Texas

13 - 12:30am

Senate Select Committee on Redistricting votes mainly along party lines

AUSTIN — Any hopes the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature will vote on redistricting maps that won’t be challenged in court have virtually disappeared. After more than two hours of debate and even more public testimony Wednesday, June 12, the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting voted mostly along party lines on three bills and a series of amendments aimed at drawing congressional and legislative districts for the rest of this decade.

Man charged with shooting wife at Texas base 06/12/13 - 12:33am

AUSTIN — A man suspected of shooting his wife at a Texas Army base was charged Tuesday with domestic violence.

Texas & Region 06/12/13 - 12:32am

Texas & Region DOBBIN An explosion demolished a house in a rural Southeast Texas neighborhood Tuesday, critically injuring two women and an infant inside, officials said. The 8:20 a.m. explosion destroyed the house in the rural town of Dobbin. The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office said in a statement that investigators suspect a propane leak may have caused the blast, which was felt up to 20 miles away. PAMPA

Fort Hood suspect, defense attorneys at odds 06/12/13 - 12:32am

FORT HOOD — Defense attorneys ordered to help the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage said Tuesday it would be unethical to give him their legal advice and opinions while he’s representing himself at his upcoming murder trial. After allowing Maj. Nidal Hasan to serve as his own attorney, Army judge Col. Tara Osborn last week said his former attorneys would stand by and help him if he requests it.

Complaint: Dallas truancy courts unconstitutional 06/12/13 - 12:31am

AUSTIN — Advocacy groups have filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department claiming Dallas-area public schools are too harsh in their truancy rules, subjecting students to cruel and unusual punishment by handcuffing them in class, sending them to special adult courts and assessing stiff fines for skipping school.

Jury in Texas videotaped beating case done for day 06/12/13 - 12:31am

HOUSTON — Defense attorneys for an ex-Houston police officer accused of participating in the 2010 beating of a teenage burglary suspect told jurors Tuesday their client was a “brave officer” who didn’t mistreat anyone and that his conviction would hamstring how law enforcement arrests dangerous criminals. But prosecutors told jurors that Drew Ryser kicked a suspect who already had given up and that his acquittal would send a message that the community tolerates such mistreatment by police officers.

Animal-loving relative runs Caldwell Zoo in Tyler 06/12/13 - 12:29am

TYLER — Continuing the legacy of the Caldwell Zoo with hard work, dedication and clear vision has been the drive for Hayes Caldwell, who this month celebrates 50 years of his devotion to the facility. “I have been blessed to be on this journey for 50 years. You can’t make this stuff up. I keep pinching myself because it doesn’t seem like 50 years,” said Caldwell. The Tyler Morning Telegraph reported Caldwell was only 14 in 1963 when he took on a zoo job that paid him about a quarter a day to clean cages, mow grass and stock the soda machine.

Southern Baptists re-elect first black president 06/12/13 - 12:28am

HOUSTON (AP) — The Southern Baptist Convention re-elected its first black president, the Rev. Fred Luter Jr., at its annual meeting Tuesday. Luter was first elected in 2012. His presidency comes at a time when the nation’s largest Protestant denomination is trying to move beyond its traditional white Southern base. The Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention claims 16 million members, but recently announced that membership declined in 2012 for the sixth straight year.

Violent Texas man set to die for fireman's slaying 06/12/13 - 12:27am

HUNTSVILLE — Convicted burglar Elroy Chester was out of prison and on probation when authorities say he embarked on a six-month crime spree in a Southeast Texas neighborhood during which he killed five people, raped three others and stole from 25 homes. Chester, 44, confessed to the five slayings and was set to die this evening for one of them — the fatal shooting of a decorated Port Arthur firefighter who interrupted Chester while he was sexually assaulting the firefighter’s two nieces during a home invasion.

No bomb found aboard LA-to-Texas Southwest flight 06/12/13 - 12:27am

PHOENIX (AP) — No explosives were found on a Southwest Airlines plane that was diverted to Phoenix with 143 passengers on board, authorities said. The FBI said Monday that an afternoon flight from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, landed in Phoenix after someone called in a bomb threat. Laura Eimiller of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office said Flight 2675 left Los Angeles International Airport at 2:12 p.m. and was heading to Austin before the threat was received by telephone.