WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump headed to Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday to watch one of Elon Musk ’s companies test its Starship rocket, the latest sign of a deepening bond between the president-elect and the world’s richest man.
Ever since Musk began camping out at Mar-a-Lago after the election, there’s been speculation over when Trump would grow tired of having him hanging around and giving him advice on running the country.
But Tuesday’s outing was a remarkable display of intimacy between the two, one with implications for American politics, the U.S. government, foreign policy and even the possibility of humans reaching Mars.
Musk spent around $200 million to help Trump beat Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential race, and he’s been given unparalleled access. He’s counseled Trump on nominees for the new administration, joined the president-elect’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and been tapped to co-chair an advisory panel on cutting the size of the federal bureaucracy.
Musk could benefit personally as well. SpaceX, his rocket company, has billions of dollars in government contracts and the goal of eventually starting a colony on Mars. He’s also CEO of Tesla, which manufactures electric vehicles, and has battled with regulators over safety concerns involving autonomous driving.
“Trump has the biggest possible regard for people who break the rules and get away with it,” said William Galston, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. “Musk has demonstrated extraordinary accomplishment in doing that.”
To top if off, Musk owns the social media company X, formally known as Twitter, which he has harnessed as an influential perch to promote Trump and his agenda.
“Stop the Swamp!” he wrote on Tuesday as he shared a warning that entrenched Washington interests are trying to undermine Trump before his inauguration.
Before the election, Musk rejected the idea that he was expecting any favors in return for supporting Trump in the presidential race.
“There is no quid pro quo,” he posted on X in September. “With a Trump administration, we can execute major government reform, remove bureaucratic paperwork that is smothering the country and unlock a new age of prosperity.”
However, Trump has not gone anywhere without Musk in the two weeks since beating Harris. Musk joined Trump at a meeting with House Republicans in Washington and sat next to him at an Ultimate Fighting Championship match in New York. The trip to Texas for the rocket launch will be Trump’s third time outside Florida since the election.
Much of Trump’s activity is happening with little public access for the press. Unlike his predecessors, he has opted against regularly making his travel plans or events open to journalists.
The relationship between Trump and Musk was not always so close.
Two years ago, Trump was mocking Musk in stump speeches and Musk was saying it was time for Trump to “hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.”
“Trump would be 82 at end of term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America,” Musk wrote on social media.
But Musk swiftly endorsed Trump after the former president survived an assassination attempt in July. He quickly became a central figure in Trump’s orbit, appearing at times more like his running mate than Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Trump started boasting about Musk’s accomplishments at campaign rallies, such as when Starship’s reusable rocket booster returned to the launch tower and was caught by mechanical arms.
“Those arms grab it like you grab your baby, just like you grab your little baby. And it hugged it and just put it down, and there it was,” Trump said.
Musk was with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort on election night and has spent much of the two weeks since there. Trump’s granddaughter Kai Trump posted a photo of her with Musk at one of Trump’s golf resorts, writing that Musk was “achieving uncle status.”
Last week, Musk appeared in a golden ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, seated in the center of the room as a guest of honor at an event. Trump, in his remarks at the black tie event, said Musk’s IQ is “about as high as they can get” and praised him as “a really good guy.”
“He launched a rocket three weeks ago and then he went to Pennsylvania to campaign because he considered this more important than launching rockets that cost billions of dollars,” Trump said.
He joked about Musk’s constant presence at Mar-a-Lago, saying, “He likes this place. I can’t get him out of here.”
He added, “And you know what, I like having him here.”
Musk was so heralded by Trump’s crowd that he was invited to speak on stage at the event after Trump, in which he spoke of the president-elect’s victory like he was his running mate.
“The public has given us a mandate that could not be more clear,” Musk said of the election results.
TYLER – The Tyler ISD Board of Trustees held a first reading of the proposed 2025-2026 school calendar during its November regular meeting. Community members can view the proposed calendar and provide input by completing the calendar survey by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, December 2, 2024. Tyler ISD’s calendar development process emphasizes collaboration and inclusivity. According to Chief Communications Officer Jennifer Hines, community feedback plays a pivotal role in shaping a calendar that aligns with the needs and priorities of students, staff, and parents. Continue reading Tyler ISD Seeks Community Feedback
DIANA – Our news partner, KETK, report that a New Diana ISD student has been taken for medical treatment after they were hit while crossing a highway intersection Tuesday morning.
According to the school district, the student, whose identity isn’t being released, was crossing Highway 259 where it intersects with Highway 154 near the school when a vehicle hit them. First responders arrived and quickly transported the student for a medical evaluation. The parents were notified and are with the student, said district officials.
“We are grateful for the swift response of first responders and are closely monitoring the situation,” New Diana ISD said. “Out of respect for the family and their privacy, we will not be sharing further details at this time.” The school district also said that their students safety is always their top priority and asked parents to talk to their children about the expectation that once they arrive on campus they must remain there.
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UPDATE: Our news partner, KETK, reports that Winona ISD and Big Sandy ISD are releasing students immediately today due to a power outage.
Big Sandy ISD -buses will begin running their regular routes. School administration noted if it appears that no one is home for elementary school students, they will be brought back to campus until a parent is able to come get them. Students who don’t ride the bus are available for pickup immediately. Athletic events for Big Sandy will continue as planned and any changes will be communicated to students and parents as soon as possible.
WINONA – According to the district, the outage is city-wide, and parents are encouraged to pick up their children as soon as possible.
Buses will be available between the hours of 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. The district says they will continue to notify parents of any future developments and the status for Wednesday.
TROUP — The City of Troup gathered together for ‘Holiday in the Country’ and to watch the second annual Christmas Tree lighting on Monday, according to our news partner KETK. The 30-foot-tall Christmas tree is now officially lit, kicking off the Christmas season in downtown Troup. It was a special night because the honorary tree lighter is Troup native, Cooper Reid. The family was asked to be the honorary Christmas tree lighters last year, but couldn’t make it due to Cooper’s condition. Now, it’s one year later and he is greatly improving. In 2022, he was injured during a homecoming football game and since then, he has been on a journey to recovery since surviving a brain injury.
“We were very honored and happy that we would be here this time, this year. Last year, I don’t know that Cooper would have been able to even light the Christmas tree on his own, so I think that God worked it out just the right way, so that he was ready to do it on his time,” said Susanne Reid, Cooper’s mother. Continue reading Troup native, Cooper Reid lights city Christmas tree
Russian President Valdimir Putin; Photo credit: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images
(LONDON) -- The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it defeated a Ukrainian ATACMS attack in the western Bryansk region, shortly before the Kremlin updated its nuclear weapons doctrine to allow for nuclear strikes in response to foreign ballistic missile attacks.
Two U.S. officials also confirmed to ABC News that Ukraine had for the first time fired ATACMS at targets in Russia.
Ukrainian forces fired six "ballistic missiles," the Russian Defense Ministry wrote on its official Telegram page, five of which were downed and the sixth damaged. "According to confirmed data, American-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles were used," it wrote.
"ATACMS fragments fell on the technical territory of a military facility in the Bryansk region, a fire broke out, it was extinguished," the ministry added.
Bryansk borders Kursk to its west.
A U.S. official provided a differing account of the strike, saying Russia intercepted two of eight total ATACMS missiles launched by Ukraine. The other six were assessed to have hit an ammunition storage site in Karachev, the official said.
The ministry alleged the attack shortly after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine -- signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday -- meant "the use of Western non-nuclear rockets by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russia can prompt a nuclear response."
One of the U.S. officials said they are not surprised by what they called "irresponsible rhetoric" from the Kremlin, but that the U.S. sees no indications Russia actually plans to use nuclear weapons.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters Tuesday he was "unfortunately not surprised" by Russia's decision to alter its nuclear doctrine.
"Since the beginning of its war of aggression against Ukraine, it has sought to coerce and intimidate both Ukraine and other countries around the world through irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behavior," Miller said. "Despite what Russia says, neither the United States nor NATO pose any threat to Russia."
Miller said the U.S. has "not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture, but we will continue to call on Russia to stop bellicose and irresponsible rhetoric."
Peskov's remarks came after three U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News that President Joe Biden had approved Ukraine's use of the long-range American-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System -- colloquially known as the ATACMS -- to hit targets in Russia's western Kursk region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not confirm on Tuesday if Ukraine had used ATACMS to conduct a strike on an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of Russia, but said Ukraine has ATACMS and "will use all of these" against Russia.
"Sorry, no unnecessary details," Zelenskyy said when asked about the possible use of ATACMS against Russia at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
"Ukraine has long-range capabilities, including domestically produced long-range drones. We now have the extended range 'Neptune,' and not just one. And now we have ATACMS, and we will use all of these," he continued.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that the reported ATACMS attack is a signal that Western nations "want escalation."
"It is impossible to use these high-tech missiles without the Americans, as Putin has repeatedly said," Lavrov said during a press conference at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The extent of U.S. assistance to Ukraine in the battlefield operation of the ATACMS remains unclear. The platform uses an improved inertial guidance system combined with GPS to zero in on designated targets. Kyiv is entirely reliant on the U.S. for replacement missiles.
The Biden administration hasn't publicly confirmed the ATACMS policy change. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told journalists at a Monday briefing he would not confirm or deny approval for ATACMS use inside Russia, but said the U.S. response to Russian and North Korean military cooperation in the war "would be firm."
There are now some 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region intended for deployment to the battlefield, U.S. officials have said.
The changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine were unveiled several weeks ago but only signed by Putin on Tuesday, as officials in Moscow expressed anger at the U.S. decision to allow ATACMS use on Russian territory.
The doctrine now says Russia can launch a nuclear attack against a country assisting a non-nuclear country in aggression against Russia that critically threatens the country's state integrity.
Moscow has repeatedly threatened nuclear weapon use against Ukraine and its Western partners throughout its full-scale invasion of the country.
Western leaders including Biden have said that avoiding a direct clash between Russia and NATO is a top priority given the danger of nuclear war.
ABC News' Matt Seyler, Joe Simonetti, Tanya Stukalova, Oleksiy Pshemyskiy and Yulia Drozd contributed to this report.
TYLER (AP) — Country singer Sundance Head, a winner on “The Voice,” is recovering at home after he was accidentally shot in the stomach while handling a firearm on a hunting trip at his East Texas ranch, his agent said Sunday.
Head, winner of the 11th season of NBC’s “The Voice” in 2016, was leaning into his vehicle to grab his .22 caliber pistol when it fell out of its holster and onto the exterior of the vehicle and fired off a shot that hit Head in the stomach, his agent, Trey Newman said in an email. Newman said Head was airlifted to a hospital in Tyler. He said no vital organs were hit and no surgery was needed. Head was released later Friday, he said.
Before his win on “The Voice,” Head competed in “American Idol” on Fox in 2007, making it to the top 16 before being eliminated. Head, who has upcoming performances scheduled in Texas and Illinois, is from the community of Porter, located north of Houston.
COLLEGE STATION (AP) – Texas A&M University is set to mark the anniversary of the campus bonfire tragedy that killed 12 people and injured dozens more 25 years ago. The giant log stack collapsed Nov. 18, 1999, permanently scarring a campus rooted in traditions carried across generations of students. Eleven students and a graduate were killed when the massive log pile collapsed during preparations for the annual bonfire ahead of the Texas A&M-Texas football game. The annual Aggie bonfire has since been discontinued as an official school event.
“Year after year, Texas A&M students have worked to ensure that we never forget those members of the Aggie Family who were taken from us 25 years ago,” school President Mark Welsh III said.
The tradition
The “Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bonfire” ranked among the most revered traditions in college football and symbolized the school’s “burning desire” to beat the University of Texas Longhorns in football. The first bonfire in 1907 was a scrap heap that was set ablaze. By 1909, it was a campus event and the bonfire stack kept growing as railroad lines were used to ship in in carloads of scrap lumber, railroad ties and other flammable materials, according to the school.
It reached a record height of 105 feet (32 meters) in 1969 before administrators, concerned about a fire hazard, imposed a 55-foot (17-meter) limit. Over the years, the stack evolved from a teepee-style mound into the vertical timber formation, a shape similar to a tiered wedding cake, that collapsed in 1999.
The annual bonfire attracted crowds of up to 70,000 and burned every year through 1998. The only exception was in 1963, after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The tragedy
The stack of more than 5,000, 18-foot (5.5-meter) logs toppled a week before it was scheduled to burn. The 12 who were killed included five freshmen, four sophomores, a junior, a senior and a recent graduate. Several were members of the Corps of Cadets, Texas A&M’s student-led, military-style organization that played a large role in its construction.
Rescuers, including members of the Texas A&M football team, raced to remove the logs that had trapped and crushed some of the victims. At rival Texas, Longhorns players organized a blood drive to assist the survivors.
An investigative report cited multiple causes for the collapse, from flawed construction techniques to a lack of supervision by the university over the students building the bonfire stack. The lowest level of the pile did not have proper support wiring, and excessive stress on the bottom level was compounded by wedging logs into gaps.
Campus memorial
In 2003, the school dedicated a memorial on the spot where the stack fell. It includes a “Spirit Ring” with 12 portals representing those who were killed. Each portal contains an engraved portrait and signature of a victim and points toward their hometown. By stepping into the open archway, the visitor symbolically fills the void left by the deceased.
Efforts to rekindle the bonfire tradition
The annual Aggie bonfire was discontinued as an official school event after the deadly collapse.
The school considered reviving the tradition this year to coincide with the renewal of the Texas-Texas A&M football rivalry on Nov. 30. The rivalry split in 2012 when Texas A&M left the Big 12 Conference for the Southeastern Conference, but has resumed this year as Texas joined the SEC.
A special committee recommended resuming the bonfire, but only if the log stack was designed and built by professional engineers and contractors. Some members of the public said it should not come back if it was not organized and built by students, according to tradition.
“Bonfire, both a wonderful and tragic part of Aggie history, should remain in our treasured past,” the president said in June when he announced his decision.
Students have continued to organize and build unofficial off-campus bonfires over the years and plan to burn this year’s edition on Nov. 29, the night before the Texas A&M-Texas football game.
(New York) -- Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones accused The Onion and Sandy Hook Elementary School families of "collusive bidding" and asked a bankruptcy court judge to halt the sale of his Infowars platform.
Jones, who defamed the Sandy Hook families by calling the 2012 massacre a hoax and the parents of the 20 first graders actors, called The Onion's winning $1.75 million bid "sheer nonsense" because it's half of what the losing bidder offered.
The Onion began a "systematic effort to confuse Mr. Jones's personal public following with messages espousing gun control in a manner such that Mr Jones's personal public following would be utterly confused and misled," Jones said in an overnight court filing.
His request follows a similar push for an injunction by First United American Companies, which is affiliated with Jones through the sale of dietary supplements.
The plaintiffs nor the trustee immediately responded to Jones but the trustee has previously called the auction result legitimate and asked the court for approval.
(LONDON) -- An initial investigation into possible sabotage has been launched by four NATO countries -- Finland, Germany, Sweden and Lithuania -- after two underwater telecommunications cables connecting Germany and Finland across the Baltic Sea were cut in two separate incidents in recent days, a European official told ABC News.
Sweden is leading the investigation, as both incidents occurred in the Swedish economic zone, a Swedish Ministry of Defense official told ABC News.
"Against the backdrop of the security situation, the government is following developments very closely and is in close contact with its authorities. It is central that greater clarity is brought to the cause of this event," Swedish Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin told ABC News in a written statement.
The German-Finnish cable was one of two Baltic Sea connections damaged in recent days.
An underwater cable that runs between Lithuania and Sweden in the Baltic Sea was cut on Sunday around 10 a.m. local time, Telia spokesperson Audrius Stasiulaitis told ABC News. Telia is a Lithuanian telecommunications company. A cable that runs between Germany and Finland was cut on Monday around 3 p.m. local time.
"Our monitoring systems could tell there was a cut due to the traffic disruption and that the cause was not the equipment failure but physical damage to the fiber cable itself," Stasiulaitis said.
Internet traffic was not impacted, as the company rerouted the traffic after the disruption occurred, Stasiulaitis said.
The underwater cable has been in place since 1997, Arelion spokesperson Martin Sjogren told ABC News. Arelion is a Swedish telecommunications company that operates and owns the cable.
Arelion is in touch with Swedish authorities about the incident, Sjogren said.
A repair ship will need to get on-site in order to determine the cause of the break, Sjogren said. Repair work is scheduled to start later this week and could be finished by late next week depending on the weather, Sjogren added.
The Lithuanian Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into the matter, a statement from their office said Tuesday. Swedish police have also opened a preliminary investigation into the matter, a statement from Swedish police said Tuesday.
The foreign ministries of Germany and Finland said in a joint statement on Monday they were "deeply concerned" by the severing of an undersea cable connecting the two countries across the Baltic Sea -- one of two Baltic Sea connections suddenly damaged in recent days.
Finnish company Cinia reported a "fault situation" with its C-Lion-1 submarine cable on Monday afternoon, saying in a statement that an investigation and repair work were underway.
Cinia did not offer any explanation for the interruption to the connection and said undersea cable repairs generally take between five and 15 days. The 730-mile cable has connected Finland to central European communication networks since 2016.
The German Interior Ministry confirmed to ABC News that authorities believe the cable was severed by an external force near the Swedish island of Oland.
Berlin and Helsinki said they were "deeply concerned about the severed undersea cable."
"The fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about the volatility of our times," the joint foreign ministries' statement continued.
"A thorough investigation is underway. Our European security is not only under threat from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors. Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies."
The damage to the C-Lion-1 cable came one day after Telia Lietuva -- a Swedish telecoms company in Lithuania -- said one of its undersea telecommunications cables linking Lithuania and Sweden across the Baltic Sea sustained damage.
That cable -- which intersects with the C-Lion-1 Finnish-German cable -- was damaged on Sunday morning, company spokesperson Andrius Semeskevicius told local media.
The damaged cable has been the subject of faults and accidents in the past. But, Semeskevicius told Lithuanian National Radio and Television, "since both are damaged, it is clear that this was not an accidental dropping of one of the ship's anchors, but something more serious could be going on."
The cause of the damage to the cables has yet to be established. The interruptions come against a backdrop of concerns over Russian sabotage operations in Europe and elsewhere, prompted by Western support for Ukraine in its defensive war against Moscow.
The Baltic Sea has been the scene of mysterious undersea incidents in recent years, such as the sabotage attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines running from Russia to Germany in 2022.
The following year, a Chinese container ship -- the Newnew Polar Bear -- dragged its anchor for more than 100 nautical miles through the Gulf of Finland, damaging an undersea natural gas pipeline and two telecommunications cables. Finnish and Estonian authorities are conducting a joint criminal investigation into the incident.
ABC News' Aicha El Hammar and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An official with Texas A&M University has been picked to lead the University of Arkansas system.
The UA Board of Trustees on Monday unanimously approved the selection of retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Jay B. Silveria as president of Arkansas’ largest university system.
Silveria, the associate vice president and executive director of Texas A&M University and the Bush School of Government & Public Service in Washington, D.C., is expected to start Jan. 15, contingent upon the successful negotiation of an employment agreement as directed by the UA board.
Silveria, a command pilot with more than 3,900 hours in elite military aircraft, retired from the Air Force in November 2020 after a 35-year career, UA said in a statement. He spent the last three years of his service as superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
“I am humbled by this opportunity to lead the UA System and feel that there is tremendous potential to build on its outstanding reputation and high-quality programming,” he said.
Silveria will succeed President Donald Bobbitt, who announced his retirement earlier this year after leading the system for nearly 13 years.
The board conducted a national search and held special meetings in recent weeks to consider candidates.
“The Board is very proud of this selection, and we are looking forward to welcoming General Silveria and his family to Arkansas, and helping him familiarize himself with our unique System and our dedicated students, faculty and staff across the state,” Board Chair Kelly Eichler said.
AUSTIN (AP) — Texas public schools could use teachings from the Bible in lessons as an option for students from kindergarten through fifth grade under a proposal that drew hours of testimony Monday and follows Republican-led efforts in other states to incorporate more religious teaching into classrooms.
Teachers and parents gave impassioned testimony for and against the curriculum plan at a meeting of the Texas State Board of Education, which is expected to hold a final vote on the measure later this week.
The curriculum — designed by the state’s public education agency — would allow teachings from the Bible such as the Golden Rule and lessons from books such as Genesis into classrooms. Under the plan, it would be optional for schools to adopt the curriculum though they would receive additional funding if they did so.
Some complained that the proposal contradicts the public school mission.
“This curriculum fails to meet the standard of an honest, secular one,” educator Megan Tessler said. “Public schools are meant to educate, not indoctrinate.”
Others strongly backed the idea.
“Parents and teachers want a return to excellence,” Cindy Asmussen, one of those testifying, told the panel. “Stories and concepts in the Bible have been common for hundreds of years,” and that, she said, is a core part of classical learning.
Education officials were expected to vote Friday on whether public schools would be given the option to teach the curriculum.
The proposal to incorporate religious teaching in Texas public schools mirrors a similar trend elsewhere in the country. In Oklahoma, state officials are seeking to include the Bible into public school lesson plans. In Louisiana, a federal judge recently quashed a requirement to have the Ten Commandments displayed in all public classrooms.
Educators, parents and advocates weighed in at the State Board of Education’s final meeting of the year, where many opponents argued that the proposal’s emphasis on Christian teachings would alienate students of other faith backgrounds. Those in favor testified that it’ll give students a more holistic educational foundation.
Religious experts and the Texas Freedom Network, a left-leaning watchdog group that monitors the state’s education board, said the curriculum proposal focuses too much on Christianity and dances around the history of slavery.
The program was designed by the Texas Education Agency earlier this year after passage of a law giving it a mandate to create its own free textbook. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has publicly supported the new materials.
Republican lawmakers in Texas have also proposed displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms and are likely to revisit the issue next year
ARLINGTON (AP) — A piece of the roof at the home of the Dallas Cowboys fell to the field while the retractable portion of it was being opened at least three hours before a 34-10 loss to Houston on Monday night, officials said.
AT&T Stadium was mostly empty when the incident occurred, and team officials said nobody was injured. The roof was closed without incident about an hour later.
Officials said winds gusting to 30 mph during the day contributed to the incident, which was being reviewed to ensure the roof can be opened safely at some point in the future. The roof hasn’t been opened for a Cowboys game in their $1.2 billion stadium since the 2022 season.
“I know we opened it long before any fans or anybody is in there,” owner Jerry Jones said after the game. “The reason they do that is to make sure everything is working to avoid those kinds of risks if there’s any fans or anybody in here.”
Jones said there wasn’t any risk in going on with the game, which meant a delay or postponement wasn’t a consideration.
“They wouldn’t have done this game, or started this game, had there been any risk at all,” Jones said. “Not only the NFL wouldn’t, but I wouldn’t if there was any risk at all. And there was no risk at all when we started the game.”
The arches that support the roof are nearly 300 feet above the field at their highest point. The 80,000-seat venue opened in 2009.
The falling debris came a little more than a week after Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb said the sun was in his eyes on a throw he didn’t react to in the end zone in a 34-6 loss to Philadelphia.
AT&T Stadium has an unusual east-west alignment from end zone to end zone, as opposed to most venues being north-south. On clear days, the sun shines through the large glass windows on the west side during the first half of games that kick off in the afternoon.
There is usually a call for curtains on the west side of the stadium when the sun becomes an issue, but Jones says he won’t put up curtains. He says both teams have to deal with the sun.
When AT&T Stadium hosted the Super Bowl in 2011, six workers were injured when ice and snow fell from the roof. The event was plagued by a historic ice storm that gripped the Dallas area for days.
(YEMASSEE, SC) -- With four primates still on the loose after 43 of them escaped on Nov. 6 from the Alpha Genesis Inc. research laboratory in South Carolina, the Low Country facility has come under intense scrutiny.
Animal rights groups have cited the company's history of violations and previous monkey breakouts; a member of Congress has called for an inquiry into its oversight by multiple federal agencies; and residents voiced concern the furry fugitives might spread disease throughout their community.
On top of it all, Alpha Genesis founder and CEO Gregory Westergaard told ABC News his company is investigating whether the release of the monkeys was "an intentional act" by an employee.
The quest for freedom by the pack of young female rhesus macaques coincides with the rapid expansion of the 100-acre Alpha Genesis facility and is casting light on a disruption in the U.S. medical research industry that sounds like a plot for a science fiction thriller. A 2023 report sponsored by the National Institutes of Health warned of a crisis involving the Chinese government that "undermines the security of the nation’s biomedical research enterprise."
The case of the absconding primates has also raised questions about why the amount of federal contracts received by the testing and breeding operation has jumped more than 160% since 2021. According to USASpending.gov, a government website that tracks federal spending, the company has been granted $19 million in federal contracts this year alone.
"It’s shocking how much money is being spent on testing primates," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told ABC News.
Mace's district encompasses the Beaufort County community of Yemassee, where the 6,701 primates housed at the sprawling Alpha Genesis facility nearly triple the number of town residents.
In a formal letter to the NIH, the agency that funds laboratory research, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which inspects and regulates breeding facilities, Mace expressed "very urgent concerns regarding federal oversight of Alpha Genesis." Mace said the prolonged attempts to recapture all of the primates are "placing the animals and my constituents at risk."
"A lot of constituents were concerned about whether or not the primates that escaped were sick or ill, or have been tested on," Mace told ABC News. "There were a lot of folks concerned about the facility being a breeding facility and the testing that goes on there as well."
The escape highlights an 'issue of national security'
The incident some locals have referred to as "the great escape" has illuminated the international crisis hitting the animal research industry that Alpha Genesis' Westergaard said has become "an issue of national security."
In 2020, the Chinese government, the world's primary breeder of research monkeys, banned the exports of nonhuman primates (NPH) to labs in the United States and elsewhere, triggering an international shortage of the animals just as research scientists were scrambling to come up with vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a May 2023 report by National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine.
Primates, according to the NIH-supported report, are valuable in answering certain research questions because of their genetic, anatomic, physiologic and behavioral similarities to humans. However, the China ban on exporting research animals exacerbated the shortage and stalled NIH-funded research, according to the report.
The report concluded that the United States "needs to prioritize expansion" of domestic primate breeding programs.
"Relying on importing these animals from other countries is unsustainable, and dependence on international sources undermines the security of the nation’s biomedical research enterprise," the report warned.
In 2021, the National Primate Research Centers could not meet two-thirds of researcher requests for rhesus macaques, according to the report.
"Researchers also face increased wait times for animals, and costs have risen 10% to 200% for a single animal, depending on the species," the report said.
What we know about Alpha Genesis' research
The crisis prompted Alpha Genesis to increase its domestic breeding of research primates. According to Rep. Mace, the company also manages the NIH's so-called "Monkey Island" on Morgan Island in Beaufort County, which holds another 3,300 primates.
Westergaard told ABC News that Alpha Genesis employs 275 people, plus 30 or so contractors.
In addition to breeding lab monkeys, Alpha Genesis provides researchers across the country with biological products and materials, including serum, plasma, whole blood and tissue samples from a wide variety of research species, according to the company's website. The private company's researchers have helped develop several therapeutic drugs and vaccines, including those to treat the COVID-19 virus.
According to NIH online records provided to USASpending.gov, the crisis appears to be in accord with a boost in federal contracts Alpha Genesis has received, jumping from $7.3 million in 2021 to $12.3 million in 2022, $14.2 million in 2023 and $19 million this year.
Primates are worth up to $30,000 each
"The price of research monkeys has indeed increased a great deal since the Chinese banned all exports," Westergaard said in an email to ABC News. "Prior to the ban monkeys sold for around $4K - $6K, after the ban prices have increased to $10K - $30K+ due to increased costs of raising animals in the US compared to China. An important point to note is that the shortage remains severe and a great deal of research in the US simply cannot be done because animals are not available at any cost."
Westergaard said some suppliers of laboratory primates have turned to the illegal sourcing of wild-caught monkeys from Cambodia, "which we have not done."
"It should also be noted that the Chinese government is seeking worldwide domination in medical research and the development of bio-weapons to target US citizens and our allies," Westergaard said.
He added, "Alpha Genesis is a leading provider of NHPs to the US market and has been instrumental in attempting to fill this void. The alternative is to allow the Chinese to dominate medical development to the severe detriment of our National Security interests."
"It should also be noted that the Chinese government is seeking worldwide domination in medical research and the development of bio-weapons to target US citizens and our allies," Westergaard said.
He added, "Alpha Genesis is a leading provider of NHPs to the US market and has been instrumental in attempting to fill this void. The alternative is to allow the Chinese to dominate medical development to the severe detriment of our National Security interests."
Human error or intentional act?
Asked by ABC News whether the rapid expansion of Alpha Genesis' breeding and testing operations might have played a role in the escape of the 43 primates, Westergaard said the cause of the escape remains under investigation, including whether it was the result of "human error" or an "intentional act."
"All the information we have thus far indicates that this is human error due to an employee failing to secure containment doors behind her, and a third door directly containing the animals, while doing routine cleaning and feeding," Westergaard said in an email. "The enclosure was brand new and in perfect working order. We continue to investigate in an attempt to determine to the greatest extent possible whether this was or was not an intentional act."
Westergaard said that immediately after the incident occurred, the employee’s supervisor told her she could be fired if it was determined that no structural failure of the primates' enclosure led to the incident. Westergaard said the employee walked off the job and has not returned.
As of early Tuesday, four of the escaped primates remained on the loose, Westergaard said. Two were caught Monday, he said.
"The girls from today are in good health and the others continue to thrive," Westergaard said Monday. "We believe the four monkeys remaining are probably all together either in the area adjacent to our property or somewhere else very close by."
Mace has requested answers from NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli, USDA Deputy Administrator for Animal Care Sarah Helming, and Acting Director Axel Wolf of the NIH's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare. She also noted that this was not the first time problems had arisen at the research lab.
Mace, who told ABC News she is against animal testing, cited in her letter a September 2022 USDA inspection report of Alpha Genesis that found six separate incidents of animals escaping from their primary enclosures between January and August of 2022. Mace also cited escapes dating back to 2014, when more than two dozen monkeys slipped out of the facility, resulting in a fine from the USDA.
The 2022 USDA inspection report, which ABC News reviewed, also found an infant monkey died after becoming entangled in a stretch of gauze material used in an enclosure to hold a water bottle; said two primates were found dead in their enclosures with their fingers entrapped in structures inside their cages; and documented that one animal died from trauma and four others required veterinary care after they were placed in incorrect enclosures and were attacked by other primates unfamiliar with them.
As a result of the inspection, Alpha Genesis, according to the report, took corrective action to secure enclosures and "made significant changes" to avoid putting primates in the wrong enclosures.
The latest USDA routine inspection of Alpha Genesis lab was conducted on May 21 and concluded, "No non-compliant items identified during this inspection," according to USDA online records.
"This is also true of several other inspections in recent years," Westergaard said. "For a facility of this size that is quite remarkable."
Mace said she met with Westergaard last week to discuss the escape and what Alpha Genesis is doing to round up the monkeys.
“It was an interesting conversation," Mace said. "He tried to tell me how good the primates have it at his facility. And my response was, they have it good until you kill them with disease."
Asked about the conversation, Westergaard responded: "I spoke to the congresswoman last week and at that time she said that she recognized the economic importance of our company to the people of the Low Country and that as a locally-owned business, she would continue to offer her full support."
Alternatives to testing primates
Angela Grimes, CEO of Born Free USA, an international wildlife conservation and animal protection organization, told ABC News that her group has sent a letter to Alpha Genesis offering to rehome the escaped primates to its animal sanctuary in South Texas, where more than 200 rhesus macaque monkeys now reside, including some rescued from U.S. research labs. She said an anonymous donor has pledged $250,000 to help move the animals to the sanctuary.
"What we’d like to see is these animals be released to the Born Free USA sanctuary in South Texas, where they can have some of that freedom that they’ve just gotten a taste of," Grimes said.
Grimes said Alpha Genesis has not responded to her group's offer.
The nonprofit Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary, a 175-acre facility in Dilley, Texas, has been accredited since 2009 by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, GFAS executive director Valerie Taylor told ABC News, adding that her group conducts rigorous assessments and inspections of animal sanctuaries across the United States and around the globe to ensure the highest standard of animal care possible. Taylor said U.S. animal sanctuaries undergo accreditation every three years and that her organization recently visited the Born Free USA sanctuary as part of the reaccreditation process.
"We meet and exceed GFAS’ highest standards," Grimes said.
Grimes said the medical research industry needs to research alternatives to subjecting primates to experimental testing of deadly diseases.
"I understand human health is important, but I also look at the other viable alternatives that are out there that do not result in the suffering and death of animals," Grimes said.
Westergaard said testing of primates is necessary, though.
"There is no safe or effective way to make the leap from simpler model organisms like mice and rats to humans without using NHPs as an intermediary," Westergaard said. "The therapeutics created using NHPs as research models directly lead to lifesaving and life-prolonging treatments and cures for human disease. Without NHPs as a research model, the world would still be ravaged with wide-spread polio, smallpox wouldn’t be eradicated, and HIV would still be a death sentence."
UPDATE: Our news partner, KETK, reports that Winona ISD and Big Sandy ISD are releasing students immediately today due to a power outage.
