The Lone Star State

Houston, you have an ant problem. Billions of ravenous ants have invaded the city and are chomping their way through the city's electrical equipment, causing shorts and failure, AP reports. The previously unknown species—dubbed "crazy raspberry ants"—apparently arrived in Texas on a cargo ship. The invading army is resistant to conventional ant pesticides. More »

A gigantic sinkhole is gobbling up a small East Texas town, the New York Times reports. The hole—dubbed "Sinkhole de Mayo" by the residents of Daisetta—opened up suddenly, and quickly grew to the size of several football fields, swallowing trees and trucks. Many of the town's thousand residents have already packed their bags. The hole opened when an underground salt dome collapsed, possibly due to increased saltwater from nearby oil drilling. More »

Mothers from a polygamist Texas sect are appealing to the governor to investigate the welfare of their children in state custody, AP reports. Three moms sent a letter claiming that several of the 416 kids seized in a raid on their compound because of suspected child abuse have been hospitalized, and that state custody is "traumatizing" them. More »

Texas officials have removed 534 people and arrested one in an ongoing raid of a polygamist ranch near Eldorado, the San Angelo Standard-Times reports. But the man they collared is only charged with obstructing the 4-day raid, not committing the rape that sparked it. Meanwhile, at a nearby historical fort, child protection officers continued to interview the 401 kids and 133 women bussed out of the compound since Friday. More »

Texas authorities pulled 52 kids from the compound of a polygamous sect today after a girl said she was raped there, the Houston Chronicle reports. Eighteen of the children were bussed out by court order, based on claims of abuse or neglect, and put into temporary custody. State troopers are also seeking a suspect at the compound, which was founded by jailed polygamist Warren Jeffs. More »

Have parents-of-many Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie finally tied the knot? Star magazine insists Brangelina got hitched in a French Quarter wedding chapel yesterday, while People magazine is claiming no such ceremony took place. Angelina was pushing for an intimate wedding in France, but Brad got his way instead in Louisiana, says the Star . Pshaw, says People, the Brangelina wasn't even in New Orleans—they were in Texas, where Pitt has been filming Tree of Life . More »

Airport security guards who forced a woman to remove her nipple rings with pliers were following procedures, according to the TSA—but they agree it's time for some new procedures, CNN reports. Pierced passengers pulled over for inspection will in future be told they have the option of showing the piercing to a guard instead of removing it. More »

A Texas woman is calling for an apology after airport security in Lubbock forced her to pull out her nipple piercings with a pair of pliers before boarding her plane, the AP reports. When her chest set off the security wand, Mandi Hamlin offered to show a female guard her unremovable piercings in private, but male guards insisted they be removed. She said she could hear them snickering as she did so. More »

Americans are continuing to flock to the Sun Belt, reports the AP. Almost all of the 50 fastest-growing metro areas in 2006 and 2007 were in the South and West, and four of the top 10 were in Texas. None were in the Northeast. Experts say the Sun Belt's strong economies and low house prices are drawing in people, especially from the Rust Belt. More »

In an effort to follow in the steps of Jesus, seven prosperous Austin men spent part of Holy Week this year living in a park in downtown Austin, Texas, with the homeless. The "street retreat' is led by Alan Graham, co-founder of a national organization that ministers to the homeless called Mobile Loaves & Fishes. More »

Move over indie-rock—Hip-hop got a big bump at South by Southwest this year. Houston's emerging hip-hop scene helped spread word within the rap community, the AP reports, and some 150 acts took the stage this year. "Honestly I didn't know too much about this," says Del the Funky Homosapien, but "people would say, 'If you don't go, you trippin'!'" More »

The 16-year-old Texas girl charged with killing her mother and brothers didn't decide to murder her family on a whim. Erin Caffey and her boyfriend discussed the homicide “for about a month,” according to police reports. Caffey waited outside in a car while the boyfriend and an accomplice allegedly shot Caffey’s parents and shot and stabbed her brothers with a “sword,” reports the Tyler Morning Telegraph. More »

A 16-year-old Texas girl and three friends allegedly killed her mother and two brothers and set the family home on fire because her parents objected to her boyfriend, the AP reports. The suspects face capital murder charges in yesterday's attack, which the girl's father survived. Shot five times, he crawled 300 yards to a neighbor's house for help. More »

While acknowledging success for Mike Huckabee is "mathematically impossible," the Dallas Morning News today endorsed the ex-Arkansas governor. The editorial board praised his “good-natured approach to politics” and acknowledged that its continuing support is more symbolic than practical, calling a vote for Huckabee “a good investment in the Republican Party's future.” More »

Texas—the land of big oil, big agriculture, pickup trucks, wide-open spaces, and little mass transit—not only is the biggest emitter of CO2 among states, it ranks eighth in the world, a new study says. It’s also one of the few states without any climate plan in the works. "Oil companies run the show,” an activist tells Newsweek. More »

Ahead of Tuesday’s crucial primaries, Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton in Texas, 48% to 42%, and trails in Ohio, 44% to 42%, Reuters reports. “All the momentum is with Obama,” said pollster John Zogby. “The question is whether she can stem the tide.” In Ohio, Clinton retains strong leads among women, older voters, Democrats, Catholics, and union members. More »

Trying to win a primary in Texas is “like running a national campaign,” a veteran strategist says one week before the pivotal vote. With its enormous size and diversity, its multitude of media markets, and a voting system so complicated it’s been nicknamed the Texas two-step, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been campaigning at a breakneck pace, the New York Times reports. More »