Today is
Monday July 20, 2026
DALLAS (AP) – An Afghan national who fought alongside U.S. forces died from an allergic reaction while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one day after he was detained for deportation proceedings, his death certificate shows.
Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41, suffered “an adverse drug reaction” to an unidentified substance, which triggered anaphylaxis and exacerbated his asthma, according to the document. His March 14 death at a Dallas hospital was ruled to be an accident.
Paktiawal’s sudden death in ICE custody has drawn outrage because he had risked his life fighting as an ally of U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan for a decade. Members of Congress and an advocacy group, AfghanEvac, have demanded answers about what happened.
Out of more than 50 ICE detention deaths during President Donald Trump’s second term, Paktiawal’s is the first to be ruled an accident, according to tracking by The Associated Press. Most of the others have been blamed on natural causes or suicide.
On Monday, AfghanEvac called on Texas authorities to release his full autopsy report, which they have sought to withhold by arguing its disclosure would interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation into the death.
“This family has a right to know what happened. Why won’t they release the report?” said Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac. He called on authorities to explain what substance triggered the allergic reaction, how it got into his system and why the date of the injury on the death certificate was listed as the day before Paktiawal was taken into custody.
Paktiawal was evacuated with thousands of others from Afghanistan when U.S. troops pulled out in 2021. He entered the U.S. through a legal process and requested asylum to stay. That claim was pending when ICE arrested him at his home in Richardson, Texas, on March 13 as he was taking some of his six children to school.
ICE has defended its decision to target Paktiawal for deportation, noting he had been arrested on food stamp fraud and theft charges. He has not been convicted in either case.
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A one-page ICE report on Paktiawal’s death said that he was screened at its Dallas field office and denied any medical conditions or allergies. Hours later, he began experiencing shortness of breath and chest pain in a holding room and was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital.
The next morning, hospital staff noted swelling of his tongue while he was eating breakfast and gave him epinephrine, a drug that treats allergic reactions, the report said. He was pronounced dead about 40 minutes later after life-saving measures were unsuccessful.
The certificate lists the cause of death as “anaphylaxis complicating acute asthma exacerbation.” Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction typically triggered by food, drugs or insect venom. The document lists the toxic effects of methamphetamine, heart disease and cigarette smoking as contributing factors in the death.
His family members and coworkers said they did not know Paktiawal to use meth, and a private autopsy performed for the family could not confirm whether he had meth in his system because no blood remained for testing, VanDiver said. His wife has said that he relied on an inhaler for asthma, but ICE agents rejected her attempt to give them the device when he was taken into custody.
The cause and manner of death were established by the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office, where a doctor performed an autopsy on Paktiawal.
County authorities have refused to release the autopsy report, citing statements from ICE officials that doing so would interfere with a federal investigation into the death. They have asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office for permission to withhold the record under a “law enforcement exception” to the state’s open records law.
In response to the AP’s request for the report, Dallas County official Jennifer Rose wrote that “its release would interfere with the detection, investigation, and prosecution of a crime” but did not elaborate. The medical examiner’s office declined comment.
Paxton’s office hasn’t ruled on the matter, but previously granted a similar request from another Texas county to withhold the autopsy report of a Vietnamese man who died in ICE custody in July 2025, according to documents obtained by the AP.
LUFKIN — City Hall will be closed today due to a power outage caused by a failed electrical transformer, according to a city news release. Repairs are expected by 6:00 PM. Utility collections at City Hall will also be closed during the outage. Online services including Click2Gov are still available. ONCOR is working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Watch the news feed here or social media sites for updates.
AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) – The Texas Stock Exchange will commence trading on Monday, kickstarting the first real test of one of the most well-funded new exchanges to launch in decades.
The Texas Stock Exchange, a Dallas-based startup, will initiate a phased rollout to take place over the course of July. On Monday, the exchange will open to TXSE members, including approved broker-dealers, banks and trading firms, to trade test stocks initially, then the symbols for thousands of stocks and other equities will come online over the course of the month, allowing the public to start trading.
By the third quarter, exchange officials hope to have Exchange-Traded Products, or ETPs, listed on the exchange and corporate listings available during the fourth quarter of this year, according to a statement from the exchange.
Both Texas state government and stock exchange officials hope the Texas Stock Exchange, or TXSE, launch will solidify Dallas’ attempt to become a national financial hub and boost the Texas economy by growing the financial services industry in the state and making money for any Texas companies and investors that are doing business through the exchange.
“With the start of full production trading, any last notions that TXSE is theoretical are instantly swept away,” a TXSE official wrote in a statement Thursday.
Monday’s start of trading is critically important to test-run and demonstrate to companies interested in listing on TXSE that it can provide a viable alternative to the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, said Sriram Villupuram, a University of Texas at Arlington associate professor of finance.
“Basic technical things, hopefully will work well,” Villupuram said. “This is the first demonstration. It’s like a new car, a brand new company pushing out their first car. I think they’ll get through it fine, but things can go wrong. This is a high tech exchange at the end of the day.”
While most trading is now done electronically, the location of a stock exchange still matters, said Ray Perryman, president of the Waco-based economic research company The Perryman Group. Investors tend to hold stocks in and trade more on nearby companies, and Texas has both ingredients for a successful exchange — a rapidly growing pool of investors via the growth of the financial sector in the Dallas area, as well as Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state that they can invest in, he said.
“A homegrown national exchange means more jobs, more investment, and more growth opportunities for businesses and communities across the Lone Star State,” said Gabriela von zur Muehlen, senior vice president and chief policy officer at the Texas Association of Business.
Hype around TXSE has been building since the June 2024 announcement that the exchange intended to launch with $120 million in backing from large investment firms like BlackRock and Citadel Securities. In the time since that announcement, anticipation has only grown as the exchange received federal approval and received further investments from some of the largest financial institutions in the world, now totaling $275 million.
At the same time, financial services in the Dallas area have continued to grow. JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Charles Schwab now have thousands of employees based in the region, coined “Y’all Street.”
“The center of gravity for American capitalism is now headquartered in the boom belt,” Gov. Greg Abbott said during a TXSE event in April. “The Texas Stock Exchange is the natural extension of that capitalism.”
Abbott and other state officials have cited the strength of the Texas economy, the eighth largest in the world if it were its own country, as the reason TXSE will succeed where previous exchanges have failed. The second most Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. are headquartered in Texas, leading New York and closely trailing California.
The American investment system has long been centered around the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ, both private exchanges based in New York City.
Perryman said decades of consolidation among regional exchanges have led to what is effectively a NYSE and NASDAQ duopoly for companies that wish to be publicly traded.
Since TXSE announced its intention to launch in Dallas, both the NYSE and NASDAQ have created branches of their exchanges in Texas: NYSE Texas and NASDAQ Texas. TXSE officials say those moves validate TXSE’s efforts and show Wall Street is paying attention to the upstart exchange and strength of Dallas’ growing financial sector.
Villupuram said it will take years of effort before TXSE is a true competitor to NYSE and NASDAQ because of each companies’ decades of expertise and reputation among companies that want to be publicly traded.
The creation of NYSE Texas and NASDAQ Texas, rather, are validations of Texas’ economic strength and the size of the financial sector in the Dallas area, Villupuram added.
“There is genuinely business to be made here, and part of it can also be a fear of missing out,” Villupuram said.
Over the past 20 years, New York has seen a 16% growth in investment banking jobs, compared to a 111% expansion in Texas. Across the entire financial services sector, Texas has more jobs — 939,600 — than New York or California, Perryman said.
“Texas has evolved from being primarily a back-office location into a major hub for technology, operations, wealth management, trading support, and increasingly, some front-office and investment banking functions,” Perryman said.
Regardless of the likelihood of TXSE breaking into the NYSE and NASDAQ duopoly, the competition of exchanges in Texas will create a feedback loop that leads to greater investment in Texas companies and more jobs in the financial services sector, Perryman said.
The exchange will be entirely digital but have a physical presence in Dallas, recently signing a lease at the Bank of America Tower in the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas, the Dallas Business Journal reported in May.
TXSE has announced a handful of Exchange-Traded Products, or ETPs, that will be listed on the exchange. Unlike an individual company stock, ETPs allow investors to buy into an entire market, like the S&P 500, oil or gold.
The company is yet to announce any corporate listings, although officials said those will come later this summer and into the fall as the launch of corporate listings gets closer.
Drawing those corporate listings to the exchange will be crucial to TXSE’s long-term survival, Villupuram said. Stock exchanges primarily generate revenue through listing fees collected by companies that are listed on an exchange, he added.
Both NYSE and NASDAQ have strict requirements companies must meet to be listed on the exchanges, including benchmarks for financial solvency, corporate transparency and regulatory compliance. That’s a high bar for companies to meet and achieving those requirements shows a company’s maturity, Villupuram said, but it can also effectively limit the ability of smaller companies to access investors through the NYSE and NASDAQ duopoly.
The $275 million in startup funds is a significant amount of money for a new exchange, Villupuram said, but he also noted that the technology to start and operate an exchange is incredibly expensive. Hundreds of billions of dollars flow through the NYSE and NASDAQ on any given day that markets are open.
As a comparison point, the annual salary of the New York Stock Exchange Group CEO is more than $6 million. NYSE operates as a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange, which pays its CEO more than $22 million annually.
“There will be several years and years of slowly growing, attracting more listings,” Villupuram said. “So compared to those big ones, it’s maybe not a lot, but from where TXSE is starting and investing, it’s significant.”
TXSE is starting slow with the goal of building toward solvency over time.
All National Market System symbols — such as TSLA for Tesla Inc. — should be available to be traded on TXSE by the end of July as they are slowly rolled out, a TXSE official said. There are more than 12,000 publicly traded stocks available to investors in the U.S., according to financial services company Motley Fool.
Although the ringing of a bell typically symbolizes the start of the trading day in a stock exchange, there will be no bell ringing on Monday in Dallas. If all things go as planned this month, exchange officials hope to have one on hand during a celebration in the near future.
Disclosure: Texas Association of Business and University of Texas – Arlington have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Correction, July 3, 2026, 9:32 a.m. Central: A previous version of the story incorrectly stated when trading will be open to the public. The exchange will open trading initially to its members and then to the public over the course of the month of July.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
AUSTIN – (The Texas Tribune) – Last month, the leader of a small Texas state commission — tasked with aiding criminal defense for low-income Texans — received an unusual request from top officials working with the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of Justice needed their help providing legal services to immigrant children in their deportation cases, said Scott Ehlers, the executive director of the state’s Indigent Defense Commission.
The first call to Ehlers came from high-ranking lieutenants with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Then James McHenry, the DOJ’s chief administrative hearing officer, who briefly preceded Pam Bondi as acting U.S. attorney general, reached out, Ehlers confirmed to The Texas Tribune.
The calls raised eyebrows from across the Texas agency, not just because of where they came from, but because the extraordinary request by the Trump administration was well outside of the commission’s experience and scope.
Ehlers told the officials that he did not believe that immigration defense for children was legal under his organization’s mandate, which the state Legislature created explicitly for criminal defense more than a decade ago.
A Justice Department spokesperson, who declined to be named, confirmed that officials with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, tasked with the care of immigrant children, asked for the Texas Attorney General’s office assistance in representing immigrant children, “however, they believed they could not do so, which is why they recommended the Texas Indigent Defense Commission to take on the project.”
The DOJ, the spokesperson said, “was asked to look into the legality” of contracting with the Texas commission. Federal money would be funneled to Texas from ORR, but that agency did not respond to further questions about a proposed contract.
The request comes as the Trump administration seeks to end protections for immigrant children on multiple fronts, including threatening to terminate the existing federally-mandated contract for legal assistance to minors facing deportation. A temporary contract with the longstanding legal services provider, the Acacia Center for Justice, a national nonprofit, is set to end this month. At the same time, the government has abruptly shuttered at least 50 federal shelters detaining immigrant children across Democratic states such as New York, Illinois and Michigan even as federal contractors in Texas advertised hundreds of shelter jobs. Lawyers and advocates say that indicates that they may soon expect to receive children from elsewhere in the country as so few are currently allowed to cross the border.
They worry that the administration’s calls to Texas suggest a broader effort to transfer unaccompanied minors to the state, from where it is easier to quickly deport them.
“We are concerned, as are our legal service provider partners, about a potential transfer of children to Texas where there is no independent oversight of facilities and away from many of the attorneys with whom children have built trust,” said Shaina Aber, executive director of Acacia Center, which holds the overseeing federal contract for legal representation to immigrant children. “We are awaiting the government’s plan for the tens of thousands of children — including over 20,000 who are currently represented — who receive services under this contract, many of whom are outside of Texas.”
Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees ORR, said the administration continues to pursue “every available avenue” to help kids obtain legal representation for their immigration proceedings.
Agency officials did not respond to questions about whether such transfers would occur. They said, however, that many kids initially crossed the Mexico border with Texas, where there is sufficient capacity to detain the nearly 2,000 children currently in nationwide custody.
Spokespeople for Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott did not respond to detailed questions about the involvement of the state.
Trump’s efforts to end protections for immigrant kids
Congress in 2000 passed a bipartisan bill that, among its stipulations, required the government to pay for some legal services for children who cross the border alone, based on the widely-held belief that children should not represent themselves in deportation proceedings.
The demand for funding became more urgent starting in 2012 when hundreds of thousands of immigrant children, mostly from Central America, began crossing the Texas border seeking to escape violence and poverty or reunite with their relatives in the U.S. Because of the federal laws and court settlement agreements intended to protect children, they for years have been among the hardest population to quickly deport.
Since taking office last year, Trump officials have chipped away at these protections, including making it more difficult for relatives to obtain children in custody, arresting them after welfare checks and suing to end a decades-long federal settlement agreement overseeing the rights of children in custody. Children are now staying in federal detention for months, prompting congressional scrutiny.
The administration is also litigating to end the legally mandated representation contract in federal court and have failed to pay providers while last month raiding some organization’s offices seeking evidence of financial impropriety and personal information of children. The government also is considering having military lawyers represent the government in children’s cases, Bloomberg Law reported.
Government lawyers have repeatedly argued that their legal representation is not mandated. At a hearing in April, for example, Jonathan K. Ross, a Justice Department attorney, told the court that “not only is there not a right to direct legal representation at the expense of the Government,” but pro bono lawyers could serve immigrant children at their own expense.
Lawyers for the advocates at the next hearing in the ongoing lawsuit this month plan to argue that the government is in contempt of federal court, partly because of the lack of payment. Kids In Need of Defense, a nonprofit founded by actress Angelina Jolie and the Microsoft Corporation, ended its subcontract with the Acacia Center this week as a result, saying the government owed it more than $20 million for legal services going back as far as December and has drastically reduced its staff.
“The attacks on federally funded legal service providers and the ongoing delay in payments to these organizations, as well as the unreasonable demand for sensitive data, fail to reflect the vital role attorneys play in protecting unaccompanied children and upholding the rule of law,” the organization’s president, Wendy Young, said in a statement this week. “We?are oftentimes ?these?children’s most?critical?line of defense against trafficking, exploitation, and abuse.”
The overarching temporary contract, overseen by the Acacia Center, ends on July 31. Although the administration is required to provide the organization with weeks of notice for how to transition the ongoing legal cases of children, it has not yet done so, which the groups argue is unlawful. At the same time, repatriation organizations in Central America have been told to prepare for a large number of children returned by the same day that contract ends.
In a recent letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who oversees the child resettlement agency, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden wrote that he had received “credible information” that the administration was using an “unprecedented legal framework” to quickly deport more than 500 immigrant children in its custody.
The Oregon Democrat, a ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee overseeing the budget, said to the Tribune this week that the Texas calls further add to his alarm about the plans for immigrant kids. Wyden’s staff last week raised concerns with Texas officials about the potential contract for legal representation but did not receive a confirmation of a plan.
“A sole source contract handed out by the Texas Attorney General to handle legal representation of unaccompanied children is not legal representation at all,” Wyden told the Tribune. “It is the Trump deportation agenda being executed by a political ally paid for by taxpayer dollars.”
A Trump-aligned state
Immigration rights advocates say consolidating immigrant children in a border state aligned with the Trump administration would make it easier to deport them.
Jonathan White, a former deputy director of ORR during Trump’s first administration, said that the recent effort is a “transparent part of a larger pattern of moving all of the program’s capabilities and resources into Texas with a friendly political partnership with the governor’s office there and the proximity to the border in order to turn all of these systems into platforms for removal.”
Texas cases are argued to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that has frequently ruled in the Trump administration’s favor on cases seeking to restrict the rights of immigrants. That court, for example, agreed that the government can refuse to release most immigrants from detention. As a result, habeas petitions that argue people are wrongfully imprisoned have overwhelmed Texas federal courts and are taking months to process. Immigration judges in the state deny asylum at a higher rate than elsewhere, according to federal statistics. An average of four deportation flights leave the state daily, the most in the country, according to ICE Flight Monitor, a human rights organization that tracks it.
Texas, along with Florida, also no longer regulates childcare facilities for immigrant children, preventing the state from investigating claims of neglect and abuse as it had for decades. Abbott ended that oversight through an executive order in 2021, blaming the Biden administration for encouraging illegal immigration and conflating the issue with the ongoing longstanding state foster care crisis.
“The state of Texas is not prepared to handle this undertaking in a humane way,” said Rochelle Garza, a South Texas attorney and executive director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, a statewide nonprofit legal advocacy group.
Garza, who previously lost against Paxton as a Democrat and serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a bipartisan group created during the Eisenhower administration, said the administration’s outreach to Texas is “simply an attempt to undermine the federal government’s constitutional role and responsibility to execute immigration law.”
Texas Indigent Defense Commission
It remains unclear whether the Texas Indigent Defense Commission can legally take on the work representing immigrant children.
Rodney Ellis, a current Harris County commissioner, was a Houston state senator when he helped usher through a law creating the state’s legal framework for indigent defense. Ellis and two commission board members said the administration’s request for assistance on immigrant children was confounding. Helping to defend kids for civil immigration offenses is not what his bill intended, he said.
The legislation required courts to formalize procedures to provide attorneys for those who cannot afford them and set the stage for the creation of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission in 2011. Since then, the number of misdemeanor defendants without attorneys in the state have dropped by more than a half.
The organization oversees nearly three dozen state public defender offices serving more than 80 counties and operates as an entity funneling state money and highlighting best practices. Abbott’s office asked the commission to help represent the mostly misdemeanor defendants state troopers arrested during the multi-billion dollar border security program, known as Operation Lone Star, that the governor unveiled in 2021.
Despite its successes, the commission faces a significant attorney shortage and not enough resources to meet demand, making Texas the 46th in the nation when it comes to public defense funding per capita. The state only pays about 10 cents out of every dollar of criminal indigent defense costs and the commission is asking the Legislature for an increase of more than $242 million next year to meet some of the needs over the biennium.
“The state has never put any resources into us meeting our constitutional mandate that requires that people be given adequate legal representation,” Ellis said. “This suggestion to expand the mandate is ludicrous and sounds like just a way to ignore the intent of the legislation because you’re trying to thumb your nose at federal procurement rules.”
Jim Bethke, a vice chair of the commission’s board who ran and lost as a Democrat candidate for Bexar County attorney last year, said that the commission was created to improve criminal defense, not initiatives outside of that mandate.
“If the Legislature determines that the commission’s responsibilities should be expanded, it has the authority to do so,” said Bethke, whose term on the commission ends this year.
State Rep. Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat and member of the board, said he too was concerned. Although the Legislature in 2023 expanded the commission’s mandate to help with state family protective services cases, that has never been fully funded.
“What it definitely doesn’t provide for is federal civil defense,” said Moody, adding that he does not believe the state could do so without changing the government code.
It is possible that Abbott could issue an executive order to circumvent that, although the commission’s board remained unclear on that legality.
The government has previously attempted to move immigrant children to the Texas border and quickly deport them. Last year, government contractors awakened Guatemalan children in federal shelters or foster care and with little notification to their lawyers, abruptly transferred them to shelters near the Texas border. A federal judge halted that effort as some children were on a plane in Harlingen about to fly to Guatemala. The litigation is ongoing.
A move of immigrant children to Texas would follow on that Guatemalan attempt, said Marion “Mickey” Donovan-Kaloust, director of legal services for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a nonprofit organization in California involved in the legal case.
Late this week, her organization noticed that the policy manual on ORR’s website regarding the mandated 48-hour notices to attorneys before children are transferred suddenly went dark, saying “restricted access.” ORR did not respond to questions about that but advocates worry that is another sign that the administration intends to quietly transfer children.
“We’ve seen this pattern before,” said Donovan-Kaloust.
These suspected moves to Texas, she said, would be “the next phase of that same policy playbook.”
Disclosure: Microsoft has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Trump administration plans to open a 528-bed holding facility for migrant families and unaccompanied children next to an airport hub, positioning itself to speed up deportations.
The location in Alexandria, Louisiana, would remove logistical headaches caused by wrangling children from foster homes and shelters across the country and not having anywhere to put them during final preparations for flight. Those obstacles were apparent last year when Guatemalan children were awoken at night and given almost no time to get to Harlingen, Texas, where they waited on an airport tarmac for hours.
A federal judge prevented their deportation, but the chaotic episode illustrated the challenges authorities face because they don’t have anywhere to put families and children near the airport. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is calling the Alexandria facility a “staging area,” not a detention center, and says people would only be there a few days at most.
However, several immigration advocates expressed concern that children could be held at the new facility for weeks or months, which happened at other federal immigration holding sites. These advocates are also concerned about oversight, and say the facility represents a departure from how the government manages those children.
“It’s an expansion of the deportation system in ways we haven’t seen before,” said Leecia Welch, chief legal counsel at the nonprofit Children’s Rights. “There’s just so much that could go wrong with this facility.”
ICE has tapped a private prison company to run the deportation facility
Unaccompanied children who are in the U.S. without parents or close relatives are not taken to facilities overseen by ICE. Instead, the law says they must be swiftly placed in the care of state-licensed shelters and foster care programs.
Those are run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health and Human Services. However, that agency isn’t involved in the Alexandria facility’s operation, according to a spokesperson at the airfield where it’s being built.
Instead, the facility would be run by a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison contractor, according to Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the England Airpark Authority. He said it could be operational as early as August.
ICE officials signed a contract late last month to build the facility at the former military base near Alexandria International Airport, roughly 175 miles (280 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans, Hennessy said.
It would operate as a 72-hour holding center for migrants awaiting deportation, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
Compass Connections, a Texas-based nonprofit that runs shelters for unaccompanied immigrant children, had originally been tapped to help operate the facility and laid out plans during a public presentation in February.
But the company’s president, Sonya Thompson, told the AP last week that it was no longer involved. She did not elaborate.
Officials have said the facility is for ‘self-deporting’ families
In public board meetings, airpark officials said the facility is a “humanitarian effort” for families that are “self-deporting.” Immigration advocates say families and unaccompanied children sometimes make that decision under pressure or because they don’t understand their options.
“These are people that are volunteering to go back home and they’re going back home as a family unit,” Hennessy told the AP.
The facility would sit next to the nation’s largest hub for deportations. More than 4,400 immigration enforcement flights came into and out of the Alexandria International Airport in 2025, according to data from the ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First. ICE planning documents say families and children at the facility “are in the legal custody of ICE and can only be released at the direction of ICE.”
The agency has instructed contractors that families at the facility cannot be referred to as prisoners, detainees or inmates, records show. The agency ordered contractors to not use bars or cages when transporting families and unaccompanied children. The facility will not be required to engage in headcounts and should allow families to “wear their own clothes,” the agency added.
The private prison company runs other ICE detention centers
Louisiana-based LaSalle Corrections runs a range of private prisons and federal immigration detention centers throughout the South, including the “Louisiana Lockup” inside the state’s maximum-security prison in Angola.
The official contractor for the new ICE holding facility will be the company’s nonprofit arm, the LaSalle Family Foundation. According to its tax records, the nonprofit provides chaplain services and educational programming in correctional facilities.
However, LaSalle Corrections itself will be involved in operating the holding facility and ensuring compliance, the company’s chief financial officer, Tim Kurpiewski, wrote in an email reviewed by the AP.
LaSalle spokesperson Scott Sutterfield declined to comment.
The deaths of two detainees have been reported since April at a LaSalle-run ICE facility in the state.
Winn Correctional Center was also found in June to have violated standards governing environmental health and safety, food service, use-of-force, medical care and other subjects, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK) – A 12-year-old boy was flown to a hospital on Saturday after they were shot in Nacogdoches.
According to the Nacogdoches Police Department, the 12-year-old was in the Eastwood Terrace subdivision at around 11:38 p.m. on July 4th when they were hit by gunfire. Nacogdoches PD said the boy was flown to a hospital for treatment and he’s now in stable condition.
Detectives have been investigating the shooting since last night in order to determine if it was intentional, accidental or possibly the result of celebratory gunfire from July 4th festivities.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK) – Three people were injured on Sunday morning after two vehicles crashed on Northwest Stallings Drive in Nacogdoches.
According to the Nacogdoches Police Department, the crash happened when a vehicle turned the wrong way on to NW Stallings Drive at around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday and hit a vehicle heading the other direction. All three people involved in the crash were then taken to local hospitals for treatment.
Nacogdoches PD said the condition of the three injured in the crash is unknown to them at this time but investigators are looking into whether or not any charges for intoxicated driving will be filed in connection to this crash.
TEXAS TRIBUNE – Former Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Archer, who represented west Houston for three decades in Congress, died on Saturday in Virginia. He was 98.
His death was announced Sunday by the Archer Center, which he co-established after he retired from Congress.
Best known for his time in federal politics, Archer first served two terms in the Texas House. He started as a Democrat in 1967, but switched parties two years later.
Archer was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970 to serve Texas’ 7th Congressional District, succeeding George H. W. Bush. During his long tenure, he rose to chair the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. He spearheaded major federal tax legislation, including reducing the estate tax and creating the $500-per-child tax credit.
In 2001, he established the Archer Center in partnership with the University of Texas System. More than 2,200 students have participated in its fellowship program, according to the center.
“The University of Texas System is fortunate, proud, and honored to have Congressman Archer’s name permanently associated with our work and our mission,” said Chancellor John M. Zerwas in a statement shared by the Archer Center. “Through his extraordinary legacy of leadership and public service, thousands of Archer Fellows have been exposed to the highest ideals of civic engagement and inspired to carry those values forward in their own lives and careers.”
William “Reyn” Archer III, in a statement, said his father felt that his biggest achievement was in “helping individual people.”
“He cared deeply for the power of one person achieving their best,” his eldest son said. “Through the Archer Center, he leaves a lasting legacy of that desire for Texas and Texans.”
CASS COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – The Linden Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire at an oil storage tank site on Friday.
The fire was reportedly started after a bolt of lighting hit an oil storage site off of County Road 1754 when storms were moving through Cass County at around 3:04 p.m. Because the oil site was already burning, the department said they couldn’t do much until the fire burned itself out, at which time they sprayed it with foam.
Linden firefighters were assisted at the scene by Cass County Emergency Services District 2, Cass County Emergency Services District 4 and the Avinger Volunteer Fire Department.
Officials with Linden VFD said the fire was extinguished at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
ARLINGTON (AP) — Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said he considered the matter resolved after he and team director Ibrahim Hassan had a physical confrontation with a police officer at the team’s hotel in Dallas.
Video began circulating Thursday, a day before Egypt beat Australia in the round of the 32 at the World Cup, showing both men arguing with a Dallas police officer, apparently over a player preparing to take a picture with a young fan in the hotel lobby.
The officer approaches Hossam Hassan first, but his interaction with Ibrahim Hassan became a shoving match. Ibrahim Hassan appeared to be upset at the officer intervening.
Dallas police issued a statement saying officers were responding to a request from hotel security about an individual without event credentials attempting to gain access. The statement said the issue was resolved at the scene, and that police met with Egyptian representatives to address their concerns.
Hossam Hassan said through a translator the team had accepted an apology from police.
“We are really happy to be here at this tournament and we are satisfied with the security personnel that are accompanying us,” Hossam Hassan said. “I would like to point to the high-level organization we have with us and the level of security we have with us.”
Hassan is the first person to play and coach for Egypt at the World Cup. The victory over Australia came in Egypt’s debut in the knockout round of the tournament.
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation into StubHub over widespread reports that the company is canceling or failing to provide World Cup tickets that fans have purchased. Since the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off, fans across the country, including in Texas host cities like Dallas and Houston, have reported that StubHub canceled their tickets days or even hours before kickoff.
StubHub has blamed the cancellations on “transfer problems” tied to FIFA’s ticketing platform, but consumer complaints point to a broader pattern often called “ghost ticketing,” in which sellers list tickets they do not actually possess, collect payment, and then cancel when they cannot deliver.
“My office is investigating reports that StubHub is failing to deliver tickets that Texas fans have rightfully purchased,” said Attorney General Paxton. “In many cases, attending a World Cup match is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If StubHub is ghost ticketing Texans out of that experience, my office will use every tool available to hold them accountable and help fans who have been wronged.”
Texans who purchased World Cup tickets through StubHub and did not receive them, or received tickets significantly inferior to what they paid for, are encouraged to file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. To access the online complaint form, click here.
WISE COUNTY – On July 1, Texas Department of Public Safety, Criminal Investigations Division special agents served a search warrant at a residence in Runaway Bay, as part of an ongoing investigation involving the alleged downloading of child sexual abuse material. During the search, DPS CID special agents located and seized multiple electronic devices.
A preliminary forensics examination identified several files depicting child sexual abuse material on the seized electronic devices. Michael Jeffrey Anderson, 40, of Runaway Bay was arrested and charged with possession or promotion of child pornography, a first degree felony.
He was also charged with possession, promotion, or production of certain visual material depicting a child, a state jail felony. Anderson was taken to the Wise County Jail. This is an open investigation, and no further information is available.
Anyone with information related to this investigation or with knowledge of any crime is encouraged to contact the Texas Department of Public Safety. The public can report suspicious behaviors via the iWatchTexas app or by calling 1-844-643-2251. A report usually takes less than five minutes, and all reports are confidential (providing contact information, which is optional, allows follow-up questions).
The iWatchTexas app is available at no cost to iPhone users on the Apple App Store (iWatchTexas) and for Android users on Google Play (iWatchTexas). Texans are urged to download the app now.
Note: The iWatchTexas program is not designed to report emergencies. You can visit the website here. If a situation requires an emergency response, call 911.
Thank you to our local law enforcement partners, who assisted with the investigation: the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, the Dallas Police Department, and the Runaway Bay Police Department.
AUSTIN (THE TEXAS TRIBUNE) – In legislative hearings after last year’s July 4 floods, the state’s emergency management chief made some recommendations to state lawmakers. They included empowering the agency to vet volunteers who show up after disasters and establishing clearer guidelines for local officials to decide whether to do autopsies during mass casualty events.
There was another glaring problem that Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd told legislators about: Unlike paid firefighters and police officers, the state has no required training for all local emergency management coordinators, the people tasked with planning for and helping to lead the response to disasters.
“I do think it’s time that we as a state decide there needs to be a baseline for people that get appointed into that position,” Kidd told lawmakers at a July 23 hearing focused on the floods.
Nine months later, in April, he told another state committee investigating the disaster: “To be an emergency management coordinator in the state of Texas, you need the signature of a mayor or judge. Period. That needs to change.”
Two bills meant to address that issue, and others Kidd highlighted, failed in the final special legislative session of 2025. And as the one-year anniversary of the disaster arrives, that lack of action means that leaders in Texas’ 254 counties, as well as all of its cities, can hire people with no formal training in the field.
After the floods, which left more than 130 people dead, state lawmakers required flood warning sirens to be installed in areas struck by the summer disaster that also have histories of flooding. In Kerr County, where the vast majority of deaths happened, six of the first eight planned sirens are in place.
Legislators also passed two camp safety bills, championed by the parents of 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic, which include requirements for camps to have more robust emergency plans and move cabins from flood-prone spots by rivers. Nearly 300 camps have been licensed under the new regulations, according to state data.
Legislators’ next opportunity to address Kidd’s recommendations — if they choose to — happens in January when they return to the Capitol for their regular session.
“We have work to do next session,” state Sen. Charles Perry, a Republican from Lubbock who authored the failed bill to address licensing, said in the April hearing. “We just don’t have to start from ground zero.”
Absent leaders
Then-Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator William “Dub” Thomas was notably absent early on the morning of July 4. He’d been feeling badly since July 2 and taken the day off on July 3, according to his testimony to lawmakers. Legislative investigators later found no evidence that a representative of Kerr County dialed into a state emergency preparation call on July 3 to learn about potential storms over the holiday weekend.
County Judge Rob Kelly was at his Austin-area lake house for the holiday, he testified. According to the county’s emergency plan, in their absences, the judge’s role should have fallen to the most senior county commissioner, while the coordinator’s role should have fallen to someone designated by the judge.
The state legislative investigation concluded that the state’s “alerts and warnings effectively were disregarded by Kerr County officials, who were substantially absent from duty, and who failed to conduct effective local emergency coordination relating to summer camps in advance of the storm. As flooding began, the county judge was away and unaware, and the county’s emergency coordinator was sick and asleep in bed with no delegate at the watch while the entire tragedy unfolded.”
Amid a series of increasingly urgent National Weather Service alerts that night, a 911 call came in from upstream on the Guadalupe River’s south fork at 2:52 a.m., warning the river was rising high and fast. The flooding started its precipitous rise around that time in Hunt, where the north and south forks of the river meet. It peaked around 6:45 a.m. downstream in Kerrville, the county seat, according to US Geological Survey data.
As the morning wore on, county law enforcement helped lead the response. Text messages among a group that included a number of Sheriff’s Office officials, obtained through an open records request by the Texas Newsroom and shared with The Texas Tribune, reveal some issues they faced. The text thread included Thomas.
By 7:18 a.m., the sheriff’s office leaders and others were working through where to send evacuees. At 9:15 a.m., they were texting about where to stage media and, at 9:40 a.m., where to stage resources. Later in the morning, they considered whether to set up a hotline or email for families to report missing relatives.
“It’s very common in the middle of a response for there to be a lot of back and forth and for people to be confused where resources are, how things are changing and evolving in the moment,” said Samantha Montano, an associate professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. “That’s really why you want to have an emergency manager, somebody who is overseeing all of that and funneling correct and updated information out to the people who need it.”
According to his resume, Thomas had spent much of his career moving up the ranks of the Texas Highway Patrol and had spent less than two years working as regional preparedness manager with the local American Red Cross when he took the Kerr County job in 2015. Thomas had completed various state and federal training courses related to emergency management before the flood, county records showed.
Thomas retired from his post at the end of March, according to county records. Kelly, the county judge, did not seek reelection this year.
County commissioners hired Shorey Harmon, the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s liaison officer for Kerr and Bandera counties, to replace Thomas.
Harmon had earlier served in the U.S. Navy and worked for Texas Parks and Wildlife and Texas A&M Forest Service, according to his resume, then became a TDEM cadet in 2022 — attending what the resume described as “the first-ever emergency management academy in the United States for training in all-hazards emergency preparedness and response.”
A developing field
The emergency management field is relatively young, with beginnings tied to Cold War concerns about nuclear war, said Romeo Lavarias, lecturer at the University of Central Florida’s emergency management program. The field has developed because emergency management became more complicated and expensive, involving much more than the immediate disaster response, Lavarias said.
A recent study from Argonne National Laboratory found that an emergency management director’s professional background could matter greatly. The study found most local directors had worked in the field more than 10 years and that nearly a third of them were between 50 and 59 years old.
As one person told the researchers: “In our agency, the director position has historically been occupied with people with no formal training in emergency management (myself included).”
In 2024 in Florida, lawmakers passed a new law for all county managers to have minimum emergency training.
“We haven’t got a choice anymore,” Lavarias said. “With the nature of hazards we’re dealing with here, their drastic impacts on everyone, the complications of politics, of social (issues) and economics, it’s going to take a heck of a lot more than what we’ve got going for us.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump reshaped this year’s U.S. Senate map by sidelining some Republican incumbents and promoting loyalists to replace them. Now the question is whether he’ll put his money where his mouth is.
With four months to go until November’s elections, it’s still unclear how much MAGA Inc., the country’s largest political war chest with $382 million in the bank as of last month, plans to spend on key races. The silence has persisted even as Senate Republican leaders have urged Trump’s team, both privately and publicly, to pick up the tab for the president’s decisions.
Front and center is Texas, where Trump successfully endorsed fiery conservative Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, a choice that some Republicans grumble has turned a safe election into a toss-up that will drain resources away from other battlegrounds. Democratic nominee James Talarico, a state lawmaker, has made Paxton’s history of corruption allegations a central target of his campaign.
“The president picked Paxton, and he’s got $350 million dollars,” Cornyn recently told Semafor. “I think he can spend his money.”
Another challenge has emerged in North Carolina, where Sen. Thom Tillis declined to run for reelection after feuding with Trump last year over healthcare spending. Trump backed Michael Whatley, his former handpicked chair of the Republican National Committee, to run instead, and Democrats hope to flip the seat with former Gov. Roy Cooper.
Some in Republican campaign leadership are expecting MAGA Inc. to pitch in for Whatley in North Carolina, where the state’s several metro media markets can be pricey.
Republicans will likely be able to count on generous support from well-funded official party committees, which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this week should be allowed to make unlimited direct contributions to candidates’ campaigns. But even that sum falls short of what Trump has stockpiled in MAGA Inc. Even though the president is constitutionally barred from running again, he began raising money shortly after winning a second term, and he’s regularly held fundraisers at his resort properties where tickets cost $1 million per person.
James Blair, the former White House political director who left his government job to coordinate the president’s midterm efforts, was evasive in an interview with Sean Spicer, a former Republican spokesman who hosts a podcast.
“The president is going to expend substantial resources to win the midterms,” said Blair. “He cares deeply about the party winning.”
As a super PAC, MAGA Inc. can raise unlimited money from individuals and corporations. However, it is barred from coordinating with individual campaigns or national Republican committees, which adds to the sense of mystery surrounding its plans.
It’s been more than two months since Blair, along with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, pollster Tony Fabrizio and political adviser Chris LaCivita huddled at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria to discuss MAGA Inc.’s strategy.
The huddle was focused on assembling teams of vendors, such as advertisers, canvassing providers and digital media company leaders who had worked with the Trump team in key states during previous elections and who would be dispatched once plans were in place.
The president has spent much of the year waging a war of retribution against Republicans who have crossed him. He viewed Cornyn as insufficiently loyal, held a grudge against Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana for voting to convict him in an impeachment trial and assailed Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky as the “worst Republican Congressman in history.” All of them lost their primaries to Trump-backed challengers.
Cornyn’s loss weighs heavily on Senate Republicans, who suggest that Paxton could cost the party an extra $100 million to defend the seat.
Senate Leadership Fund, the principal super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, is still expected to spend money on advertising in Texas but not play a central role given its obligations elsewhere.
Democrats must net four seats to take the majority, and they see Alaska, Maine, North Carolina and Ohio as their best opportunities. The Senate Leadership Fund has already committed to spending $342 million across these four states, plus Iowa, Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire.
When Paxton came to Washington after winning the nomination on May 26, he had a cordial meeting with Thune focused on moving forward together, according to people with knowledge of the conversation who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Later that day, Thune suggested that Trump should be putting up money for a candidate whom Senate Republicans hadn’t asked for.
“We will do what we need to do to make sure the state stays red,” Thune told reporters. “But I’m certainly hopeful the president and the resources he can bring to bear will be engaged.”
“It’s going to be an expensive race,” he added.
DALLAS (AP) — Prosecutors say a video shows rapper Pooh Shiesty pressing for his release from fellow rapper Gucci Mane’s record label while an armed man blocks a door during an alleged robbery at a Texas music studio in January.
A court record shows the video was submitted as evidence in federal court in Dallas, where Pooh Shiesty and eight others have been indicted on kidnapping and extortion charges. Prosecutors say the victims were robbed at gunpoint after traveling to the city to discuss Pooh Shiesty’s recording contract with Mane’s 1017 Records.
The victims have only been referred to by their initials in court documents. One, R.D., is described as the owner of 1017 Records. Mane’s legal name is Radric Delantic Davis. The song “Crash Dummy,” which Gucci Mane released this spring, includes the lyrics: “I thought it was a business meeting, but it was a set up.”
The court document was filed by prosecutors in response to a motion Pooh Shiesty filed last month proposing home confinement, arguing that the evidence against him did not warrant keeping him in custody pending trial, as was ordered by a judge in April.
But prosecutors said in their filing that the motion from Pooh Shiesty, whose legal name is Lontrell Williams Jr., should be denied and that evidence against him was “extraordinarily strong.”
Prosecutors said they have the cooperation of all five victims and witnesses in the case and cellphone location data. There is also surveillance video placing the defendants at the scene, according to prosecutors, in addition to the video of the owner of 1017 Records being forced to declare that Pooh Shiesty was “dropped” from his label.
Prosecutors said in the filing that just before that video was made, Pooh Shiesty produced a printed contractual release for the record label owner to sign. The man initially refused but signed after Pooh Shiesty allegedly pointed an AK-style pistol his head.
Prosecutors also said BIG30, whose legal name is Rodney Wright, recorded the video with his cellphone while another defendant blocked the door holding a firearm that resembled an AK-47 style rifle.
According to prosecutors, Pooh Shiesty robbed the record label owner of about $450,000 worth of items including his wedding band, a watch, a pair of earrings and cash.
Prosecutors have said that at the time of the alleged confrontation, Pooh Shiesty was on home confinement for a prior firearms conspiracy conviction out of Florida and was required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
Attorneys for Pooh Shiesty and BIG30 did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.
Gucci Mane is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta rappers T.I. and Jeezy. He emerged in the mid-2000s with his breakout single “Icy” and went on to build a vast catalog.
(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts today released an updated Economic Impact Analysis of Texas Military Installations report. The analysis estimates that the state’s military installations contribute nearly $148.8 billion annually to the Texas economy and support more than 628,800 jobs statewide.
Developed in collaboration with the Texas Military Preparedness Commission, the analysis measures the direct and indirect economic contributions of military installations in Texas through employment, economic output, gross domestic product and disposable personal income.
“Texas has a long and proud tradition of supporting our nation’s military,” Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock said. “The men and women who serve at our military installations strengthen our national security while making a tremendous contribution to the Texas economy. This analysis demonstrates the far-reaching impact these installations have on communities across our state through jobs, economic activity and continued investment.”
In 2025, Texas military installations supported 212,541 direct jobs, including more than 124,886 active-duty and full-time National Guard and Reserve personnel. When indirect employment is included, military installations supported an estimated 628,884 jobs across Texas.
Besides the $148.8 billion the military installations contribute to the Texas economy, the analysis also estimated that the installations generated $91.4 billion in Texas gross domestic product and $43.6 billion in disposable personal income.
Texas is home to 14 military installations representing the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as National Guard and Reserve components. Encompassing more than 1.4 million acres, these installations play a critical role in supporting the nation’s defense while serving as major economic drivers for communities throughout Texas.
The 2025 Economic Impact Analysis of Texas Military Installations includes statewide findings and detailed economic impact information for each of Texas’ 14 military installations.
MOUNT PLEASANT (KETK) — After decades of battling fires and keeping his community safe, an East Texan fire chief announced on Thursday that he’s hanging up his helmet and retiring.
The fire department said Mount Pleasant Fire Chief Larry McRae has officially resigned from the position, concluding a 50-year, dedicated commitment to the city and residents across Titus County.
McRae first began working with the city in 1976 as a volunteer firefighter before rising to the rank of fire chief in 1984. Since then, he’s led the fire department for over forty years and through more than 10,000 calls, never missing a beat and being the glue that holds the department together.
The fire department says McRae was inspired to become a firefighter when he was in high school.
“He was working at an Exxon service station and had lots of volunteer firefighters as customers,” the fire department said in a dedicated social media post to McRae in 2025. “Just hearing them talk about being volunteer firefighters excited Chief McRae and he knew exactly what he wanted to do. His advice for future firefighters is to always be willing to put in the effort and have a servant’s heart!”
As the city prepares posting for the fire chief position soon, Deputy Chief Aristeo Rodriguez has been named the acting fire chief in the meantime. Rodriguez has worked with the department for the past 27 years.
AUSTIN – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission launched upgraded EBT cards for clients of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, popularly known as WIC, to make it easier for families to manage their benefits.
The new WIC card integrates with the upgraded myWIC app, allowing clients to track benefits and purchases in real time. With the new card, WIC benefits can be added remotely. Clients will also be able to freeze and unfreeze their benefits in the myWIC app for enhanced security.
“We want Texas families to feel supported every time they use WIC,” HHS Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth said. “These upgrades make it easier for families to see their benefits, plan their shopping and feel confident they are getting the nutritious foods they need.”
The cards were distributed to clients at their scheduled appointments and can be used beginning July 1. Clients must create a PIN for their new cards in the myWIC app or by calling the Texas WIC Card Management Line at 833-966-1382.
Texas WIC clients receive fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese and other healthy foods to help meet their family’s nutritional needs. WIC also offers free classes on breastfeeding and healthy eating, along with one-on-one nutrition counseling.
Women can apply for WIC as soon as they learn they are pregnant. Anyone with children under the age of 5 can apply for WIC, including dads, foster parents, guardians or grandparents.
The HHSC WIC program serves more than 760,000 women, infants and children each month. For more information or to apply for benefits, visit here or call 800-942-3678.
AUSTIN (AP) – The satirical news site The Onion isn’t waiting to take possession of Infowars to launch a parody of Alex Jones ’ conspiracy platform.
More than a year after first trying to buy Infowars, The Onion on Thursday will debut a send-up under its own website with plans to give some of the revenue to families of the victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
The families have still received no money from Jones since courts ordered him to pay more than $1 billion for falsely calling the 2012 shooting a hoax.
The Onion will start by sending the families $100,000 from merchandise sales that combine the conspiracy empire’s brand with the The Onion’s logo in rainbow colors, according to CEO Ben Collins, whose company is still in court trying to take control of Infowars.
“Don’t give comedy writers a grudge for 18 months,” Collins said.
The parody will include a series of shows and other content under Infowars branding that spoof Jones’ aggressive mashup of conspiracies linking major news events, dubious scientific claims, attacks on people suffering in tragedies and sales of supplements and survival gear.
Jones’ claims that the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut is a hoax have no truth, but Jones continued to amplify them. His followers started to harass victims’ families, suggesting they were “crisis actors” and even making death threats.
Jones’ Infowars empire had 10 million visitors a month and generated more than $50 million in annual revenues at its peak, according to the company. But the $1.4 billion judgements in defamation cases in Connecticut and Texas, where Jones is based, forced him into bankruptcy and broke Infowars apart.
“All he’s been left with is an iPhone and a fancy microphone,” said Chris Mattei, an attorney for nine of the Sandy Hook families.
Jones has moved his show to a different website. An email sent to an address to request interviews went unanswered.
The families knew they could never stop Jones from getting his message out, and he has managed to avoid paying the judgement so far. But they could expose what he said and assure he can never profit again, Mattei said.
“Every dime Alex Jones makes from here until the end of eternity is going to be claimed by the families,” Mattei said.
The Onion stepped in when Collins saw Infowars’ assets were going to be sold at auction.
Collins spoke to Sandy Hook families, who said they were briefly skeptical, but then saw how The Onion’s staff could use the Infowars style and branding to take the moral high ground and make fun of the people who not only caused them so much pain but they felt also poisoned society.
Collins didn’t want to give away too much of the new stuff before it goes live Thursday.
But the new Infowars will maintain The Onion’s sharp satire sprinkled with shock value. Collins said there will be a section selling a penis flattening device, a fake “pro oxygen” supplement pill that the host claims can replace breathing, as well as an extended debate on how many Bozo the Clowns there are.
“It’s old-fashioned Infowars — using the tricks that they use to get people addicted to outrage and, I would say, addicted to anticipation, trying to find the thing that’s around the corner that’s going to save your life,” Collins said.
The Onion will keep chasing Jones’ property. Collins thinks they will soon get control of the Austin, Texas, studio Infowars once used.
Some families can’t wait for that day. Collins said that Robbie Parker, whose daughter died at Sandy Hook, plans to read his book about fighting Jones while dealing with so much grief in the place Jones once sat.
The families at first wanted Infowars shut down forever and Jones never heard from again. But they are now looking forward to seeing what The Onion has planned, attorney Mattei said.
“The idea that it could be turned to some social good. I think it’s even better,” Mattei said. “So, yeah, I think the families are both pleased and amused with what they’ve been able to achieve here.”
PHOENIX (AP) — For decades, all that separated the U.S. from Mexico was barbed wire.
Now, after a massive infusion of cash from Congress, President Donald Trump’s administration is swiftly building what it has dubbed a “smart wall,” a combination of 30-foot-tall (9-meter-tall) steel fencing and an array of sophisticated technology like sensors, cameras and towers allowing Border Patrol to surveil the territory.
The wall is under heavy scrutiny for the billions of dollars being dedicated to it when border crossings are at their lowest in decades. Critics say the U.S. is militarizing the border as it increasingly deploys sophisticated surveillance technology to the area, impacting local communities.
“We are seeing a massive expansion of surveillance and surveillance technology across the borderlands,” said Ricky Garza, border policy counsel at the Southern Border Communities Coalition, an advocacy group. “The wall in all its forms is harmful to communities.”
Officials say the technology is complementary to the physical wall and frees up agents for other tasks.
“It’s a smart wall. It’s not just a barrier,” Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said during recent congressional testimony. “It maximizes the use of our most valuable resource, which is our agents.”
The wall has been a top priority for Trump, a Republican, since he first ran for president.
During the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, the border emerged as a flashpoint, with thousands of people seeking to cross into the country each day. Those numbers started to taper off shortly before Trump returned to office last year and then slowed to a trickle, with his broader immigration crackdown serving as a deterrent for would-be migrants.
Flush with $46 billion to finish the wall after an infusion by Congress for immigration enforcement, CBP is inking tens of billions of dollars in contracts to build the wall and push along the president’s signature project.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said recently that a preliminary part of the wall will be finished by “this time next year.” Scott said his agency is putting up 6 miles (10 kilometers) of wall a week.
Hundreds of miles had already been built before Trump returned to office. As of mid-June 2026, CBP has erected another 74 miles (119 kilometers) and aims to build hundreds more. There is no wall planned for roughly 535 miles (861 kilometers) of the roughly 2,000-mile-long (3,200-kilometer-long) border, because rugged terrain already serves as a barrier. Ground sensors and towers will be used instead.
CBP is also going back to hundreds of miles of already built wall and adding more technology, lights and roads. Along the long stretches of river in Texas that mark the border with Mexico, they’re deploying 12- to 15-foot-long (3.7- to 4.5-meter-long) cylinder-shaped buoys meant to keep migrants or smugglers from crossing the border.
Technology is playing a greater role in the Trump administration’s effort to make illegal crossings along the border more difficult, part of a broader transformation of CBP in the years since Sept. 11, 2001, into an intelligence operation with a mass surveillance network whose reach extends far beyond the nation’s frontiers, according to reporting by The Associated Press.
And critics say the border technology poses a threat.
The Southern Border Communities Coalition says surveillance technologies can push migrants into more dangerous routes to avoid being detected.
Garza, the group’s policy counsel, warned that surveillance technology infringes on the privacy rights of border residents and that locals have found ground sensors used to detect smuggler or migrant traffic placed on their property without their consent.
Nayda Alvarez and her relatives own land along the Rio Grande roughly 125 miles (200 kilometers) inland from the Gulf of Mexico. She has found cameras placed on her family’s land, and just last week she spotted a surveillance tower about a quarter of a mile (almost half a kilometer) down the river from her house.
“Are we expecting a war or something?” she said. “It doesn’t make me feel safer.”
Dave Maass, director of investigations for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on civil liberties related to digital technology, said the technology has made the border area “a hostile environment” for locals and would-be migrants.
The foundation has published a guide on the various types of surveillance towers in use along the southern border designed to help local residents.
These can range from fixed towers with video, infrared and radar technologies that have a range of roughly 8 miles (13 kilometers) to remote video surveillance systems that have cameras and a spotlight fixed on top. Some are mounted on the backs of trucks so agents can drive them to different parts of the border.
Increasingly, these towers are autonomous. They can scan an area, analyze what they’re seeing using artificial intelligence and alert Border Patrol agents to something suspicious. Proponents say this helps keep Border Patrol agents out in the field instead of sitting in front of computer screens watching for activity. But it also increases AI decision-making along the border when experts have warned about the technology’s potential for bias or other problems.
The big GOP tax cuts and spending bill passed by Congress last summer requires that CBP buys only the autonomous towers, and the department is deploying an additional 95.
Underground, buried fiberoptic cables can sense movement, capturing data that is also then analyzed by AI.
“We follow the contour of the land. We go through trees. We go down into the river banks. We can go absolutely everywhere,” said Magnus McEwen-King, CEO of Sintela, which has a contract with CBP to install the cables. He spoke at a recent border security expo in Phoenix, where some of the technology was on display.
CBP also uses ground sensors and trail cameras to detect smuggling routes.
The nonpartisan watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense has questioned both the huge amounts of money for the wall-building and whether taxpayers are getting their money’s worth.
In 2011, under Democratic President Barack Obama, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano pulled the plug on a project to build a “virtual wall” of integrated technology like radars, sensors and cameras across the entire border after it ran over budget, faced technological glitches and was behind schedule.
Josh Sewell, director of research and policy at Taxpayers for Common Sense, said the organization would like to see more “robust evaluation” of the technologies being used to avoid similar scenarios. And he criticized the Trump administration for lack of oversight on how the money is being spent, a charge CBP has denied, citing “oversight mechanism.”
In the Big Bend area of southern Texas, opposition to the department’s wall-building plans gathered strong bipartisan support especially in the most sensitive areas that run through a state and national park and a wildlife area.
CBP now says it is not planning to build a 30-foot-high (9-meter-high) bollard wall in those areas. Its recently announced plans include installing patrol roads and some barriers designed to stop cars and using detection technologies.
Clara Benson, who is one of the founders of the No Big Bend Wall coalition, says bright lights in the area designed to illuminate the border could pollute the skies in an area renowned for having some of the best views of the stars. Even without a 30-foot-tall (9-meter-tall) steel wall running through the land, there is concern about CBP’s plans.
“There’s still a lot of fear and dread that the plan is still going to be quite damaging,” she said.
MORRIS COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — In an effort to encourage economic growth while protecting its natural resources, the Morris County Commissioners Court has adopted a resolution to work with state legislators and agencies to support further regulation of data centers in Texas.
On June 22, commissioners signed the resolution, outlining their request to the state to require data center projects to undergo rigorous review to address their environmental impacts and to adopt standards that promote efficient use of resources.
The court said it recognizes that data centers are “essential to the future economy” but aims to ensure that economic growth is pursued responsibly, with sustainability in mind.
“Economic development and resource stewardship are not competing priorities. These two goals go hand in hand,” Morris County Judge Doug Reeder said on a social media post, where he shared the full resolution. “Morris County can continue to welcome investment while also insisting that growth be responsible, sustainable, and respectful of the people and communities who call this county home. To that end, we are asking state lawmakers to enact legislation giving local governments more control over the planning and regulating of development directly affecting our local infrastructure and resources.”
In its resolution, the court supports state requirements for the transparency and disclosure of projected electricity and water use and the anticipated impacts on county roads, infrastructure and public safety.
Additionally, the court asks legislators and related agencies to adopt standards for data centers that require them to prioritize efficient resource use, such as using water and power-efficient technology and coordinating with regional planning groups.
At the end of the resolution, the county requests state lawmakers adopt the following legislation to ensure incoming data centers use resources responsibly:
Evaluate and implement policies to improve the transparency of projected electric demand and water consumption of large-scale computing facilities
Establish reasonable requirements for infrastructure planning, resource impact review and mitigation of significant public impacts
Promote coordination among state agencies, counties, municipalities, utility providers and developers
Ensure that local governments are provided opportunities to participate in planning processes affecting local infrastructure and resources
Preserve Texas’ ability to attract technological investment while protecting taxpayers, ratepayers, landowners and natural resources
The resolution will be sent to the governor, lieutenant governor, legislators representing Morris County, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, ERCOT and other state and regional entities.
AUSTIN — Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock today said state sales tax revenue totaled $4.2 billion in June, 4.2% more than in June 2025. The majority of June sales tax revenue is based on sales made in May and remitted to the agency in June.
Receipts from the sectors mainly affected by business spending were mixed last month, with the construction and wholesale trade sectors coming in above their June 2025 totals, and the mining and manufacturing sectors falling below collections from a year ago.
From the large sectors driven primarily by consumer spending, remittances from the retail trade sector were once again up more than 3% compared with the same month a year ago, and remittances from the services sector increased by nearly 9%.
Within the retail trade sector, collections from electronic shopping outlets had the largest increase, showing a double-digit increase for the fourth consecutive month. Receipts from the general merchandise subsector were down approximately 2% compared to last June.
Receipts from restaurants were up 4.8% from a year ago, well above the rate of inflation for food away from home.
Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in June 2026 was up 6.9% compared to the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 58% of all tax collections.
Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:
motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $641 million, up 2% from June 2025;
motor fuel taxes — $336 million, down 2% from June 2025;
oil production tax — $736 million, the largest monthly collections on record, up 82% from June 2025;
natural gas production tax — $212 million, down 1% from June 2025;
hotel occupancy tax — $74 million, up 9% from June 2025; and
alcoholic beverage taxes — $163 million, up 2% from June 2025.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Seven more people were sentenced to prison Wednesday over a shooting outside a Texas immigration detention center that wounded a police officer and has left many protesters facing decades behind bars.
All but one of the defendants sentenced in Fort Worth courtrooms pleaded guilty to charges related to the shooting outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas last July 4. They each were sentenced to between nearly two and 15 years in prison.
The same judges have already handed down harsher sentences to eight people who were convicted at trial, including a former Marine reservist who received a 100-year prison term.
The U.S. Justice Department alleges the shooting was carried out by members of the leftist militant group antifa — a claim attorneys for the protesters have denied.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor called the protest an “assault on democracy” before he and another judge handed down lengthy prison sentences last week to eight others who were convicted on terrorism charges.
The six defendants who did not stand trial had pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists. One of them testified at the earlier trial that he spray-painted a guard shack and vehicles in the parking lot.
The seventh defendant, Ines Soto, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after being convicted of providing material support to terrorists, riot and explosives.
The case has been closely watched by critics who say the prosecution could have serious implications for protesters nationwide and First Amendment free-speech rights.
The protesters’ attorneys have insisted there was no planned ambush and that the people who took firearms to the demonstration did so for their own protection. They argue the gathering was planned as a late-night demonstration with fireworks to show support for immigrants detained inside the facility.
Prosecutors told jurors at trial that the group’s actions — including bringing firearms, first aid kits and wearing body armor — signaled nefarious intent.
Benjamin Song, the former U.S. Marine reservist who was convicted of attempted murder in the shooting, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, and seven others received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years. Some of them, including Song, have filed notices of appeal.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Treasury announced a series of sanctions and a new bank alert targeting the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Mexico’s most powerful criminal enterprise.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on two Mexican men and nine companies involved in transportation, financial services and real estate, accused of being tied to a cartel-linked fuel theft ring intended to evade Mexican taxes while generating tens of millions of dollars annually for the cartel.
Additionally, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network arm issued an alert to financial institutions that point out red flags of fuel smuggling from the U.S. into Mexico in schemes involving Mexican tax evasion.
“Today’s action highlights the extent to which Mexico’s cartels are expanding beyond traditional drug trafficking to generate revenue for their criminal organizations, which continue to traffic deadly drugs that kill Americans,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has acknowledged the New Generation Cartel’s presence in 21 of Mexico’s 32 states, surpassing the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, which is estimated to operate in 19 states. Last year, President Donald Trump designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and five other Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Mexican authorities have in recent years seized million gallons of stolen diesel, gasoline and petroleum distillates from states bordering Texas. Organized crime taps pipelines and diverts fuel to service stations forced to buy from cartels or sell it directly in the streets.
U.S. authorities have even accused the Jalisco New Generation cartel of operating its own service stations.
DALLAS (AP) – President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Republicans will hold their first-ever national convention ahead of November’s midterm elections, an unusual event aimed at boosting turnout in races that will decide whether the party maintains control of Congress.
The convention will be held in Dallas on Sept. 9 and 10.
Although both major parties traditionally hold blockbuster conventions during presidential campaigns, Trump has long floated the idea of a similar gathering this year to focus voters’ attention on a sprawling collection of House and Senate races.
If Democrats regain control of either chamber, they will be empowered to block Trump’s agenda and launch investigations into his administration for the final two years of his term.
Republicans have only slim majorities in Congress, and the party in power normally loses ground in the midterms. And without Trump on the ballot, Republican leaders worry that it could be hard to galvanize their voters.
Trump hopes the convention would help change that dynamic, and he’s been talking about it since last year. He floated in a social media post that Republicans would use the event “to show the great things we have done since the Presidential Election of 2024.”
“We will also have lots of Great Entertainment — It will be a RALLY like none other!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing the convention details.
The Democratic National Committee considered hosting a similar midterm convention but ultimately rejected the idea. An expensive soiree could have strained the DNC’s finances, which are struggling with lackluster fundraising and millions in debt.
Democrats have said the GOP convention will be a chance for them to tie Republican House and Senate candidates to Trump, whose approval rating is underwater.
Locating the convention in Texas places a spotlight on the state’s Senate race, which pits Democratic nominee James Talarico against Republican nominee Ken Paxton.
Paxton is the state attorney general who, with Trump’s backing, defeated longtime Sen. John Cornyn in a primary earlier this year. Republican Senate leaders fear that Paxton’s history of scandals — including an extramarital affair, an impeachment and a securities fraud case that did not lead to a conviction — could undermine his candidacy and turn a winnable race into a drain on party resources.
It also highlights the aftereffects of Trump’s mid-decade redistricting push that began in Texas, an effort to secure more seats for Republicans in this fall’s elections.
The Republican National Committee began laying the groundwork earlier this year, voting at its winter meeting in January to make such an event possible by amending procedures centered around quadrennial presidential nominating conventions.
Democrats considered holding a similar gathering ahead of the midterms but tabled the idea. However, the party did hold such conferences in the 1970s and 1980s.
DALLAS (AP) — Six people who pleaded guilty to charges related to a demonstration and shooting outside a Texas immigrant detention center are set to be sentenced Wednesday. Other protesters have already been sentenced to decades behind bars, including a former Marine who was handed a 100-year prison term.
A police officer was shot and wounded in the neck during the protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas last July 4. The U.S. Justice Department alleges the shooting was carried out by members of the leftist militant group antifa — a claim attorneys for the protesters have denied.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor called the protest an “assault on democracy” before he and another judge handed down lengthy prison sentences to eight demonstrators who were convicted on terrorism charges.
On Wednesday, six more defendants could be sentenced to as much as 15 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists. One of them testified at the earlier trial that he spray-painted a guard shack and vehicles in the parking lot.
The case has been closely watched by critics who say the prosecution could have serious implications for protesters nationwide and First Amendment free-speech rights.
The protesters’ attorneys have insisted there was no planned ambush and that protesters who took firearms with them to the demonstration did so for their own protection. They argue the gathering was planned as a late-night demonstration with fireworks to show support for immigrants detained inside the facility.
Prosecutors told jurors at trial that the group’s actions — including bringing firearms, first aid kits and wearing body armor — signaled nefarious intent.
Benjamin Song, a former U.S. Marine reservist who was convicted of attempted murder in the shooting, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, and seven others received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.
Another person who will be sentenced Wednesday was convicted at trial. Ines Soto, whose wife was also convicted, could be sentenced to 60 years in prison after being convicted of providing material support to terrorists, riot and explosives. At trial, attorneys for the couple said they arrived late and left the protest when confronted by guards.
JEFFERSON – A shooting in Marion County that left one person dead is being investigated by authorities. The Sheriff’s Office reports that following reports of a shooting on FM 248, one person was taken into custody at approximately 8 p.m. on Monday. Troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Jefferson Police Department, and Marion County deputies all arrived at the scene. Both the victim’s and the suspected shooter’s identities are still unknown. Xavier Lakeno Zachary has been identified as the suspect; he has been charged with murder and booked into Marion County Jail. The Texas Rangers will support the investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.
Marshall — As a part of its grid enhancement project, Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) is launching the first phase in Marshall to improve its power grid infrastructure, the company announced on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) awarded SWEPCO a $200 million grant aiming to upgrade approximately 700 miles of power line infrastructure in Northeast Texas, ultimately enhancing reliability for more than 192,000 Texas customers, according to our news partner, KETK.
The first project will begin in Marshall, marking the first step in the effort to modernize electric infrastructure and reliability, SWEPCO said.
“When we analyzed our system, upgrading copper wire to more modern equipment stood out as an area that would have the biggest impact,” Adam Keeth, SWEPCO Director of Distribution Engineering & Reliability, said. “By replacing it with modern aluminum?alloy conductors and installing stronger poles, we’re building a system that can better withstand ice, wind, and long?duration storms and deliver more reliable service to our customers.”
The project includes the following upgrades:
Replacing copper wire with stronger conductors
Installing new utility poles designed to withstand severe weather
Strengthen the power distribution network
Support long-term reliability for homes, schools, hospitals and businesses
As work continues throughout the region, the full project is expected to be completed by 2031.
“Together, these efforts will modernize some of the oldest portions of the distribution system, rebuilding them to a more resilient, storm-hardened design within fully cleared rights-of-way,” SWEPCO said.
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers (SPUR) Program that will provide temporary support for eligible beef processing establishments. Under SPUR, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide up to $500 million in payments to eligible entities to support stronger and more stable market opportunities for American ranchers.
“America’s ranchers deserve a strong, competitive marketplace that rewards their hard work and preserves opportunity for generations to come,” said Secretary Brooke L. Rollins. “Today, historically tight cattle supplies, the Biden administration’s anti-cattle focus, consolidation in and foreign ownership of meat packing and the reemergence of New World Screwworm have created extraordinary market conditions that are placing significant pressure on our independent and regional beef processors. Through the Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers (SPUR) Program, USDA is taking targeted action to preserve the independent processing capacity that ranchers rely on, strengthen competition across the American beef supply chain, and support rural communities across the country. This is another important step in our Plan to Fortify the American Beef Industry by strengthening domestically owned processing capacity and ensuring America’s cattle producers continue to have strong market opportunities and meet America’s historically high beef demand. As we Make America Healthy Again, we are working to ensure American families have continued access to nutritious, high-quality American beef while promoting greater competition, a more resilient food supply chain, and long-term affordability at the grocery store.”
“Small and mid-size beef processors are essential to maintain the diversity of America’s food system,” said Under Secretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears. “Supporting this processing capacity helps preserve market options for our United States ranchers, strengthens regional supply chains and ensures American families continue to have access to safe, high-quality beef produced here at home.”
“Competitive supply chains help ensure American ranchers have reliable markets for their cattle,” said Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce. “Through the SPUR Program, USDA is bolstering market opportunities for ranchers and supporting a resilient beef industry.”
These payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and are administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Payments are intended to provide financial support to eligible beef processors who have faced increased costs of acquiring cattle for processing due to the abnormally low number of cattle being raised in the U.S at this time and other conditions currently impacting the cattle market. Additional information, including applications, will be provided to eligible entities using contact information that is currently on file with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Entities eligible to receive funding under SPUR must be beef processing establishments under Federal inspection, as well as beef processing establishments inspected under the Talmadge-Aiken Cooperative Inspection Program and the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program (CIS). Further, eligible entities must be U.S. owned and cannot be nationally dominant in beef processing (or owned by an entity that is). For purposes of SPUR, nationally dominant will be defined as an entity holding a market share greater than or equal to the entity holding the fourth-largest share of the beef processing market.
For decades, the beef processing industry in the U.S. has been heavily concentrated and today just four companies control nearly 85% of the beef processing market, including two foreign owned companies. Ensuring domestic processors can continue operating during this period where the U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low is critical to national security and will ensure a strong supply chain once the herd is rebuilt.
This new program also directly supports the USDA Plan to Fortify the American Beef Industry and the USDA Small Processors Action Plan (PDF, 2.3 MB) by ensuring American ranchers have access to regional processing capacity they rely on to support branded and value-added beef programs, such as the Product of USA label that USDA started promoting earlier this year.
SHERMAN – A Denton man who committed three armed robberies of banks in the Denton County area, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, announced Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs. Jonathan Mark Fleming, 41, pleaded guilty to bank robbery and was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Richard Schell on June 29, 2026.
According to court records, from November 2022 to February 2023, the defendant committed three armed robberies of banks in the Denton County area. For each robbery, the defendant dressed in all black, wore black gloves, black ski goggles and a black mask. He also brandished a firearm. During the first two robberies, the defendant arrived at the banks in a red Dodge Challenger. For the final robbery, he arrived in a Dodge Ram truck. Investigators were able to track the truck to the original dealership and learned the defendant had purchased the truck with a large cash payment and a trade-in of a red Dodge Challenger.
Having identified the defendant as a possible suspect, a search warrant was subsequently obtained for Fleming’s apartment on February 23, 2023. During the search of the apartment, Fleming was located as the sole occupant and was arrested. Officers also located items that they had observed on video surveillance from the robberies, including a black/gray duffel bag, black clothing, a black face covering, a gun belt with holster, and black ski goggles.
A large sum of United States currency, which was still wrapped in bank currency bands, was also located inside the apartment, as well as multiple firearms; specifically, a black M&P Smith and Wesson handgun in a holster (believed to be used in the robbery committed on November 10, 2022); a black newly purchased Glock handgun with a receipt; and two AR-style rifles. In addition, two police radio scanners and multiple receipts, detailing large deposits ranging from $19,000 to $40,000 into various bank accounts, were located. In all the defendant stole approximately $450,000.00 in cash from the three bank robberies.
This case was investigated by the Denton Police Department; Lewisville Police Department; Flower Mound Police Department; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Johnson.