Police are searching for two men, including the accused gunman.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
Four people were shot when a man kicked out of a club for fighting opened fire from an SUV, Texas authorities say.
The incident began at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2, when two men in their 20s were involved in a fight at the club, Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Wyatt Martin said in a news briefing streamed by KHOU.
They were asked to leave, and when they got outside, they began arguing with off-duty sheriff’s deputies who were working as part of the security detail, according to Martin.
One of the men entered a black SUV, while the other man kept trying to get back into the club, police said. A woman eventually convinced him to get into the vehicle.
That’s when the driver — the first man who was kicked out — began firing at the security personnel with a handgun, Martin said. Four people, including security officers, were struck by the gunfire.
The Harris County deputies working security were not among the injured victims, police said.
“The fact that they would shoot indiscriminately at a club crowded with people just because they were asked to leave, whether they were intoxicated or whatever, shows that they really have very little regard for the safety of the people around them,” Martin said in the news briefing.
Two of the victims were taken to a hospital for surgery but were expected to be OK, according to police. The other two victims were treated at the scene.
Police are now searching for the two men, who fled in the SUV.
Martin said the deputies did not return gunfire due to “fear of hitting innocent bystanders.”
Mike Stunson covers real-time news for McClatchy. He is a 2011 Western Kentucky University graduate who has previously worked at the Paducah Sun and Madisonville Messenger as a sports reporter and the Lexington Herald-Leader as a breaking news reporter. Support my work with a digital subscription
Challenging the authority of the Biden administration, Texas has deployed state police, national guard soldiers, barriers and controversial policies to deter illegal crossings.
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Ivan Cornejo RodeoHouston NRG Stadium March 3, 2024
Most RodeoHouston concerts start off with a bang. Literal explosions of colorful fireworks, a cacophony of music and noise, and brilliant flashes of lights fill the entire stage and arena.
Sunday evening’s Ivan Cornejo show was the exact opposite. In lieu of the traditional Rodeo concert video intro and pyrotechnic opening, the stage and house lights went dark, and everything was silent. The crowd wriggled in their seats with anticipation, finally letting go of a loud roaring applause when the name “Ivan Cornejo” appeared on the video boards.
After a few more minutes of silence, the spotlight shined bright on the young 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Riverside, California. He is one of the brightest new stars of the Corrido Tumbado movement, a segment of the Regional Mexicano genre that is experiencing a popularity surge over the last few years.
Cornejo is one of the brightest new stars of the Corrido Tumbado movement, a sub-genre of Regional Mexicano music.
Photo by Jennifer Lake
Not only was this Cornejo’s RodeoHouston debut, but it was also his first time performing in a stadium. He has been on his “Terapia” Tour since last August, and has been selling out venues, theaters, and arenas, including two sold-out shows at 713 Music Hall back on October.
Cornejo took to the stage in an all black charro outfit, decorated in gold glitter cacti, fireworks, and Mexican emblems. He strolled around the stage in black pants, shiny Stacy Adams dress shoes, and his signature headband.
“Como andamos, Houston?!” said Cornejo as he greeted his fans. His voice, movements, and overall demeanor are smooth, warm, and gentle. Throughout the evening he smiled wide and charmed the audience with his soft eyes. “I’m super grateful to be here tonight because Texas always shows love, especially Houston!” he continued.
Cornejo played two sold-out shows here in Houston back in October, and this was his RodeoHouston debut.
Photo by Jennifer Lake
Most of his set list was full of songs that could be considered as indie/emo, mostly about love and heartbreak, which actually translates perfectly to a country/western/rodeo setting. The crowd joined in by singing the lyrics to most songs, and did so loudly. All the fans who were featured on the video screens were singing passionately at the top of their lungs.
One of the definitive highlights of the show was when Cornejo and his band played a cover of “Desvelado” by Tejano legend Bobby Pulido. “We added our own little country twist to this cover!” he mentioned after finishing the track. It was absolutely delightful.
Ivan Cornejo played many fan favorites and a couple of covers during his RodeoHouston debut.
Photo by Jennifer Lake
‘Before I go, I would like to sing one last song, but please, turn on your flashlights” he requested from the large crowd. They obliged, and filed the room with dazzling lights. Connejo proceeded to sing “La Curiosidad,” one of his biggest hits from his 2022 album Dañado. The crowd went wild, and grooved and sang along at full volume. Near the end of the track, the music shifted into a Reggae cover of Bob Marley’s “Is This Love?” — a perfect ending to a beautiful set.
As the sun set outside NRG Stadium, Ivan then jumped onto the back of the Ford F-150 truck, armed with a bucket of red roses, and began to throw them one by one to his fans near the arena floor. A superstar in the making, riding off into the sunset.
This past week both President Biden and former President Trump visited the southern border in Texas. There’s no denying immigration has become one of the most important and contentious issues in the presidential campaign. And there’s no better example of that than the high stakes fight between the state of Texas and the federal government. Three years ago, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched “Operation Lone Star,” deploying thousands of police and soldiers and miles of barriers to deter record numbers of illegal crossings. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that immigration is the job of the federal government. But rarely has a state so aggressively challenged that authority. In January, Gov. Abbott ordered his state National Guard to block the federal government’s Border Patrol fromShelby Park, a dusty stretch of border along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas. To understand why, you need to see what happened there in December.
We were on the banks of the river before dawn with soldiers from the Texas National Guard… we heard the cries of people before we could see their faces. It wasn’t until we moved closer that we realized how many people had just crossed from Mexico
The soldiers told them it was dangerous to cross here.
“Help us,” they begged. Some of the women cried — “we have children.”
Migrants at the border are confronted by wire.
60 Minutes
We heard groans… and found this young man twisting in the wire…. he kept going….
“Stay calm,” they told each other, as families pushed their children through.
Nearly everyone we saw made it across …and into the United States.
Thousands of people a day crossed here in late December — a record for this section of the Texas border. There were so many people… the U.S. Border Patrol had to transform Shelby Park into an open air holding center…
Weeks later once the surge died down, Gov. Abbott ordered his Texas National Guard to block the federal government’s Border Patrol from entering the park without permission. Gov. Abbott argued the federal government had failed to fulfill its obligation to the states — and in that some heard echoes of Texas’ history of rebellion and threats of secession.
Cecilia Vega: I can’t believe, Governor, I’m gonna ask you this question, but I’m– I’m gonna ask you: Do you believe that Texas has the right to secede? Is that what we’re talkin’ about here?
Gov. Greg Abbott: Those are false narratives. What Texas and the United States have the right to do– and that’s to enforce the law.
Cecilia Vega: You heard the argument against what you’re doing out here. Each state can’t control its own border policy. You’re looking at a completely chaotic system. That’s the job of the federal government–
Gov. Greg Abbott: We are not imposing a Texas border policy. Texas, very simply, is enforcing the laws– that– are the policy of the United States Congress.
Cecilia Vega: What gives you the authority to tell the U.S. Border Patrol what to do?
Gov. Greg Abbott: For one, as governor of the state of Texas, I have– the authority to control ingress and egress– to any land in the state of Texas. For another, this land we’re on right now was used by the federal government to further illegal activity, and I wanted to put a stop to it.
Gov. Abbott
60 Minutes
We went behind the guarded gates of Shelby Park in January — shortly after Gov. Abbott had taken control.
Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Christopher Olivarez showed us where state national guardsmen were installing fresh razor wire barriers along the river.
Cecilia Vega: Help me understand at the heart of this, why Texas has a problem with the Border Patrol coming into process migrants in this park.
Lt. Christopher Olivarez: The issue is trying to prevent another influx, because when Border Patrol is here setting up a processing center, it’s gonna attract, it’s gonna encourage more migrants to cross the river because they know where to go.
It’s one of many spots along the Texas border where coils of sharp wire have been going up ever since Gov. Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021. Since then, thousands of migrants have been arrested and detained on trespassing charges.
State troopers have cracked down on human smuggling rings.
And the state has spent more than $150 million sending migrants on buses to cities like New York and Chicago, turning the trouble at the border into a political and financial headache for Democratic mayors.
Once the site of ballgames and flea markets, Shelby Park is now Gov. Abbott’s model of what the Texas border can be…
Gov. Greg Abbott: Where we are right now, there used to be 3,000 or 4,000 people crossing illegally a day. For the past three days, there’s an average of just three people crossing the border illegally.
Raul Ortiz: You don’t just plant a flag just to plant a flag. It’s gotta be strategic and it’s gotta make sense.
Raul Ortiz served as chief of the U.S. Border Patrol under President Biden and deputy chief under President Trump. He retired last year.
Raul Ortiz: When agencies are making a decision based upon politics or whether they’re gonna get media coverage, hey, we’re gonna put all our personnel in this two-mile stretch. What about the other 200 miles?
Raul Ortiz served as chief of the U.S. Border Patrol under President Biden and deputy chief under President Trump. He retired last year.
60 Minutes
In our interview, Ortiz criticized Gov. Abbott for not cooperating with the Border Patrol and playing politics with immigration. But he also expressed frustration with President Biden.
Raul Ortiz: I’ve never had one conversation with the president. Or the vice president, for that matter. And so I was the chief of the border patrol. I commanded 21,000 people. That’s a problem.
Cecilia Vega: I just saw 50 people today who had just crossed the border illegally. So something’s not working.
Raul Ortiz: We need to make sure that Central America, South America, Mexico, that those regions understand that if you pay a smuggler and you cross in between the ports of entry and you do not have a legitimate claim to some sort of asylum benefit, you’re gonna be sent back.
Cecilia Vega: Do you believe that the White House has sent mixed messages to migrants?
Raul Ortiz: Yeah, most definitely.
We spoke with Ortiz in an area just four miles south of Shelby Park. The ground was littered with wet clothes that migrants had changed out of and left behind after crossing the river.
Cecilia Vega: Does all of this tell you that people are still crossing this river right here?
Raul Ortiz: Oh, yeah, the guides or the smugglers will bring the migrants over. This all very calculated by the cartels that control these areas on the Mexican side.
Clothing is left behind by migrants.
60 Minutes
About seven miles north of Shelby Park… we came upon this group of migrants who had just crossed the Rio Grande — and were being picked up by the Border Patrol.
This mother and her two sons took buses from El Salvador. She told us the soldiers on the U.S. side of the border weren’t much of a deterrent– she feared the cartels in Mexico more…..
“Sometimes they kidnap you and expect payment,” she said.
Cecilia Vega: The reality is people are still gonna find a way to get in no matter how much manpower you have out here, no much– how much wire you put up—
Gov. Greg Abbott: Disagree completely, because
Cecilia Vega: You do?
Gov. Greg Abbott: Yeah, ’cause– in Texas, anyway– we’re gonna be barricading every area where people are crossing– until we get every area to have like this area is right now.
Cecilia Vega: Texas is going to barricade every area? What do you mean?
Gov. Greg Abbott: Every area where the cartels use as a crossing we intend to be barricading.
Cecilia Vega: Border’s gonna look like a war zone.
Gov. Greg Abbott: It is a war zone.
Over the past three years, the Biden administration has carried out 4 million expulsions and deportations – more than the Trump administration. But it has also allowed a record 3 million people to remain in the country for years while their immigration cases are heard. And the Border Patrol estimates another 1.6 million people have entered the country illegally without getting caught.
This past week, former President Trump visited Shelby Park with Gov. Abbott…
On the same day, President Biden was also at the Texas border in Brownsville.
President Biden says that if Republicans were serious about securing the border they would not have rejected a bipartisan immigration deal in the senate last month after former President Trump opposed it. That deal would have increased funding for the Border Patrol and required the president to expel all migrants crossing illegally during surges like the one at Shelby Park in December.
The latest battle between Texas and Washington concerns a new law Gov. Abbott signed authorizing Texas’ more than 2,700 law enforcement agencies to arrest migrants for illegally crossing the border. Texas judges could then order migrants to return to Mexico or serve time– bypassing the federal immigration system entirely.
Critics of the law say it is so broadly written it fails to define when authorities can stop someone.
We asked Lt. Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety, or “DPS,” about the concern that immigrants and people of color could be subjected to racial profiling.
Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Olivarez
60 Minutes
Lt. Christopher Olivarez: I can tell you that our troopers are not gonna be stopping cars and checking for immigration status. They’re not.
Cecilia Vega: But this law is not just written for DPS.
Lt. Christopher Olivarez: Right. It’s a Texas law.
Cecilia Vega: The reality is, this is going to be carried out far from the border.
Lt. Christopher Olivarez: Absolutely.
Cecilia Vega: So couldn’t you get caught up in it? You’re Latino. Couldn’t I get caught up in it?
Lt. Christopher Olivarez: That’s not the case. They have to develop probable cause in order to stop a car. You can’t just go interview every single person in that car, ask ’em for immigration status. But of course, yeah, there could be some issues where maybe some other agency outside of a border area– could take that into account.
Cecilia Vega: Does that make you nervous?
Lt. Christopher Olivarez: It’s probable– it’s probable, it’s probable because there’s a lot of agencies here in Texas that operate, right? But I would think that every chief at a police agency would have to implement some type of policy and procedure to actually enforce this new law.
This past week, a federal judge temporarily stopped the new law from taking effect while it’s being challenged in court. The Department of Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union are suing Texas, arguing the law interferes with the federal government’s authority over immigration. But Gov. Abbott argues Texas is being invaded and has the right to defend itself. That idea has resonated with militias and groups opposed to illegal immigration… some joined a convoy last month and descended on the Eagle Pass area.
Cecilia Vega: Everyone, I think, agrees that the immigration system right now is completely broken and there’s a lot of blame to go around. But do you really, truly believe that “invasion” is the right word to be using here?
Gov. Greg Abbott: Invasion is the word that’s used in the United States Constitution, “invasion” or “imminent danger.” I use ’em both. And we are in imminent danger because of what the drug cartels do every single day, because of the known and unknown terrorists who cross every single day.
Cecilia Vega: So, the convoys and militia have heard the language, and they’ve started to come to the point that migrants have had to be relocated from some locations for their own safety. Are you not concerned about violence happening because of language like the word invasion?
Gov. Greg Abbott: There’s no language that would spur violence, but I’ll be clear about this: We don’t want violence of any type.
Cecilia Vega: How does this end?
Gov. Greg Abbott: Oh, it ends very simply, and that’s with a president of the United States who will actually fulfill his oath of office and enforce the laws of the United States of America. And that means denying illegal entry into our country.
Cecilia Vega: Do you want to be Trump’s running mate?
Gov. Greg Abbott: No.
Cecilia Vega: What if he asks you?
Gov. Greg Abbott: Listen, I love being governor of Texas. I can best aid him in my role by being a great governor of Texas.
So far, the governor has committed more than $11 billion to Operation Lone Star. Over the last three years, the percentage of people entering Texas illegally has dropped, while rising in other border states. Abbott’s critics say that has more to do with other factors like crack-downs on migration in parts of Mexico.
There are still more than a million illegal border crossings in Texas every year.
There are also at least a dozen lawsuits being fought between Texas and the federal government over immigration issues. All that infighting worries former Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz….
Raul Ortiz: The National Guardsmen– even, to some degree, the border patrol agents have become pawns in this political game between the two sides.
Cecilia Vega: Who’s winning?
Raul Ortiz: The cartels, the criminal organizations, that’s who’s winnin’ in all of this. They’re sittin’ back reapin’ all the benefits while they watch the state of Texas and Washington D.C. go at it.
Produced by Andy Court. Associate producer, Annabelle Hanflig and Camilo Montoya-Galvez. Broadcast associate, Katie Jahns. Edited by Robert Zimet.
HOUSTON – Tuesday is election day for the March 5 primary elections in Texas.
If you are registered to vote, finding a place to vote is easy in Texas.
WHERE DO YOU VOTE ON ELECTION DAY?
More than 90 of the 254 counties in Texas currently have permission from the Secretary of State’s Office to use county-wide polling places on Election Day.
KPRC 2 called several counties and learned that most of them fall into that category.
Harris County, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, Brazoria County and Chambers County will have vote centers on Election Day. This means voters in those counties can go to any vote center in their county.
Montgomery County does not have vote centers. When we called the Montgomery County Elections Administrator’s Office, they confirmed that voters there must vote at their precinct assigned to them.
In Harris County, there will be more than 500 Vote Centers on Tuesday.
After the recent wildfires in Texas, social media users resurfaced a conspiracy theory that blue structures are immune to flames. This time, they’re claiming President Joe Biden knows about this, too.
A Feb. 29 Instagram post shared a clip of Biden speaking at the U.S.-Mexico border. In the video, Biden said, “If you fly over these areas that are burned to the ground, you’ll see in the midst of 20 homes that are just totally destroyed, one home sitting there because it had the right roof on it.”
Text on the video read, “Remember the blue roofs during the Lahaina fires? Biden just seemed to confirm our suspicions.”
(Screengrab from Instagram)
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
The wildfire that broke out across the Texas Panhandle is the largest fire in the state’s history, engulfing more than 1 million acres of land and killing at least two people. Hot weather, dry land and high winds fueled the fire’s spread. Authorities are still investigating how the fire started.
The Instagram post takes Biden’s remarks out of context. In a longer clip, Biden talked about climate change and rebuilding after disaster strikes.
“My administration is going to keep building on the progress we’ve made fighting the climate crisis, and we’re going to keep (helping) folks rebuild themselves in the wake of these disasters. And we rebuild to the standards that are up-to-date standards and building codes and the rest,” Biden said.
The president was saying some roofs were intact because the structures were up to code, not because they were blue.
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Former President Donald Trump, during a visit to the Texas border town of Eagle Pass on Thursday, said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is “absolutely” on his shortlist of potential running mates in this year’s election.
What You Need To Know
Former President Donald Trump, during an interview with Fox News from Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday, said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is on his shortlist for vice president
“Yeah, certainly he would be somebody that I would very much consider,” Trump said
Abbott on Friday downplayed the idea, saying, “I’ve announced that I’m running for reelection two years from now, and so my commitment is to Texas, and I’m staying in Texas”
Abbott was not named during a recent town hall when Trump was asked about potential running mates
There’s been a great deal of speculation about Abbott, the fiercest critic of the President Joe Biden’s border polices. Abbott, though, has largely remained mum about the possibility.
Trump’s comments came during a joint interview with Abbott on Fox News. Sean Hannity asked the former president about the possibility, and Trump said “he’s done a great job. Yeah, certainly he would be somebody that I would very much consider.”
“So he’s on the list?” Hannity asked.
“Absolutely, he is,” Trump replied.
According to the Texas Tribune, Abbott downplayed the possibility during a news conference on Friday.
“Obviously it’s very nice of him to say, but I think you all know my focus is entirely on the state of Texas,” Abbott said. “As you know, I’m working right now on the midterm election process. I’ve already talked about that. I’ve announced that I’m running for reelection two years from now, and so my commitment is to Texas, and I’m staying in Texas.”
Interestingly, Abbott was not mentioned by Trump about a week ago when he was asked about it during a Fox News town hall. At the time, he said his list included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
The front-runner for the GOP nomination, Trump did not produce the names on his own but was rather presented them by town hall host Laura Ingraham, who said audience members suggested them. Ingraham then asked Trump, “Are they all on your shortlist?” Trump answered, “They are.”
It’s possible other names could also be on Trump’s list. There has been speculation, too, surrounding New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, among others.
Trump, 77, said the most important quality he’s seeking in a running mate is someone who could be a great president if something happens to him.
Abbott, 66, has served as governor of Texas since 2015. He was Texas attorney general from 2002 to 2015 and a justice of the Texas Supreme Court from 1996 to 2001.
Spectrum News’ Ryan Chatelain contributed to this report.
John Dickerson reports on dueling visits to the southern border by President Biden and former President Trump, a record-breaking fire in Texas, and lawmakers in Alabama passing bills to protect IVC clinics.
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On Thursday, KPRC 2 reached out to sheriff’s offices in our area for comments on Senate Bill 4.
Under this law, crossing the border illegally would be categorized as a Class B misdemeanor, carrying a potential jail sentence of up to six months. For repeat offenders, the penalties escalate to a second-degree felony, with imprisonment ranging from two to 20 years.
KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun reached out to Houston Police and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office before a federal judge issued a ruling temporarily blocking the law from taking effect. Both didn’t want to comment but said they were monitoring ongoing legal challenges.
Below are the comments we have secured and will update them as they come in.
Here are the following offices who responded or spoken with KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun:
AUSTIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
“We don’t have any problems, haven’t had any impacts. When they arrest someone for a crime, it’s for the crime. If the person happens to be illegal, we turn the information to ICE and if they have any issues then they come and get them. If they don’t have a retainer and they satisfy all the local magistrates, they release them. We haven’t had an influx in our neighborhood.” – Sheriff Jack Brandon
CHAMBERS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
“As a sheriff and a member of the association we are extremely supportive of the bill because our border sheriff’s and our borders that are inland are just getting inundated with the gone aways with the illegal immigration and people that are not going through the immigration process and they’re just illegally entering the country.” – Sheriff Brian Hawthorne
FORT BEND COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
“The Sheriff’s Office does not see the need to detain any person for the purpose of determining their immigration status or enforcing federal immigration laws.
However, when a person is identified in a criminal investigation or when a person is detained for a violation of the law, the Sheriff’s Office will cooperate with federal immigration authorities. When a suspect is booked into the County detention center, any lawful orders to detain or transfer an inmate will be followed.
Justice is blind means that race or ethnicity is not a reason to stop anyone on that basis alone. The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for public safety programs and initiatives that improve the quality of life for all residents of Fort Bend County.” – Fort Bend Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson
Espanol:
“La Oficina del Sheriff no ve la necesidad de detener a ninguna persona con el fin de determinar su estatus migratorio o hacer cumplir las leyes de inmigracion.
Sin embargo, cuando una persona es identificada en una investigacion criminal o cuando es detenida por una violacion de la ley, la Oficina del Sheriff cooperara con las autoridades federales de inmigracion.
Cuando un sospechoso es ingresado en la carcel del condado, se seguiran todas las ordines legal para detener or tranferir a un recluso.
La justicia es ciega significa que la raza o el origen étnico no es una razón para detener a nadie sólo por esa base.
La Oficina del Sheriff del condado de Fort Bend es responsable de los programa e iniciativas de seguridad publica que mejoran la calidad de vida de todos los residents del condado de Fort Bend.”
GRIMES COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
“My response to you is rather simple, until the courts that are involved resolve the law completely and there is absolute clarity my Deputies with the Grimes County Sheriff’s Office will not be involved with this.” – Sheriff Don Sowell, Grimes County Sheriff’s Office
JACKSON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
“As a member of Operation Lone Star Task Force this ruling is not going to change anything that Jackson County is currently doing in our effort to help secure the border, with the exception of not filing any additional criminal charges that may have resulted from Senate Bill 4.” – Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson
SAN JACINTO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
“We’re waiting to see what happens with the injunction. [We’re] not doing anything until legally covered by the courts.” – Chief Deputy Tim Kean
Here are the following sheriff’s offices who have not responded or spoken to KPRC 2:
Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office
Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office
Colorado County Sheriff’s Office
Galveston County Sheriff’s Office
Liberty County Sheriff’s Office
Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Waller County Sheriff’s Office
Walker County Sheriff’s Office
Washington County Sheriff’s Office
Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
“I want to see house”: The Texas Panhandle wildfires burned this family’s house to the ground, leaving nothing but the frame of a swing set – and a young toddler crying for the only home her parents say she’s ever known.
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CANADIAN, Texas (AP) — A wildfire spreading across the Texas Panhandle became the largest in state history Thursday, growing to nearly 1,700 square miles of scorched rural ranchlands and destroyed homes.
What You Need To Know
A wildfire spreading across the Texas Panhandle became the largest in state history Thursday, growing to nearly 1,700 square miles of scorched rural ranchlands and destroyed homes
The Smokehouse Creek Fire has merged with another blaze and is 3% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest ServiceFirefighters have made little progress corralling it, but Thursday’s forecast of snow, rain and temperatures in the 40s offered a window to make progress before temperatures and winds increase this weekend
Firefighters have made little progress corralling it, but Thursday’s forecast of snow, rain and temperatures in the 40s offered a window to make progress before temperatures and winds increase this weekend
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties. The encroaching flames caused the main facility that disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal to pause operations Tuesday night, but it was open for normal work Wednesday
The Smokehouse Creek Fire has merged with another blaze and is 3% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The fire’s explosive growth slowed as snow fell and winds and temperatures dipped, but it was still untamed and threatening more death and destruction. It is the largest of several major fires burning in the rural Panhandle section of the state. It has also crossed into Oklahoma.
Firefighters have made little progress corralling it, but Thursday’s forecast of snow, rain and temperatures in the 40s offered a window to make progress before temperatures and winds increase this weekend. Authorities have not said what ignited the fires, but strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes.
Less than an inch of snow is expected, but moisture is not the only benefit, said National Weather Service meteorologist Samuel Scoleri.
“It will help keep relative humidity down for the day, and that will definitely help firefighters,” Scoleri said.
Snow and rainfall were expected to end Thursday afternoon, with dry, windy conditions returning Friday and critical fire conditions possible again Saturday and Sunday.
An 83-year-old woman is the only confirmed death so far, but with flames still menacing a wide area, authorities have yet to conduct a thorough search for victims or tally the numerous homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.
Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said the weekend forecast and “sheer size and scope” of the blaze are the biggest challenges for firefighters.
“I don’t want the community there to feel a false sense of security that all these fires will not grow anymore,” Kidd said. “This is still a very dynamic situation.”
The largest fire recorded in state history was the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire, which burned about 1,400 square miles (3,630 square kilometers) and resulted in 13 deaths.
This week, walls of flames were pushed by powerful winds while huge plumes of smoke billowed hundreds of feet in the air across the sparsely populated region. The smoke delayed aerial surveillance of the damage in some areas.
“There was one point where we couldn’t see anything,” said Greg Downey, 57, describing his escape as flames bore down on his neighborhood. “I didn’t think we’d get out of it.”
The woman who died was identified by family members as Joyce Blankenship, a former substitute teacher. Her grandson, Lee Quesada, said he had posted in a community forum asking if anyone could try and locate her. Quesada said deputies told his uncle on Wednesday that they had found Blankenship’s remains in her burned home.
Quesada said she’d surprise him at times with funny little stories “about her more ornery days.”
“Just talking to her was a joy,” he said, adding that “Joy” was a nickname of hers.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties. The encroaching flames caused the main facility that disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal to pause operations Tuesday night, but it was open for normal work Wednesday.
Hemphill County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Kendall described the charred terrain as being “like a moonscape. … It’s just all gone.”
Kendall said about 40 homes were burned around the perimeter of the town of Canadian, but no buildings were lost inside the community. Kendall also said he saw “hundreds of cattle just dead, laying in the fields.”
Tresea Rankin videotaped her own home in Canadian as it burned.
“Thirty-eight years of memories, that’s what you were thinking,” Rankin said of watching the flames destroy her house. “Two of my kids were married there … But you know, it’s OK, the memories won’t go away.”
The small town of Fritch, north of Amarillo, lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire and appeared to be hit hard again. Mayor Tom Ray said Wednesday that an estimated 40-50 homes were destroyed on the southern edge. Ray said natural gas remained shut off for the town of 2,200.
Residents are probably not “prepared for what they’re going to see if they pull into town,” Hutchinson County Emergency Management spokesperson Deidra Thomas said in a social media livestream. She compared the damage to a tornado.
Near Borger, a community of about 13,000 people, emergency officials at one point late Tuesday answered questions from panicked residents on Facebook and told them to get ready to leave if they had not already.
“It was like a ring of fire around Borger. There was no way out … all four main roads were closed,” said Adrianna Hill, whose home was within about a mile of the fire. She said wind that blew the fire in the opposite direction “saved our butts.”
The Pantex nuclear weapon plant, northeast of Amarillo, evacuated nonessential staff Tuesday night out of an “abundance of caution,” said Laef Pendergraft, a spokesperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s production office at Pantex. Firefighters remained in case of an emergency.
Pantex tweeted early Wednesday that the facility was “open for normal day shift operations.”
The Smokehouse Creek Fire spread from Texas into neighboring Roger Mills County in western Oklahoma, where officials encouraged people in the Durham area to flee. At least 13 homes burned in fires in the state’s Panhandle region, officials said Wednesday.
Both President Biden and former President Donald Trump will travel to the southern border in Texas on Thursday. CBS News White House reporter Bo Erickson has more on what the two leading presidential candidates have planned.
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Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan. George H. W. Bush. Bill Clinton. George W. Bush. Barack Obama.
You’ve heard of each of those presidents, but you probably haven’t heard of Warren Washington, the scientist who advised all of them on Earth’s climate. It’s no wonder; he also helped develop one of the first climate models.
What You Need To Know
Warren Washington was the second African American to get a PhD in meteorology
He helped develop the earliest global climate models
The U.S. government awarded Washington the National Medal of Science in 2010
Warren Washington standing next to a CRAY supercomputer in 1980. (UCAR)
To put that in perspective, a report from the American Institute of Physics says that only 14 out of the 740 students to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science as recently as 2015 were African American.
From the 1960s onward, Washington studied the Earth’s climate system, building simulations that got more detailed as computers became more powerful. Early climate models were crude and slow.
“We weren’t able to go faster than the actual weather. We actually plowed on because what happened was computers got faster and faster,” he told NASA in a 2016 interview.
But, as computers got faster, Washington and his colleagues added more detail into the climate models.
Output from an early climate model in the late 1960s. (UCAR)
Washington used those computer models to experiment with various scenarios, tweaking the amount of carbon dioxide and other gasses to see what the different outcomes would be.
This is routine today. Scientists want to know what to expect if we do nothing to limit greenhouse gas emissions or suddenly stop all of it or something in between.
Washington earned many accolades and awards for his decades of work. In 2010, the country awarded him the National Medal of Science, the U.S. government’s highest scientific honor. He’s also been recognized for his efforts to increase diversity in atmospheric sciences.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
This man is suspected by TCU police of trying to break into an off-campus student apartment while armed, about two miles south of Texas Christian University.
TCU Police
Police at TCU are asking for the public’s help in finding two men they say recently tried to break into an off-campus student apartment, with one carrying a gun, according to a social media post.
The attempted break-in happened in the 3100 block of Sandage Avenue, almost two miles south of campus, according to police. They tried to open a back door around 4 a.m., though police did not specify what day the attempted break-in happened.
The social media post comes weeks after TCU police warned of a night prowler in neighborhoods south of campus. According to a separate social media post, no crimes were committed but police wanted students to call 911 if they saw anything suspicious.
Anybody with information on the attempted break-in or who recognizes the man in the image shared by police is asked to contact TCU police at 817-257-7777.
A TCU spokesperson did not respond to a Star-Telegram request for more information.
Related stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
James Hartley is a breaking news reporter with awards including features, breaking news and deadline writing. A North Texas native, he joined the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2019. He has a passion for true stories, understated movies, good tea and scotch that’s out of his budget.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a pair of cases that could transform online speech. The two cases involve Republican-backed laws in Florida and Texas that restricted social media companies from moderating content. CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson breaks down the cases’ impact.
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The US Supreme Court seems torn over whether to trigger a radical transformation of the internet. The nation’s highest court heard arguments Monday over state laws in Florida and Texas that restrict how platforms like Facebook and YouTube moderate speech. If the court lets them take effect, social media feeds could look very different, with platforms forced to carry unsavory or hateful content that today is blocked or removed.
The high stakes gave long-standing questions about free speech and online regulation new urgency in Monday’s arguments. Are social platforms akin to newspapers, which have First Amendment protections that give them editorial control over content—or are they common carriers, like phone providers or telegraph companies, that are required to transmit protected speech without interference?
A ruling is expected by June, when the court typically issues many decisions, and could have sweeping effects on how social sites like Facebook, YouTube, X, and TikTok do business beyond Florida and Texas. “These cases could shape free speech online for a generation,” says Alex Abdo, litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which filed a brief in the case but did not take sides.
Florida and Texas passed the laws under debate in 2021, not long after social media platforms booted former president Donald Trump following the January 6 insurrection. Conservatives had long argued that their viewpoints were unfairly censored on major platforms. Laws barring companies from strict moderation were pitched as a way to restore fairness online.
The laws were quickly put on hold after two tech-industry trade associations representing social platforms, NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association, challenged them. If the Supreme Court now allows the laws to stand, state governments in Florida and Texas would gain new power to control social platforms and the content posted on them, a major shift from the situation today where platforms set their own terms of service and generally hire moderators to police content.
Polar Opposites
Monday’s arguments, spanning nearly four hours, underscored the legal confusion inherent to regulating the internet that remains. Justices raised questions about how social media companies should be categorized and treated under the law, and the states and plaintiffs provided opposing views of social media’s role in mass communication.
The laws themselves leave gaps as to how exactly their mandates would be enforced. The questions posed by the justices showed the court’s frustration at being “caught between two polar opposite positions, both of which have significant costs and benefits for freedom of speech,” says Cliff Davidson, a Portland-based attorney at Snell & Wilmer.
David Greene, senior staff attorney and civil liberties director at the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, which filed a brief urging the court to strike down the laws, says there are clear public benefits to allowing social platforms to moderate content without government interference. “When platforms have First Amendment rights to curate the user-generated content they publish, they can create distinct forums that accommodate diverse viewpoints, interests, and beliefs,” he says.
Washington (CNN) — The US Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments Monday in two cases that could dramatically reshape social media, weighing whether states such as Texas and Florida should have the power to control what posts platforms can remove from their services.
The high-stakes battle gives the nation’s highest court an enormous say in how millions of Americans get their news and information, as well as whether sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok should be able to make their own decisions about how to moderate spam, hate speech and election misinformation.
At issue are laws passed by the two states that prohibit online platforms from removing or demoting user content that expresses viewpoints – legislation both states say is necessary to prevent censorship of conservative users.
More than a dozen Republican attorneys general have argued to the court that social media should be treated like traditional utilities such as the landline telephone network. The tech industry, meanwhile, argues that social media companies have First Amendment rights to make editorial decisions about what to show. That makes them more akin to newspapers or cable companies, opponents of the states say.
The case could lead to a significant rethinking of First Amendment principles, according to legal experts. A ruling in favor of the states could weaken or reverse decades of precedent against “compelled speech,” which protects private individuals from government speech mandates, and have far-reaching consequences beyond social media.
A defeat for social media companies seems unlikely, but it would instantly transform their business models, according to Blair Levin, an industry analyst at the market research firm New Street Research.
“This case represents the single biggest near-term risk to the social media platforms’ business models,” Levin wrote in a research note Monday, adding that the case has the potential “to make a sudden and dramatic turn that would materially disrupt” their ability to moderate content and, in turn, their attractiveness to advertisers.
Questions on Florida law
Supreme Court justices opened Monday’s oral arguments by questioning Florida Solicitor General Henry Whitaker about the broad scope of the state’s law restricting content moderation.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Florida’s law could prevent the online marketplace Etsy from curating items sold by its users.
“This is so, so broad, it’s covering almost everything” on the internet, Sotomayor said. “But the one thing I know about the internet is that its variety is infinite.”
Etsy necessarily has to be able to curate what it shows users or else they would be overwhelmed by the variety, Sotomayor said.
Whitaker said Florida’s law is limited by its definition of social media companies, which focuses on large platforms.
In addition to Etsy, other justices pushed Whitaker to play out how sites including Facebook and LinkedIn could be affected by the Florida law’s breadth.
“What do you do with [the scenario of], LinkedIn has a virtual job fair, and it has some rules about who can be involved?” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked. She also pushed Whitaker to say how Florida’s law might affect Facebook’s news feed differently from other parts of its platform.
Whitaker took the broad position that Florida’s law wants to treat platforms as “common carriers,” a regulatory designation that has applied to telecom companies and railroads. That would mean, he said, that the justices would not need to address many of the hypotheticals being raised by the court, because that designation would preempt a debate about the First Amendment.
Impact on other tech companies
Justice Amy Coney Barrett sounded a skeptical note on Florida’s law, echoing her colleagues on its breadth.
“Florida’s law, so far as I can understand it, is very broad,” Barrett said, ticking off still other companies that could be affected. “We’re talking about the classic social media platforms, but it looks to me like it could cover Uber. It looks to me like it could cover Google’s search engine, Amazon Web Services. And all of those things would look very different.”
Earlier, Barrett and fellow conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh zeroed in on a key issue in the case: Whether the First Amendment prevents states from forcing private businesses to host others’ speech.
Kavanaugh told Whitaker Florida’s argument had “left out” that the First Amendment restricts governments, not businesses.
Barrett asked Whitaker to explain how social media platforms were not like newspapers or bookstores.
“Could Florida enact a law telling bookstores that they have to put everything out by alphabetical order, and that they can’t organize or put some things closer to the front of the store that they think you know, their customers will want to buy?” Barrett asked.
Whitaker said social media platforms had opaque algorithms that prevent users from fully understanding how content curation happens.
Could the Florida law prevent Gmail from deleting or sending to spam emails sent by political commentators such as Tucker Carlson or Rachel Maddow? Justice Samuel Alito asked Paul Clement, the tech industry’s attorney.
Clement said the Florida law would seem to cover Gmail. Conservative groups have alleged that Gmail has engaged in partisan censorship by relegating certain campaign emails to spam – allegations the Federal Election Commission has tossed out.
Justice Elena Kagan cited X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as evidence that social media platforms do engage in speech when they moderate content.
Highlighting how the tone and range of content shifted on Twitter after Elon Musk bought the company in October 2022, Kagan said “a lot of Twitter users thought that was great. And a lot of Twitter users thought that was horrible.”
X has been under fire from advertisers, lawmakers and civil rights groups over its handling of hate speech and other offensive material after Musk laid off huge swaths of the company’s staff in the weeks after the takeover.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
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