Texas / South Central News

Son of Sheriff’s Deputy Charged with Burning 3 Louisiana Black Churches

The son of a sheriff’s deputy was charged with burning down three predominately black churches in southern Louisiana over the past two weeks, officials said on Thursday, saying they acted quickly out of concern he would strike again. Holden Matthews, …

Oklahoma Lawmakers Grumble Openly about Opioid Settlement

OKLAHOMA CITY — A $270 million settlement between the state of Oklahoma and the maker of OxyContin praised last week as an innovative way to help combat opioid addiction is facing bipartisan criticism from Oklahoma lawmakers who say the state’s …

Houston Chemical Fire Leaves One Dead, 2 Critically Injured

About the photo: A plume of smoke rises in the air following a fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Co (ITC) petrochemical storage site in Deer Park, Texas, U.S., on Tuesday, March 19. An explosion and fire at a chemical plant …

Investigators to Begin Hunt for Cause of Texas Petrochemical Disaster

U.S. investigators hope this week for the first time to enter the site of a massive fuel fire and chemical spill outside Houston to begin the hunt for a cause and to determine whether the operator followed safety regulations. The …

Chemical Disaster Zone Remains No-Go Zone Two Weeks After Blaze

Two weeks after a chemical storage complex near Houston erupted in flames and menaced tens of thousands of people with dangerous fumes, the site remains too hazardous for investigators to approach. Intercontinental Terminal Co. is still trying to drain millions …

Firefighters at Houston Chemical Disaster Scrambled for Foam

Firefighters confronted with the worst Gulf Coast industrial disaster in 14 years had to call on outside sources to augment their supply of the special foam required to extinguish chemical blazes. Intercontinental Terminal Co. confirmed it appealed to other companies …

Houston Channel Importance Swelled as Oil, Gas Exports Rose

About the photo: A ship is docked on the Houston Ship Channel, part of the Port of Houston. Photographer: Loren Elliott/AFP/Getty Images On a normal day, 42 tankers, 19 freighters, 391 barges, 128 ferries and 2 cruise ships will move …

Shipping Resumes in Houston Channel Fouled by Chemical Spill

The U.S. Gulf Coast’s most important industrial waterway partially reopened on Monday after it was polluted with cancer-causing benzene and toxic runoff from the region’s worst chemical disaster in more than a decade. A two-mile stretch of the Houston Ship …

Program to Flag Uninsured Vehicles Misses Mark 5% of the Time

OKLAHOMA CITY — Nearly 5 percent of vehicles flagged as uninsured in Oklahoma were identified by error, according to a prosecutor who leads a new program that includes automatic license plate readers. The Oklahoma District Attorneys Council sent warning letters …

Houston Ship Channel Remains Closed as Plume Leaches Benzene

Some vessels will be allowed to enter a tributary to the Houston Ship Channel this morning but more than 60 ships remain stranded by the closure of the main waterway as a result of a cloud of cancer-causing benzene from …

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