Texas / South Central News

North Texas Grass Fire Torches 20 Homes

A grass fire apparently sparked by a mower swept about 300 yards across a tinder-dry open field to a suburban Dallas subdivision Monday, burning through wooden fences and torching as many as 20 homes, officials said. The blaze in Balch …

Texas School Mask Mandate Ban Upheld by Federal Appeals Court

Texas Governor Greg Abbott can maintain his ban on school mask mandates, a federal appeals court ruled. A three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday said that a group of disabled students failed to show …

Alex Jones’ Defamation Trial Set to Begin in Texas

Jury selection was set for Monday in a trial that will determine for the first time how much Infowars host Alex Jones must pay Sandy Hook Elementary School parents for falsely telling his audience that the deadliest classroom shooting in …

U.S. Sues Chicken Producers, Alleging They Conspired to Keep Wages Down

US poultry producers Cargill Inc., Sanderson Farms Inc. and Wayne Farms LLC agreed to pay $84.8 million restitution for conspiring to lower wages for workers at chicken slaughterhouses as part of a settlement with the US Justice Department. The US …

New Orleans Man Latest to be Sentenced in Staged Auto Accident Case

United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Larry Williams, age 49, of New Orleans, was sentenced last week for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, arising out of a staged …

New Orleans Approves Some Police Use of Facial Recognition

The New Orleans City Council has reversed itself and approved police use of facial recognition software and cellphone surveillance towers to investigate violent crimes. The ordinance, approved by the council on a 4-to-2 vote Thursday, comes as killings in the …

Texas DWC Seeks Comments on Benefits Forms Changes

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) is accepting public comments on revisions to two forms: DWC Form-046, Request to Accelerate Impairment Income Benefits. This form is necessary to allow injured employees with a hardship a way …

$6.3 Million Settlement Reached over Arkansas Dump Site Fire

A $6.3 million settlement has been reached in a lawsuit that claimed smoke from an underground fire at a dumping site in northwest Arkansas harmed nearby residents. An attorney in the case confirmed the settlement, which involves 85 households with …

Higginbotham Acquires Texas’ Brown & Company

Brown & Company Insurance Services, an employee benefits and individual life and health insurance agency in College Station, Texas, has combined with Higginbotham, an insurance, financial and HR services firm ranked as the 20th largest independent broker in the U.S. …

Ex-East Texas Deputy Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force

A former East Texas deputy has pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation for punching a restrained detainee in the chest repeatedly with a shock gun, according to court documents. Former Van Zandt County sheriff’s deputy David Yager pleaded guilty …

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