Texas

Couple May Divorce to Pay for Daughter's Health Care

Maria and Jake Grey are considering an unpleasant option

(Newser) - Six-year-old Brighton Grey has a rare illness that costs her parents $15,000 a year and may force them to file for divorce, KTRK reports. Maria and Jake Grey make sure Brighton has full-time care because her rare disorder, Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, limits her vision and hearing and keeps her at... More »

Girl, 10, Electrocuted Trying to Save Kittens

Animals were stuck behind dryer, family says

(Newser) - A Texas family says they are trying to "make sense of the senseless" in the tragic death of their 10-year-old daughter, who was electrocuted in their home. Greenlee Marie Buckley's mother says the girl, who loved animals, died while trying to rescue two kittens that had become trapped... More »

Lawsuit: 22 Girls Were Strip-Searched in Choir Class

A Fifth Circuit court of appeals sends the case to court

(Newser) - The mothers of two girls who were allegedly strip-searched in a Houston middle school will get their day in court after all, KTRK reports. The two moms say their girls' civil rights were violated when nurses at Lanier Middle School looked under the clothing of 22 female students for $50... More »

Guy Grabs Teen's MAGA Hat, Throws Drink in His Face

Video of the incident has gone viral

(Newser) - A group of teens was eating at a Whataburger in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday when a "patriotic hat" got them some unwelcome attention. The hat in question appears, in a video posted by the mom of one of the teens, to be a red "Make America Great... More »

Cops: Man Bit Rattlesnake to Exact Revenge on Neighbor

He put the de-rattled snake in his rival's trailer

(Newser) - If you encounter a rattlesnake in the wild, experts advise freezing and then slowly backing away from the animal. They certainly don't advise biting its rattle off and then turning it loose in your neighbor's trailer, as a Caldwell County, Texas, man is accused of doing. Police say... More »

America's Oldest Man Robbed of His Savings

Thieves stole Richard Overton's identity and broke into his bank account

(Newser) - Richard Overton is something of a celebrity in Austin, Texas, because the 112-year-old WWII veteran is the oldest living man in America. He now has a new distinction: the oldest American to be robbed of his savings, reports Newsweek . Family members recently learned that an unidentified thief used Overton's... More »

'Ice Pick Killer' During Texas Execution: It 'Hurts'

Serial rapist and murderer Danny Bible, 66, lost his last-ditch appeal to Supreme Court

(Newser) - A serial rapist and murderer known as the "ice pick killer" received a lethal injection in Texas Wednesday evening after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal. Danny Bible, accused of at least four slayings and nine rapes, had sought to delay the execution by arguing that he was too... More »

Texas Hospital Blast Kills 1, Injures 12

All those involved were construction workers

(Newser) - One construction worker was killed and a dozen others were injured after an explosion at an addition to a Texas hospital Tuesday, authorities say. Bob Harrell, the Coryell County emergency manager, says all of those killed or injured were construction workers and not hospital staff or patients. The incident was... More »

In Blow to Democrats, Court Allows Texas Voting Maps

Supreme Court overrules lower court

(Newser) - A divided Supreme Court kept Texas' voting maps largely intact Monday, dealing an election-year blow to Democrats by reversing earlier findings that intentional racial discrimination continues to stain several statehouse and congressional districts. The 5-4 decision comes nine months after Democrats had celebrated lower court rulings that invalidated parts of... More »

He's Found Many Bodies. His No. 1 Case Is His Dead Girl

The 'Guardian' looks at the murder that has defined Tim Miller's life

(Newser) - Tim Miller—or, rather, the search-and-recovery organization he created—has found 238 bodies. His daughter's wasn't one of those. Miller founded Texas EquuSearch in 2000, some 16 years after his 16-year-old was murdered. On Sept. 10, 1984, Laura Miller headed to a gas station to use the payphone... More »

Man Separated From Family at Border Kills Himself

Border Crosser Kills Himself After Family Separation

Honduran man was found dead in Texas cell

(Newser) - A Honduran man who "lost it" when he entered the US and was told he would be separated from his family killed himself in a Texas jail cell, according to police and Border Patrol agents. Agents speaking under condition of anonymity tell the Washington Post that Marco Antonio Munoz,... More »

Decapitated Rattlesnake Almost Kills Texas Man

Man Makes 'Classic Mistake' After Decapitating Snake

The severed head almost killed him

(Newser) - A Texas man who used a shovel to decapitate a rattlesnake he found in his backyard failed to realize that a severed snake head can be just as dangerous as one that has a body attached. When the man picked up the head to dispose of it, it attacked, sinking... More »

He Began Digging Into the 1985 Murder, Found Something

The Flashlight Helped Convict Him. Maybe It Shouldn't Have

Part II of the investigation into Mickey Bryan's 1985 death

(Newser) - We'll start with the spoiler: The second and final part of Pamela Colloff's deep investigation for ProPublica and the New York Times Magazine into the 1985 murder of Clifton, Texas, schoolteacher Mickey Bryan doesn't wrap up in a neat little bow. Her husband, Joe, remains in prison,... More »

A Teacher Was Murdered. Then Her Brother Found a Flashlight

Part I of a ProPublica/NYT Magazine investigation into Mickey Bryan's 1985 murder

(Newser) - Mickey Bryan's 1985 murder rocked the small town of Clifton, Texas. She was a beloved elementary school teacher married to the equally beloved principal of the town's high school. And their love for each other was well known: The two were seen nearly nightly, "strolling hand in... More »

Cops: Woman Fatally Shot Husband for Beating Cat

Cops: Woman Admits to Killing Husband for Beating Cat

Dallas woman faces murder charge

(Newser) - If cats could talk, one of them might be called as a witness in a Dallas murder trial. Mary Harrison, 47, was arrested early Saturday for allegedly shooting husband Dexter Harrison, 49, to death during an argument, the Dallas Morning News reports. She told detectives that she shot her husband... More »

Cops: Teen, Young Wife Hired Hitman to Kill Jeweler Dad

Only child Nicolas Shaughnessy expected to receive millions, say police

(Newser) - His father was gunned down in a home invasion in March; in April, Nicolas Shaughnessy was named to take over the family business, Gallerie Jewelers in Austin, Texas. Authorities now have other plans for the 19-year-old, per the New York Daily News . Arrested Tuesday on charges of criminal solicitation to... More »

Cops: Off-Duty Deputy Killed by Police Officer Brother

Texas officer initially claimed he had killed burglar

(Newser) - Brothers Robert and Rocky Lee have more than 60 years of law enforcement between them, and something happened between them that left one brother dead and the other in jail, police in Texas say. CNN reports that police say Rocky Lee, a 26-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff's... More »

Lawyer Sorry After Alleging Rape by State Trooper

He says bodycam video disputes his client's claims

(Newser) - A civil rights lawyer on Monday claimed there was "significant evidence to substantiate" his client's claim she was raped by a Texas state trooper. Two days later, he said the trooper "should be cleared of any wrongdoing." It was an about-face spurred by the release of... More »

'King of the Commode' Seeks Heir to His Thrones

96-Year-Old Looking for Heir for His Toilet Seat Museum

Barney Smith has 1,350 decorated toilet seats on display, but it's time for him to pack it in

(Newser) - FOR SALE: One tiny kingdom, with many thrones. But it doesn't come with a title. That belongs to Barney Smith—the undisputed "King of the Commode," reports the AP . "There's a lot of me in there," he says, in front of the garage he'... More »

A Final Gift From Teacher Murdered in Texas School

Cynthia Tisdale's story is now bringing in money for treatment of her seriously ill husband

(Newser) - One of the victims in the Santa Fe school shooting was Cynthia Tisdale, a 63-year-old substitute teacher who WFMY reports was killed Friday while teaching a first-period art class. But while family and friends mourn her death in this "terrible act of violence," BuzzFeed notes a glimmer of... More »