state of Texas,” FBI Dallas special agent in charge R. Joseph Rothrock said. “Together, we were able to make a significant impact in the ongoing battle against predators who exploit children in our communities. This would not have been successful without the resolve of each participating agency. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to prioritize the safety of the most vulnerable members of our communities.”
The operation’s namesake, Soteria, was an ancient Greek pagan goddess who personified safety, salvation and protection from harm.
UPDATE: The Rusk Police Department announced that Alexander Reign Ramirez was found safe and is back with a parent.
RUSK – The Rusk Police Department is currently searching for missing 10-year-old Alexander Reign Ramirez, who was last seen on Friday. According to our news partner KETK, Ramirez is a 10-year-old Hispanic boy who weighs around 80 pounds and is 4-foot 10-inches tall. He was last seen at his home in Rusk at around 9 p.m. on Friday. He was wearing black basketball pants, a black t-shirt and grey On Cloud tennis shoes when he was last seen.
Rusk PD is also trying to contact Ramirez’s mother Maritza Marquez, as they continue to search for her son. Anyone who sees Alexander or has information is asked to call Rusk PD at 903-683-2677 or the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office at 903-683-2271.
TRINIDAD — Tension ran high Thursday evening as the Trinidad City Council met before a packed room of frustrated residents. From the start, the meeting moved through an agenda that the mayor openly said he did not support. One of the most contentious actions came when the council voted 3–1 to dismiss Municipal Judge Shella Bievens. Moments later, the council voted 3–1 again — this time to remove the city attorney. That was followed by another vote approving the hiring of outside legal counsel for upcoming litigation matters.
For many residents, the decisions felt like a step backward.
What wasn’t on the agenda?
Anything addressing the ongoing water problems that have plagued Trinidad residents for years. As the meeting ended, attendees said they were deeply disappointed, not only by the actions taken but by the issues left unaddressed by the people elected to represent them.
“I truly believe we need to start over with a new city council,” Gray said. “They are not for us. They are for themselves — not for the residents of Trinidad.”
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK) — Texas State Rep. James Talarico brought his “The People vs. Ken Paxton Tour” to Nacogdoches on Thursday, telling a crowd of hundreds that he’s focused on expanding economic opportunity for East Texans.
The visit came just days after Attorney General Ken Paxton secured the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Talarico, the Democratic nominee, used his second tour stop to draw a sharp contrast, pledging to fight for working families and challenge what he described as the influence of billionaires in Texas politics.
“We’re going to end 30 years of one?party rule in Texas and elect a senator who is going to serve us,” Talarico told supporters.
Paxton, in his primary?night victory speech earlier this week, labeled Talarico “the most extreme radical the Democrats have ever nominated,” using nicknames that have circulated among critics.
Talarico responded Thursday, saying, “Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in America, and he should be nowhere near the United States Senate.”
To be competitive in November, Talarico will need to win over independent voters and unite Democrats — including supporters of Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, who performed strongly in East Texas during the March primary.
“We are bringing our coalition back together,” Talarico said. “Whether you voted for Congresswoman Crockett or for me, we’re all on the same team now.”
A Democrat has not won a U.S. Senate seat in Texas in nearly 30 years. While the challenge is significant, Talarico told the crowd he believes this could be the year the streak breaks.
BULLARD – The City of Bullard announced on Friday that it will raise water rates for all customers on its water system by 15%, starting in June. In a letter posted on social media, the city says data from a 2024 comprehensive review of its entire water system helped officials determine the true cost of every water connection. They also learned what revenue level the city would need to maintain the reliability of its current water system and to begin building adequate water reserves for future growth in water demand. The Bullard City Council then reviewed and discussed its comprehensive review.
The City Council found that increasing water system expenses and high demand meant that they would have to raise water bill rates for city water system customers. The council has now unanimously voted to approve a 15% increase in water and wastewater rates, which will take effect on June 1 and be reflected on July water bills. Read the rest of this entry »
PALESTINE– A criminal investigation in Palestine led to 14 people being arrested for allegedly trafficking methamphetamine and guns. According to the Palestine Police Department and our news partner KETK, the investigation was conducted through a joint partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of Homeland Security investigators and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The investigation was launched to address drug and gun trafficking in Palestine and concluded with 14 people being arrested for drug-related charges. Read the rest of this entry »
AUSTIN (AP) – A new state policy that bans prison inmates from receiving hardback books and used books will curb contrabands that enter into facilities, according to state officials, but advocates and some inmates say the latest policy significantly expands the thousands of books already banned from prisoners.
“My concern is that they are restricting access to really, really important things, information, ideas to prisoners as a way to say they’re doing something,” said Laney Hawes, co-founder of Texas Freedom to Read Project.
TDCJ is no longer accepting any donated books, instead funneling donations through Windham school district hardback books, which provides educational services to prisoners. Additionally, inmates can no longer receive hardback or used books sent directly to them unless they are first reviewed and distributed by the district, which book and criminal justice advocates say will result in fewer material reaching inmates.
“Windham School District’s book donation process includes review of hardcover, softback and used books,” district spokesperson Danielle Nicholes said. “Windham reviews books for quality and suitability.”
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice implemented the policy in April after 385 books that entered prisons tested positive for synthetic drugs last year. Those drugs included meth, fentanyl, marijuana, and PCP, which can be turned into liquid and sprayed on books and sniffed.
The agency is banning hardback books because they are harder to scan for contraband and in used books, officials sometimes can’t detect the difference between a coffee stain and tampered pages with the testing kits and software they use. TDCJ received 450,000 books last year — many of them are donated or sent in by family members.
“This is literally a matter of life and death for us here at the agency, we had to look at every single step that we could take to prevent that dangerous contraband from coming in, taking more lives and hurting more folks, and that’s both staff and incarcerated individuals,” said Timothy Fitzpatrick, director of classification and records at TDCJ.
In 2025, there were 129 overdoses of inmates; it’s not clear how many of those overdoses involved drugs found in books.
Book and prison advocates say such a blanket measure is unnecessary because nonprofits, such as Austin-based Inside Book Project, inspect their books closely for contraband before they donate them or send them directly to inmates. The inmates they work with say the policy unfairly punishes them because TDCJ staff also are responsible for bringing in contraband. TDCJ officials said none of the 385 books flagged last year were brought in by staff.
Advocates say the latest policy is a book ban cloaked as a safety measure.
“But one of the biggest concerns we had is, did they bring in all the solutions they could, or did they just say, let’s just make the easiest solution we can and just say this and this,” Hawes said.
Texas bans 10,827 book titles from prisoners, including The Color Purple, Alex Cross, and ’Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky. Banned categories include books that facilitate an escape and criminal schemes; demonstrate how to manufacture weapons, explosives, or drugs; incite violence; and contain nudity or sex.
Fitzpatrick said banning those titles as well as curbing hardback books and used books is to ensure that incarcerated individuals aren’t exposed to dangerous information or substances.
TDCJ developed the list “through literally decades of review and discussion and consideration,” Fitzpatrick said.
Inside Book Project sends between 30,000 and 40,000 books per year to TDCJ and about 80% of them are donated from the public. Most of the books the organization sends to inmates are used and about 15% of them are hardcover. The organization has already turned away hundreds of donated books because of the new policy.
“It’s going to mean we’re going to be spending a lot more money purchasing books, and also going to be forced to restrict what we’re sending people like a lot of trade books are hardcover, a lot of legal books are hardcover and textbooks,” said Scott Odierno, the organization’s coordinator.
He said his organization checks books twice before sending them to TDCJ and his group rarely finds contraband hidden in the pages. But, TDCJ destroys many of Inside Book Project’s donated books over discolored pages and “unknown substances” without the agency saying if it ever verified that the books contained illicit chemicals, Odierno said.
“We have a very rigid policy of checking all of our books for any contraband and things like that. So, we’ve gone above and beyond what they’ve required for years, but it feels like they take advantage of the resources we provide,” Odierno said.
According to TDCJ, in addition to inspections by mailroom staff and K9s, books sent to inmates are also placed in a machine that looks for abnormalities within the cover and pages, such as a stain or items hidden inside the book, according to TDCJ. Books with abnormalities are then further inspected and tested for illegal substances.
Some of the letters that Odierno have received from inmates and reviewed by The Texas Tribune include complaints about how under the new measure, prisoners with more money can afford to buy new books while indigent inmates will not, creating inequities. Inmates can buy digital books that they can read on tablets.
Another complained that the measure punishes inmates for the actions of “a few,” including TDCJ staff who inmates accuse of smuggling in contraband as well.
Contraband can enter facilities from being tossed over the perimeter fencing, smuggled in by visitors and through the mail. In the past, they have often come from TDCJ staff, although none were caught sneaking in contraband with books last year, according to agency spokesperson Amanda Hernandez.
“We know that some (contraband is) coming in through our staff, and when we find them doing it, they are walked off a unit, arrested for all of those things,” she said.
Under the new policy, if inmates receive a hardback or used book, they will have 90 days to send the books elsewhere or the books will be destroyed.
Any book donations will now need to be sent to Windham where they have a process in place to accept, deny, and distribute donated books.
Although TDCJ says it’s been collaborating more with advocacy groups in recent years, Texas Freedom to Read and Inside Books Project, which has worked with the state for 27 years, want more conversations with the agency before it implements more policies that reduce literature and learning materials to inmates.
“If books really are changing lives, then this prevents some of that rehabilitation. This prevents some of that growth,” Hawes said. “This prevents some of the solace and the safety and the peace. In a place that may not have a whole lot of that, and we want to find ways to give more of that and not less.”
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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — A former Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) correctional officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday after attempting to bring illegal drugs into the prison last year. Diamond Dunn was arrested in August 2025 after she had agreed to meet with an undercover officer at a CEFCO gas station.
During the encounter, authorities said Dunn took $2,500 and around 71 grams of methamphetamines from the undercover cop with the purpose of bringing the drugs to the TDCJ Boyd Unit, where she worked. Dunn was later charged with bribery and the manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance. In April, Dunn was found guilty of bribery and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday by the 175th Smith County District Court.
AUSTIN, Texas (The Texas Tribune) — Texas’ law requiring app marketplace operators like Google and Apple to verify all users’ ages and seek parental permission before minors can download apps or make in-app purchases can go into effect for now, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a temporary injunction issued by a federal district judge in Austin, who wrote in December that the restrictions in Texas’ law likely violated the First Amendment. The 5th Circuit panel did not explain its reasoning for issuing the decision, which can still be reversed by the appeals court in the future.
Senate Bill 2420, which was supposed to activate on Jan. 1, establishes age verification requirements and mandates parental consent before a person under the age of 18 is allowed to download or make purchases within apps. The law also requires app developers to say whether their apps are appropriate for people in four categories: children under 13, teens aged 13-15, older teens aged 16-17 or adults 18 or older.
Its supporters say the law is needed to protect children as they navigate social media and online spaces, while critics say it would violate free speech rights. Louisiana and Utah have passed similar laws that have not yet gone into effect.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a tech trade group, and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, an advocacy group, filed separate lawsuits in October challenging the law, both arguing it violates the First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman sided with the plaintiffs in December, finding the law likely violates the First Amendment and issuing the temporary injunction blocking the law while the full case plays out in the district court.
“The Act is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book,” Pitman wrote in a 20-page ruling at the time.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office appealed the temporary injunction in late December.
Paxton earlier this month urged the appeals court to allow enforcement of the law, arguing the state has the right to regulate transactions between minors and app marketplaces that take place in the state, according to court filings.
Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The plaintiffs earlier this week urged the court to uphold Pitman’s injunction, arguing SB 2420 “restricts an enormous amount of online speech” in violation of the First Amendment.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thursday’s ruling is only an administrative stay, temporarily blocking the lower court’s injunction of the law until a further review by the 5th Circuit.
DALLAS (AP) — An explosion and massive fire at a Dallas apartment building Thursday killed a child and at least two other people following a blast that shook nearby homes and happened while firefighters were rushing to a reported gas leak, officials said.
At least five people also went to hospitals with injuries, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson Jason Evans said. It was unclear how many residents lived in the two-story complex in the Oak Cliff neighborhood south of downtown Dallas, where a towering plume of black smoke was visible for miles.
Evans did not rule out that more victims could be found as crews continued to sift through the charred remains of the building. By late Thursday, Evans said firefighters had searched less than half of the scene by hand and that some areas would require excavation.
“This was enormous,” Evans said of the fire.
As dozens of firefighters swarmed to the neighborhood, some residents’ friends and relatives worried as they tried unsuccessfully to reach each loved ones. Dozens of firefighters searched through the smoldering rubble of the building even as colleagues continued to drench the blackened debris.
Berry said firefighters were responding to a call of a gas leak when an explosion happened.
“We had the cavalry coming,” Dallas Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Mark Berry said. “But the explosion had already taken place.”
Atmos Energy, a natural gas provider, said in a statement they were told by fire officials that a construction crew unrelated to the company had damaged a pipeline near the site of the fire.
Kacee Proctor, a resident of the apartment building, said her mother had smelled gas inside a day earlier, but Proctor didn’t think much of it at the time.
She wasn’t home during the blast and was devastated that her cat, Shirley, was stuck inside.
“I’ve been sitting over there crying for several hours. I don’t know what to do. This is all I have right here,” Proctor said, gesturing to the clothes she was wearing.
She spent the afternoon chatting with neighbors who had evacuated, including a girl who was home babysitting her little sister and carried both the child and their dog to safety.
Natural gas service to the area remained shut off, and company officials were working with investigators on-site, the company said.
Authorities set up a family reunification center at a nearby high school. Several hours after the blaze, Frances Rizo was still trying to find her friend who lived in the building.
“She’s not answering her phone,” Rizo said.
Firefighters rushed to the scene as flames and black smoke billowed into the sky. Some trained their hoses on piles of smoking debris while others removed lumber and other burned wreckage to look for anyone trapped underneath. Little more than a blackened shell of the original building remained.
“The fire is contained, but our members are still working on the scene to do primary searches,” said Dallas Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief James Russ.
Julie Jensen said she was at home less than a block from the burning building when she heard a noise like an explosion that left her ears ringing.
“I was sitting on my couch watching TV — stuff flew off our walls,” Jensen said.
Jensen said she saw rising smoke and neighbors running when she looked out the window. She grabbed her family’s cat and left, finding a nearby parking lot to wait until she knew it was safe to return.
Sal De La Rosa was at work at a nearby auto repair shop when “all of a sudden we just heard and felt this huge boom.”
“We felt where the building kind of shook a little bit,” De La Rosa said.
He said a co-worker went outside and saw thick, black smoke rising into the air.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Frances Rizo’s last name in one instance. It is Rizo, not Rizzo.
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Associated Press journalists Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has approved a settlement package designed to rein in groundwater pumping along one of North America’s longest rivers and ensure enough water reliably makes it from New Mexico to Texas, ending a long-running dispute over management of the Rio Grande.
In a brief order Tuesday, the court accepted the recommendation of a special master to move forward with agreements first proposed last year by New Mexico, Texas and Colorado.
The settlement calls for reducing groundwater pumping along the dwindling river and retiring water rights from irrigated farmland in southern New Mexico. The states held up the proposal as a promise to restore order to an elaborate system of storing and sharing water between two vast irrigation districts in southern New Mexico and western Texas.
“We’re very excited to be redirecting resources from costly and lengthy litigation to solutions on the ground,” Hanna Riseley-White, director of the Interstate Stream Commission, said Wednesday.
Those solutions will include everything from long-term fallowing programs and more efficient irrigation infrastructure to developing new sources of water, like tapping brackish supplies or importing water, and improving stormwater management so more runoff can be captured and stored.
Researchers have warned that unsustainable use of the Rio Grande — which originates in Colorado and stretches south into Mexico — threatens water security for millions of people who rely on the binational river basin.
Farmers in southern New Mexico increasingly have turned to groundwater to irrigate pecan orchards and chile crops as hotter, drier conditions have reduced river flows and storage over recent decades. That pumping is what prompted Texas to sue in 2013, claiming the practice was cutting into water deliveries.
While the Colorado River gets all the headlines, experts say the situation along the Rio Grande is just as dire. Stretches of the river as far north as Albuquerque are expected to go dry again this year, marking the third time in five years.
The settlement package provides for a detailed accounting system for sharing water with Texas. New Mexico could rely on credits and debits from year to year to navigate through drought and wet periods, though it could be responsible for additional water-sharing obligations if deliveries are deferred too long.
Under the settlement, New Mexico must reduce annual groundwater depletions by 18,200 acre-feet, or about 5.9 billion gallons (22.3 billion liters) within the next 10 years. The commitment includes completing half of that within the next five years.
Riseley-White said that represents about 5% to 7% of current groundwater use in the lower Rio Grande. The settlement doesn’t dictate what sector the water savings comes from, so she said industry and municipalities could also partner with the state to meet the mandates.
Still, officials expect to achieve most of the necessary reductions from buying water rights from the agricultural industry, meaning more farmland would be retired.
Riseley-White said listening sessions are underway this week and the first acquisitions are expected to begin later this year. New Mexico has secured more than $40 million in federal funding to support the effort, she said.