Waco-area news briefs: Star Spangled Sky offers fireworks alternative at Mother Neff

Items of interest around the Waco area, in brief.
By Waco Tribune-Herald · · 1 min read

Items of interest around the Waco area, in brief.
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Five years after becoming the first Southern state to legalize possession of marijuana, Virginia has approved a legal way to sell it to recreational users.State budget legislation enacted Monday will allow up to 350 cannabis shops to open across Virginia beginning July 1, 2027. The move marks the...

Alex Murdaugh was back in court Monday on charges he killed his wife and son, appearing silently at a pretrial hearing that was mostly short on substance but long on spectacle as the true crime sensation continues to captivate.Murdaughs murder convictions and sentence of life in prison were overt...

A former Waco police officer was indicted Thursday on two felony counts of child abuse.

TEMPLE, Texas (FOX 44) — Monday morning saw a ribbon cutting celebration for the first Baylor Scott & White Urgent Care+ within the City of Temple. The ribbon cutting was organized by the Temple Chamber of Commerce and attended by local leaders including Mayor of Temple Tim Davis and Temple ISD S...

WACO, Texas (FOX 44) - Every week, FOX 44 will be featuring a furry friend up for adoption through the Humane Society of Central Texas. You can take a look at Malibu in the video above! If you're thinking about adopting this furry friend, you can contact the Humane Society of Central Texas by cal...

The City of Hillsboro announced that water service will be temporarily suspended west of Cho Street beginning Monday at 10:00 PM.City crews will take the downtown water tower offline to repair two water leaks and install four new water valves. Work is expected to take 5 to 8 hours to complete.Onc...

In a closely-watched 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday the state of Mississippis law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to five days after election day can stand as long as those ballots are postmarked on or before election day.Mississippi first passed the law in 2020. But...

Over 100 youth golfers, including local standouts from Crawford, will tee it up in Waco this week as the Texas Youth Classic continues to grow in its second year.

WACO, Texas (FOX 44) - The best youth golf tournament in Texas, the Texas Youth Classic, has returned for a second-straight year - and FOX 44 is once again the proud official media sponsor! The event spans from Tuesday, June 30th to July 1st. Main Event also sponsored a private VIP pre-tournament...

WACO, Texas (FOX 44) - The best of the best youth golfers in this region are calling Central Texas home with the return of the Texas Youth Classic to the Waco area on June 30th and July 1st! For more information about this event, you can watch our interview above. You can also view our [...]
SpaceX's rocket engine testing in Central Texas has led the city of McGregor to pump too much water from the Trinity Aquifer for three years in a row.

TEMPLE, Texas (FOX 44) – SPJST welcomes families from across Texas to the annual SPJST State Youth Showcase (SYS) in Temple. The State Youth Showcase will take place at the Frank W. Mayborn Civic and Convention Center in Temple from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 25th, 2026. The free statewid...

More than 100 people just deported from the United States were being held in a hotel when earthquakes struck Venezuela, setting off a scramble to find survivors and bodies buried in the rubble, according to survivors.A deportation flight from Miami arrived in Caracas hours before Wednesday's eart...

Grimes County jail nears capacity, commissioners to discuss expansion options on July 22Watch the full story here: How big to build: Grimes County leaders weighing options for jail expansion projectThe Grimes County Jail is running out of room, and county leaders are preparing to act before the f...

Food truck owners across Texas must now obtain a new state permit instead of county-level permits, and Bell County vendors say they were caught off guard after being told their existing permits would carry them through the year until recently.Watch the story here: Bell County food trucks battle...

President Donald Trump downplayed the importance of a newly passed bipartisan housing bill aimed at making homeownership more affordable.Speaking with reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump called the bill unimportant and a yawn.I think its so unimportant compared to the SAVE America Act, ...
Main weather story today is about the Saharan Dust - an interesting bit of meteorology as sand and dust that came directly from the Sahara Desert in Africa has plumed over Texas today cause skies to be very hazy, especially as you view along the horizon. While this won't impact our weather to any...

Aftershocks continue to rattle Venezuela three days after two massive earthquakes struck the state of La Guaira, with more than 1,700 people confirmed dead as of Monday afternoon and more than 50,000 still missing.Rescue teams are still pulling people from the rubble as the United States drives t...

STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Starbase selected the city’s first-ever police chief on Friday. During a meeting on Friday afternoon, the City Commission selected Glenn Bennett — a lieutenant at the Belton, Texas, police department — to head the Starbase Police Department. “I think we’re lucky ...

A JetBlue flight landed safely at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Monday after the crew reported a possible drone encounter during final approach.JetBlue said Flight 948 was traveling from Las Vegas to New York when the crew reported the possible encounter.In audio with air t...

BELTON, Texas (FOX 44) - It's time to start planning the Chief's retirement party! Belton Fire Chief Jon Fontenot has officially notified Belton City Manager Sam Listi that he plans to retire from the Belton Fire Department effective July 31, 2026. The statement from the City of Belton says Fonte...
A Travis County judge ordered the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to pay McLennan County Justice of the Peace Diane Hensley $640,000 in court costs and compensatory damages.. Hensley stopped officiating marriages in 2019, citing her Christian faith and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration...

When Brazil went down in the first half against Japan, the fans didn't quiet down. The team responded with an incredible and memorable comeback to reach the Round of 16.
Democrats face an uphill battle if they want to flip the U.S. Senate in the midterm elections.Republicans currently hold a 53-47 edge, meaning Democrats would need to pick up four seats now held by the GOP.New polls released this week show several Republican-held seats could be competitive, thoug...

New Road will be closed at Interstate 35 one night this week to accommodate work on the continuing highway project.

Killeen, Tx (FOX44) - Bond has been set at $100,000 for a 37-year-old man accused of hiding cameras in bathrooms and catching images of a 13-year-old girl. Christopher Aaron Palmer remained in the Bell County Jail Monday on a second-degree felony charge following an investigation by Killeen polic...

WACO, Texas (FOX 44) – The Waco Independent Film Festival (Waco Indie) has announced the film lineup and events schedule for this year's event! The Festival was recently was named as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee”. Waco Indie’s in-theater screenings will take...

McLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (FOX 44) - The 100 Club Heart of Texas has a mission to support our local first-responders who were killed or seriously injured in the line of duty. Lorena Police Chief Scott Holt and McLennan County Commissioner Ben Perry tell us more about the organization in our intervie...

BRYAN, Texas (FOX 44) - America is about to turn 250 years old, and there is no shortage of activities happening in Bryan! Here are select events happening this week, courtesy of Destination Bryan: The America 250 Block Party at the Carnegie History Center will be taking place from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m...
Luigi Mangiones federal trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson will now begin in January, a judge said Monday, delaying it from the fall.U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said she was postponing the federal trial so Mangiones lawyers can focus on his state murder trial, wh...

GATESVILLE, Texas (FOX 44) — The Coryell County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division has executed an arrest warrant on 31-year-old Jesse Scott Gruber, of Gatesville, Texas. The department says Gruber was taken into custody on a warrant charging him with Indecency with a Child, a felo...

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (FOX 44) - It's time to roll up your sleeves and make a difference in the lives of others! The City of College Station will be hosting a community blood drive from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30. The event will take place in the Bush 4141 Community Room at City Hall, ...

Killeen, Tx (FOX 44) - A 42-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a 15-year-old girl becoming pregnant and having a child when she turned 16. Killeen police got the case in July 22024 when the incident was reported at the KPD information desk. KPD spokesperson Ofelia Miramontez said t...
A newborn baby was found dead inside a porta-potty Sunday morning in the camping area of the Electric Forest music festival in Rothbury, according to Michigan State Police.An employee of the restroom vending company found the body of the newborn baby during routine maintenance.Investigators say t...
The Supreme Court held Monday that constitutional privacy protections extend to cellphone location information, ruling in the case of a bank robber whose identity was discovered through a geofence warrant.Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the 6-3 court that people dont forfeit expectations of privacy...

Former 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson discussed his ALS diagnosis on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.
A Michigan company whose top-selling product was born out of the Great Depression has been a staple on kitchen tables ever since.When you think of the most recognizable American food brands, Jiffy Mix is right up there. It's sold around the world, and it's made in a mill about 15 miles west of An...

It’s a good idea to be aware of places that can harbor heat hazards. Here are a few examples; some you’ll recognize, some you may not.
The three firefighters killed over the weekend in wildfires along the Colorado-Utah border were part of a crew that goes into remote areas to quickly put out new fires, federal officials said Monday.The three were killed and two others suffered burns when they were overcome Saturday by flames aft...
A long and dangerous heat wave will blast a large swath of the central and eastern United States this week, the National Weather Service said, with temperatures rising ahead of the July Fourth holiday and feeling even hotter because of the high humidity that's arriving with it.Already, parts of t...
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