NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — Two men behind a $1.5 million Apple gift card scheme have been sentenced to a combined 13 years in federal prison. Syed Ali, 29, and Jason Tout-Puissant, 27, both pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2019. United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham said Ali was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and Tout-Puissant was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.26 million in restitution to Apple. According to plea papers, Tout-Puissant admitted that he stole multiple devices from the Apple store in Southlake, the ..read more

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Russian forces invaded Ukraine over two weeks ago, and there’s no signs of the war slowing down. Meanwhile, many Ukrainians living in North Texas are concerned about their loved ones who are still there. On Sunday, Mar. 13 at the Southlake Town Square, hundreds demonstrated with signs, songs, and chants to show support for Ukraine. “Right now, my country is destroyed; especially my house is bombed,” said Denys, who is from Kyiv. His family is still in the country, but had to leave the city after their neighborhood caught fire. “There is no reason why they should ..read more

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — Carroll High School Principal P.J. Giamanco is warning parents of an internet challenge that has already taken a toll on the Southlake school. In a statement sent out Tuesday evening, Giamanco said the challenge involves students “drawing inappropriate items on wall, toilets, and doors in the restrooms,” and that the school has seen “numerous items destroyed.” “We encourage parents to have intentional conversations with their students about what they encounter on campus, as well as online, and to report these immediately if they affect our campus,” the principal ..read more

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The Southlake Police Department is asking for the public’s help finding a ring containing a woman’s son’s ashes. It was lost at Trader Joe’s on Feb. 18 around 2:30 p.m. A woman is distraught after losing these very sentimental rings on Feb. 18. Please call the Southlake Police Department if you found them. (credit: Southlake Police Departement) The cremation ring is a custom 7/8th marquise diamond with two trillion diamonds on the side with a yellow gold band, according to Southlake police. Also missing is another 1.5 carat marquise solitaire ring with the ban ..read more

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The Apple store in Southlake is temporarily closed due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases among employees. On Thursday, December 9, the Apple store at 260 Grand Avenue shut its doors for the time being after some employees became sick with symptoms of the novel coronavirus. Nick Leahy, an Apple spokesperson, said that in addition to continuing to provide testing for all employees, the employees of the Southlake store will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test before returning to work. “Since the very first days of the pandemic, and every day since ..read more

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Southlake Mayor John Huffman calls a federal civil rights probe into the city’s school district a “costly distraction.“ The probe to be conducted by the U.S. Department of Education comes after several recent racially charged incidents. Mayor Huffman suggested the Carroll ISD School Board’s opposition to the teaching of critical race theory is behind what he views as pure political retaliation with this investigation. But some parents with students in Carroll ISD insist that there is a race problem here and it needs to be addressed. “When my 10th grader was in 5 ..read more

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Carroll ISD is facing three allegations of racial and gender discrimination, officials announced on November 17. According to the district’s statement, they received notice that three students filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) last week. A Carroll ISD spokesperson said that the district is “fully cooperating with this process and diligently pulling all documents requested.” The district did not provide any more specific details citing privacy laws, stating that “these OCR [complaints] are student situations ..read more

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — Southlake, Texas is the 20th best small city in America according to a new study. The Austin suburb of Cedar Park, Texas ranked 23rd on the list. WalletHub compared more than 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 on what they said were “43 key indicators of livability” from housing costs to school-system quality to restaurants per capita. Southlake was ranked 15th in affordability while Keller and Flower Mound ranked 2nd and 4th respectively. Southlake ranked 14th in “Economic Health.” WalletHub based economic health on population, income and ..read more

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – New allegations of racism in Southlake will seem for many like old news: until you look deeper into the root of the current issue, Texas’ controversial new law banning so called “critical race theory.” “If your elementary school child is being taught critical race theory, you should be delighted and excited, because she’s in law school,” says Joe R. Feagin, PhD, a Harvard Educated Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M. According to Dr. Feagin, the anger and outrage over CRT is a non-issue. “It’s not being taught.” Until last year, critical race t ..read more

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Carroll ISD in Southlake is receiving national attention Thursday night, Oct. 14 for an administrator’s comments about books on the Holocaust. The comments were secretly recorded, and NBC News reported a director of curriculum said teachers should have a book with an opposing view on the holocaust in their classrooms as well. The administrator was talking about the Texas law  banning Critical Race Theory in Texas classrooms, HB 3979. In response to the comments, Cheryl Drazin, Anti-Defamation League Central Division Vice President, said in a statement, “ADL ..read more