Associated Press

AUSTIN — A court ruling in Texas declaring the U.S. military draft system unconstitutional because it applies only to men has left observers waiting to see what the government does next.

The Justice Department declined comment Monday on the decision that has renewed attention over whether American women should be eligible for a military draft.

U.S. District Judge Gray Miller didn’t order any immediate action in his decision Friday. But he said the time to “discuss the place of women in the Armed Services” has passed.

Former Nevada Rep. Joe Heck is leading a commission looking into whether the draft is still needed. He said Monday the court ruling won’t influence their ultimate recommendations to Congress.

 

Shot brothers ‘like deer’: Judge

HOUSTON — An 18-year-old man is being held without bond on a capital murder charge after Houston authorities say he fatally shot two brothers in an ambush attack from a rooftop.

Marlon Valdez was being held Monday in the Harris County jail after appearing before a judge a day earlier who denied bond for the Mexican national.

Authorities say Valdez was atop an abandoned home Thursday and armed with a semi-automatic rifle when he fired on a group of people as they arrived to settle a lingering feud with another group.

Police Chief Art Acevedo previously said the “coward shot these young people like they were deer.”

 

A ‘Fixer Upper’ castle? Deal closes

WACO — Chip and Joanna Gaines’ latest home project is quite the fixer-upper.

The Texas couple made famous by HGTV’s “Fixer Upper” home improvement show closed last week on the historic but rundown Cottonland Castle in Waco.

A spokesman for the Gaines’ business, Magnolia, says the couple has long admired the castle and previously made attempts to purchase it. Spokesman John Marsicano says the couple has not yet determined specific plans for the property but that they plan to complete the castle’s restoration.

Construction on the 6,700-square-foot stone castle began in 1890 and was completed in 1913. It has been vacant for about 20 years despite efforts to renovate it.