One arrest in fatal crash

One arrest in fatal crashATHENS – An 18-year-old man was arrested recently in connection to a February fatal crash that left one woman pedestrian dead on FM 2709 near Athens. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and our news partner KETK, Martha Anette Belcher, 73 of Athens, was walking along the westbound lane of FM 2709 near Highway 19 at around 7 a.m. on Feb. 25, when she was hit and killed by a gray Chevrolet Silverado.

Texas State Troopers then investigated to try and identify the vehicle and driver involved in the hit-and-run crash. A DPS press release identified 18-year-old Alexis Davila of Athens as the driver of the Chevrolet. DPS officials said Davila fled the scene of the crash and never reported it to law enforcement. He was arrested on May 29 for collision involving death and tampering/fabricating physical evidence.

Davila was released from the Henderson County Jail on May 30 after posting a $30,000 bond.

Kidnapping charges for fleeing boyfriend

Kidnapping charges for fleeing boyfriendMARSHALL – A man is wanted after police said he kidnapped his ex-girlfriend in Marshall on Saturday, before fleeing to Louisiana. According to our news partner – KETK – and Marshall police, dispatch received a call requesting a welfare check at a property in the 1300 block of East Pinecrest Drive at around 7:29 a.m. Officers responding to the scene, met a woman, who said she had just been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend.

Officers determined the woman had escaped from her ex-boyfriend, who fled from the scene before they arrived. Police identified the ex-boyfriend as Jamichael Brown.

Brown’s vehicle was later found abandoned in Greenwood, La. Marshall police joined with the Joint Harrison County Violent Crime and Narcotics Task Force, the Waskom Police Department, the Greenwood Police Department, and the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office to conduct a joint search of the area near his vehicle, but were unable to locate Brown. Continue reading Kidnapping charges for fleeing boyfriend

Deputies searching for missing man

Deputies searching for missing manCAMP COUNTY – Camp County Sheriff’s Office deputies are currently searching for a man who was last seen near FM 556 and FM 1519 W. Richard Spence is listed as a white man with brown hair and a goatee who’s about 5-foot 6-inches to 5-foot 8-inches tall and weighs between 120 to 140 pounds.

Spence was last seen wearing a brown t-shirt with yellow print on the front and blue jeans while he was in the area of FM 556 and FM 1519 W.

Anyone with information about Spence’s location or disappearance is asked to call Lt. Randy Huggins at 903-856-6651.

One dead, two injured in Hwy 31 crash

One dead, two injured in Hwy 31 crashBROWNSBORO – 1 person is dead and two people have been injured after a three-vehicle crash happened on Highway 31 between Brownsboro and Chandler on Saturday.

According to Brownsboro Fire Rescue and our news partner KETK, the crash happened at around 9:42 a.m. on Saturday when an 18-wheeler, a pickup truck and a white car crashed in the 19251 block of Highway 31 near Rock Hill Baptist Church.

Brownsboro Fire Rescue told KETK News that one person died in the crash while two others were injured and have been transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The Chandler Volunteer Fire Department and Brownsboro Fire Rescue both responded to the crash scene and they’re diverting traffic to the middle lanes of Highway 31.

Texas governor wants to speed up work on a fly-breeding factory to fight a cattle parasite

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed concern Friday that a new factory isn’t expected to start breeding sterile New World screwworm flies for more than a year as a big part of the effort to stop its flesh-eating larvae from threatening the $113 U.S. billion cattle industry.

Abbott pledged Texas will help the U.S. Department of Agriculture accelerate construction of the $750 million breeding facility outside Edinburg, Texas, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of the U.S.-Mexico border. He said Texas is willing to spend its own funds to see that construction is “24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Without greater sterile fly production, Abbott said during a news conference in the state capital of Austin, “We cannot make it through a second summer.”

The USDA confirmed an infestation of New World screwworm fly larvae this week in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio and 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Mexico border. It was the first case confirmed in Texas since 1966.

The department on Friday announced a second confirmed case found in a one-month-old calf in Zavala County, Texas, about 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) from the first case.

The new factory in Texas is the larger of two fly-breeding facilities funded by the USDA.

Separately, the USDA invested $21 million in converting a site in southern Mexico from breeding fruit flies to breeding screwworm flies. That factory is expected to start producing flies next month, eventually 100 million a week.

The other factory in Texas will be the size of two Costco stores, said Rear Admiral Michael Schmoyer, a member of the USDA’s screwworm response team. It is expected to produce up to 300 million flies a week.

Officials believe both factories are needed to eradicate the fly from the U.S., Mexico and Central America.

Schmoyer said the federal government has already shortened the planning and construction timeline considerably — drafting plans in a few months rather than taking a year, for example. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA hopes it will be running sooner than its planned November 2027 opening date.

But Abbott said Texas is determined to have construction go even faster.

“This is going to spread over the course of the summer,” he said of the fly.
Infestation hits among record beef prices

An untreated infestation of New World screwworm fly larvae can kill an animal, but there are now a dozen government-approved medications to treat livestock. Federal and state officials have been quick to stress that fly’s larvae — which feed on living material — do not infest meat or fruit.

“There’s a food production issue, but not a food safety issue,” Abbott said.

Derrell Peel, a professor of agribusiness at Oklahoma State University, said the beef supply isn’t likely to be affected unless officials restrict cattle movement more than locally or unless infestations appear in feedlots or other places where cattle are concentrated. He does not expect that to happen.

“It’s probably not a major market issue,” he said.

Consumers are paying record beef prices because of a tight cattle supply, and Peel expects prices to rise even further when ranchers take heifers out of the supply chain to rebuild their herds. But he said the arrival of the screwworm in Texas “doesn’t change the supply fundamentals.”

Screwworm outbreaks in Mexico starting in 2024 prompted U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to close U.S. ports of entry to its cattle in May 2025. Mexican imports were once about 1.2 million animals a year and dropped about 80% last year, according to industry statistics.

But Peel said Mexican imports were only about 3% of the U.S. cattle supply.

“It’s been just one more thing on top of others,” he said, not a major driver of prices.

Breeding sterile flies has eradicated pest before

The New World screwworm fly was an annual, warm-weather scourge of U.S. cattle ranchers from at least the 1930s through the 1960s.

But breeding sterile flies and dropping swarms of them from planes eradicated it from the U.S. by the early 1970s, except for a brief outbreak among deer in the Florida Keys in 2016 and a case confirmed in a Maryland man who traveled to El Salvador last year. Until an outbreak in Panama in 2023, the fly had been considered eradicated outside its remote, southernmost region bordering Colombia.

Females mate once in their monthslong lives, and if they breed with sterile male flies, their eggs won’t hatch after being laid in open wounds and mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals, including cattle, wild mammals, household pets and humans.

Once the U.S. and other nations eradicated the fly years ago, they shut down fly-breeding facilities until there was only one left in the Western Hemisphere, in Panama. It can produce about 117 million flies a week.

However, past eradication efforts needed about 500 million flies a week, said Schmoyer, a member of the USDA’s screwworm response team, during Abbott’s news conference.
With fly drops, officials try to predict future

Schmoyer estimated that the USDA already has dispersed 130 million flies in Texas since January, most of them from planes, and those drops are now about 4 million a week. It also is releasing another 4 million a week in the ground as pupae, which are flies in the stage between larvae and adult.

But, even with those millions of flies, the USDA must be strategic about where to disperse them, Schmoyer told reporters. Federal and state officials are using scientific models to predict how the fly will move.

“In essence, it’s not where the flies are today, but where they could be weeks from now,” he said.

Part of the science involves traps, and Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges said they’ve been deployed up to 120 miles (193 kilometers) away from La Pryor to monitor the fly’s movement.

New city attorney hired

New city attorney hiredCHANDLER, Texas (KETK) – The Chandler City Council voted to hire a new city attorney in a meeting discussing the city’s leadership on Thursday night. During the meeting, city council discussed the conduct of City Administrator Kalon Rollins and Chandler Police Department Chief Johnny Foster. The city’s agenda for Thursday’s meeting included discussion of improper spending, bond issues, social media policy and hiring policy under Rollins and Foster.

The city council members also voted to hire Ronald D. Stutes, 67 of Tyler, as the new Chandler City Attorney during Thursday’s meeting. Stutes is a member of the Fairchild, Price, Haley & Smith law firm and has represented both the City of Palestine and the City of Dallas.

Ultimately, no formal action was taken against either Rollins or Foster at Thursday’s meeting.

Fugitive arrested by US Marshals

Fugitive arrested by US MarshalsPANOLA COUNTY – Charles Seth Alexander, 38 of Timpson, was captured by the US Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Taskforce in Nacogdoches County on Friday. Alexander was a wanted fugitive out of Panola County and was the subject of a manhunt on Wednesday before he left the area.

According to the Panola County Sheriff’s Office and our news partner KETK, multiple agencies actively searched the vicinity of County Road 198 and County Road 176. Deputies were assisted by tracking dogs, horses and drones as they work through heavily wooded terrain.

Officials had asked the public to stay clear of the search zone, lock their homes and vehicles and secure outdoor pets until the situation is resolved. Authorities have not yet released additional details about the fugitive or what led to the search.

Administrator resigns citing ‘toxic atmosphere’

Administrator resigns citing ‘toxic atmosphere’CHANDLER, Texas (KETK) – Chandler city administrator Kalon Rollins issued his resignation on Friday, saying it’s in his best interest to remove himself from a “toxic atmosphere” in the city’s government. Rollins’ resignation comes after a Thursday city council meeting where Chandler city council members considered taking action against Rollins and the current Chandler Police Chief Johnny Foster for improper spending, bond issues, social media policy and hiring policies.

“There comes a point when all efforts have failed, a change is required. With much thought and prayer, I have decided it is in my best interest to remove myself from the ongoing toxic atmosphere within the city government,” Rollins said on Friday. “I respect the fact that a newly elected council can bring new ideas and potential changes in city government procedures, and in some cases new ideas from newcomers can often contribute to an increase in a city’s abilities.”

“I believe a few of the current council members have the best intentions in mind to bring positive change to the city, but only time will tell if they have the fortitude to make the needed changes,” Rollins said. “With that being said, however, I do not see a positive path forward under the current circumstances. If a city council does not have trust in their administrative staff or conversely staff in the council, there can be no way to move and grow in a positive direction.” Continue reading Administrator resigns citing ‘toxic atmosphere’

Arrest made in deadly hit and run crash

ATHENS – Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers have arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened in February. Alexis Davila has been charged in the death of Martha Belcher, 73, of Athens. The wreck happened in the early morning hours on FM 2709, when Belcher was walking along the westbound lane, and was struck and killed by a vehicle. Investigators determined the gray Chevrolet Silverado – driven by Davila – fled the scene. Troopers said Davila did not report the crash. He is charged with failure to stop and render aid involving death, and tampering with physical evidence.

Teen thieves shot by resident

Teen thieves shot by residentLONGVIEW – Two Longview teenage juveniles were shot on Friday morning as they were committing theft at a Baxley Lane residence.

According to our news partner KETK and the Longview Police Department, officers went out to Baxley Lane near Ron Street at around 3 a.m. on Friday after a shooting was reported. When the officers arrived, they found two juveniles at the scene with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Longview PD said the two teens were “committing theft” when a resident confronted them with a gun and shot them.

Detectives with Longview PD are currently investigating this incident and anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the criminal investigations division at 903-237-1199.

Panola County fugitive arrested by US Marshals in Nacogdoches County

UPDATE: Charles Seth Alexander, 38 of Timpson, was captured by the US Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Taskforce in Nacogdoches County on Friday. Alexander was a wanted fugitive out of Panola County and was the subject of a manhunt on Wednesday before he left the area.

PANOLA COUNTY (KETK) — Law enforcement agencies are urging residents to avoid the area south of Lake Murvaul as a fugitive search intensifies on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Panola County Sheriff’s Office, multiple agencies are actively searching in the vicinity of County Road 198 and County Road 176. Deputies are being assisted by tracking dogs, horses and drones as they work through heavily wooded terrain.

Officials are asking the public to stay clear of the search zone, lock their homes and vehicles and secure outdoor pets until the situation is resolved. Authorities have not yet released additional details about the fugitive or what led to the search.

US measles cases surpass 2,000 for the 2nd year in a row: CDC

Human crowd surrounding an injectable measles vaccine bottle on purple background. Horizontal composition with copy space. ( MicroStockHub/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) -- Measles cases in the United States have surpassed 2,000 for the second year in a row, according to data updated Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

So far in 2026, 2,030 confirmed cases have been recorded in 38 states and the District of Columbia, CDC data shows.

Cases have been confirmed in: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Just 10 measles cases were reported among international travelers so far this year, according to CDC data.

Last year, 2,288 confirmed measles cases were reported for all of 2025. Prior to this, measles cases had not surpassed 2,000 in the U.S. since 1992.

The U.S. also saw its first measles deaths in more than a decade last year, including two among unvaccinated school-aged children in Texas and one among an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico.

The majority of measles cases in 2026 have been confirmed among children and teenagers aged 19 and younger, according to the CDC.

About 92% of cases are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, CDC data shows.

Meanwhile, 4% of cases are among those who have received just one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and 4% of cases are among those who received the recommended two doses, according to the CDC.

Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, referred to the latest figures as "very disappointing and very concerning."

"It indicates that an increasing number of parents are either postponing or withholding their children from vaccination, and this is very concerning because it permits this virus back now into in the United States to continue to spread and obviously to cause illness in the children affected," he told ABC News.

January 2026 marked one year since measles cases were first detected on Texas. It’s unclear if the cases confirmed on Jan. 20, 2025, are linked to those that have been found other states; if so, it would mean the U.S. has seen a year of continuous transmission.

If it's determined that the U.S. has experienced 12 months of continuous measles transmission, it could lead to a loss of the country's elimination status that was earned in 2000. Measles would once again be considered endemic or constantly circulating.

The review of the measles elimination status in the U.S., which is determined by the Pan-American Health Organization, will take place in November 2026.

Schaffner said the U.S.'s measles elimination status is threatened as a result of so many cases.

"Measles, because it's the most contagious virus, is like the canary in the coal mine; it's the alert that lets us know that we're also opening ourselves up to other transmissible diseases that vaccines could prevent," he said.

The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says.

However, CDC data show vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. During the 2024 to 2025 school year, 92.5% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, according to data. This is lower than the 92.7% seen the previous school year and the 95.2% seen in the 2019 to 2020 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schaffner said that public health specialists need to listen carefully to parents who are skeptical or hesitant of getting their children vaccinated.

"Have them speak to their own family doctors and pediatricians, have those conversations, and our pediatricians and family doctors have to provide a level of comfort and reassurance," he said. "Facts are fundamental, but more importantly, these parents need reassurance and a level of comfort that what their doctors ... are recommending is in the best interest of their child and the communities in which their children live."

"These diseases are bad and can be really bad. The vaccines are good and really good," Schaffner added.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Stocks slump as Big Tech sinks and a strong May jobs report boosts odds for higher interest rates

Stocks slump as Big Tech sinks and a strong May jobs report boosts odds for higher interest ratesNEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slumped on Wall Street Friday as big technology companies lost ground and a strong jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to hike interest rates at some point this year.

The S&P 500 fell 1.6% and is headed for its first losing week in the last 10 and its biggest one-day drop since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 373 points, or 0.7%, as of 12:11 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite slumped 2.6%.

Tech stocks dragged the broader market lower as companies that had powered the S&P 500 to a series of records the past two months saw losses. Nvidia fell 4.6% and Broadcom fell 5.9%. Stocks within the S&P 500 were close to evenly split between gainers and losers. But, many of the bigger tech stocks have pricey values that tend to have an outsized influence on the broader market.

Meanwhile, bond yields jumped after a report showed the U.S. added a surprising 172,000 jobs in May, according to the Labor Department. It is the latest report showing that employment remains solid, despite the squeeze inflation is putting on businesses and consumers.

The latest reading on employment comes two weeks before Kevin Warsh heads his first policy meeting as chair of the Fed. Policymakers are widely expected to keep rates steady at the June 16-17 meeting despite pressure from President Donald Trump to lower borrowing costs. Longer-term, the market sees a better than 60% chance the Fed will push rates higher by the end of the year, according to CME FedWatch, and little to no chance of a cut.

“Any hopes of a Fed rate cut have effectively been eliminated with this morning’s strong jobs report,” said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard, in a research note.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.54% from 4.50% just before the report was released. The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which more closely tracks the Fed’s actions, jumped to 4.16% from 4.04% just prior to the report.

The Fed has been holding interest rates steady as it tries to gauge the ongoing impact from rising inflation. Prices were already ticking higher from the impact of tariffs. The U.S. war with Iran has essentially blocked crude oil shipments from moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.6% to $93.50. It was about $70 per barrel before the war. The surge in oil prices prompted a jump in gasoline prices. That has fueled a broader rise in inflation as prices for anything being shipped move higher and threaten to slow economic growth.

A measure of inflation preferred by the Fed showed that prices rose 3.8% overall in April. That marked the biggest increase in two years.

Wall Street has been anticipating that negotiations to end the war will eventually be successful. American and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal last week to extend their ceasefire, but the agreement has not been finalized.

The latest round of corporate earnings is coming to a close. Lululemon slumped 9.2% after trimming its revenue and profit forecasts.

Most reports from companies have been surprisingly good and helped Wall Street on its record run. Encouraging profits and forecasts helped overshadow lingering worries about the direction of the economy amid tariffs and high energy costs because of the U.S. war with Iran.

With earnings now in the background, analysts have been warning that the tech companies benefitting from interest in artificial intelligence may have become too expensive. That could result in a slowdown for a market that has surged in 2026, with the S&P 500 up more than 9% for the year.

Markets were mixed in Europe after markets in Asia fell.