TYLER – The Tyler Police Department is creating a state-of-the-art training facility to ensure their officers are as well-trained as possible before going out on the field, according to our news partner KETK.
The Tyler City Council approved a $1.8 million contract with Watson Commercial Construction on Wednesday to transform the former National Guard Armory into a Regional Police Training Facility.
The armory, which is currently located on East Commerce Street, will be converted by the Tyler PD into a centralized training hub for cadets and current officers.
The new facility will include scenario-based training areas, classrooms, locker rooms and a gym. The new environment is intended to give officers and cadets the tools and resources needed to sharpen their skills and better respond to emergencies.
The facility will be funded through the Half Cent Sales Tax and will allow Tyler PD to maintain and build on its standards.
(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump officially pardoned reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley on Wednesday.
The official word came a day after his communications adviser announced the president would pardon the pair, who are serving time for tax evasion and bank fraud.
Their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, posted an image on Instagram Wednesday afternoon appearing to show Trump signing and posing with the pardon. A White House official confirmed the pardon.
Savannah Chrisley had appealed to the Trump administration for pardons for her parents and spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention. She said on Tuesday that Trump had called her to notify her that "he was signing paper pardon paperwork for both of my parents."
"I will forever be grateful for President Trump, his administration and everyone along the way, all of my lawyers, the people who put in countless hours and effort and love for my family to make sure that my parents got home," the 27-year-old said in a video on Instagram on Tuesday.
The couple, who became famous for their show "Chrisley Knows Best," were sentenced in November 2022 to a combined 19 years in prison on charges including fraud and tax evasion. Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 16 months of probation while Julie Chrisley was ordered to serve seven years in prison and 16 months of probation.
The couple was also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution.
The charges against the Chrisleys stem from activity that occurred at least as early as 2007, when the couple allegedly provided false information to banks and fabricated bank statements when applying for and receiving million of dollars in loans, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. In 2014, two years after the alleged bank fraud scheme ended, the couple is accused of fabricating bank statements and a credit report that had "been physically cut and taped or glued together when applying for and obtaining a lease for a home in California."
In their sentencing memo, prosecutors said the Chrisleys had engaged in a "fifteen-year fraud spree."
"Chrisley Knows Best" premiered in 2014 and followed the lavish lifestyle of wealthy real estate developer Todd Chrisley and his family.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
LONGVIEW – Our news partner KETK reports that the Target on Eastman Road will soon be home to several new Tesla V4 Superchargers for electric vehicles.
The new $120,000 charging site will feature two Tesla V4 Supercharger cabinets and 16 Tesla V4 Supercharger posts, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
The V4 Supercharger Post was launched in 2023, and is capable of charging any electric vehicle brand. The V4 Supercharger Cabinet was launched in November 2024, and can charge electric semi-trucks, like Teslaâs Semi.
The Longview V4 charging site, which is being designed by Dewberry Engineers Inc. of Dallas, is set to start construction on July 30. It is slated to be completed on Sept. 20, 2025.
To see where similar chargers are located in East Texas, visit Tesla online.
(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump announced he will nominate Emil Bove, his former personal lawyer-turned-controversial top Department of Justice official, to serve as a federal appeals court judge on Wednesday.
"It is my great honor to nominate Emil Bove to serve as a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit," Trump posted on Truth Social. "Emil is a distinguished graduate of Georgetown Law, and served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York for nearly a decade, where he was the Co-Chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit.
"Emil is SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone," he added. "He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Emil Bove will never let you down!"
Bove is known for his purge of career law enforcement officials across the DOJ and FBI prior to the arrivals of Senate-confirmed leaders, as well as his role in the DOJ's decision to drop the criminal corruption prosecution of New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
He will be nominated to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over district courts in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Bove's nomination means some of his most controversial actions will be put under the spotlight in what could be a bruising confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sources told ABC News that Republicans expect to schedule his confirmation hearing within the coming weeks.
Trump enlisted Bove to join his defense team in 2023 following his indictment for allegedly mishandling classified documents and obstructing justice by former special counsel Jack Smith. He also aided Trump's defense team in his New York hush money prosecution, which resulted in Trump's conviction of 34 felony counts.
Bove had served as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York for roughly a decade and worked on several high-profile terrorism, espionage and narcotics cases, including the indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
But Democrats will likely look to scrutinize the controversial early actions he took as the acting official leading the DOJ in Trump's first months in office, when he took aggressive actions to shift law enforcement resources and personnel away from national security and public corruption investigations and toward immigration enforcement.
Bove also faced criticism and resistance from FBI leadership for his initiation of an investigation into hundreds of agents who assisted in the investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which resulted in a dramatic standoff with top career officials whom he accused of "insubordination" for initially withholding the agents' names.
Bove's role in dropping the criminal corruption case against Adams in exchange for his support on immigration enforcement also escalated into a crisis at both the DOJ and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan.
Multiple members of the trial team as well as top officials in the DOJ's Public Integrity Section resigned after several alleged the arrangement, which would have dismissed the charges against Adams while leaving the potential they could be brought again if he resisted the administration's demands, amounted to a blatant quid pro quo.
The judge overseeing Adams' case ultimately dropped the case permanently while refusing the DOJ's request to dismiss the charges "without prejudice" and issued a blistering assessment that described the department's rationale as "both unprecedented and breathtaking in its sweep."
"Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the Indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions," Judge Dale Ho said in his ruling.
The returning contestants set for the 50th season of Survivor have been revealed.
Survivor host Jeff Probst has announced the cast for the landmark season of the reality competition series, and it includes players from throughout the entire history of the show.
Among the contestants are The White Lotus creator Mike White, who previously appeared on season 37 of Survivor. Also taking part in the season are fan-favorites Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth, who have both played the game four times before.
Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, who was a contestant on the first season of Survivor, is also participating in the season.
CBS describesSurvivor 50 as being in the hands of the fans. Earlier in 2025, fans voted on key elements of the game for the first time in the show's history. Contestants won't find out what the fans voted for until they are competing on the island.
The 24 returning players will compete amongst themselves for the $1 million prize and the title of Sole Survivor.
Survivor 50 will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ in spring 2026.
(KANE COUNTY, Ill.) -- Two males, including one juvenile, are facing hate crime charges after allegedly physically attacking a 19-year-old woman and calling her "derogatory" names at a McDonald's in Illinois, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.
The incident occurred on May 13, when police responded to a report of a fight at a McDonald's in Carpentersville, Illinois, which is about an hour outside of Chicago.
Once on the scene, officials determined the incident "involved an aggravated battery against a female victim," Carpentersville Police Department said.
The female victim, 19-year-old Kady Grass, told ABC News the attack, which led to her suffering a broken nose and bruises on her shoulders, was based on her sexual orientation.
"Even if they don't agree with the LGBTQ community, they have no right to make it physical or bully you into something. There was no right to do this to me just because they didn't like that I date women instead of men," Grass told ABC News last week.
One of the suspects involved in the attack, 19-year-old John Kammrad, was arrested on May 17, and the juvenile â whose "identify is being withheld in accordance with state laws protecting minors' privacy" â turned himself in to police on May 16, officials said.
On Tuesday, the state's attorney's office announced that Kammrad was charged with three counts of aggravated battery, mob action and a hate crime. The juvenile was also charged with a hate crime, in addition to mob action and aggravated battery charges, prosecutors said.
"Everyone deserves to feel safe in public spaces, and no one should be attacked because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, as is alleged in this case. We must make it clear that Kane County is a community that welcomes all," the county State's Attorney Jamie Mosser said in a statement.
Grass said the attack began when she and her 13-year-old cousin were grabbing food at the McDonald's and Grass decided to use the bathroom. Both the restroom stalls were full, so she walked out right away, when one boy out of a group of three began calling her a derogatory name, she told ABC News.
She said she "mumbled" under her breath but walked away and told her cousin to "not give them another reason to talk to us."
One of the boys, the juvenile who was later charged, approached Grass again, saying they "wanted to fight" her and they should "take it outside," she said. Grass said she then proceeded to go outside the McDonald's, but "no one came out."
When she returned inside to her cousin, she told Grass she overheard the males and said "they have a gun and they are going to kill you." Grass later found out that it was an "empty threat" as police did not find a gun in the suspects' possession.
Kammrad then approached Grass and said, "You're a woman, you're not tough," to which Grass replied: "I know I'm a woman, I'm a lesbian," she told ABC News.
She said she then looked at the juvenile, who "had this look in his eyes" and began to smile at her.
"I had a bad feeling about what was going to happen," Grass said.
Kammrad proceeded to get close to Grass, so she placed her hand on his chest to signal he should "keep his distance," she said.
The confrontation then escalated into a physical fight, with one male punching her in the front and the other hitting her in the back, she said. A manager at the McDonald's attempted to break up the fight, but he also "got hit in the process," Grass said.
In an attempt to protect herself, Grass closed her eyes and fell to the ground, which led to the two males stomping on her head, causing her to become unconscious, she said.
"They were trying to kill me," Grass said last week.
She sustained severe injuries and was transported to a local hospital, where "she was treated and subsequently released," police said.
Grass told ABC News Chicago station WLS on Tuesday that she was "fighting really hard for these hate crime charges."
Kammrad's plea setting is scheduled for June 27 at 9 a.m., according to court records. He is currently being held in the DuPage County Jail for "separate, unrelated charges," officials said.
It was not immediately clear whether Kammrad has appointed an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
AUSTIN – The Houston Chronicle reports three years after the Uvalde school shooting, the Texas Legislature is still trying to address multiple law enforcement failures that day that kept nearly 400 officers from rescuing children stuck in the classrooms with the killer for over an hour. Both the House and the Senate voted out a package of law enforcement reforms that include mandating more active school shooter training, joint training exercises among various law enforcement groups to provide better coordination, and equipment on school campuses that can breach a door in an emergency. Those were some of the biggest failures that law enforcement officials and elected officials identified after the May 24, 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School, where 19 children and two teachers were killed.
A report by the Texas House after the shooting showed police were hampered by poor interagency communities, improper tactics and delays as police looked for keys to a door they didnât think they could breach. âWe owe it to the 19 students and two teachers from Robb Elementary â and to every community across Texas â to make sure this never happens again,â said state Rep. Don McLaughlin, a Republican who was the mayor of Uvalde when the shooting occurred. McLaughlinâs HB 33 also requires each law enforcement agency to have a designated public information officer to make sure the public has clear information. McLaughlin said one of the difficulties after the shooting was false and misleading information being released that later had to be corrected. âIn four days, the story changed five times,â McLaughlin said about the days after the shooting. âNobody knew what was going on and we didnât get straight answers.â McLaughlinâs bill was officially sent to Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday for his signature to make the changes law.
AUSTIN – The Houston Chronicle reports that House Democrats on Tuesday blocked a last-minute push by Republicans to automatically deny bail to people accused of repeatedly committing violent crimes, striking a blow to one of Gov. Greg Abbottâs signature issues. The proposed amendment to the state Constitution would have denied pretrial release to those accused of nine violent crimes, including murder, aggravated assault and trafficking, if they had previously been convicted of those crimes. It was a late addition to a package of bail reforms that lawmakers spent months negotiating. That included a proposed constitutional amendment to give judges significantly more power to deny bail to people accused of certain crimes, which passed the House with bipartisan support earlier this month.
But the latest proposal, by state Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican, was filed just two weeks ago as Abbott began pushing for lawmakers to force judges to prohibit pretrial release to defendants accused of several violent offenses. The governor has long sought to restrict bail, accusing âactivist judgesâ in Democratic cities like Houston of being too quick to grant pretrial release. He declared bail reform an emergency item this session. The state Constitution currently prevents judges from denying bail to first-time offenders other than those accused of capital murder and for whom the state is seeking the death penalty. Democrats said the repeat offender proposal flouted the U.S. Constitution and would set a dangerous precedent, effectively putting those who are simply accused of committing a crime behind bars until they are tried. âIt doesnât matter what the facts are. If you have a certain history, then someone accusing you gets you locked up awaiting trial â automatically, maybe for years,â said state Rep. Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat who worked on negotiations on the bail package. âThatâs wrong and immoral.â House Republicans pointed to high-profile murders as evidence the amendment was necessary. They named the legislation after Jocelyn Nungaray, a Houston girl whose death became a driving force behind President Donald Trumpâs White House campaign against âmigrant crimeâ last year.
AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports that a Republican-led bid to increase enforcement of Texasâ 2021 camping ban died in the state House on Monday night after Democratic members challenged the bill on a technicality. Senate Bill 241 by Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, would have required cities to establish channels for residents to report illegal homeless encampments. If a complaint were not addressed within 90 days, the state could send the Department of Public Safety to clear encampments, then charge the city for that enforcement by withholding sales tax revenues. Flores said the bill strengthens the 2021 ban by “empowering residents to hold their cities accountable.” “Every Texan deserves safe, clean communities, and this bill is an important step toward ensuring that,” the senator, whose district includes San Antonio, said in a social media statement May 14.
Texas’ attorney general, currently Republican Ken Paxton, would have been responsible for notifying the DPS and the state comptroller about unresolved complaints. The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, argued cities aren’t sufficiently enforcing the law. “The state has been the one footing the bill for the cities that have failed to address homeless camping in their jurisdiction,” said Capriglione, R-Southlake. “Whether it’s in my area, in Fort Worth, or in Dallas or here in Austin, everybody knows that these homeless camping restrictions have not been enforced.” Austin city officials, however, disagree. The city cleared 1,500 encampments in 2024, according to David Gray, the city’s Homeless Strategy Officer. “Every day, we have staff out in the community that are engaging with people on the street, offering them access to shelter and housing services, and posting 72-hour notices to clear encampments,” Gray told the American-Statesman in a phone interview Tuesday. “From our perspective, the bill wasnât necessary. Weâre already doing the work.” During floor debate of the bill, Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, argued that the state is contributing to Austin’s homelessness problem by sending formerly incarcerated people into the city when their sentences end. She pointed to a state-licensed halfway house in East Austin, the Austin Transitional Center, where she said the majority of the population has no connection to Travis County. “We are blamed for our homelessness problem in Austin when it is the state of Texas who is in large part creating the problem,” Hinojosa said.
AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports free speech on college campuses is poised to face new constraints after the Texas House gave preliminary approval to Senate Bill 2972, which will limit students’ and employees’ permitted expression on campus. The proposal reverses 2019 protections that established common outdoor areas of a higher education campus as traditional public forums. With an 111-27 vote, the House late Tuesday night overwhelmingly approved an amended Senate Bill 2972, dubbed the “Campus Protection Act,” which included more free speech protections compared with the Senate’s original version. Donning a circular state of Texas clock to highlight the few final hours the House had to pass bills on second reading, Rep. Jeff Leach, a Plano Republican who sponsored the bill, stood behind Rep. Chris Turner to support the Democratic member from Grand Prairie in introducing an amendment to “make sure that our campuses must provide a public forum for free speech” and that nothing in the proposal would contradict the U.S. or Texas constitutions.
Leach also issued an amendment clarifying that amplified sound is only prohibited “when there’s an intent to intimidate others or to interfere with campus operations,” university leadership or police. The chamber approved both amendments. “I’m taking what could have been a three- or four-hour debate and it’s going to be less than five minutes,” Leach said as the House approached its 12th hour on the floor. “We’ve been working collaboratively with many of you here in the body, with our Senate counterparts, with the leadership at our university systems across the state, to guarantee the rights of students and faculty to gather peaceably on our college campuses.” Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, authored SB 2972 to tighten free speech rules on college campuses after pro-Palestinian protests erupted in universities across the country, including at several campuses in Texas, last year calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war. More than 150 people were arrested at Texas universities in April 2024 across several pro-Palestinian protests, which organizers and demonstrators asserted were peaceful and lawful. University administrators and lawmakers, however, have accused protesters of being disruptive and antisemitic. In Austin, the Travis County attorney’s office dropped all criminal trespassing charges for demonstrators who were arrested during the April 24 and April 29 protests at the University of Texas. At least five students who were arrested have sued UT over alleged violations of their First Amendment rights. “While the world watched Columbia, Harvard and other campuses across the country taken hostage by pro-terrorist mobs last year, Texas stood firm. UT allowed protest, not anarchy,” Creighton said in a statement to the American-Statesman on Saturday about the bill. “No First Amendment rights were infringedâand they never will be.”
Apple TV+ has announced the fourth season of the popular drama series will premiere on Sept. 17.
Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon return to their starring roles of Alex Levy and Bradley Jackson in the new season. Both actresses are also executive producers on season 4.
This new season picks up almost two years after the events of season 3, set in the spring of 2024.
"With the UBA-NBN merger complete, the newsroom must grapple with newfound responsibility, hidden motives and the elusive nature of truth in a polarized America," according to an official synopsis. "In a world rife with deepfakes, conspiracy theories and corporate cover-ups â who can you trust? And how can you know whatâs actually real?"
Season 4 will consist of 10 episodes that will drop weekly on Wednesdays through Nov. 19.
Apple also released first-look images of the season 4 cast, which include stills of Aniston, Witherspoon and Billy Crudup in his Emmy-winning role of Cory Ellison.
The season 4 ensemble cast also includes Greta Lee, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, William Jackson Harper, Aaron Pierre and returning fan-favorite Jon Hamm.
(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump escalated his war with Harvard University on Wednesday, accusing it of "treating the country with great disrespect" and suggesting that it should stop fighting his policies.
"But Harvard wants to fight. They want to show how smart they are, and they're getting their a-- kicked, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"All they're doing is getting in deeper and deeper and deeper," Trump said. "They've got to behave themselves."
The president has accused Harvard of being antisemitic and taking in billions of federal dollars.
"I think they're dealing very badly. Every time they fight, they lose another $250 million," Trump said. "Yesterday, we found another $100 million."
The president also doubled down on his claims that the school has enrolled too many foreign students and not done enough to ensure they aren't "troublemakers."
"They're taking people from areas of the world that are very radicalized, we don't want them making trouble in our country," Trump said, adding that Harvard should cap its foreign students at 15%.
"We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools. They can't get in because we have foreign students there. But I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country," he said.
Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent a letter to Harvard demanding information on every international student with an F-1 visa that allows nonimmigrants to study in the U.S., warning that failing to comply with the request would result in the withdrawal of the schoolâs Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.
Harvard, which has sued the administration over its funding and grant cuts, said in a statement that it provided the federal government with "thousands of data points concerning its entire F-1 visa student population." However, last week, Noem announced that she revoked the school's SEVP certification and prevented it from accepting foreign students.
Harvard filed a lawsuit the next day and a judge granted a temporary order blocking the move.
Asked about a group of Jewish students at Harvard who protested on Tuesday against the federal government's threats and cuts over perceived antisemitism, Trump dismissed their criticism and reiterated his claims of antisemitism at Harvard and other elite institutions.
"They're hurting themselves. They're fighting," Trump said. "You know, Columbia has been, really, and they were very, very bad. What they've done that very antisemitic and lots of other things. But they're working with us on finding a solution. And, you know, they take it off that hot seat. But Harvard wants to fight."
Brad Pitt is opening up about his personal life seemingly always making headlines.
The actor spoke about making movies while his personal life is under public scrutiny in the latest GQ cover story.
âMy personal life is always in the news,â Pitt said. âItâs been in the news for 30 years, bro. Or some version of my personal life, letâs put it that way.â
Pitt stars in the upcoming film F1, which arrives in theaters in June after a longer-than-expected production that stopped for a whole year due to the Hollywood strikes. Additionally, Pitt settled his divorce from Angelina Jolie toward the end of shooting F1. The divorce was settled on Dec. 30, 2024, after eight years of legal disputes.
The actor was asked if filming F1 was a refuge from what was happening in his personal life.
âItâs been an annoyance Iâve had to always deal with in different degrees, large and small, as I do the things I really want to do. So, itâs always been this kind of nagging time suck or waste of time, if you let it be that. I donât know. I donât know,â Pitt said.
He continued, saying his life feels fairly contained. âIt feels pretty warm and secure with my friends, with my loves, with my fam, with my knowledge of who I am, that, you know, itâs like this fly buzzing around a little bit,â he said.
Pitt also said he doesn't feel relief now that his divorce is finalized.
âNo, I donât think it was that major of a thing," Pitt said. "Just something coming to fruition. Legally.â
(GAZA) -- As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to unfold, video showed children sitting in lines waiting for food on the side of the road on Tuesday.
Two million people in the Gaza Strip face "extreme hunger and famine without immediate action," the World Food Programme said last week.
The children gathered by a community kitchen, waiting with their empty pots, according to the video verified by ABC News.
In the scramble for hot food, a child was scalded after hot soup was spilled on him, the video shows. The child is seen crying in pain as someone pours water on him. Another video showed a child scooping up flour spilled on the ground mixed with dirt.
"The children of Gaza need protection," UNICEF, the U.N. agency for children, said in a statement on Tuesday. "They need food, water, and medicine. They need a ceasefire. But more than anything, they need immediate, collective action to stop this once and for all."
Over 1,300 Palestinian children have been killed and around 4,000 injured since Israel ended the ceasefire in March, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour said Wednesday in a passionate speech during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Gaza.
"Dozens of children are dying of starvation. The images of mothers embracing their motionless bodies, caressing their hair, talking to them, apologizing to them," Mansour said, crying and slamming the table. "Excuse me, Mr.President, I have grandchildren, I know what they mean to their families and to see the situation of the Palestinians without us having hearts to do something is beyond the ability of any normal human being to tolerate."
"Flames and hunger are devouring Palestinian children. This is why we are so outraged as Palestinians everywhere, the 14 million of us in the occupied territories, in the diaspora, in the refugee camps, in far places, all the way to California and in between. We love our children. We love our people. We don't want to see them going through this tragedy and this savage attacks by those who claim the virtues of fighting against barbarism," Mansour said.
Last week, more than a dozen World Food Programme trucks were looted in southern Gaza while en route to WFP supported bakeries.
"These trucks were transporting critical food supplies for hungry populations waiting anxiously for assistance. Hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity," the WFP said in a statement.
The Israeli government had been implementing a blockade on all humanitarian aid being sent into Gaza since March 2. The blockade was instituted to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages, Israel said.
Humanitarian groups and the United Nations have distanced themselves from the new plan to distribute aid into Gaza that began last week. Aid trucks started slowly re-entering Gaza last week, according to the U.N. and the Gaza Government Media Office.
"WFP cannot safely operate under a distribution system that limits the number of bakeries and sites where Gazaâs population can access food. WFP and its partners must also be allowed to distribute food parcels directly to families -- the most effective way to prevent widespread starvation," the WFP said last week.
The Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip has caused widespread malnutrition and conditions likely to lead to famine, according to the U.N. and other international aid organizations.
One in five people in Gaza, about 500,000 people, faces starvation, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification platform said on May 12, according to the U.N. Of those, 71,000 children need treatment for acute malnutrition, according to the report.
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, an American physician who volunteered in Gaza in 2024 and last month, spoke at the U.N. on Wednesday, describing the day Israel broke the ceasefire in March as the day he "witnessed the most extreme casualty event of my career." He said he had 221 trauma patients in his care.
Sidhwa also criticized the controversial new aid plan for Gaza, which he said constitutes a "weaponization and politicization of aid."
"If this continues, there will be no Palestinian doctors left -- no one to care for the sick and wounded," Sidwha said. "No Palestinians left to rebuild the health care system. We are losing a generation before our eyes, condemning patients to die from hunger, disease and despair -- deaths that could have been prevented."
(NEW YORK) -- Cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, a descendent of the Omicron variant, are on the rise in some parts of the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Currently, there are not enough cases in the United States to register in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID variant tracker.
Symptoms appear to be similar to other variants of COVID-19 and the public health risk remains low, WHO information shows.
The earliest sample of the NB.1.8.1 variant was collected on Jan. 22 and it was designated a variant under monitoring -- which may require prioritized attention and monitoring -- on May 23 by the WHO.
Since the omicron variant was detected in 2021, new cases of COVID have been dominated by hundreds of its descendent subvariants, though none have led to the rise in cases once seen during the peak of the pandemic.
As of May 18, there were 518 NB.1.8.1 cases detected from 22 countries, according to WHO. While still only comprising 10.7% of the global cases at the end of April, this is a significant rise from 2.5% four weeks prior.
"Remember, we've seen summer surges. One thing that COVID has done is it's been able to surge in the summer, and it's been able to surge in the winter, and that's very different than respiratory viruses we've dealt with in the past. But we still don't know if this is going to be the virus that leads to a summer surge, it's just too early to know," Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious diseases at South Shore Health, told ABC News.
While there are increases in reported cases and hospitalizations in some of the countries with the highest proportion of NB.1.8.1 circulating, there are no reports to suggest that disease severity is higher in this latest variant than other circulating variants of the virus.
"With each new variant, what we've seen is severity doesn't really change so far, we're not seeing it have more severe complications," said John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital and ABC News contributor. "What we know is that when a virus is more transmissible, it will ultimately infect more people and when you infect more people ... you'll have more cases of severe illness, hospitalization, and unfortunately death. "
Data from China and elsewhere doesn't seem to show anything unique about the variant other than increased transmissibility, Brownstein added.
Some of the variant's mutations found on the surface proteins of the virus could increase its transmissibility and potentially make it somewhat harder to treat compared to current variants in wide circulation, according to the WHO.
Approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective against this variant, according to the WHO.
"This is the natural path we've seen with every variant, and so the guidance doesn't really change at the end of the day," Brownstein said. "It's making sure people are up to date with their vaccines and boosters ... and then of course, those that are immunocompromised or in high-risk groups may want to layer in other types of interventions like masking or being careful about large group settings where there could be increased risk of transmission."
Niki Iranpour, MD, is an internal medicine resident at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
TYLER – The Tyler Police Department is creating a state-of-the-art training facility to ensure their officers are as well-trained as possible before going out on the field, according to our news partner KETK.
