A state-wide Amber alert has been issued in Livingston by Polk County authorities for a missing two-week-old baby girl. It’s believed the mother, 31-year-old Sylvia Nicole Norman - who does not have legal custody of the infant - is involved. Norman is 5′ 1″ and 115 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Authorities say they believe the baby may be in life-threatening danger.
Even though 19 states have legalized marijuana and recent polls show the majority of Texans support legalizing it for medical and recreational use, Texas Governor Greg Abbott remains against legalization. He would support reducing criminal penalties. Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced he will pardon Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana on the federal level. Reporter Jerry Clayton has details.
Biden’s announcement is a major step towards decriminalizing marijuana across the United States. In the announcement Biden said that no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. Dr Katharine Neill-Harris is the Glassell Fellow in drug policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute. She says it remains if Texas will follow suit.
“I wouldn’t necessarily expect Republican governors to be racing to follow in Biden’s footsteps even though again the broad public support even among Republicans is there to reduce marijuana penalties.”
Biden is calling on state governors to issue similar pardons for people convicted of state marijuana offenses.
UT Tyler has received a $100,000 endowment to establish a scholarship for sociology and psychology. It’s a gift from the estate of UT Tyler alumnus Elizabeth “Bitsy” Wright.
compiled by Mike Landess
edited by Jeff Johnson