Footage of motorcade racing JFK to the hospital after he was shot sells for $137,500 at auction

DALLAS (AP) — Newly emerged film footage of President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade speeding down a Dallas freeway toward a hospital after he was fatally wounded sold at auction Saturday for $137,500.

The 8 mm color home film was offered up by RR Auction in Boston. The auction house said the buyer wishes to remain anonymous.

The film has been with the family of the man who took it, Dale Carpenter Sr., since he recorded it on Nov. 22, 1963. It begins as Carpenter just misses the limousine carrying the president and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy but capturing other vehicles in the motorcade as it traveled down Lemmon Avenue toward downtown. The film then picks up after Kennedy has been shot, with Carpenter rolling as the motorcade roars down Interstate 35.

The shots had fired as the motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in front of the Texas School Book Depository, where it was later found that assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had positioned himself from a sniper’s perch on the sixth floor. The assassination itself was famously captured on film by Abraham Zapruder.

Carpenter’s footage from I-35, which lasts about 10 seconds, shows Secret Service Agent Clint Hill — who famously jumped onto the back of the limousine as the shots rang out — hovering in a standing position over the president and Jacqueline Kennedy, whose pink suit can be seen. The president was pronounced dead after arriving at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Bobby Livingston, executive vice president of the auction house, said in a news release that the film “provides a gripping sense of urgency and heartbreak.”

Carpenter’s grandson, James Gates, said that while it was known in his family that his grandfather had film from that day, it wasn’t talked about often. So Gates said that when the film, stored along with other family films in a milk crate, was eventually passed on to him, he wasn’t sure exactly what his grandfather, who died in 1991 at age 77, had captured.

Projecting it onto his bedroom wall around 2010, gates was at first underwhelmed by the footage from Lemmon Avenue. But then, the footage from I-35 played out before his eyes. “That was shocking,” he said.

The auction house has released still photos from the portion of the film showing the race down I-35, but it is not publicly releasing video of that part.

Texas lawmakers meet with Palestine man on death row

Texas lawmakers meet with Palestine man on death rowLIVINGSTON – On Friday, Republicans and Democrats from the Texas House of Representatives met with death row inmate and Palestine native, Robert Roberson according to our news partner KETK. Roberson is scheduled to be put to death by the State of Texas on Oct. 17 amid questions about the science provided to secure that sentence and bipartisan calls for clemency.

Twenty-one years ago, Roberson was convicted of murdering his daughter Nikki, who doctors at the time of the trial said had suffered from a version of shaken baby syndrome, a diagnosis that has come under question by scientists. Gretchen Sween, an attorney for Roberson, said the case was a tragedy, not a crime.

“This isn’t just about Robert, this is about other people like Robert in similar situations and maybe not just on death row,” said Republican State Rep. Lacey Hull of Houston. “His case is not unique, his case and his hope and all of our hope, is to shine a light on this and to make the necessary reforms to where we are not executing or imprisoning innocent people.” Continue reading Texas lawmakers meet with Palestine man on death row

CEO of hospital operator facing Senate scrutiny will step down following contempt resolution

BOSTON (AP) — The CEO of a hospital operator that filed for bankruptcy protection in May will step down after failing to testify before a U.S. Senate panel.

Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre has overseen a network of some 30 hospitals around the country. The Texas-based company’s troubled recent history has drawn scrutiny from elected officials in New England, where some of its hospitals are located.

A spokesperson for de la Torre said Saturday that he “has amicably separated from Steward on mutually agreeable terms” and “will continue to be a tireless advocate for the improvement of reimbursement rates for the underprivileged patient population.”

Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said earlier this month that Congress “will hold Dr. de la Torre accountable for his greed and for the damage he has caused to hospitals and patients throughout America.”

De la Torre’s resignation is effective Oct. 1. The Senate approved a resolution on Wednesday that was intended to hold him in criminal contempt for failing to testify before a committee.

The Senate panel has been looking into Steward’s bankruptcy. De la Torre did not appear before it despite being issued a subpoena. The resolution refers the matter to a federal prosecutor.

A federal judge in Texas will hear arguments over Boeing’s plea deal in a 737 Max case

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered a hearing next month over Boeing’s agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy in connection with the 737 Max jetliner, two of which crashed, killing 346 people.

Families of some of the passengers killed in the crashes object to the agreement. They want to put Boeing on trial, where it could face tougher punishment.

U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor set a hearing for Oct. 11 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Boeing is accused of misleading regulators who approved minimal, computer-based training for Boeing 737 pilots before they could fly the Max. Boeing wanted to prevent regulators from requiring training in flight simulators, which would have raised the cost for airlines to operate the plane.

The Justice Department argued in court filings that conspiracy to defraud the government is the most serious charge it can prove. Prosecutors said they lack evidence to show that Boeing’s actions caused the crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia.

Relatives of victims and their lawyers have called the settlement a sweetheart deal that fails to consider the loss of so many lives. Some of the lawyers have argued that the Justice Department treated Boeing gently because the company is a big government contractor.

The agreement calls for Boeing to pay a fine of at least $243.6 million, invest $455 million in compliance and safety programs, and be placed on probation for three years.

Texarkana parents arrested for death of 5-year-old

Texarkana parents arrested for death of 5-year-oldTEXARKANA, Texas (KETK) – The Texarkana Police Department arrested two parents on Saturday after their 5-year-old son died on Friday. According to our news partner KETK, the department reportedly got a report of a child not breathing in the 3300 block of Nichols Drive at around 2 p.m. on Friday. When officers responded to the scene they found a 5-year-old boy unresponsive and started CPR. The boy died at the hospital not long after they arrived. On Saturday, Texarkana PD announced that the boy’s parents had been arrested.

Terry Robinson, 35 of Texarkana, was arrested for capital murder of a person under 10-years-old. His bond was set at $5,000,000. Destiny Culvahouse, 24 of Texarkana, was arrested for injury to a child with serious bodily injury or death. Her bond was set at $1,000,000. Robinson and Culvahouse are both being held in the Bi-State Justice Center.

Man arrested for assaulting woman in Palestine church parking lot

Man arrested for assaulting woman in Palestine church parking lotPALESTINE – The Palestine Police Department said they arrested a man for an assault that happened in the parking lot of Southside Baptist Church on Friday. According to our news partner KETK, officers were dispatched to the scene at Inwood Drive and Crockett Road at around 10:57 a.m. on Friday. A caller had reported seeing the driver of a white Ford Explorer pull into the parking lot, get into the back of the car and start “beating” the woman in the back seat. The Ford then reportedly left on Inwood Drive heading east and was located by police at the Kim’s on Loop 256.

Those in the Ford were identified by police as James Wriley Marks, 23 of Montalba, a 22-year-old woman and their two children. Palestine PD then told Marks they were arresting him because they determined he had committed a family violence assault.

Marks reportedly resisted arrest but was taken into custody after being put on the ground. Marks is being held in the Anderson County Jail on charges of assault causing bodily injury family violence and resisting arrest search or transport. No bond has been set, according to jail records.

The State Fair of Texas opens with a new gun ban after courts reject challenge

DALLAS (AP) — The State Fair of Texas opened Friday under a new firearms ban, having withstood weeks of pressure from Republicans who had charged into a public rift with one of the state’s most beloved institutions and have spent years championing looser gun laws.

Organizers put the ban in place following a shooting last year that injured three people and sent some fairgoers running and climbing over barriers to flee. By the time thousands of visitors began streaming through the gates in Dallas on Friday — greeted by a roughly five-story tall cowboy statue known as “Big Tex” — the state’s highest court had rejected a last-minute appeal from the the state’s GOP attorney general, who argued the ban violated Texas’ permissive gun rights.

Corey McCarrell, whose family was among the first inside the sprawling fairgrounds Friday, expressed disappointment that he couldn’t bring his gun to make sure his wife and two children were protected.

“It was a little upsetting,” said McCarrell, who has a license to carry in Texas. “But it didn’t prevent us from coming.”

Millions of visitors each year attend the Texas fair, which is one of the largest in the U.S. and runs through October. When the fair announced the gun ban last month, it drew swift backlash from dozens of Republican legislators and a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit.

Paxton said Friday that he wasn’t giving up, even after the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion Thursday that criticized the state’s argument as lacking.

“I will continue to fight this on the merits to uphold Texans’ ability to defend themselves, which is protected by State law,” he said in a statement.

Tensions over gun laws are recurring in Texas, where a commanding GOP majority in the state Capitol has succeeded in loosening restrictions over the last decade.

Texas allows people to carry a handgun without a license, background check or training. Concealed handguns are also permitted in college classrooms and dorms.

Not long after the fair opened Friday, Janie Rojas and her best friend quickly snatched up one of the fair’s famous corn dogs. She said she had been coming to the fair longer than she can remember and was glad to see the ban in place.

“I’d rather nobody carry on the premises with all the kids and everybody here,” she said.

The fair previously allowed attendees with valid handgun licenses to carry their weapon as long as it was concealed, fair officials said. After announcing the ban, the fair noted over 200 uniformed and armed police officers still patrol the fairgrounds each day. Retired law enforcement officers also can still carry firearms.

The State Fair of Texas, a private nonprofit, leases the 277-acre (112-hectare) fairgrounds near downtown Dallas from the city each year for the event. Paxton has argued the fair could not ban firearms because it was acting under the authority of the city. The law, Paxton said, prohibits governmental agencies from banning firearms. But city and fair officials say the fair is not controlled by the city.

In August, a group of Republican lawmakers urged fair organizers to reverse course in a letter that argued the ban made fairgoers less safe. The letter said that while the fair calls itself “a celebration of all things Texas,” the policy change was anything but.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has not spoken publicly about the ban and a spokeswoman did not return a message seeking comment. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a Republican, said this week that he trusts the fair to make sure visitors are safe.

Rhonda Hines came to the fair Friday with a group of friends wearing T-shirts with “Sister Circle” on the front, made for the occasion. She said she’s licensed to carry a gun and believes people should be able to carry at the fair. Still, she wasn’t bothered by the ban. “I’m OK either way,” she said.

By midday Friday, Daisi Diaz and her family had already had corn dogs and were starting to work on some fries. Both she and her husband are licensed gun owners, but she said they don’t usually carry firearms. She supported the ban at the fair, where last year’s attendance put the number of visitors at more than 2 million.

“I was surprised that they didn’t do anything like that before,” Diaz said. “I mean, it’s a crowded area.”

A federal judge in Texas will hear arguments over Boeing’s plea deal in a 737 Max case

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered a hearing next month over Boeing’s agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy in connection with the 737 Max jetliner, two of which crashed, killing 346 people.

Families of some of the passengers killed in the crashes object to the agreement. They want to put Boeing on trial, where it could face tougher punishment.

U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor set a hearing for Oct. 11 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Boeing is accused of misleading regulators who approved minimal, computer-based training for Boeing 737 pilots before they could fly the Max. Boeing wanted to prevent regulators from requiring training in flight simulators, which would have raised the cost for airlines to operate the plane.

The Justice Department argued in court filings that conspiracy to defraud the government is the most serious charge it can prove. Prosecutors said they lack evidence to show that Boeing’s actions caused the crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia.

Relatives of victims and their lawyers have called the settlement a sweetheart deal that fails to consider the loss of so many lives. Some of the lawyers have argued that the Justice Department treated Boeing gently because the company is a big government contractor.

The agreement calls for Boeing to pay a fine of at least $243.6 million, invest $455 million in compliance and safety programs, and be placed on probation for three years.

Five arrested for online solicitation of a minor

Five arrested for online solicitation of a minorMOUNT VERNON – The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said that five men have been arrested for online solicitation of a minor for sexual conduct following a multi-agency operation. The operation was a multi-agency effort to capture suspects who were using social media to try and solicit sexual conduct from minors.

Over two days this week, the following men were arrested on charges of online solicitation of a minor for sexual conduct: Vynay Chumm, 39 of Paris, Coyt Eugene Cameron, 29 of Omaha, Collin Bryce Cassels, 32 of Dallas, Jesus Moises Gonalez, 42 of Ft. Worth, David Scott Oguin, 55 of Trinidad, Texas, was arrested by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office after he allegedly communicated with an undercover online persona which was part of the operation.

Franklin County Sheriff Ricky Jones thanked the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Rains County Sheriff’s Office, the Mount Vernon Police Department and the Mount Pleasant Police Department for their help in this operation.

Democrats take aim at Texas Supreme Court races

AUSTIN – The Big Bend Sentinel reports that Republicans have a firm grip on the highest civil court in the state — the Texas Supreme Court — with the party controlling all nine seats since 1998 and winning all three of the 2022 court races by at least 13 points. But a recent ruling by the court on reproductive rights and abortion has spurred Democrats to try and change that dynamic with the founding of a new political action committee and online campaigns meant to convince Texans that their highest court is endangering Texas women. For the November election, six states are holding citizen-initiated ballot measures to protect abortion rights, with six states already protecting abortion rights with ballot measures in past elections. For Democrats, the ballot box is the only way to fight back on Texas’ abortion ban enacted by the Texas Legislature after the U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade. Susan Hayes, an attorney and longtime activist on abortion rights, said that unlike many other states, Texas does not have ballot initiatives or referendums that allow for residents to gather petitions to put a new law or state constitutional amendment on a ballot or repeal an existing law.

Hayes said Texas Democrats need to push more on the abortion rights issue with the state ballot options, so a PAC is a step in the right direction. “It has astounded me that the state party and big pocket donors aren’t glomming on to this strategy because it’s a way to put abortion on the ballot in Texas,” she said. Hayes, a former clerk for the Texas Supreme Court who has a residence in Alpine, said educating voters on these races can benefit the Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. “It’s a great strategy, and it could be something that not only helps win those seats but helps [Democratic U.S. Senate candidate] Colin Allred because it drives out votes if the message gets down to the people who matter the most,” she said. Gina Ortiz Jones, a former contender for U.S. House District 23 that covers the tri-county area, said the recognition of the issue as crucial was obvious to Democrats. “We looked around and made some calls and said, ‘Hey, what are we doing about this?” Jones ended up co-founding a political action committee, Find Out PAC, that intends to address what many see as a lack of interest in the top judicial races, particularly since Texas is seen as a model in how to outlaw abortion. “We’re the epicenter for the number one issue in the country,” she said.

Former Upshur County district clerk arrested for record tampering

Former Upshur County district clerk arrested for record tamperingGILMER – Nicole Hernandez, a former district clerk for Upshur County was arrested for tampering with government records on Friday. According to our news partner KETK, an investigation into Hernandez’s conduct as district clerk was first opened on Aug. 29. at the request of the Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd. She resigned her post with the county on the same day. According to The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Hernandez was arraigned and later released from the county jail on a $3,500 bond.

New reports touts SFA as a top public school

New reports touts SFA as a top public schoolNACOGDOCHES – Stephen F. Austin State University was tied as the highest ranked regional public school in Texas by the U.S. News and World Report. Our news partners at KETK report that SFA and University of Northern Texas (UNT) are the highest rated Texas schools in the public universities of the western region category, tied at rank 18. SFA is also ranked number 35 among all universities in the western region. SFA announced in September of 2023 that they would be joining the University of Texas system.

Houston attorney represents Diddy victims

HOUSTON – KHOU TV reports that Well-known Houston attorney Tony Buzbee said he will be representing more than 50 people who have filed lawsuits against Sean “Diddy” Combs, according to a post on social media. According to Buzbee’s post, his law firm will act as the lead counsel for the “more than 50 individuals who suffered sexual assault and abuse at the hands of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and his cohorts.” Buzbee said he thinks more people will be added to the lawsuit as the case progresses and he also thinks more people will be implicated. He said they will hold a news conference next week.

“The Buzbee Law Firm has been associated by the Ava Law Group to act as Lead Counsel to pursue claims on behalf of more than fifty individuals who suffered sexual assault and abuse at the hands of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and his cohorts. This group of brave individuals include both men and women; many were minors when the abuse occurred. Some of these brave individuals reported the incidents to the police, others did not. Each individual story is gut wrenching and heartbreaking. The acts complained of occurred at hotels, private homes, and also at the infamous PDiddy ‘Freak Off’ parties. The violations against this group of individuals are mindboggling and can only be described as debauchery and depravity, exacted by powerful people against minors and the weak. I expect the group seeking redress will grow as this case progresses. I expect many other individuals will be implicated. We expect to have a press conference early next week where some of these stories can be told as the nation learns more and grapples with the potential scope of this scandal. Our firm has always been at the forefront of the most important cases in the United States. We are proud to represent this group of brave souls and pray for justice on their behalf.