A Texas woman was arrested after police said she threatened the lives of restaurant workers over a corn dog.

Charmelle R. Henry, 45, entered the Midland restaurant and threw 75 cents at workers, demanding a corn dog, according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

When she wasn't happy with what she received, she threw the corn dog at them and demanded one that was not microwaved, police said.

Workers noticed Henry had a knife in her hand after giving her a second corn dog.

According to police, she told the workers she would "stab (them) in cold blood" unless she got another corn dog.

More at http://www.ksat.com/news/texas-woman-jailed-over-corn-dog/25637620 .

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he'll need more preparation if he runs for president again in 2016.

Perry says he learned a lot when he ran last time. He tells CBS "This Morning" it was a humbling experience.

The Republican governor says he recommends not having major back surgery six weeks before you start running. And he says that whether he runs for president or not, preparation on foreign policy, economics and other issues will serve him well.

Perry had a lot of support when he ran in 2012. But he entered the race late and lost his edge after making several verbal blunders during the GOP debates.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/Perry-Says-He-Needs-More-Preparation-Campaign-2016--256541051.html

A Longview bank teller was found guilty Wednesday to embezzling more than $1 million for her personal use from a Longview bank during a 13-year time span.

Kerri Monroe Jones pleaded guilty April 17 in federal court in Tyler, admitting to embezzling $1,394,200 from Capitol One Bank in Longview, court documents show. U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider found her guilty Wednesday, based upon her plea.

Jones worked at the Longview branch of Capitol One Bank as its lead teller from April 19, 2000, until Sept. 16, 2013, and admitted to embezzling money throughout the entire 13 years, according to court documents.

Jones said in her guilty plea that she was about to “conceal” the activity because her position allowed her to make “unauthorized and fraudulent ‘cash in’ and ‘cash outs’ entries, thereby creating a mechanism that I was able to exploit for my own purposes and financial benefit.”

More at http://www.news-journal.com/news/police/longview-bank-teller-pleads-guilty-to-embezzling-more-than-million/article_98946b60-6e53-5892-87b1-133f5ced6ff3.html .

[font color=green]The amazing thing is it took 13 years for Capitol One to notice the embezzlement, which begs one to ask "what's in your wallet?"

Meanwhile, if I was more than a couple days late making a payment on my credit card they would start hounding me on the telephone like I was a threat to national security.[/font]

SAN ANTONIO — A photo of freshman U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz kneeling with a rug that appears to be a tiger's pelt is generating a hullabaloo among activists and supporters on Thursday.

The photo, posted to Cruz's official Facebook page Wednesday, shows Texas' junior senator and U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posing next to a rug that appears to be the hide and face of a tiger in a Houston office. The caption of the photo reads: “Did a little shopping for the office with United States Senator Mike Lee in Houston today.”

Many comments on the photo say the rug is not real, but Catherine Frazier, a Cruz spokeswoman, said “we have no idea” if the rug is a real tiger pelt.

Tiger's are listed as endangered species by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature.

More at http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/Sen-Ted-Cruz-causes-stir-with-photo-of-tiger-pelt-5426857.php .

The US Department of Agriculture this week declared 95 percent of Texas counties a natural disaster area in the wake of the drought that has gripped the state since 2011.

Of the state’s 252 counties, 240 received the designation, which means producers are now eligible for low-interest loans.

“President Obama and I are committed to ensuring that agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy by sustaining the successes of America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities through these difficult times,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

“We’re also telling Texas producers that USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.”

More at http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2014-04-24/developing-all-3-texas-counties-declared-disaster-area-due-drought .

[font color=green]The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal report is incorrect in the second paragraph--there are 254 counties in Texas. The excluded counties are Jasper, Newton and Orange.[/font]

American Airlines Group reports a record $480 million in Q1 profits

American Airlines Group Inc., parent of American Airlines Inc. and US Airways Inc., said Thursday it earned a record $480 million in the first quarter, its first full quarter since the carriers’ Dec. 9 merger.

Excluding special items, AAG earned $402 million.

Both figures represented a sharp improvement over the prior year when predecessor AMR Corp. was operating in bankruptcy court.

“We are very pleased to report a record profit in our first full quarter as a merged company,” AAG chief executive Doug Parker said. “Our team of dedicated professionals did an excellent job of taking care of our customers despite particularly difficult weather conditions throughout the quarter. We are excited for the future and expect our synergies to build as we continue to integrate our operations.”

More at http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/04/american-airlines-reports-a-record-402-million-in-q1-profits.html/ .

Southwest Airlines earns record $152 million in Q1 profits

Southwest Airlines said Thursday it earned $152 million in net income in first quarter 2014, or $126 million excluding special items. In either case, the results represented a Q1 record for the Dallas airline.

Southwest chairman and CEO Gary C. Kelly said he was “delighted to report record first quarter earnings, which increased significantly year-over-year, despite the disruption caused by more than 7,500 of our flights canceled due to extreme weather conditions and the impact of the shift in timing of the Easter and Passover holidays.”

He estimated that winter storms cost Southwest $50 million in operating profits.

“Our first quarter 2014 earnings performance is a superb start to the year and on plan to achieve a 15 percent pre-tax return on invested capital for the year, excluding special items.,” Kelly said.

More at http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/04/southwest-airlines-earns-record-152-million-in-q1-profits.html/ .

U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold is still playing catch-up because he had jury duty last week, but he said it wasn't as bad as people make it out to be.

He was impaneled for a forgery case.

http://www.caller.com/news/2014/apr/24/farenthold-serves-as-alternate-juror-for-nueces/?partner=popular

[font color=green]If I was the defendant I would request that Farenthold be excused from being on the jury since none of my peers wears ducky pajamas![font]

A lawsuit filed Tuesday claims a Hidalgo County Jail inmate died after doctors there stopped prescribing him blood pressure medication.

The lawsuit, filed by McAllen attorney Manuel Guerra III on behalf of the inmate’s wife, says that Paul Labude entered the jail May 28, 2013, and the jail medical staff ordered him to take daily medication for high blood pressure.

Labude was serving a five-year sentence in the jail after he pleaded guilty to possessing more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana in 2012, according to court documents.

About two weeks after he arrived, on June 10, 2013, jail medical staff told Labude that his blood pressure was stable and he would no longer get the medication.

More at http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/valley/article_f67670a2-cb5b-11e3-99f0-0017a43b2370.html .

[font color=green]Of course none of the idiots at the jail could conceive that the reason his blood pressure stabilized was because he was taking the medication. The worst thing that anyone can do is to start taking a medication and then suddenly stop it.[/font]

Hastings Entertainment began considering selling itself in 2012 as one of several alternatives to a forecasted future of continued losses, according to its latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Hastings directors opted to pursue potential buyers for the Amarillo company after efforts to slash stores, reorganize and pare executives did not stem the retailer’s downward spiral or have “sufficient impact” to predict the company would “return to profitability in the near future,” Hastings said in a Tuesday filing.

Directors engaged SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, a corporate financial adviser, in June 2012 to evaluate the company’s strategic options.

Ultimately, the board decided to shop the chain to almost 40 potential buyers, Hastings said in the preliminary proxy statement.

More at http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2014-04-23 .

[font color=green]Another company that failed to adapt to changes in the market.[/font]

The Texas Education Agency on Wednesday downgraded Beaumont ISD's financial accountability rating to "substandard" because the district failed to submit an audit report completed by an independent party.

Texas law requires school districts to have an outside firm complete an audit report within 150 days of the close of its fiscal year.

BISD never filed an audit for the 2012-2013 school year with the TEA, said DeEtta Culbertson, agency spokeswoman.

For that reason, the school district automatically failed the financial accountability test and received a substandard rating, Culbertson said.

More at http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/education/article/State-downgrades-BISD-s-financial-rating-5425539.php .

[font color=green]I guess that is what happens when over $4 million is embezzled.[/font]