Southwest
The cicada invasion has begun! Find out where the flying insects are emerging
The historic cicada invasion is upon us!
Noisy flying insects known as cicadas have begun emerging from the ground and have been spotted buzzing around North Carolina and South Carolina before they will eventually appear across 15 other states.
The one to two-inch-long bugs are rising from the soil and growing wings before they then start a frantic mating frenzy lasting several weeks.
Billions, if not trillions, of two groups of cicadas will appear in 17 U.S. states over the coming months in a rare natural phenomenon not seen since 1803.
CICADA INVASION: AN ‘AMAZING’ AMERICAN PHENOMENON AND BONANZA FOR ANGLERS
A Brood XIX adult cicada emerges from its exoskeleton at the University of North Carolina on May 1, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Billions of the flying insects will appear in 17 states this year. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
It is the first time in 221 years that two types of cicadas — brood XIX and XIII — have risen from the ground at the same time, back when Thomas Jefferson was president, and it is not expected to happen again until 2244.
The bugs possess sturdy bodies, bulging compounded red eyes and membranous wings with a three-inch wingspan.
The two broods together will span parts of 17 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin, according to the United States Forest Service.
Newly released video shows swarms of cicadas climbing up a tree, while in other footage the insects can be seen flying under the lights of a canopy, swarming a nearby wall and crawling on the ground.
“It is a pretty amazing phenomenon, I mean, it’s unique,” Eric Benson, a professor emeritus and extension entomologist at Clemson University in South Carolina, told Fox News Digital last month.
“They’re one of the longest-lived insects that we know and the fact that a bug can be underground for 13 years or 17 years, and then almost at the exact same time, they all come out of the ground synchronized,” Benson said. “It’s amazing to me. It’s one of nature’s cooler phenomena in the world.”
A USDA Forest Service map showing cicada brood emergence from April to May 2024 in the eastern United States. The areas in red show where Brood XIII, a 17-year brood, is expected to emerge. The areas in blue show where Brood XIX, a 13-year brood, is expected to emerge. The area in yellow shows where these brood emergences are expected to overlap in Illinois. (USDA Forest Service graphic)
RARE BROODS OF CICADAS TO ARRIVE SOON: WHEN TO EXPECT THEM AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU
There are around 190 species of cicadas all over the world, but only in the eastern United States can you find the periodical cicadas, which emerge every 13 or 17 years.
Cicadas are not harmful to humans, pets, household gardens or crops, the EPA says. They are also a valuable food source for birds and mammals.
According to one social media video, turkeys have been feasting on cicadas. The video, posted on X, shows a dead turkey with its crop cut open, revealing at least a dozen cicadas that the bird had been gobbling up.
“Even back in history, Native Americans ate cicadas because all of a sudden you’re provided with all this amazing protein falling in your lap,” Benson said.
The busiest period of activity for cicadas is from now through early June, and they usually appear after a nice soaking of rain when the temperature of the ground hits 64 degrees, Benson explained.
“They’ll crawl up on a surface, usually the trunk of a tree, or it could be on the side of your house, a car, a fence or whatever. They’re insects, so they have to shed their skin to get to the next stage, and they will go through their final molt where they pull out of their immature skin, and they will be in their adult skin, which will have wings,” Benson said.
“They’ll molt, expand their wings, harden up and when they’re ready they’ll fly up into the trees.”
He said that eventually the cicadas will mate in a noisy fashion and then the females will deposit their eggs onto tree branches. They will hatch and fall into the ground where they will stay for the next 13 or 17 years before the process repeats.
So many cicadas will make noise at once in some places that sound levels might reach upward of 90 to 120 decibels, equivalent to a gas-powered lawnmower or motorcycle, the U.S. Forest Service says.
Meanwhile, the mating cicadas will die off and homeowners will be left hoping that the dead carcasses do not land in their gardens as they can smell badly if they die in large numbers together.
Several brood XIX cicadas crawl on the ground at the University of North Carolina on May 1, 2024. Billions of two groups of cicadas are set to appear in 17 U.S. states in a rare natural phenomenon not seen since 1803. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Females laying their eggs on small tree branches can harm young trees and the EPA advises covering maturing saplings in mesh or netting to keep the insects out.
Experts also advise homeowners to cover pools, patio furniture or similar items from cicada or their droppings when they are active.
Brood XIII cicadas appear on a 17-year cycle, and are restricted mostly to northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin and a few counties in extreme northwestern Indiana, according to entomologist Floyd Shockley of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington.
Brood XIX emerges on a slightly shorter 13-year cycle, and are widely distributed from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia – a total of 15 states, according to Shockley. The two broods together span parts of 17 states.
These two broods overlap only in a small area in central Illinois and sometimes in Indiana. They are close enough potentially to have some interbreeding between broods.
A Brood XIX cicada crosses a brick path on campus at the University of North Carolina on May 1, 2024. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
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Southwest
Texas Gov Greg Abbott calls for CAIR to be stripped of non-profit status
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on the state’s attorney general to strip the Council on American-Islamic Relations of its non-profit status Thursday.
Abbott made the request in a letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton that was released by the governor’s office. The letter also urges Paxton to prevent CAIR and its affiliates from operating in Texas.
“Under Texas law, the Texas Attorney General is the only elected official charged with regulating nonprofits that may be violating the law,” Abbott wrote, calling on Paxton to take action.
Paxton’s office says it is already investigating two school districts for ties to the Islamic Games of North America, a group that works regularly with CAIR.
REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS DEMAND TREASURY PROBE CAIR OVER ALLEGED HAMAS TIES AND TERRORISM CONCERNS
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for a crackdown on CAIR. (Antranik Tavitian/Reuters)
“The spread of radical Islam in Texas must be stopped, and if school districts are continuing to promote or partner with organizations tied to an FTO, that ends now,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I will ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are not materially supporting activities by Islamist terrorists in violation of Texas law.”
Abbott has previously called on school districts to sever ties with CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood. He argues the organizations cannot legally operate on public school property, according to Click2Houston.
“Voluminous documents detail the dangers posed to Texans by the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR and their affiliates,” Abbott said in a statement. “Regardless of the facade CAIR attempts to portray in press releases, CAIR cannot be allowed to use its ‘nonprofit’ status as a shield for sponsoring terror, advancing radical Islamism in Texas or fronting for the Muslim Brotherhood.
“The same goes for other entities pretending to engage in charity by day, while sponsoring terror by night.”
FLORIDA’S CAIR THREATENS LAWSUIT AGAINST DESANTIS AFTER HE LABELS GROUP A ‘FOREIGN TERRORIST’ ORGANIZATION
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking action against CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
CAIR has denied accusations from Abbott’s office, including that the organization is a front for Hamas. The group called Abbott “desperate” in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Greg Abbott has spent several years trying and failing to silence Texans who dared to criticize the waste of American taxpayer dollars on the Israeli government’s crimes,” a CAIR spokesman said.
“While CAIR’s legal team deals with Mr. Abbott’s antics in a court of law, CAIR-Texas remains squarely focused on protecting free speech, religious freedom and civil rights for all Texans.”
CAIR says it has sued Abbott “to block his unconstitutional proclamation targeting our Texas chapter.”
Abbott’s call comes weeks after the House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith referred CAIR’s California chapter to the IRS for investigation. His referral cited alleged misuse of taxpayer funds, potential violations of federal law and support for unlawful activity.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith is urging the IRS to investigate whether a California-based chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations should lose its tax-exempt status. (Leonard Ortiz/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
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“Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right,” Smith, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital earlier this month. “Organizations that receive special treatment under the tax code must follow the law and operate in the public interest, not bankroll illegal activity, mislead federal agencies or misuse hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
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Southwest
Brother killed after teen becomes ‘enraged’ over video game, stabs sibling: police
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An Oklahoma teenager is behind bars after allegedly calling 911 to tell authorities he stabbed his brother to death after becoming “enraged” over a video game.
Oklahoma City police were called to the scene of a domestic stabbing at Southeast 44th Street and Bryant Avenue around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to FOX 8.
When they arrived, officers learned two brothers, 19-year-old William Spencer and 25-year-old Nicholas Spencer, were reportedly playing video games when William Spencer became angry and allegedly stabbed his brother.
MOM KILLED SHIELDING KIDS AFTER HUSBAND ERUPTS IN RAGE OVER NFL GAME: POLICE
William Spencer, 19, is charged with first-degree murder in the alleged killing of his brother in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Oklahoma County Detention Center)
“The calling person called in and said they had just stabbed their brother, officers got here and found a male with serious stab wounds,” Oklahoma City Police Master Sgt. Rob Robertson said, according to FOX 8.
NEW MEXICO MAN ALLEGEDLY KILLS MOTHER, STORES DISMEMBERED REMAINS IN HOME FREEZER FOR WEEKS: REPORT
The Oklahoma County Detention Center is pictured in Oklahoma City on Oct. 3, 2023. (Nathan J. Fish/The Oklahoman via USA Today)
Paramedics transported Nicholas Spencer to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“Very tragic story,” Master Sgt. Gary Knight said during a news conference, according to Law & Crime. “Two brothers who were playing video games. One became enraged over the game, got mad at the other and simply stabbed him to death.”
SPORTS REPORTER’S 3-YEAR-OLD OPENED DOOR FOR GRANDPA WHO THEN FOUND COUPLE DEAD IN HOME: REPORT
Authorities with the Oklahoma City Police Department reportedly responded to a 911 call regarding a domestic stabbing incident in an Oklahoma City suburb on Sunday, January 18, 2026. (iStock)
Immediately following the incident, William Spencer “stayed at the scene,” and was later “taken into custody, interviewed and then also booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center,” Knight reportedly said.
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William Spencer allegedly admitted to his role in the killing and was transported to the Oklahoma County Jail and booked on a charge of first-degree murder, Law & Crime reported. He remains in custody on $10 million bond.
The Oklahoma City Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southwest
Houston school district trying to woo parents while losing students amid school choice competition
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Houston Independent School District (HISD) has to win back parents as more appear to be turning away from large urban school districts across the country.
“If you’ve been looking at the national statistics, a lot of places have experienced enrollment loss. In Houston, right after COVID, this district lost 15,000 kids that didn’t come back,” HISD Superintendent Mike Miles told Fox News Digital.
“A lot of districts lost a lot of kids, and they never came back,” Miles added.
HISD presides over 274 schools and 184,109 students. Historically the largest school district in Texas, despite some fluctuations in recent years after COVID, the district touted academic progress across all grades and subjects and “more than doubled the number of A and B rated schools in just two years.”
ARIZONA SCHOOL DISTRICT TAKES HUGE BLOW TO ENROLLMENT AS PARENTS CHOOSE OTHER OPTIONS
HISD reported a significant drop last week. Houston Public Media obtained a document from the district confirming that their enrollment declined more significantly last year than officials expected. (Houston Independent School District)
“Additionally, the District is retaining its best and most effective teachers. Last year, more than 84% of teachers rated Proficient I or above and 89% of teachers rated Exemplary I returned for the 2025-2026 school year,” a district spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
However, despite its success, the rise of school choice policies has forced public school districts to compete. Charter schools have intensified that competition because they aren’t regulated the same way as traditional public schools. Most states restrict parents to schools within their ZIP code or district, but charter schools give families alternatives. Additionally, more parents are choosing to homeschool their children since the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re looking forward to capturing some of the kids who may have gone to charter schools and getting them back,” Miles told Fox News Digital. “I think we’re getting to a point where we will be competing well with any other school, charter, voucher, virtual, private, and that’s we’re trying to do,” he added.
HISD reported a significant drop last week. Houston Public Media obtained a document from the district confirming that their enrollment declined more significantly last year than officials expected. Houston Independent School District lost 8,300 students this year, totaling more than 16,000 students leaving the state’s largest school district over the past two years, according to the Houston Chronicle.
TRUMP ADMIN TO MAKE HISTORIC INVESTMENT IN CHARTER SCHOOLS AMID NATIONWIDE DECLINE IN PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
HISD presides over 274 schools and 184,109 students. Historically the largest school district in Texas, despite some fluctuations in recent years after COVID, the district touted academic progress across all grades and subjects and “more than doubled the number of A and B rated schools in just two years.” (Houston Independent School District)
“What we do know aligns with larger national and statewide patterns. Large urban non-charter districts across Texas are experiencing enrollment drops, while suburban and rural districts are seeing increases,” a district spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
School districts across the country — especially in urban areas — have experienced enrollment declines. Texas is among several states enacting universal school choice legislation in response to parents seeking alternatives to traditional public schools. The state created an Education Savings Account program with an initial $1 billion investment.
The legislation introduces new competition into the education landscape, giving parents options outside the neighborhood school their child is zoned for — posing challenges for districts struggling to retain students.
HISD told Fox News Digital that “there is no single cause for enrollment decline.” Miles echoed that point, citing multiple issues driving the drop, including challenges facing large metropolitan areas — rising housing costs, poverty, and declining birth rates.
NATION’S REPORT CARD GIVES PUBLIC SCHOOLS A FAILING GRADE. PARENTS ARE DEMANDING BETTER
“The biggest loss in enrollment was pre-K, first and second grade. And you already know that in the United States, but also in Texas and in Houston, demographics are changing. In other words, we don’t have as many kids born here. That’s one, so the birth rate has declined, and you can see that in our earlier grades having an impact,” Miles said.
“Houston is one of the poorest cities in the nation,” he continued. “The poverty rate is high and people move because of changes in the market. People who have fewer resources often are more impacted by increases in inflation or just property … What’s different in Houston is that we are now experiencing such good academic growth.”
Teachers unions often criticize school choice policies, saying they siphon per-pupil funding from traditional public schools by allowing parents to opt out of their neighborhood campuses. Critics argue that money taken away from those schools could instead be used to raise teacher pay, improve facilities and recruit more educators.
Houston skyline. (iStock)
The Trump administration has made strides in expanding school choice nationwide. Among them is instituting a federal tax credit scholarship, giving individuals across the country an opportunity to support school choice programs within their states, circumventing anti-school choice measures.
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