Abilene Reporter-News

Cattlemen have long memories, which is why many Texas beef producers are holding off on replenishing herds they thinned during last year's historic drought.

As water supplies dried up, as grasses and wheat shriveled, and as the price of hay skyrocketed, local ranchers sold off tens of thousands of cattle they couldn't afford to keep.

Richard Thorpe worries the pathway he took to the rural ranching life he enjoys today may be blocked for kids who grow up in town.

Thorpe, owner of the Mesa TY Ranch east of Winters, Texas, strongly opposes a proposed U.S. Labor Department rule that would bar young teenagers from working on farms and ranches where they're not related to the owner-operator.

ABILENE, Texas -- To Cheryl Moore, co-owner of the Stephenville Cattle Co. sales barn here, when horse slaughter ceased in the United States five years ago, legislators took an entire industry hostage.

"They held us captive to foreign countries -- Mexico and Canada," she said.

Congress quietly lifted a ban on funding horsemeat inspections, which means horses could be butchered again in the U.S. for human consumption.

ABILENE, Texas -- Wayne Dorothy was reading his Sunday Abilene Reporter-News when he almost fell out of his chair, he said.

On Page 8A, in black and white, was a photo of part of a letter Gene Boone wrote to Dallas County Sheriff Bill Decker on Nov. 22, 1963.

ABILENE, Texas -- It may be called "water witching," but Spencer Powell insists there's no black magic involved in finding water.

That's not to say, however, that he doesn't ask for a little supernatural assistance when trying to determine where to drill his test holes.

Newly announced GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry is finding himself in the spotlight over the cooperative education and scientific agreements Texas has forged with the Aga Khan, the leader of a Shia Muslim sect.

Online news reports have tied Perry to the spiritual leader of the Ismailis Muslim sect, emphasizing his friendly relations with Aga Khan and earning the ire of some commentators watching Perry's bid for president.