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In brief: ‘XO, Kitty’ gets season 2 premiere date, and more

Netflix has announced Jan. 16 as the premiere date for season 2 of its To All the Boys I've Loved Before spinoff, XO, Kitty. The new season, filmed in Seoul, South Korea, "will follow Kitty -- played by Anna Cathcart -- as she returns to high school for a new semester at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS)," according to the streaming service. Season 2 will also introduce three new characters: Stella, Praveena and Jin -- played respectively by Audrey Huynh, Sasha Bhasin and Joshua Lee...

Starz has revealed Jan. 17 as the premiere date for its steamy, seductive thriller The Couple Next Door, along with a teaser trailer. The series follows a couple, played by The Illusionist's Eleanor Tomlinson and How to Get Away with Murder's Alfred Enoch, who move into the upscale neighborhood and strike up a friendship with the couple next door, portrayed by Outlander's Sam Heughan and Pennyworth's Jessica De Gouw, per Starz. The two couples grow increasingly close to each other and become sexually entangled in a way that will change their lives forever. The Couple Next Door will be available to stream weekly on Fridays on the STARZ app and all Starz streaming and on-demand platforms ...

The Social Network's Jesse Eisenberg has lined up his next film, an untitled musical comedy starring The Room Next Door's Julianne Moore and The Holdovers' Paul Giamatti, according to Deadline. The feature, directed by Eisenberg from his own script, "follows a shy woman who is unexpectedly cast in a local production of an original musical. Under the spell of the strong-willed and enigmatic director, she loses herself in the role and the high-stakes world of this community theater production," per the outlet ...

Disney+ has greenlit a second season of the Korean sci-fi fantasy series Moving, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Based on the popular webtoon created by Kang Full, Moving centers on three teenagers with genetic superhuman abilities and their parents who protect them from a group of South Korean spies. The series features some of the biggest names in Korean film and television, including Ryu Seung-ryong, Han Hyo-joo and Zo In-sung. Disney is the parent company of ABC News ...

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge wins his second AL MVP award after leading MLB with 58 home runs

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge wins his second AL MVP award after leading MLB with 58 home runs.

What is Bluesky? Social media platform tops 20 million users

Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) -- Tech billionaire Elon Musk has kept busy since Election Day, advising President-elect Donald Trump and receiving an appointment to co-lead a new government efficiency commission.

Musk has also found time to promote Trump in scores of posts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, which he owns. But such advocacy appears to have driven some X users to seek alternatives.

One such app, Bluesky, has drawn attention as a possible X rival and has amassed a total of 20 million users to date. Its growth accelerated in the aftermath of the election, when Bluesky added one million users in a single week.

Launched by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky has attracted some prominent users in recent days, including comedian Ben Stiller, author Stephen King, and pop star Lizzo.

Here's what to know about Bluesky, and how to join:

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky is a text-oriented social media platform on which users can post messages as long as 300 characters. Like X, the messages posted on Bluesky appear on a newsfeed displayed to users. The app is available on iOS and Android.

The platform operates on an open framework, meaning that users can post their messages to a server tailored for specific interests or communities. The system design resembles that which is used on another text-first app, Mastodon, as well as the decentralized platform Discord.

Bluesky began in 2019 as a venture at Twitter overseen by Dorsey, and was launched as an independent company in 2022, the year after he left Twitter.

Development of the site started after a 2020 tweet from Dorsey announcing Twitter's plans to fund a decentralized social media platform, Bluesky said in a blog post. The eventual leaders at Bluesky were among those who sent direct messages to Dorsey in response to his post, the blog added.

Who owns Bluesky?

The board of directors at Bluesky features Dorsey as well as Jeremie Miller, the founder in the late 1990s of a free instant messaging service called Jabber.

Bluesky's CEO is Jay Graber, who formerly founded an events-oriented social media site called Happening and worked as a software engineer on a cryptocurrency called Zcash, according to LinkedIn. She also serves on the Bluesky board.

The company is owned by Graber as well as "the Bluesky team," the Bluesky website says.

While Bluesky has retained a traditional corporate structure featuring a board and chief executive, the company said it aspires to take control of content away from a top-down entity and return it to creators.

"Traditional social networks are often closed platforms with a central authority," the website says. "There's a small group of people who control those companies, and they have total control over how users can use the platform and what developers can build."

Dorsey criticized Musk's leadership at Twitter on Bluesky last year, saying that things "all went south" at the platform after Musk's acquisition, CNBC reported.

Is Bluesky a viable alternative to X?

The steady growth of Bluesky has made it a destination for an increasing number of celebrities, elected officials and government entities. But the platform remains much smaller than X or the Meta-owned competitor, Threads.

Bluesky boasts roughly 20 million users, which amounts to less than 10% of the 229 million daily active users disclosed by Twitter in a June 2022 earnings report. X's user data is no longer publicly available since Musk took the company private.

In July, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Threads had exceeded 175 million monthly active users.

How do you join Bluesky?

During Bluesky's initial years, users could only join the platform if they received an invitation. The policy aimed to limit the app's user base as it underwent testing.

In February, however, the platform made itself available to all users. Individuals or organizations can navigate to the platform and follow instructions to create an account.

Some hospitals seeing increase in RSV, ‘walking pneumonia.’ Here’s what to know

(NEW YORK) -- Some hospitals in the U.S. are seeing an increase in RSV and higher levels of "walking pneumonia" among young children despite overall respiratory illness activity remaining low nationally.

Cook Children's Medical Centers in Texas reported a "steep increase" in children visiting the emergency room due to respiratory-related illnesses.

On Tuesday, at the health system's Fort Worth location alone, there were 572 patients -- a near-record-high number -- in the emergency department. Officials said the increase in hospital visits is due to a spread of RSV and walking pneumonia in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Additionally, University of North Carolina hospitals reported 40 walking pneumonia cases in the last week of October compared to no cases the same time last year.

Infectious disease specialists say that although parents should stay alert when it comes to respiratory illnesses spreading, this season also may also be marking a return to typical seasons seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's the calm before the storm," Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told ABC News. "It feels that there's so much going on … that we almost forget about respiratory viruses, but they're very regular. They're kind of falling back into normal pre-pandemic cadence."

Walking pneumonia seeing cyclical increase

So-called "walking pneumonia" is a respiratory tract bacterial infection caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Infections are generally mild, and people may seem better than expected for those with a lung infection, hence the term walking pneumonia, the CDC said. Sometimes serious complications, however, emerge requiring hospitalization.

For the week ending Nov. 2, the latest for which CDC data is available, 2.8% of all pneumonia-associated ED visits led to an M. pneumoniae diagnosis, up from just 2% at the end of September.

Rates were highest among those ages 1 and younger, making up 7.8% of all pneumonia-associated ED visits with an M. pneumoniae diagnosis for the week ending Nov. 2.

Experts say mycoplasma infections have a cyclical nature and tend to surge every three to seven years.

"Just like other respiratory viruses, there was not a lot of exposure during the pandemic years because of social distancing and people staying away from each other, and so we're catching up to that," Chin-Hong said. "Mycoplasma may also be one of these things where you're kind of seeing the perfect storm. So, it comes back every four or five years and people are getting back to their normal lives."

RSV activity returning to pre-pandemic levels

Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus with most children affected by their second birthday, according to the CDC.

Although it typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms and most people recover in one to two weeks, it can be a serious infection for infants and older adults, resulting in hospitalization, the CDC said.

Current levels remain lower than those seen at the same time during the past few seasons.

"While RSV activity is increasing in certain regions, particularly among young children, it's important to remember that we're seeing a return to more typical pre-pandemic patterns," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital and an ABC News contributor.

"This year's season is starting later and progressing more slowly compared to the past few years, which were marked by earlier and more severe outbreaks," he added.

Brownstein pointed out that while national levels remain low, certain regions in the southern U.S. and eastern U.S. are seeing localized surges, especially among young children.

When to go to the emergency room

Chin-Hong said if symptoms are mild, including low-grade fever, dry cough, sore throat, headaches and mild aches and pains, parents can keep their children home and contact their primary care provider with any questions.

However, when symptoms become more severe including difficulty breathing, a long-lasting fever or lethargy, then it might be time to visit the emergency room.

If you have "a child who's having a cough for more than seven days and maybe they're not shaking that off, then you worry about something like walking pneumonia," Chin-Hong said.

How to prevent RSV and walking pneumonia

To prevent RSV, there are three vaccines approved for adults ages 60 and older as well as some adults between the ages 50 and 59 who are at higher risk. There is also a vaccine available for pregnant women between 32 weeks and 36 weeks of pregnancy.

For babies under eight months, there are two monoclonal antibody products available. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins manufactured in a lab that mimic the antibodies the body naturally creates when fighting an infection.

"For walking pneumonia. or mycoplasma, there's no vaccine for that, but by getting vaccines for RSV, COVID [and] influenza, you reduce the probability of co-infections that can make things worse," Chin-Hong said.

Experts also recommended applying lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as wearing a mask in spaces with poor ventilation.

"Practicing good hygiene, like frequent hand-washing and covering coughs and sneezes, remains essential in preventing the spread of respiratory infections," Brownstein said.

Police recover Travis Kelce’s watch after spate of burglaries targeting athletes during games

(NEW YORK) -- Authorities investigating the rash of recent burglaries at the homes of professional athletes have recovered a watch belonging to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in Providence, Rhode Island, sources familiar with the case told ABC News.

Kelce’s Leawood, Kansas, home was burglarized as the Chiefs were about to kick off Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints hours apart from a burglary at the home of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Police had not previously disclosed a watch was taken from Kelce but did confirm that $20,000 cash was stolen.

Police believe the athletes are being targeted based on their game schedules and are working to determine whether a crime ring is targeting them along with other luxury homeowners.

So far all of these thefts have occurred while nobody is home. There is a concern about what happens if the athlete or his/her family members are present, a security source told ABC News.

The burglars conduct extensive surveillance, sometimes posing as delivery men, maintenance workers or joggers to learn about residences, neighborhoods and security systems, according to an NFL memo obtained by ABC News.

One security source told ABC News the burglars appear to know what they’re looking for, where it is in the home and are in and out within 15 minutes.

‘Suspicious package’ found outside US embassy in London

U.S. Embassy in London, United Kingdom (L. Toshio Kishiyama/Getty Images)

(LONDON) -- A suspicious package was discovered outside the United States Embassy in London on Friday morning, police said.

The London Metropolitan Police immediately closed Ponton Road outside of the embassy in “an abundance of caution,” according to their statement, before they destroyed it in a controlled explosion.

“We’re aware of speculation online about an incident in the vicinity of the US Embassy in Nine Elms,” the Met Police said. “Cordons are in place in the area as a precaution while officers investigate a suspect package.”

Authorities updated the situation approximately an hour later after reports of a “loud bang” began circulating online.

“We can confirm that the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers. Enquiries are still ongoing and cordons will remain in place for the time being,” police said.

The embassy returned to "normal business operations" shortly after the package was destroyed, police said.

"The US Embassy is back to normal business operations, with the exception that all public appointments (visa appointments, passport appointments, and other American Citizen services) for 22 November have been cancelled," the Met Police said.

The U.S. embassy in London moved to a brand-new purpose-built location in January 2018. The 12-story government office -- complete with a moat surrounding it -- cost approximately $1 billion to construct and was funded entirely from proceeds of sale from other U.S. government property in London, according to the U.S. government.

Could Texas do for Alzheimer’s research what it did for cancer?

AUSTIN (AP) – Two decades ago, state Rep. Tom Craddick could ask a room of his West Texas constituents what illness they feared the most and the answer, unfailingly, was always cancer.

A few weeks ago, about the time Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick contacted him about a new blockbuster medical research fund idea, Craddick asked a group of his constituents the question again and no one mentioned cancer.

“It was unanimous in the room,” Craddick said. “Alzheimer’s and dementia.”

Craddick, R-Midland, told that story to a room full of rapt researchers gathered at the University of Texas at Austin this week, a day after Patrick made a stunning announcement that he wants lawmakers to approve a dementia research fund modeled after Texas’ successful $6 billion Cancer Prevention and Research Institute, known as CPRIT.

A Texas-funded dementia research fund in the mold of its now successful 15-year-old cancer fund has the potential to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into a field still looking for better ways to slow symptoms as well as a cure. Since CPRIT began in 2007, it has become the country’s second largest funder of cancer research, and if as successful, the dementia counterpart could have global impacts on how to prevent and care for individuals with the disease.

“Like CPRIT, this investment will draw leading researchers and companies to Texas and require them to be based in Texas, leading to their further investment in our state,” Patrick said in a Monday statement.

Patrick added that Craddick along with Senate Finance Committee Chair Joan Huffman, R-Houston, will be working with him to get a bill through the Texas Legislature this year and then present the proposal before voters.

“I don’t think there’s a family in Texas who hasn’t been personally touched by these diseases or doesn’t have a close friend,” Huffman said, noting that roughly 30% of those on Medicaid in Texas who are in nursing homes have dementia-related issues and dementia patients are more likely readmitted to hospitals. “We’re paying a lot on the back end for these diseases.”

Few details have surfaced since Patrick announced he was making a Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas a priority this session, which begins Jan. 14. It’s not clear how much money such a fund would have or how it would be funded, either through bonds as CPRIT was, or whether the state’s enviable Economic Stabilization Fund, also known more commonly as its rainy day fund, would be tapped to get it started. Calls to Patrick’s office for more details were not immediately returned to The Texas Tribune.

But Craddick’s anecdote underscored what Patrick and other lawmakers are finding out in their own districts. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are a real concern because of its devastating toll and cost.

Patrick’s campaign for dementia research

Patrick’s announcement picks up from 2023, when a similar bill failed. That year state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, together with Craddick and others authored House Bill 15, which would have created a Mental Health and Brain Institute of Texas that would have received $300 million in state grants each year. The House passed the measure but it died in the Senate.

“I think it was too broad,” Craddick said of the 2023 attempt.

Then a few months ago, Patrick began reaching out to Huffman and Craddick about making a fund based on the CPRIT model.

“We sort of had some ideas kind of floating around for several sessions,” Huffman told the Tribune, adding that Patrick had been interested in dementia research for some time. “He wanted to make that one of his priorities.”

By highlighting the proposal this early, Craddick, the former Texas House speaker, doesn’t anticipate any roadblocks.

“I think the chances are excellent,” he said of the proposal’s probability of passing. It already has the support, he said, of House Speaker Dade Phelan.

What is the CPRIT model

Texas voters approved the creation of CPRIT in 2007, financing $3 billion for it through the issue of bonds.

Voters approved another $3 billion for it five years ago, even after it came under scrutiny in 2012 for awarding $56 million in grants to research that wasn’t properly vetted. CPRIT’s director resigned and after a change in leadership, CPRIT has continued to thrive as a medical research engine, awarding more than $3.7 billion in grants so far.

It is now the largest cancer research investment effort, second to the federal government. It has helped recruit 324 researchers to Texas and assisted in either the establishment, expansion or relocation of 74 companies to the state.

“The legislative decision to create this agency via constitutional amendment, and the overwhelming support of the people of Texas, provides CPRIT with the long-term stability needed to take on a task as big as conquering cancer,” said CPRIT CEO Kristen Doyle this week, recognizing the organization’s 15th anniversary.

Growing Alzheimer risk in Texas

Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease, is the most common form of dementia, accounting for about 80% of cases, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Alzheimer’s symptoms — memory loss and the inability to perform simple tasks — tend to develop in the mid-to-late 60s and occur when clumps of abnormal proteins block the communication of brain cells. Symptoms can be mild at first and worsen over time.

Of the nearly 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, nearly two-thirds are women, and dementia care costs Americans more than $300 billion a year.

While a 2023 study shows that the eastern and southeastern United States have the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s, Texas is one of three states that has the highest estimated number of older residents who are at risk of Alzheimer’s. The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that 459,000 Texans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, about 12% of the state’s population over the age of 65.

In Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, where residents are almost as twice as likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, has become a dementia research center.

Paying for a “bold vision”

News of a fund for dementia being made possible next year has been praised by health advocates.

Andy Keller, president and CEO of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, called it a “bold vision” for treating and ultimately curing dementia and related neurological disorders.

“Upon passage, the state that put a man on the moon and is leading the charge against cancer will hold the incredible potential to prevent, treat, and cure the neurological diseases that affect so many Texans,” Keller said.

The Alzheimer’s Association, which advocates for more research, also voiced their support of Patrick’s efforts.

“Our shared goal is to enhance the quality of life for those currently affected by Alzheimer’s while working toward a future with better treatment options and, ultimately, a cure,” said Melissa Sanchez, Texas senior director of public policy for the association.

At the University of Texas Systemwide Brain Research Summit on Tuesday, Dr. John Zerwas, the vice chancellor for health affairs for the UT System, interviewed Huffman, Craddick and neurosurgeon and state Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, about Patrick’s proposal, hitting on how research efforts like CPRIT have helped make Texas a better magnet for bioscience research. This has happened even while the state falls near the bottom in the amount of per-capita funding it receives for research from the National Institutes of Health.

“Because Texas is an exceptionally large state, well populated, we rank only 30th across the nation,” said Zerwas, a former state lawmaker.

Huffman replied that lawmakers are always looking for a way to draw down more federal dollars and if spending more state funds brings more federal cash to Texas, that’s an opportunity worth considering.

“They always say Texas is a donor state, which means we, you know, we pay more federal income tax than what we get from the federal government,” Huffman said. “That’s just the truth. And so when we see opportunities to make good investments that are sound investments that support Texas’s values and our goals, then we take that opportunity.”

As for how it will be funded, none of the three lawmakers committed to one method.

“There’s more than one way to do it,” Bonnen said. “Almost anything is going to move the ball forward.”

Oil company faces federal charges related to alleged Clean Water Act violations

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oil company Phillips 66 has been federally indicted in connection with alleged violations of the Clean Water Act in California, authorities said Thursday.

The Texas-based company is accused of discharging hundreds of thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater containing excessive amounts of oil and grease, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The company allegedly dumped the wastewater from its Carson oil refinery into the Los Angeles County sewer system in 2020 and 2021 and did not report the violations, prosecutors said.

Phillips is charged with two counts of negligently violating the Clean Water Act and four counts of knowingly violating the Clean Water Act. The company faces up to five years of probation on each count and a maximum of $2.4 million in fines.

An arraignment date has not been set.

“Phillips 66 will continue its cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s office and is prepared to present its case in these matters in court,” a spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. “The company remains committed to operating safely and protecting the health and safety of our employees and the communities where we operate.”

Last month, Phillips announced it would close its Southern California refinery by the end of 2025, citing market concerns. That refinery accounts for about 8% of California’s refining capacity, according to the state’s Energy Commission.

The company also operates a refinery near San Francisco that accounts for about 5% of California’s refining capacity, according to the state Energy Commission.

American Airlines’ new boarding tech might stop you at now over 100 airports

NEW YORK (AP) — Sneaking a little ahead of line to get on that plane faster? American Airlines might stop you.

In an apparent effort to reduce the headaches caused by airport line cutting, American has rolled out boarding technology that alerts gate agents with an audible sound if a passenger tries to scan a ticket ahead of their assigned group. This new software won’t accept a boarding pass before the group it’s assigned to is called, so customers who get to the gate prematurely will be asked to go back and wait their turn.

As of Wednesday, the airline announced, the technology is now being used in more than 100 U.S. airports that American flies out of. The official expansion arrives after successful tests in three of these locations — Albuquerque International Sunport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Tucson International Airport.

The initial response from customers and American employees “has exceeded our expectations,” Julie Rath, American’s senior vice president of airport operations, reservations and service recovery, said in a statement. She added that the airline is “thrilled” to have the technology up and running ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

American got lots of attention when it unveiled its gate-control testing last month. Analysts say that isn’t surprising.

It’s no secret that line cutting in airports hits a nerve. Whether intentional or not, just about every air traveler has witnessed it, noted Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst with Atmosphere Research Group. It can add to frustrations in what can already be a tense environment, with particular anxiety around passengers wanting to sit together or rushing for some overhead bin space.

Harteveldt doesn’t see American’s recent move as “shaming” customers who cut the line. “What it is intended to do is bring order out of chaos,” he said. “And I hope it will defuse any potential flare ups of anger (from) people who simply think they’re entitled to board out of turn …. It’s just not fair.”

Harteveldt added that he thinks this change will enhance the experiences of both customers and gate agents. Others say more time will tell.

Seth Miller, editor and founder of air travel experience analysis site PaxEx.aero, said he can see the benefits of more orderly and universal gate-control enforcement, particularly for airlines. But he said he isn’t “100% convinced this is perfect for passengers” just yet.

Families, for example, might be booked on several different reservations across more than one group, he said. Airlines typically have workarounds for that, and American noted Wednesday that customers traveling with a companion in an earlier group can simply have a gate agent “override the alert” to continue boarding. Still, Miller said, “you have to go through the extra hoops.”

And a difficult customer still might choose to hold up the line and argue when they’re not allowed to board, he added.

Another question is whether customers who encounter a beep will walk away feeling embarrassed. But Harteveldt said he was happy to learn that American’s alert is “not a bellowing sound that can be heard throughout the terminal,” or accompanied by your name read over a loudspeaker, noting that this is important to avoid feelings of shame.

Expanding this technology just a week before peak Thanksgiving travel could be “both good and bad,” Harteveldt adds. On one hand, the tech could help significantly improve the boarding process during such a busy time, he said, but airport employees might also have appreciated more time to prepare.

Both Miller and Harteveldt said they wouldn’t be surprised if other carriers soon follow American’s lead. Headaches over airport line cutting are far from new. While maybe not to the extent of American’s new tech, Miller noted he’s seen gate agents from other airlines ask people to leave a line and wait for their group. Harteveldt added that he’s been to some airports in Asia and Europe with “sliding doors” that ensure passengers are in the right group before boarding a plane.

The more than 100 airports that American is now using its gate-control technology in are all spoke, or non-hub, locations — including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airline says it expects to further expand to its hubs and other airports in the coming months.

Texas is taking a final vote on allowing Bible-infused lessons in public schools

AUSTIN (AP) — Texas would allow Bible-infused lessons in elementary schools under changes that were set for a final vote Friday and could test boundaries between religion and public education in the U.S.

The proposed curriculum narrowly cleared a preliminary vote this week at the Texas State Board of Education, whose elected members heard hours of sometimes impassioned pleas from both supporters and critics over the material that schools could begin using next year.

If adopted, the new Texas curriculum would follow Republican-led efforts in neighboring states to give religion more of a presence in public schools. In Oklahoma, the state’s education chief has ordered a copy of the Bible in every classroom, while Louisiana wants to make all of the state’s public school classrooms post the Ten Commandments beginning next year.

In Texas, it would be optional for schools to adopt the materials, but they’d receive additional funding if they do so.

If the board advances the curriculum, Texas would be the first state to introduce Bible lessons in schools in this manner, according to Matthew Patrick Shaw, an assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University.

Creating Bible-infused lessons

The Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education for more than 5 million students statewide, created its own instruction materials after a law passed in 2023 by the GOP-controlled Legislature required the agency to do so. The lesson plans were publicly released this spring.

The material draws on lessons from Christianity more than any other religion in the proposed reading and language arts modules for kindergarten through fifth grade, which critics say would alienate students from different faith backgrounds and potentially violate the First Amendment.

“This curriculum is not age-appropriate or subject matter appropriate in the way that it presents these Bible stories,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

Children who would read the material, she said, “are simply too young to tell the difference between what is a faith claim and what is a matter of fact.”

More than 100 people testified at a board meeting this week that rung with emotion from parents, teachers and advocates. Supporters of the curriculum argued that the Bible is a core feature of American history and teaching it will enrich students’ learning.

“It is said that there are close to 300 common-day phrases that actually come from the Bible,” said Mary Castle, director of government relations for Texas Values, a right-leaning advocacy group. “So students will benefit from being able to understand a lot of these references that are in literature and have a way to be able to comprehend them.”

A narrow early vote

The 15-member board consists of 11 Republicans and four Democrats. It signaled support for the materials in a 8-7 preliminary vote on Wednesday.

One of the board members is a Republican who was appointed to the board just weeks ago by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to temporarily fill a vacant seat. Days after that appointment, a Democrat who ran unopposed was elected to fill that same board seat starting next year.

Abbott has publicly supported the instruction materials.

Whether the lesson plans will be considered constitutional is up in the air if the curriculum passes, Shaw said.

“The question is how is Texas going to frame what is done here to avoid the establishment question or tackle it head-on,” he said.

Bringing religion into schools

Texas’ plans to implement Biblical teachings in public school lesson plans is the latest effort by Republican-controlled states to bring religion into the classroom.

In Louisiana, a law to place the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms was blocked by a federal judge earlier this month. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill into law in June, prompting a group of Louisiana public school parents of different faiths to sue.

In Oklahoma, the state’s top education official has tried to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for children in fifth through 12th grades. A group of teachers and parents recently filed a lawsuit to stop the Republican state superintendent’s plan and his efforts to spend $3 million to purchase Bibles for public schools.

Congressional Republicans continue to introduce bills eliminating the Department of Education

(WASHINGTON) -- South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds introduced the "Returning Education Back to Our States Act" on Thursday, signaling a commitment to deliver on President-elect Donald Trump's vow to dismantle the Department of Education.

In the conservative movement to return education back to local control, Rounds said the legislation would "eliminate" the department while redistributing all critical federal programs to other agencies.

Rounds' announcement was first reported by Fox News.

"For years, I've worked toward removing the federal Department of Education," the Republican senator wrote in a statement, adding "I'm pleased that President-elect Trump shares this vision, and I'm excited to work with him and Republican majorities in the Senate and House to make this a reality. This legislation is a roadmap to eliminating the federal Department of Education by practically rehoming these federal programs in the departments where they belong, which will be critical as we move into next year."

In his statement, Rounds said the United States spends too much on education for students' test scores to be lagging behind other countries in standardized assessments. He called the DOE ineffective and earmarked the department's responsibilities for the Departments of Interior, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Labor and State, according to the bill text.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and aid programs under Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Indian Education of the Department of Education will be transferred to the Department of the Interior, the Federal Pell Grant and other higher education loan programs will be transferred to the Department of the Treasury.

According to the bill, the treasury department will allocate Block grants to states for K-12 and postsecondary education. The treasury secretary also has the power to withhold these funds if they are mishandled by the states. The Justice Department will oversee federal civil rights laws that were previously under Title VI.

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie told ABC News Thursday morning that he would also bring forward legislation to abolish the DOE within the "first few weeks" of the 119th Congress.

"There'll be one sentence - only thing that will change is the date: The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2026," Massie told ABC News.

Massie has been pushing to defund the U.S. Department of Education since the start of 2023 when he introduced H.R. 899. Massie's bill wasn't voted on in the House last year.

However, education analyst Neal McCluskey at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, argued Massie's one-sentence bill was not realistic.

"You've got to figure out what to do with all the legislation that feeds into the Department of Education," McCluskey said.

"If Congress were to pass that law that says, abolish the Department of Education, technically the department would go away, but then you'd have all sorts of questions, well, who's going to administrate or be administrator for all these programs," he said.

In March 2023, Massie wrote an amendment H.Amendment 124 in H.R. 5, the "Parents Bill of Rights Act" – the House's signature K-12 education policy – to abolish the department. That amendment failed as all Democrats and 60 House Republicans voted against it.

Here are ways to gut the department

Even as Republicans hold majorities in both chambers next Congress, the Senate typically needs 60 votes to do anything, according to McCluskey. McCluskey said, "There's no chance they're going to be at 60, and so it's going to be tough [to abolish the department legislatively]."

"The Department of Education administers a whole lot of laws, and then those laws have to be changed about who runs student aid and who is tasked with making decisions about canceling student debt, and who decides or who administers Title I and lots of these other federal programs," McCluskey told ABC News.

"He [President-elect Trump] can certainly use the bully pulpit to drive this a lot. He could provide legislative blueprints if he wanted to. But ultimately this has to come through Congress," McCluskey underscored.

Meanwhile, Augustus Mays, vice president for partnerships and engagement at the advocacy group The Education Trust, told ABC News that the president-elect could also ask Congress to gut federal programs like Title 1, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and others, in his congressional budget request.

Public education, particularly in high-need districts, would effectively be drained of millions of dollars, according to Mays.

"It would really cripple the ability to function and aid the support that these students need to really succeed from an academic standpoint," Mays said.

Trump announces Pam Bondi is his new AG pick after Gaetz withdraws

(NEW YORK) -- On the same day that former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general, Trump announced that he will pick former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to fill that role in his administration.

Bondi, 59, has remained in Trump’s inner circle for years and has continued to advise him on legal matters. She was one of the lawyers who defended Trump during his first Senate impeachment trial.

"I have known Pam for many years -- She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!" Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Bondi's nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. She did not immediately comment about Trump's announcement.

For more than a decade, Bondi has been a key Trump supporter and has been involved in some controversies, including the "big lie," pushed by Trump in 2020.

In 2013, the Trump Foundation sent a $25,000 donation to Bondi's fundraising committee for her attorney general reelection campaign. Around the same time, Bondi's office had been considering reviewing a lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general's office that probed Trump and Trump University, but it ultimately did not join the suit.

Bondi and Trump both denied allegations that the donation led to her decision to not join the lawsuit. She endorsed Trump for his presidential run and spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention leading a "lock her up chant" against then-Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. She also served as a co-chair of Trump's 2020 reelection bid.

Bondi left the Florida Attorney General's office in 2019 and a year later was named part of Trump's defense team for his first impeachment trial. He was acquitted in the Senate.

Bondi continued to be part of Trump's legal team during the 2020 election and repeatedly made false claims about voter fraud when he lost to Joe Biden.

Recently, she has been a member of the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute where she serves as the chair for the Center for Litigation, and co-chair of the Center for Law and Justice, according to the think tank's website.

Retirement plans are changing in 2025: What to know

(NEW YORK) -- If you are nearing retirement, you will soon be able to stash even more money into your nest egg -- if you can afford it.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that the maximum amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) or similar plans in 2025 will increase to $23,500, up from $23,000 for 2024.

The federal government already lets those 50 and older make extra contributions so that they can save more as they near retirement age. This is known as a "catch-up" contribution.

In 2025, the standard catch-up contribution will stay the same, with a max of $7,500, according to the IRS.

But starting next year, workers ages 60 to 63 will be able to make “super” catch-up contributions, up to $11,250 annually, which is an additional $3,750.

That means they can potentially contribute up to $34,750 in total, each year, to a workplace retirement account.

The substantially higher catch-up contributions are part of SECURE 2.0, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022 as part of a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package.

“While anything that encourages more investing is generally a good thing, I'm afraid this rule change probably won't make a big impact, " Bankrate's Senior Industry Analyst Ted Rossman, told ABC News. “There has to be a very small population between the ages of 60 and 63 who were maxing out their accounts and can now go higher.”

In 2023, just 14% of retirement plan participants maxed out their 401(k) limits, according to Vanguard Research.

Even those who have always maxed out their retirement savings contributions may need to reallocate funds as they age and start to face extra expenses, like sending children to college or caring for aging parents.

Aside from 401(k) plans and similar employee-sponsored plans, the limit on annual Individual Retirement Account contributions is unchanged next year, at $7,000, while the catch-up contribution for people 50 and older will remain $1,000.

Those limits apply to both traditional IRAs, which may offer a tax deduction depending on income, and to Roth IRAs, which don’t come with a tax deduction but do offer tax-free growth and withdrawals in retirement.

An aging population, coupled with fewer companies offering pensions, means that a smaller portion of the population overall is prepared for retirement.

The typical household headed by someone ages 55 to 64 has just $10,000 saved in a retirement account, according to an analysis of federal data by the Economic Policy Institute and the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis.

“Not to discourage investing at any age, but there's a reason why Einstein said compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world,” Rossman said. “Investing is more powerful when you're young.”

Still, catch-up contributions can be a valuable way to grow your retirement fund and enjoy the tax benefits.

Rossman said it’s also important to contribute regularly to your 401(k) and gradually increase your contributions. He suggested putting reminders in your calendar to increase your 401(k) contribution every year.

“The idea is that you're less likely to miss the extra money if you do it gradually or if you do it in tandem with a pay raise,” Rossman said.

For instance, he said, if you're currently contributing 5% of your salary, could you bump that up to 6% or 7% next year?

“Gradually dialing up your percentage makes it more likely that you'll stick with the approach," Rossman added, "and you won't diminish your standard of living.”

Giraffes need endangered species protection for the first time, US officials say

(NEW YORK) -- The tallest animal on Earth is in danger, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has called for federal protections for giraffe species for the first time.

In the face of poaching, habitat loss and climate change, the agency proposes listing three subspecies of northern giraffes from west, central and east Africa as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

"Federal protections for giraffes will help protect a vulnerable species, foster biodiversity, support ecosystem health, combat wildlife trafficking, and promote sustainable economic practices," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a press release Wednesday.

"This action supports giraffe conservation while ensuring the United States does not contribute further to their decline," Williams added.

The subspecies officials say need endangered designation include the West African, Kordofan and Nubian giraffes.

The populations of these subspecies of northern giraffes have declined approximately 77% since 1985, from 25,653 to 5,919 individuals, according to the agency, which notes, only 690 West African giraffes remain.

Additionally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommends two subspecies of southern giraffes, Angolan and South African, be listed as threatened.

If the proposal is finalized, officials say the designation would reduce illegal hunting and trade of giraffes by requiring permits for import into the U.S. and increase funding for conservation and research efforts.

"Giraffes have been moving towards extinction for years, but their plight has gone largely unnoticed," Danielle Kessler, U.S. Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), said in a statement to ABC News.

The IFAW helped craft and submit the Endangered Species Act listing proposal.

Kessler said the decline in giraffe populations is known as the "silent extinction" with subspecies numbers plummeting dramatically by up to 40% over the last 30 years.

"Losing giraffes would be a devastating loss to Earth's biodiversity," Kessler said. "We hope that USFWS will move quickly to finalize this decision and safeguard the future of these species."

Texas land commissioner open to offering Trump more land for mass deportation

(STARR COUNTY, Texas) -- A Texas official, who this week offered the incoming Trump administration a 1,402-acre plot of land to build "deportation facilities," says other parts of Texas near the border could be offered up in a similar fashion.

"Absolutely -- I have 13 million acres, if any of them can be of help in this process, we're happy to have that discussion," Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham told ABC's Mireya Villarreal in an interview.

The Texas General Land Office purchased the plot of land from a farmer in October originally to facilitate Texas' efforts to build a border wall. Together with this land, the state office owns about 4,000 acres in Starr County, about 35 miles from McAllen, Texas.

"My office is fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation's history," Buckingham wrote in a letter addressed to President-elect DonaldTrump, earlier this week.

In an interview via Zoom, Buckingham claimed authorities were frequently "getting reports from the community" that crimes were happening on the property.

"There was a significant mass of humanity and terrible things happening on this property. We heard it again and again and again," she said.

Buckingham placed the blame squarely on what she called the Biden administration's "open border policies" and said the county voted Republican for the first time in a century because residents there felt those policies are "directly harming their communities" and jeopardizing their safety.

During the interview, Villarreal noted she had been speaking with residents and community leaders in the region who paint a different picture of the area, one of a safe community that does not have the violent crime that Buckingham has described.

When asked by Villareal to provide details of where those crimes are occurring, Buckingham said most of the migrants are passing through and, using some of the same rhetoric about migrants and crime used by President-elect Donald Trump on the campaign trail, said they "unleash some of their violent criminal habits" in other states across the country.

"Well, a lot of it is migrant-migrant crime, but you're right, the communities along the border are lovely," she said. "The people who live there are lovely. Obviously, most of the migrants who come across aren't interested in sticking around too long. They go to other parts of the country, as we have seen in faraway states -- people who came across the Texas border -- and then tend to unleash some of their violent criminal habits in other states."

She added, "But the bottom line is, until we have complete operational control of the border, until we have these violent criminals off of our soil that continue to hurt our sons and daughters, we need to keep working on it and get it done."

In 2023, in the same county where the Texas commission recently bought the 1,402-acre plot of land, the Biden administration announced it had authorized building about 20 miles of southern border wall using money that was already appropriated under the first Trump administration.

President Joe Biden at the time claimed he had no choice to build the wall, which directly contradicted a promise he made during his 2020 presidential run.

"I tried to get them to reappropriate -- to redirect the money," Biden told reporters at the time. "They didn't, they wouldn't. And in the meantime, there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what is appropriated. I can't stop that."

After that announcement, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there was an "immediate need to construct physical barriers" in the area.

Buckingham said she's confident she'll hear back from the incoming Trump administration about her offer of land.

"We have heard through back channels that they're aware of our letter and they are definitely looking at it," she said.

Incoming "border czar" Tom Homan, in an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, indicated the incoming administration would be open to using the land Texas is offering.

"Absolutely we will," he said, adding that when they arrest a migrant, they'll need a place to detain them.

Democratic governors of border states -- such as Arizona and California -- have said they will not aid the Trump administration's mass deportation plans.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs told ABC News Live earlier this week that she would not use state police or the National Guard to help with mass deportation.

ABC News' Mireya Villareal contributed to this report.