Today is
Sunday November 24, 2024
UPDATE: As of early Wednesday afternoon, the Lindale Fire Department has cleared the roadway.
LINDALE — A major traffic issue this morning on west-bound I-20, just past Highway 69/mile marker 556. An overturned 18-wheeler is blocking the westbound lanes of traffic. Drivers are being diverted off the Interstate at the Hwy 69 exit. Drivers can also exit at FM 14 or Lavender Road. Expect lengthy delays.
TYLER — The City of Tyler Police Department is seeking stuffed animals for children “going through tough times.†They are accepting donations of new or gently used stuffed animals. According to our news partner KETK, the police department says they use the stuffed animals to comfort children in times of need. People can drop off their donations at the Faulkner Park or Ferguson police stations.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down Tuesday when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977.
Workers began walking picket lines early Tuesday, picketing near ports all along the East Coast. Workers outside the Port of Philadelphia walked in a circle and chanted, “No work without a fair contract.â€
A lengthy shutdown could raise prices on goods around the country and potentially cause shortages and price increases at big and small retailers alike as the holiday shopping season — along with a tight presidential election — approaches.
The International Longshoremen’s Association is demanding significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight at 36 U.S. ports. Those ports handle roughly half of the nations’ cargo from ships.
The contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, expired Tuesday. Some progress was reported in talks late Monday, but the union went on strike anyway.
The union’s opening offer was for a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with President Harold Daggett saying it’s necessary to make up for inflation and years of small raises. ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime.
Monday evening, the alliance said it had increased its offer to 50% raises over six years, and it pledged to keep limits on automation in place from the old contract. The alliance also said its offer tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and strengthened health care options.
While any port can handle any type of goods, some ports are specialized to handle goods for a particular industry. The ports affected by the shutdown include Baltimore and Brunswick, Georgia, the top two busiest auto ports; Philadelphia, which gives priority to fruits and vegetables; and New Orleans, which handles coffee, mainly from South America and Southeast Asia, various chemicals from Mexico and North Europe, and wood products such as plywood from Asia and South America.
Other major ports affected include Boston; New York/New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia; Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Tampa, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and Houston.
If a strike were deemed a danger to U.S. economic health, President Joe Biden could, under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. This would suspend the strike.
But Biden, during an exchange with reporters on Sunday, said “no†when asked if he planned to intervene to plan a potential work stoppage impacting East Coast ports.
“Because it’s collective bargaining, I don’t believe in Taft-Hartley,†Biden said.
The strike could last weeks — or months. If the strike is resolved within a few weeks, consumers probably wouldn’t notice any major shortages of retail goods. But a strike that persists for more than a month would likely cause a shortage of some consumer products, although most holiday retail goods have already arrived from overseas. Shoppers could see higher prices on a vast array of goods, from fruit and vegetables to cars.
Since the major supply chain disruption in 2021 caused by pandemic bottlenecks, retailers have adapted to supply chain disrupters being “the new norm,†said Rick Haase, owner of a mini-chain of Patina gift shops in and around the Twin Cities in Minnesota.
“The best approach for Patina has been to secure orders early and have the goods in our warehouse and back rooms to ensure we are in stock on key goods,†Haase said.
Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun, a Boca Raton, Florida-based maker of such toys as Care Bears and Lincoln Logs, has been monitoring the port situation for months and planned for it by shifting all of its container shipments to the West Coast ports, primarily Los Angeles and Long Beach, away from ports in New York and Newark, New Jersey. But he said the shift added anywhere from 10% to 20% extra costs that his company will have to absorb. He noted that Basic Fun’s prices for the next 10 months are locked in with retailers, but he could see raising prices during the second half of 2025 if the strike is prolonged.
Daniel Vasquez, who owns Dynamic Auto Movers in Miami, which specializes in importing and exporting vehicles, increased inventory, specifically for vehicles that take longer to ship, in anticipation of a strike.
He has also stopped relying on one port or shipping partner and has expanded his relationship with smaller ports and shipping companies that can bypass congested areas.
Jonathan Gold, vice president of the supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, said the strike arrives with the supply network continuing to face challenges from Houthi attacks on commercial shipping that have essentially shut down the use of the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
The uncertainty over the supply chain is taking place at the peak of the holiday shipping season for retailers, which traditionally runs from July through early November. Many big retailers, anticipating a strike, started shipping their goods to U.S. distribution centers in June, and Gold said that the majority of products ordered are already in the U.S.
But retailers will have a hard time replenishing items and are incurring extra warehouse costs to store goods longer. Gold also noted that carriers are already announcing surcharges on containers to address potential disruptions.
Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of The Toy Association, the nation’s leading toy trade group, noted that a strike would happen at an extremely critical time for toy sellers and makers — up to 60% of a toy company’s annual sales come during the fourth quarter.
The holiday shipping window for the toy industry is anywhere from six to eight weeks and started in July, though some toy companies tried to ship earlier or add more toys to shipments, Ahearn said.
“It hits many ways,†he said. “From a consumer perspective, it starts with delays in availability and then starts to surface as product shortages within toys. At retail for the toy industry, it results in potentially higher prices based on scarcity and increased costs.â€
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas man convicted of fatally stabbing twin 16-year-old girls more than three decades ago was executed on Tuesday evening.
Garcia Glenn White was pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m. CDT following a chemical injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the December 1989 killings of Annette and Bernette Edwards. The bodies of the twin girls and their mother, Bonita Edwards, were found in their Houston apartment.
White, 61, was the sixth inmate put to death in the U.S. in the last 11 days. His execution took place shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, rejected three last-ditch appeals.
Asked by a warden if he had any statement, White repeatedly apologized in his final words to witnesses looking on.
“I would like to apologize for all the wrong I have done, and for the pain I’ve caused,†he said from the death chamber, shortly before the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital began flowing into his arms.
He said he took responsibility for the slayings, regretted his actions and was praying for prison officials, officers and “for my brothers and sisters behind these walls.â€
In a loud and strong voice he began singing a hymn, “I Trust in God,†singing several verses with the refrain: “I trust in God, my savior of the world, the one who never failed.†Then he urged family and friends to to “just keep pushing forward, keep loving one another,” and ended by thanking prison officials and officers “for treating us like human beings.â€
As the drugs began taking effect, he exhaled softly several times then began sounds like snores, several of them loud. He burped, snored quietly once and gulped. Seventeen minutes later he was pronounced dead.
Testimony showed that White went to the girls’ Houston home to smoke crack with their mother, Bonita, who also was fatally stabbed. When the girls came out of their room to see what happened, White attacked them. Evidence showed White broke down the locked door of the girls’ bedroom. Authorities said he was later tied to the deaths of a grocery store owner and another woman.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who witnessed White’s death, lamented that it took some 30 years to carry out the jury’s death verdict as multiple appeals in White’s case worked through the courts.
“The suffering of surviving (victims’) family members is just unspeakable,†she said. “At least it’s over.â€
White’s lawyers had unsuccessfully appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution after lower courts previously rejected petitions for a stay. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Friday denied White’s request to commute his death sentence to a lesser penalty or to grant him a 30-day reprieve.
His lawyers argued that Texas’ top criminal appeals court has refused “to accept medical evidence and strong factual backing†showing White is intellectually disabled.
The Supreme Court in 2002 barred the execution of intellectually disabled people. But it has given states some discretion in deciding how to determine such disabilities. Justices have wrestled with how much discretion to allow.
White’s lawyers also accused the Texas appeals court of not allowing his defense team to present evidence that could spare him a death sentence, including DNA evidence that another man also was at the crime scene and scientific evidence that would show White was “likely suffering from a cocaine induced psychotic break during his actions.â€
White’s lawyers also argued he is entitled to a new review of his death sentence, alleging the Texas appeals court has created a new scheme for sentencing in capital punishment cases after a recent Supreme Court ruling in another Texas death row case.
Patrick McCann, one of White’s attorneys, said Tuesday that his client has spent his entire time in prison “working to be a better human being.â€
The deaths of the twin girls and their mother went unsolved for about six years until White confessed to the killings after he was arrested in connection with the July 1995 death of grocery store owner Hai Van Pham, who was fatally beaten during a robbery at his business. Police said White also confessed to fatally beating another woman, Greta Williams, in 1989.
WOOD COUNTY – At least three burglary suspects took firearms from unlocked vehicles Sunday night near FM 17 and CR 1600, the Wood County Sheriff’s Office said. According to our news partner KETK, several unlocked vehicles were burglarized in the area as well as in Van Zandt County. The sheriff’s office is asking residents to lock their vehicles and to not leave those kind of items inside.
“The suspect vehicle appears to be a Ford F-150. If you recognize any of these suspects or suspect vehicle please give the Wood County Sheriff’s Office a call or Wood County Crime Stoppers,†the sheriff’s office said.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — From Maine to Texas, dockworkers at 36 ports across the eastern U.S. are now on strike for the first time in decades. And the work stoppage could snarl supply chains — leading to shortages and higher prices if it stretches on for more than a few weeks.
Workers began walking picket lines early Tuesday in a strike over wages and automation, even though some progress had been reported in latest contract talks. The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight.
The strike also comes just weeks before next month’s tight presidential election, and could become a factor if there are shortages impacting voters.
In early picketing, workers outside the Port of Philadelphia walked in a circle and chanted “No work without a fair contract.†The union, which is striking for the first time since 1977, had message boards on the side of a truck reading: “Automation Hurts Families: ILA Stands For Job Protection.â€
Local ILA president Boise Butler said workers want a fair contract that doesn’t allow automation of their jobs.
Shipping companies made billions during the pandemic by charging high prices, he said. “Now we want them to pay back. They’re going to pay back,†Butler said.
He said the union will strike for as long as it needs to get a fair deal, and it has leverage over the companies.
“This is not something that you start and you stop,†he said. “We’re not weak,†he added, pointing to the union’s importance to the nation’s economy.
At Port Houston, at least 50 workers started picketing around midnight local time carrying signs saying “No Work Without a Fair Contract.”
The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, said Monday evening that both sides had moved off of their previous wage offers. But no deal was reached.
The union’s opening offer in the talks was for a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, with President Harold Daggett saying it’s necessary to make up for inflation and years of small raises. ILA members make a base salary of about $81,000 per year, but some can pull in over $200,000 annually with large amounts of overtime.
Monday evening, the alliance said it had increased its offer to 50% raises over six years, and it pledged to keep limits on automation in place from the old contract. The alliance also said its offer tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and strengthened health care options.
The union wants a complete ban on automation. It wasn’t clear just how far apart both sides are.
In a statement early Tuesday, the union said it rejected the alliance’s latest proposal because it “fell far short of what ILA rank-and-file members are demanding in wages and protections against automation.†The two sides had not held formal negotiations since June.
Supply chain experts say consumers won’t see an immediate impact from the strike because most retailers stocked up on goods, moving ahead shipments of holiday gift items.
But if it goes more than a few weeks, a work stoppage could lead to higher prices and delays in goods reaching households and businesses.
If drawn out, the strike will force businesses to pay shippers for delays and cause some goods to arrive late for peak holiday shopping season — potentially impacting delivery of anything from toys and artificial Christmas trees to cars, coffee and fruit.
The strike will likely have an almost immediate impact on supplies of perishable imports like bananas, for example. The ports affected by the strike handle 3.8 million metric tons of bananas each year, or 75% of the nation’s supply, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
It also could snarl exports from East Coast ports and create traffic jams at ports on the West Coast, where workers are represented by a different union. Railroads say they can ramp up to carry more freight from the West Coast, but analysts say they can’t move enough to make up for the closed Eastern ports.
J.P. Morgan estimated that a strike that shuts down East and Gulf coast ports could cost the economy $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion per day, with some of that recovered over time after normal operations resume.
Retailers, auto parts suppliers and produce importers had hoped for a settlement or that President Joe Biden would intervene and end the strike using the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows him to seek an 80-day cooling off period.
But during a Sunday exchange with reporters, Biden, who has worked to court union votes for Democrats, said “no†when asked if he planned to intervene in the potential work stoppage.
In an update Tuesday morning, the White House maintained that administration officials were working “around the clock†to help negotiations move forward — which included being in direct contact with both USMX and ILA. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also “closely monitoring†potential supply chain impacts, the White House added, enlisting a task force to meet daily and prepare for any disruptions.
AUSTIN (AP) – A federal judge ruled on Saturday that part of a Texas law that enacted new voting restrictions violated the U.S. Constitution by being too vague and restricting free speech.
The ruling, made by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, immediately halted the state’s ability to investigate alleged cases of vote harvesting, such as the investigation into the League of United Latin American Citizens by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Before today’s ruling, a person who knowingly provided or offered vote harvesting services in exchange for compensation was committing a third-degree felony. This meant that organizers of voter outreach organizations and even volunteers could spend up to ten years in prison and fined up to $10,000 for giving or offering these services.
Paxton on Monday vowed to appeal the ruling.
“A ruling—weeks prior to an election— preventing my office from investigating potential election violations is deeply troubling and risks undermining public trust in our political process,†he said.
According to Republican lawmakers, the provision was put in place to prevent voter fraud and secure election integrity. However, in the ruling, the judge noted that there was widespread confusion about how to implement the canvassing restriction from local election administrators. This confusion also left voter outreach organizations uncertain about whether they could provide volunteers with food or bus fare because it could look like compensation.
Many organizations – including La Union del Pueblo Entero, LULAC, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund – have filed lawsuits against many other provisions of the law, including voter assistance and mail-in ballot restrictions. The challenges to these provisions have not been ruled on yet. The original complaints were filed in August and September 2021.
Before the law, organizations like OCA-Greater Houston, an advocacy organization for people of Asian and Pacific Island descent, would host in-person election events and allow attendees to bring their mail-in ballots in order to receive help like language assistance.
Nina Perales, vice president of litigation at MALDEF, wrote that “Today’s ruling means that voter outreach organizers and other advocates in Texas can speak to mail ballot voters about issues on the ballot and urge voters to support improvements to their communities.â€
ACLU of Texas celebrated the ruling on X saying, “This is a win for voting rights in the state, and for the organizations that help keep elections accessible.â€
TYLER — The City of Tyler was named the best in the nation for retirement, a recent study said. According to our news partner KETK, a USA TODAY research team ranked 329 cities to determine which offers the best retirement experience based on factors like tax friendliness, housing costs, healthcare availability and number of leisure activities. “Tyler is the best city for retirees, featuring affordable homes, no income tax and prices 7.7% lower than the national average,†Kristina Zagame, a contributor for USA TODAY said.
Not only does Tyler top the list of best cities for retirees but a March-released study of the best cities to move to in Texas.
Researchers at USA TODAY Homefront found per 1,000 residents, Tyler has a crime rate of 28.7, and 9.9 senior-relevant care providers. The typical Tyler home is valued at $257,181 and the city is considered a most tax friendly. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — Education was front and center on Wednesday during the state of the workforce hosted by Longview chamber of commerce. According to our news partner KETK, East Texas business owners, high schools and economy experts attended the meeting and they focused on discussing education and the role it plays in building up local industries. One topic was especially discussed, looking for qualified people to fill critical roles.
“What we’re still hearing from businesses and industry in the East Texas community, that they don’t have the number of workers that they need nor the skill that those workers actually need to have in order to be successful.†Brenda Kays, president of Kilgore college, said.
Representatives from Kilgore college, public think tank Texas 2036 and the national skill coalition updated local businesses on the current employment landscape. Read the rest of this entry »
PANOLA COUNTY — The search for a missing Tatum man is over after authorities found his body near a pond. The Panola County Sheriff’s Office said Danizy Arthur, 43, was dropped off by family members off Highway 43 on Sunday morning to go fishing. According to our news partner KETK, Texas Search and Rescue, as well as K9 teams assisted in the search for Arthur. Arthur was found dead at a pond around 10:15 a.m.. The sheriff’s office said an autopsy has been ordered.
KILGORE — Kilgore is known for the world’s richest acre and the World Famous Rangerettes and on Tuesday night the city added a new honor to that list. According to our news partner KETK, Kilgore is now recognized as a Purple Heart City in a ceremony at the city hall. The city’s new title carries a lot of weight for long time resident and veteran Daniel Abram, because he understands the sacrifice veterans have made for their country.
“We think it’s wonderful,†Abrams said. “I think it should be respected, men paid an awful price for that.â€
The Kilgore mayor said resident Vickie Raymond brought this idea to the city and immediately had full support. The designation comes from the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 1513, to honor veterans who live in Kilgore and make sure they feel appreciated. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — The Smith County Commissioners Court voted to appoint a new Justice of the Peace for Precinct 5 after the retirement announcement of Judge Jon Johnson. According to a release, Danny Brown was unanimously voted to be appointed as JP 5 for Smith County on Tuesday morning. The county said that Brown has served as Tyler ISD Police Chief for the past 12 years and is looking forward to serve his community of Lindale.
“I have always driven to Tyler to work,†Brown said. “I want to serve in Lindale where I have lived all these years.â€
According to the release, Brown worked for the Tyler Police Department for 21 years, then for Child Protective Services for five years before becoming the chief for the Tyler ISD Police Department. Read the rest of this entry »
AUSTIN (AP) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that his office is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Biden administration officials for declaring a rare lizard endangered earlier this year.
The dunes sagebrush lizard burrows in the sand dunes in the Mescalero-Monahans ecosystem 30 miles west of Odessa — the same West Texas land that supports the state’s biggest oil and gas fields.
For four decades, biologists warned federal regulators about the existential threat that oil and gas exploration and development poses for the reptile’s habitat, while industry representatives fought against the designation, saying it would scare off companies interested in drilling in the nation’s most lucrative oil and natural gas basin.
In May, federal regulators ruled that the industry’s expansion posed a grave threat to the lizard’s survival when listing it as endangered.
Now, the state’s top lawyer is suing.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s unlawful misuse of environmental law is a backdoor attempt to undermine Texas’s oil and gas industries which help keep the lights on for America,†Paxton said. “I warned that we would sue over this illegal move, and now we will see them in court.â€
Paxton’s statement said the listing of the lizard was a violation of the Endangered Species Act, adding that the Fish and Wildlife Service “failed to rely on the best scientific and commercial data†when declaring the lizard endangered and did not take into account conservation efforts already in place to protect the lizard.
The 2.5-inch-long lizard only lives in about 4% of the 86,000-square-mile Permian Basin, which spans Texas and New Mexico, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. In Texas, the lizard has been found in Andrews, Crane, Gaines, Ward and Winkler counties.
According to a 2023 analysis by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the lizard is “functionally extinct†across 47% of its range.
The listing requires oil and gas companies to avoid operating in areas the lizard inhabits, but the Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to determine where those areas are because it is still gathering information. Oil and gas companies could incur fines up to $50,000 and prison time, depending on the violation, if they operate in those areas.
Paxton’s office said that because the Fish and Wildlife Service has not specified those areas, it has left operators and landowners uncertain about what they can do with their own land.