Texas

27 November 2019; AFP: An explosion at a chemical plant in Texas early Wednesday sent a large fireball into the sky, reports and witnesses said, triggering a mandatory evacuation.

Dramatic videos and photos shared on social media showed a large blast, with one resident describing waking up to a huge boom and "glass all over us".

HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston man serving a life sentence for a 2010 fatal stabbing was freed on bond Tuesday while authorities reinvestigate his case, including new DNA evidence that his lawyers say exonerates him.

Lydell Grant has been in prison for seven years for the killing of 28-year-old Aaron Scheerhoorn outside of a Houston club. Police say Scheerhoorn ran to the club after being stabbed and sought help. He was turned away and witnesses said they saw Grant stab him several more times before fleeing. Grant was convicted in 2012.

USA (AP) --- Officers responding to a disturbance call early Tuesday in South Texas were “basically ambushed” by a man with a semi-automatic rifle who shot and injured one officer and two other people, the police chief said.

Cesar Terrazas, 22, was arrested after authorities in Laredo near the Mexico border say he fired dozens of rounds at officers responding before 6 a.m., and then broke into a home where he continued shooting. Terrazas faces a series of felony charges including attempted capital murder, aggravated assault and burglary.

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ top criminal appeals court on Friday halted the scheduled execution of inmate Rodney Reed, whose conviction is being questioned by new evidence that his supporters say raises serious doubt about his guilt.

The stay of execution by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals came just hours after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had recommended delaying the lethal injection.

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — About 50 shoppers lined up early Thursday ahead of the reopening of a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, that had been closed since August, when a gunman police say was targeting Mexicans opened fire in the store and killed 22 people.

On the day of the attack, Walmart didn’t have a security guard on duty. But as the doors opened to the public for the first time in three months and shoppers streamed into the renovated space, they passed dozens of sheriff’s deputies, security guards and store employees.

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Walmart has quietly hired off-duty officers at its stores in El Paso, Texas, where a gunman police say targeted Mexicans opened fire in a store in August and killed 22 people.

Walmart plans Thursday to reopen the store where the attack happened and amid ongoing lawsuits over safety. Walmart didn’t have a guard in the store the day of the mass shooting.

The reopening will happen unceremoniously, Walmart spokeswoman Delia Garcia said, and will follow a brief meeting with employees. She declined comment on security measures.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — In his five years as Texas’ governor, Republican Greg Abbott has overseen the execution of nearly 50 prisoners while only once sparing a condemned man’s life.

But Abbott — who has proudly referred to the death penalty as “Texas justice” — has never confronted such intense pressure to halt a lethal injection like he is facing in the case of Rodney Reed, who is set to die this month for a 1996 killing despite new evidence that even a growing number of Republican legislators say raises serious questions about his guilt.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Saturday that Republicans and Democrats need to work together for the good of the United States, while avoiding a direct reference to the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

Tillerson, whom Trump fired in a tweet in March 2018 amid friction between the two over North Korea, Iran and Russia policies, has largely refrained from discussing politics publicly since leaving Washington.

DENTON, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a North Texas police officer is in critical but stable condition after being shot during a traffic stop, and two suspects who fled were later taken into custody and treated for gunshot wounds.

Denton police say Officer Urbano Rodriguez Jr. was wounded in the head and leg. Police Chief Frank Dixon said the officer’s prospects for recovery were favorable after surgery, but he faces “a long path to recovery.”

GREENVILLE, Texas (AP) — A man suspected of opening fire at an off-campus college party in Texas, killing two people and injuring 12 others, was arrested Monday.