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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Dallas. Written by Michael Mooney and Tasha Tsiperas.

Axios Dallas

Axios Dallas Thought Bubble

Data: Datasembly; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios

Texas is being hit hard by the baby formula shortage, with more than half of the state's expected formula stock absent from shelves the week of May 1, according to Datasembly, a retail software company.

Why it matters: Parents have been left scrambling to find single cans anywhere to feed their children, and many stores are now limiting the amount of formula customers can buy. 

Details: The U.S. is facing a nationwide baby formula shortage due to pandemic-induced supply chain issues and a recent product recall.

What they're saying: A Fort Worth mother told WFAA that she drove to 20 stores in one day in search of formula. Her 7-month-old daughter can only tolerate one brand. 

"Sometimes I want to cry when I don't find it," Amanda Mendoza said. "I don't know if she's going to eat."

At stake: Baby formula has become an unlikely political cudgel. Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott called it "shameful" that the Biden administration was providing formula to children whose parents may have crossed the border illegally.

"While mothers and fathers stare at empty grocery store shelves in a panic, the Biden administration is happy to provide baby formula to illegal immigrants coming across our southern border," Abbott said in a statement.

Yes, but: The federal government is required to provide food and water to migrant children detained at the border, part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit from 1997.

Of note: Rep. Beth Van Duyne launched a website aimed at helping parents find formula. 

It mostly consists of people posting photos of the formula aisles in local grocery stores.

What's next: President Biden announced this week that he invoked the Defense Production Act to help address formula supply. 

The bill gives the Food and Drug Administration $28 million to increase its staff to help inspect baby formula before it arrives on grocery store shelves, reports Axios' TuAnh Dam.

Dallas hit hard by baby formula shortage

Parents have been left scrambling to find single cans anywhere to feed their children.

Texas is being hit hard by the baby formula shortage, with more than half of the state&#x27;s expected formula stock absent from shelves the week of May 1, according to Datasembly, a retail software company.Why it matters: Parents have been left scrambling to find single cans anywhere to feed their children, and many stores are now limiting the amount of formula customers can buy.

News

The man accused of shooting three women at a Korean hair salon was having "delusions around anyone of Asian descent," Dallas police said. 

Driving the news: A 37-year-old man has been arrested on three felony aggravated assault charges connected to what police have labeled a hate crime. 

Jeremy Smith was booked into the Dallas County jail early Tuesday and is being held in lieu of $300,000 bond. 

What happened: Smith is accused of parking his red 2004 Honda Odyssey on Royal Lane, going to the Hair World Salon and firing a .22 caliber rifle 13 times on May 11, police said. 

Seven people were inside; three were injured. One was struck in the lower back, another in the forearm and the third was hit in the foot. 

Police initially said the attack was not a hate crime but reversed course Friday when Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said investigators believe the shooting was connected to two others. 

Details: Currently, Smith only faces criminal charges in the salon shooting. Police are continuing to investigate a drive-by shooting on April 2 on Royal Lane and another on May 10 in southern Dallas. Both attacks were at Asian-run businesses by a suspect driving a red van. 

Garcia said Smith's delusions began after he was involved in a car crash with an Asian man two years ago. 

What they're saying: "It’s an issue of hate. It’s a hate crime," Garcia said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference. "Our community sees it as a hate crime. I see it as a hate crime. And so do our men and women."

Yes, but: Smith does not currently face a hate crime enhancement. That may come later. 

The FBI is also investigating the shootings as hate crimes. 

What's next: Dallas police will continue to host forums with the Asian community like the one Monday night at the Korean Cultural Center. 

"You know what’s out of the ordinary in your neighborhood. If you see something, please say something," the chief said.

Arrest made in Dallas Korean hair salon shooting

A 37-year-old man has been arrested on three felony aggravated assault charges connected to what police have labeled a hate crime.

Police Chief Eddie Garcia in front of a row of microphones

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. Screenshot courtesy of City of Dallas

The man accused of shooting three women at a Korean hair salon was having &quot;delusions around anyone of Asian descent,&quot; Dallas police said. Driving the news: A 37-year-old man has been arrested on three felony aggravated assault charges connected to what police have labeled a hate crime.

The shooting of three women at a Korean hair salon in Dallas is being investigated as a hate crime and is believed to be connected to at least two other attacks. 

Why it matters: Reports of hate crimes increased last year but hate crimes against Asian Americans have increased 339% in 2021, according to a report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. 

Between the lines: Anti-Asian racism has increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some people blaming Asians for the spread of the disease, reported Axios’ Russell Contreras and Shawna Chen.

More than 10,300 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander people were reported to Stop AAPI Hate between March 2020 and September 2021, and 62% of the incidents were directed at women.

What happened: A gunman dressed in black got out of a red minivan Wednesday, ran into the Hair World Salon on Royal Lane and shot three women. The women survived. 

On Thursday, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said, "We can confidently say that hate was not a motivating factor," per the DMN. 

But police reversed course Friday and said the possible hate crime was connected to two other attacks at Asian-run businesses. 

The other attacks: The first was a drive-by shooting from a red minivan on April 2 on Royal Lane in Northwest Dallas. 

The second took place May 10. A person in a red minivan shot into a business on Sunnyvale Street in southern Dallas. 

Zoom out: Meanwhile, the FBI is investigating the mass shooting that left 10 people dead Saturday in Buffalo, New York, as a hate crime. 

Police said the alleged shooter, an 18-year-old white man, drove hours to a predominantly Black neighborhood as part of the “straight-up racially motivated hate crime.” 

Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black. Three people are expected to survive. 

An Allen man is accused of driving 11 hours to El Paso in 2019 and killing 23 people at a Walmart. Authorities say he was targeting Hispanic people. 

What we're watching: Dallas police are looking for the gunman in the Dallas shooting and are asking for the public's help identifying him and his vehicle. 

Hate crime prosecutions are rare in Texas, and it remains to be seen whether the gunman would face a hate crime charge. 

Listen: Axios Today explores the racist “great replacement” theory.

Dallas shooting at Korean hair salon investigated as hate crime

The shooting at a Korean hair salon may be connected to at least two other incidents.

A sign at a Texas rally in response to rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021. Photo: Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images

The shooting of three women at a Korean hair salon in Dallas is being investigated as a hate crime and is believed to be connected to at least two other attacks. Why it matters: Reports of hate crimes increased last year but hate crimes against Asian Americans have increased 339% in 2021, according to a report from the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism" data-vars-click-url="https://www.csusb.edu/hate-and-extremism-center" data-vars-content-id="64cc4f6e-215e-4c95-8707-91628948042a" data-vars-headline="Dallas shooting at Korean hair salon investigated as hate crime" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.csusb.edu/hate-and-extremism-center" target="_blank">Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism</a> at California State University, San Bernardino.

Hundreds of protesters gathered Saturday outside Dallas City Hall as part of a nationwide series of "Bans Off Our Bodies" marches in response to the pending Supreme Court opinion. 

Why it matters: Politico obtained a draft document of the Supreme Court's opinion earlier this month. Texas is one of 13 states with a so-called "trigger law" that would make performing the procedure a felony within 30 days of a SCOTUS decision. 

Meanwhile, opposition to overturning Roe increased among Texans since February, according to the latest Dallas Morning News-UT Tyler poll released Saturday. 

What they're saying: Justice Clarence Thomas told a Dallas conference of conservative and libertarian groups that trust inside the Supreme Court has been irrevocably broken by the "tremendously bad" leak of a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.

Thomas, a fierce opponent of abortion rights, compared the leaked draft opinion to "infidelity" during a conversation with his former law clerk, John Yoo, at Friday's conference.

"You begin to look over your shoulder," Thomas said of the breach. 

Thomas also said conservatives wouldn't protest outside justices' houses as abortion-rights groups have, Axios' Jacob Knutson writes from audio posted by Reason Magazine.

"You would never visit Supreme Court justices' houses when things didn't go our way. We didn't throw temper tantrums."

The other side: A Denton gynecologist said patients are already asking about their options if Roe v. Wade is overturned, per NBC5. 

"This is something we never thought, as physicians, would happen. Where we would be forced to try to do something to take care of our patients that someone made illegal," Dr. Joseph Valenti told NBC. 

By the numbers: Of polled Texans, 53% say they oppose overturning the 1973 Supreme Court case, compared to 50% in February. 

73% of Democrats said Roe should not be overturned versus 35% of Republicans who said the same. 

1,232 registered voters responded to the poll conducted May 2-10.

53% of Texans oppose overturning Roe, new poll says

Justice Clarence Thomas told a Dallas conference that trust inside the Supreme Court was broken after leaked Roe opinion.

Pro-abortion-rights protests took place across the country. Photo: Preston Ehrler/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Hundreds of protesters gathered Saturday outside Dallas City Hall as part of a nationwide series of &quot;Bans Off Our Bodies&quot; marches in response to the pending Supreme Court opinion. Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Politico" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/27590146.19306/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucG9saXRpY28uY29tL25ld3MvMjAyMi8wNS8wMi9zdXByZW1lLWNvdXJ0LWFib3J0aW9uLWRyYWZ0LW9waW5pb24tMDAwMjk0NzM_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXJfYXhpb3Nsb2NhbF9kYWxsYXMmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/61571d580bb18027b8e26002B4365c5fb" data-vars-content-id="dfb514cc-05b1-4efc-b898-21e3190df0a8" data-vars-headline="53% of Texans oppose overturning Roe, new poll says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/27590146.19306/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucG9saXRpY28uY29tL25ld3MvMjAyMi8wNS8wMi9zdXByZW1lLWNvdXJ0LWFib3J0aW9uLWRyYWZ0LW9waW5pb24tMDAwMjk0NzM_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXJfYXhpb3Nsb2NhbF9kYWxsYXMmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/61571d580bb18027b8e26002B4365c5fb" target="_blank">Politico</a> obtained a draft document of the Supreme Court&#x27;s opinion earlier this month. Texas is one of 13 states with a so-called &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="trigger law" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/27590146.19306/aHR0cHM6Ly9jYXBpdG9sLnRleGFzLmdvdi90bG9kb2NzLzg3Ui9iaWxsdGV4dC9odG1sL0hCMDEyODBJLmh0bT91dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249bmV3c2xldHRlcl9heGlvc2xvY2FsX2RhbGxhcyZzdHJlYW09dG9w/61571d580bb18027b8e26002B74928d6d" data-vars-content-id="dfb514cc-05b1-4efc-b898-21e3190df0a8" data-vars-headline="53% of Texans oppose overturning Roe, new poll says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/27590146.19306/aHR0cHM6Ly9jYXBpdG9sLnRleGFzLmdvdi90bG9kb2NzLzg3Ui9iaWxsdGV4dC9odG1sL0hCMDEyODBJLmh0bT91dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249bmV3c2xldHRlcl9heGlvc2xvY2FsX2RhbGxhcyZzdHJlYW09dG9w/61571d580bb18027b8e26002B74928d6d" target="_blank">trigger law</a>&quot; that would make performing the procedure a felony within 30 days of a SCOTUS decision.

The annual homeless census report released during Friday's state of homelessness address won't capture the full picture of families experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties. 

Driving the news: The federally required census conducted in February primarily tracks unsheltered homeless people, anyone staying in emergency shelters and people living in transitional housing. 

Why it matters: Not everyone experiencing homelessness stays in a shelter or lives in a tent under a highway overpass. Sometimes families hop from motel to motel, sleep in their cars or stay on friends’ couches. 

"You won't find family homelessness on the street, if at all," Vogel Alcove CEO Karen Hughes tells Axios. Her nonprofit assists homeless families and offers counseling and educational programs to children under school age. 

Details: Dallas ISD reported 4,368 students experiencing homelessness last year, up from 3,500 the prior school year. 

These students self-report to teachers or other school staff. 

Some of those students started out in Vogel Alcove programs, which have served 17,000 children in 35 years. 

What they're saying: Hughes says most of the homeless families she meets lack a support system. 

"Life just tended to happen, and there was nobody to call," Hughes tells Axios. 

By the numbers: Last year's census was conducted during Winter Storm Uri, and people staying at warming stations were also interviewed as part of the homelessness count. 

There were 4,570 unsheltered and sheltered people experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties in 2021. 

In Dallas County, there were 1,244 unsheltered people. 

Collin County tallied 180 unsheltered people. 

Dallas youth homelessness can be tough to track

Dallas' annual census doesn't capture the full picture of families experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties.

An archive photo of homeless children being led to lunch. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

The annual homeless census report released during Friday&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="state of homelessness address" data-vars-click-url="https://www.mdhadallas.org/homeless-pit-count/" data-vars-content-id="ef2106e2-c831-41d3-91e7-a6b57d48f2c5" data-vars-headline="Dallas youth homelessness can be tough to track" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.mdhadallas.org/homeless-pit-count/" target="_blank">state of homelessness address</a> won&#x27;t capture the full picture of families experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties. Driving the news: The federally required census conducted in February primarily tracks unsheltered homeless people, anyone staying in emergency shelters and people living in transitional housing.

Tasha Tsiaperas

Featured stories

Dallas hit hard by baby formula shortage

Arrest made in Dallas Korean hair salon shooting

Dallas shooting at Korean hair salon investigated as hate crime

53% of Texans oppose overturning Roe, new poll says

Dallas youth homelessness can be tough to track