The Lone Star State

Bush to Give Jenna Away in Twilight Wedding

Houston Chronicle  |  May 9, 08 9:55 AM CDT

(Newser) - President Bush boarded Air Force One yesterday to attend to some family business: giving away his daughter Jenna at her wedding at twilight tomorrow, near a lake on the family's Crawford, Texas, ranch. The First Daughter, who opted against a "stuffy" wedding at the White House, will be wearing Oscar de la Renta as she ties the knot with longtime boyfriend Henry Hager. More »

Giant Sinkhole Eats Texas Town

New York Times  |  May 9, 08 3:48 AM CDT

(Newser) - 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 »

Rangers Shut Out Mariners After Benches Clear

Associated Press  |  May 9, 08 1:02 AM CDT

(Newser) - Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer and then got hit by a pitch, setting up a fourth-inning brawl in the Texas Rangers' 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners last night. Richie Sexson charged the mound and flung his helmet at Rangers starter Kason Gabbard after the left-hander threw a pitch to him. Both benches cleared, but no punches were thrown. Sexson was ejected. More »

Texas Raid Rocks Other Polygamists

New York Times  |  May 8, 08 10:40 AM CDT

(Newser) - The raid on the Texas compound of a polygamist sect has similar communities worried, reports the New York Times . Groups of polygamists belonging to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints live along the Utah-Arizona border and many fear that the crackdown on their Texas brethren means they could be next as the federal government leans on states to get tough on illegal practices. More »

Padilla Pitches Rangers Past M's

Associated Press  |  May 8, 08 12:37 AM CDT

(Newser) - Vicente Padilla allowed two hits over seven innings to outpitch Erik Bedard and Milton Bradley homered as the Texas Rangers beat the struggling Seattle Mariners 2-0 Wednesday night. Bradley hit his fourth home run in the sixth and scored both runs. Brandon Boggs had a run-scoring triple in the fourth. More »

Rangers beat Mariners 10-1

Associated Press  |  May 7, 08 12:17 AM CDT

(Newser) - Major league RBIs leader Josh Hamilton, Michael Young and David Murphy drove in three runs each to support stingy starter Sidney Ponson in the Texas Rangers' 10-1 victory over the sinking Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night. Seattle lost for the sixth time in seven games before the smallest crowd in Safeco Field history to move back into a last-place tie in the AL West. More »

What We Can Learn From Being Dog-Tired

New York Times  |  May 6, 08 2:33 PM CDT

(Newser) - Alaskan sled dogs racing for days on end don’t get tired out the way a human runner would, the New York Times reports, and researchers eager to imitate this fatigue resistance in people—particularly soldiers—say it’s because they’re somehow able to change their metabolism. “Suddenly they throw a switch—we don’t know what it is yet,” one researcher said. More »

Polygamy Hubby Tallies 21 Wives

CNN  |  May 6, 08 6:18 AM CDT

(Newser) - A husband in the Texas polygamist ranch where children were seized to protect them from suspected child abuse has 36 kids and 21 wives—with the youngest 43 years his junior, reports CNN. The information on the 67-year-old member—whose youngest child is 6 months old—is included on a "bishop's list" of families kept by the sect. The "bishop" is believed to be leader Warren Jeffs, serving time as an accomplice to child rape. More »

M's Snap Skid Against Texas

Associated Press  |  May 6, 08 12:06 AM CDT

(Newser) - Wladimir Balentien and Richie Sexson homered to back starter Jarrod Washburn and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 on Monday night to end a five-game losing streak. Washburn had a 7-0 lead and had allowed just one hit entering the seventh. He gave up three consecutive hits then left with tightness in his right calf. More »

Chicago Bear Charged With Drunken Boating

Chicago Tribune  |  May 5, 08 8:26 AM CDT

(Newser) - Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was booked in Austin, Texas on Saturday night for boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest, the Chicago Tribune reports. The former Texas Longhorn denies all charges and alleges that police acted improperly in macing him without provocation. Bears coach Lovie Smith said he was "disappointed," but reserving judgment until more details surface. More »

Cust Leads Athetics Over Rangers

Associated Press  |  May 4, 08 11:37 PM CDT

(Newser) - Jack Cust's two-run homer in the seventh inning lifted the Oakland Athletics to a 3-1 victory over Texas yesterday, ending the Rangers' four-game winning streak. Santiago Casilla (1-0) threw a scoreless seventh for the win, and has yet to allow a run this season. Rangers' starter Scott Feldman (0-1) gave up three runs and six hits in a career-high 6 1-3 innings. More »

Old Columbia Test Sheds Light on Ketchup

LiveScience  |  May 4, 08 6:27 PM CDT

(Newser) - A hard drive recovered from the Columbia shuttle disaster confirms an old theory about why people shake ketchup before pouring it, LiveScience reports. Astronauts on the craft were conducting a zero-gravity experiment with xenon, a gas, to study viscosity, but scientists feared the results were lost after Columbia burned up 5 years ago. More »

Willie Bio an Epic of Whiskey, Weed, and Women

Radar  |  May 4, 08 3:01 PM CDT

(Newser) - Joe Nick Patoski hopped aboard Willie Nelson's tour bus more than 35 years ago, and despite the ever-present haze of marijuana smoke, appears to have emerged clear-eyed to write Willie Nelson: An Epic Life . The work is a "sprawling masterpiece" of the Texas hippie, John Clarke Jr. writes in Radar , chronicling a lifetime of drugs, music, and women. More »

Rangers Win Second Straight