The execution of a man who killed two real estate agents in Georgia was halted by a judge’s late-night decision, at least for now, while an execution in Texas of a man convicted of a rural triple murder was still expected to take place Wednesday. This would be the fifth execution in Texas, while Georgia has yet to put anyone to death this year. The nation’s busiest death chamber is in Florida, which accounted for more than half the 25 executions already carried out in the U.S. this year. Stacey Humphreys, 53, was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown in an Atlanta suburb. He had been scheduled to die by injection of the sedative pentobarbital at 7 p.m. EDT at the state prison near Jackson. LeJames Norman, 40, was sentenced to death in the 2005 fatal shootings of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, while looking for cocaine inside their home in Texas. He too is scheduled to die by injection of the same chemical at 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. A judge halted Humphreys’ execution late Tuesday after…

The invasive emerald ash borer beetle’s discovery in Delta, Erath, Hardin, Walker, and Wood continues its spread into new parts of Texas. Eight new counties have been confirmed to have the invasive species this year. The detections were made through Texas A&M Forest Service’s statewide emerald ash borer monitoring program, which uses purple traps to identify new infestations and track the insect’s movement across the state. Traps are deployed during the adult beetle flight season, typically beginning in February or early March and remain in place through July or August. Trapping has concluded for 2026, but monitoring for signs of emerald ash borer infestation continues year-round. WHAT IS AN EMERALD ASH BORER? The emerald ash borer is a small beetle, green in color and smaller than a penny. The beetle bores its way into the tree’s bark and lays eggs. Larvae feed on water-conducting tissue, eventually killing the tree.  Officials said the insect has been confirmed in more than half of the United States and has killed millions of ash trees. “Both healthy and unhealthy ash trees are susceptible to an EAB attack and may die within two or three years after becoming infested,” said Allen Smith, Texas A&M Forest Service…

A Texas court on Friday slashed a $50 million judgment that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre over his false claims that one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history was a hoax. The Infowars founder can only be forced to pay about $6 million, the Texas Third Court of Appeals ruled in a unanimous opinion, citing state laws that limit lawsuit damages. The ruling does not affect a separate $1.25 billion judgment against Jones in Connecticut, where he was also found liable for defaming and causing emotional distress to relatives of the 20 first-graders and six educators killed in the Newtown shooting. The punishing financial verdicts against Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, in recent years have forced him into bankruptcy, led to some of his personal property being put up for auction, and led him to leave his Infowars platform. For decades, he used the platform to push conspiracy theories about the United Nations, the federal government, gun control and more. Sandy Hook families have yet to collect any money from Jones, who has waged lengthy appeals in state and bankruptcy courts as his…

The U.S. Army temporarily halted all Apache helicopter training missions Friday after a fatal crash in Texas earlier this week killed two soldiers. The Army released the following statement Friday afternoon: The Army is profoundly saddened by the loss of two Soldiers in the recent AH64 Apache helicopter crash near Fort Hood, Texas. We mourn these aviators, and our deepest condolences remain with their families, friends, and unit during this extraordinarily difficult time. We also extend our sincere thanks for the immediate action taken by the first responders from the community surrounding Fort Hood. Army leaders directed a temporary stand-down of AH64 Apache training flight operations. The stand-down will remain in effect until we have a better understanding of the root cause of the accident. We currently have no additional information to share. The Apache attack helicopter had been a core part of Army aviation since the first one was delivered in 1984. More than 5,000 Apaches have been deployed by the U.S. military and its allies over the decades. The Army is investigating the crash that happened Tuesday outside of Salado, Texas, which is not far from Fort Hood. The Army said the stand-down will remain in effect…

Amid growing public backlash to the rapid buildout of data centers across Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced a moratorium on the approval of data centers until regulatory agencies can audit proposed data centers seeking connection to the state’s electric grid. It is unclear how long the audit will take, but the effort is Abbott’s strongest effort yet to slow the development of these data centers statewide and underscores how little information members of the public, including state leaders, know about the facilities. Abbott is asking the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to ensure data center developers provide information on tax breaks they will receive; power use and generation; water use and cooling operations; efforts to reduce impacts on local communities; and ownership of the facility. Any projects that fail Abbott’s ordered “comprehensive verification and audit” should be denied connection to the grid, the governor said. “Our top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life,” Abbott wrote in a statement. “Any project that fails to comply with the requirements set forth by the PUCT and ERCOT, and by state law, must be denied connection to the Texas grid. Simply…

Two Pampa residents are sharing what it was like to wake up to the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Texas Panhandle. The earthquake struck at about 5:21 a.m. Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS measured the quake at magnitude 5.0 and said it was the strongest earthquake recorded in the Texas Panhandle. Pampa resident Catherine Noorderbos said she woke to a loud noise and her bed vibrating before realizing what was happening. I was sound asleep. I was jolted awake by a loud noise and shaking,” Noorderbos said. “My husband woke up immediately and said, ‘I think we’re having an earthquake.’ Then he asked me how to spell seismic.” Another Pampa resident, Stephanie Cruz, was working out in her garage with a friend when she noticed mirrors shaking and items shifting on top of a refrigerator. “I put on Facebook, ‘Was that an earthquake?’ Within one minute I had 20 comments. Everyone was saying, ‘Yes, yes, yes,’” Cruz said. Residents across the Texas Panhandle and into southern New Mexico and Oklahoma reported feeling the earthquake. There were no immediate reports of injuries or significant damage, according to the Dallas Morning News, but residents described feeling shocked…

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…

Two of the top wheelchair tennis players in the country call North Texas home. They’re in Knokke-Heist, Belgium, this week, hoping to bring home an international championship. The BNP Paribas World Team Cup: Junior Festival brings together top junior wheelchair tennis players from ten countries in the wheelchair tennis equivalent of the Billie Jean King and Davis Cups. The United States Tennis Association selected Mattingly Bristow from Weatherford and Jeremy Perez from Joshua to represent the U.S. Bristow, 15, attends Weatherford High School and is recognized as one of the top wheelchair players in the nation. She’s praised for her sportsmanship on and off the court. Lily Terral from Houston is also on the Girls’ Team. According to Joshua ISD, Perez is ranked second in the nation in high school wheelchair tennis. In a recent social media post, Perez celebrated his wins as the first-ever High School Wheelchair State Champion and the first-ever Texas Slam Champion. Bristow and Perez, and eight others on Team USA, hope to hoist the boys and girls junior trophy after falling to Great Britain in the combined final last year.Tournament play opens Wednesday, May 27th, through Sunday, May 31st. This story uses functionality…