Dallas News

Points from Austin 1. Texas doesn’t have a state income tax, and voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment to make it even more difficult to enact in the future. Voters also approved eight of nine other constitutional amendments, ranging from a measure that will increase school funding allocations to another that will allow law enforcement dogs and horses to be adopted …

Talking to strangers is suddenly a major problem in the Dallas-Richardson tornado alley. Now that the streets are mostly cleared, dozens of roofers and contractors are going door-to-door looking for victims, er, customers. “A solid parade of strangers wanders through our yard, up to the house, despite ‘No Soliciting’ signs, and they argue with me when I tell them I …

The brothel on Market Center Boulevard called Jade Spa remains shuttered a week after the police raid; so, too, the Chinese restaurant in Southlake called Dragon House. Because, as you likely know by now, police and prosecutors say the owners and operators of the Design District bordello also own and operate the suburban dumpling house. For the moment, both closings are only …

One of the surviving Texas 7 prison escapees had his execution delayed Thursday for the second time this year out of concern his religious beliefs aren’t being properly accommodated. Patrick Murphy was scheduled to be executed next Wednesday before his latest reprieve.(Texas Department of Criminal Justice) Patrick Murphy, 58, was scheduled to be executed next Wednesday for his role in …

Freddie Gilbert had just fired at a car with a mother, daughter and grandchildren inside in a fit of road rage, prosecutors said. He was weaving in and out of traffic at close to 120 mph, with the body of a murdered teenager in the trunk. When he spun out after crashing into two other vehicles, his crime spree came …

A former Dallas Morning News photographer was arrested in August on a charge of indecency with a child with sexual contact, The News has learned. Court records obtained this week show David Leeson, 62, groped a 13-year-old girl on Aug. 5. The News is not naming the victim because it generally doesn’t name victims of sex crimes. Dallas police arrested Leeson on …

Border patrol officers were at W.H. Adamson High School this week to promote careers in the law enforcement agency, not to investigate families, Dallas school officials say. Representatives from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection participated in a campus job fair on Wednesday along with about three dozen other organizations. But some students were upset by their presence and began …

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved spending $60 million on emergency costs after October’s tornado tore through parts of North Dallas and caused severe damage to city infrastructure. Staffers on Wednesday briefed elected officials on Dallas’ response in the days since the storm hit on Oct. 20 and on repair costs Dallas faces in coming months. Chief Financial Officer …

WASHINGTON — Not everything is bigger in Texas. But San Antonio is certainly a whole lot bigger than South Bend, Indiana. On a late night comedy show Wednesday, Julián Castro — former mayor of the Alamo City and a housing secretary in the Obama cabinet— let loose his frustration at being overshadowed by Pete Buttigieg, mayor of a city with …

An Arlington man has been found guilty of beheading his roommate and killing the man’s girlfriend in a gruesome 2017 double slaying. Hector Acosta-Ojeda(Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department) A Tarrant County jury convicted Hector Acosta-Ojeda, 30, of capital murder Tuesday after deliberating for more than five hours. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and the trial’s punishment phase began Acosta-Ojeda, who …