Fundamentalist Mormon Leader Indicted
National News
Six men in the fundamentalist Mormon "Yearning for Zion" compound were indicted Tuesday on charges of sexual assault and bigamy, including the group's leader, Warren Jeffs. Jeffs, who is in an Arizona jail on separate charges, is charged with first-degree felony sexual assault of a child, said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
The other as-yet unnamed suspects also were charged with felony sexual assault of minor girls. The indictments were issued by a Schleicher County grand jury.
One suspect faces an additional three counts of failure to report child abuse, Abbott said.
Arrest warrants are still under review, Abbott says, in refusing to provide further information.
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Texas Adopts Statewide Texting-While-Driving Ban
Effective September 1, 2017, Texas will become the 47th state to pass a statewide ban on texting while driving. Governor Abbott’s signing of House Bill 62 is an effort to unify Texas under a uniform ban and remedy the “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas.”
The bill specifically prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a device unless the vehicle is stopped. That includes texting and emailing. It does not, however, prohibit dialing a number to call someone, talking on the phone using a hands-free device, or using the phone’s GPS system.
Violations would be punishable by a fine ranging from $25 to $99, to be set by each municipality. Although penalties could rise to as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
Studies have found that a driver’s reaction time is half as much when a driver is distracted by sending or reading a text message. According to state officials, in 2015 more than 105,000 traffic accidents in Texas involved distracted driving, leading to at least 476 fatalities.