By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – Federal investigators say the gun used to kill a U.S. immigration agent in Mexico has been traced to a Lancaster man.
Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested the suspected gun smugglers in morning raids in Lancaster, Texas.
ATF spokesman Tom Crowley referred questions on other details to the U.S. Justice Department in Washington.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata was killed in the Feb. 15 attack at a roadblock in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi. Agent Victor Avila was wounded.
About 120,000 acres burn in Texas wildfires
About 120,000 acres have burned in West Texas as the wind eased and crews brought all of the fires under control.
Lewis Kearney with the Texas Forest Service said Tuesday that firefighters were putting out hot spots at various locations. He says the high fire danger continues throughout the week, but is much improved since wildfires broke out on Sunday.
Kearney told The Associated Press that lighter winds Monday help with firefighting efforts.
He says the Texas Forest Service responded to fires that blackened about 120,000 acres, but the number could go higher when volunteers file their reports on other blazes they fought.
Kearney says aircraft assigned to firefighting duty were able to fly on Monday, a day after being grounded during strong winds.
Officials work to return fugitive in day care fire
Officials are working to bring a Houston home day care operator accused in a fire that killed four children back to the U.S.
The search for Jessica Tata comes as public investigators issued details about last week's blaze. They claim Tata left the kids she was caring for without adult supervision, while a stovetop burner was on, before the fire.
Investigators believe the burner was the source of the fire.
Officials say they believe the 22-year-old has fled to Nigeria, where she is originally from.
Tata is facing a charge of reckless injury to a child involving serious bodily injury. It carries a sentence of two to 10 years in prison.
DPS urges students on spring break to avoid Mexico
The Texas Department of Public Safety is advising students on spring break to avoid drug violence-plagued Mexico.
A DPS statement Tuesday cited the continued violence and also urged boaters to stay on the U.S. side of Falcon Lake.
A U.S. drug agent was shot and killed Feb. 15 in Mexico. The victim was Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jaime Zapata.
A missionary, Nancy Davis, was fatally shot on Jan. 26 in Mexico.
David Hartley was fatally shot on Sept. 30 while sightseeing on Falcon Lake.
DPS Director Steven McCraw says while drug cartel violence is most severe in northern Mexico, it's prominent in other parts of the country, including resort areas such as Cancun and Acapulco.
Texas City gasoline pipeline break repaired
A gasoline pipeline break in Southeast Texas has been repaired and cleanup continues after about 5,000 gallons leaked into a bayou.
The Galveston County Daily News reports pipeline owner Magellan Midstream Partners late Monday received approval from the state to put the Texas City line back into service.
No injuries were reported last Thursday when the break forced the evacuation of more than 30 homes and businesses. The spill forced the rerouting of some traffic.
Company spokesman Bruce Heine says a boom between a drainage canal and the bayou remains in place, as a precaution.