Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Top afternoon stories:
New Details Of Plane Crash In Trinity Bay
The pilots of the cargo plane that crashed into Trinity Bay on February 23 lost control of the aircraft approximately 18 seconds before the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) stopped recording, according to the investigation the National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB) is conducting.
The NTSB said in a news release that the review of the cockpit voice recorder also indicates the crew of Atlas Air Flight 3591 were in communication with Houston air traffic controllers and were being provided radar vectors for the approach into Bush Intercontinental Airport.
NTSB investigators are also validating the data recorded by the flight data recorder, which arrived at the agency's lab on Sunday night.
Local Group Drove Spike In White Supremacist Activity In 2018
Activity by white supremacist groups spiked nationwide over the past year. One of the most active is a Texas-based organization with Houston ties.
The Anti-Defamation League tracked 1,187 instances of propaganda by white supremacist groups in 2018, nearly triple the number in 2017. More than a quarter of those stemmed from one Texas group: Patriot Front.
"It's an alt-right group. It's a relatively new group that started last year. Their founder and leader is a guy named Thomas Rousseau who's from Dallas," said Dena Marks, senior associate director of the ADL's Southwest Regional Office. Patriot Front leaflets campuses and neighborhoods and organizes flash demonstrations.
"There was one that happened last year at an ice house on West Alabama, where some Patriot Front members came in and started yelling at people who were holding an immigration information session there," Marks said. She asks that anyone finding Patriot Front flyers notify the ADL.
Texas Lawmaker Proposes Reparations For Descendants Of Sugar Land 95
State Representative Ron Reynolds has filed legislation proposing that Texas pays $95 million in reparations to the descendants of 95 African American prison inmates who were forced to work in a Sugar Land plantation while they were serving their time in the 19th century. The remains of the inmates are often referred to by members of the community and elected officials as the Sugar Land 95.
A contractor discovered the remains in February of 2018 while working on the initial phase to build a career and technical center for the Fort Bend County Independent School District. The inmates were part of the convict lease system, which started in Texas in 1867.
The issue has sparked controversy on what to do with the remains and Fort Bend County and the school district are currently negotiating a permanent plan.
Reynolds' legislation is a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to require payment of the reparations. He told News 88.7 his goal is that each descendant of the 95 inmates receives $1 million. Reynolds said the money could come from the state's General Revenue Fund or from the Economic Stabilization Fund, commonly referred to as the Rainy Day Fund.