State Headlines
Texas boasts best annual job growth in United States
Posted/updated on: September 19, 2026 at 4:45 pmAUSTIN (KETK) – Labor data released by the Texas Workforce Commission on Friday revealed that Texas has outpaced the rest of the United States in job growth over the last year. Friday’s data for August 2026 marked 12 months since the release of labor data in August 2025, and over that span Texas added 159,400 jobs. That growth puts the state’s annual job growth rate at around 1.1%, higher than the national average of 0.7%. “The Texas workforce is the envy of the nation,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated on Friday. “A skilled workforce and the best business climate in America give job creators the confidence to invest in Texas. That is why Texas leads all states for job creation and why Texas drives economic ... Read More
Gas prices near $4 in Texas as calls grow to suspend state gas tax
Posted/updated on: September 19, 2026 at 4:45 pmTYLER (KETK) — Gov. Greg Abbott predicted in July that Texas gas prices would fall below $2 a gallon before summer’s end, but new AAA data shoAAA Texas spokesperson Daniel Armbruster said Texas drivers are seeing an unusual trend for this time of year, when gasoline prices typically decline following the summer travel season. “Texas drivers are seeing an unusual trend for this time of year. Gas prices typically decline after the summer travel season, but persistently high crude oil prices are pushing costs in the opposite direction,” Armbruster said. Armbruster said crude oil prices hovering around $100 per barrel are continuing to put upward pressure on prices at the pump and warned Texas could see its most expensive September statewide gas price average on ... Read More
Trump administration begins building border wall in Texas’ Big Bend region
Posted/updated on: September 19, 2026 at 4:45 pmCOMSTOCK (AP) — The Trump administration has started building the border wall through a west Texas section of the Big Bend region, marking the first major construction in an area of the U.S.-Mexico border where the administration’s plans have met with heavy opposition. The start of construction marks an important milestone in the administration’s $46 billion plan to line the border with walls, barriers, roads and technology as it seeks to make good on a key campaign promise by President Donald Trump to finish the wall. And it comes as Customs and Border Protection says it has doubled the pace at which it is building the wall across the U.S.-Mexico border. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement to The Associated Press that “border ... Read More
Texas man gets 80 years for continuous sexual assault
Posted/updated on: September 19, 2026 at 4:45 pmMARION COUNTY, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – A man was sentenced to 80 years in prison for a sex crime. On Sept. 16, 2026, the jury found Jon Daniel King guilty of continuous sexual assault of a child. They recommended an 80-year prison sentence for the crime. King has been held in the Marion County Jail since September 2024 and will be transferred into the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. ... Read More
2 arrested after over 100 grams of meth found in Trinity County
Posted/updated on: September 19, 2026 at 4:45 pmTRINITY COUNTY, Texas (KETK)– A traffic stop in Trinity County on Wednesday led to the arrest of two people after police said over 100 grams of methamphetamine were found inside their vehicle. According to the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, during a traffic stop on Wednesday, deputies searched a vehicle and discovered 114 grams of methamphetamine. Following the search, Joseph Huckaby and Clysta Young were arrested and charged with the manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance. During the investigation, it was also discovered that Huckaby had an active arrest warrant from the Lufkin Police Department for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. ... Read More
ICE officer pleads not guilty to charges he lied to the FBI about nonfatal Minneapolis shooting
Posted/updated on: September 19, 2026 at 4:45 pmST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An immigration officer pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges that he lied to the FBI about being attacked before he shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis early this year. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge after prosecutors indicted him this month on six federal counts of making false statements about the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Castro, in a black suit and with an electric monitor visible at his ankle, said very little during the hearing. He was suspended without pay by ICE earlier this year. Castro’s federal hearing came a day after he appeared in state court on assault charges and was released ... Read More
Lawsuit blames Texas abortion ban for San Antonio woman’s death
Posted/updated on: September 19, 2026 at 4:45 pmSAN ANTONIO (AP) - The family of a 37-year-old pregnant San Antonio woman who died of preeclampsia is claiming in a new lawsuit that the Texas’ abortion ban led to her death. The family of Tierra Walker, who died when she was 20 weeks pregnant, is suing Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate hopeful Ken Paxton, Texas Medical Board executive director Stephen Brint Carlton, the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and doctors who cared for her. The lawsuit specifically holds Paxton and Carlton responsible for Walker’s December 2024 death because of their upholding of Texas’ “merciless blanket prohibition on abortion.” “Tierra Walker is dead and those responsible must be held accountable,” according to the lawsuit filed in San Antonio’s Bexar County ... Read More
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