FORT WORTH – The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports crude oil prices have continued to fall, after plummeting last week to lows not seen since the pandemic. Crude oil futures fell from roughly $71 per barrel on Wednesday to less than $60 a barrel on Monday, the lowest since April 2021. Prices sat at about $60 per barrel on Tuesday morning. Though prices are down, experts say Texas’ oil and natural gas industry may manage to weather the storm relatively unscathed — if the entire economy remains strong. Major stock indexes dropped sharply last week after the Trump administration announced new global tariffs, spurring fears of a recession. As uncertainty pervades Wall Street, some of the country’s largest banks, including J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, have raised their recession risk forecasts. Experts said the decline in oil prices means consumers will likely see lower gas prices in the short term.
Carl Campbell, former president of the American Association of Professional Landmen and chief operating officer of energy firm Alamo Resources, said the impact of lower oil prices will hinge on how long the decline lasts. Campbell said the current economic climate has made producers cautious. Too low of prices could halt development; Campbell said oil prices need to hover between $65 to $75 a barrel to encourage new projects. “We have to find that balance that works best, where it’s a sustainable number at the pump and also a sustainable number for the exploration and production companies that are out trying to make the most of finding additional reserves to serve that need by the public,” he said. Campbell said the Trump administration may want to lower oil prices to offset cost increases for other goods caused by tariffs — but how long the new duties are in place is anyone’s guess. Markets swung wildly on Monday, after a false report that the administration was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs.
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ODESSA — When President Donald Trump boasted about falling oil prices on social media early Monday, the Texas oil and gas industry didn’t cheer along with him.
Trump’s latest round of tariffs set off unease among industry groups representing Texas operators. Trade leaders said Trump’s actions threaten the industry’s ability to continue meeting global oil demand.
“Depending on the length and severity, many companies within, and reliant upon, the Texas oil and natural gas industry could struggle,” said Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association.
Texas is a dominant force in the nation’s oil and gas industry, supplying more than 40% of its oil and producing more natural gas than it can store, transport or sell. Oil and gas companies drill for enviable amounts of crude oil from thousands of wells in the westernmost region of the state, federal data shows, with no signs of slowing — until this week. Oil prices fell below $60, the lowest in years.
Most of it is drilled in the Permian Basin, a stretch of land containing oil deposits scattered across tens of thousands of square miles where operators big and small produce oil. The region’s very economy hinges on oil and gas, which brings workers, grows the tax base and enriches local and county government budgets.
Many of the companies depend on imports targeted by tariffs to sustain their field operations, trade groups said.
Operators prioritize domestic purchases, Longanecker said, but also rely on international products. At least half of critical equipment, including casing that protects drilling equipment, is sourced internationally. Steel, both domestic and international, can take up to 10% of a company’s expenses. Up to 70% of the less critical materials used to drill, such as casing string on the surface, come from South Korea. He said U.S. steelmaking is often reserved for more critical profitable equipment.
One of the companies they represent exclusively uses domestically produced equipment, which is rare. And only sucker rods, which connect equipment on the surface to pumps deep in the well, are 100% sourced domestically.
“Our members procure this material from both domestic and international suppliers, and maintaining the supply diversity is important to control costs and availability,” Longanecker said.
Supply chain disruptions and policy decisions can significantly change these costs for operators. If the tariffs lead to an economic downturn, it could also affect demand and deal a blow to the industry.
Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, said tariffs will hurt operators’ bottom line.
“Our goal has been to consistently remind policymakers and others that our operators are participating in a global market that has benefited greatly from expanded markets and free trade,” he said. “This also means that our industry is challenged with the effects of regulatory certainty or uncertainty and is vulnerable to the effects of tariffs and inflation.”
If the market remains uncertain, you will see an industry slowdown, he said.
This stall in oil and gas production does not indicate a bust — a devastating drop in oil prices, loss of jobs and a paralyzed economy, experts said.
Ray Perryman, an economist and founder of the Perryman Group, said oil firms will reconsider whether drilling is a worthwhile investment at the current price of oil. It would take a pronounced drop in global demand or available oil for companies to stop altogether.
The oil and gas industry provides the necessary supply to meet demand, both of which have reached record levels. Last year, the U.S. pumped a record-breaking 13 million oil barrels a day. New technology has enabled the industry to create more reserves, meaning it is much more unlikely for a dramatic shortage of oil to occur.
”Unless tariffs become permanent at levels which disrupt the fundamental supply of the entire world economy for an extended period, we are unlikely to see anything like the boom and bust periods of the past,” he said.
Still, the industry has not seen any indications of economic conditions improving anytime soon, said Kirk Edwards, former chair of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, who runs an independent oil and gas company in the Panhandle. Edwards said the tariffs and oil prices came as a “shock” to the industry, which is grappling with the decisions of an administration that pledged to put them at the forefront.
And with the administration’s volatile approach to tariffs, companies will think twice before putting up a drilling rig in the next two months.
“Nobody in their right mind is going to put out a drilling rig not knowing what the oil price will be,” he said. “The longer that goes on, the weaker the industry is going to be from a service standpoint. Then you have a lot of layoffs, and the banks are going to be calling, and it’s not going to be pretty out here if that happens.”
Trump’s actions have frustrated Odessa Mayor Cal Hendrick, a longtime oil and gas attorney, who agrees with Trump’s push for more equitable international trade. But he doesn’t agree with Trump’s method.
He said the tariffs, if sustained, will only hurt the industry and ultimately push cities like Odessa, which rely on the economy it generates, to financial ruin. If the tariffs push companies to lay off workers, he said, cities could lose workers who help expand the city’s tax base and be able to afford infrastructure improvements and growth.
“It affects my neighbors that are gonna have to cut jobs, cut the truck drivers and the welders, and these are our people,” Hendrick said. “It’s impossible to support a policy, no matter how well-intentioned, that negatively affects people.”
Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.
AUSTIN – As measles tears through West Texas — infecting hundreds, hospitalizing dozens and claiming the lives of two children — some lawmakers in Austin are pushing bills to roll back vaccine requirements and expand access to exemptions under the banner of “choice.”
Measles, a highly contagious disease that was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, has swept through West Texas communities with lower-than-average vaccination rates, turning Texas into the epicenter of a possible national epidemic with 505 cases identified since late January, including 57 hospitalizations and two deaths.
Two shots of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which has been administered for decades, is the safest and most effective way to build immunity to the virus.
Still, Texas lawmakers have introduced bills to weaken vaccine mandates and make it easier for parents to obtain exemptions for their children — and there’s little indication that the state’s worst outbreak in three decades has changed their thinking.
Cases are concentrated in the districts of Texas House Republican leaders, including the speaker, Dustin Burrows, and state Rep. Ken King, chair of the State Affairs committee. Four of the ten counties in Texas’ designated outbreak area are in Burrows’ district. King’s district includes Gaines County, which has the highest concentration of cases.
Neither responded to a request for comment on whether they support proposals to pull back on vaccine requirements in light of the outbreaks in their districts.
In late February, Burrows said that he was closely monitoring the situation. He praised the state’s response in early March and said that the state was “bringing the vaccines over to the county … and making sure people have the resources and the tools they need to get the vaccinations.”
The districts of Republican state Sens. Kevin Sparks and Charles Perry largely encompass the outbreak area. Neither responded to a request for comment. Sparks has sponsored bills to expand vaccine exemptions for health care workers and Perry has introduced legislation to require health care providers to report “adverse events” related to vaccines.
“Generally, I don’t support forced vaccines,” said state Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, whose district has seen one confirmed case of measles so far. “I support parents making the choice for their children, and those that want to can. Obviously there are consequences if there’s a problem, but I do support vaccine choice.”
State Rep. Pat Curry, R-Waco, who introduced a bill to make vaccine exemption forms available to parents online, said he is not a vaccine expert but believed that “each parent should have a choice as to what they want to do.”
Most vaccine-related bills have not yet been heard in committee in the House, while the Senate has advanced a number of bills that would require health care providers to obtain “full informed consent” before administering a vaccine to a child and a parental “bill of rights” that includes the right to opt their child out of immunization.
State Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston and chair of the Public Health Committee, said his panel was still considering which bills to hear.
“We’re not interested in any kind of rollback of the measles vaccine,” he said Tuesday. “The MMR is a safe vaccine and something that needs to continue to be encouraged for children — at the same time, recognizing that parents have the right to opt out.”
VanDeaver recognized the “possibility” that increased exemptions could make outbreaks more likely and painful, but he said that properly educating Texans on the importance of getting the measles vaccine would help.
“If we do a better job educating people, I think we’ll be OK,” he said.
Democrats and vaccine supporters blasted what they called a lack of guidance from top lawmakers that was contributing to a worsening crisis.
“Something that shouldn’t be a problem is a problem because our leadership will not step up and say what needs to be said,” state Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin and a member of the Public Health Committee, said. “They’re so scared of primaries and following the uneducated grassroots on this that they won’t lead.”
“We’d have two more kids alive right now and a lot less kids sick if we just followed the basic science,” he added. “Any legislation to go the other way is going to lead to more kids dying in Texas.”
State Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston and a Public Health committee member, said that legislation and rhetoric purporting to expand “choice” was helping “fuel misinformation around a public health crisis.”
“MMR is a good, solid vaccine. This is the consequence of demonizing science,” she said. Parents “want to do right by their kids, and they are being led down this path to actually hurt their children.”
Johnson added: “We’re not talking about adult freedom. We’re talking about adult manipulation for politics that’s killing kids.”
Advocates on both sides of the debate said they had not noticed any shifts in lawmaker attitudes toward these bills since the crisis deepened.
“I cannot tell you how disappointing it is,” said Terri Burke, executive director of The Immunization Partnership. “There’s not been any full throated attempt by the leadership in this state to say, ‘Get your kiddos vaccinated, save their lives.’ I mean that from the governor on down.”
After The Texas Tribune reported that state leaders had not addressed the outbreak publicly even after a child died, Gov. Greg Abbott posted on social media that he had directed the state to deploy “all necessary resources to ensure the safety and health needs of Texans.” He did not mention the vaccine.
Michelle Evans, political director of Texans for Vaccine Choice, said that the outbreak had not come up in conversations with lawmakers and did not seem to be “impacting our progress or anybody’s willingness to stand with us.”
Evans said that even as the Senate was moving faster to approve measures loosening vaccine requirements, committee membership in the House “leans our way much more strongly” than it did in 2023.
She argued that despite the outbreak, “vaccine choice is the right policy. It’s a civil liberties issue, regardless of whether it’s the COVID pandemic, whether there’s a measles outbreak.”
Evans added that bills her group supports are not trying to increase the number of vaccine exemptions, but to make it easier to access those exemptions.
“We are just trying to make it so that parents who do want to exercise this right have the ability to do so in the most expeditious and respectful manner possible,” she said.
Parents who want to send their child to school unvaccinated for philosophical, religious or conscientious reasons can do so by requesting a form from the state health department that is then mailed to them. They then fill it out, notarize it and submit to their school and after school programs.
In Gaines County, the center of the crisis, 82% of kindergarteners are vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that outbreaks are more likely when the vaccination rate in a community falls below 95%.)
“If you need further proof that there’s a problem with relaxing this process, you’ve got it in Gaines County,” Burke said. “There’s a through line from this measles outbreak to these nonmedical exemptions.”
Since late January and as of Tuesday, Texas has seen 505 measles cases, including 57 hospitalizations. Two school-aged children — neither of whom was vaccinated, nor had any underlying conditions — have died after contracting measles.
The largest demographic of people getting infected with measles is children under the age of 18, who made up 351 of the 505 cases.
Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.
VAN ZANDT COUNTY — The repair project on I-20, near CR 2112 (Mile Marker 518, west of Canton) in Van Zandt County, has hit a snag after a paver issue last night. According to TxDOT, the contractor is working to fix the issue by this afternoon or evening. The westbound, outside lane will remain closed throughout Wednesday. The roadway is expected to reopen tomorrow morning, Thursday April 10, at 6 am. Drivers should expect lengthy delays.
NACOGDOCHES – According to a report from our news partner, KETK, a former Nacogdoches ISD teacher received minimum two-year sentence after sexually assaulting a student in 2023.
Annaleigh Andrews, 26 of Nacogdoches, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault of a child and three counts of online solicitation of a minor back in August 2024. Nacogdoches County Assistant District Attorney Amy Wren, said that Andrews was sentenced to a total of two years for all counts.
Andrews was a reading interventionist at McMichael Middle School. During the summer break following the 2022-2023 school year, Andrews starting communicating with the victim and took the victim to what they described as a “mansion.” The victim was sexually assaulted multiple times at this “mansion” and at Banita Creek Park. Andrews also asked the victim to meet her at selected locations and used marijuana with the victim, the DA’s office said. Continue reading Former East Texas teacher sentenced for child sexual assault
LINDEN – A man who fled from police following a disturbance involving a weapon on Monday afternoon has been apprehended, according to the Linden Police Department.
Our news partner, KETK, reports that officers responded to the scene at the Thomas Street Apartments, where they quickly secured the area. The suspect, later identified as Jacorey Birmingham, allegedly fled before officers arrived but was eventually located and detained. The weapon involved was also recovered and secured.
Birmingham has been arrested on charges of unlawful restraint, deadly conduct and burglary of a habitation with intent to commit additional felonies, the Linden Police Department confirmed.
“We thank our officers for their swift response and dedication to ensuring safety in our community,” the police department said.
EAST TEXAS — Texas Rep. Cody Harris, of Palestine, appeared before the House Public Health Committee on Monday afternoon to present HB 3717, which would help fund clinical trials for ibogaine, a psychedelic compound that could treat opioid addiction. According to our news partner KETK, through this bill, Harris aims to take on the addiction with a particular focus on veterans. According to the National Institutes of Health, drug overdose mortality rates among U.S. military veterans rose by 53% between 2010 and 2019.
As opioid-related deaths continue to devastate families across the country, Harris said this legislation could be a crucial first step in offering new hope to those already battling the addiction.
SMITH COUNTY – The Smith County Commissioners Court approved a resolution on Tuesday, dedicating April 2025 as National County Government Month for Smith County government. According to our news partner KETK, this resolution will recognize the more than 900 Smith County government employees who work everyday to create safe and healthy communities. Officials encourage residents to learn more about the services that county governments provide such as veterans services, criminal and civil emergency courts systems, elections and public safety.
Smith County holds 29 elected officials and 16 department heads. They help figure out ways to keep systems running such as fire investigations, tax offices and the sheriff’s office in ways that are cost effective for the community.
There are currently 3,069 counties serving more than 330 million Americans by protecting the peace and tranquility of their respective communities. Smith County encourages everyone across the county to learn more about the people who serve in local government.
SMITH COUNTY — The 2025 State of the County Luncheon was held in Smith County on Tuesday afternoon. According to our news partner KETK, during the luncheon, a presentation by Smith County Judge Neal Franklin provided residents with several updates about the newest projects and events going on in the county. Franklin stated that the theme of this year’s event is collaboration, due to the countries’ efforts to work with others to achieve their goals.
“We have got a lot of things going with a lot of different entities and our goal is to work together and make these things happen,” Franklin said.
Franklin provided residents with an update about the new courthouse that is currently under construction. “The courthouse is going well, and we are getting to the point where we were almost off the ground,” Franklin said. Continue reading State of Smith County update
AUSTIN – (ABC) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced in a proclamation Monday afternoon that the special election to fill the seat vacated following the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, for the rest of his term will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 4, concurrent with Election Day.
But Democrats are arguing he is trying to keep the seat open as long as possible because of Republicans’ slim majority in the House.
Republicans have 220 seats to Democrats’ 213, and the special election would most likely install a new Democrat in the seat, given the district’s Democratic lean, cutting back on the GOP majority.
In a statement, Abbott blamed Harris County, where the district is located, for election administration issues, saying that is why he had to schedule the election for November.
“Forcing Harris County to rush this special election on weeks’ notice would harm the interests of voters. The appropriate time to hold this election is November, which will give Harris County sufficient time to prepare for such an important election,” Abbott wrote.
Abbott gave that reasoning in a recent local interview as well, telling local station KXAN on Thursday that the county will “need to have adequate time to operate a fair and accurate election, not a crazy election like what they conducted in the past.”
State audits found that Harris County had issues with administering elections in 2021 and 2022, according to Votebeat. Those issues included not properly training election workers and not issuing enough ballot paper at various places. But the county has also been a target for unfounded theories or allegations about elections.
However, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth noted in a statement on Friday that the county has successfully run eight elections since election administration duties were given to the Harris County Clerk’s Office in September 2023 and said the county is prepared to run the special election.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on Monday afternoon that an announcement is “forthcoming” on litigation over filling the seat.
“The Republicans are on the run on the economy … and they’re on the run legislatively, which is why Gov. Abbott is conspiring with House Republicans to rig the system and not call a special election,” Jeffries said at a news conference in the U.S. Capitol.
In a later statement on Monday after Abbott announced the date, Jeffries said House Democrats are still considering legal action. The Texas Democratic Party has also threatened to file a lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Abbott’s office, when asked on Monday by ABC News about the governor’s response to Democratic allegations about margins in the House and the allegation that Abbott is following President Donald Trump’s or Republicans’ direction, pointed to Abbott’s comments from the local news interview, without elaborating.
The spokesperson did not address how Abbott might respond to any litigation.
Abbott’s announcement means the congressional seat will be vacant for about eight months since Turner’s passing in March, if the new date holds.
Sawyer Hackett, a Democratic strategist who works for various Texas Democratic clients, told ABC News on Monday that the seat vacancy comes “at a time when people absolutely need their congressional representation” as the Trump administration implements sweeping tariffs and cuts to the federal government.
From a legal standpoint, however, Texas state law appears to give the governor wide latitude to choose when to set special elections.
Joshua Blank, the research director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, Austin, told ABC News on Tuesday that the amount of time the seat will remain vacant in this case is much longer than previous occurrences in 2018 and 2021, when Abbott also called special elections to fill vacancies.
But Blank pointed out that Abbott, a former state attorney general and state Supreme Court justice, is likely sure he is on solid legal ground: “Gov. Abbott doesn’t seek out lawsuits against him. He was a sophisticated legal operator before he became a sophisticated politician and a sophisticated governor, and that really suffuses his politics and his approach.”
Chad Wilbanks, a Republican strategist and former Texas GOP executive director, told ABC News on Friday, “The governor is the sole authority of calling the special election for when he wants.”
“Democrats at the state and federal level support boys playing in girls sports, they support open borders and drags shows in public libraries,” he added, referring to LGBT and immigration issues. “There is no urgency because of their policies that Texans oppose.”
(NEW YORK) -- U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause in some tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2,370 points, or 6.3%, while the S&P 500 soared 7.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 9.6%.
President Donald Trump's latest batch of levies on China increased the cumulative rate of tariffs on Chinese goods to 104% -- a move met with retaliatory tariffs in Beijing that raised tariffs on U.S. goods to 84%.
European Union countries on Wednesday backed the European Commission’s proposal to push back on Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum with a set of countermeasures.
The latest U.S. tariffs came into force with key Asian markets already open. In Japan, the Nikkei index dropped more than 5% in response, while the broader TOPIX index slipped 4.6%. The Nikkei closed down 3.93% and the TOPIX down 3.4%.
Stocks in Taiwan fell more than 5.7%, Singapore's STI index slipped 2.4%, South Korea's KOSPI index lost 1.8%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.8% and India's NIFTY 50 dropped 0.4%.
In China, Hong Kong's Hang Sen index slipped 0.4%. Shanghai's SSE Shanghai Composite Index -- which has fewer international investors and is buoyed by the state-owned investors known as the "National Team" -- posted gains of 1.1% despite the new tariffs. Shenzhen's SE Composite rose 2.2%.
In Europe, key indices dropped on opening.
The British FTSE 100 dropped by 2.2%, Germany’s Dax index dropped 2.3%, France’s CAC 40 fell by 2.4% and Spain’s Ibex index was down 2%. The pan-European STOXX index was down 2.6%.
United States stocks closed lower on Tuesday, marking a major reversal from a rally that sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up more than 4% earlier in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 320 points, or 0.8%, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.1%.
The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, putting the index on the brink of a bear market, a term that indicates a 20% drop from a previous peak.
The move lower on Tuesday resumed a selloff that stretches back to Trump's tariff announcement last week. Since then, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have each fallen more than 12%.
(AUSTIN, TX) -- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seemed to imply in recent days that the measles outbreak in western Texas was slowing down.
In a post on X on Sunday, Kennedy remarked on the second death linked to the outbreak, which occurred in an unvaccinated school-aged child.
About 10 minutes later, Kennedy edited the post to add that the curve has been flattening since early March, when he started sending in reinforcements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- supplying clinics with vaccines and other medications.
"Since that time, the growth rates for new cases and hospitalizations have flattened," he wrote.
However, data from the Texas Department of State Health Services showed that cases are increasing, with more counties in western Texas reporting infections.
Katherine Wells, director of public health for Lubbock, Texas, said last week that public health officials were projecting "a year-long timeline for control of the outbreak."
"This is going to be a large outbreak, and we are still on the side of increasing number of cases, both due to spread and increased testing capacity," she said.
Public health specialists told ABC News they are skeptical that the curve is flattening and believe that cases linked to the outbreak are not only increasing, but likely much higher than the official case count.
"This outbreak is far from under control -- even if the curve begins to flatten, we still face major risks in under-vaccinated communities across the country," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer, as well as an ABC News contributor. "With so many pockets of low vaccination, we're still on the brink of widespread, sustained transmission unless urgent action is taken."
Likely more cases in Texas
As of Tuesday, there have been 505 confirmed measles cases in Texas, according to DSHS data.
Between March 28 and April 4, DSHS confirmed 81 cases -- one of the highest totals confirmed in a single week since the first cases were identified in late January. The Texas Department of State Health Services does not make hospitalization rates available to the public.
"We know that there have been more cases, at least sustained cases, over the past couple months. We know that the size of the outbreak has jumped pretty substantially over the past month," Dr. Craig Spencer, an associate professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice at the Brown University School of Public Health, told ABC News.
ABC News has requested a copy of the data that Kennedy is referring to when making claims about the curve flattening, but has not yet heard back from the HHS.
"We don't have a full picture of what's happening on the ground because of our inability to reach some communities. And so, I certainly would not feel confident saying that we have plateaued," he added.
Spencer said one reason he is not comfortable saying the outbreak has plateaued in Texas is that he believes the number of cases is likely an undercount.
Texas DSHS said any cases reported after March 16 are incomplete, and additional cases may be reported.
There have been two confirmed deaths linked to the Texas outbreak and a third death is being investigated in New Mexico in an unvaccinated adult who tested positive after dying.
"We know that there's really, on average, about one death for every around 1,000 cases," Spencer said. "We've already seen three deaths, which would make you suspect it's probably more like 3,000 cases."
"It feels very, very likely that the count is higher than 500," he said, adding, "It's not impossible for there to be three deaths among 500 cases, but statistically, one would expect more cases for that number of deaths."
Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health, told ABC News there is risk in saying the cases have flattened when the data may suggest otherwise. Namely, she said is worried that people may be dissuaded from getting tested or treated.
"We know that many people are avoiding formal medical care and therefore testing. There is always a delay in reporting even when people are tested," Ranney said. "I worry that people are afraid to get measles tested or to bring their kid in for care."
"My other worry is we still want people to take prevention measures and, of course, we know the vaccine is not only the safest way, but also the most effective way to prevent infection with measles," she continued.
Kennedy promotes catch-all treatments not intended for all measles cases
In a second social media post on Sunday evening, Kennedy shared that he had met the families of the two school-aged children who died of measles in Texas, as well as a third family who reportedly had a daughter in the ICU for three weeks with measles.
Kennedy said he also met with two physicians who have "treated and healed" about 300 children infected with measles in the Mennonite community with aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin.
Aerosolized budesonide is a steroid used to reduce inflammation in the lungs, making it easier to breathe. Clarithromycin is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections.
"If you were to go to any evidence-based treatment guidelines, there is nothing that says you should treat patients with budesonide or clarithromycin," Spencer said. "Now those are medications that have a broad suite of uses, and so I'm not going to say that they have absolutely no indication for measles, or really anything else."
He said there are scenarios in which either medication may be used in a measles patient, but it is on a case-by-case basis.
"I don't think that they're hurting anyone, but they're probably not helping anyone," he added. "They are not at all tools that I would reach to as my first, or really even second, line of tools that I would use in someone presenting with symptoms consistent with measles."
In an interview with ABC News Live on Monday, Dr. Peter Marks, the former director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within the Food and Drug Administration -- who is reported to have been forced out -- said budesonide, clarithromycin and vitamin A -- another treatment endorsed by Kennedy -- are neither preventatives nor "real treatment" for all cases of measles.
He highlighted the importance of receiving the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine. The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles or nearly 100% effective against dying of measles after contracting it.
Some people may be at risk for an adverse reaction with any vaccine, so experts say it's important to discuss the risks and benefits with a health care provider.
"It should be an easy decision, as easy as buying a car seat and strapping your kid in," Marks said about getting a vaccine if eligible. "You would never drive without your kid strapped into their car seat. You know, if you had an 18-month-old, why wouldn't you give that child something that could prevent your child from dying of an infection when there's a one in 1,000 chance if they get measles, they would die from it?"
ABC News' Dr. Mark Abdelmalek contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service is resigning over a deal to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S., according to two people familiar with the decision.
Melanie Krause, who had served as acting head since February, will step down over the new data-sharing document signed Monday by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The agreement will allow ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.
Two people familiar with the situation confirmed Krause was resigning and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The IRS has been in upheaval over Trump administration decisions to share taxpayer data. Acting Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell announced his retirement from the agency after roughly 40 years of service in February as furor spread over Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to IRS taxpayer data. Krause replaced him.
Acting chief counsel William Paul was removed from his role at the agency last month and replaced by Andrew De Mello, an attorney in the chief counsel’s office who is deemed supportive of DOGE, according to two other people familiar with the plans who were also not authorized to speak publicly.
The Treasury Department says the agreement will help carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda to secure U.S. borders and is part of his larger nationwide immigration crackdown, which has resulted in deportations, workplace raids and the use of an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants.
Advocates, however, say the IRS-DHS information-sharing agreement violates privacy laws and diminishes the privacy of all Americans.
The basis for the agreement is founded in “longstanding authorities granted by Congress, which serve to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans while streamlining the ability to pursue criminals,” said a Treasury official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to explain the agency’s thinking on the agreement.
Tom Bowman, policy counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, said disclosing immigrant tax records to DHS for immigration enforcement “will discourage tax compliance among immigrant communities, weaken contributions to essential public programs, and increase burdens for U.S. citizens and nonimmigrant taxpayers. It also sets a dangerous precedent for data privacy abuse in other federal programs.”
Todd Lyons, acting ICE director, told reporters at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix on Tuesday that the agreement will help ICE find people who are collecting benefits they aren’t entitled to and are “kind of hiding in plain sight” using someone else’s identity.
Working with Treasury and other departments is “strictly for the major criminal cases,” Lyons said.
The IRS had already been called upon to help with immigration enforcement earlier this year.
Noem in February sent a request to Bessent to borrow IRS Criminal Investigation workers to help with the immigration crackdown, according to a letter obtained by the AP. It cites the IRS’ boost in funding, though the $80 billion infusion of funds the federal tax collection agency received under the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act has already been clawed back.
A collection of tax law experts for the NYU Tax Law Center wrote Monday that the IRS-DHS agreement “threatens to violate the rights that many more Americans have under longstanding laws that protect their tax information from wrongful disclosure or dissemination.”
“In fact, it is difficult to see how the IRS could release information to DHS while complying with taxpayer privacy statutes,” they said. “IRS officials who sign off on data sharing under these circumstances risk breaking the law, which could result in criminal and civil sanctions.”
The memo states that the IRS and ICE “will perform their duties in a manner that recognizes and enhances individuals’ right of privacy and will ensure their activities are consistent with laws, regulations, and good administrative practices.”
