Dallas News

Sheniqua Cummings says her earliest recollections of Juneteenth in Dallas are from when she was a child in the 1970s. Music, dancing and good food — her grandmother’s chicken and dumplings were her favorite. Some of her most vivid memories are of the family discussions and banter as dinner winded down. Relatives would peruse photo albums and tell stories about …

AUSTIN — The Texas attorney general’s office waived its own ethics rules when allowing six employees to take extended leaves to defend their boss, Ken Paxton, in his upcoming impeachment trial, according to agency records obtained by The Dallas Morning News. A longstanding agency policy only allows attorneys to perform outside legal work in narrow circumstances, after a rigorous vetting process and …

NEW YORK — Unionized UPS workers voted overwhelmingly on Friday to authorize a strike, setting the stage for a potential work stoppage if the package delivery company and Teamsters can’t come to an agreement before their contract expires next month. The Teamsters said 97% of unionized workers voted for the authorization, which union leaders wanted in order to have more …

AUSTIN — Thousands of low-income mothers in Texas will receive a full year of health insurance after they’ve given birth under a new law that extends Medicaid benefits. Right now, the postpartum coverage cuts off within two months. Advocates say the increase is critical to prevent maternal deaths amid an alarming rise nationwide. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the policy into law on Friday after it …

There might be reason for you to wake up early this weekend: In a rare celestial occurrence, five major planets will align to grace the eastern sky Saturday morning. Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will be visible to North Texans an hour before sunrise — about 5:20 a.m. The five-planet parade is known as a planetary alignment, an event …

Parts of Interstate 30 and U.S. Highway 287 near downtown Fort Worth were shut down briefly Friday afternoon because of a police chase. The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department said the pursuit began when deputies attempted to serve a man with multiple arrest warrants in the 1700 block of Oak Village Boulevard in Arlington. The warrants were for unspecified felony charges …

A Tarrant County fentanyl dealer tied to the death of a 16-year-old boy was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. Eric Adan Herrera, 22, of Fort Worth knowingly distributed counterfeit Percocet pills laced with fentanyl to the victim, according to plea papers. He pleaded guilty in September …

Additional storms are possible Saturday evening across North Texas. Some may become severe with large hail and damaging winds as the main threats. Please stay weather aware! An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect through 8 p.m. Saturday for parts of North Texas. High heat and humidity are expected with highs soaring into the upper 90s to near 100 and …

Tarrant County officials selected the chief deputy of the county clerk’s office to oversee the county’s elections. The county’s election commission voted unanimously Friday to select Clinton Ludwig as the new Tarrant County elections administrator. He will replace Heider Garcia, who has held the position since 2018. Garcia resigned from the post in April, citing in his resignation letter his differences with …

PERRYTON — As Sabrina Devers watched what would turn out to be a deadly summer storm approach her ranch just north of the Texas Panhandle town Perryton, she first spotted golf ball- and then softball-size hail. Then, Devers said, across the high plains toward Perryton, the system spawned a tornado. Once the twister had moved through, Devers drove into into …