AUSTIN (AP) — A group of news organizations asked a Texas appeals court on Wednesday to order the release of state Department of Public Safety records of the law enforcement response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, the latest dispute over what should be made public from one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
A judge in Travis County had previously ordered the state police agency to release its records after the news organizations sued for access. The state and the Uvalde district attorney have objected, arguing that their release could jeopardize law enforcement investigations, and the state appealed to keep them out of the public view.
In a hearing before the 15th Court of Appeals, Laura Prather, an attorney for the media organizations, called the attempt to block the records “an attempt to cloak the entire file in secrecy forever. We’re talking about the most significant law enforcement failure in Texas history … The public interest could not be higher.”
One judge on the panel noted that the DPS records include more than 6 million pages of documents and hundreds of hours of video.
The district attorney’s objection was enough to block the release under Texas law, said Texas Assistant Solicitor General Sara Baumgardner.
“(The media) can make whatever inflammatory allegations about DPS they’d like to make,” Baumgardner said. “Texas courts have recognized that the entity in best position to know what would interfere with a prosecution is the actual prosecutor, not a bunch of news outlets.”
The appeals court did not indicate when it might rule on the case. Any decision can be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
The Associated Press was not among the news organizations that sued.
A gunman stormed the school on May 24, 2022, killing 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers. More than 370 responding officers from multiple local, state and federal agencies waited more than an hour to confront and kill the gunman.
Other records from the Uvalde shooting have been released. DPS has selectively released some of those findings at news conferences and public hearings at the Legislature.
In August, Uvalde officials released a massive collection of audio and video recordings from body cameras and surveillance videos after a protracted legal fight.
Multiple reports from state federal officials have laid bare cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers.
Two former Uvalde schools police officers face criminal charges over their actions that day, and several victims or their families have filed multiple state and federal lawsuits.
KILGORE– Post Oak Road in Kilgore is closed after a large sinkhole was discovered, that according to our news partner KETK. The sinkhole was found at a creek crossing near Highway 42 and it was revealed that a storm sewer pipe under the road has collapsed. City officials ask that drivers use caution in the area. The road will be closed until next April while repairs are made.
GREGG COUNTY – Traffic on I-20 was backing up as officials deal with a stalled cattle hauler on the interstate. According to our news partner KETK, the 18-wheeler hauling cattle has reportedly stalled out on I-20 westbound late Wednesday morning, near Highways 31 and 42. DPS Sgt. Adam Albritton asks the drivers use caution in that area, as traffic is being impacted as they offload cattle from the vehicle. Officials said this could take several hours.
AUSTIN – The publication Border Report says this Friday, Texas hospitals will be required to collect information regarding patients who are not legally in the country as part of an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott signed the order in August in an effort to collect data on the costs of caring for undocumented patients, claiming Texas “absorbs a large percentage of the costs associated with medical care for individuals who are not lawfully in the United States.” The order also directs hospitals to inform patients that their response “will not affect patient care.” Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation at 17% — more than double the national average. Five million Texans have no insurance, the Texas Hospital Association reported. Last year, hospitals provided more than $8 billion in “charity care” for uninsured people, with more than $3 billion not reimbursed.
Most uninsured Texans are citizens, however. While 1.6 million undocumented immigrants live in Texas, they go to the hospital at lower rates than U.S. citizens and make up a minority of the uninsured cost burden on state hospitals, the Texas Tribune reported. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas worries the order will discourage undocumented Texans from seeking necessary medical care. They stress that patients do not need to answer the question, and cannot be denied care no matter their answer. “This order should not impact anybody’s access to care — period,” senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Texas David Donatti said. “Whether you are native-born, a U.S. citizen, an immigrant, whatever your status should be, you should be able to access the healthcare that you need and the facility should not have the ability to block you from receiving that kind of care. That is crystal clear as a matter of federal law.” Donatti said the ACLU is exploring possible legal action against the Governor’s order. The Texas Hospital Association also reassures patients that the new rule will not impact healthcare access.
DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports Nearly 68,000 Texans and more than 800,000 people nationwide could be affected by a data breach at a Brownwood-based insurance servicer, according to filings with the Texas and Maine attorneys general offices. Landmark Admin announced the breach on Oct. 23, and notices have been sent to those affected, according to the filings. Information potentially gathered includes names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers/tax identification numbers, driver’s license numbers/government-issued ID numbers, financial information such as credit card numbers, and medical and health insurance information. Landmark offers third-party administration services for life insurance and annuity companies, including Liberty Bankers Insurance Group headquartered in Dallas. Liberty Bankers Insurance Group includes American Monumental Life Insurance Company, Pellerin Life Insurance Company, American Benefit Life Insurance Company, Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Company, Continental Mutual Insurance Company, and Capitol Life Insurance Company.
DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports that in court documents made public Tuesday, Texas lawmakers provided a behind-the-scenes look at efforts to scuttle in-person testimony from death row’s Robert Roberson, either at the Capitol or at the inmate’s prison. In the end, the documents said, lawmakers were told Roberson would not be permitted to testify in “any form of hearing” before a House committee examining the inmate’s case. In a brief filed with the Texas Supreme Court, Reps. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and Jeff Leach, R-Allen, detailed their battle with the attorney general’s office and unnamed executive branch officials to secure public testimony from Roberson. The two lawmakers, both lawyers, sit on the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and were among seven panel members who voted to subpoena Roberson, ultimately delaying his Oct. 17 execution.
The subpoena compelled Roberson to testify at a Capitol committee hearing Oct. 21. Prison officials began working to bring Roberson to the Capitol — ironing out transportation and security details — before the Texas attorney general’s office stepped in, sending Moody a letter saying Roberson would have to testify from prison by videoconference. Moody began the hearing by explaining Roberson’s absence and said negotiations were underway to allow the committee to hear from the inmate, who argues his conviction and death sentence should be overturned because they were based on outdated science and debunked theories surrounding shaken baby syndrome. In the legal brief filed with the Supreme Court, which has been asked to weigh the legality of the committee subpoena, Moody provided his account of what was happening outside of public view — including his frustration with what he described as an unresponsive attorney general’s office. “The executive branch took exception and refused to honor the subpoena,” the lawmakers wrote. “That impasse remains today.”
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LONGVIEW – Our news partners at KETK report that a 29-year-old is behind bars in connection to the Monday Longview apartment complex shooting that injured one man. The Longview Police Department said 29-year-old Andre Avant, of Longview, was booked into the Gregg County Jail and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Avant is being held on a $150,000 bond.
PANOLA COUNTY – An East Texas man found guilty of possessing child pornography has received what is believed to be the longest prison sentence in Panola County history, according to our news partners at KETK. According to the Panola County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, a judge sentenced Christopher James Williamson, 38 of Carthage, to a cumulative prison term of 750 years on Monday. The Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division originally arrested Williamson on Feb. 6 for possession of child porn, then indicted by a Panola County Grand Jury for ten charges of possession. The DA’s office said a DPS agent testified “that out of the dozens and dozens of cases that he has investigated, that this was by far the worst case he has ever seen.” Continue reading East Texas man sentenced 750 years for child porn
TYLER — In response to a troubling increase in threats made against schools across the country and in East Texas, Tyler ISD is reaching out to parents and guardians for their support in fostering a safe school environment. “Making a threat against a school, whether real or fake, is a crime with very serious legal consequences,” stated Acting Tyler ISD Police Chief Destry Walsworth. “These threats not only cause fear among students, staff, and families, but they also divert vital resources away from education and safety efforts.”
While many of these incidents turn out to be hoaxes, the repercussions can be significant. Law enforcement is often required to allocate substantial time and resources to investigate these threats, which detracts from their essential mission of keeping our community safe. Continue reading Local school district calls for community support
(NEW YORK) -- The NFL locker room is filled with intense emotions, from euphoric athletes celebrating victories to those coping with the pain of defeat. For players, reporters and fans, there's nothing like being there in the thick of those post-game moments.
However, some NFL players are calling for a "timeout" on reporters conducting locker room interviews.
"If only y'all knew how awkward some of the male reporters act," former wide receiver Torrey Smith wrote in an X post earlier this month. "Straight meat watchers."
Some players want to move interviews outside the locker rooms to protect players' privacy and dignity in the space where they shower and change.
"Well, we've had some instances where guys have been naked, and it's been sent unchecked and unedited," Lloyd Howell Jr., executive director of the NFL Players Association, said of the situation. "We've had hot mics where things have been captured that were never meant to be captured."
One example is a 2015 Cincinnati Bengals locker room interview that aired on NFL Network, where players could be seen in the background of the broadcast removing towels and changing their clothes.
The Bengals recently said that they will no longer conduct interviews inside their locker room and will instead meet reporters in a different location. The decision came after the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) released a statement urging the league to "make immediate changes" to its media policy.
"Over the past three years, the NFLPA has worked to collaborate with the NFL and the Pro Football Writers of America to move media interviews out of the locker room," it said.
Some reporters are pushing back. Calvin Watkins, President of the Pro Football Writers of America, who has covered the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams for over two decades, noted that the players already have protections.
"If a player comes out of the shower and he wants to get dressed in the locker room, the team must provide a curtain around his locker stall so he could get dressed in private," he said.
The media is willing to respect players' wishes, Watkins said, as long as they still get their interviews. He also noted that this kind of access and the coverage that comes from it has contributed significantly to the NFL's current status as a globally recognizable and successful brand.
The current NFL media policy notes that interviews "may be conducted outside the locker area" if the club or player requests it.
"However, media representatives must be permitted to request interviews in person with players inside the locker room," it says.
It also gives the home clubs responsibility for ensuring that both teams' shower areas are screened from view.
"Each team must provide its players with wrap-around towels or robes, in addition to the standard supply of bath towels for post-game showers," the policy says.
Other professional sports, such as basketball and baseball, grant reporters even greater access to the locker room.
Christine Brennan was one of the first female reporters allowed inside an NFL locker room, as a beat reporter for the Washington Post in 1985.
The conversation about locker room access has evolved over the course of her career, having been a "man's domain" in her early days.
"So many of these hard-line old-school coaches didn't believe women knew football, didn't believe women should be around the game of football," Brennan said. "And they fought tooth and nail to prevent people like me from doing my job."
By 1985, the NFL began requiring equal access for both male and female reporters.
However, the NFLPA's Howell said today's debate isn't about gender at all -- it's about evaluating a longstanding tradition through a 2024 perspective.
"It's just going to be a very different procedure and I think it's going to limit the information the fans, followers, observers of the National Football League care so much about," Brennan said.
(NEW YORK) -- The U.S. economy grew at a robust pace over three months ending in September, slowing slightly from the previous quarter but continuing to dispel any concern about a possible slowdown. The fresh report marks one of the last major pieces of economic data before the presidential election.
U.S. GDP grew at a 2.8% annualized rate over three months ending in September. That figure fell slightly below economists' expectations.
Economic growth was fueled by surge in consume spending, an uptick in exports and strong federal government spending, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said.
The new data arrived weeks after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate a half of a percentage point. The landmark decision dialed back a years-long fight against inflation and offered relief for borrowers saddled with high costs.
Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of about 9% in 2022, though it remains slightly higher than the Fed's target of 2%.
Meanwhile, the labor market has proven resilient. Employers hired 254,000 workers in September, far exceeding economist expectations of 150,000 jobs added, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%, hovering near a 50-year low.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) -- A newly filed lawsuit has accused Subway of “unfair and deceptive trade practices” and selling its steak-and-cheese sandwiches based on “false and misleading advertisements,” that the lawsuit claims show customers getting at least three times more meat than is actually in the product.
The class-action complaint against Subway was filed on Monday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York by plaintiff Anna Tollison, accusing Subway of using “photographs in its advertisements that make it appear that the Steak & Cheese sandwich contains at least 200% more meat than the actual sandwiches that customers receive,” according to the lawsuit.
“Subway’s advertisements for the Product are unfair and financially damaging to consumers as they are receiving a product that is materially lower in value than what is being represented,” the lawsuit says. “Subway actions are especially concerning now that inflation, food, and meat prices are very high and many consumers, especially lower income consumers, are struggling financially.”
The lawsuit also says that Subway’s promise of a portion that is larger is “causing consumers to come to, or order from, Subway restaurants and make purchases that they would not have otherwise made.”
The lawsuit says it stems from Tollison’s visit to a Subway in Jamaica, New York, on Aug. 23 when she picked up a steak-and-cheese sandwich after ordering it through Subway’s mobile app for $6.99 plus tax.
“After she picked up and began eating her sandwich, [Tollison] realized that there was barely any steak in the sandwich and that the photographs that she relied on were grossly misleading,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for New Yorkers who bought the sandwiches in the last three years from Oct. 28, 2021 and alleges “egregious” violations of the state’s consumer protection laws.
This is not the first time Subway has dealt with lawsuits critical of their business. In 2021, Ireland’s Supreme Court issued a ruling declaring that for the purposes of tax law, the bread served in Subway's hot sandwiches does not actually meet the legal definition of “bread” because of its sugar content and is rather a "confectionary or fancy baked good."
In that case, Justice Donal O’Donnell in the Ireland Supreme Court said that the definition of “bread” was originally established to make a distinction between the starch in other baked goods, like cookies or cake or brownies, that are sugary and therefore not healthy enough to be considered essential foods.
"Subway’s bread is, of course, bread," Subway said in a statement given to ABC News. "We have been baking fresh bread in our stores for more than three decades and our guests return each day for sandwiches made on bread that smells as good as it tastes."
Subway also previously defended themselves against a lawsuit for more than four years claiming that their “footlong” sandwiches were too short. That case was dismissed in 2017.
(CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO) -- The family of Shanquella Robinson, the North Carolina woman who died while vacationing in Mexico in October 2022, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Robinson's travel companions, who are referred to in the suit as "the Cabo Six," alleging battery, negligence, conspiracy and emotional distress.
Robinson's mother, Sallamondra Robinson, spoke out during a press conference on Tuesday, along with family attorney Sue-Ann Robinson, who has no relation to the Robinson family.
"I would like each and every one of you, if you can, anything you can do, step in and help us with justice," Sallamondra Robinson said. "We need justice for Shanquella Robinson. It has been two years and there's no reason that they have not been arrested yet."
ABC News' attempts to reach out directly to the individuals identified as the "Cabo Six" were unsuccessful. It is unclear if they have retained attorneys.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the Superior Court of Mecklenburg County on Monday, two years after Robinson's death, was filed on behalf of Sallamondra Robinson, and also names the U.S. State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after federal prosecutors announced last year that they won't be filing charges in this case, citing a lack of evidence.
"We are here today, not only to honor Shanquella Robinson and her family, but to call for action," Sue-Ann Robinson said. "We demand, still again and until the end, that authorities take the necessary steps to investigate this case thoroughly and bring those responsible to justice ... We will not rest until justice is served for Shanquella Robinson and her family.."
The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, claims that Sallamondra Robinson "suffered damages, in excess of $25,000 as a result of the wrongful death" and accuses the FBI of withholding records related to the investigation that the family sought to obtain through FOIA requests. The lawsuit also accuses the State Department and the FBI of negligence.
"The FBI's standard practice is to decline to comment on pending litigation," an FBI spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday.
ABC News reached out to the State Department, but a request for comment was not immediately returned.
Robinson, a 25-year-old Black woman from Charlotte, North Carolina, was found dead in the resort city of San Jose Del Cabo on the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, on Oct. 29 2022 where she and six acquaintances traveled for vacation. According to the lawsuit, the six individuals "were believed to be friends" of Robinson's.
Shortly after Robinson's death, a viral video emerged on social media that appeared to show a woman – later identified as one of the "Cabo Six" – beating a naked Robinson in a room, while two spectators recorded the incident.
Sallamondra Robinson previously told ABC News that after her daughter's death, she got a frantic telephone call from her acquaintances on the trip, claiming that she had died from alcohol poisoning. However, the Mexican Secretariat of Health's autopsy report and death certificate for Shanquella Robinson, obtained by ABC News, lists her cause of death as "severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation," with no mention of alcohol.
The report, which was dated Nov. 4, 2022, also states that the approximate time between injury and death was 15 minutes, while a box asking whether the death was "accidental or violent" was ticked "yes."
Following Robinson's death, the FBI opened a probe into the incident, but the bureau announced in April 2023 that federal prosecutors would not seek charges related to Robinson's death due to a lack of evidence.
U.S. Attorneys Sandra J. Hairston and Dena J. King, who represent the Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina, wrote in a statement that in every case considered for federal prosecution, the government must prove "beyond a reasonable doubt, that a federal crime was committed."
"Based on the results of the autopsy and after a careful deliberation and review of the investigative materials by both U.S. Attorneys' Offices, federal prosecutors informed Ms. Robinson's family today that the available evidence does not support a federal prosecution," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Mexican authorities investigated the case as femicide, a form of gender-based violence and issued an arrest warrant on Nov. 22, 2023, in relation to Robinson's death for an alleged perpetrator who was not named, a local prosecutor confirmed to ABC News.
Daniel de la Rosa Anaya, the local prosecutor for the state of Baja California Sur, told ABC News in November 2022, that the warrant was "issued for the crime of femicide," adding that Mexico is "carrying out all the pertinent procedures such as the Interpol alert and the request for extradition to the United States of America."
The Attorney General's Office of Baja California Sur, whose office is investigating, confirmed to ABC News in a statement on Tuesday that the investigation is still open.
"We made the necessary procedures before the United States, it is the authority there that must proceed with the apprehension of the probable perpetrator or perpetrators and put them at the disposal of the Mexican authorities," the statement said. "Until there is a final sentence, the investigation cannot be closed."
ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin, Anne Laurent and Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify the parties named in the lawsuit.
(LONDON) -- On the streets of Alfafar on Wednesday, cars and caravans were strewn like toys in the muddy aftermath of the floodwater that had rushed through the Spanish town.
Emergency crews descended on Wednesday on that town and others surrounding Valencia, wading through washed-out neighborhoods, searching homes and looking for missing people following devastating flooding, according to emergency officials.
More than 1,000 troops had been deployed to the province to help with the emergency response, the Military Emergencies Unit, a branch of the Spanish military, said on social media on Wednesday.
The flash floods were caused by heavy rain, which by Wednesday morning had begun "easing off," according to the country's meteorological agency
"[B]ut there is still an orange warning in inland Castellón until 2:00 p.m.," the agency said. "Caution in the northeast of the peninsula and western Andalusia: very heavy showers are possible. Stay informed!"
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News' Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.
