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Thursday June 04, 2026
AUSTIN (AP) — One of the directors of Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian camp along the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country, offered a tearful apology Tuesday to the families of the 25 campers and 2 counselors killed in a 2025 flood.
“We tried our hardest that night. It wasn’t enough to save your daughters,” said Edward Eastland, a member of the family that owns the 100-year-old camp. “I’m so sorry.”
Eastland’s apology came as dozens of the girls’ family members sat just a few feet behind him during the second day of a special legislative hearing looking into the devastating July 4 flood. A written report of findings is expected later this year.
Eastland said he and his father Richard Eastland were on the campsite that night, and that they made a desperate attempt to save the girls when they realized that heavy rain had created a raging flood that ripped through the camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. Richard Eastland died in the flood and Edward survived only after being swept into a tree.
“These girls (who died) were our youngest campers and their amazing counselors who we watched grow up,” Eastland said. “The world was a better place with them in it and the anger at us for not being able to keep them safe is completely reasonable.”
Britt Eastland, another director, said the camp will train counselors and stage drills for campers to prepare for floods, fire, tornadoes and intruders. Legislative investigators on Monday noted the camp’s previous lack of training as a critical problem that contributed to the deaths.
“All of these things should have been being done in the first place,” said Sen. Charles Perry.
Camp Mystic families are expected to testify later in the day.
Camp Mystic’s owners want to reopen in late May and have said they will only use parts of the camp that didn’t flood. They expect nearly 900 girls on campus this summer. Those plans have angered victims’ families, and some prominent state officials have called for state regulators to deny or delay renewal of the camp’s license, which is under review.
The Legislature doesn’t meet again until January 2027, and the panel does not control the review of Camp Mystic’s license.
AUSTIN (AP) – Camp Mystic’s plan to reopen this summer — less than a year after catastrophic floods in Texas Hill Country killed 25 young campers and two teenage counselors — has angered some of the victims’ families.
Owners of the Christian all-girls camp, who hope to welcome campers back starting in May, say they have made safety improvements and that devastated areas closest to the Guadalupe River will remain closed.
Texas health regulators are reviewing whether to renew Camp Mystic’s license that would allow the camp to resume operations and mark its 100th anniversary.
Here’s a timeline of key events related to the deadly flooding:
Inspectors sign off on Camp Mystic’s emergency plan
Two days before the flood, state inspectors approve Camp Mystic’s safety plan, according to Department of State Health Services records. Their report notes the camp complied with a host of state regulations regarding “procedures to be implemented in case of a disaster.” Among them: instructing campers what to do if they need to evacuate and assigning specific duties to each staff member and counselor.
Deadly flooding devastates campsite
A storm unleashes heavy, isolated rainfall early on July 4, 2025, that sent floodwaters rushing down the Guadalupe River through the hilly region in central Texas. The fast-rising waters quickly overtake two cabins closest to the river where the youngest girls are housed, sweeping them to their deaths. Camp owner Richard Eastland also dies in the flooding.
Flanked by family members who lost their children at Camp Mystic, Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 5 signs several bills into law aimed at preventing similar tragedies in the future. The measures prohibit cabins in dangerous parts of flood zones and require camp operators to develop detailed emergency plans, to train workers and to install and maintain emergency warning systems. One allocates $240 million for disaster relief, along with money for warning sirens and improved weather forecasting.
Camp Mystic announces plans to reopen
The owners of Camp Mystic announce a plan to partially reopen the camp in a Sept. 23 letter to parents, prompting outrage from some of the flooding victims’ families. The camp also says it will build a memorial to those killed in the flooding. Parents say they weren’t consulted about the decision. Cici Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile remains missing, writes in a scathing letter that campers will “swim in the same river that may potentially still hold my daughter’s body.” Parents call the plan ”unthinkable.”
Families file lawsuits against Camp Mystic
The families of the girls who died in the flooding file lawsuits alleging the operators of Camp Mystic failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached. The lawsuits, filed Nov. 10 in state court in Austin, seek more than $1 million in damages but do not specify an exact amount.
Texas regulators say they’re investigating complaints
Texas health regulators tell Camp Mystic’s owners they are investigating hundreds of complaints against the camp as the state considers whether to allow it to reopen this summer. The investigations announced April 7 underscore the hurdles facing Camp Mystic as it pushes ahead with a plan to reopen over the outrage of the victims’ families.
Regulators uncover problems with the camp’s safety plans
Texas state regulators find nearly two dozen deficiencies in the emergency operations plan submitted by the owners of Camp Mystic as they prepare to reopen. An 11-page report sent April 24 by the Health Services Department notes problems with flood warning evacuation plans, use of an emergency warning and public address system, monitoring safety alerts and safety training.
Camp officials testify during 3-day hearing
The April 13-15 hearing shines new light on what happened before and during the flood. Camp director Edward Eastland acknowledges lives could have been saved if staff had acted sooner, but insists they could not have anticipated the severity of the storm. A security guard testifies he received no orders from camp officials on what to do as the floodwaters rose but was able to help a group of campers escape to safety.
Investigator says unqualified teens were put in charge
An investigator told lawmakers on Thursday that young and inexperienced counselors were not trained to help campers during floods or other emergencies, and feared making decisions on their own. Casey Garrett said a “obedience” culture paired poorly trained teenage counselors with the youngest campers and was complacent about flood warnings. A written report is expected later this year.
AUSTIN (AP) — Young and inexperienced Camp Mystic counselors were not trained to help campers during floods or other emergencies, and feared making decisions on their own, an investigator into the 2025 flood that killed 27 counselors and campers told Texas lawmakers Monday.
Lawmakers heard an emotional and sweeping review of a camp “obedience” culture that paired poorly trained teenage counselors with the youngest campers; was complacent about flood warnings; had poor communications; and critically delayed evacuation efforts.
“There was never any real training, no drills of any kind,” for counselors or campers of what do to or where to go in a flood threat, a special legislative committee’s investigator, Casey Garrett, said. She was addressing the committee’s first hearing on the July Fourth flood that swept through the all-girls Christian camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River.
Twenty-five campers and two teenage counselors were killed. Camp owner Richard Eastland was also killed as he desperately tried to evacuate girls to higher ground.
Garrett noted that most of the victims were under age 10, some attending camp for the first time, and that the counselors in the hardest hit cabins were among the youngest and most inexperienced at the camp.
Many of the grim details had already been made public through hearings, media reports and interviews, but the state report — including interviews with about 150 people including campers, counselors, the Eastland family and victims’ families — presented them in a stark, streamlined review.
“The fate of those girls was set before any drop of rain fell.” Sen. Charles Perry said during the hearing.
He continued: “The things that were common sense and the things that should have been done, didn’t get done.”
Families of the victims pack the hearing
Dozens of victim family members filled the committee room Monday. Some sobbed or walked out when photos of the victims and the destroyed camp site were displayed, or when they heard their loved ones’ names read aloud.
The report noted some harrowing survivor accounts, including of a girl who was swept more than 6 miles downriver. She told investigators she was sucked underwater several times before she washed up on a debris pile and fell asleep. She was rescued the next morning by two women who heard her cries for help.
One girl recalled how the floodwater in her cabin rose so high that her chin touched the ceiling, Garrett said. One counselor told investigators she pushed girls underwater to get them through the door of a flooded cabin.
The committee saw video of water rushing into a building through cracks in the door. In cellphone video shot by a stranded camper, a girl can be heard yelling “Help!” in the dark, raging floodwaters.
Garrett played an interview with a counselor who said she climbed atop a two-story recreation hall with about 100 campers. She described their terror as rising floodwaters closed in on them.
Campers and counselors had no emergency training
Garrett, a Houston attorney who also helped with the Legislature’s report on the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, several times noted the lack of emergency training for the teenage counselors and child campers.
There was no detailed evacuation plan, he said, and the only instruction for the girls in low-lying areas of the camp was a one-paragraph directive that told them to “stay in their cabins unless told otherwise by the office. All cabins are constructed on high, safe locations.” State inspectors approved that plan two days before the flood.
Eventually, some counselors took matters into their own hands and pushed girls through cabin windows to scramble up a hill.
“It wasn’t a plan. It wasn’t a safe plan, It was an option taken, thank God,” Garrett said. “It was very ad hoc.”
Camp Mystic’s owners are seeking permission to reopen in late May and have said they will only use parts of the camp that didn’t flood. They expect nearly 900 girls on campus this summer. The plans to reopen have angered victims’ families, and some prominent state officials have called for state regulators to deny or delay renewal of its license, which is under review.
Last year, Texas lawmakers passed new measures to demand more detailed planning and training, and the installation of emergency warning systems. The Legislature doesn’t meet again until January 2027 and the panel does not control the review of Camp Mystic’s license.
Investigator describes the camp’s formidable owner
Some counselors told investigators they feared getting into trouble if they were to take children to higher ground or out into the storm without explicit instructions.
Garrett described the camp’s “obedience-encouraged” culture dominated by Eastland, the campus patriarch. Some members of the Eastland family and camp staff referred to him as “The General” and “The Eagle.”
“He ruled,” his wife Tweety told investigators. Several Eastland family members attended the hearing.
“He was running the show over there … You just really didn’t cross him,” Garrett said.
The camp relied almost exclusively on Eastland for how to act in a flood emergency. The owner’s son, Edward Eastland, testified in a lawsuit last week that any detailed flood evacuation plan was simply inside his father’s head.
Richard Eastland and several girls were was found dead in his vehicle after he tried to drive them to safety. Edward Eastland was swept by the floodwaters into a tree. Camp security officer Glenn Juenke survived although he was trapped in a flooded cabin with campers.
Garrett described Richard Eastland as a popular camp leader who taught generations of girls how to fish. He had a knack for comforting young campers who were nervous about their first time away from home.
“We do know Dick Eastland loved every little girl who came to Camp Mystic,” Garrett said.
WASHINGTON – An El Paso-based federal judicial panel’s November 2025 decision, which claimed Texas lawmakers unlawfully took racial considerations into account when redrawing the congressional map last year in order for Republicans to gain five additional seats in the 2026 election, was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. In November, Justice Samuel Alito first temporarily stayed the decision while the entire court gave it more thought. In December, Justices Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch wrote a concurring opinion to make the temporary stay permanent.
In reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Texas House Democratic Caucus issued a statement. The court “protected Greg Abbott’s racist map and gave Donald Trump exactly what he demanded from Texas Republicans: stolen seats, weaker Black and Latino voting power, and a rigged path to keep control of Congress,” according to Chair Gene Wu (D-Houston), rather than upholding the Constitution. The newly created map was able to stay in place because consideration of the redistricted map was postponed until after the 2026 primaries.
DALLAS (AP) – United Airlines’ CEO confirmed Monday that he approached rival American Airlines about a potential merger — his first public acknowledgment of his proposal — saying it would benefit travelers despite American’s refusal to engage in talks.
“I was confident that this combination, which would have been about adding and not subtracting, creating a truly great airline that customers love, could get regulatory approval,” Scott Kirby wrote in a statement released Monday. “I was hoping to pitch that story to American, but they declined to engage and instead responded by publicly closing the door.”
Kirby’s confirmation comes after weeks of public speculation about a potential merger between two of the biggest U.S. airlines, amid rising jet fuel prices tied to the Iran war and reports that he had approached the White House about the idea. Kirby said Monday that he had approached American directly about a tie-up, but it’s unclear whether that was before or after his White House meeting.
American publicly shot down the idea of a merger, saying in an April 17 statement that it “is not engaged with or interested in any discussions regarding a merger with United Airlines.” Additionally, a combination of the two carriers “would be negative for competition and for consumers” and possibly raise antitrust concerns, the company said.
Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines is itself the product of a 2013 merger with US Airways Group.
President Donald Trump also said last week that he was against a merger of the airlines.
In his statement Monday, Kirby, who previously served as president of American Airlines, argued that merging the carriers would expand service, create a more globally competitive airline and boost the U.S. economy by creating jobs and strengthening the aircraft manufacturing sector.
The rivalry between United and American has played out for years in pricing battles and disputes over gate access at major hubs like Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, where both airlines have fought to expand their footprint.
Amid that competition, the Federal Aviation Administration this month ordered about 300 daily flights cut from peak summer schedules at O’Hare, saying planned increases by both carriers risked overwhelming an airport already plagued by severe delays.
The order will take effect June 2, later than initially planned, after the FAA said last week it wanted to give airlines additional time to adjust their schedules.
Shares of Chicago-based United fell 1.2% on Monday, to $91.90. They are down about 18% this year amid the Iran war, which began in late February and has driven fuel prices sharply higher. American shares were down about 3.5% on Monday, to $11.68. American is down nearly 24% for the year.
Jet fuel is typically one of the largest expenses for airlines, leaving them especially vulnerable to price spikes and supply shocks.
In some markets, the price of jet fuel has more than doubled as fighting near the Strait of Hormuz squeezes global supplies, raising operating costs for airlines. In response, carriers around the world have raised fares and fees, with both United and American among the major U.S. airlines that have raised checked baggage fees.
UPDATE: A 16-year-old was taken into custody and charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon and manslaughter in connection with the deadly shooting. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says he may face additional charges and will remain in custody at the juvenile detention center.
POLK COUNTY — Three people were arrested on Sunday after a 20-year-old was fatally shot at an after-prom party in Polk County. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and our news partner KETK, dispatchers received calls that 20-year-old Jeremy Lamar Bennett was shot at a location off of US Highway 146 in Polk County at around 1:07 a.m. on Sunday.
Deputies arrived at the scene and started to try and save Bennett’s life when a fight broke out in the crowd at the scene. This diverted efforts to try and save Bennett’s life as deputies tried to stop the fighting in the crowd.
EMS then arrived to take Bennett to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead from his wounds. The sheriff’s office said investigators believe that Bennett was shot when an after-prom party grew into a larger party where alcohol, marijuana and firearms were involved.
According to a press release, the party eventually led to a fight in which gunfire hit Bennett, fatally injuring him. The following three men were arrested in connection to the party:
The sheriff’s office said that, Osvaldo Daniel Alvarez, 19, was arrested for deadly conduct after he told deputies that he invited the crowd to his home to continue the party. Gabriel Ramirez Jr., 21, was charged with deadly conduct for allegedly discharging a firearm and Jon R. Villarreal, 19, was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon.
“Sheriff Lyons and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office expressed their condolences to Jeremy’s family, stating that the loss of such a young life is heartbreaking and could have been prevented,” the sheriff’s office said. “He also urged the youth of Polk County to avoid situations involving large crowds, alcohol, drugs and weapons, emphasizing the importance of making safe choices and leaving potentially dangerous environments to return home safely.”
A search warrant was executed at the US Highway 146 property as part of an ongoing homicide investigation with the sheriff’s office and the Texas Rangers. During the search, officials recovered six firearms and undisclosed amounts of alcohol and drugs.
RUNAWAY BAY (AP) — A tornado-producing thunderstorm left at least two people dead in northern Texas and displaced at least 20 families, with many homes sustaining major damage, authorities said Sunday.
Emergency responders worked through Saturday night and Sunday in the town of Runaway Bay to clear debris in order to reach damaged homes and provide medical care where needed, Wise County Judge J.D. Clark, who serves as the county’s chief executive, told a news conference.
“Access has been difficult due to blocked roadways and downed utilities, but crews have continued pushing forward to reach those in need,” Clark said. “Roads in the affected area will remain closed by law enforcement to ensure safety and allow emergency crews to manage the scene without obstruction.”
The storm also hit Springtown, where Parker County Assistant Fire Chief David Pruitt said in an email that a second person died south of the city limits. There was “significant damage” in the area, Pruitt said.
“One of the most significant ongoing challenges is the widespread power outage affecting many residents,” he wrote. “Officials are coordinating with utility providers and emergency partners as restoration efforts continue.”
National Weather Service teams confirmed that an EF-2 tornado with peak winds of 135 mph (217 kph) had touched down in the Runaway Bay area. They were still assessing damage in Springtown on Sunday afternoon.
The slow-moving supercell traveled through the area around 10 p.m. Saturday, said meteorologist Patricia Sanchez with the Fort Worth weather service office.
It moved southeast from around Wichita Falls, near the Oklahoma border, passing just west of Fort Worth. Runaway Bay is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of Fort Worth on Lake Bridgeport. Springtown is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Fort Worth.
Weather service radar picked up a “potentially large and extremely dangerous” tornado near Azle at 10:14 p.m. Saturday. That’s about another 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Springtown.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s government said Saturday that two U.S. federal agents recently killed in a car crash in the country’s northern region were not authorized to participate in operations in Mexico.
The role of the two CIA agents who were returning from destroying a clandestine drug lab in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua remains unclear.
Local government officials have said they were part of a convoy when their car drove off a ravine last weekend and the vehicle exploded. Two Mexican officers also were killed.
The Americans killed were from the CIA, The Associated Press confirmed earlier this week with a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.
The CIA has declined to comment.
A statement from Mexico’s Ministry of Security said one U.S. agent entered Mexico as a visitor while the other entered with a diplomatic passport.
It also asserted that Mexico’s government was not aware of foreign agents operating or planning to participate in an operation on its soil.
The ministry said it is reviewing the case with local authorities and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.
“Mexican law is clear: it does not permit the participation of foreign agents in operations within the national territory,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added: “The Government of Mexico reiterates its willingness to maintain a close, serious, and respectful relationship with the Government of the United States for the benefit of the security of both countries.”
Officials from both countries have offered contradictory accounts on the issue, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum admitting on Wednesday that federal forces were involved after Mexico’s government said it had no knowledge of any operation or U.S. involvement.
GATESVILLE (THE TEXAS TRIBUNE) – Every Thursday at 9 a.m. when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals publishes its orders and opinions online, Melissa Lucio’s family, supporters and lawyers scan the court’s website for the death row inmate’s name.
Caught between freedom and a potential execution for the last two years, waiting for every Thursday morning is all Lucio and her team can do. The 56-year-old, found guilty in 2008 of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez, has spent two of her 17 years on death row in a legal limbo as the CCA weighs a district judge’s 2024 recommendation to overturn her capital murder conviction because of withheld evidence. An additional ruling from the judge six months later declared Lucio “actually innocent” of killing Mariah.
If the CCA, which stayed her execution in 2022, upholds the district judge’s recommendation and Lucio is freed, she would be the first woman on Texas’ death row to be exonerated. But because the court has no deadlines for rulings and does not communicate its progress, Lucio’s future remains just as clouded as ever, as she has no more legal recourse beyond waiting for the court’s decision.
A spokesperson for the CCA said the court does not comment on pending cases or disclose its internal procedures.
Despite the wait, Lucio said in a written response to The Texas Tribune through her lawyer that state District Judge Arturo Nelson’s 2024 rulings were a “tremendous relief,” and that her faith and the support of others have kept her resolute through the wait since.
“I am grateful to God who continues to give me the strength to keep my hopes up and has kept me going through this unimaginable ordeal,” Lucio said. “I am lucky to have a wonderful community of people who know I am innocent and have been fighting for my freedom, including my family, my legal team, my faith community, many Texas lawmakers, and so many others.”
One of Lucio’s 14 children, 36-year-old John Lucio, was 17 when his sister died and his mother was arrested, but has never believed his mother committed the crime she was convicted for. Having just left prison himself on a parole violation, he had hoped she would beat him to freedom. He said his mother talks with his wife on the phone almost every day and with him as much as she can, and that their conversations are often spirited and joyful despite the state of her case looming constantly.
“She’s just like, trigger-happy, dialing and dialing and dialing as much as she can until the time runs out,” John said.
Lucio has attempted several appeals during her time on death row, including a habeas corpus claim denied by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021. Because her current appeal awaits a ruling from the CCA, the highest criminal court in Texas, any decisive ruling on her cases will be final at the state level and would not be directed to the state Supreme Court. All death penalty appeals go from district courts straight to the CCA. Texas and Oklahoma are the only states that have a separate appeals court for criminal cases.
“Functionally, it’s not that different from a state in which a district court would make a legal conclusion, and then that would be appealable to the highest state court,” said Jordan Steiker, director of the Capital Punishment Center at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.
Steiker said the two years Lucio has waited for a ruling on the judge’s recommendation is “unusual, but not unprecedented” for a death penalty appeal. Eighteen men on death row have been exonerated in Texas since capital punishment was reinstated in 1982. Of those, at least three have been granted their release through a CCA acceptance of a district judge’s recommendation, according to available court records. The time spans between district judge recommendations and CCA rulings in those cases range from a year to upwards of a decade.
The remaining exonerees either had their convictions thrown out on immediate appeals or were granted relief by federal courts. Another woman on death row, Brittany Holberg, is currently waiting for the full panel of judges on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on whether it will maintain its initial decision to overturn her capital murder conviction. Holberg was convicted in 1998 of killing and robbing an 80-year-old man.
In Lucio’s case, Judge Nelson of Cameron County found in two separate recommendations in April and October of 2024 that county prosecutors in 2008 had suppressed evidence and used flawed scientific evidence and false testimony to secure her conviction. The first recommendation simply recommended her case be overturned; the second declared Lucio “actually innocent” of killing her daughter.
The withheld evidence, including interviews with Lucio’s other children, revealed that what had been framed as murder due to abuse was more likely an accidental death caused by Mariah falling down a flight of stairs days before she died. At least one of the children had seen the fall, and others confirmed her declining health in the following days.
Prosecutors during her trial also relied on a “confession” obtained from Lucio after several hours of interrogation by DPS officers and testimony from a Texas Ranger who asserted he could determine Lucio’s guilt based on her demeanor and body language in the interrogation room. The judge had barred expert testimony aimed at explaining why Lucio, a repeated domestic and sexual abuse victim, would confess falsely under pressure from male authority figures.
Lucio has already filed a motion to expedite in her case to ask the court to rule on the judge’s recommendation, but motions like it do not compel the court to work with any additional speed.
Steiker described the CCA’s decision-making process as a “black box,” but there are some elements known to contribute to added time for rulings. Judges must come to agreement on how to resolve cases, and then write opinions that require more time to review evidence in the case. Dissenting opinions from other judges can double that time as they come to their own conclusions.
“It’s very hard to guess from the outside exactly what’s taking the court so long, but I do think that the best guess is probably that there’s not unanimity about how the court should proceed,” Steiker said.
The strength of the material already available to judges and the public outcry over Lucio’s innocence has added to the pressure on the CCA, Steiker said. Lucio’s conviction has garnered international attention, including a documentary and the condemnation of more than half of the Texas House. Prior to the court granting a stay of Lucio’s execution in 2022, a bipartisan group of lawmakers urged the state parole board to consider Lucio’s innocence.
“I think it’s regrettable that in a case where there’s as powerful evidence as there is that this conviction is problematic, that the CCA hasn’t acted more expeditiously,” Steiker said.
John Lucio helps coordinate many of the decisions surrounding public action supporting his mother alongside advocacy group Death Penalty Action, and said the strength of her support has underscored her innocence even more.
“If this lady I knew I was going to put up a fight for was guilty of murdering my baby sister, I would have just let justice be served,” John Lucio said. “But I know that my mother is not guilty for killing my sister, Mariah, so I had to fight for her life.”
Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucio’s lawyers who works for the Innocence Project, said they are “very hopeful” the CCA will accept the judge’s recommendation and free Lucio. More than anything, John Lucio and his wife, Michelle, said they’re ready to take her into their home in Harlingen any day to live with them and their granddaughter.
Lucio said she looks forward to being reunited with her children and grandchildren if she is released.
“I can’t wait to cook for my family, it’s one of the first things I dream of doing,” she said.
AUSTIN (THE TEXAS TRIBUNE) – The Texas Supreme Court tossed temporary injunctions Friday that halted child abuse investigations against parents who allowed their transgender kids to access puberty blockers and hormone therapy, in large part because the state has closed such inquiries into three families who sued and a fourth child is now an adult.
The court’s ruling did not determine whether providing such healthcare to kids constitutes child abuse, as Attorney General Ken Paxton concluded in a nonbinding legal opinion in 2022. The legal battle seeking to shield parents from such state investigations began before Texas banned doctors outright from providing puberty blockers and hormone therapies to kids for gender transitioning.
There was no immediate comment from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Four families and the organization PFLAG, Inc. had won temporary injunctions stopping DFPS from investigating reports of trans minors using puberty blockers and hormone therapy. While the agency’s appeal of the temporary injunctions were pending, DFPS officials permanently closed its investigations and a fourth child has now reached their 18th birthday. As such, the Texas Supreme Court ruled, there was no need to keep the temporary injunctions in place.
“There exists no credible, nonspeculative threat that DFPS will investigate these plaintiffs in the future based on the use of medical treatments for gender transitioning, either because DFPS has already ruled out these families for such an investigation or because the children’s having reached the age of majority deprives DFPS of authority to investigate.”
The case began four years ago shortly after Gov. Greg Abbott notified DFPS that the attorney general’s office had issued an opinion that concluded it is “against the law to subject Texas children to a wide variety of elective procedures for gender transitioning.” The governor’s letter directed the agency “to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures” in Texas. As a result the agency announced it would follow the law.
A week later, parents of a then 16-year-old child diagnosed with gender dysphoria and a psychologist who treats such children sued the Governor, the DFPS Commissioner, and DFPS in Travis County. A few months after that, three more families brought a similar suit. A Travis County trial court ultimately issued three separate orders temporarily enjoining DFPS and its commissioner from investigating allegations regarding children’s use of drugs for the purpose of gender transitioning.
Three of the families had their cases closed with no further investigation or action. The fourth child, that former 16-year-old, is now an adult and the agency can no longer investigate their case.
DILLEY (THE TEXAS TRIBUNE) – A flight carrying an Egyptian family to Michigan late Saturday abruptly turned around after a Texas judge ruled that the six should remain in the U.S. pending further litigation.
The last-minute reversal was the most recent development in a dizzying series of events this week that attorneys said added to ongoing questions over the executive’s power compared to the judiciary when it comes to President Donald Trump’s purview of immigration and his administration’s push for expanded deportations.
A Texas federal judge Saturday ruled that the family, believed to be the longest held at the controversial South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, should not immediately be deported after immigration agents suddenly re-arrested the mother and her children hours earlier. A second order by a federal judge in Colorado was issued Saturday evening, reiterating that the family should not be deported.
The rulings came as the family was on a plane to Michigan, from where the government ostensibly planned to quickly deport them to Egypt, where their attorneys said the mother and her children fear persecution.
The plane, the attorney, Michigan-based Eric Lee, posted on X, “constitutionally cannot be allowed to take off.”
It would not have been the first time that Trump’s administration deported immigrants after federal judges ordered against their removal. Among the most well-known cases is that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of El Salvador, who was living in Maryland before he was mistakenly sent to a notorious mega-prison in that Central American country last year despite an earlier U.S. court order barring Abrego Garcia’s deportation. His case spurred global criticism, although he has since returned to the U.S., as litigation in his case is ongoing.
“Stop this travesty of justice from taking place,” Lee, the Gamal family attorney, posted on X earlier Saturday, referring to the El Gamal family.
Lee added that the “attempt to remove the El Gamal family is in violation of a federal court order and must be halted immediately. The rights of the entire population and the most basic principles of separation of powers are at stake.”
U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio ruled hours after the family’s re-detention Saturday that given the emergency appeal by lawyers, the family’s deportation to Egypt should be paused. Biery agreed with his own previous ruling as well as one by U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney this week that the family, which includes 5-year-old twins who have been held at Dilley for more than 10 months, should be freed while they await an immigration judge’s decision on their asylum case.
The family received widespread attention after the mother and her children earlier this year began publicly raising alarms about the treatment at the facility, including medical neglect, rotting food, impotable water, and disrespect for their Muslim faith. Last week, lawyers said that the mother was rushed to the emergency room after months of suffering from an unidentified bump, which she feared may be cancerous due to her family history and possibly heightened by the lack of medical care at the detention center.
AUSTIN (THE TEXAS TRIBUNE) – The City of Austin on Friday announced it is updating Austin Police orders to clarify when officers should contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents about people they detain. It is the third city in Texas to revise its policy on local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities this week, amid massive funding threats from Gov. Greg Abbott.
On April 16, the governor’s office warned Austin and Dallas that millions in grants — including more than $55 million in World Cup public safety funding for Dallas — could be at risk if city police failed to change their general orders limiting officers’ coordination with ICE. Austin risked $2.5 million in grants for sexual assault evidence testing, victims assistance programming and other public safety initiatives.
A press release about the new orders states that officers should contact ICE “when operationally feasible” if a person detained by an officer is found to have an administrative warrant issued by ICE. The orders also direct Austin police to “not take an unreasonable amount of time assisting” with the warrants.
The new orders come a day after Austin received a deadline extension to update their rules, which placed restrictions on when and how an officer could contact ICE. It is unclear what exact language was changed, as Austin officials did not immediately provide the text of the new general orders for city police, but said they would be available online next week.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said in a statement that the updated general orders allow the city to properly allocate resources to maintain public safety.
“My focus — and the focus of every Austin Police officer — remains on public safety and community policing,” Davis said.
Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s spokesperson, said in a statement that the governor’s office had lifted the funding hold and “expects full contract compliance moving forward.”
“Governor Abbott has been clear: cities in Texas must fully comply with state law and cooperate with federal immigration authorities to keep dangerous criminals off our streets,” Mahaleris said.
Dallas on Thursday removed its ban on police officers prolonging a person’s detention during encounters like traffic stops to hold them for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux announced that the department had updated its general order to affirm that local officers will “cooperate with federal authorities when required” while still protecting the safety of all residents.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana authorities said Friday they had charged a 17-year-old with murder and were searching for another suspect after bystanders were caught in the crossfire of a shooting at a mall in Baton Rouge that killed one teenage girl and injured five other people.
Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said the shooting Thursday at the Mall of Louisiana was not a random act and seemed to be driven by “social media beefs and maybe gang-related stuff,” adding that the investigation was ongoing.
“We know that this was two groups of people that met up at the mall, exchanged words and then pulled guns and innocent people were hit,” Morse said.
The chief spoke at a news conference alongside Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who vowed to crack down on gang violence in the capital city and said he had spoken with FBI Director Kash Patel. The Republican governor promised to use state, local and federal resources to address the issue and that consequences “are going to start being felt immediately.”
Landry said he was asking all levels and sectors of law enforcement to “prepare for a targeted warrant sweep” for anyone connected to the mall shooting. He said it would focus on the “neighborhoods that these individuals came out of” without naming specific parts of the city.
“We are not going to allow our streets, our schools and our public spaces to become your battleground,” Landry said. “Those who brought this violence into our public spaces and into the lives of our ordinary citizens, I want you to know you are now the criminal problem and we are focused on you.”
Shoppers and workers inside mall fled and hid for cover as shots rang out at in the food court. Morse said that two officers on duty at the mall ran toward the gunfire without hesitation and rendered aid. Their quick action helped save lives, he said.
Hundreds of police officers — some wearing tactical gear and carrying long riffles — descended on the mall.
Authorities say Martha Odom, a 17-year-old high school student from Lafayette, died in the shooting. Odom was visiting the mall with friends for her “senior skip day,” The Advocate reported. Two other high school students from Odom’s school, Ascension Episcopal School, were among the injured.
In a social media post by the school, Odom was described as “a joyful presence whose kindness and infectious enthusiasm brought light to all who knew her.”
Five people were initially taken into custody following the shooting but later released. A 17-year-old was arrested Friday after turning himself in, Morse said. The teen has been charged with first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and a count of illegal use of a weapon.
Under recently enacted Louisiana law, 17-year-olds are treated as adults in the state’s criminal justice system.
The deadly shooting is the second high-profile case of gun violence in Louisiana this week. A father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, in an attack on his family Sunday morning that stretched across two houses in a Shreveport neighborhood, police said. Two women, including the gunman’s wife who was the mother of their children, were critically wounded.
NEW YORK (AP) — It might be hard to imagine the Iran war weighing on stuffed toys with names like Snuggle Glove, Bizzikins and Wobblies, but even plush playthings are not immune when oil shipments from the Middle East are constrained.
Like many soft toys, the creatures developed by a manufacturer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are made with polyester and acrylic, synthetic fibers derived from petroleum. Three weeks after the war started, suppliers in China notified Aleni Brands that getting the materials already was costing them 10% to 15% more, CEO Ricardo Venegas said.
“I think this situation demonstrates how much oil permeates throughout our system, and we can’t get away from it,” said Venegas, who founded Aleni Brands last year and is in the process of adding product lines. “Who would have thought that the price of a toy would have a direct relationship with oil?”
It’s not just toys. Petrochemicals derived from oil and natural gas go into making more than 6,000 consumer products, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Computer keyboards, lipstick, tennis rackets, pajamas, soft contact lenses, detergent, chewing gum, shoes, crayons, shaving cream, pillows, aspirin, dentures, tape, umbrellas and nylon guitar strings are just a few of them.
So far, the war’s most tangible and immediate effect for many people outside the conflict zone has been spiking gasoline prices. Travelers also are seeing higher airfares and flight fees as airlines respond to the rising cost of jet fuel. Consumers may find themselves paying more for food, furniture or any of the myriad of goods transported by trucks that run on diesel.
But crude oil isn’t just refined as fuel. It gets turned into chemicals, waxes, oils and other mixtures that appear in a vast array of everyday items, including most made with plastic and rubber. Petroleum derivatives also are used in a lot of packaging. With disruptions to global oil supplies now in their eighth week, higher production costs also could make things more expensive for shoppers, according to trade groups and some companies.
Venegas, a 30-year toy industry veteran, said he would absorb higher material costs for now but expects to increase prices for customers by early 2027, if the war goes on another three to six months.
While 85% of global oil consumption is in the form of fuel, the rest goes into a wide range of consumer products, according to Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia University’s School of Business.
Crude oil is mostly a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, which are compounds made of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Refineries and chemical plants separate and break them down to convert them into smaller chemical building blocks known as petrochemicals.
Six petrochemicals — ethylene, propylene, butylene, benzene, toluene and xylenes — are the major foundations of plastics and synthetic materials like nylon and polyesters, which manufacturers in turn use to design and deliver products. More from the Department of Energy: Automobile parts, ballpoint pens, curtains, dice, eyeglasses, fertilizer, golf balls, hearing aids, insect repellant, kayaks, luggage, mops and nail polish.
Materials account for a big share of production costs for many manufacturers, including those that supply carpets, clothing and tires, according to Andrew Walberer, partner and global lead in the chemicals practice of global strategy and management consultancy Kearney.
Take a button-down shirt, for example. Walberer estimated that materials account for 27%-30% of how much it costs a manufacturer to make one. Labor costs contribute 10% to 30%. Business expenses tied to marketing, distribution and administration comprises the rest, he said.
Experts say if oil holds above $90 per barrel for the next several months, cost pressures will accelerate throughout the supply network.
Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America CEO Matt Priest said most of the trade organization’s members keep a two- to three-month inventory of finished products, providing a temporary cushion against higher materials costs.
Roughly 70% of the materials in synthetic shoes are petrochemical-based, and 30% of the costs for those materials are directly tied to oil price rate swings, according to a report the organization published last month on the U.S. footwear industry’s “exposure to oil prices & the impact on shoe costs.”
The FDRA analysis estimated that between materials, factory energy and transportation, companies paying more for petroleum could translate into a 1.5% to 3% increase in the price shoppers pay for a pair of shoes by late summer and the fall.
By the end of April, U.S. shoe and clothing manufacturers need to start signing contracts with suppliers, mostly outside the U.S., for orders of polyester staple fiber and polyester filament yarn to get their designs on retail shelves and online for the holiday shopping season, according to Nate Herman, executive vice president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association.
One kilogram, or a little over two pounds, of the materials used in polyester textiles, has increased in price from an average of 90 cents before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran to $1.33 per kilogram, Herman said. He estimated that each garment will cost 10 cents to 15 cents more to produce as a result.
Some businesses are looking for ways to offset rising costs.
Lisa Lane is the founder of Rinseroo, which sells portable shower head, bathtub and sink attachments for cleaning, pet grooming, and bathing. She recently tripled the number of the slip-on hoses she procures from China each month after her manufacturer said the cost would be 30% higher in another 30 days. She had a few days to decide whether to place a three-month advance order.
The components of Rinseroo’s products include petroleum derivatives like polyvinyl chloride, Lane said. After purchasing 240,000 units instead of her usual 80,000, she is also evaluating cost-cutting options.
Lane said she wants to hold off on increasing prices for retailers that sell the attachments since Rinseroo did that last year to offset higher U.S. tariffs on imports from China. For example, a hose for washing pets in a bathtub went up to $33.95 from $29.95 on retail websites, she said.
“We want to stay at that sweet spot where people want to continue to buy from us and feel like they’re getting a good value,” Lane said.
Another company, which sells wound care products like bandages, dressings, pads and sponges to nursing homes and other medical facilities, plans to raise its prices by 15% in a matter of weeks. Gentell CEO David Navazio noted that adhesives in the products rely on several petrochemicals.
Including energy for production and materials, Navazio estimated the company’s costs are going up by 20%.
Gentell, which is based in Yardley, Pennsylvania but has its main manufacturing location in Toronto, also makes private label products for other companies, including a medical technology firm that supplies retail stores like CVS.
Because bandages and dressings are necessities, Navazio said he doesn’t think his business will suffer if it raises customer prices. Less certain is whether prices will come down once the war ends and oil shipments stabilize.
“In the past, I’ve seen transportation costs come down, but I’ve never seen prices of raw material come down,” he said.
EL PASO (AP) – At the peak of the crackdown, carloads of masked immigration officers were a common sight in the streets of Minneapolis, while thousands of people were being arrested every week in Texas, Florida and California.
“Turn and burn,” top Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino called the strategy, with relentless displays of force and teams of agents descending on restaurant kitchens, bus stops and Home Depot parking lots.
In December, arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents peaked at nearly 40,000 nationwide and were nearly as high the next month, according to data provided to UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project and analyzed by The Associated Press.
In late January, the killings in Minneapolis of two American citizens by immigration officers and growing concerns over the government’s heavy-handed tactics led to a shake-up of top immigration officials. In the weeks that followed, ICE arrests across the country dropped on average by nearly 12%.
Polling has found the general public felt the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota went too far, a factor that may have contributed to the abrupt firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in early March.
Bovino, who swaggered through raid scenes in tactical gear and was the public face of the Trump administration crackdown, was pushed aside following the killings in Minneapolis of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Border czar Tom Homan was then sent to the Twin Cities to chart a new course for immigration enforcement, and he announced the drawdown of immigration agents in the state on Feb. 4.
An AP analysis of ICE arrest records show the department averaged 7,369 weekly arrests nationwide in the five weeks after Homan’s drawdown announcement, , the most recent period for which data is available, down from 8,347 per week in the previous five weeks. Those arrest numbers were still higher on average than during much of the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, and were dramatically higher than during the Biden administration.
The numbers were not, however, uniform across the country.
ICE arrests rose significantly in Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina and Florida during those five weeks, in some cases hitting their highest weekly count since the start of Trump’s second term.. In Kentucky alone, weekly arrests more than doubled, reaching 86 by early March.
Those increases were offset by steep drops in a handful of large states, including Minnesota and Texas.
The Trump administration insists it is targeting the most vicious criminals living illegally in the U.S., and the president has referred to them as “the worst of the worst.”
In some cases the description is accurate, but the reality is complicated.
Many of the toughest criminals taken into ICE custody were already in prison, but many others who were arrested have no criminal history.
Nationally, some 46% of the people ICE arrested in the five weeks before Feb. 4 had no criminal charges or convictions, dropping to 41% in the five weeks that followed.
Yet that’s still above the 35% weekly average for the time since Trump returned to office. And in a number of states, even after Feb. 4, the share of noncriminals being arrested went up, not down.
Across the country, thousands of federal court filings offer an imperfect window into how the Trump administration’s deportation tactics remain in high gear, even if activity has waned.
Like the 21-year-old Honduran man with no criminal record who has filed a petition for release after being arrested Feb. 22 in a suburban San Diego traffic stop. The father of three U.S. citizen children — ages 5, 3 and 10 months — had been under ICE surveillance, the petition says, before officers in tactical gear pulled him over.
Or the 33-year-old Venezuelan woman, a well-known South Texas doctor who worked in a region designated as medically underserved, who was arrested earlier this month with her five-year-old daughter, a U.S. citizen, on her way to her husband’s asylum hearing.
She was arrested, officials said, for overstaying her visa.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the research and advocacy group the American Immigration Council, says he sees signs of change in lower arrest and detention numbers but warns it’s too early to know if those shifts are permanent.
“The Trump administration says: ‘We’re not slowing down,’ ‘Nothing has changed,’” in immigration enforcement, he said. “But it’s very clear that they have pulled back from some of the tactics of Operation Metro Surge,” the crackdown that swept Minneapolis.