Texas

DALLAS (AP) — The retrial of a man charged with killing 18 older women in the Dallas area over a two-year span is set to begin Monday, after the first jury to hear a case against him deadlocked.

Billy Chemirmir, 49, faces life in prison without parole if he’s convicted of capital murder in the smothering of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris. Prosecutors have said he followed the widow home from Walmart, killed her, and stole her jewelry and cash.

SALADO, Texas (AP) — Nearly two dozen people were injured when tornadoes swept through central Texas as part of a storm system that was expected to spawn more twisters and damaging winds Wednesday.

The storms caused widespread damage Tuesday in Salado, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Austin. Bell County Judge David Blackburn said 23 people were injured, one of them critically. Twelve of the injured were taken to hospitals, Blackburn said.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — One of the busiest trade ports on the U.S.-Mexico border remained effectively closed Wednesday as frustration and traffic snarls mounted over new orders by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott requiring extra inspections of commercial trucks as part of the Republican’s sprawling border security operation.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Former Trump administration officials are pressing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to declare an “invasion” along the U.S-Mexico border and give thousands of state troopers and National Guard members sweeping new authority to turn back migrants, essentially bestowing enforcement powers that have been a federal responsibility.

DALLAS (AP) — A storm system that left widespread damage and some injuries in its wake in Texas drifted into Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Tuesday, possibly triggering “a regional severe weather outbreak,” the Storm Prediction Center said.

The affected areas, including the cities of Baton Rouge and Jackson, Mississippi, could see strong tornadoes, forecasters said.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Four people were shot and wounded in downtown Austin, Texas, early Sunday as the city hosts the annual South by Southwest festival, police said.

The Austin Police Department told people to avoid the area at around 2:50 a.m., warning via Twitter that the gunman was still at large.

However, police tweeted that a suspect was in custody shortly before 5 a.m.

Police and the Austin-Travis County EMS said the victims’ injures were not life-threatening, and all four had been taken to the hospital.

EASTLAND, Texas (AP) — Fire crews in Texas hope to make progress Saturday against a massive complex of wildfires that have killed one person and burned at least 50 homes, officials said.

Winds were expected to diminish on Saturday, raising hopes for the attack on the flames, said Angel Lopez, a spokesman for the task force attacking the wildfire complex near Eastland, about 120 miles west of Dallas.

However, gusty winds were expected to return Sunday, again raising the wildfire threat to critical levels in western and central Texas, he said.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will face Democrat Beto O’Rourke after voters in Texas opened what could be a lengthy, bruising primary season poised to reshape political power from state capitals to Washington.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Voters in Texas will usher in the midterm campaign season with primaries that will test just how far to the right the Republican Party will shift in a state where many in the GOP have already tightened their embrace of former President Donald Trump.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott appears well positioned to secure his party’s nomination for another term after Tuesday’s voting. Starting the campaign with more than $50 million, he has built hard-line positions on guns, immigration and abortion.

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas deputy constable working an off-duty security job at a Houston mall was fatally shot by a man who gained control of the officer’s own gun, police said. The suspect was shot by police and died at a hospital.

Deputy Neil Adams was working a second job Thursday afternoon at PlazAmericas mall in Houston when he was shot by a man in 30s, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said.