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MustReadTexas.com [ [link removed] ] – @MustReadTexas [ [link removed] ]
BY: @MattMackowiak [ [link removed] ]
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FRIDAY || 9/20/24
Good Friday evening.
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TOP NEWS
“A fire that burned for 4 days after Texas pipeline explosion has finally gone out,” AP's Juan A. Lozano — “A pipeline fire that burned in a Houston suburb for four days finally went out Thursday as authorities announced a criminal investigation into the blaze that had roared into a towering flame, forcing neighborhoods to evacuate and melting parts of nearby cars.
Before the fire fully stopped Thursday evening, officials announced that human remains were found in an SUV that had been next to the flame since the explosion happened Monday. Investigators say the fire began after the driver of that car went through a fence alongside a Walmart parking lot and struck an above-ground valve.
Officials in Deer Park, where the explosion occurred, described the crash as an accident, and said police and local FBI agents have not found evidence of a coordinated or terrorist attack.
“This has developed into a criminal investigation and will be actively ongoing until more information is available,” the city said in a statement late Thursday.
As authorities worked to identify who had driven the vehicle, residents who were forced to flee the towering blaze returned to assess the damage on Thursday. They found mailboxes and vehicles partially melted by the intense heat, a neighborhood park charred and destroyed and fences burned to the ground.
“Devastated, upset, scared. We don’t know what we’re going to do now,” said Diane Hutto, 51, after finding her home severely damaged by water that firefighters poured on it to keep it from catching fire. Hutto’s home is located only a few hundred feet from the pipeline.
Before the fire went out, its reduced size meant police finally had access to the area around the pipeline. Investigators removed the white SUV and towed it away Thursday morning.
While medical examiners with Harris County were processing the vehicle, they recovered and removed human remains found inside, Deer Park officials said in a statement.
Officials say the underground pipeline, which runs under high-voltage power lines in a grassy corridor between the Walmart and a residential neighborhood, was damaged when the SUV driver left the store’s parking lot, entered the wide grassy area and went through a fence surrounding the valve equipment.
But authorities have offered few details on what caused the vehicle to crash through the fence and hit the pipeline valve.
Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based company that owns the pipeline, on Wednesday called it an accident. Deer Park officials said preliminary investigations by police and FBI agents found no evidence of a terrorist attack.
The pipeline is a 20-inch-wide conduit that runs for miles through the Houston area. It carries natural gas liquids through Deer Park and La Porte, both of which are southeast of Houston.
Authorities evacuated [ [link removed] ] nearly 1,000 homes at one point and ordered people in nearby schools to shelter in place. Officials began letting residents return to their homes on Wednesday evening. AP [ [link removed] ]
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DMN: “North Texas Giving Day sets new record for donations to local non-profits” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
DMN: “Anti-Phelan Republicans pick consensus candidate for speaker” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
HOU CHRON: “Ken Paxton sues to block Harris County guaranteed income program” Houston Chronicle ($) [ [link removed] ]
DMN: “Chief Eddie Garcia to retire from Dallas police for Austin role” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
HOU CHRON: “Harris County approves property tax rate increase for 2025” Houston Chronicle [ [link removed] ] ($)
TPR: “San Antonio City Council adopts nearly $4 billion budget for 2025” TPR [ [link removed] ]
TX TRIB: “Ted Cruz, Colin Allred agree to debate in U.S. Senate race” Texas Tribune [ [link removed] ]
DMN: “Vance, Emhoff plan fundraising stops through Texas” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE   
 > TX MONTHLY: "The Maternal Mortality Rate Surged in Texas in 2020 and 2021" TX MONTHLY [ [link removed] ]
 > TX TRIB: "At this South Texas political convention, everyone has a voice, regardless of legal status" TX TRIB [ [link removed] ]
 > TX TRIB: "Study finds levels of a dangerous gas “off the scales” in Central Texas oilfield" TX TRIB [ [link removed] ]
 > TX TRIB: "Texas prisons and jails are recruiting more teenagers to shore up guard shortage" TX TRIB [ [link removed] ]
 > AP: "Judge denies effort to halt State Fair of Texas’ gun ban" AP [ [link removed] ]
 > DMN: "Texas’ largest educator preparation program will be monitored" DMN [ [link removed] ]
 > FWST: "Gov. Abbott swears in judges for newly created Texas Business Courts in Fort Worth" FWST [ [link removed] ]
 > TPR: "New poll shows majority of Texans have skipped or postponed some form of medical care due to costs" TPR [ [link removed] ]
 > HOU CHRON: "Harris County approves $2.6B budget and tax rate increase for 2025" HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
 > MRT: "Human trafficking in Texas: CEO Lisa Bownds urges community action" MRT [ [link removed] ]
 > THE TEXAN: "Attorney General Sues Harris County Again Over Revamped $21 Million 'Guaranteed Basic Income' Program" THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> DMN: "Chief Eddie García retiring from Dallas police to become Austin assistant city manager" DMN [ [link removed] ]
 > VALLEY CENTRAL: "Microplastics become ‘ubiquitous’ in the Rio Grande …" VALLEY CENTRAL [ [link removed] ]
 > TPR: "Gun safety experts to San Antonio residents: Locking up guns can prevent a suicide" TPR [ [link removed] ]
 > MY RGV: "Family of man killed by Edinburg police files lawsuit seeking $30 million" MY RGV [ [link removed] ]
 > COMMUNITY IMPACT: "First-ever carless community broke ground this summer in Austin" COMMUNITY IMPAC [ [link removed] ]
 > SA REPORT: "San Antonio tightens the belt to approve $3.96B budget without increasing tax rate" SA REPORT [ [link removed] ]
EXTRA POINTS   
Last night's Texas sports scores:
  > MLB: Blue Jays 4, Rangers 0
  > MLB: Astros 3, Angels 1
  > WNBA: Dallas at Las Vegas
This weekend's Texas sports schedule:
 Fri
  > 7:05pm: MLB: Mariners at Rangers
  > 7:10pm: MLB: Angels at Astros
Sat
  > 11am: NCAAF: Houston at Cincinnati (FS1)
  > 11am: NCAAF: Rice at Army (CBSSN)
  > 2:30pm: NCAAF: Arizona State at Texas Tech (FS1)
  > 2:30pm: NCAAF: Houston Christian at UTSA (ESPN+)
  > 4pm: NCAAF: TCU at SMU (CW Network)
  > 5pm: NCAAF: UTEP at Colorado State (truTV)
  > 6pm: NCAAF: New Mexico State at Sam Houston (ESPN+)
  > 6pm: NCAAF: Wyoming at North Texas (ESPN+)
  > 6pm: NCAAF: Texas Southern at Lamar (ESPN+)
  > 6pm: NCAAF: Sacramento State at Texas A&M-Commerce (ESPN+)
  > 6pm: NCAAF: Tarleton State at North Alabama (ESPN+)
  > 6pm: NCAAF: Texas A&M-Kingsville at UT Permian Basin (FloSports)
  > 6:05pm: MLB: Mariners at Rangers
  > 6:10pm: MLB: Angels at Astros
  > 6:30pm: NCAAF: Bowling Green at No. 25 Texas A&M (ESPN+/SECN+)
  > 7pm: NCAAF: UL Monroe at No. 1 Texas (ESPN+/SECN+)
  > 7pm: NCAAF: Baylor at Colorado (FOX)
  > 7pm: NCAAF: Idaho at Abilene Christian (ESPN+)
  > 7pm: NCAAF: Northern Colorado at Stephen F. Austin (ESPN+)
  > 7pm: NCAAF: Central Washington at West Texas A&M (FloSports)
  > 7:30pm: MLS: Houston at Austin
  > 7:30pm: MLS: LA FC at Dallas
  > 7:30pm: NWSL: Seattle at Houston
 Sun
  > 12pm: NFL: Houston at Tennessee
  > 1:10pm: MLB: Mariners at Rangers
  > 1:35pm: MLB: Angels at Astros
  > 3:25pm: NFL: Baltimore at Dallas

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