TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's Journal8 Injured in La Paloma House Explosion
The San Benito Police Department confirmed to CHANNEL 5 NEWS that two children and one adult were severely burned.
The explosion happened around 10:00 a.m. on Friday.
Fire marshal said nine people went to the hospital.
Fire officials are trying to determine what caused the explosion.
http://www.krgv.com/news/local-news/8-Injured-in-La-Paloma-House-Explosion/37131206
Late-night earthquake rattles Pakistani capital, Afghanistan
Source: AP
ISLAMABAD — A strong earthquake shook parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan early Saturday, rattling buildings and forcing sleeping residents out of their homes.
More than 30 people were injured as houses or walls collapsed in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar, said emergency rescue service spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi. A total of 41 people were taken to hospitals in the city, according to doctors and rescue officials.
Pakistani official Ghulam Rasool told The Associated Press that the magnitude-6.9 quake was centered in Tajikistan near the Afghan border, beginning after midnight and lasting for 59 seconds.
However, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake measured at magnitude 6.2 and was centered in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. Twitter users in the Afghan capital, Kabul, reported feeling the tremors.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/top-news/late-night-earthquake-rattles-pakistani-capital/nprbd/
On Muslims, Democrats find an unlikely ally: George W. Bush
[font color=330099]Note to forum hosts: This article includes references to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Therefore, in order to keep primary related topics out of General Discussion I have posted the article in GDP instead. If the consensus of the hosts is to redirect to GD then I will do so.[/font]
WASHINGTON -- Taunted by Republicans to declare war on “radical Islamic terrorism,” Democrats are turning to an unlikely ally: George W. Bush.
President Barack Obama, under pressure to be more aggressive on terrorism, regularly cites his predecessor’s refusal to demonize Muslims or play into the notion of a clash between Islam and the West. It’s a striking endorsement from a president whose political rise was predicated on opposition to the Iraq war and Bush’s hawkish approach in the Middle East.
As Hillary Clinton put it, “George W. Bush was right.”
Laying out her plan to fight domestic terrorism, Clinton reminded voters in Minneapolis earlier this month of Bush’s visit to a Muslim center six days after the Sept. 11 attacks. She even quoted his words from that day about those who intimidate Muslim-Americans: “They represent the worst of humankind, and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior.”
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article51605065.html
Which Texas private colleges will opt out of campus carry? Just about all of them
When campus carry goes into effect next fall, most private colleges and universities in Texas will not be participating. Officials for more than a dozen of the largest private schools in the state already have stated they will not allow guns on campus.
University of St. Thomas in Houston became the latest school to opt out of the controversial law. The law allows licensed Texans to carry concealed guns on public school campuses starting Aug. 1. However private schools have the option to opt out – and a number of colleges have decided to do just that. Those programs include Rice University, Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University.
"The safety of each of us is our university's most basic responsibility," said St. Thomas President Robert Ivany in a statement. "Safety includes many considerations. Most importantly, it is the creation of an environment based on mutual trust and faith in our ability to respond to threats to our community."
Ivany said a clear majority of constituents of the Catholic university asked the school to bow out of the law.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Which-Texas-private-colleges-will-opt-out-of-6719436.php#item-38488
[font color=330099]I don't know why my alma mater was not included in the gallery of colleges that are opting out of campus carry, but Southwestern University has also decided not to permit open carry on campus.[/font]
Democrats Force U.S. House Candidate to Change Name on Ballot
South Texas voters will no longer be able to choose a Ruben Hinojosa to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa.
A 33-year-old law student who wanted to go by Ruben Ramirez Hinojosa on the Democratic primary ballot in March will instead go by a different name: Ruben Ramirez.
That's because state Democratic party officials are forcing him to change it.
Party officials say their decision this week to lop off “Hinojosa” — the surname of the candidate’s mother — from the ballot listing could prevent confusion for voters in Congressional District 15. And they say Ramirez failed to prove he goes by the name Hinojosa.
Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/12/24/democrats-drop-hinojosa-house-candidates-ballot-li/
Bristol Palin announces birth of second child
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Bristol Palin is a mother for the second time.
Palin, who launched an abstinence campaign after giving birth as an unwed teenage mother, posted on Instagram Thursday that she gave birth to a girl, Sailor Grace, on Wednesday.
"Our family couldn't be more complete," she wrote beneath a photo of her and her sleeping baby in what appears to be a hospital bed.
It's the second child out of wedlock for the 25-year-old daughter of 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Family attorney John Tiemessen said he could confirm only that the Instagram account was Bristol Palin's.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Bristol-Palin-announces-birth-of-second-child-6720383.php
Texas A&M researcher says caribou more efficient than reindeer for pulling Santa's sleigh
Rudolph the red-nosed caribou just doesn't have the same ring to it.
But according to Perry Barboza, a professor in the department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M, Santa's eight tiny reindeer aren't actually reindeer at all. Instead, Barboza said, Dasher, Dancer and all the rest are likely reindeer's close cousins -- the caribou.
"Although Siberian reindeer may appear a suitable choice {for pulling Santa's sleigh,} North American caribou are leaner and longer-legged than reindeer during this time of year," Barboza said in a report published in the scientific journal, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. "What has been reported in sightings as 'eight tiny reindeer' are therefore likely to be young caribou."
With more than 30 years of experience in wildlife nutrition, especially with large mammals, Barboza's expertise -- with the help of Rudolph's red nose -- sheds some light on the Christmas lore.
Read more: http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/texas-a-m-researcher-says-caribou-more-efficient-than-reindeer/article_988a3a7a-0868-5088-93d6-46ee8f47a38c.html
Oklahoma officials declare revenue failure, announce 3% agency cuts
Struggling to cope with falling tax revenues, state finance officials declared a revenue failure Wednesday and announced that monthly general revenue allocations to state agencies will be cut 3 percent for the next six months to to make up for a projected $157 million shortfall.
State agencies that will be required to absorb the largest cuts over the next six months include the Department of Education, which will receive nearly $46.8 million less than expected; the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which will be cut nearly $27.4 million; and the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education, which will be cut a little more than $24 million.
“Now that we know the extent of the cut for the remainder of the fiscal year, school districts will soon be able to plan accordingly,” said Joy Hofmeister, state schools superintendent.
“The reduced funding was inevitable in the wake of the revenue failure, but I know that the Oklahoma State Department of Education and district leaders statewide are committed to lessening the impact on students as much as possible.”
Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-officials-declare-revenue-failure-announce-3-agency-cuts/article/5468596
Alabama may face more budget cuts in 2016
The chairmen of Alabama's general fund budget committees said additional cuts are likely when lawmakers convene in February.
After spending most of 2015 fighting over how to fill a shortfall in the state's general fund budget, legislative leaders say they expect another difficult year in 2016 with little appetite for additional tax increases.
House Ways and Means General Fund Committee Chairman Steve Clouse said he thought level funding was the best-case scenario for most agencies in the upcoming session.
He said the situation won't be as dire as the recent budget fight because lawmakers did approve some new revenue, including a cigarette tax. But he said lawmakers have likely done all they are willing to do on tax increases.
Read more: http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/12/alabama_may_face_more_budget_c.html
Two Odessa PD cops shot; standoff over
ODESSA -- Two Odessa Police Department officers were shot Wednesday morning by a man they were serving a warrant to at Clayton Manor Townhomes, 2654 E. 11th St.
Odessa police arrested Roy Daniel Garza on Wednesday night after a standoff lasting a little more than nine hours.
The standoff followed Garza’s reported shooting of two Odessa Police Department officers who had gone to his home to serve him with a parole violation warrant. OPD spokesman Cpl. Steve LeSueur said he did not know what the original charge was that sent him to jail, but it was not an Ector County crime.
An officer on the scene said it was for an aggravated robbery conviction out of Lubbock. LeSueur said Garza was taken to Medical Center Hospital for a minor leg injury and will be taken to the Ector County Law Enforcement Center.
Read more: http://www.oaoa.com/news/crime_justice/law_enforcement/article_8d2d1882-a9e2-11e5-8f48-d7230c31906c.html (Odessa American)
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
Number of posts: 112,144
