Severed rattlesnake head bites Texas man, nearly kills him

- A Texas man is recovering after he claims the head of a rattlesnake bit him — moments after he had just cut it off.

Jennifer Sutcliffe's husband was reportedly bitten by the beheaded snake on May 27 at his home near Lake Corpus Christi.

Sutcliffe told KIII-TV the two were doing yard work when she came across the four-foot rattlesnake. She said her husband used a shovel to behead the snake, but when he went to dispose of it, it bit him.

The snake, Sutcliffe said, "released all its venom into him at that point" because it no longer had a body, and her husband reportedly began immediately experiencing seizures and internal bleeding, and lost his vision.

The man was transported via helicopter to a hospital, where doctors said there was a chance he wouldn't make it.

Texas: Austin explosions: ‘Serial bomber’ hunted after tripwire sets off 4th blast

nbcnews.com - The fourth explosion in less than three weeks in Austin, Texas, appears to be the work of a serial bomber, officials said Monday.

Authorities warned that the devices appear to be getting more sophisticated and asked residents of one neighborhood to stay indoors until 2 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET) Monday.

"We are clearly dealing with a serial bomber," Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said, adding that he was unable to answer questions from reporters about whether the incidents should be considered domestic terrorism. "We will have to determine if we see a specific ideology behind this."

The latest blast occurred Sunday just after 8:30 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. ET), when two bicyclists received non-life-threatening injuries after apparently setting off a tripwire in the southwest of the city. The previous three recent explosions had instead been left at people's houses.

The FBI has sent 350 special agents to the Texas capital as well as extra bomb squads.

"With this tripwire, this changes things," said Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Antonio division. "It's more sophisticated, it's not targeted to individuals ... a child could be walking down a sidewalk and hit something."

The two latest victims, white men ages 22 and 23, set off the bomb that had been left next to a fence and were recovering in the hospital with "significant injuries," Manley said.

Overnight, authorities warned that they didn't want residents in the Travis County neighborhood to leave their homes until 10 a.m. local time to give teams a chance to secure the scene in daylight. Manley later extended that until 2 p.m. citing "an overabundance of caution as we process the scene."

Manley also asked the community to contact authorities if anything looked suspicious or out of place, and cautioned against approaching suspicious items, including boxes and bags.

The unsolved package bombings earlier this month killed two and injured two others. Officials are examining whether the packages have been specifically meant to target minorities: Stephen House, 39, was killed on the morning of March 2, and Draylen Mason, 17, died on the morning of March 12. Both were black members of the same church, Nelson Linder, the local NAACP chapter president, told NBC News last week. ContinueReading

Texas: 8 dead, about 30 injured found in hot semitrailer in 'human-trafficking' incident

abcnews.com - Eight people were found dead and close to 30 others injured inside a brutally-hot semitrailer parked in a Walmart parking lot in San Antonio, Texas.

Police described the incident as an apparent "human trafficking crime."

Authorities became aware of the truck overnight after a Walmart employee, who had been approached by someone who had been in the truck asking for water, notified police of the interaction, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said this morning at a press conference, alongside other officials from the city.

Inside the semitrailer, authorities found eight dead bodies, as well as 20 other people who were in "extremely critical condition or very serious condition," and eight others suffering lesser injuries like heat stroke and dehydration, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told the press this morning.

There were 38 people inside the truck in total, McManus said, and Hood added that at least two of them were "school-age" children.

The truck had no working air-conditioning system, and temperatures topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit, Hood said. McManus added that the truck's pass lacked access to water.

"They were very hot to the touch," Hood said of the people found inside.

The driver of the truck was arrested and could face federal and state charges, according to police. The driver's name was not given at this morning's press conference.

"We're looking at a human-trafficking crime here," McManus said.

Meanwhile, surveillance video from the store showed that a number of vehicles entered the parking lot and "picked up lots of folks that were in that trailer that survived the trip," McManus said.

Some of the people who had been in the truck also ran into the woods, he said. The area was searched, and another attempt will be made in the morning, the officials said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also been called in to help investigate the incident, officials said.

San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood, who stood alongside McManus at the press conference, said firefighters arrived on the scene at 12:26 a.m. local time, and began pulling the people out of the truck. The injured were taken to different hospitals, some by helicopter, he said.

Authorities said they still don't know the origin of the truck, or how long it had been parked at the Walmart, and that the search for such details are part of an active investigation currently underway.

The officials said more details about the victims, including their genders and ages, would be released in a future briefing.

While he called it a "horrific tragedy," the police chief said the discovery "is not an isolated incident. This happens quite frequently ... fortunately there are people who survived, but this happens all the time,” he said. (ontinueReading

Texas warns about biggest mumps outbreak in 22 years

(CNN) The Texas Department of State Health Services warned this week of multiple ongoing mumps outbreaks. The surge, which includes 221 cases this year, constitutes the highest incidence of mumps in the state in 22 years.

Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus that spreads from person to person through saliva and mucus.

"What we've seen -- as in other parts of the country, (it's) really just the same thing -- a pretty big resurgence in mumps cases over the last six or eight months," said Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the state's health services department. In 2016, Texas experienced 192 mumps cases, he said, primarily in the last few months of the year.

Mumps typically begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite lasting a few days, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people will have swelling of the salivary glands, causing puffy cheeks and a swollen jaw. Generally, symptoms last at least two days but no more than 10 days.

Because it is caused by a virus, mumps does not respond to antibiotics. Doctors generally recommend bed rest and over-the-counter pain relievers.

"We have largely seen outbreaks in North Texas, so the Dallas-Fort Worth area and some of the surrounding counties," Van Deusen said, adding that Dallas County has experienced two or three significant outbreaks.

"We've had quite a large one with, counting last year and this year, more than 150 cases in Johnson County, which is just south of Fort Worth," he said. "We've certainly seen cases in other areas of the state, but those have been where the largest outbreaks have been centered."

An outbreak in Johnson County, in particular, included 189 cases spanning last year and this year among children and a couple of college students, he said.

"There have been people who have traveled back and forth between (Johnson County) and Northwest Arkansas, where they've been seeing much of the activity, so it seems to be linked to that outbreak," Van Deusen said.
An outbreak of mumps began in Arkansas in August, explained Dr. Dirk Haselow, Arkansas' state epidemiologist. Between August and April 13, Arkansas reported 2,930 cases, he said. (Similarly, Washington state (PDF) has been hard hit by the mumps, reporting 611 confirmed and probable cases during 2017.)

"We've had less than 500 cases this year," said Haselow, who believes his state is at the tail end of its outbreak. "Thankfully, the number of cases we've had each week decreased recently. We've only added 14 cases in the last three weeks." At the height of the outbreak, nearly 50 cases a day were reported across 35 counties. Today, only four counties are experiencing infections.

As for a possible spread from his state to Texas, Haselow has no doubts.

"Mumps has a long incubation period, as long as 26 days between exposure and symptoms, so people could have been exposed, you know, a little over a month ago, and now you have new cases with that association," he said.

Across the nation, most mumps cases are occurring among people who have been vaccinated, according to the CDC, and these outbreaks are not due to low vaccination rates. For example, in Texas, 97.6% of kindergarten-age children have received two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, Van Deusen said, while 98.7% of seventh-graders have.

The CDC recommends that children get two doses of the MMR vaccine. One dose is considered about 78% effective initially (PDF), and two doses are about 88% effective. So even if you are vaccinated, you need to practice primary prevention.

Satair?:Texas men would face fine for masturbating, need rectal exam for Viagra under "proposed" law

*The following contains strong sexual language

DallasNews - If state Rep. Jessica Farrar has her way, men in Texas will pay a $100 fine for "unregulated masturbatory emissions" and undergo a digital rectal exam to get a vasectomy, a colonoscopy or a Viagra prescription.

Farrar's proposed legislation, filed last week, calls on the Department of State Health Services to explain the rules in an illustrated booklet titled "A Man's Right to Know."

Sound familiar? The Houston Democrat's bill is a satirical version of a Texas law passed in 2011 that requires women to have a sonogram and hear a detailed description of the fetus before getting an abortion. Those rules are outlined in a booklet produced by the state called "A Woman's Right to Know."

"A lot of people find the bill funny," Farrar told the Houston Chronicle. "What's not funny are the obstacles that Texas women face every day, that were placed there by legislatures making it very difficult for them to access health care."

Farrar's bill penalizes masturbatory emissions outside a vagina or a medical facility, describing them as "an act against an unborn child" that fails to preserve "the sanctity of life."

Fines collected under the measure would be funneled to the Department of Family and Protective Services for the care of children.

The lawmaker proposes that the state keep a registry of private hospitals and organizations that counsel men to stay "fully abstinent," offer physicians to supervise masturbation and store semen for future conception.

Men seeking a vasectomy, a colonoscopy or a Viagra prescription would first undergo a "medically unnecessary" digital rectal exam and magnetic resonance imaging of the rectum, per Farrar's bill. After the exam, men would have to wait at least 24 hours before they could get the procedure or the prescription they wanted.

These provisions of the Democrat's bill echo the 2011 Texas law requiring women to take two trips to a clinic to get an abortion. The bill also calls on the state to include medically accurate and objective information in its booklet for men.

The "Woman's Right to Know" pamphlet that Texas women must receive 24 hours before an abortion has been criticized for listing refuted research linking abortion to a higher risk of breast cancer. (ontinueReading

* * * *

Further Reading - Why Women DESTROY NATIONS * / CIVILIZATIONS - and other UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS

Texas: Dallas sniper attack: 5 officers killed, suspect identified

inside job..

(CNN) - The ambush began with gunshots that killed five officers and sent screaming crowds scrambling for cover. It ended when a Dallas police bomb squad robot killed a gunman after negotiations failed.

Investigators have identified the dead suspect: 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas. But they're still trying to answer key questions. Chief among them: Are any other suspects on the loose?

Federal law enforcement officials believe Johnson was the only shooter in the ambush that began Thursday night, according to law enforcement officials briefed by the Dallas police.
Dallas police Chief David Brown earlier suggested that other suspects played a role, too.

"Through our investigation of some of the suspects, it's revealed to us that this was a well-planned, well-thought-out, evil tragedy by these suspects," Brown said at a prayer vigil for the victims Friday afternoon. "We won't rest until we bring everyone involved to justice."

The deadly gunfire erupted in Dallas as videos showing two African-American men shot by police in Louisiana and Minnesota spurred protests and debate over police use of force across the country.

Texas Launches Gold-backed Bank, Challenging Federal Reserve

(thenewamerican.com) - 7/15/15 The State of Texas is setting up a gold-backed bank that will allow depositors to bypass the controversial Federal Reserve System and its fiat currency in banking and commerce, according to the state representative who authored the recently enacted law. Under the measure, passed overwhelmingly by lawmakers and signed in mid-June by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, Lone Star State officials will establish and operate the Texas Bullion Depository for anyone who would like to deposit and trade in precious metals. The implications are as big as Texas.

While some analysts have said the move may be another sign heralding Texas’ eventual secession from the union, or preparation for financial Armageddon, its advocates say the depository simply makes financial sense. Among other benefits, the institution will provide more options to consumers weary of the increasingly troubled traditional banking and monetary system, which is viewed by the public with growing suspicion. And experts say the effect of making it easier to use sound money in commerce could be far-reaching.

Among other immediate effects, the law creating the first state-level gold-backed bank in the nation, House Bill 483, will involve repatriating about $1 billion of Texas gold from New York. Conflicting news reports and official statements say the state’s precious metals stockpile is being held either by HSBC in New York, or by the powerful New York Federal Reserve Bank, a privately owned outfit cloaked in secrecy with immense power over the U.S. economy. First, though, officials will need to select a home for the Texas depository.

There will be many other benefits as well, according to supporters. While other states have in recent years passed legislation declaring gold and silver to be legal tender, analysts say Texas’ new depository could help supercharge the growing movement for an honest and sensible monetary system founded on real money rather than debt-based paper notes conjured into existence by a private banking cartel. Indeed, one of the chief aims of gold-and-silver-as-currency proponents is to restore sound money — and the Texas law could help pave the way. Full Story

Happy birthday, Texas! Today marks Texas Independence Day

AUSTIN -- Happy birthday, Texas! On this day in 1836, Texas broke away from Mexico and became a republic.

On March 1, 1836, delegates from the 17 Mexican municipalities and the Pecan Point settlement met at Washington-on-the-Brazos to discuss independence from Mexico. Washington-on-the-Brazos became the 'birthplace' of Texas.

A committee of five people drafted a declaration of independence. One day later, the convention voted unanimously to accept the Texas Declaration of Independence. March 2 became Texas Independence Day, an official state holiday.


The official declaration was signed by 59 delegates, and five copies of the document were distributed to the Texas towns of Bexar, Brazoria, Goliad, Nacogdoches, and San Felipe.

Texas joined the United States on Dec. 29, 1845, and became the 28th state.

Texas: Woman dies while riding Six Flags Roller coaster

 - A woman died Friday evening while riding the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington. Witnesses say she fell from the ride.

(msnnews) Emergency personnel at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas, after a woman died on the Texas Giant roller coaster, Friday, July 19.

ARLINGTON, Texas — A woman died Friday in an accident while riding the Texas Giant roller coaster at a Six Flags amusement park.

The accident happened just after 6:30 p.m. Friday at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington. Park spokeswoman Sharon Parker confirmed that a woman died while riding the coaster but did not specify how she died.

Witnesses told local media outlets that the woman fell from the ride, which is billed as the tallest steel-hybrid roller coaster in the world.

 

Full Story

Texas pumping more oil than some OPEC countries.

(FuelFix) We all know oil production in Texas has soared in recent years. But putting the rise in graphic form shows just how phenomenal the energy turnaround has been: The surge looks exponential.

In March, Texas oil production reached its highest level since 1984. That month, the Lone Star State pumped more than 74 million barrels of crude from the ground, which means if Texas were a country, it would be one of the 15 largest oil producers in the world.
Full Story.

(Source.)

Huge Blast At Texas Fertilizer Plant Injures Over 100.

(nytimes) WEST, Tex. — A huge explosion tore through a fertilizer plant near West, a town in central Texas on Wednesday night, causing over 100 injuries and an unknown number of deaths, laying waste to swathes of buildings and potentially sending toxic fumes into the air, authorities said.

The explosion, in the quiet town of fewer than 3,000, ripped through the night at around 8 p.m. local time, said Representative Bill Flores, a Republican who represents the district.

It began with a smaller fire at the plant, West Fertilizer, just off Interstate 35, about 20 miles north of Waco, Mr. Flores said, which was attended by local volunteer firefighters. “The fire spread and hit some of these tanks that contain chemicals to treat the fertilizer,” Mr. Flores said, “and there was an explosion which caused wide damage.”

Videos posted online showed a large fire, visible from hundreds of yards away, followed by a fireball that blasted high into the sky and, according to television footage, set fires burning into the night.

“Right now we have a tremendous amount of injuries, probably over 100 injuries at this time,” D.L. Wilson, a state trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters at a press conference early Thursday morning. “We do have confirmed fatalities,” he said, but declined to say how many because a search of the area was being conducted.

Full Story.

Texas College Student Wounds 14 In Stabbing Spree.

This was not labeled a 'hate crime' how? Besides we need union wide knife control...

(Reuters) - A community college student who said he had fantasized since childhood about stabbing people to death went on a slashing spree at his Houston campus on Tuesday, wounding at least 14 people, two of them critically, before bystanders subdued him, police said.

The suspect, identified as Lone Star College student Dylan Quick, 20, was charged with three counts of aggravated assault stemming from the rampage, carried out with a weapon described by the Harris County Sheriff's Department as a "razor-type knife."

Eyewitness accounts cited in local media reports on the attack said the weapon appeared to be a box-cutter or "exacto" knife.

The campus, part of a Houston-area community college network, was placed on a security lockdown and closed for the remainder of the day.

The northwest Houston campus where the attack occurred has about 20,000 students.

Full Story.

Texas Secession Movent: Rally For Texas Independence To Be Held In Austin January 8.

Why Exactly Did Texas Join The Union Again? Rebellion Will Not Work Texas!

- The Texas Nationalist Movement plans to hold a rally for Texas independence on Tuesday, January 8th to support the secession movement in that state.

Texas Constitution, Article 1 Section 1: “Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the States.”

Texas Constitution, Article 1 Section 2: “All political power is inherent in the PEOPLE…”

Texans will gather at the north steps of the Capitol in Austin on Tuesday, January 8th (the opening day of the 2013 Legislative session) at Noon to show their support for the freedom and independence of Texas and to show that all political power is still inherent in the people.

TNM is calling on every Texan who supports the freedom and independence of Texas to rally up on the north side. Bring signs, Texas flags and flags from the Texas Revolution to show that they want their freedom and independence and want the Legislature to answer the call of the people.