1. Military training exercise causing worry in Texas

HOUSTON (KHOU via KYTX)– If you drive just a couple hours west of downtown Houston this week, don’t be surprised if you see Navy SEALs, Green Berets and Humvees.

They’re all in Bastrop County and several other Texas counties this week for the start of Operation Jade Helm.

It’s a two-month-long, multi-state special operations training exercise for modern warfare, according to the military, but one that’s put both private citizens and the state’s militia on alert.

Some people living near the sites, including those who packed an April town hall meeting in Bastrop, are worried it’s Step 1 toward an eventual military takeover.

Maps posted online reportedly linked to the operation showing the seven states involved with Texas marked as “hostile territory.”

Some have also posted videos claiming Wal-marts will be used as political prisons and that shelter domes will be used to kill civilians.

The concerns prompted Gov. Greg Abbott to order the Texas National Guard to monitor the operation.

One security expert KHOU 11 News spoke with says he believes the military was planning on the publicity and world monitoring the social media response will be part of the training.

“What is the response? What is the mood? Is there apathy? And what is being said and done on social media that can affect the movement of these troops?” Brian Hoffner, a security consultant, said.

The military says no one’s privacy rights or civil liberties will be harmed.

Still, everyday citizens are using social media to organize and say they will monitor the exercise.