The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
The NCAA basketball tournament starts Tuesday night, and this year it’s good to be a Texan. A state-record-tying seven Lone Star schools are in the Big Dance. The last time that happened was 2010.
From KERA News in Dallas, Gus Contreras reports everyone is hoping to make it to San Antonio by the end of the month for the Final Four.
The last time TCU’s basketball team made it to the NCAA men’s tournament was when “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” was the country’s No. 1 song and “Titanic” was breaking box office records.
Heck, most of its current players were barely born in 1998.
Now, 20 years later, the Horned Frogs are getting another chance to compete. In fact, seven Texas schools have qualified for the “Big Dance.” That’s the most ever.
Read more at KERA.
Two young men from Dallas are among the victims of a Sunday helicopter crash in New York that left five people dead. Trevor Cadigan and Brian McDaniel, both 26 years old, were friends from their days at Bishop Lynch High School in downtown Dallas. One of Cadigan’s teachers, Michele Longoria, told KERA News the young videographer caught the news bug in high school.
“Trevor was an amazing young man,” Longoria says. “He was incredibly charismatic.”
Cadigan had just moved to New York for a job with Business Insider and McDaniel was visiting him. McDaniel was a Dallas firefighter.
@DallasFireRes_q is with #HeavyHearts today as we mourn the loss of our #Brother #BrianMcDaniel. #RIP…..you were taken far too soon. @CityOfDallas #Sta36 pic.twitter.com/0M1Zb7Z1Ct
— DALLAS FIRE-RESCUE (@DallasFireRes_q) March 12, 2018
The private charter helicopter was hired for a photo shoot and crashed into New York City’s East River where it flipped upside down in the water.
Only the pilot survived.
Police chiefs in several other Texas cities are urging caution after three packages have exploded at Austin households over the last 11 days. The first incident occurred on March 2 and killed 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House.
The second went off in the morning on March 12. The blast killed a 17-year-old and severely injured a woman in her 40s. Just before noon the same day, another package exploded at the home of a 75-year-old woman.
Former Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo – now head of police in Houston – said on Monday there is no immediate threat to Houston but that people should still be vigilant.
“And obviously it’s a time for ensuring that when a package is delivered to a residence that we all just play a little closer attention to who’s delivering the package,” Acevedo says.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus also told the community to call the police if they see a suspicious package.