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Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill To Step Down & Nightly Roundup

By KERA News & Wire Services

Dallas, TX – Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill is stepping down from her job.

O'Neill, a Republican, had already announced she would not seek re-election. On Friday, she sent a notice to Gov. Rick Perry saying she would resign effective June 20.

O'Neill, formerly a district judge in Harris County, joined the court in 1999 and will leave office as the longest-serving woman on the court.

Perry repeats call for border security

Gov. Rick Perry has repeated his call for more federal resources, including National Guard troops and an unmanned drone, to help secure the Texas-Mexico border.

Perry, who is running for re-election against the Democratic challenger Bill White, said "Washington needs to quit fiddling while the border region of America burns." He spoke during a campaign stop.

Some elected officials along the border have suggested Perry's talk of spillover violence from Mexico's war against drug gangs has hurt the image of southern Texas. Perry responded that he would not be getting the endorsement of several south Texas mayors - the purpose of Friday's visit - if they thought he was hurting the region's economic development. White has previously received endorsements from many elected leaders in the heavily Democratic Rio Grande Valley.

Fort Worth man charged, suspicious device at ex's

A Fort Worth man is in custody after an alleged homemade bomb was left at his ex-wife's house.

A detention hearing is scheduled Tuesday for 51-year-old David Barouch. Barouch faces a charge of possession of an unregistered destructive device.

The device, discovered Sunday outside the Colleyville woman's home, did not detonate. An affidavit says the box had two bowls taped together, a battery and powder.

Prosecutor Bret Helmer says Barouch failed to move on after the divorce and thought it would be better to put a bomb on his ex-spouse's porch.

Barouch was arrested Wednesday after alleged bomb-making materials were confiscated at his home. He went before a federal magistrate Thursday.

Defense attorney Matthew Belcher says there is good evidence that Barouch should be released.