Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

The statewide flooding that I mentioned yesterday (and which has its own Wikipedia entry), certainly included the metroplex.  Above, Loop 12 and its service road were shut down for over six hours leaving cars with no where to go. They eventually  brought in a crane to remove the center barriers so those cars could do a U-turn.

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• Texas Parks and Wildlife officials investing the death of girl kayaking on Grapevine Lake, caused by being hit by a jet ski, have released the photo below of the person they said, unequivocally*, was operating that jet ski and then fled.  How has she not been identified? (*They better be right.)
  
  
  
• Dateline Liverpool. After seeing the videos, it is stunning that no one was killed. Two of the more graphic videos are here and here.  Here is video of what seems to have started it all. 

• The headline below is from 2023. I think that the murder trial of one of the defendants begins today in Wise County.
  
  
  
• Apparently we can't keep convicted law enforcement heads in prison:
• An escape:
  

  

  
  
• A pardon:
  
  
  
• If you haven't seen the video of the French president being shoved in the face by his wife -- and especially his reaction to it, here it is.
  
  
  
• Sheesh. Only the most important cases matter.
  
  
  
• Cosplay Kristi Noem is at it again.
  
  
  
• The escaped inmates from the New Orleans jail are being caught left and right. With three being captured yesterday, we are now down to two who are still on the run.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Texas legislature updates:
• A great war going on in the Texas House is how much veteran lawmaker Jeff Leach hates representative Brian Harrison (an Andy Hopper type who cares more about culture wars then getting things done) and vice-versa. Last night, Leach presented, and had passed, an omnibus new courts bill that suddenly deleted the creation of a new district court in Ellis County -- Harrison's county.  Leach said he deleted the court because Harrison didn't get him requested information about the need for the court before an April deadline. Harrison says that's a lie. 
  

  

  
  
  
  
• A big tort reform bill, Senate Bill 30, passed the House last night, but it was gutted along the way. 
• The House approved the possession of sawed off shotguns last night.