A 66-year-old Texas man died of an infection caused by a flesh-eating bacteria he contracted while fishing along the Gulf Coast. (Dreamstime/TNS)
By Sarah Bahari | Dallas Morning News (TNS)
A 66-year-old Texas man died of an infection caused by a flesh-eating bacteria he contracted while fishing along the Gulf Coast. (Dreamstime/TNS)
DALLAS — A 66-year-old Texas man died of an infection caused by a flesh-eating bacteria he contracted while fishing along the Gulf Coast.
The man, identified to KHOU-TV as Randy Bunch by relatives, was crabbing and fishing in Freeport when he stepped into shallow water off a boat ramp to retrieve a crab trap.
His daughter, Brandy Pendergraft, of Pearland, told the news station that her father had not noticed a small, days-old scrape on his right foot. A few hours later, Bunch was in pain and went to the emergency room, she told the Houston-area outlet.
When the doctor could not find anything wrong, Bunch was released and went home, she said. By the next morning, he had a 104-degree fever and was disoriented. Bunch returned to a hospital, where doctors determined he had contracted vibrio bacteria.
“The blisters were taking over his whole body,” Pendergraft told KHOU. “It was spreading. Just like a fire.”
Bunch died in June, less than a week after he stepped into the water, his daughter said.
So far this year, Brazoria County has reported nine cases of vibrio infections, compared to seven in 2023, Cathy Sbrusch, director of the county’s public health services, said in an email Tuesday.
Vibriobacteria occur naturally in coastal waters, including salt water and brackish water, a mixture of salt and fresh water. It is found in higher concentrations from May to October when water temperatures are warmer.
Vibrio can cause two kinds of illnesses. The more common is caused by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters. Symptoms include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and dehydration.
The other, potentially more serious infection occurs when an open wound comes into contact with coastal waters. Most of the cases in Galveston were the result of contact with water, a spokesperson for the Galveston County Health Department said in an email Friday.
In the worst cases, the bacteria can lead to necrotizing fasciitis, a severe infection in which the flesh around an open wound dies, which is why vibrio is frequently called a “flesh-eating bacteria.” Such severe infections are rare and tend to occur in people with pre-existing conditions that cause weakened immune systems, health authorities say.
Galveston officials said in the release they are working to identify the source of the infections and implement measures to prevent additional cases.
The CDC estimates roughly 80,000 cases of vibrio occur in the U.S. each year, with more than half of those caused by eating contaminated food.
Vibrio infections have caused a handful of deaths in and around Texas. In 2017, a 31-year-old Dallas man with a chronic liver disease died after flesh-eating bacteria from the Gulf of Mexico entered his body through a new tattoo on his leg.
The same year, a 31-year-old Texas man died of an infection contracted while repairing Hurricane Harvey-damaged homes in Galveston, and a Texas woman died after eating raw oysters in Louisiana.
Migrants walk past large buoys being used as a floating border barrier on the Rio Grande, Aug. 1, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
The long-awaited trial over the placement of lethal saws, razor wire and netting in the Rio Grande Valley was scheduled to begin Tuesday. A last-minute decision announced Monday postponed the trial until November at the earliest, after our presidential election.
We trust that the delay was not made in order to see who will win that election — Donald Trump, who supports the barriers, or Kamala Harris, who we assume opposes them. The law is the law, regardless of who’s in the White House.
The court’s adjudication of the case should be based solely on the law and whether or not the state of Texas has the authority to place the obstructions within the federally controlled international boundary. And given the contrasting rulings, and the lethal nature of the barrier, the case should be heard sooner rather than later.
Workers make adjustments to buoys being used as a barrier along the Rio Grande, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the installation of the obstruction, secured by strings of buoys, in June 2023 as part of his crackdown on illegal immigration. The federal government demanded that the buoys be removed and then filed its lawsuit after Abbott refused. The fate of the chain has been at issue over the past year, with courts alternately ruling that they must be removed or that they don’t have to. The most recent ruling came last week when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals declared that the buoys can stay — reversing a previous ruling by a smaller panel of its own judges who had ordered them removed in December 2023.
The immediate issue for the federal court to decide is the question of whether the Rio Grande — or at least the 1,000-foot section between Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras, Mexico where buoys are hung — is navigable. The lawsuit claims the barrier violates the federal Rivers and Harbors Act by obstructing navigable waters. Last week’s ruling allowing the chain to remain noted that it “is not within navigable water.”
Historically, the river was navigable and ships moved people and cargo up and down its waters. Over the past 70 years, however, two dams have been built across the river and currently, drought conditions have lowered the river level to the point that people can wade through it at some points.
The lawsuit also asserts that the federal government controls our international boundaries and that the state placed the obstruction without seeking permission and in violation of international treaties. It also raises humanitarian and environmental concerns.
A migrant from Columbia walks along Concertina wire and a floating buoy barrier after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into the U.S., Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Those concerns are valid; several bodies have been found entangled in the razor wire and netting, including a 3-year-old girl, and Mexico has issued formal complaints about the buoys’ placement.
It’s the lethal nature of the chain that upsets most opponents, and that needs to be addressed. An argument certainly can be made that if such an obstruction can be placed on the river at all, it needn’t be designed to entangle and shred the bodies of those who get caught in it.
That’s also a reason why the court should hear the case as soon as possible. As long as the injurious elements of the barrier remain, lives remain at risk. There’s no telling how many more people might die as a result of the court’s delay in bringing the case to trial.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to the media, Nov. 9, 2022, in St. Paul, Minn. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)
By ZEKE MILLER, COLLEEN LONG, STEVE KARNOWSKI, WILL WEISSERT and SEUNG MIN KIM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate on Tuesday, choosing an affable longtime politician who Democrats hope can keep newfound party unity alive in a campaign barreling toward Election Day.
Harris said in a post on social media that Walz has “delivered for working families” as a governor, coach, teacher and veteran. Walz called it “the honor of a lifetime” to be Harris’ vice presidential pick. The two will appear together in Philadelphia at an evening rally.
In choosing the 60-year-old Walz, she is turning to a Midwestern governor, military veteran and union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state, including sweeping protections for abortion rights and generous aid to families.
“It’s great to have him on the team,” Harris wrote on X. “Now let’s get to work.”
He is joining Harris during one of the most turbulent periods in modern American politics, promising an unpredictable campaign ahead. Republicans have rallied around former President Donald Trump after his attempted assassination in July. Just weeks later, President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign, forcing Harris to unify Democrats and consider potential running mates over a breakneck two-week stretch.
Harris hopes to shore up her campaign’s standing across the upper Midwest, a critical region in presidential politics that often serves as a buffer for Democrats seeking the White House. The party remains haunted by Trump’s wins in Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016. Trump lost those states in 2020 but has zeroed in on them as he aims to return to the presidency this year and is expanding his focus to Minnesota.
Harris, second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Walz are set to appear together for an evening rally in Philadelphia, recalling a joint 2020 appearance by Biden and Harris in Wilmington, Delaware.
After Tuesday’s trip to Pennsylvania, they will spend the next five days flying thousands of miles around the country touring critical battleground states. They’ll visit Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Detroit on Wednesday and Phoenix and Las Vegas later in the week.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally, July 30, 2024, in Atlanta. Harris, the daughter of immigrants who rose through the California political and law enforcement ranks to become the first female vice president in U.S. history, is poised to secure the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (John Bazemore/AP Photo)
Planned stops in Savannah, Georgia, and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, were postponed because of Tropical Storm Debby ‘s effects.
A team of lawyers and political operatives led by former Attorney General Eric Holder pored over documents and conducted interviews with potential selections, and Harris herself met with her three finalists — Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona — on Sunday. She mulled the decision over on Monday with top aides and finalized it Tuesday morning, the people said.
Harris, the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to lead a major party ticket, initially considered nearly a dozen candidates before zeroing in on a handful of serious contenders, all of whom were white men. In landing on Walz, she sided with a low-key partner who has proved himself as a champion for Democratic causes.
“It’s no surprise that San Francisco Liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running-mate – Walz has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s campaign press secretary. “Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide.”
Biden, who dropped out of the race by saying the future of democracy was more important than personal ambition, praised the Democratic ticket on Tuesday.
“They will be the strongest defenders of our personal freedoms and our democracy. And they will ensure that America continues to lead the world and play its role as the indispensable nation,” Biden said.
Walz has been a strong public advocate for Harris in her campaign against Trump and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, labeling the Republicans “just weird” in an interview last month. Democrats have seized on the message and amplified it since then.
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in the press room at the State Capitol, on March 13, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (Steve Karnowski/AP Photo)
During a fundraiser for Harris on Monday in Minneapolis, Walz said: “It wasn’t a slur to call these guys weird. It was an observation.”
Walz, who grew up in the small town of West Point, Nebraska, was a social studies teacher, football coach and union member at Mankato West High School in Minnesota before he got into politics.
He won the first of six terms in Congress in 2006 from a mostly rural southern Minnesota district, and used the office to champion veterans issues. Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard, rising to command sergeant major, one of the highest enlisted ranks in the military.
He ran for governor in 2018 on the theme of “One Minnesota” and won by more than 11 points.
As governor, Walz had to find ways to work in his first term with a legislature that was split between a Democratic-controlled House and a Republican-led Senate. Minnesota has a history of divided government, though, and the arrangement was surprisingly productive in his first year. But the COVID-19 pandemic hit Minnesota early in his second year, and bipartisan cooperation soon frayed.
Walz relied on emergency powers to lead the state’s response. Republicans chafed under restrictions that included lockdowns, closing schools and shuttering businesses. They retaliated by firing or forcing out some of his agency heads. But Minnesotans who were stuck at home also got to know Walz better through his frequent afternoon briefings in the early days of the crisis, which were broadcast and streamed statewide.
Walz won reelection in 2022 by nearly 8 points over his GOP challenger, Dr. Scott Jensen, a physician and vaccine skeptic. Democrats also kept control of the House and flipped the Senate to win the “trifecta” of full control of both chambers and the governor’s office for the first time in eight years. A big reason was the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which held that the Constitution doesn’t include a right to abortion. That hurt Minnesota Republicans, especially among suburban women.
“Tim has been in the news because the country and the world is seeing the guy we love so much,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Monday.
Ken Martin, chair of the Minnesota-Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party said young people he spoke to on the campaign trail were “Walz pilled.”
Walz and other Democrats went into the 2023 legislative session with an ambitious agenda — and a whopping $17.6 billion budget surplus to help fund it. Their proudest accomplishments included sweeping protections for abortion rights that included the elimination of nearly all restrictions Republicans had enacted in prior years, including a 24-hour waiting period and parental consent requirements. They also enacted new protections for trans rights, making the state a refuge for families coming from out of state for treatment for trans children.
Their other major accomplishments included tax credits for families with children that were aimed at slashing childhood poverty, as well as universal free school breakfasts and lunches for all students, regardless of family income. They also enacted a paid family and medical leave program, legalized recreational marijuana for adults and made it easier to vote.
Republicans complained that Walz and his fellow Democrats squandered a surplus that would have been better spent on permanent tax relief for everyone. And they’ve faulted the governor and his administration for lax oversight of pandemic programs that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a news conference at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Aug. 16, 2023. (Steve Karnowski/AP Photo)
Federal prosecutors charged 70 people with defrauding federal food programs that funded meals for kids during the pandemic out of $250 million on Walz’s watch. Known as the Feeding Our Future scandal, it’s one of the country’s largest pandemic aid fraud cases. The Office of the Legislative Auditor, a nonpartisan watchdog, delivered a scathing report in June that said Walz’s Department of Education “failed to act on warning signs,” did not effectively exercise its authority and was ill-prepared to respond.
Republicans still criticize Walz for his response to the sometimes violent unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, which included the torching of a police station.
During a May fundraiser in St. Paul, Trump repeated his false claim that he was responsible for deploying the National Guard to quell the violence. “The entire city was burning down. … If you didn’t have me as president, you wouldn’t have Minneapolis today,” Trump said.
It was actually Walz who gave the order, which he issued in response to requests from the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul. But within Minnesota, GOP legislators said both Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were too slow to act. And there was finger-pointing between Frey and Walz on who was responsible for not activating the Guard faster.
Walz has served often as a Biden-Harris surrogate and has made increasingly frequent appearances on national television. They included an interview on Fox News that irritated Trump so much that he posted on Truth Social, “They make me fight battles I shouldn’t have to fight.” Walz is also co-chair of the rules committee for the Democratic National Convention. And he led a White House meeting of Democratic governors with Biden following the president’s disastrous performance in his debate with Trump.
Putting Walz on the ticket could help Democrats hold the state’s 10 electoral votes and bolster the party more broadly in the Midwest. No Republican has won a statewide race in Minnesota since Tim Pawlenty was reelected governor in 2006, but GOP candidates for attorney general and state auditor came close in 2022.
Trump finished just 1.5 percentage points behind Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state in 2016. While Biden carried Minnesota by more than 7 points in 2020, Trump has taken to falsely claiming that he won the state last time and can do it again.
Minnesota has produced two vice presidents, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale.
Karnowski reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report from Washington.
Hidalgo County Precinct 3, Place 1 Justice of the Peace Sonia Treviño looks on during a court hearing on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Edinburg. (Dina Arévalo | [email protected])
EDINBURG — A visiting judge has denied a motion by Sonia Treviño to recuse the judge who has been presiding in the trial contesting her narrow reelection win for the Hidalgo County Precinct 3, Place 1 justice of the peace seat.
Visiting Judge Joel Johnson denied the motion after hearing more than two hours of testimony and argument in the 430th state District Court room on Monday.
“I’m gonna deny the motion to recuse,” Johnson said.
Less than an hour later, the judge had signed a written order to that effect.
“(T)his Court finds that the evidence presented by the Contestee (Sonia Treviño) is insufficient to show that the Judge Bañales (sic) acted improperly or showed any bias or prejudice in the trial of this case,” the order stated.
Thus came to an end one of many interruptions in the hotly contested trial initiated by Ramon Segovia, the candidate who in mid-June launched a challenge to Segovia’s 31-vote margin of victory in the May 28 Democratic Party runoff for the western Hidalgo County JP race.
At issue this time around was an order that visiting Senior Judge Jose Manuel Bañales signed last Thursday that seemingly ended the trial as Treviño’s attorneys were still eliciting testimony from witnesses.
Language included in the last page of the three-page document stated that Bañales had disqualified enough ballots during prior testimony to declare Segovia the true winner of the election.
The order further stated that it was a final judgment and subject to appeal.
Efrain Molina, left, and Rick Salinas, attorneys for Sonia Treviño, examine a proposed exhibit during a trial contesting Treviño’s election win on Monday, July 29, 2024, in Edinburg. (Dina Arévalo | [email protected])
The language discrepancy wasn’t discovered until a member of Treviño’s legal team, attorney Efrain Molina Jr., obtained a printed copy from the case docket, Molina testified during Monday’s recusal hearing.
“I actually ran from the conference room … because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Molina testified.
What Molina had expected the document to contain was written confirmation of an order that Bañales had handed down orally just before the lunch recess Thursday.
In that oral pronouncement, Bañales had ruled that Treviño and her attorneys could not call any of the 170 witnesses they had subpoenaed in hopes of having their ballots similarly disqualified from the challenger’s vote tally.
But when Segovia’s attorneys printed out the proposed order, as directed by the judge, they inadvertently printed off the wrong “last page.”
Instead, Carina Garza de Luna, cocounsel representing Segovia, had mistakenly printed out the last page of another document she and the rest of Segovia’s legal team had prepared in the event they won the trial, according to testimony from lead counsel, Gilberto Hinojosa.
“What has happened here was that this was an innocent mistake that was made by us in submitting the last page of an order that was part of a proposed judgment that we were gonna submit to the judge at the end of the trial,” Hinojosa said.
Attorney Gilberto Hinojosa, center, speaks during a court hearing on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Edinburg. (Dina Arévalo | [email protected])
But for Treviño’s attorneys, the “why” and “how” behind the incorrect order didn’t matter as much as the potential appearance of impropriety that occurred the moment Bañales signed the document and filed it for the record.
Treviño’s attorneys argued that the signed document constituted a so-called “ex parte” communication between the judge and Segovia’s attorneys, Hinojosa and Garza de Luna.
Hinojosa pushed back on that assertion vehemently, repeatedly asking all three of Treviño’s attorneys if they had any concrete evidence that either he or Garza de Luna had spoken with the judge outside of their presence.
Molina, the attorney who discovered the problem document, said direct communication didn’t matter. He cited a moment he had experienced some years ago in the very same courtroom before Judge Israel Ramon.
In that instance, Molina had given the judge a document with highlighted areas. When the judge learned that Molina hadn’t given a similarly highlighted copy to opposing counsel, the judge admonished him for what could be considered an ex parte communication.
Another concern that Treviño’s attorneys raised was how the order that Bañales signed in error could cause confusion among members of the public.
They cited posts made to social media that called into question the judge’s impartiality and confusion over whether Bañales had decided the outcome of the case before hearing the entirety of the evidence from both sides.
But again, Hinojosa pushed back, pressing Rick Salinas, the lead attorney representing Treviño, if the person who ran the anonymous Facebook account in question was none other than his very own sister.
Attorney Rick Salinas, left, testified during a motion to recuse the judge presiding over his client’s election contest trial on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Edinburg. (Dina Arévalo | [email protected])
Salinas denied the implication, saying he doesn’t know who runs the page.
Salinas further stated that he had received similar questions about Bañales’ actions from members of the media, though he excluded the three journalists who observed Monday’s hearing.
“I think the media can get a handle on what is happening during this hearing,” Judge Johnson said.
For his part, Hinojosa — who has agreed to interviews about the trial anytime a member of the media has asked over the past three weeks — on Monday openly wondered why there was press coverage at all.
Further, the longtime lawyer blamed the media for Monday’s hearing coming to fruition.
“Had the contestee (Treviño) recognized this and treated (it) for what it was, which was an honest mistake on our part … had they not filed this motion to recuse … this would not have been a story,” Hinojosa said during his own testimony.
“I’m also raising it as to why the media was paying attention to this case,” Hinojosa added a moment later when both Treviño’s attorneys and the judge asked why he kept focusing on the press.
Ultimately, Judge Johnson declined to recuse Bañales from the case and asked that a written order be produced for him to sign — one with all the attorneys’ signatures as well, “so that we’re not confused about what I’m signing,” the judge said.
Attorney Rick Salinas, far right, addresses a witness during an election contest trial on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Edinburg. Behind him, attorneys Gilberto Hinojosa, center, Carina Garza de Luna, and political candidate Ramon Segovia look on. (Dina Arévalo | [email protected])
He quipped that the order could refer to him as “Señor Judge,” a reference to the typographical error that had sparked the filing error in the first place.
As he left the courtroom, Johnson issued another missive: “All done. Well, I’ve gotta sign the order, but I’m gonna read the whole damn thing,” Johnson said.
Trial is expected to resume Tuesday morning. But it’ll be hard going for Treviño.
Bañales’ last standing order denied her the ability to call witnesses who could testify that Segovia and his campaigners also allegedly assisted voters illegally.
Without those witnesses, Salinas’ hope of disqualifying droves of Segovia’s voters is dead on arrival. He has previously alleged that Segovia’s campaign illegally aided more than 500 voters.
“My understanding of the law is that in these kinds of cases they serve a public interest and you’re just trying to get to the truth, right?” Salinas, her attorney, said after last Thursday’s brouhaha.
“Which is something that I think we haven’t been allowed to do.”
A photographer prepares to makes photos of SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
SpaceX is planning something different with its fifth Starship orbital test flight from Boca Chica, and things could get loud.
The most recent estimate from Elon Musk, the company’s founder and CEO, is that “Flight 5” could take place late this month or early September, depending on when the Federal Aviation Administration grants the required modified launch license.
This time, instead of the Super Heavy booster rocket falling or landing in the Gulf, whole or in pieces, the fifth test will attempt to retrieve the booster by setting it down on the launch pad at Boca Chica, using huge mechanized arms on the pad’s integration/launch tower to grab it on its way down.
There’s a good chance this won’t succeed. Nevertheless, SpaceX communications office announced in a statement Monday afternoon that the next flight “will potentially be a major step in our effort towards building a rapidly reusable rocket.”
“A primary goal will be flying the Super Heavy booster back to the launch site and catching it,” the company said. “In addition to being a pretty spectacular visual for residents in Cameron County, the rocket’s return will be accompanied by a sonic boom. We’re spreading awareness of the potential for residents to hear the boom and appreciate the work your organizations do to keep the community informed.”
A sonic boom, like a condensed thunderclap, is the noise made by the shock wave produced by a flying object moving faster than the speed of sound, or Mach 1, about 761 mph at sea level on a “standard day,” according to NASA.
“The booster will slow down from supersonic speeds, resulting in audible sonic booms in the area around the return location approximately seven to nine minutes after launch,” SpaceX said.
The company noted that it has landed its family of Falcon rockets more than 330 times, producing sonic booms each time.
However, the company said the 233-foot-tall Super Heavy is expected to produce a more intense sonic boom than those made by its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
“Data gathered from the first ever Super Heavy landing burn and splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico on Starship’s fourth flight test indicates Super Heavy’s sonic boom will be more powerful than those generated by Falcon landings,” SpaceX said.
“Residents in the surrounding area may hear one or more sonic booms during the landing attempt, although what residents’ experience will depend on distance from the launch site, weather conditions and other factors.”
SpaceX said it will release more information about the next flight “once we’re closer to launch,” and that the launch date is pending regulatory approval.
Construction work has begun on Jay Avenue, 17th Street, Lark Avenue, Main Street and 11th Street, with officials saying that construction in the area will continue until April 2025. (Courtesy: City of McAllen)
As the city continues to improve drainage throughout McAllen, officials announced the start of a drainage improvement project that will cause a road closure until next year.
Construction work has begun on Jay Avenue, 17th Street, Lark Avenue, Main Street and 11th Street, with officials saying that construction in the area will continue until April 2025.
“The project will enhance local storm infrastructure and improve overall water management in the area,” the city of McAllen said in a press release.
Work will take place Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with officials saying some weekend work may be necessary.
The city said to expect periodic lane closures, detours and construction equipment in the area, and urge motorists to plan for potential delays and follow posted detour signs. Whenever possible, local access to homes and businesses will be maintained.
Lastly, the city said there will be increased noise and dust during construction.
“Motorists are urged to find alternate routes during the closure and exercise extreme caution when traveling along the area,” officials said in the release. “The City of McAllen asks for motorists’ cooperation and patience as it works to improve the community’s infrastructure.”
A sign spelling out “ResacaFest” is erected along the resaca Saturday, July 1, 2023, for ResacaFest in W.H. Heavin Memorial Park in San Benito. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
After previously being postponed in anticipation of possible impact from Hurricane Beryl, the city of San Benito is ready to kick off ResacaFest this Friday.
ResacaFest will be held from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday at Heavin Memorial Park, located at 705 N. Bowie St.
The event is free to the public and will include live music from Buck’n Crazy, La Calma, Brody Rivers, Frutty Villarrreal y Los Mavericks and the Jamming Joe Band.
Sarah Cabrera gets flowers painted onto her face at the face painting booth Saturday, July 1, 2023, during ResacaFest in W.H. Heavin Memorial Park in San Benito. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
Additionally, the festival will also include a school supply giveaway, vendors, cold drinks and a BBQ cook-off. The categories for the cook-off include pork ribs, chicken, fajitas, charro beans and pan de campo.
For any questions regarding the cook-off, contact Eddie Tapia at (956) 874-9920 or [email protected]
For information regarding ResacaFest, call (956) 361-3800.
The McAllen man who fired at least 51 rounds from inside his metal shed because he believed the FBI was taking panels off his residence has been formally charged.
Ponciano Garcia Jr., 37, was charged on Friday with aggravated assault, discharge of firearm in certain municipalities and resisting arrest, search or transportation, McAllen police said on Monday.
“Gunfire was reported through 11:32 p.m. and [reporting persons] assisted to tentatively identify the residence from where the gun fire appeared to originated,” a prior release said.
Garcia was contacted on the phone and confirmed the gunshots.
He then told officers that he was firing a 9mm gun as well as a .22 caliber gun while wearing a tactical vest because he believed that the FBI was trying to take panels off his residence.
Garcia added that he didn’t want anyone entering his residence but would make an exception for EMS personnel to take the injured FBI agents away, according to the release.
At 12:33 a.m., more gunfire was heard, confirming the location as the sounds were coming from a metal shed located on the northeast corner of the suspect property.
One responding officer, later identified as a 14-year officer from the McAllen Police Department, Sgt. Paul Ramos, observed Garcia opening the entry door to the shed and announced himself when he saw Garcia reaching for what he believed was a weapon.
Ramos shot once and appeared to miss as Garcia retreated back into the shed.
Other officers cleared all other property and confined Garcia to the shed, the release said.
They then breached the shed’s windows and deployed pepper gas, made entry and apprehended Garcia.
An investigation determined that Garcia had fired at least 51 rounds and up to 70 to 100 rounds.
The release also states that Garcia suffered an injury to his right elbow but refused medical care.
Garcia remains in custody at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on $95,000 in bonds, jail records show.
CBP seized approximately 3,400 pounds of meth in a lettuce shipment at the Pharr International Bridge on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Courtesy: U.S. Customs and Border Protection/CBP)
CBP seized approximately 3,400 pounds of meth in a lettuce shipment at the Pharr International Bridge on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Courtesy: U.S. Customs and Border Protection/CBP)
United States Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr International Bridge seized over 3,400 pounds of alleged methamphetamine marking it the largest seizure in port history, according to a news release from CBP.
On Thursday, CBP officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility encountered a tractor trailer entering from Mexico that was selected for inspection.
After utilizing non-intrusive inspection equipment, officers physically inspected the shipment and extracted 1,488 packages of methamphetamine which totaled nearly 3,430 pounds.
The drugs were concealed within a shipment of lettuce.
A search of federal court records for the relevant time frame didn’t immediately return a result for a criminal complaint against anyone suspected in the smuggling attempt.
CBP’s news release did not say whether anyone was arrested, just that Homeland Security Investigations has initiated an investigation.
The amount of meth is the largest amount ever encountered in the history of the Pharr International Bridge and has a street value of over $48 million, according to CBP.
“Our CBP officers remain vigilant and intercepted this massive methamphetamine load, preventing it from reaching American streets,” Port Director Carlos Rodriguez said in the release. “Congratulations to our diligent officers who made this record-breaking interception.”
A month ago, a traffic stop on a tractor-trailer in Pharr resulted in the seizure of nearly 3,000 pounds of meth.
Border Patrol agents and the Roma Police Department on Saturday apprehended 20 people in the country illegally hidden inside a vacant apartment while taking the alleged smuggler into custody.
A criminal complaint against Julian Alberto Soto, a U.S. citizen born in 1980, said Border Patrol camera operators on Saturday spotted a group of people running north from the Rio Grande toward a gold minivan, which they all piled into.
Border Patrol camera operators maintained a visual of the vehicle as it drove to an apartment complex located at 2053 4th Street in Roma.
The minivan briefly stopped at the apartment complex before driving off, which is when Border Patrol agents conducted a traffic stop and encountered Soto, according to the complaint.
Roma police responded after a thorough search of the area didn’t turn up any signs of the group.
Locals in the area told Roma officers that two of the apartments at the complex were vacant. A search of one didn’t yield any results, but when a Roma officer looked through an open window into the other, they saw someone on the floor, according to the complaint.
Police made entry into that apartment and found 20 people who were illegally present in the country.
Soto told Border Patrol agents that he was in his friend’s living room and heard a lot of activity outside.
“Soto believed it was a smuggling activity because Soto said that is a daily thing in the area,” the complaint said.
He also said that he was in the minivan because his friend asked him to wash it, according to the complaint.
“Soto stated that he doesn’t know who the vehicle belongs to, but Soto believes his friend might have been involved in whatever happened to the van. Soto stated that he is currently on probation from another alien smuggling case,” the complaint stated. “Soto stated there is information on his phone from smuggling activity early in the week, but none from today.”
One of the people in the country illegally, however, identified Soto as the load driver, but would not initial a document saying so because they feared for their life.
Three of those apprehended told agents that the smugglers told them not to say anything to law enforcement and expressed fear.
Soto made a first appearance in McAllen federal court Monday morning in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis, who ordered him temporarily held without bond pending further court proceedings.
