Five stories that have North Texas talking: Ethan Couch has been found in Mexico; more on the North Texas tornadoes; Texas sues the EPA – again; and more.
Ethan Couch, the Texas teenager serving probation for killing four people in a drunken-driving wreck after invoking an "affluenza" defense, has been detained in Mexico. Couch, who’s 18, and his mother were detained in Puerto Vallarta around 6 p.m. Monday, the public affairs department of the prosecutors' office in Mexico's Jalisco state tells The Associated Press.
The Tarrant County District Attorney's office also confirmed the two had been detained. The Tarrant County sheriff has said he thinks they fled in late November after video emerged showing what appears to be Ethan Couch at a party involving alcohol. He could go to prison for up to 10 years if found to have violated his probation by drinking.
At his trial, Couch's attorneys argued he suffered from so-called "affluenza" because he had been coddled by his wealthy parents. [Associated Press]
- National Weather Service crews have determined the EF4 tornado – the biggest one to hit North Texas Saturday night – had winds of up to 180 miles per hour. That tornado traveled 13 miles, hitting Sunnyvale, Garland and Rowlett. Eleven people were killed during Saturday’s storms. Nine tornadoes raced across North Texas that night. Meet survivors who shared their stories with KERA.
- Officials released the names of the eight people who died in Garland from the tornado. The oldest was 77. The youngest? A 1-year-old. All of the Garland victims died in vehicle accidents at Interstate 30 and George Bush Turnpike – the winds from the tornado picked up cars and flipped some of them. One mother of four was apparently on her way home and calling her family, asking about dinner plans. The phone call suddenly stopped – her husband used an app to get her location. By the time he got there, she’d been found dead. In Collin County, three other people died – including a baby. We don’t know their names yet. Learn more about the Garland victims here.
- Texas is again suing the EPA. The Texas Tribune reports this is the 23rd lawsuit against the agency since President Obama took office: “In another lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the state of Texas is taking aim at tightened standards on ground-level ozone — President Obama’s effort to cut down on smog that chokes the nation’s skies. An ozone standard finalized in October shrank the previous 75 parts per billion limits on ozone to 70 parts per billion, putting pressure on some regions in Texas that struggled to meet the previous standards. The rules aim to crack down on pollution coming from factories, power plants and vehicle tailpipes. Ozone forms when emissions from cars and industrial plants mix with other airborne compounds in sunlight, and it can worsen asthma, lung disease and heart conditions.” [Texas Tribune]
- So many awesome tacos in Texas. Which ones should you devour? Texas Monthly has come up with a nifty, exhaustive list of the 120 Tacos You Must Eat Before You Die. Lots of North Texas love on this list: Check out the Dallas-area choices. And the Fort Worth picks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
