LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - Famous Mexican singer Francisca Viveros Barradas, known as Paquita la del Barrio, has died at 77, her team confirmed on Instagram Monday, February 17.

“With deep sadness, we confirm the passing of our beloved Paquita la del Barrio at her home in Veracruz,” the message said.

The post called Paquita “a unique artist who will leave a lasting mark on the hearts of those who knew her and loved her music.”

The family asked the media and public to respect their privacy during this difficult time.

Paquita’s manager, Francisco Torres, told Milenio that she had breathing problems and used oxygen because of long exposure to smoke at her performances. She also suffered from sciatica, which caused pain and made it hard for her to walk. This also affected her mental health, leading to depression, according to Noticias Telemundo.

Viveros Barradas was born in Alto Lucero, Veracruz, on April 2, 1947. She formed the duet Las Golondrinas with her sister Viola in the 1970s. In 1984, she released her first album, “El Barrio de los Faroles,” and became known as Paquita la del Barrio.

Throughout her career, she recorded more than 33 albums, selling over 30 million copies. Some of her popular songs include “Las mujeres mandan,” “La última parada,” “Me saludas a la tuya,” “Soltero maduro, chiquito,” and “Hombres malvados.”

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ respiratory tract infection is presenting a “complex clinical picture” that will require further hospitalization, the Vatican said Monday as concerns grew about the increasingly frail health of the 88-year-old pontiff.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the results of tests conducted in recent days and Monday indicate the pope is suffering from a “polymicrobial respiratory tract infection” that has necessitated a further change in his drug therapy. Scientists say polymicrobial diseases are caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.

There was no timeframe given for his hospitalization, which has already sidelined him for longer than a 2023 hospitalization for pneumonia. Bruni said the complexity of his symptoms “will require an appropriate hospital stay.”

Francis, who had part of one lung removed after a pulmonary infection as a young man, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors confirmed a respiratory tract infection and prescribed “absolute rest” alongside unspecified drug therapies. Subsequent updates said his slight fever had gone away and that he was in “stable” condition.

Bruni said Francis, ate breakfast and read the newspapers Monday morning after a third peaceful night.

As people get older, their immune systems don’t work as well, making doctors especially concerned when elderly patients develop multiple problems. A decline in lung function and muscle strength can accompany old age and impair the ability to effectively clear respiratory secretions. That can increase susceptibility to infections like pneumonia.

The Argentine pope is a known workaholic who keeps up a grueling pace despite his increasingly precarious health.

In addition to his frequent bouts of respiratory infections in winter, he uses a wheelchair, walker or cane because of bad knees and suffers from sciatica nerve pain.

In 2021 he had 33 centimeters of his colon removed because of a narrowing, and then had a further surgery in 2023 to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair an abdominal hernia.

When he had a bad case of pneumonia in 2023, he left the hospital after three days and only acknowledged after the fact that he had been admitted urgently after feeling faint and having a sharp pain in his chest.

This time around, Francis insisted on finishing his morning audiences Friday before leaving the Vatican, even though he was having trouble speaking at length because he was short of breath.

Francis' continued hospitalization has already forced the cancellation of some events connected to the Vatican’s Holy Year and put others in question. The official Vatican calendar online has no more papal appointments or activities for February, and picks up only on March 5, Ash Wednesday. This week’s weekly general audience was canceled.

Francis was supposed to have gone Monday to Rome’s Cinecitta film studios to meet with artists as part of the Catholic Church’s Holy Year celebrations, but the Vatican canceled that event.

Beyond that, he had been scheduled to preside on Sunday at the ordination of deacons as part of a Holy Year weekend dedicated to deacons. While he is still listed on the Jubilee calendar as the main celebrant, his participation is not listed on the Vatican calendar.

When he missed the Jubilee Mass dedicated to artists this past Sunday, a cardinal stood in for him.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Attorneys general from 14 states challenged the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to access sensitive government data and exercise “virtually unchecked power” in a lawsuit filed Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., says the actions taken by Musk at the helm of DOGE can only be taken by a nominated and Senate-confirmed official. It sites constitutional provisions that delineate the powers of Congress and the president.

The attorneys general said the court should bar Musk from issuing orders to anyone in the executive branch outside DOGE and declare that his actions have no legal effect.

They asked the court to order Musk to identify ways that “any data obtained through unlawful agency access was used,” destroy “such unauthorized access in his or DOGE’s possession” and bar Musk and DOGE from ordering changes in the disbursement of public funds, canceling government contracts, taking steps to dismantle agencies and more.

“We are asking the court to invalidate his directives and actions and to issue a restraining order,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said during an online news conference alongside attorneys general from Arizona and New Mexico.

California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington attorneys general also joined the lawsuit.

Musk’s team has roamed from agency to agency, tapping into computer systems, digging into budgets and searching for what he calls waste, fraud and abuse, while lawsuits pile up claiming President Donald Trump and DOGE are violating the law.

On Thursday, Musk called for the U.S. to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of his push to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.

Democratic attorneys general say Musk’s approach is generating profound concerns among their constituents about the secure handling of sensitive information at agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the IRS.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Trump is demonstrating “weakness” in deploying Musk rather than advancing his agenda through a Republican-controlled Congress.

“Move fast and breaking things may work in Silicon Valley for a tech company,” Torrez said. ”It’s not good governance and it’s unconstitutional.”

(Gray News) - Grocery stores have started rationing eggs amid an ongoing shortage that has caused the price of eggs to skyrocket.

The egg shortage is due to increased bird flu among chickens. More than 13 million hens have died or have been slaughtered since December as a result of the bird flu outbreak, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Because of the shortage, grocery stores are now limiting the amount of eggs customers can buy.

Publix and Trader Joe’s are limiting egg purchases to one dozen per customer per day.

Walmart is limiting customers to two 60-count cartons per purchase but does not have a limit on smaller quantities of eggs.

Kroger and Aldi stores have a two dozen carton, per trip limit.

Whole Foods and Costco have a three dozen carton, per person limit in some stores.

Sam’s Club is limiting customers to two cartons of eggs.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, egg prices are expected to increase 20.3% this year.

This time last year, the average price for a dozen eggs was around $3, but last month, the average price was around $5, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - William Byron fortuitously missed the ferocious wrecks down the stretch at the Daytona 500 that knocked out contenders racing for the checkered flag and left him with a repeat victory in sight.

Still, sitting ninth with one lap left in an overtime finish, the odds seemed against the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet to escape the rest of the race unscathed, or even have enough time to pull off the comeback win.

Thanks to one more crash, Byron used a clean ride on his final lap to escape the chaos and race to his second straight Daytona 500 victory. He dodged a string of late-race wreckage that knocked out a chunk of contenders and sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver into victory lane Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway.

“It’s not all luck to win twice in a row,” Byron said.

Maybe not. But Byron certainly was in the right place by racing near the outside wall in overtime to become the first back-to-back winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20.

Byron took advantage of another major mess on the final lap — NASCAR did not drop the caution and let the field race to the finish — and took another, familiar burnout in Daytona International Speedway.

“It’s obviously really special,” Byron said. “It’s an amazing race, and obviously a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shoving.”

The 27-year-old Byron held on to win after two weather delays totaling more than 3 1/2 hours, and with President Donald Trump set to watch the rest of the race in Florida, after he earlier led drivers on two laps around the track in his heavily armored presidential limousine known in Washington as “The Beast.”

Hendrick Motorsports won its 10th Daytona 500 to break a tie with Petty Enterprises for the record.

“Just obviously fortunate it worked out in our favor,” Byron said. “Crazy? Yeah. I can’t honestly believe that but we’re here.”

Byron becomes the youngest driver to win multiple Daytona 500s, breaking the record held by Jeff Gordon, also in the No. 24. Gordon, a Hall of Famer and four-time NASCAR champion, is now Byron’s boss as vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports.

Gordon flashed a thumbs up when told Byron broke his record for youngest two-time winner by four months.

“I hope he breaks them all,” Gordon said. “I’m in full support of that.”

Austin Cindric held the lead headed to the white flag when he was wiped out in crash that took out a slew of drivers that included Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman. It was sixth time in the last eight Daytona 500s the race spilled into overtime, setting up Byron to become the fifth driver to win it in consecutive years.

Byron won for the 14th time in his Cup career, and already set his sights on the championship race in Phoenix after finishing third in the standings in each of the last two years.

“We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year, so we’re not going to stop here,” Byron said. “We’re going to continue to push forward and try to get to Phoenix.

It wouldn’t be Daytona without all the flips, slams and skids down the stretch that inevitably send the race into overtime.

With four laps left, Ryan Preece turned upside-down and essentially did a wheelie in his No. 60 Ford. His car flipped onto its roof and turned back onto its tires before hitting the outside wall. Preece dropped his safety net to signal to crews he was OK.

Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez and Brad Keselowski all had their shots at victory lane spoiled, and the race was red-flagged, just 11 laps after another big one shuffled the field and knocked four former Cup Series champions out of contention.

Reigning NASCAR champion Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse started the multi-car melee when Logano moved to the middle and Stenhouse moved to block him. It stacked up Logano, and the accordion effect sent several cars — including ones belonging to former Cup champs Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott — sliding in every direction.

Busch’s car ended up on a wrecker, extending his skid to 0 for 20 in “The Great American Race.”

Tyler Reddick was second and two-time Daytona 500 champion Jimmie Johnson was third. Chase Briscoe was fourth and John Hunter Nemechek fifth.

Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier finished ninth driving for team owner and two-time Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. in JR Motorsports' Cup debut.

Not bad. Not good enough to beat Byron.

Byron, a self-taught racer who used computer equipment to hone his skills, was left standing one more time as a Daytona winner. Gordon was a three-time Daytona 500 winner and noted he still had the edge over Byron.

“Until next year,” Gordon said.

Leave a legacy

Johnson and Nemechek gave Legacy Motor Club two top-five finishes. A Hall of Fame driver and seven-time NASCAR champion, Johnson is now the majority owner under an offseason restructuring. It was his highest finish in the race since he won it in 2013.

“I have emotions that I didn’t expect to have. I’ve never been in this position as an owner, and it’s really opened up a different set of emotions,” Johnson said after his highest finish in the race since winning in 2013.

Early exit

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and 2017 NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr. were among the drivers whose race ended after they were collected in a wreck before the halfway point.

Castroneves made the Daytona 500 under a new rule that allows for a “world-class driver” to receive a provisional spot. He landed a NASCAR ride as part of Trackhouse’s “Project 91,” designed to give renowned racers from outside of the series a shot in a stock car.

Truex, who retired from full-time racing at the end of last season, failed to win the Daytona 500 in 21 tries.

Truex finished 38th and Castroneves 39th.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - A cool dry airmass will begin to move to our east during Monday with mild weather on Monday, warm weather Tuesday. A much colder airmass from Canada will lower our temperatures sharply Wednesday. Higher up, moist air from the gulf will flow and still higher will be Pacific moisture which will bring a cloud cover by Thursday with a few patches of light rain possible on Friday. 

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - The WBCA Stars & Stripes Air Show Spectacular was put on pause after a plane involved in the show caught fire shortly before 1:00 pm Sunday afternoon.

KGNS was told that it was announced at the show that the engine caught fire while in the air. The pilot landed the plane and the fire was put out while on the ground.

Preliminary reports from the Laredo Fire Department said a man in his 70s was taken to Laredo Medical Center in critical condition. He was then taken to San Antonio for observation. The Laredo Police Department has confirmed only one plane was involved. It is unknown if there were other people inside the aircraft.

A KGNS crew on scene reported the fire was put out.

No other injuries were reported at this time.

The Federal Aviation Administration is taking over the investigation.

LPD closed of Bartlett and Jacaman Road shortly after the incident occurred.

Despite this incident the airshow resumed at 1:30 p.m.

The Stars and Stripes Air Show is a popular attraction of the Washington’s Birthday Celebration that draws heavy crowds from Laredo, as well as people from across the State of Texas, and the country as well.

The Laredo Police and the Federal Aviation Agency is asking for the community’s assistance with anyone who may have captured the airplane incident at the airshow. Anyone who has any video can scan a provided QR code and dropping the video there. The footage will assist with the investigation into the aircraft accident today.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - On Saturday, February 15, 2025, a special ceremony honored the donation of a historic American flag to American Legion Post 59. The flag, which once flew aboard the U.S. Navy supercarrier Kitty Hawk (CV-63) in the 1960s, was presented to Laredo veterans.

One event organizer, Jose Manuel Gamez, Jr., a commander with the American Legion Post 59, said, “Being so close to Washington birthday celebration and President’s Day we thought it would be nice if we honored the flag that was donated to our post.”

Alberto T. Munoz, a Commander with the American Legion Post 59, also said, “We got together. We got the flag from honor guard member Peche. It was donated to him by the original owners and he presented it to the American Legion. We got it repaired. My wife repaired it because it was a little bit torn.”

They went on to say the flag will be flown during important occasions like Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day.