Free Republic

The rush is on in the Eagle Ford Shale, and some of it has more to do with legal contracts than extracting oil and gas from miles below the surface. The clock is ticking on many of the mineral leases that South Texas landowners signed a few years ago after the first successful Eagle Ford well in La Salle County in 2008. If oil and gas companies don’t start production soon, they could lose rights to drill. People who own mineral rights would be free to sign leases with other companies. Leases vary but typically include an upfront bonus payment...

Nederland police say a homeowner with a gun was able to stop an intruder who was armed with a knife late Saturday evening. Officers say it happened in the 100 block of Avenue D just before midnight. A man, woman and child were at home when they heard someone breaking into the house through a glass French door. The homeowner confronted the intruder and fired one shot. Police say the intruder was not hit by the bullet. Officers arrived shortly after the confrontation and arrested the intruder. Assistant Chief of Police Gary Porter tells 12 News the man's name is...

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D.-Texas) said last week that Republicans are being “frivolous” when they talking about reforming Social Security as a means toward fixing the federal government’s fiscal problems because Social Security is “solvent.” According to Social Security’s trustees, the program has operated in the red each of the last two years. “Who wants to make a fuss about Social Security when it's solvent?” she asked on Friday. “And then who wants to make a fuss about Medicare when it's solvent until 2024?” …

WACO (December 3, 2012)—Waco police were looking for two men Monday after a local convenience store clerk was injured in an exchange of gunfire during a robbery. At around 9:20 p.m. Sunday, two men, one of whom was armed, entered the Snacks convenience store at 2901 North 18th St, police said. The 48-year-old clerk, whose name wasn’t released, was also armed, however, and he and the robber exchanged gunfire. Both would-be robbers fled, police said, but the armed man returned to the store and he and the clerk exchanged gunfire for a second time and then began struggling over the...

A New York Times investigation has uncovered a shocking scandal they would have you believe involves big corporations blackmailing your state government and stealing tax dollars that should be spent on public education. This scandal, though not identified as such in the article, is called federalism. It finds its roots in the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Granted, the statistical research The Times provides in the piece is invaluable, but the article is confused as to the conclusions that flow from the numbers. The most glaring statistic is the dollar amount of “gifts” (to use Mitt Romney’s phrase)...

The mother of a 7-year-old Irving elementary school student says her son wet his pants in class after his teacher refused to let him use the restroom ... Cross' son, an honor roll student, needed to go to the bathroom, but he sat back down because he didn’t have any Boyd Bucks, his mother said. "He tried to hold it as much as he could, but he just couldn’t," Cross said. "He came home from school, and he was crying and really upset." "Really, that's just unhealthy," Cross said. "I think that she had no concern for the children." Cross...

Dallas police said a woman shot at two people who kicked in the door to her house late Wednesday morning, killing one.The shooting occurred at about 11:30 a.m. in the 7200 block of Concordia Drive.Dallas police said the woman was home alone when she heard a noise -- two men had kicked in the front door of her house.She confronted the two men as they reached the second-floor landing and shot at them several times, police said.The intruders ran out the front door, and one of the men collapsed from a gunshot wound, police said.He was transported to Methodist Hospital,...

A sophomore Texarkana state representative caused a stir this week when he announced he would once again push for an open carry gun law when the legislative session convenes in January. Rep. George Lavender hopes to spearhead legislation that would allow residents who have been approved for concealed-weapon carrying to carry holstered pistols in the open. He was behind similar legislation that was not passed in the 2011 legislative session. Texas is one of six states that forbids open carry in all forms. “I definitely support open carry. The concealed handgun law to me is ridiculous... I am still carrying...

It hasn’t been a month since Texas lawyer George P. Bush filed to run for state public office, but there’s already speculation that, come 2014, the Dubya kinfolk might run against Rick Perry for governor. And he might have a fair shot. Then again, who wouldn’t? Perry, gaffe champ, embarrassed his deep red state during the 2011-12 Republican presidential primaries. At one point this year, his job approval rating in the Lone Star State dropped to an all-time low at 40 percent — three percent lower at the time than President Obama’s among Texans. Worse yet, the very same poll...

It’s a decision President Barack Obama put off during the 2012 campaign, but now that he’s won a second term, his next move on a proposed oil pipeline between the U.S. and Canada may signal how he will deal with climate and energy issues in the four years ahead. Obama is facing increasing pressure to determine the fate of the $7 billion Keystone XL project, with environmental activists and oil producers each holding out hope that the president, freed from the political constraints of re-election, will side with them on this and countless other related issues down the road. On...

Community members are up in arms in southeast Houston, demanding justice for a 21-year-old man who was shot by a store clerk during an altercation Monday night. What happened? The young man punched the clerk in the face. According to KHOU news, Alexander Calloway and his two cousins were trying to enter a gas station at 3:30 a.m., but the store was locked. The young men got into an argument with the clerk, Akrem Azzam, through the bulletproof exterior counter. Azzam eventually unlocked the door to speak with Calloway, which was admittedly unwise. Still, that’s no excuse for what happened...

Lockheed Martin Corp's agreement with the Pentagon for 32 additional F-35 fighter jets is valued at around $3.8 billion, although the two sides are still finalizing details...

Four more years! Four more years! Reuters: ******** Retailers moving into old downtown buildings, an abundance of freshly planted greenspaces, and a stream of new jobs in Knoxville, Tennessee, are all signs to Mayor Madeline Rogero that for the last year prosperity has been blooming in her city. "We feel very good about how we're coming out of this recession," Rogero said. "We see new interest. We see new development that's occurring. We're optimistic that this recovery is going to continue." Knoxville is a member of a very small club. Three and a half years since the 2007-09 economic recession...

AUSTIN – Texas tied for the third highest high school graduation rate in the country for all students.....

AUSTIN – Texas tied for the third highest high school graduation rate in the country for all students.....

You raise them, you educate them and you expect them to go out into the world. But they keep coming back. ... between 2007 and 2011 there was a steady increase in the percentage of adults living in someone else’s house – and that increase has mostly been driven by adult children moving in with mom and dad. In 2011, Census Bureau researchers found that 17.9 percent of people 18 and older, or 41.2 million people, lived in a house in which they weren’t the head of the household or that person’s spouse or significant other. That’s up from 16...

Former President George H.W. Bush is in the hospital, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday. Bush, 88, is at Houston’s Methodist Hospital receiving treatment for a “chronic cough,” his chief of staff, Jean Becker, told the Chronicle.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A northwest Harris County homeowner fought back against two burglars Tuesday night and ended up shooting one of them. It all happened at a home on Morgensen Drive at Zada Park Lane sometime before 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said a homeowner came home and noticed an upstairs light was on that wasn’t supposed to be. He went back to his car, got his gun, and headed back to the house.

The Transportation Security Administration is under heavy fire after publicly exposing the breasts of a teenage girl during its controversial “screening” procedures. TSA Blasted for Exposing Breasts of Congressman's Teen Grandniece The New American 28 November 2012 The Transportation Security Administration is under heavy fire after publicly exposing the breasts of a teenage girl during its controversial “screening” procedures. Of course, passengers routinely complain of TSA abuse and molestation — some 17,000 formal complaints have been lodged against the widely ridiculed and despised unconstitutional Homeland Security agency just since 2009, documents show. The latest scandal, however, has turned into...

HOUSTON—As family members of a man who was shot by a Valero clerk in southeast Houston called for the store clerk’s arrest, the store owner released surveillance video. Alexander Calloway, 21, and his two cousins were trying to enter the gas station on Martin Luther King and Belarbor around 3:30 a.m., but the store was locked. The young men got into an argument with the clerk, who unlocked his door and came outside, police said. Someone punched the clerk in the face and the clerk pulled out his gun and shot Calloway in the stomach, according to HPD. Calloway’s cousins...