Texas

The number of flu deaths in Collin and Dallas counties combined reached 86 this week. Seven new flu-related deaths in Dallas County Wednesday bring the total to 38; another five deaths in Collin County were confirmed Thursday bring the total to 48.

Texas is one of five states to have more than 10 percent of its voting age population behind bars for felony convictions, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts that looks at the rise in felony incarcerations between 1980 and 2010.

Texas has joined a dozen states in a lawsuit over cage-free products sales. 

On Tuesday, Texas voters will decide whether to approve seven amendments to the state Constitution. One measure, Proposition 2, looks to make it easier for Texas homeowners to borrow against home equity. The proposition lowers fees for tapping into home equity loans and lowers financial limits on borrowers who want to refinance.

Almost five months after an outbreak of cyclospora parasites started making Texans sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still don’t know exactly why. 

Trident Lakes, the Ector-based community designed for upscale living with extreme survivalist security measures plans to double in size in the wake of recent global events.

A survey by the Texas Tribune finds that several Texas members of Congress oppose President Trump’s assertion that both left-wing and right-wing activists were to blame for last week’s violence in Charlottesville, Va.

But half of the state’s federal lawmakers have chosen to remain mum.

Over the past month, The Texas Department of State Health Services has seen a spike in the intestinal illness that comes from consuming food or water contaminated with Cyclospora parasites.

Thomas Ratliff, who has represented Northeast Texas on the Texas State Board of Education since 2011, chose not to run for re-election in this year's Republican Party primary election. The top two finishers in that contest - Mary Lou Bruner and Keven M. Ellis - will face one another in a May 24 runoff election, as neither candidate won a majority of the March 1 vote. Ratliff is candid in his concerns about Bruner, who he sees as someone who would be a "distraction" on the 15-member body that manages the state's Permanent School Funs and sets textbook standards for the state's public schools.

There’s a new law in Texas that could help people who receive unexpectedly high medical bills due to inconsistencies in their health insurance policy.

According to authorities the bridge on US Highway 271 crossing from Lamar County over the Red River into Oklahoma will close at approximately 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, May 30 due to rising waters.

After enrollment in Texas community colleges peaked at 732,681 in 2011, that number has dropped to 694,881 as of fall 2014. That decline means fewer total hours spent in classrooms, which is the criterion used by the state to fund community colleges. Paris Junior College has made significant budget cuts since the 2011 legislature made enormous cuts to community college budgets. Paris Junior College president Dr. Pamela Anglin says that PJC's funding should remain close to that which was allocated by the 2013 legislature.

Riding rock n' roll like a "Sandworm," Arlington's The House Harkonnen turn the notion of traditional Texas music on its head.

One can forgive John Ratcliffe and his supporters for looking ahead to the former federal attorney's role in Washington, D.C.

Not only does the new Republican nominee for the Texas 4th congressional district seat come from a GOP-dominated district, but he also won't even be facing a Democratic opponent in the general election in November. Instead, Ratcliffe will be on the ballot with Libertarian J.P. Raley and independent Kenneth Lee Kammer in a contest that Democrats have decided to sit out.

You don't have to look too hard on the Paris Independent School District's web page to find the open letter to parents and friends about the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, commonly known as the STAAR test.

State Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Canton) has been in the news for his letter to the Texas Attorney General's office questioning the legality of municipal bans on plastic bags. KETR spoke with Flynn, who described the motivation behind his letter.