Texas
Build, baby, build: Texas needs houses.
Texas continues to experience significant population growth as Americans flee other states for new opportunities and, historically, a lower cost of living. According to the Texas Comptroller’s office, approximately 225,000 people moved to Texas between 2021 and 2022, but homebuilding has not kept pace with the influx of new residents. The increased demand for housing — combined with factors such as high interest rates, high property taxes, inflation and rising insurance costs — have left Texas with a housing deficit of 306,000 units, second only to California. Texas lawmakers are likely to tackle housing affordability during the 2025 legislative session.
Just because a family cannot afford or qualify for a mortgage does not mean they should not be able to live in a home they are proud of in a community where they can afford to rent.
To improve Texans’ living situations, it’s just as important to increase the supply of single-family rental homes as it is to increase the supply of homes for purchase. We need options for everyone.
Many who have testified before Texas Senate and House committees during the interim have emphasized the importance of increasing the housing supply for both buyers and renters. Some have zeroed in on several potential solutions: easing zoning regulations and minimum lot size requirements, streamlining local permitting processes and allowing for easier conversion of commercial property into residential. (The comptroller’s report also outlined some of these options.)
Meanwhile, calls to limit corporate purchases of single-family homes to rent miss the mark. According to a 2021 report by the National Association of Realtors, corporate investors bought 28% of homes sold that year in Texas — more than twice the national average. But corporate investors in single-family homes range from large companies to small mom-and-pops. And according to legislative testimony, home purchases by corporate investors of every size have not exceeded 20% of the total.
In reality, to generate much-needed housing at scale,Texas needs corporate investment. It’s up to our elected leaders to clear the way by eliminating barriers to supply and creating greater housing options and accessibility for all Texans.
Charles Blain, a frequent contributor to the Houston Chronicle, researches and writes about policies that promote opportunity and social mobility.
Texas
Pentagon releases UFO files with Texas sightings going back to 1948
Trump administration to release UFO files soon, president says
President Trump said his administration plans to release information and materials relating to UFOs.
Ever look up at the vast Texas sky and see something move across it? It could be a shooting star, a satellite — or a UFO.
The Pentagon released several documents Friday, May 8, detailing sightings of unidentified flying objects, or “bogeys,” in U.S. airspace, including reports from Texas.
The documents were released by the U.S. Department of Defense at the directive of President Donald Trump, marking the release of government files related to “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP)” and UFOs.
“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves. This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump Administration’s earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency,” said U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a statement.
Here’s a look at the files related to Texas.
UFO spotted in 1948 above Abilene, Texas
A DoD incident summary shows that on Jan. 1, 1948, a man identified as “Mr. A. Schroeder” reported a UFO in the 1100 block of Highland Ave in Abilene, Texas.
Schroeder reported seeing a stationary bright blue-green bell-shaped object in the western sky above Abilene at 1:25 a.m. and 1:30 a.m.
Fort Worth man sees UFO above Alaska
Also in 1948, Lt. Aytch Johnson noticed a silver flat disk in the sky in Fairbanks, Alaska.
According to the incident report, the Fort Worth man observed the object flying over Alaska at around 1:06 p.m. on April 18, 1948, at an estimated speed of 250 to 300 miles per hour.
The report also noted that the sighting “may have been the reflection of sun from wings” of aircrafts flying in the area at the time.
Possible UFO sighting during the NASA Gemini 7 space launch
The DoD released the transcript and audio file of NASA’s Gemini 7 mission in 1965 when astronaut Frank Borman reported to NASA mission control in Houston his sighting of an unidentified object, which he referred to as a “bogey.”
While the launch didn’t take place in Texas, the report came back to space control in Houston.
The conversation occurred on Dec. 5, 1965 — 4 hours and 24 minutes into the flight — when Borman notified space control that there was a “bogey” on their left-hand side.
When asked to clarify what they are seeing, Borman said he was seeing “hundreds of little particles” on their left, about three to four miles away.
As NASA Public Affairs clarified, the bogey was an unidentified object, along with the particles.
Pentagon documents report of other possible sightings in Texas
Some documents have connections or reports of possible UFO sightings in Texas, but are missing details to understand the situation.
For example, the DoD received a clipping from the Yoakum Times-Record reporting UFO sightings by Mrs. Anna Banys in 1947, but it is unclear why she was writing to the DoD.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
Texas
AMBER Alert girl last seen in Texas after Louisiana abduction
Concern over effectiveness of AMBER Alerts
For nearly 30 years, the AMBER Alert has helped locate hundreds of children, but one of its founders believes changes should be made to make the emergency alert system more effective.
Fox – 7 Austin
An AMBER Alert has been issued for a 13-year-old girl abducted from Louisiana who was last seen in North Texas.
Merlin Chirinos-Argueta was last seen around 7:10 p.m. May 7 in Allen, Texas, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Authorities say the teen was abducted from Keithville, Louisiana, and may be traveling in Texas
Chirinos-Argueta is described as a 13-year-old Hispanic girl with black hair and brown eyes. She is about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds, officials said.
The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office said Merlin was reported missing Thursday. May 7 from the 6200 block of Bain Boulevard in Keithville. Sheriff Henry Whitehorn Sr. said investigators are asking for the public’s help in locating the teen.
Investigators believe she may be with 18-year-old Daniel Vasquez Mejia, who has black hair and brown eyes.
Merlin has not been in contact with her family, which has raised concerns for her safety and well-being, authorities said. The investigation is ongoing.
Authorities say they may be traveling in a white Chevrolet SUV with Texas license plate VML6061. The vehicle is believed to have a skull sticker on the rear driver’s side back window and a “mojo” sticker on the passenger side rear window.
Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or contact the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office at 318-675-2170.
Texas
Texas officials monitoring two residents who were on board ship with hantavirus outbreak
AUSTIN, Texas (KBTX) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has notified the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) that two Texas residents were passengers on the MV Hondius, a ship that experienced an outbreak of hantavirus while traveling in the Atlantic Ocean. The passengers left the ship and returned to the United States before the outbreak was identified.
“Public health workers in Texas have reached the two individuals, and they report they are not experiencing any symptoms and did not have any contact with a sick person while aboard the ship. They have agreed to monitor themselves for symptoms with daily temperature checks and contact public health officials at any sign of a possible illness,” the agency said on Thursday in a statement.
DSHS will not release additional personal details about the passengers to protect their privacy.
“This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness at the World Health Organization. “Most people will never be exposed to this.”
More than two dozen people from at least 12 different countries left the ship without contact tracing nearly two weeks after the first passenger died on board.
Health authorities on at least four continents are now tracking down and in some cases monitoring the cruise passengers who disembarked on April 24, and trying to trace others who may have come into contact with them since then.
That includes two people in Georgia who are also being monitored, according to our affiliate WTOC.
Hantaviruses are usually spread through contact with wild rodent droppings or urine. The strain in the Hondius outbreak, Andes virus, can spread from person to person in limited circumstances. It typically requires close, prolonged contact with a person who is actively sick with the disease.
It is not known to spread through casual contact such as shaking hands or being in the same room for a few minutes. There have been no documented cases where a person without symptoms spread it to someone else.
Copyright 2026 KBTX. All rights reserved.
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