Texas
Texas counties lead the U.S. in population growth, Census says
Six out of the 10 fastest-growing counties in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023 are in Texas, according to recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Kaufman County, just east of Dallas, led the list with a 7.6% increase that brought its population over 185,000, Census data shows. Rockwall and Liberty counties followed closely behind, each with growth bursts of 6.5% and 5.7%, respectively.
Texas counties among the fastest growing in the country
Six of the 10 U.S. counties with the largest residential growth rates between 2022 and 2023 were in Texas. Of those, three are in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area (Kaufman, Rockwall and Ellis counties) and two are outside Houston (Liberty and Chambers counties).
Population increases across the southern U.S. were largely due to people relocating from other parts of the country, Census officials said. On average, counties in the South experienced faster growth in 2023 than in 2022.
“Domestic migration patterns are changing, and the impact on counties is especially evident,” said Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, in a Thursday statement.
Big counties see major population increases
Texas also holds eight out of the ten counties across the country that added the most residents from 2022 to 2023. Harris, Collin and, Montgomery counties led the pack.
Harris County added 53,788 residents, more than any other county in the U.S. With nearly 5 million total residents, it’s now the third most populous county in the country. Harris also saw the second-highest gains from international migration of all counties nationwide.
Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area also had significant gains, bringing in tens of thousands of new people. Denton is now the seventh county in Texas to surpass 1 million residents.
Notably, Dallas County didn’t make the Census’ top ten list.
Growth in the state’s major counties boosted Texas’ overall population. The state grew more than any other in the country in 2023 by nearly half a million people, according to earlier Census estimates.
Texas’ cities are booming
Texas’ four most populous metro areas – Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin – were among the top 10 metro areas with the biggest population increases from 2022 to 2023.
The greater Dallas area saw the highest jump. It added 152,598 residents, bringing its total population over 8 million. The greater Houston area followed closely behind, adding 139,789 over the same period. Its total population is now over 7.5 million residents.
Nearly 70% of Texas residents live in the state’s four largest metro areas, according to estimates from the Texas Demographic Center.
Texas’ metro areas seeing big population increases
The four most populated metro areas in Texas saw large population increases between 2022 and 2023, including Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, which ranked first and second in the nation, respectively.
But the Midland metro area grew more rapidly than any of them. From 2022 to 2023, Midland’s population increased by nearly 3% – making it the seventh fastest-growing metro area in the country.
Midland is part of the Permian Basin, the highest-producing oil field in the U.S., and is home to much of Texas’ oil and gas production.
Tracee Bentley, CEO of Permian Strategic Partnership – a collaboration between Permian Basin communities and oil and gas companies – said job growth in the energy sector could be driving population increases in Midland.
“The nature of the jobs that you’re seeing in the oil and gas space are attracting some of the younger professionals who want to come here,” Bentley said.
Overall, more U.S. counties saw population gains than losses in 2023, but the South saw faster growth than much of the rest of the country, according to Census data.
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Texas
After no contest plea, a Texas representative’s charges for impersonating a public servant are dismissed
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A Collin County district court dismissed charges against state Rep. Frederick Frazier on Friday after the McKinney Republican pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of impersonating a public servant. The court also granted an early release from community supervision, which resulted in the dismissal as part of Frazier’s deferred adjudication.
In December, Frazier pleaded no contest to the two criminal charges, part of a plea agreement stemming from allegations he targeted his primary runoff opponent’s campaign signs over a year ago. Frazier accepted a year of probation and a maximum $4,000 fine for each offense.
Earlier this month, Frazier’s lawyer filed an application for early release and dismissal of charges. On Friday, Judge Jim Pruitt granted that request, a little over four months after Frazier entered the no contest plea. The order comes one month before Frazier’s primary runoff election against Keresa Richardson for a Republican-friendly seat in northern Collin County outside Dallas.
In December, while accepting Frazier’s no contest plea, Pruitt wrote, “Court finds that the evidence and Defendant’s plea substantiates the Defendant’s guilt of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt as charged in the indictment.”
He has separately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief.
Frazier was indicted in June 2022, in which he was accused of impersonating a McKinney city code enforcement employee on two occasions instructing people to “remove campaign signage.”
The campaign signs belonged to his opponent in the 2022 Republican primary for House District 61, Paul Chabot. In his first run for the House, Frazier had the backing of former President Donald Trump. Chabot lost that race.
Chabot told The Texas Tribune that the judge’s order on Friday took him by surprise. He had intended to provide a victim impact statement at the end of the year, when Frazier was scheduled to complete his community supervision.
On Friday, Frazier announced on social media that the judge had dismissed his case. He said his legal troubles had given him appreciation for Trump, who is facing four criminal cases in which he is accused of election interference, mishandling classified documents and falsifying business records.
“I cannot compare my situation to Donald Trump’s, who has been hounded by radical Democrats with little or no proof,” Frazier said. “It gave me a small taste of what President Trump faces now.”
Frazier’s campaign did not return a request for comment as of Friday evening.
Frazier represents House District 61, a Republican-friendly seat in northern Collin County outside Dallas.
Gov. Greg Abbott backed Frazier during his reelection campaign as part of a blanket endorsement of dozens of House Republicans who sided with Abbott in favor of school vouchers.
Frazier is among the dozens of House Republicans that Attorney General Ken Paxton tried to defeat after the House impeached him on abuse-of-office allegations in May. The Senate acquitted Paxton in September.
Richardson, his opponent in the May 28 runoff, said his legal problems weren’t the reason she entered the race, but rather it was his performance in the Texas House that pushed her to challenge Frazier. Richardson won 40% of the votes; Frazier won 32% of the votes.
“We’ll let the people decide who they would rather have in the House,” Richardson told The Texas Tribune on Friday. “It’s up to the constituents.”
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Texas
Texas Longhorns WR Adonai Mitchell Selected No. 52 Overall After Major Draft Slide
AUSTIN — After an extra day of waiting, Texas Longhorns receiverAdonai Mitchell is finally off the board.
The Indianapolis Colts selected Mitchell with pick No. 52 in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit on Friday. Mitchell slipped out of the first round on Day 1 and instead had to watch as teammates Byron Murphy II and Xavier Worthy got selected by the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.
However, the real surprise came on Day 2 when Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat was selected before Mitchell at No. 38 overall by the Tennessee Titans.
Mitchell is the 11th receiver off the board in this year’s draft. He joins Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze, Brian Thomas Jr., Worthy, Ricky Pearsall, and Xavier Legette. Many mocks had Mitchell going ahead of guys like Pearsall and Legette, but instead they leapfrogged on Day 1 once the board officially fell into place. Then on Day 2, Keon Coleman, Ladd McConkey and Ja’Lynn Polk all went ahead of Mitchell as well.
Mitchell posted 93 catches for 1,405 yards and 18 touchdowns during his collegiate carreer. He was a two-time national champion during his time with the Georgia Bulldogs, appearing in five College Football Playoff games and catching a touchdown in all five. After the championship success in Athens, Mitchell came to Austin and had a career-best season at Texas, finishing with 55 catches for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns, all career-high marks.
Texas
Severe storms across Texas could produce tornadoes, large hail. See if you’re in the path
Severe weather outbreak expected from Plains into Midwest this weekend
The storms firing up on Thursday afternoon are just the beginning of tornado risks over the coming days.
Severe storms are brewing across Texas throughout the weekend, potentially unleashing tornadoes and sizable hail.
The storms are mainly predicted for North Texas and some areas of Central Texas, as part of a broader weather system moving across the eastern half of the U.S.
Here’s what we know about this weekend’s weather.
What’s the weather forecast for Texas?
There’s a combination of severe weather events possible for North Texas this weekend.
“Storms are already ongoing and will increase in coverage through the afternoon,” the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes and flooding are all possible.”
Meteorologists in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have already issued tornado watches that extend from the Oklahoma-Texas border down to south of Waco through late Friday afternoon.
Texas weather: What’s the difference between a tornado watch and tornado warning?
But it won’t end there. The greatest severe weather potential will be late Saturday evening into early Sunday morning, according to the NWS Fort Worth website.
“Large hail, damaging winds and a tornado or two will be possible,” the website states. “Additionally, the risk for flash flooding will increase Saturday night west of I-35 and once again through Sunday afternoon across East Texas. Given the potential for night-time flooding and severe weather, make sure you have all the necessary preparations completed before severe weather strikes!”
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