The Texas Department of Transportation is warning Texans against clicking any text link that demands immediate payment of a fine. TxDOT said fraudsters are sending fake notices designed to scare people into giving away personal information or money. Drivers across the state have reported receiving texts claiming to be from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles or other state agencies. They typically include a link and threaten more penalties if you do not pay the fine immediately. TxDOT does not collect fines for toll or traffic violations. It also does not send alleged registration violations through unsolicited text messages. If you receive one of these texts, do not click the link, do not reply to the message or share any personal information. You can report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or the Federal Trade Commission at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov. Courtesy of Texas News – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth …

A Palestinian woman who was the last person still in immigration detention after the Trump administration’s 2025 crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists was released Monday on $100,000 bond after a year in custody. Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old from the West Bank who has lived in New Jersey since 2016, had been held in a U.S. immigration detention center in Texas since last March. Kordia was among roughly 100 people arrested outside Columbia University during protests at the school in 2024. “I don’t know what to say. I’m free! I’m free! Finally, after one year,” Kordia, with a beaming smile, told reporters after emerging from the detention center. An immigration judge had ordered her released on bond three times. The government challenged the first two rulings, but Kordia was freed Monday after it did not challenge the third. She was recently hospitalized for three days following a seizure after fainting and hitting her head at the privately run detention facility. “We are overwhelmed with relief and gratitude at the release of our beloved Leqaa Kordia,” said Hamzah Abushaban, Kordia’s cousin, in a statement from her lawyers. “This past year has taken an unimaginable toll on Leqaa and our entire family.” Kordia said she was looking forward to…

Newly released police body camera footage shows bar goers and pedestrians fleeing and ducking for cover in the moments after a gunman began firing outside an Austin bar, leaving three dead in what is being investigated as potential terrorism. “Everybody down!” one officer yells. “Where is he?” The terrifying moments captured on video by officers and surveillance cameras that were released Thursday show how the shooting that wounded more than a dozen others unfolded quickly early Sunday in downtown Austin’s entertainment district. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said officers arrived within 56 seconds of the first 911 call, shooting and killing the suspect after he fired at police. Davis said the investigation is ongoing and would not discuss a possible motive for the shooting that erupted a day after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran. The FBI has said it’s investigating the shooting as a potential act of terrorism and a law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the gunman was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and bearing the words “Property of Allah.” Police have identified the gunman as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne and say he legally bought the pistol and rifle that he used…

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas resisted growing calls Tuesday from fellow congressional Republicans to resign over a report of an alleged affair with a former staffer who later died after she set herself on fire. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky joined Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Nancy Mace of South Carolina are demanding that Gonzales step down immediately. Mace also announced that she has introduced a resolution to force the House Ethics Commission to publicly release its reports and records of allegations of sexual harassment against members of Congress. Gonzales told reporters he will not resign. “There will be opportunities for all of the details and facts to come out,” he said. “What you’ve seen is not all the facts.” House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would talk to Gonzales on Tuesday. Johnson said Monday that the accusations against Gonzales “must be taken seriously,” but he added, “in every case like this, you have to allow the investigation to play out and all the facts to come out.” “If the accusation of something is going to be the litmus for someone being able to continue to serve in the House, a lot of people would…