Austin, TX
Missing 12-year-old Georgia girl could be in Texas, officials say
MIT: Maria Gomez-Perez
Authorities are looking for a missing 12-year-old girl from Georgia who could be in Texas. FOX 7 Austin’s Angela Shen has more on the search for Maria Gomez-Perez in this “Missing in Texas”.
AUSTIN, Texas – The search for a missing 12-year-old girl from Georgia has expanded to seven other states, including Texas.
Maria Gomez-Perez from Gainesville, Georgia was last seen on May 29. Her father spoke to FOX 5 Atlanta earlier this month.
“I trust God that he will bring my daughter back. If he allows that my daughter is still alive I trust in him that she will come home and he will bring her home,” Andres Gomez Alonso said through a translator.
In a June 11 press conference, the Hall County Sheriff says about 70 tips have come in, each one thoroughly examined.
“We are all doing everything within our power to bring Maria home safe and sound,” Sheriff Gerald Couch said.
Federal investigators are helping with the case.
“The men and women of the sheriff’s office and numerous other agencies have Maria’s image burned in our hearts and into our minds,” Couch said.
The investigation has included searches, interviews with family, school officials, friends, neighbors, and electronic data analysis.
The sheriff says he considers Maria to be in danger. “She’s a child. To be gone that long, that’s a serious issue. There’s so many possibilities where she could be and what could’ve happened to her. We’re exploring every single avenue,” Couch said.
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Cybersecurity engineer Sergio Franco created a website called “Help Find Maria.”
“When Maria went missing, it stole a part of me too. This is such a small community where we get to know everybody else,” he said. “Once we heard about it, we just felt like it was our own child going missing. I wanted to be part of that. I wanted to help unify the community and their efforts to help finding Maria.”
The sheriff says leads have brought investigators to seven other states: Texas, Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Investigators are not elaborating on where in Texas they searched.
“Anything’s possible. We’re searching out all avenues, especially going outside the state of Georgia,” Couch said.
The sheriff’s office assures everyone they’re still working the case, even though tips have declined.
“What we need most is for you to continue to spread the word and share accurate information,” Couch said.
“To be a 12-year-old kid, being missing from your family for that long, being in a place where you’re not really sure where to go… it’s terrifying, any kid should not have to go through. It is our responsibility to help the community,” Franco said.
There is a $50,000 reward for Maria’s safe return.
“Someone out in the community has that one bit of information that is viable to us, but they need to come forward, and that could be the key to breaking this case wide open,” Couch said.
Franco says this would be his message for Texans.
“We need help. Maria has been missing for longer than a month. We’re getting to month two. Any help, any pair of eyes, any more attention that we can get towards this case will be incredibly helpful,” he said.
Austin, TX
Texas Supreme Court overturns ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in lawsuit
(AP) – The Texas Supreme Court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in a whistleblower lawsuit at the heart of impeachment charges brought against him in 2023.
The court on Friday said Paxton’s office does not dispute any issue in the lawsuit by four former Paxton employees and agreed to any judgment in the case.
“In a major win for the State of Texas, the state Supreme Court has sided with Attorney General Paxton against former OAG employees whose effort to prolong costly, politically-motivated litigation against the agency has wasted public resources for years,” a statement from Paxton’s office said.
An attorney for one of the plaintiffs declined immediate comment, and a second attorney did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
The former employees allege they were improperly fired or forced out for bringing to the FBI allegations that Paxton was misusing his office to protect a friend and campaign donor, who in turn, they said, was helping the attorney general to conceal an extramarital affair.
The Supreme Court ruling noted that the Texas governor and Legislature have expressed a desire to hear testimony from the witnesses prior to agreeing to appropriate funds to settle the lawsuit.
The court said forcing Paxton, First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, Chief of Staff Lesley French Henneke and senior advisor Michelle Smith to testify earlier could improperly be used for legislative purposes in deciding any appropriation.
Under the preliminary deal, Paxton agreed to apologize to the former employees for calling them “rogue” employees, settle the case for $3.3 million and ask the state to pay for it, prompting the state House to reject the request and begin its own investigation, leading to the vote to impeach him.
Paxton was ultimately acquitted after a Senate trial.
The Supreme Court termed its ruling conditional upon the lower trial court complying with the decision, while saying it is “confident the trial court will comply” with the order.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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A Texas city has been named among the top ten U.S. cities to live in over the next two years.
Ten Texas cities were included in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Places to Live list. For the annual rankings, U.S. News analyzed 150 major cities in the U.S. based on quality of life, job market, value of living and people’s desire to live in the area.
How did your city fare on the list? Here’s a breakdown of the data.
LIST: 10 best US cities to live
Texas’ capital secured a spot in the top 10 places to live, as determined by U.S. News.
- Naples, Florida
- Boise, Idaho
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Greenville, South Carolina
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Austin, Texas
- Boulder, Colorado
Austin offers healthy balance of work and pleasure, US News says
Austin had an overall score of 6.8 out of 10, compared to Naples’ score of 7.1. The Texas capital also scored 6.8 in the quality of life index, with a value index score of 6.3.
“With the slogan ‘Keep Austin Weird,’ this Texas city is laid-back to the point that if you’re dressing up, it must be a life event,” the U.S. News analysis says. “People here enjoy the outdoors, even more so with their dogs. Austin has a contagious vibrancy and enthusiasm.”
U.S. News notes Austin’s strongest assets are a mix of work and pleasure. The number of companies headquartered in Austin makes it attractive to working professionals, especially those in technology, government, education, and health care. But the capital is far from being “all work, no play.” Its claim as the live music capital of the world invites music lovers to take a listen, whether at the airport, along streets downtown, or at one of the approximate 200 venues throughout the area.
Austin also ranked no. 32 on U.S. News’ Best Places to Retire in 2025 list.
LIST: Best Texas cities to live
Here are the rankings and scores U.S. News gave for the ten Texas cities included in the list:
Ranking
City
Overall Score
Quality of Life
Value Index
#9
Austin
6.8
6.8
6.3
#48
McAllen
6.4
6.6
7.6
#62
El Paso
6.3
6.5
7.3
#77
Corpus Christi
6.2
5.8
7.0
#87
Brownsville
6.2
6.2
7.7
#89
San Antonio
6.1
6.1
6.8
#95
Dallas
6.1
6.4
5.6
#97
Houston
6.1
5.9
6.2
#99
Beaumont
6.1
5.5
7.3
#107
Killeen
6.0
5.9
7.3
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