- A Harris County judge has blocked Texas officials from enforcing a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. A temporary restraining order issued yesterday will allow providers to perform the procedure without the threat of prosecution. The statute being challenged is a 1920s law that made performing an abortion punishable by up to five years in prison. It was never repealed by the Texas Legislature. And following last week’s Supreme Court reversal of Roe vs. Wade, Attorney General Ken Paxton has said prosecutors can use it to pursue charges against those who perform the procedure. A hearing on the law is expected to happen some time in July.
- In Bonham, local officials are moving forward with a plan that could turn a former Brookshire’s grocery store building into a new Fannin County jail. North Texas E-News reports yesterday, Fannin County commissioners authorized the issuance of $11 million in certificates of obligation for the conversion of a former Brookshire's at the southwest corner of U.S. 82 and State Highway 78 into a new criminal justice center. The current Fannin County Jail is operated in cooperation with a private prison company, Louisiana-based LaSalle Corrections.
- Across Northeast Texas today, the risk of wildfire is elevated due to dry, warm and windy conditions. The Texas A&M forest service rates the fire risk across most of our region today as high to very high. The driest areas include Hunt County and Rains County, along with western Delta and Hopkins counties, most of Rockwall County, as well as Kaufman and Van Zandt counties. Fire danger is forecast to be less elevated Thursday and Friday.