NFL players push back on media interviews in their locker rooms

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(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.

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US economy grew at robust pace in third quarter

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(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.

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Subway sued for allegedly shorting customers on meat, ‘false and misleading advertisements’

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(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.

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Shanquella Robinson’s family sues travel companions, federal prosecutors amid questions surrounding her 2022 death in Mexico

Obtained by ABC News

(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.

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Troops join emergency responders in search for missing after flash floods in Valencia, Spain

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(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.

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Russia ‘adept at obscuring’ role in Georgia election, opposition leader says

Giorgi Arjevanidze via Getty Images

(LONDON) -- Tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets of the capital Tbilisi on Monday evening to protest what the opposition said were fraudulent parliamentary elections handing victory to the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Opposition leaders -- joined by President Salome Zourabichvili -- gathered with the protesters hoping to spark a new round of mass demonstrations against GD akin to those that swept the capital in 2023 and 2024 in response to the government's proposed foreign agent bill.

Russia looms large over the showdown. Moscow occupies 20% of Georgian territory, and officials in Moscow have threatened war if Georgia continues on its professed path to NATO and membership. GD, the Western-facing opposition says, is at best sympathetic to the Kremlin -- and at worst in thrall to it.

Mamuka Khazaradze -- the leader of the Strong Georgia coalition -- told ABC News on Tuesday that his compatriots will not stand for the electoral "irregularities orchestrated through a Russian special operation and a clear pattern of systemic fraud."

"Over the past twelve years, the government of the Georgian Dream has operated in service of Russian interests, resembling a Russian-style clan syndicate, and has established a system of manipulation and influence that undermines the integrity of our elections," Khazaradze said.

"Georgia is not a nation that will tolerate such actions," he added.

The official results published by the Central Election Commission said GD secured almost 54% of the vote, with the combined share of the four opposition parties just under 38%.

The CEC said GD will therefore take 89 seats in the 150-seat parliament -- one less than it secured in the last election in 2020. The four pro-Western opposition parties combined will take 61 seats. The CEC said Khazaradze's Strong Georgia coalition won 8.8% of the vote and 14 seats.

International election observers reported "frequent compromises in vote secrecy and several procedural inconsistencies, as well as reports of intimidation and pressure on voters that negatively impacted public trust in the process."

Leaders in Hungary, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Venezuela and China were quick to acknowledge the official results and congratulate GD. But the U.S., European Union and several individual Western states raised concerns about suspected electoral violations.

President Joe Biden said the contest was "marred by numerous recorded misuses of administrative resources as well as voter intimidation and coercion," and called for a full and transparent investigation.

Bidzina Ivanishvili is GD's billionaire founder, former prime minister and purported decision-maker behind the party. Ivanishvili is Georgia's wealthiest person and made his fortune in post-Soviet Russia through an empire of metals plants, banks and real estate.

Ivanishvili and GD leaders like Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze framed the election as a choice between renewed war with Russia or peaceful co-existence. They repeatedly pointed to Ukraine as a cautionary tale for Georgians voting for pro-Western parties.

Opposition leaders see Moscow's hand behind GD's legislative agenda, particularly its 2023 and 2024 efforts to introduce legislation to curb foreign funding of media and civil society groups. Opponents dubbed it the "Russian law" given its similarities to a similar measure passed by Moscow in 2012.

"Ivanishvili and his government are governing this country in accordance with Russian directives; this assertion no longer requires extensive evidence -- merely the existence of the Russian law suffices," said Khazaradze, who also transitioned into politics after a successful business career.

Asked if there was concrete proof of Russian meddling, Khazaradze said "rigorous and qualified research" will be needed. "The substantial support of our international partners will be essential, as Russia is adept at obscuring its actions," he added.

Khazaradze alleged that Russian influence operations have been ongoing in Georgia since long before Saturday's vote.

"Over the past year, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service has been actively disseminating narratives that align with the primary messages of the Georgian Dream's campaign regarding the war," he said.

"They have employed the most disreputable Russian tactics, with campaign materials closely mirroring" the rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Khazaradze said.

Moscow has denied any involvement in the recent election. "This has become standard for many countries, and, at the slightest thing, they immediately accuse Russia of interference," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said this week.

"There was no interference and the accusations are absolutely unfounded," he added.

The opposition is now hoping to stoke major protests while gathering evidence of electoral fraud and appealing to Western partners for their backing.

"We have a strategy in place, and we do not intend to disclose this plan in advance to the oligarchs who have usurped power," Khazaradze said of the opposition's next steps.

Khazaradze said he was "confident" that foreign nations "will play a pivotal role."

"We are engaged in intensive communication with the diplomatic corps and are collaborating with international organizations to investigate reported violations," he added.

"The West must implement effective mechanisms to curtail Russian influence in Georgia, which may include sanctions against those responsible for undermining the electoral process," Khazaradze said.

He added, "Ultimately, the West remains our reliable and trustworthy partner, and the Georgian people have the full support of both European and American allies."

The protests against the foreign agent bill in 2023 and 2024 saw violent scenes in the streets surrounding the parliament building in central Tbilisi. On Monday, large numbers of riot police descended on the area.

Khazaradze said the opposition would not be silenced.

"While resistance is anticipated, I firmly believe that no amount of water cannons or rubber bullets can deter the will of the Georgian people," he said. "It is in Ivanishvili's best interest to acknowledge the reality that his time in Georgia has come to an end."

"I remain hopeful in the resilience of the Georgian people and the hundreds of thousands of voters who stand with us," he said. "I assure you that the world will bear witness to our determination."

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Police take down crime group accused of making illegal cannabis edibles packaged like name-brand candy

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

(VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA) -- Police in Canada said they have arrested six people and taken down an organized crime group believed to have produced tens of thousands of counterfeit cannabis-laced candy bars and edibles resembling popular name-brand products.

The takedown began early this month when the Pacific Region Royal Canadian Mounted Police federal policing investigators executed search warrants at two dispensaries and five separate residences on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, on Oct. 3, according to a statement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Tuesday.

“These warrants were associated to an organized crime group allegedly involved in the production and distribution of illicit drugs, and contraband tobacco in Port Alberni and Nanaimo,” authorities said. “The dispensaries in question were Green Coast Dispensary in Port Alberni and Coastal Storm Dispensary located in Lantzville.”

Search warrants were also executed at a suspected stash site in Port Alberni, as well as a storage and production facility adjacent to Coastal Storm Dispensary, including two modular trailers where cannabis edibles were being produced, stored, and distributed, authorities said.

The list of items seized includes over 120,000 cannabis edibles with packaging resembling popular name-brand chocolate bars, potato chips, nacho chips, honey and other candies, including over 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of psilocybin mushrooms, 1,740 psilocybin capsules, over 400 psilocybin chocolate, candies and a multitude of other psilocybin products, 2.2 pounds of pressed cannabis resin, over 500 pounds of cannabis bud, more than 19 pounds of shatter, over 5000 cannabis vape cartridges, counterfeit cannabis-laced honey, five vehicles, two ATM machines containing cash, an estimated 164 master cases of contraband tobacco equating to 82,000 packs of cigarettes, over $400,000 in cash and a shotgun, police said.

“Although the contraband cannabis-laced candy bars and chips resembled professionally manufactured, packaged, and quality-controlled products, they were discovered to have been produced in the highly unsanitary, and heavily contaminated modular trailers,” authorities from RCMP said. “A preliminary assessment of the edibles also indicates that they had been treated with unknown amounts of THC, and likely cross-contaminated with other drugs and substances present in the trailers where they were being produced and packaged.”

Of equal concern, according to police, was the fact that the counterfeit snacks had packaging claims of possessing medicinal properties and dangerously high drug potency values, with many of the candy wrap labels claiming to be “100 times more potent than regulated cannabis products.”

“Given the highly contaminated and unsanitary conditions of the illicit drug production facility where these cannabis edibles were being produced, it is possible that the consumption of these products can lead to serious health risks,” RCMP said. “We urge members of the public to practice extreme caution if they already possess, or come across such products in the future, especially with Halloween being just around the corner.”

This investigation is ongoing and numerous drug-offence-related charges are being pursued.

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Texas is slashing millions in Medicaid funding for students with disabilities

AUSTIN (AP) – Texas is clawing back more than $607 million per year in federal funding for special education services, a move local school district officials say will likely worsen already strained budgets for students with disabilities.

The School Health and Related Services (SHARS) program provides hundreds of school districts critical funding for special education services, reimbursing them for counseling, nursing, therapy and transportation services provided to Medicaid-eligible children.

More than 775,000 students receive special education services in Texas, according to the Texas Education Agency. It is not as clear how many of them are eligible for Medicaid, though school district officials say many of the kids who directly benefit from SHARS come from low-income families.

But in the last year, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which manages the program at the state level, began imposing strict limitations on the types of services for which school districts are able to request federal reimbursement. The changes have accumulated into a $607 million slashing to the money school districts typically expect to receive under SHARS per year, according to health agency estimates.

Bewildered by the sudden changes, school district officials and special education advocates say little has been communicated about why these drastic changes are happening.

“We’re seeing an increased number of students that need more and more individualized care,” said Katie Abbott, special education director for a coalition of six East Texas school districts. “And yet, what are we doing?”

In response to their concerns, Texas has blamed the feds.

A 2017 federal audit report found that Texas was improperly billing for services not allowable under the SHARS program. The report concluded the state would need to return almost $19 million, a fraction of the $607 million currently being left behind. It also required that the Texas health commission work to ensure it was complying with federal guidelines.

Afterwards, the commission submitted “every possible denial and request for the opinion to be overturned” but was unsuccessful, the agency told The Texas Tribune. The recent changes reflected an attempt to bring the state back into compliance, according to the commission.

But federal appeals officers, in a ruling last year, said Texas produced “nothing at all” to dispute investigators’ findings that the state billed for unallowable services. The ruling also condemns the state for attempting to submit evidence after the deadline to do so had already passed.

Further, federal officials dispute the notion that Texas is being required to make certain changes to the SHARS program. In a statement to the Tribune, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services made clear that as long as states work within “broad federal parameters,” they have autonomy to make decisions about their programs.

School district officials say Texas has resorted to overcorrecting problems identified by the audit, flouting expectations from the federal government that the state administers the program using the least restrictive means possible.

Many school districts are formally appealing the funding cuts with the state, while other rural districts have decided to exit the SHARS program altogether because of the administrative burden recent changes have created. Those that remain are holding out hope that lawmakers will decide in next year’s legislative session to help fill the financial gaps left in special education services — a lofty expectation for a state with a poor track record in both administering Medicaid and serving students with disabilities.

“We’re talking about our most vulnerable kids,” said Karlyn Keller, division director of Student Solutions and School Medicaid Services for the Texas Association of School Boards. “We can’t afford to continue to make these huge clawbacks in funding when we’ve got kids that need the service.”

2024 Lone Star Prosecutors of the Year named

2024 Lone Star Prosecutors of the Year namedAUSTIN – The Texas District and County Attorney Association recently named Smith County Assistant District Attorneys Chris Gatewood and Richard Vance as the Lone Star Prosecutor Of The Year. According to a release from the Smith County District Attorney’s Office, Gatewood and Vance, successfully prosecuted an intoxicated defendant who struck and killed Smith County Sheriff’s Deputy Lorenzo Bustos while he was conducting a traffic stop.

The TDCAA is the statewide organization that provides training, collaboration, and support to all of the County and District Attorney offices across the state. The Lone Star Prosecutor of the Year award is given by the TDCAA annually to a prosecutor or prosecutors who have demonstrated outstanding legal knowledge, dedication to justice, and a profound impact on their community.
Continue reading 2024 Lone Star Prosecutors of the Year named

RRC’s Digitally Imaged Oil and Gas Records Top 83 million

AUSTIN – With more than 15 million records digitized in the past year, the Railroad Commission of Texas now has 83.4 million oil and gas records that can be searched and viewed online from anywhere in the world. In a release from the RRC, the enormous amount of work is part of the RRC’s ongoing success increasing transparency and making the vast trove of information held at the agency easily available to the public. 

As the oldest regulatory agency in Texas, the RRC has oil and gas records dating back to the 1930’s on paper in district offices and on microfilm. The agency has been digitizing those records and placing the images online for several years, allowing anyone with internet access to view them.

Documents that have been digitized include oil and gas production records and well completion records that contain information such as well depths and producing fields of a well. These records are used often by researchers, landowners, royalty owners, energy companies and public information requesters.

District office paper records and microfilm records that have been digitized can be found on this RRC webpage.

One dead, others hospitalized following Chandler crash

CHANDLER – One dead, others hospitalized following Chandler crashOur news partners at KETK report that authorities said one person was pronounced dead at the scene of a two-vehicle crash Monday night on State Highway 31 in Chandler. According to the Chandler Volunteer Fire Department, first responders were dispatched to a major crash where one person was trapped on SH 31 shortly after 8 p.m. Firefighters immediately began trying to extricate the person trapped once they arrived to the scene, the fire department said. However, due to the extent of the patients injuries, Chandler VFD said the person did not survive and was pronounced dead at the scene by a Justice of the Peace. The occupants of the other vehicle involved were hospitalized and the fire department said their conditions are unknown.

Harris supporters receive threatening notes in Texas

FORT WORTH – The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that just over a week before Election Day, some Texas residents showing support for Vice President Kamala Harris are receiving threatening notes, authorities say. The San Marcos Police Department said Oct. 26 it received two reports of threatening flyers left on political signs. The next day, officers said they recovered more notes that threaten supporters of the Democratic presidential candidate. “YOU have been identified and are now in our National Database of miscreant Harris supporters, either by social interactions with your neighbors who are on our investigations team, or by yard signs, or vehicle bumper stickers,” the typed note read.

“Rather than the hangman’s nooses of the old days, you are now guaranteed that once the magnificent Donald Trump assumes the Presidency again YOU will be IRS tax audited going all the way back to your very first tax return – and at a minimum – 4 years of painful misery and attorney’s fees.” The flyers were signed by The Grand Dragon of Trump Klan #124 in San Marcos. The Grand Dragon, according to the Bullock Museum, is the highest-ranking Ku Klux Klan official in Texas. Police have not confirmed if the flyers are connected to the KKK. Officers said they are investigating who is responsible for leaving the notes. Officers said anyone who receives one of these flyers should call the department’s non-emergency number at 512-753-2108. “It’s a crime in the state of Texas to try to influence or coerce or even prevent a voter from voting,” San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge said. “When we identify the suspect or suspects, then we will present that to the district attorney’s office for consideration of applicable charges.”

Burn Ban update

SMITH COUNTY – Burn Ban updateSmith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue gave an update about the burn ban and current fire conditions during Commissioners Court on Tuesday, October 29. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) for Smith County is at an average of 747. The KBDI ranges from 0 to 800, and is used to determine forest fire potential. Although rain is forecast this week, Hogue said “we need a significant amount of rain to make a difference.” Fire danger is especially high today because of high winds. Continue reading Burn Ban update

Ken Paxton accuses House Republican of unethical advocacy

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports that Attorney General Ken Paxton accused Republican Rep. Jeff Leach on Monday of making unethical contact with a Court of Criminal Appeals judge in the Robert Roberson case. In a filing Monday, Deputy Solicitor General William Cole reported the correspondence to the Texas Supreme Court, which blocked Roberson’s Oct. 17 execution after the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee issued a subpoena compelling the death row inmate to testify at a Capitol hearing four days after his scheduled lethal injection. In a notice sent to lawyers in Roberson’s case, the appeals court said Leach had contacted an unnamed judge by text message to urge reconsideration of Roberson’s case. The state’s highest criminal court has rejected several requests for a new trial for Roberson, who argues his conviction was improperly based on a now-discredited theory of shaken baby syndrome. The notice from Sian Schilhab, the Court of Criminal Appeals general counsel, said the judge promptly reported the contact.

The court, Schilhab added, viewed Leach’s contact as a “clear violation” of professional conduct rules for lawyers. The Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit lawyers from any communication outside official channels that seek to influence a judge on a pending matter. Leach has been a licensed lawyer in Texas since 2009, according to the State Bar of Texas. In text messages detailed in Schilhab’s notice, Leach told the judge he struggled with whether and how to “send you this message legally and ethically.” But he felt compelled to do so, he said, noting he has spoken publicly about the case and is neither a party to any active litigation before the court nor representing any party as an attorney. “One Judge,” Leach wrote. “That’s all that is needed to simply say … there are too many questions and too many holes and too much uncertainty … and Robert Roberson deserves a new trial.” Leach called it “my hope and prayer” that the judge would voluntarily speak out to get Roberson a new trial. “Only sending this message to you,” Leach added. “And you alone.” “As my friend and as a wonderful Judge who I have so much faith in,” Leach continued, “I hope you’ll consider doing so.” The judge replied: “I cannot consider your message nor may I discuss any pending matters with you. Thank you in advance for your understanding.” Leach responded that he wasn’t aware of any pending matters before the court but acknowledged his “error.” Leach publicly owned his error as well.