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Giuliani turns over Mercedes, watches to Georgia poll workers he defamed

(NEW YORK) -- After months of legal wrangling, Rudy Giuliani on Friday turned over his luxury sports car, several watches, a ring and financial assets to two Georgia election workers he defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, his lawyer wrote Friday.

A federal jury ordered Giuliani last year to pay Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss nearly $150 million for defaming them with false accusations that the mother and daughter committed election fraud while the two were counting ballots in Georgia's Fulton County on Election Day in 2020.

The attorneys for both sides waged a back in forth in court for months over the delivery of those assets and, last week, attorneys representing Freeman and Moss said Giuliani's apartment was virtually empty when their receivership entered the property.

The poll workers' representatives accused Giuliani of "secreting away" his property.

The former New York City mayor was given a Nov. 14 deadline to turn over the shares in his Upper East Side co-op apartment, valuable sports memorabilia, a blue Mercedes-Benz convertible that once belonged to Lauren Bacall, and luxury watches -- including one that belonged to Giuliani's grandfather.

Joseph Cammarata, Giuliani's attorney, said in a four-page letter to U.S. Judge Lewis Liman, that "watches and a ring were delivered via FedEx" to an address in Atlanta on Friday morning, and that "the Mercedes Benz automobile was delivered as requested" to an address in Florida.

Giuliani's bank was "advised to turn over all non-exempt funds" to the plaintiffs, as well, according to the filing.

Liman issued a warning that he would file a motion of contempt if Giuliani didn't comply with the order to transfer the assets to Freeman and Moss.

Earlier on Friday, Ted Goodman, a spokesman for Giuliani, posted a video on X with several watches arrayed on a table.

"This right here, folks, this is the accumulation of 60 years of hard work," Goodman said.

Despite giving up those assets, Cammarata argued that his client should not give up other assets.

He wrote a lengthy list of items they deemed "exempt," including some jewelry of lower value, a refrigerator, a radio receiver and other household furniture. He also said a Joe DiMaggio jersey was part of the "overbroad" turnover list and will fight to keep it.

The attorney argued that the court "should never have allowed the turnover" of the Mercedes Benz, arguing that the car should be appraised and returned to Giuliani if the value does not exceed $5,500.

Cammarata also requested that the court reschedule a trial in this matter currently scheduled for Jan. 16, 2025, until after the inauguration, as Giuliani "plans to be present" at events in Washington that week.

Representatives for Freeman and Moss didn't immediately comment on the delivery of the assets.

Hispanic, LGBTQ communities receive hateful emails after racist text surge

(NEW YORK) -- A week after cellphone users across the U.S. reported a flurry of racist text messages, members of the Hispanic and LGBTQ communities are now receiving text messages saying they have been selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp, according to a new statement from the FBI.

The messages follow reports of African American and Black residents receiving racist texts in the days after the 2024 election that they were selected to "pick cotton on a plantation," according to the FBI. Cellphone users in at least nine cities -- New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Houston, Huntsville, Texas, Los Angeles, Norfolk, Virginia, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama -- reported receiving the messages.

The new message also include some emails, the FBI said in its statement.

TextNow, a mobile provider that allows people to create phone numbers for free, said last week it discovered "one or more" of its users allegedly sending out racist text messages to phone numbers across the country and that the service quickly shut down the accounts.

The FBI has said it is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.

Recipients of these messages include high school and college students.

"Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division," the FBI said in its Friday statement. "We are also sharing information with our law enforcement partners, and community, academia, and faith leaders."

Anyone who receives these messages -- or any threats of violence -- is encouraged to report them to the FBI.

Exclusive: Woman told House Ethics panel she witnessed Gaetz having sex with minor, lawyer says

(WASHINGTON) -- An attorney representing two women who were witnesses in the House Ethics Committee's investigation into now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz is calling for the release of the committee's report, telling ABC News that one of his clients testified that she witnessed the Florida congressman having sex with a minor.

"My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor," Florida attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News.

"As the Senate considers former Rep. Gaetz's nomination for attorney general, several questions demand answers," Leppard said. "What if multiple credible witnesses provided evidence of behavior that would constitute serious criminal violations?"

"Democracy demands transparency. Release the Gaetz Ethics report," said Leppard, who represents two women who sat for closed-door testimony with the committee over the summer.

Gaetz, who President-elect Donald Trump selected this week to serve as his attorney general, has long denied any wrongdoing, including have an inappropriate relationship with a minor. The Justice department declined to charge Gaetz last year after a yearslong investigation into the allegations.

Gaetz did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News regarding Leppard's claims.

The two witnesses, who ABC News is not naming, both allegedly attended parties with the congressman. Gaetz's one-time friend Joel Greenberg is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence after reaching a deal with prosecutors in May 2021 in which he pleaded guilty to multiple federal crimes including sex trafficking of the woman when she was a minor and introducing her to other "adult men" who also had sex with her when she was underage.

According to Greenberg's plea deal, the woman, who ABC News is not identifying, met Greenberg online in 2017 and began meeting him in hotels and houses in the Middle District of Florida, where he "introduced the Minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts with the Minor in the Middle District of Florida," court documents said.

At the time, the minor "represented that she was an adult" on the website where she met Greenberg -- and according to his plea agreement, he acknowledges that he "acted in reckless disregard of the fact that the Minor was less than 18 years old when he engaged in commercial sex acts" and had a "reasonable opportunity to observe" that she was underage.

Leppard's statement comes after attorney John Clune, who represents the former minor at the center of the probe, called for the release of the Ethics Committee's report on Thursday.

"Mr. Gaetz's likely nomination as Attorney General is a perverse development in a truly dark series of events. We would support the House Ethics Committee immediately releasing their report. She was a high school student and there were witnesses," Clune said in a statement.

The woman, who is now in her 20s, testified to the House Ethics Committee that the now-former Florida congressman had sex with her when she was 17 years old and he was in Congress, ABC News previously reported.

In a statement responding to that reporting, Gaetz said, "These allegations are invented and would constitute false testimony to Congress. This false smear following a three year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism."

The Justice Department spent years investigating the allegations against Gaetz, including allegations of obstruction of justice, before informing Gaetz last year that it would not bring charges.

Gaetz has long vehemently denied any wrongdoing related to the Justice Department probe. In September, he released a detailed response to questions sent to him by the House Ethics Committee, which was investigating allegations of alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

"Your correspondence of September 4 asks whether I have engaged in sexual activity with any individual under 18. The answer to this question is unequivocally NO. You can apply this response to every version of this question, in every forum," Gaetz said in a statement posted to his social media account.

Gaetz resigned from office this week after being selected to lead Trump's Justice Department, which ended the House Ethics Committee's probe that sources tell ABC News had been entering its final stages. Prior to Gaetz's resignation, the committee had planned to meet this week to discuss whether to release their report on the investigation -- leaving it unclear if the report will ever see the light of day.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that he does not think the House Ethics Committee should release the findings of its investigation into Gaetz, now that the Florida Republican is no longer a member of Congress.

"I believe it is very important to maintain the House's tradition of not issuing ethics reports on people who are no longer members of Congress. I think it would open a Pandora's box," he said.

Leppard told ABC News he supports the release of the report.

"What if sworn testimony detailed conduct that would disqualify anyone from serving as our nation's chief law enforcement officer?" the attorney said in his statement to ABC News.

Mom arrested after son was reported walking alone

Courtesy of Fannin County Sheriff's Office

(FANNIN COUNTY, Ga.) -- A mom in Georgia is speaking out about being arrested for reckless conduct after her then-10-year-old son was found walking alone.

Brittany Patterson, 41, was arrested by deputies on Oct. 30 after a witness reported "a juvenile in the roadway" who had gone into and left a nearby Dollar General store, according to a Fannin County Sheriff's Office report.

Patterson's son, Soren, now 11, was later found by deputies around one mile from the family's home. Patterson had left Soren to take another one of her children to a doctor's appointment and didn't report him missing, according to the report.

In the state, neglect by a parent can be defined as a "failure to provide a child with adequate supervision necessary for such child's well-being," according to a guideline.

Patterson told ABC News' Andrea Fujii in an interview Friday that she had been annoyed Soren didn't tell her where he was going, but didn't think he was in any danger.

"I wasn't panicking or concerned because it's just a short walk from our house. He knows how to get home," Patterson said.

In bodycam footage released by the sheriff's office, Patterson can be seen asking a deputy, "What am I under arrest for?"

"For reckless endangerment," the deputy replied.

"And how was I recklessly endangering my child?" Patterson asked, before another deputy responded, "We're not talking about it."

The deputies then handcuffed the mom.

During the arrest, Patterson also said to one of the deputies, "Last time I checked, it wasn't illegal for a kid to walk to the store."

But the deputy replied, "It is when they're 10 years old."

The arrest warrant claimed Patterson "willingly and knowingly did endanger the bodily safety of her juvenile son."

In an interview with ABC News, Patterson's lawyer David Delugas questioned the charge she is facing.

"Our criminal justice system is built on the fact that you did something or you were negligent. You did something criminally negligent. So what is it she did?" DeLugas said.

Authorities said they would drop the charge against Patterson if she signs a safety plan that involves the use of a GPS tracker on her son's phone but Patterson told ABC News she is refusing to sign it.

"I just felt like I couldn't sign that and that in doing so, would be agreeing that there was something unsafe about my home or something unsafe about my parental decisions and I just don't believe that," Patterson said.

Patterson, who is currently out on bail, faces up to 1 year in jail with the reckless conduct charge.

Mike Johnson says he doesn’t think House Ethics Committee should release Gaetz report

(WASHINGTON) -- House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that he does not think the House Ethics Committee should release the findings of its investigation into Matt Gaetz, now that the Florida Republican is no longer a member of Congress.

"I believe it is very important to maintain the House's tradition of not issuing ethics reports on people who are no longer members of Congress," Johnson said. "I think it would open a Pandora's box."

Johnson weighing into the issue is extremely rare as House speakers traditionally stay out of the committee's investigations and business.

Just two days ago, Johnson said the following about the report: "As far as the timing of the release of a report, or something, I don't know. The speaker of the House is not involved in that, can't be involved in that."

The House Ethics Committee was in the final stages of investigating Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, sources confirmed to ABC News, before his resignation.

It's unclear what the bipartisan panel will do now with its report. There are growing calls from senators on both sides of the aisle for the report to be released.

The House Ethics Committee, which sources said was preparing to meet this week to deliberate over whether to release a final report, was now not expected to meet on Friday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Gaetz stepped down from the House shortly after being tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be attorney general -- a choice that shocked some Republican lawmakers and many Justice Department officials. Gaetz will need to be confirmed by the Senate to serve in the role.

Asked on Friday if he spoke to Trump about the ethics investigation, Johnson sidestepped.

"I'm not talking to anybody about what I have said to Trump," he said.

Johnson also claimed he was responding to public reports about the panel's findings and had not been briefed on the investigation.

"The speaker has no involvement or understanding of what's going on with the Ethics Committee or what they're investigating or when," Johnson added.

"What I am saying is someone who is no longer a member of Congress. You're not in the business of investigating and publishing a report," he concluded. "I would encourage the House Ethics Committee to follow that tradition. I think it's important."

Texas inmate Melissa Lucio is ‘actually innocent’ of killing daughter, judge say

HOUSTON (AP) — Efforts to free Melissa Lucio, a Texas woman whose execution was delayed in 2022 amid growing doubts she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter, were significantly bolstered after a judge concluded that she is “actually innocent” of capital murder.

Senior State District Judge Arturo Nelson concluded that prosecutors presented false testimony, suppressed evidence and that new scientific evidence that was not available during Lucio’s 2008 trial undermines and contradicts evidence presented by the state. He recommended that Lucio’s conviction and death sentence be overturned.

“This Court finds (Lucio) has satisfied her burden and produced clear and convincing evidence that she is actually innocent of the offense of capital murder,” Nelson wrote in a 62-page ruling he signed in October but was not made public until Thursday.

Lucio has long maintained she is innocent and her daughter Mariah died of a head injury sustained in an accidental fall down a steep staircase two days before her death.

Nelson’s recommendation has been sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will make the final decision in Lucio’s case. There was no timetable for a ruling by the appeals court. Lucio’s case has garnered support from celebrities like Kim Kardashian and a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

“This is the best news we could get going into the holidays,” John and Michelle Lucio, Melissa Lucio’s son and daughter-in-law, said in a statement. “We pray our mother will be home soon.”

Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project and one of Lucio’s attorneys, said Lucio was “sent to death row for a crime that never happened.”

The Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Lucio, didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

Lucio, 56, had been set for lethal injection in April 2022 for the 2007 death of her daughter in Harlingen, a city of about 71,000 in Texas’ southern tip. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted her lethal injection two days before her execution so Lucio’s claims that new evidence would exonerate her could be reviewed.

The appeals court had asked the trial court to review four claims made by Lucio’s lawyers: prosecutors used false testimony; previously unavailable scientific evidence would preclude her conviction; Lucio is actually innocent; and prosecutors suppressed evidence favorable to her.

In April, Nelson had approved an agreement between prosecutors and Lucio’s attorneys that found Lucio’s conviction should be overturned amid findings that evidence in her murder trial was suppressed. Prosecutors had previously maintained Mariah was the victim of abuse and noted her body was covered in bruises.

The appeals court sent the case back to Nelson in June, asking he also make recommendations in the other three claims.

Nelson found in favor of Lucio in the other three claims as well, including faulting prosecutors for presenting medical expert testimony that claimed the girl’s injuries could only have been caused by abuse and presenting “scientifically wrong testimony” from a Texas Ranger who claimed he could tell Lucio was guilty based on her demeanor and body language when interrogated.

Mike Pence opposes RFK Jr. for HHS because of support for abortion access

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) -- Former Vice President Mike Pence, who did not endorse or support President-elect Donald Trump during the 2024 election cycle, said Friday that he opposes Trump's choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services because of Kennedy's support for abortion access.

Pence said in a statement that choosing Kennedy is a departure from what he framed as the Trump-Pence administration's general opposition to abortion access.

"I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades," Pence wrote.

Pence claimed that Kennedy, for most of his career, has supported positions such as "abortion on demand during all nine months of pregnancy" and restoring Roe v. Wade.

“The pro-life movement has always looked to the Republican party to stand for life, to affirm an unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed,” Pence wrote.

"On behalf of tens of millions of pro-life Americans, I respectfully urge Senate Republicans to reject this nomination and give the American people a leader who will respect the sanctity of life as secretary of Health and Human Services," he added.

During his 2024 run, Trump said laws surrounding abortion access should be left up to individual states to decide.

Kennedy’s own position on abortion had lacked some clarity throughout his independent presidential campaign, which he suspended in August as he endorsed Trump.

He said at one point that he opposed the Supreme Court's decision to overrule Roe v. Wade, and in one interview he argued that "we have to leave it to the women rather than the state."

In 2023, he told NBC News he would sign a federal ban on the procedure after three months, but his campaign later walked back the comments, saying he “misunderstood” the question. In May 2024, he said he advocates a woman’s right to choose an abortion at any point during her pregnancy.

He later wrote in a post on X, after some blowback, that he “would allow appropriate restrictions on abortion in the final months of pregnancy, just as Roe v. Wade did.” And in June, he wrote on social media, “Abortion has been a notoriously divisive issue in America, but actually I see an emerging consensus: that abortion should be legal up until a certain number of weeks, and restricted thereafter.”

Some groups that oppose abortion access have also criticized Trump’s decision to pick Kennedy.

In a statement to ABC News, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said her group has "concerns" about Kennedy leading HHS.

"There's no question that we need a pro-life HHS secretary, and of course, we have concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.," Dannenfelser wrote. "I believe that no matter who is HHS secretary, baseline policies set by President Trump during his first term will be re-established."

Groups that support abortion access have also criticized Trump's selection of Kennedy.

Mini Timmaraju, CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, wrote in a statement Thursday, “Trump ran on a promise not to ban abortion nationwide, but his cabinet nominees are Project 2025 come to life. RFK Jr. is an unfit, unqualified extremist who cannot be trusted to protect the health, safety, and reproductive freedom of American families.”

ABC News reached out to Kennedy for comment.

ABC News' Olivia Rubin, Ben Siegel, and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

Former NFL Player Randy Grimes speaks on addiction recovery in Tyler

TYLER – According to our news partner, KETK, Tyler native and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Randy Grimes was in his home town on Friday to speak about recovery from addiction.

“I just want to get the message out. There’s so much stigma involved with addiction, it’s such an ugly word. Nobody wants to admit it but this happens to good people,” said Grimes. “I work with judges, pastors, I work with pilots and athletes, and this happens to good people, but you’ve got to put your hands up and ask for help.”

Before the NFL, Grimes played for Baylor University in Waco and the Robert E. Lee High School football team, before they changed the name to Tyler Legacy High School.

Grimes became addicted to painkillers after a series of injuries he got playing in the NFL. He shared that his path to recovery was long but now he and his wife Lydia are helping others on their path to an addiction-free life. Continue reading Former NFL Player Randy Grimes speaks on addiction recovery in Tyler

Texas inmate Melissa Lucio is ‘actually innocent’ of killing daughter, judge says

Lucio has long maintained she is innocent and her daughter Mariah died of a head injury sustained in an accidental fall down a steep staircase two days before her death.

“This is the best news we could get going into the holidays,” John and Michelle Lucio, Melissa Lucio’s son and daughter-in-law, said in a statement. “We pray our mother will be home soon.”

Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project and one of Lucio’s attorneys, said Lucio was “sent to death row for a crime that never happened.”

The Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Lucio, didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

The appeals court sent the case back to Nelson in June, asking he also make recommendations in the other three claims.

Malcolm X’s family files $100 million wrongful death lawsuit, claims cover-up of his murder

(NEW YORK) -- The family of Malcolm X, the Black resistance leader who was assassinated in 1965, has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the U.S. government, they announced Friday.

Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X's daughter, who represented her family at a New York City press conference, and her lawyers claim that they have uncovered new evidence that they believe will prove that the NYPD and FBI conspired to kill Malcolm X.

“We fought primarily for our mother, who was here,” Ilyasah Shabazz said of Betty Shabazz, who died in 1997, from the site of the former Audubon Ballroom, where her father was killed. “My mother was pregnant when she came here to see her husband speak; someone who she just admired totally and to witness this horrific assassination of her husband …”

Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, at the age of 39. He was shot a total of 21 times by a group of men in front of his wife and daughters.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said that the lawsuit alleges authorities engaged in a decades-long cover-up that deprived Malcolm X and his family of justice. The suit seeks accountability for the harm caused by the alleged unlawful and unconstitutional actions of these agencies and individuals.

According to the complaint, Mustafa Hassan, a witness to Malcolm X’s killing, revealed that when he and others tried to apprehend one of the alleged shooters, it appeared to him that the NYPD officers at the scene tried to help the shooter escape.

Lawyers representing the family said that authorities never bothered to take a statement from Hassan even though it was allegedly clear that he was present during the assassination, implying that law enforcement willfully neglected to conduct a proper investigation.

Attorneys also claim to have sworn affidavits from two of Malcolm X’s former personal security guards. They were allegedly entrapped and jailed by an undercover NYPD officer a week before Malcolm X’s death to ensure the assassination was successful, according to attorneys.

The NYPD declined to comment on the allegations due to the pending litigation.

The family’s lawyers said that there were nine FBI informants in the ballroom the day Malcolm X was killed. One of the shooters was heavily connected to the FBI and received favors by authorities after the assassination, according to attorneys.

Lawyers said a New York FBI special agent sent a letter to J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI director at the time, in December 1964 calling for extra surveillance of Malcolm X's activities, since the Black resistance activist allegedly intended to have the oppression of Black Americans brought before the United Nations. About two months later, Malcolm X was assassinated.

According to The Washington Post, The FBI’s COINTELPRO, an acronym for Counter Intelligence Program, operated in secrecy for decades as investigators surveilled organizations and individuals that they deemed a threat to American interests. Targets of the program included civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and former Illinois Black Panther Party Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton.

The FBI did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for a statement.

Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam were originally convicted in the murder of Malcolm X but later exonerated in the 1965 assassination. They received a $36 million settlement in October 2022 after lawsuits were filed on their behalf in 2021 against both the city and the state of New York.

New York City agreed to pay $26 million in settling a lawsuit filed on behalf of Aziz and also Islam, who was exonerated posthumously in the killing. Meanwhile, the state of New York also agreed to pay an additional $10 million.

“I'm grateful on behalf of my sisters,” Ilyasah Shabazz said. “To stand here with a competent, ethical group of experts, legal experts, as we seek justice for the assassination of our father.”

ABC News' Deena Zaru contributed to this report.

What happens next in The Onion’s effort to buy Alex Jones’ Infowars

AUSTIN (AP) —The Onion’s winning bid for Alex Jones ’ Infowars platform is under review by a federal bankruptcy judge after Jones and his lawyers complained about how an auction was conducted.

The satirical news outlet was announced as the winning bidder on Thursday in an auction that is part of Jones’ personal bankruptcy. Hours later, Infowars headquarters in Austin, Texas and its websites were shut down and Jones was broadcasting from a new studio he had set up before the bankruptcy auction. By Friday morning, Infowars and its websites were back up and running for reasons that were not entirely clear.

At a hastily called court hearing in Houston on Thursday, Judge Christopher Lopez ordered another hearing to be held next week. He wants to know what happened with the auction and how the bankruptcy trustee chose The Onion over the only other bidder — a company affiliated with a Jones product-selling website.

A court hearing is typically held after a bankruptcy auction to finalize the winning bids and sales, and to hear any objections, so the process in Jones’ case hasn’t strayed far from the usual — yet.

Here’s a look at the bankruptcy auction and what could happen next:
Why was Infowars up for auction?

Jones declared personal bankruptcy in late 2022 after he was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion to families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut who sued him for defamation for repeatedly calling the massacre a hoax aimed at increasing gun control.

Relatives of some of the 20 first graders and six educators who were killed in the 2012 shooting said Jones’ followers harassed and threatened them as a result of his lies. Jones has since acknowledged the shooting was “100% real.”

As part of the bankruptcy, Jones’ personal assets and Infowars’ parent company, the Jones-owned Free Speech Systems, were to be sold at auction, with the Sandy Hook families and Jones’ other creditors getting the proceeds.
How The Onion was named the winning bidder

The bankruptcy trustee overseeing the sale chose from sealed bids. He received two.

One was from the Jones-affiliated First United American Companies, which offered $3.5 million, the trustee revealed in court Thursday. The other, from The Onion, was lower but contained an incentive by some of the Sandy Hook families to forgo a portion of the sale proceeds and give it to other Jones’ creditors, the trustee, Christopher Murray, said.

Murray said he determined The Onion’s offer, although unusual, was better overall, because it would provide more money to Jones’ creditors than the other bid. But he also said he could not yet put a dollar figure on The Onion’s bid when the families’ offer was factored in.

Judge Lopez indicated that he had expected prospective buyers would be given a chance to outbid each other after the bids were unsealed.

His 20-page order on the sale procedures in September, however, made such a bidding round optional. And it gave broad authority to Murray to conduct the sale, including the power to reject any bid, no matter how high, that was “contrary to the best interests” of Jones, his company and their creditors.
Infowars reopens after shutting down

Murray had Infowars’ website and studio shut down Thursday as he began the process of securing assets, a lawyer for the trustee said in court Thursday. But on Friday, Infowars and its websites were back up and running.

On his show, Jones told listeners that Murray had told him it was wrong to shut down Infowars before the sale was finalized. Murray and his lawyer did not immediately return phone messages and emails seeking comment.
What’s next in court?

The judge said he had concerns about the auction process and transparency. Both sides are expected to present evidence at next week’s hearing.

Jones and a lawyer for First United American Companies allege Murray improperly selected The Onion’s bid and unexpectedly changed the sale process Monday after the sealed bids were submitted, by deciding not to hold a round of bidding on Wednesday. They also questioned the legality of The Onion’s bid.

Murray said denied doing anything improper and said he followed the judge’s auction rules.

Lopez would rule on whether the trustee properly ran the auction and selected The Onion as the winning bidder. If not, the possibilities include reopening the sale and holding an auction where potential buyers could outbid each other. The judge has the ultimate authority to accept or reject any sale of Infowars.

An exact date for the hearing had not yet been scheduled by Friday afternoon.
What are The Onion’s plans for Infowars?

The Onion — which carries the banner of “America’s Finest News Source” on its masthead — was founded in the 1980s and for decades has skewered politics and pop culture. It hopes to reopen the Infowars website in January as a parody of Jones and other conspiracy theorists.

“Our goal in a couple of years is for people to think of Infowars as the funniest and dumbest website that exists,” Ben Collins, the Onion’s CEO, told The Associated Press. “It was previously the dumbest website that exists.”

Can’t lose? ?’Friday Night Light?s’? reboot reportedly in the works

Bill Records/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Much like Texas, it seems like reboots are also forever.

According to Variety, Universal Television is working on bringing back the high school football drama Friday Night Lights with a new storyline and characters.

The original Friday Night Lights show ran from 2006 to 2011 and centered around the fictional Dillon Panthers high school football team in West Texas. It was inspired by the 1990 book of the same name and its 2004 film adaptation, both of which were about the real-life Permian High School Panthers of Odessa, Texas.

The show starred Kyle Chandler as Eric Taylor, coach of the Dillon Panthers and, in later seasons, the school's crosstown rivals, the East Dillon Lions. Connie Britton, who also starred in the FNL film, played Eric's wife and Dillon High faculty member, Tami Taylor.

Among those who portrayed the players and students were Zach Gilford, Taylor Kitsch, Scott Porter, Minka Kelly, Gaius Charles and Adrianne Palicki, as well as Michael B. Jordan and Jesse Plemons in early breakout roles.

Camp County man gets 19 years in prison for meth trafficking, firearms violations

LEESBURG -Our news partners at KETK report that man has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to drug and firearms charges on Thursday.

Nathan Paul Hart, 36 of Leesburg, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamines and possession of a firearm for a drug trafficking crime, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Damien M. Diggs.

According to Diggs, Hart was then sentenced to 170 months for the drug charge and 60 months on the firearms charge for a total of 230 months or 19.167 years. Federal court records showed that between August 2019 and August 2021, Hart was a part of a group who conspired to bring more than 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamines into East Texas. In November of 2020, Hart was stopped with another person in a car that was carrying around two kilograms of meth and a pistol. He also reportedly admitted to sending more than $22,000 to California to purchase drugs.

Hart will serve his two sentences one after the other and has also been ordered to forfeit $250,000, Diggs’ press release said. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Criminal Investigations were all involved in the case

Henderson County officials searching for 11-year-old girl

ATHENS – Our News Partner, KETK, reports that the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is searching for an 11-year-old girl who “is believed to have been picked up by an unknown subject.”

According to the department, Mia James, is around 5’11” tall and weighs 98 pounds. She was last seen near her home on County Road 3925 north of Athens while wearing black shorts and a teal hoodie with with the word “Venom” on it.

Anyone with information about Mia’s location is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 903-675-5128.

House Republicans applaud Trump’s picking Kennedy to lead HHS — with a few concerns

(WASHINGTON) -- House Republicans had mixed reactions to President-elect Donald Trump's announcement that he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be secretary of Health and Human Services in his administration.

Kennedy has been an anti-vaccine activist and founded the Children's Health Defense, a prominent anti-vaccine nonprofit that has campaigned against immunizations and other public health measures like water fluoridation. Medical experts expressed concerns about a rise in medical misinformation through Kennedy's candidacy.

HHS oversees major health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, among others.

Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., raised concerns about the pick, saying, "Well, all my kids are vaccinated and I hope he's not going to move against one of the most life-saving technologies in the history of the world."

Asked if Kennedy was the right choice, Duarte responded, "I don't know."

"I'd like to see more of his opinions and more of his thoughts in different matters, but the anti-vaccine mantra scares me a lot," he said.

There was no immediate reaction from senators, who would vote on Kennedy's nomination.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise didn't clearly answer a question about his reaction to the selection of Kennedy, noting only that Trump was moving "fast" with his nominations.

"Clearly President Trump is moving fast to get as many people appointed as possible. It shows he's carried through on the mandate the voters just gave him. To lay out his cabinet. To get to work," Scalise said.

Scalise evaded a question about his position on the vaccine misinformation that Kennedy has espoused: "Ultimately, President Trump's agenda…." Scalise pivoted.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, laughed when asked for an opinion, saying "It's the president's prerogative. I am not a senator."

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, called the news "fantastic."

"Robert's a friend now for a few years, we've been talking a lot," Roy said.

Roy said there's a need to be "disrupting the corruption" in federal health agencies, which he expects Kennedy to accomplish.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., celebrated the news: "Oh my gosh, I'm so excited."

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., called Kennedy's selection a "great pick."

"Good pick on the president's part, as all of them have been, and he'll do a good job," Norman said. "People say, 'Well, he's a Democrat.' Look, he's got an interest, he's got an interest, a passion for the medical field. He'll do a good job in it."

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-SD, took a more moderate position on the selection of Kennedy.

"I don't mind disrupting. I mean, clearly, I think sometimes these big agencies get into some group think and I think it's perfectly healthy to have some conventional wisdom challenged. Clearly, the Senate's going to want to understand what is his vision for the agency," Johnson said, adding that he wants to understand more about where Kennedy's "scientific background is."

Asked if he trusted Kennedy on public health, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. said "absolutely," adding that "I think we need to broaden our horizons a little bit."