Texas

13 - 12:13am

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday shrugged off suggestions by top Democrats his office is holding up delicate negotiations on the Texas budget by pressuring Republicans to steer money away from public education. The governor, holding a special ceremony to sign into law a measure that aims to protect against wrongful convictions, was asked why both parties have been unable to hammer out an agreement on the budget with only 11 days before the legislative session ends.

Texas and region 05/17/13 - 12:13am

DALLAS A second brother has pleaded guilty to robbing the same North Texas bank twice. Prosecutors in Dallas said 45-year-old Johnny Charles Butler on Wednesday pleaded guilty to two counts of armed bank robbery, plus assaulting a federal officer and using and carrying a firearm during a violent crime. Records show 44-year-old James Robert Cleveland Butler in February pleaded guilty to two counts of armed bank robbery, plus using and carrying a firearm during a violent crime. HOUSTON

Trooper 'reckless' in 2010 killing of Tulia man 05/17/13 - 12:13am

AMARILLO — A state trooper violated the Department of Public Safety’s use of deadly force policy, “failed to use proper judgment” and “did not have sufficient legal or factual justification” when he fatally shot a Tulia man fleeing from officers during a 2010 high-speed chase on Interstate 27, internal agency records show.

Texas tornado devastation includes Habitat homes 05/17/13 - 12:40am

Tornadoes ripped through Granberry, killing six and injuring dozens

GRANBURY — Habitat for Humanity spent years in a North Texas subdivision, helping build many of the 110 homes in the low-income area. But its work was largely undone during an outbreak of 13 tornadoes Wednesday night that killed six people and injured dozens. On Thursday, authorities combed through debris in Granbury, while residents awaited the chance to see what was left of their homes. Witnesses described the two badly hit neighborhoods as unrecognizable, with homes ripped from foundations and others merely rubble.

Crime not ruled out in West fertilizer explosion 05/17/13 - 12:39am

Investigators narrowed the number of possible causes to three

WEST — Investigators working in the remnants of an exploded Texas fertilizer plant sifted by hand through untold kernels of corn, moved tons of debris and conducted more than 400 interviews, while searching for the missing piece to solve what many officials compared to an extraordinary puzzle. One month after a fire triggered a massive blast, killing 15 people, officials Thursday had to declare the cause of the blaze “undetermined.”

Texas Senate votes to weaken university regents 05/16/13 - 12:22am

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate gave final approval Wednesday to a measure placing new limits on university regents’ power to fire campus presidents, sending the bill to Gov. Rick Perry in a struggle between the Legislature and the executive office over higher education. Lawmakers have been engaged in a session-long dispute with several members of the University of Texas System board of regents, who have clashed in recent years with Austin campus President Bill Powers over issues such as tuition costs and the role of teaching and research at the university.

Texas budget leaders remain hopeful of deal 05/16/13 - 12:18am

AUSTIN — House and Senate negotiators remained optimistic Wednesday they would finalize a new Texas budget by midnight amid last-minute uncertainty over how much money would be restored to public schools socked by historic spending cuts two years ago. Details on daylong talks were kept tightly guarded. But when asked whether the deal still called for reversing $3.2 billion of the massive cuts to public schools in 2011, the House budget chief seemed to suggest that number may not be firm.

Texas firefighters focused concern on toxic gases 05/16/13 - 12:18am

WEST — When they saw 30-foot flames licking the sky inside a massive fertilizer plant, firefighters in this tiny Texas town rushed to evacuate nearby buildings and raced to spray water on tanks of chemicals, hoping to prevent a catastrophe. They didn’t know, and probably could not imagine, the plant would soon explode into a deadly fireball and lay waste to much of the community. Instead, they were more concerned with preventing toxic gas from leaking out of the facility and drifting into nearby homes.

Former Texas EMT pleads not guilty to charges 05/16/13 - 12:17am

WACO — A first responder who helped evacuate people ahead of a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge he possessed bomb-making materials. Bryce Reed was arrested last week and indicted Tuesday on a charge of possessing an unregistered firearm. Authorities have not announced any link between Reed and the April 17 blast in West, which killed 14 people.

Texas and region 05/16/13 - 12:16am

HUNTSVILLE A Houston man condemned for the slaying of a police officer shot while trying to handcuff him during a car theft arrest 14 years ago was put to death Wednesday evening. Jeffrey Demond Williams, 37, received lethal injection just over an hour after his last-day appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court failed. Asked to make a final statement, Williams spoke quickly and angrily, beginning with “You clown police,” and accused them of “killing innocent kids, murdering young kids.” AMARILLO