Alexandria Aniyah Rubio was opinionated like her mother, and she played basketball and softball like her father. When she got older, she wanted to go to college on a softball scholarship and to become an attorney. Lexi, as she was known to family and friends, was among the 19 children and two teachers who were shot to death during the May 24 attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Her family asked mourners to wear bright colors to Lexi’s funeral on Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Uvalde because Lexi loved them. Lexi wanted to major in math one day at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, where her mother is a student, the family said in an obituary posted on a funeral home’s website. They described her as “sarcastic, but caring, giving.” Gun violence March for Our Lives Jun 11 March for Our Lives Rallies Call for New Gun Laws After Shootings gun violence Jun 11 Governors Forming Task Force to Address Mass…

The special Tony Award that honors educators will go to a drama teacher in Texas who argues that “musical theater has a unique way of bringing people together.” Roshunda Jones-Koumba, the theater director at G.W. Carver Magnet High School in Houston will receive the 2022 Excellence in Theatre Education Award on June 12 at the Tony Awards in New York City. The annual education award bestowed by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University recognizes U.S. educators from kindergarten to 12th grade who have “demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession.” “In theater we accept all, so you’re not afraid to be yourself. And that gives you confidence to do anything you want, enables you to work with different people, and to be a better all-around person,” Jones-Koumba said in a statement. “Theatre is Life. I’m very grateful to The Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University for this honor.” The award includes a $10,000 prize and a pair of tickets to the Tony ceremony and gala. A panel of judges comprised of the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, Carnegie Mellon and other leaders from the theater industry selects the winner,…

Authorities in Texas have been searching for a woman accused of fatally shooting an elite cyclist after discovering the athlete had been romantically involved with her cyclist partner. The U.S. Marshals Service said it was looking for Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 35, in the May 11 killing of Anna Moriah Wilson, 25. Armstrong was last heard from on May 13, the affidavit says, according to NBC affiliate KXAN of Austin. Austin police issued a homicide warrant for Armstrong on Tuesday, the Marshals Service said. It came nearly a week after police say a friend of Wilson’s found her body at an Austin home on May 11. The cyclist had traveled to Texas for a race in Hico, southwest of Fort Worth, according to the cycling outlet Velo News. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAN, Armstrong had been in a relationship with professional cyclist Colin Strickland for roughly three years. But during a break in their relationship, Strickland had begun seeing Wilson, the affidavit says. Based on a search of Wilson’s phone, investigators said messages indicated Wilson believed she was “still in a romantic relationship with Strickland even though he was currently dating Armstrong,” the affidavit says, according to KXAN. Read the…

A Texas woman faces drug possession charges after stealing a 52-foot yacht and taking it on a joyride in Galveston. According to a report by KPRC-TV, 45-year-old Renee Waguespack took the Jefferson Monticello “Loyalty” yacht for a ride on Monday. Galveston police told KPRC-TV that they received a call that the yacht had sailed away from where it was docked at 6130 Heards Lane shortly before noon. The United States Coast Guard and the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office assisted in locating the stolen boat. It was found roughly an hour later at a pier at 7509 Broadway, police said. Police told KPRC-TV they found Waguespack on board the yacht along with four grams of a controlled substance that was presumed to be methamphetamine and required further testing. Waguespack was charged with possession of a controlled substance as well as unlawful use of a motor vehicle, police told KPRC-TV. She is currently being held in the Galveston County Jail. Courtesy of Texas News – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth …

A suspect in the fatal shootings of a young woman and teenage girl at a Casa Grande apartment complex has been arrested in Texas, according to authorities. Casa Grande police said 18-year-old Terrance Xavier Santistevan was taken into custody Saturday night in Pflugerville, which is 18 miles north of Austin, Texas. Police said Santistevan is facing two counts of first-degree murder. He’s being held in the Travis County jail awaiting extradition to Arizona. It was unclear Sunday if Santistevan has a lawyer yet who can speak on his behalf. Authorities said 17-year-old Danielle Murrieta and 18-year-old Leslie Cota were found shot multiple times on April 24 with nearly 30 bullet casings recovered at the scene. The two were rushed to a hospital where they succumbed to their injuries. A possible motive for the shootings remains unclear, authorities said. Police said detectives developed leads in the case through tips given by community members. They’re still searching for Santistevan’s vehicle, which police said has been connected to the fatal shootings. Courtesy of Texas News – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth …

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke was in Dallas Wednesday to discuss his plan to lower property taxes for Texans. O’Rourke has proposed making more housing accessible, paying for more public schooling (reducing the burden on homeowners), closing commercial property tax loopholes and expanding Medicaid in the state to reduce the property tax paid to local hospitals. Video from O’Rourke’s address will be added to this story Wednesday afternoon. In a statement prior to his address, O’Rourke said Texans are paying $20 billion more in property taxes since Gov. Greg Abbott took office. Abbott’s office released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying the governor has reduced taxes by $18 billion since taking office and that O’Rourke, as an El Paso City Councilman, twice voted for property tax increases in 2007 and 2010. This week, many North Texas homeowners have experienced sticker shock as they receive their property tax assessments from their local county appraisal offices. In some cases, homeowners are reporting market value increases of more than 50%; homestead exemptions can limit the increase in the appraised value to 10% annually. Courtesy of Texas News – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth …

A man serving a 25-year prison sentence for rigging computers to win lottery jackpots has had his parole revoked after he got into trouble in prison just before his scheduled release. Eddie Tipton was approved for release by the Iowa Board of Parole on Jan. 20 because of good behavior. He had served nearly five years of his 25-year sentence. The board reversed its decision and rescinded his parole on March 10. “He incurred a major discipline or major report within the institution after we granted the parole but before he was physically released,” said Iowa Board of Parole Chairman Andrew Boettger. The Iowa Department of Corrections notified the board of the incident, the board reviewed it and “based on the nature of the discipline decided to rescind the parole grant,” Boettger said. Boettger declined to specify what Tipton did before his release to deserve disciplinary action. A spokesman for Department of Corrections referred questions to Boettger. The prison system spokesman also denied a request to talk with Tipton at the state medium security prison for men in Clarinda. Tipton had worked for an organization in Urbandale, Iowa, that provided random number drawing computers to several states with lotteries. Investigators said…

The price for gas and oil has reached record highs across the nation and farmers in the area have already felt the cost in their budget for production.  According to our Nexstar media partners at KAMC-TV in Lubbock, Cotton farmer in Idalou, Texas, Scott Harmon said the increase in gas prices made it unpredictable how much he’ll have to spend to finish treating his crop for the upcoming season.    AAA’s Daniel Armbuster said it is likely that gas prices have not hit their peak. According to AAA, that means that the average person in West Texas over the last fest weeks has paid less at the pump than a lot of other places in the county. One the other hand, Farmers like Harmon have to adjust their budgets for the extra costs for chemicals and transportation.   To read the full report from our Nexstar media partners at KAMC-TV in Lubbock, click here. Courtesy of Texas News – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth …

An oilfield company and a company executive have been indicted in the 2019 poisonous gas deaths of a worker and his wife. The federal grand jury in Midland charged Odessa-based Aghorn Operating Inc. and Aghorn Vice President Trent Day with violating federal clean air laws and obstructing a federal job safety investigation, according to a Justice Department statement Tuesday. They and an Aghorn affiliate also were charged with federal safe water laws and making false statements on forms documenting the mechanical integrity of Aghorn’s injection wells. Aghorn also was charged with three job safety crimes causing the deaths. Jacob and Natalee Dean died Oct. 26, 2019, after inhaling hydrogen sulfide gas at an Aghorn pump house in Odessa. According to the Ector County Sheriff’s Office, Aghorn officials dispatched Jacob Dean to check on the facility. When he didn’t return as expected, his wife tried to reach him by phone but got no answer. She drove with their two children, ages 6 and 9, to the pump house. She left the vehicle to approach the pump house and also was overcome by the colorless, highly corrosive gas when she entered the building. The children were left in the car and weren’t harmed….

A former San Antonio police officer has been indicted for firing at fleeing juvenile suspected of trying to open car doors, officials said Friday. A Bexar County grand jury indicted Oscar Cruz Jr. on Wednesday on a count of deadly conduct with a firearm, the district attorney’s office said in a statement. The third-degree felony is punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Cruz had been suspended indefinitely after the March 2020 incident. In response to a call of juveniles pulling on vehicle door handles, Cruz tried to detain a suspect who eluded capture. Cruz chased the youth on foot when another juvenile threw a rock that hit him in the face. Cruz fired two shots at the fleeing youths, missing them. Cruz, 27, was arrested Thursday and released on a $5,000 bond. Jail records list no attorney for the former officer, and no published telephone number for Cruz could be found. Courtesy of Texas News – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth …