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Billie Sol Estes, a flamboyant Texas huckster who became one of the most notorious men in America in 1962 when he was accused of looting a federal crop subsidy program, has died. He was 88... One of the strangest episodes in his life involved the death of a U.S. Department of Agriculture official who was investigating Estes just before he was accused in the fertilizer tank case. Henry Marshall's 1961 death was initially ruled a suicide even though he had five bullet wounds. But in 1984, Estes told a grand jury that Johnson had ordered the official killed to prevent...

Just three weeks before he's to stand trial for the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage, an Army psychiatrist wants his trial delayed until this fall. Maj. Nidal Hasan's attorneys are to ask a judge Thursday to delay the court-martial from late May until Sept. 1

At 105-YEARS-OLD, Pearl Cantrell most definitely wants bacon with that. "I love bacon, I could eat it for every meal - and I do!", the Texas granny told a local TV station... News of her faith in bacon reached a local producer, Oscar Mayer. They organised a special treat via fast food outlet Weinermobile.

The dinosaur was seized by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after it was sold at auction in New York for over $1 million last year. The government said the skeleton was mislabeled as reptile bones from Great Britain. By law, any dinosaur fossils found in Mongolia belong to the country and its people. "It's really important that as nations, we recognize there's a difference between art sold in the regular course of business, and then there are things that are truly national heritage," said ICE director John Morton.

Robel Phillipos, 19, was charged last week with lying to investigators looking into the April 15 bombings. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth student faces a maximum of eight years in prison if convicted. Both sides said in the court motion that they agree to allow Phillipos to be released under strict conditions, including home confinement and monitoring with an electronic bracelet, along with a $100,000 bond.

On April 18, 2012, the BNA released the first batch of thousands of “lost” colonial-era files believed to have been destroyed, including files on Britain’s former colony of Kenya. Reporters at the UK’s The Guardian were among the first who looked at some of the newly released colonial files. They found that the name of Barack Obama (henceforth, Obama Sr.), the father of the POS in the White House, is on the top of a list of names revealed in a hitherto secret British colonial file of Kenyans studying in the United States.

Two more people have been arrested in Seattle and New York, FBI officials said yesterday, as investigators tried to break up a suspected terrorist network they believe was plotting a bomb attack against a US target .... Graham Fuller, a specialist on Islamic extremism and a former CIA analyst, said: "I'm a little sceptical about the possibility that the GIA is now targeting us because it would have been accompanied by some kind of rhetoric. Therefore I would speculate that these guys are working on their own or hired by someone else." And Mr Fuller argued that Mr Ressam's Afghan...

Both recalled little from their ordeal, beyond hallucinations. Jack said that she had wild thoughts her parents had been sentenced to prison time, a python was eating her and that Cendoya, 19, had told her he was having visions of a tiger. The search to find them required 1,900 man-hours and cost taxpayers an estimated $160,000. A deputy was injured while trying to rescue Cendoya. He faces up to three years in jail if convicted, reports The Orange County Register.

Kadyrbayev attended a high school in Almaty, the business capital of Kazakhstan, for students gifted in mathematics. "He wasn't a star student, but he wasn't a hooligan; he was a normal teenager," teacher and deputy principal Yuri Dovgal said. The schoolwork proved too much for Kadyrbayev, however, and he flunked out after his first year. "He had no aptitude for physics or mathematics, but that doesn't mean he was bad," Dovgal said, adding that Kadyrbayev later graduated from an elite private school.

Tazhayakov was allowed to return to the U.S. from Kazakhstan in January despite not having a valid student visa, a federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press. His student visa status had been terminated because he was academically dismissed from the university, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity... Kadyrbayev, an engineering major

Court records with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office reveal that a civil forfeiture case was filed in March against Bella Tsarnaeva and her boyfriend, Ahmad Khalil. According to the filing, Fairview police went to the residence on Dec. 11 to follow up on a domestic violence report claiming Bella had scratched Khalil. NJ reports that while inside the apartment, police said they smelled marijuana, and found drug paraphernalia and $537 in cash in a clear plastic bag. Ailina Tsarnaeva reportedly admitted to slapping Khalil, and was, according to court records, subsequently arrested for domestic violence and simple assault. Khalil, meanwhile...

Nadine also said Tamerlan tried to brainwashed her, he made her wear an Islamic hijab and pray to Allah and slapped her when she wore her regular clothes, but because she adored him, she did everything he asked her just to made him happy... He once ripped a pair of my jeans and hit me in the face with them. Tamerlan told me I should only talk to Muslim girls, not other ‘slutty’ girls... He wouldn’t let me watch TV or listen to the radio. He’d say, ‘TV is the project of Satan’ and claimed Satan sent us messages through...

In U.S. hospitals, an estimated 1 in 20 patients pick up infections they didn't have when they arrived, some caused by dangerous 'superbugs' that are hard to treat... Machines that resemble "Star Wars" robots and emit ultraviolet light or hydrogen peroxide vapors. Germ-resistant copper bed rails, call buttons and IV poles. Antimicrobial linens, curtains and wall paint. While these products can help get a room clean, their true impact is still debatable. There is no widely-accepted evidence that these inventions have prevented infections or deaths.

An analysis of credit card receipts finds Mexican shoppers spent $150 million dollars in Hays County last year. Their shopping trips generated $12 million in sales tax revenue and jobs throughout the community. Juan Carlos is general manager of the Tanger Outlet Center in San Marcos. He says, "Traditionally we have seen a lot of Mexican national shoppers during appropriate seasons: Tres Reyes, Semana Santa. Those types of weeks are definitely big weeks for us." San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero says the visitors' spending spree extends beyond the outlet malls. He adds, "At the same time they get to stop...

Both Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were UMass Dartmouth students originally from Kazakhstan. Terror suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev would hang out at the their New Bedford, Mass. apartment frequently and may have stayed with them on the night of the bombing and the following night. The friends raised hackles by cruising around a BMW with a "TERRORISTA #1” vanity plate, one of their fathers confirmed.

Kim Williams, the 46-year-old wife of former Kaufman County Justice of the Peace Eric Williams, was arrested and charged with capital murder... Over the weekend, Mr. Williams, 46, was arrested on a terroristic threat charge. Sources told WFAA evidence linked Mr. Williams to the murders of prosecutor Mark Hasse, 57, and District Attorney Mike McLelland, 63, and his wife Cynthia, 65.

ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC reported Fridaythat a panhandler approached the victim walking into a 7-Eleven store and asked him for money. The victim said no. When the victim left the store and got into his SUV, the 37-year-old transient reportedly doused him and the inside of his vehicle with a flammable substance and lit it on fire, engulfing the truck in flames with the man inside

A Florida 2-year-old lost both feet Wednesday night after her father accidentally backed over her with his riding lawn mower... Two-year-old Ireland Nugent was calling her father’s name as he mowed the lawn Wednesday night, but he didn’t see her, said Nugent, who watched as her husband mowed over her daughter’s legs.

Many may not be aware of pancake anaphylaxis, which is a rare but serious problem in which patients have a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction after eating pancakes.

All-grown-up Jonathan Bower is ready to walk down the aisle! Former Who's the Boss child star Danny Pintauro is engaged to boyfriend Wil Tabares, he tells Us Weekly exclusively. The happy couple, who live and work in Las Vegas, headed to Palm Springs, Calif. earlier this week to celebrate their one-year anniversary together. Over a romantic dinner on Wednesday April 3, Tabares popped the question by playing a homemade video -- featuring a ring!

Two former CIA employees whose Kansas home was fruitlessly searched for marijuana during a two-state drug sweep claim they were illegally targeted, possibly because they had bought indoor growing supplies to raise vegetables.

The US 281 bridge in Marble Falls is no longer standing. The scheduled blast over Lake Marble Falls was impressive... the blast triggered a communication meltdown. Cell phones stopped working along with first responder radios. KXAN also confirmed the 911 call centers in Marble Falls, Burnet and Llano were knocked offline and the Burnet County Sheriff's Office dispatchers started fielding all calls.

Robin Fitzpatrick never knew peanuts could kill her son... The Plymouth, Mass., native was first diagnosed with a nut allergy when he was 8, after projectile-vomiting "across the room" at a Chinese restaurant, his mother said. In high school he suffered from a serious allergic reaction after he dropped his asthma inhaler into a pile of acorns... his mom couldn't find his Epi-Pen -- an epinephrine autoinjector. She had one in her cupboard but it had expired two months earlier. First responders told her over the phone that she shouldn't use it.

Lanza, whose mother used to take him to shooting ranges, killed all of his victims at the schoolhouse with a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle that he took from the house where he lived with Nancy Lanza. He used a handgun to kill himself... It also prompted reviews of school security and mental health care and led to proposed legislation in Connecticut that would forbid arcades and other establishments from allowing children under 18 to play point-and-shoot video games.

A central California retirement home is defending one of its nurses who refused pleas by a 911 operator to perform CPR on an elderly woman, who later died... The executive director of Glenwood Gardens, Jeffrey Toomer, defended the nurse's actions in a statement, saying she did indeed follow policy. "In the event of a health emergency at this independent living community our practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives,"

The man had called police saying that he had just shot and killed dog that he said had was attacking him. The dispatcher asked the man to return to his home and let police take over once they arrived, Acevedo said. When the officer arrived, the man had the semiautomatic pistol tucked into his waistband, the chief said. The man was told to give up the gun, but instead drew it on the officer, Acevedo said. The officer then drew his gun and fired. He was pronounced dead around 7:45 a.m., Acevedo said.

Actress Bonnie Franklin, known to TV fans as divorced mom Ann Romano on the '70s sitcom "One Day at a Time," has died at age 69. Her family says her death was due to complications from pancreatic cancer, which Franklin revealed she was battling back in September.

About 10,000 Austin Energy customers are without power Monday afternoon because of high winds, utility spokesman Ed Clark said.... About 1,700 customers are without power Monday afternoon in Pflugerville... Wind has knocked out power for about 1300 customers across Bastrop, Lee and Caldwell counties... San Marcos The city’s Electric Utility and Transportation Departments are responding to numerous calls about power outages and six reports of downed trees

A Berlin family of three has been living on practically nothing but love and the goodwill of others for more than two years and counting—not as a victims of the rough economy, but as activists who are on a money strike to protest what they call our “excess-consumption society.” ... Though Fellmer uses no money, he said Palmer does use a little, mainly in the form of child support she receives from the government, which is granted to all children.

A new virus from the same family as SARS that sparked a global alert last September has been found in a further patient in Britain, health officials said on Monday. This latest case of infection with the new virus known as a coronavirus brings the total number of confirmed cases globally to 10, of which five have died. The British patient, who had recently travelled to the Middle East and Pakistan, is receiving intensive care treatment in hospital in Manchester, northern England.

Jewell has served as the outdoor retailer's CEO since 2005. She started her career as a petroleum engineer working in the oil fields of Oklahoma and Colorado for Mobil Oil Corp. She then moved to the banking industry, before joining the REI board in 1996 and becoming chief operations officer four years later.

Technically, the IRS kicked off tax season Wednesday — a week later than expected, as a result of Congress’s 12th-hour deal — but tax pros say it could be weeks before many Americans can actually file their returns. The various changes to the tax code forced payroll departments to hold off their end-of-year accounting. A fair number of taxpayers still haven’t received their W2s, experts say. Those who need to file Form 8863 to claim credits for higher education won’t be able to file until the middle of February, after the IRS finishes updating its processing systems, officials said Monday....

The chorus from Sandy Hook Elementary School will sing "America the Beautiful" before Sunday's Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.

Be sure to wash those foods or cook them thoroughly... About 1 in 5 illnesses were linked to leafy green vegetables — more than any other type of food. And nearly half of all food poisonings were attributed to produce in general, when illnesses from other fruits and vegetables were added in... Many of the vegetable-related illnesses come from norovirus, which is often spread by cooks and food handlers. So contamination sometimes has more to do with the kitchen or restaurant it came from then the food itself...

This is the first day of the gun show since the City of Austin discussed possibly banning from the Travis County Expo Center. State law, however, prevailed because the move would have proved illegal in Texas... “It took 20 minutes to park the truck and about an hour waiting in line,” Another group, One Million Moms for Gun Control marched at the Texas Capitol... The group expected over 100 participants to join in the Austin event.

It's being reported on KXAN.com noon news that multiple people shot at on Lone Star College in Houston, TX. It's a tech school.

A statement from the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office said the charges filed this week arise from the Aug. 7 incident in which Travis was involved in a traffic accident in western Grayson County. Reports from the time of the incident show that Travis was booked into the Grayson County Jail by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers after they found Travis near the scene of a wreck at Hwy. 922 and Clover Road, just outside of Tioga. Travis was naked and officers said he refused blood and breath tests. The officers also alleged that Travis threatened to shoot them.

For instance hollow-point bullets which used to sell at Central Texas Gun Works for $15 dollars a box 30 days ago -- now costs more than $30... "Anyone that's coming in, taking a concealed handgun class, we'll sell ammo to them. But we're not selling any ammo to any outside people," Cargill said.

A New Year's Eve possum drop that attracts thousands of people to a tiny western North Carolina town will go on this year, with one big change: It won't involve a live possum.

"I feel like everybody's treating me like a hero. Everybody thinks it takes enormous courage." ... Windsor maintained that the federal government's insistence in the Defense of Marriage Act that a marriage can be only defined as a relationship between a man and a woman meant she was not entitled to a marital deduction on Spyer's estate. That meant, she said, that she owed $363,053 in taxes that she would not have to pay if the law did not unconstitutionally discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

Organizers with the State Fair of Texas are now taking donations to help fund the rebuilding of Big Tex. Big Tex was destroyed by a fire in October in the last days of the fair. Sue Gooding, with the State Fair, said Big Tex was insured for between $180,000 and $200,000, but that the costs to rebuild him, and to prepare the area in which he stands, will come close to $600,000.

Houston McCoy, who as an Austin police officer in 1966 climbed up the staircase of the University Tower to help kill Charles Whitman and end what at the time was the nation's largest mass murder, died Thursday.

The list of angry fans who were stood up by a sports promoter at the Cowboys-Steelers game two weeks ago is growing. It stretches literally around the world and into the hundreds... All say they are victims of the Maximum Sports Connection and Ronni Sokol. Just before kickoff, they say she told them the game had been "oversold." "I don't expect to get any money back, because with her track record, it doesn't look good," said Kerry Vincent of the Mechanicsburg Police Department in Pennsylvania.

the teen’s mother confirmed that George had bought a Santa costume, and that he had told police that he and his friends planned to dress up as Santa and his elves–and hand out candy canes. He had even alerted a teacher to his idea. Police investigated and found no cause for concern. But Crawford High School principal Mike Campbell was not convinced, saying he found the post disturbing. He had George suspended while the school investigates.

The Texas State Archives has unveiled a collection of 40 historic flags in an online exhibit. The division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission on Thursday announced the display featuring digitized versions of the flags and explanations

Eddie Nimibutr, who is the chef and owner of Thai Noodle House off of Guadalupe near the University of Texas campus, posted a Facebook status update that decried sympathy for the Sandy Hook victims. Nimibutr posted that he had received threatening phone calls after posting the message, which has since been deleted. “I am failing to give a damn about the CT shooting,” Nimibutr said on Facebook. “I don’t care if a bunch of white kids got killed.” Nimibutr’s post also criticized media coverage of minority groups and recent military strife in the Gaza Strip.

sales of the backpacks designed to protect kids during a school shooting, have “gone through the roof.” Derek Williams, president of Amendment II, the Utah-based company that makes the packs along with lightweight body armor for military and police use, told the magazine, "I can't go into exact sales numbers, but basically we tripled our sales volume of backpacks that we typically do in a month—in one week."

But behind the scenes at the Justice Department, around March 2011, officials said, Mr. Holder asked then-assistant attorney general Christopher Schroeder, then the head of the Office of Legal Policy, to examine gun control issues and come up with solutions to problems that he identified... Some of the proposals involved longstanding ideas or improving on steps that had already begun to resolve known problems with the background check system. For example, after a Virginia Tech student killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in 2007, it emerged that a state judge had adjudicated him mentally ill two years earlier, but...

The car used in the 1966-68 Batman TV series will be auctioned off in January. Customizer George Barris bought the 1955 Lincoln Futura Concept car for $1 from the Ford Motor Co. Barris was given $15,000 and 15 days to gadgetize the handmade two-seater.

CAMP MINDEN, LA (KSLA) - Authorities now believe they're dealing with more than 6 million pounds of M6 powder at Camp Minden. Original estimates had the stockpile officials say was improperly stored on property leased by Explo Systems, Inc. at 1 million pounds.