Harris County District Attorney Searn Teare, Harris County Commissioners Court member Rodney Ellis, and Paula Pina Valeria with Commissioner Lesley Briones’ office spoke Monday afternoon following the death of a 52-year-old man shot by an ICE officer on July 7 in Houston. During the press conference, Commissioner Rodney Ellis said that the district attorney has taken steps to open an independent investigation into Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s death. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who lived in the U.S. for decades, as the homebuilder drove his construction crew to a Houston job site. “Our responsibility as a Harris County Commissioner’s Court is to make sure he has the resources to do so,” Commissioner Ellis said Monday. District Attorney Teare attended the news conference and said his office would conduct an independent investigation. “The DA’s office is conducting a parallel independent investigation of this case just like we do in every single officer-involved shooting where someone in this community loses their life. This is no different than anything else we do day in and day out. We have an incredibly robust civil rights division who goes out to these scenes, who works collaboratively with…

Before dawn on July 4, 2025, catastrophic flooding swept through the Texas Hill Country when the Guadalupe River surged and rose about 30 feet in an hour, washing away bridges and roads and killing at least 137 people. Families celebrating the holiday weekend woke to rising water racing through neighborhoods and beloved campgrounds along the Guadalupe River. Within just a few harrowing hours, homes, cabins, and vehicles were inundated. Roads became impassable, and entire communities were cut off. In multiple locations, the Guadalupe reached levels associated with 100-year and even 500-year flood events, creating one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern Texas history. One year ago, NBC 5 documented the devastation left behind by the catastrophic Hill Country floods and examined the questions they raised. Since then, the water has receded, but the recovery is far from over. NBC 5 has continued to follow the people, policies, and questions that remain. From recovery efforts to legislative reform to families finding meaning after their lives have been reshaped by the river, this is where the story stands today. One year later: How one family is finding hope after the Texas Hill Country flood Nearly one year after the deadly Texas…

The return of the New World Screwworm has raised concerns among ranchers, government officials, and pet owners. Experts say the parasite poses a serious threat to livestock and other animals. But they also point to an important historical fact: the United States has beaten screwworm before. Many of the same tools used decades ago are being deployed to help stop the pest again. What is a New World screwworm? The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly native to the Americas, according to Texas A&M Agrilife. It can impact any warm-blooded animal, including livestock, pets, wildlife, and humans. “Wounds will attract the female flies,” said Dr. Guilherme G Verocai, a veterinarian and parasitologist at Texas A&M, “They lay their eggs usually around the edge of those wounds.” Verocai explained that the hatching larvae burrow into living tissue to feed. The condition in which larvae feed on living tissue is called myiasis, according to the Screwworm Coalition of Texas. Many animals are vulnerable to the screwworm, Verocai explained, “This parasite really doesn’t discriminate.” He emphasized that while emphasis has largely been placed on cattle, it isn’t exclusively targeting livestock. “The parasites will potentially lay eggs and feed…