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Judge: Texas Can't Cut Funds To Planned Parenthood

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A federal appeals judge says Texas cannot ban Planned Parenthood from receiving state funds.

Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith agreed Friday that there's sufficient evidence the state's law banning Planned Parenthood from participating in the state's Women's Health Program is unconstitutional. He let stand an injunction blocking Texas from enforcing it.

Smith had stayed the injunction earlier this week so he could review it.

The law passed last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature forbids state agencies from providing funds to an organization affiliated with abortion providers. Eight Planned Parenthood clinics that do not provide abortions sued the state.

Texas officials have said that if the state is forced to include Planned Parenthood, they'll likely shut down the program that serves basic health care and contraception to 130,000 poor women.

AP

Rare white buffalo calf found dead in North Texas

Authorities are investigating the death of a rare white buffalo on a North Texas ranch just days shy of its first birthday.

Lakota Ranch owner Arby Little Soldier says he found the buffalo, named Lightning Medicine Cloud, dead Monday. The buffalo's mother was found dead the next day.

Thousands attended a naming ceremony last year to celebrate the unusual calf's May 12 birth.

According to Lakota Sioux lore, the goddess of peace once appeared in the form of a white buffalo calf.

Arby Little Soldier says the calf "was the hope of all nations." He said a birthday celebration planned this month will be a memorial instead.

Hunt County sheriff's officials didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.

Arby Little Soldier says a $5,000 reward for information is being offered.

AP

3 men in custody after suburban Dallas standoff

A more than six-hour police standoff has ended outside a suburban Dallas home with three people taken into custody.

Police surrounded the home in Grand Prairie after getting a call after 3 a.m. from a woman who reported a fracas involving drugs and armed men she said were chasing her.

She was outside when they arrived and pulled to safety. Police ordered the three people inside to surrender. None of those three was armed.

A SWAT team hours later broke down a door and found the place empty.

AP

Medic in Afghanistan dies in Skype chat with wife

The family of a Texas-based Army medic serving in Afghanistan says his wife witnessed the officer's death, which happened as the two were video chatting via Skype.

The circumstances of Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark's death Monday have not been made available.

Clark's family in upstate New York released a statement saying Clark was having a regular Skype chat with his wife in El Paso when she "tragically witnessed her husband's death."

The Pentagon has said only that the 43-year-old officer was formerly from Spencerport, N.Y., and that his death is under investigation.

Clark was assigned to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso and deployed in March. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, aged 3 and 9.

AP

Richland Hills on coyote alert

Police in a North Texas suburb are warning residents to be on the lookout for coyotes that have been attacking pets.

A statement from the Richland Hills police says a resident saw a coyote stalking a horse Tuesday. The resident threw a ball at the canine and scared it off.

The same day, another resident nearby reported a coyote in her yard grabbed her dog and started to run away with it. When the resident began yelling, the coyote stopped and looked at her and her dog was able to escape. The resident reported the coyote also grabbed her neighbor's dog, but that dog also was able to escape.

Richland Hills Animal Control has deployed a live trap in an effort to capture the coyote.

AP

Buckner ball sells for $418,250

The baseball that rolled through the legs of Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner in the 1986 World Series has been sold at auction for $418,250.

Heritage Auctions says the ball was sold Friday in Dallas to a buyer who wants to remain anonymous. The sale price includes the buyer's premium.

The ball was the centerpiece of an auction featuring the collection of Los Angeles songwriter Seth Swirsky.

Buckner's error in Game 6 allowed the New York Mets to rally with two outs in the 10th inning. The Mets went on to win the series.

An umpire gave the ball to Mets executive Arthur Richman. Charlie Sheen bought it for more than $93,000 in 1992. Swirsky purchased it for nearly $64,000 in 2000.