MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. and Mexico agreed to amend a 1944 water treaty, which might bring some relief to South Texas farmers struggling with scarce water.
The International Water and Boundary Commission, a federal agency that oversees international water treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, announced Saturday that the two countries had signed a highly-anticipated agreement that will give Mexico more options to meet its water deliveries to the U.S. Mexico still needs to give the U.S. more than a million acre-feet of water.
South Texas farmers and ranchers have been devastated lately by low rainfall and Mexico falling behind on its deliveries to the region.
Under the 1944 international treaty, Mexico must deliver 1,750,000 acre-feet of water to the U.S. from six tributaries every five years, or an average of 350,000 every year. But Mexico is at a high risk of not meeting that deadline. The country still has a balance of more than 1.3 million acre-feet of water it needs to deliver by October 2025.
The new amendment will allow Mexico to meet its delivery obligations by giving up water that was allotted to the country under the treaty. It also allows Mexico to transfer water it has stored at the Falcon and Amistad international reservoirs to the U.S.
Additionally, the agreement gives Mexico the option of delivering water it doesn’t need from the San Juan and Alamo rivers, which are not part of the six tributaries.
The amendment also addresses a current offer Mexico made to give the U.S. 120,000 acre-feet of water. South Texas farmers were wary of the offer because they worried that by accepting the water, the state would later force farmers to make up for it by giving up water they have been storing for next year.
But because the amendment allows Mexico to make use of water in its reservoirs to meet its treaty obligations, the farmers hope the country will transfer enough water for the next planting season to make up for any water they might have to give up.
“What’s more important is we need water transferred at Amistad and Falcon,†said Sonny Hinojosa, a water advocate for Hidalgo County Irrigation District No. 2, which distributes water to ranchers and farmers in the region. “If water gets transferred, they’ll know they’ll have a little bit of water for next year.â€
U.S. officials celebrated the signing of the amendment, which was initially meant to occur in December 2023. Mexican officials said they would not sign the agreement until after their presidential elections, which happened in June.
“The last thirty years of managing over-stretched water resources in the Rio Grande basin have produced broad agreement that the status quo was not acceptable,†IBWC commissioner Maria-Elena Giner said in a statement. “ With the signing of this (amendment), Mexico has tools for more regular water deliveries that can be applied right away.â€
The amendment’s provisions that address current water delivery shortfalls expire in five years unless extended. The amendment also establishes longer-term measures such as an environmental working group to explore other sources of water. It also formalized the Lower Rio Grande Water Quality Initiative to address water quality concerns, including salinity.
Hinojosa said he’s concerned that by allowing Mexico to deliver water from the San Juan River, which is downstream from the reservoirs, the country won’t feel as obligated to deliver water from the six tributaries managed by the treaty and still end up delivering less water to the Big Bend region. But he said he expects the agreement will bring some immediate relief.
“It’s going to get us some water, for now,†Hinojosa said. “Hopefully.â€
(HAITI) -- A Spirit Airlines plane flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Haiti was diverted after it was struck by gunfire while attempting to land in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian National Office of Civil Aviation (OFNAC) told ABC News.
The plane was struck by gunfire four times while attempting to land at Touissant Louverture Airport in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, OFNAC said.
The Spirit Airlines plane "diverted and landed safely in Santiago, Dominican Republic," Spirit Airlines said in a statement Monday, adding that no passengers reported injuries and one flight attendant onboard the plane reported unspecified "minor injuries" and was undergoing medical evaluation.
The plane came within 550 feet of the runway before aborting its landing and diverting to the Dominican Republic, according to data on FlightRadar24.
After the plane arrived in the Dominican Republic, "an inspection revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire," the Spirit Airlines statement said. The plane was taken out of service and a different aircraft was secured to return the passengers and crew to Fort Lauderdale, the statement added.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed in a statement that the Spirit Airlines flight landed safely in the Dominican Republic "after the plane was reportedly damaged by gunfire while trying to land" at the Port-au-Prince airport.
Two other flights headed for Toussaint Louverture Airport were also diverted "as a precaution," the FAA said in its statement, adding that the airport was now closed.
All airlines have temporarily suspended flights at Touissant Louverture Airport, OFNAC told ABC News.
American Airlines and JetBlue issued statements Monday announcing that they had suspended flights into Haiti until at least Thursday.
The U.S. Embassy in Haiti issued a security alert saying that it was "aware of gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports."
"The security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous," the embassy alert continued, further noting that "The U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety traveling to airports, borders, or during any onward travel. You should consider your personal security situation before traveling anywhere in Haiti."
SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Express-News reports that group that advocates for Texas to declare independence from the United States celebrated the election of several Republicans to the state House this week. The Texas Nationalist Movement said 190 leaders have signed its “Texas First Pledge,” including 65 current officeholders. The group said the Nov. 5 election “isn’t just a victory – it’s a revolution in Texas politics,” according to a Facebook post. “The political establishment tried to paint the Texas First Pledge as extreme. These results prove what we’ve known all along – when Texans understand their right to self-government is on the line, they’ll fight back,” said TNM President Daniel Miller in the post, which had received 75 likes three days after being posted.
In 2023, the group submitted a petition with 140,000 signatures to the state Republican Party to put an advisory vote on the 2024 GOP primary asking voters whether they think Texas should “reassert its status as an independent nation.” But the GOP rejected the petition, saying it was not delivered in time and the vast majority of the signatures were invalid. The “TEXIT” proponents fought the rejection, but the state Supreme Court declined to take up a case and also rejected the petition.
WASHINGTON – Reuters reports businessman Elon Musk, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, endorsed Republican Senator Rick Scott for U.S. Senate majority leader on Sunday as the race to fill the influential post heats up after the party won control of the chamber. Republicans are expected to hold at least 52 seats in the 100-member Senate after capturing three previously held by Democrats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana in last Tuesday’s election. Current Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who has led his party in the chamber since 2007, has said he will step down from leadership after the election. “Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader!” Musk, a tech billionaire who has emerged as a major backer of Trump in recent months, wrote in a social media post on Sunday.
Musk is the world’s wealthiest person. Scott, who represents Florida in the Senate, is a former healthcare executive and the wealthiest sitting senator. Musk endorsed Trump on July 13, the day the former president was shot in the ear in a Pennsylvania assassination attempt. In an interview on Fox News on Sunday, Scott said that the Senate needs to implement real change. “We can’t keep doing what we’re doing,” Scott said. “That’s what Donald Trump got elected to do, to be the change.” Trump campaigned on promises, among other things, to deport immigrants who are in the United States illegally, cut taxes, impose tariffs on international trading partners and loosen fiscal policy. Scott has the backing of several hard-right Republican senators, but it remains whether he can bring Republican moderates to his side.
TEXAS BORDER (AP) – Mexico is facing a second Donald Trump presidency, and few countries can match its experience as a target of Trump’s rhetoric: There have been threats to close the border, impose tariffs and even send U.S. forces to fight Mexican drug cartels if the country doesn’t do more to stem the flow of migrants and drugs. That’s not to mention what mass deportations of migrants who are in the U.S. illegally could do to remittances — the money sent home by migrants — that have become one of Mexico’s main sources of income. But as much as this second round looks like the first round — when Mexico pacified Trump by quietly ceding to his immigration demands — circumstances have changed, and not necessarily for the better. Today, Mexico has in Claudia Sheinbaum a somewhat stern leftist ideologue as president, and Trump is not known for handling such relations well.
DALLAS (AP) — In one Norman Rockwell painting, a family proudly welcomes a beaming Boy Scout home from camp, his duffel bag in hand. In another of Rockwell’s achingly idyllic works, a Cub Scout stands on a chair to measure the chest of his older brother, a Boy Scout who has taped his fitness record to his bedroom wall.
Many of the works from the Boy Scouts of America’s collection are as interwoven into American life as the organization itself, having been featured on magazine covers, calendars and even used to sell war bonds. Next week, the works will begin to be auctioned off to help pay the compensation owed to tens of thousands of people — mainly men — who were sexually abused while in scouting.
The collection of over 300 works, including dozens by Rockwell, is estimated to be worth nearly $60 million — a tiny amount in relation to the organization’s multibillion dollar bankruptcy plan. Campgrounds and other Boy Scouts’ properties have also been sold to help pay the survivors.
“The idea that an iconic art collection that the Boy Scouts have assembled over many years is being liquidated in order to pay survivors recoveries and to bring them some measure of justice I think is very significant,†said Barbara Houser, a retired bankruptcy judge who is overseeing the survivors’ settlement trust.
This year, the 114-year-old organization based in suburban Dallas announced it is rebranding to Scouting America, a change intended to signal the organization’s commitment to inclusivity. The group now welcomes girls, as well as gay youth and leaders.
BULLARD – Our news partner, KETK, reports that first responders worked to free an individual who fell into a Bullard wood chipper Monday morning, authorities said.
Nikki Simmons, the Community Outreach Coordinator for Smith County Emergency Services District 2, said they were dispatched around 8:37 a.m. to a traumatic injury at 49759 Hwy 69 in Bullard.
According to Simmons, firefighters were called to assist EMS after a person was reported to have fallen into a wood chipper. The person was freed from the heavy machinery before 9:30 a.m. and Simmons said they have been transported to the hospital.
At this time, the extent of the person’s injuries and their condition is unknown.
(LONDON) -- The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza -- particularly in the north of the strip -- and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office in January.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called "precise strikes on military targets" in several locations in Iran following Tehran's Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Hostage families meet with Biden, hope for 'new thoughts on the table' with Trump The families of American hostages being held by Hamas met with President Joe Biden for roughly an hour and a half Wednesday afternoon, according to the White House.
They discussed where the situation now stands and noted that the topic was also, apparently, on the agenda for Biden and President-elect Donald Trump’s sit-down in the Oval Office.
"Both incoming and outgoing presidents are fully aligned on the importance of releasing the hostages and the urgency," one of the family members said outside the West Wing.
They’re calling on the incoming Trump administration to use these next two months to "take action immediately" with the current national security team to try and secure a hostage release before Inauguration Day.
Earlier today, family members met with the senior staff of Sen. Marco Rubio, who Trump has tapped to be his secretary of state. They said they are hopeful to sit down with the senator later this week. Requests have also been made to meet with all of Trump’s national security picks.
They said they’re hopeful that a new administration will put "new thoughts on the table" since there has been a stalemate for months in trying to secure a deal.
They said they also believe that Trump’s relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will help get a deal in place "as soon as possible."
This group of family members also met separately with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
6 Israeli soldiers killed in combat in southern Lebanon, IDF says Six Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed during combat in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Capt. Itay Marcovich, Staff Sgt. Sraya Elbom, Staff Sgt. Dror Hen, Sgt. Shalev Itzhak Sagron and Staff Sgt. Nir Gofer were killed in combat. The sixth soldier killed in combat was not named.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller
Israeli strike leaves 7 dead in Gaza, IDF issues warnings to suburbs in Beirut An Israeli strike in Khan Younis left seven people dead Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
At least 47 people were killed and 182 people were injured in Gaza in the last day, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.
In Lebanon, Israeli forces also issued two separate evacuation warnings to residents in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
-ABC News' Sami Zyara and Diaa Ostaz
Sirens sound in Israel following projectile launches from Lebanon Sirens sounded in central Israel on Wednesday due to projectile launches from Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller
Experts tell UN north Gaza famine is 'occurring or imminent'
Experts warned the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that famine is "occurring or imminent" in parts of northern Gaza.
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon rejected the famine warning as "simply false" and said Israel is making additional efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory.
During the session, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said there must be "no forcible displacement, nor policy of starvation in Gaza" by Israel, warning such policies would have implications under U.S. and international law.
The session was held shortly after the U.S. said it would not restrict military aid to Israel despite concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza after more than a year of war.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky and Joe Simonetti
Palestinian militants release video of Russian-Israeli hostage
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum authorized the publication Wednesday of a video released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad of hostage Alexander "Sasha" Troufanov -- the first video of a living captive for several months.
Troufanov, 29, was kidnapped from his parents' home in the border kibbutz of Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. His mother Yelena, grandmother Irena and partner Sapir were also kidnapped, but released in a November 2023 prisoner swap deal. His father, Vitaly, was killed in the attack.
In the video released Wednesday, Troufanov said he and other surviving hostages were running out of food and basic hygiene products. Troufanov urged the Israeli public to continue pressing for a hostage release deal and said he feared being accidentally killed by the Israel Defence Forces.
PIJ released two videos of Troufanov in May.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement posted to social media, "It's inconceivable and incomprehensible that almost a year has passed since the last hostage release deal."
"The hostages have no time left -- a deal for their release is the only way to bring them all back to us: the living for rehabilitation and those who were murdered for proper burial."
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
New Israeli airstrikes, evacuation orders in Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces ordered residents of several areas in the southern Beirut suburbs to flee their homes on Wednesday morning ahead of an imminent resumption of airstrikes
The target locations were in the Hezbollah stronghold suburb of Dahiya, which has been the focus of Israeli airstrikes since September.
The Wednesday morning evacuation orders came after a night of heavy bombardment in the area, which the IDF claimed targeted "Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and command centers."
Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,200 people since Oct. 8, 2023. Around a quarter of Lebanon's population -- some 1.2 million people -- have been forced from their homes by Israel's operation, per United Nations figures.
State Department denies giving Israel 'a pass' on Gaza
Vedant Patel, the State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, denied at a Tuesday briefing that the U.S. is giving Israel "a pass" after President Joe Biden's administration said it would not withhold weapons earmarked for the country over dire humanitarian conditions inside Gaza.
Tuesday saw the expiry of a 30-day deadline set by the U.S. for Israel to "surge" aid into the devastated Palestinian territory, or risk restrictions on military aid. Patel said Israel met some -- but not all -- U.S. demands set out in an Oct. 13 letter signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
"Certainly I would not view it as giving them a pass, because one, no one is up here -- certainly I'm not -- saying that the situation in Gaza or the humanitarian circumstances are rosy," Patel told journalists at a Tuesday briefing.
"It is a very dire circumstance," he added. "And what we need to see is we need to see these steps acted on. We need to see them implemented."
-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston
White House says Israel has 'taken steps' to improve aid in Gaza
Following a State Department press briefing with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the White House released a statement saying they’ve seen Israel has "taken steps" to improve humanitarian aid in Gaza but "there's more work to be done."
“We have seen, certainly some improvement. And again, we are going to do everything that we can," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News.
"The United States, we are indeed, the largest provider of humanitarian aid, humanitarian assistance into Gaza to relieve the pain of the Palestinian people. And what we're seeing and you're right, it is dire. But those discussions continue, and we're going to be laser-focused on that," Jean-Pierre added.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
Tens of people killed in Gaza, Lebanon after Israeli strikes
At least 62 Palestinians were killed and 147 were wounded in five IDF attacks across the Gaza Strip within the last 48 hours as the situation in the north remains dire, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
The IDF launched strikes on Beit Hanoun in the north, Deir Al Balah and the Al-Mawasi area Tuesday morning, where displaced people were sheltering in west of Khan Yunis.
Several strikes on southern Beirut were reported as well. In Lebanon, at least 3,287 people have been killed and 14,222 wounded since October 2023.
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian, Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz and Ghazi Balkiz
Airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs
Several large airstrikes rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday morning, shortly after the Israel Defense Forces issued new evacuation orders for people living in the southern suburbs of Dahiya.
Dahiya -- known as a Hezbollah stronghold -- has borne the brunt of Israeli airstrikes on the capital. It was here that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by a massive Israeli attack in September.
The IDF has said it is targeting Hezbollah operatives, weapons manufacturing facilities and arms storage sites in the area.
Lebanese authorities say 3,200 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since cross-border fighting with Hezbollah flared again on Oct. 8, 2023.
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
New Gaza aid crossing opens, Israel says
The Israel Defense Forces and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories agency announced Tuesday the opening of a new humanitarian aid crossing into the Gaza Strip, on the same day a U.S. deadline to improve the flow of aid expired.
"In accordance with directives from the political echelon, and as part of the effort and commitment to increase the volume and routes of aid to the Gaza Strip, the 'Kisufim' crossing was opened" for "the transfer of humanitarian aid trucks," the statement said.
The deliveries will include "food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment to central and southern Gaza," the statement said. The supplies underwent "strict security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing" before being sent into the strip, the IDF and COGAT said.
An Oct. 13 letter signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that continued failure to allow adequate aid into Gaza may trigger U.S. laws restricting military support for Israel.
Among the letter's demands were that Israel allow a minimum of 350 truckloads of goods to enter Gaza each day, that it open a fifth crossing into the besieged territory, that it allow people in Israeli-imposed coastal tent camps to move inland before the winter and that it ensure access for aid groups to hard-hit northern Gaza.
The letter also called on Israel to halt legislation -- since passed -- that would hinder the operations of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Israel fails to meet US aid demands in Gaza, NGOs say
A group of eight aid agencies published a joint statement Tuesday alleging that Israel has failed to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza in the 30-day window set by the U.S.
The U.S. deadline for Israel to "surge" food and other humanitarian aid into the devastated territory expires Tuesday.
Officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned last month that Israel's failure to deliver may trigger laws requiring the U.S. to restrict military aid to Israel.
The eight NGOs -- among them Oxfam America, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children -- awarded Israel a "failing grade" in meeting U.S. demands.
"The facts are clear: the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now at its worst point since the war began in October 2023," the statement said.
"This new analysis clearly demonstrates that the Israeli government is violating its obligations under U.S. and international law to facilitate humanitarian relief for suffering Palestinians in Gaza," Refugees International President -- and former senior USAID official -- Jeremy Konyndyk said.
"With experts again projecting imminent famine in north Gaza, there is no time to lose. The United States must impose immediate restrictions on security cooperation with Israel," he added.
-ABC News' Guy Davies
US strikes Iran-backed groups in Syria
U.S. Central Command announced late Monday that American forces struck nine targets in two locations "associated with Iranian groups in Syria" in response to attacks on U.S. personnel in the country.
"These strikes will degrade the Iranian backed groups' ability to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and coalition forces" deployed to the region for operations against Islamic State militants, CENTCOM said.
"Attacks against U.S. and coalition partners in the region will not be tolerated," CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement.
"We will continue to take every step necessary to protect our personnel and coalition partners and respond to reckless attacks," he added.
'No cease-fire' in Lebanon, Israeli defense minister says
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday there would be "no cease-fire" and "no respite" in Lebanon despite an ongoing diplomatic push to end Israel's campaign against Hezbollah in the country.
Katz said the offensive against Hezbollah -- and the killing of its former leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September -- "are a picture of victory and the offensive activity should be continued" to further erode Hezbollah capabilities "and realize the fruits of victory."
"We will continue to hit Hezbollah with full force until the goals of the war are achieved," Katz said in a post to X.
"Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel's right" to "prevent terrorism on its own," Katz continued, demanding the disarming of Hezbollah, the group's withdrawal north of the Litani River and the return of Israeli communities to their homes in the north of the country.
Katz was appointed to head the Defense Ministry earlier this month. He replaced Yoav Gallant, who had emerged as a top critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's prosecution of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Katz was previously Israel's foreign minister.
7 killed in strike in southern Lebanon: Health ministry
Seven people were killed and another seven injured after an Israeli strike on Al-Saksakieh in southern Lebanon Monday evening local time, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.
Search and rescue teams are working to find missing people under the rubble, Lebanese national media reported.
The Israeli Defense Forces issued a warning to residents of 21 villages in southern Lebanon telling them to evacuate their homes immediately Monday evening local time.
-ABC News Ghazi Balkiz
Israeli finance minister wants Israel to extend sovereignty to West Bank in 2025
Israel's far-right finance minister said he wants Israel to extend sovereignty to the West Bank in 2025 and believes U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will "support the State of Israel in this move."
"In the first term, President Trump led dramatic moves, including the transfer of the American embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel, recognition of the Golan Heights, and the decision on the legality and legitimacy of the settlements in Judea and Samaria, along with the Abraham agreements of peace for peace," Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in remarks on Monday.
Smotrich, who has called for Israeli sovereignty in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for years, also said he has directed staff to begin "work to prepare the necessary infrastructure for the application of sovereignty" to the West Bank.
-ABC News' Dana Savir
Hezbollah fires 75 projectiles into Israel, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah fired at least 75 projectiles into Israel on Monday.
Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said it treated three people with shrapnel injuries in the area of Karmiel in northern Israel. Two other people were treated for shrapnel injuries in the Krayot area, the MDA said.
Hezbollah claimed several rocket and drone attacks on Monday.
Among the strikes was a "large rocket salvo" targeting a paratrooper training base in Karmiel settlement, Hezbollah said in a statement.
-ABC News' Dana Savir and Ghazi Balkiz
IDF orders residents of 21 south Lebanon villages to evacuate
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued a warning to residents of 21 south Lebanon villages to evacuate their homes until further notice, warning of imminent Israeli strikes there.
Adraee said in a post on X that the villages were the site of Hezbollah military activity and warned that the IDF would "act forcefully" against targets there.
"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move to the north of the Awali River," Adraee wrote. "For your safety, you must evacuate without delay."
"You are prohibited from heading south," he added. "Any movement south could be dangerous to your life."
Around a quarter of Lebanese territory and a quarter of all residents -- some 1.2 million people -- are under IDF evacuation orders, per United Nations analysis.
Israel has killed more than 3,000 people in southern Lebanon since Oct. 8, 2023, Lebanese authorities have said.
IDF says deadly north Lebanon strike targeted Hezbollah weapons
The Israel Defense Forces said the strike in northern Lebanon that killed dozens of people on Sunday targeted "a Hezbollah terrorist site" which was storing weapons.
Lebanese health officials said the airstrike on the village of Aalmat -- in a mainly Christian area in the north of the country -- killed 23 and injured at least six others. Seven children were among the dead, officials said. Search and rescue work was ongoing as of Sunday.
The IDF said that Hezbollah fighters "responsible for firing rockets and missiles toward Israeli territory" were "operating from the site," adding that the details of the incident "are under review."
Lebanese authorities say that Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,000 people since Oct. 8, 2023. Some 1.2 million people -- around a quarter of Lebanon's population -- have also been displaced by Israel's military campaign.
-ABC News' Dana Savir
IDF intercepts launch from Yemen
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it intercepted one projectile "that approached Israel from the direction of Yemen."
"The projectile did not cross into Israeli territory," the IDF said in a statement posted to X, noting that the projectile caused sirens to sound in several areas of central Israel.
Overnight, the IDF also said it intercepted four uncrewed aerial vehicles that approached Israel from the east.
-ABC News' Bruno Nota
New Defense Minister says Israel has defeated Hezbollah
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on Sunday that his country has defeated Hezbollah after killing the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
"We defeated Hezbollah, and the elimination of Nasrallah was the crowning achievement," Katz said during a handover ceremony at Israel's foreign ministry on Sunday.
The ceremony comes after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired the previous defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
There is no word on how this will affect Israel's operations in Lebanon, which shows no sign of slowing.
"Now it is our job to continue the pressure," Katz said. "We will work together to materialize the fruits of this victory by ensuring that the security situation in Lebanon has changed."
Israeli president to meet Biden
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will meet President Joe Biden on Tuesday during his visit to the U.S., according to Herzog's office.
-ABC News' Bruno Nota
Netanyahu says he's spoken to Trump 3 times, 'we see eye to eye' on Iran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement Sunday to mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht, highlighting the violence Thursday on the streets of Amsterdam that authorities said targeted Israeli soccer fans there, saying in a statement translated from Hebrew: "We will do what is necessary to defend ourselves and our citizens. We will never allow the atrocities of history to recur."
Netanyahu also said he has spoken to President-elect Donald Trump three times since the election.
"These were very good and important talks designed to further enhance the steadfast bond between Israel and the U.S.," Netanyahu said. "We see eye to eye on the Iranian threat in all its aspects, and on the dangers they reflect. We also see the great opportunities facing Israel, in the area of peace and its expansion, and in other areas."
(LONDON) -- President Joe Biden will see out his term knowing that President-elect Donald Trump -- a man he fought desperately hard to unseat in 2020 and called a "genuine danger to American security" -- will succeed him.
Foreign policy has been central in Biden's long political career. It will likewise form a major chunk of his legacy, as will the two wars -- Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Middle East conflagration sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack -- that erupted during his term.
Now less encumbered by political calculations -- for himself or for Vice President Kamala Harris -- and with only two months until Trump's second inauguration, the outgoing president may have one last window to wield the power of the Oval Office in both theaters.
But with Trump looming above the outgoing Biden-Harris administration, American allies and enemies may be hesitant to engage with the outgoing administration.
European nations, for example, are already shifting focus to how best to court Trump, Leslie Vinjamuri of the British Chatham House think tank told ABC News.
"All these European leaders are very quickly reaching out," she added. "They're congratulating him. They want to talk with him. They want to work with him, because they understand that the stakes are extremely high and they clearly feel that by talking with him, they have an ability to influence policy and the outcome."
"What they don't want to do is to be seen to be making a deal with Joe Biden that undercuts whatever it is that Trump is going to do," Vinjamuri added.
"It's a very tricky position to be in, because if anything's visible that cuts across what he wants to do, you as a leader risk being punished."
Those at the top of American politics know that foreign policy success can accelerate careers and define legacies. Former President Richard Nixon infamously undermined President Lyndon B. Johnson's efforts to negotiate an end to the Vietnam War during the 1968 election campaign for fear it would reduce his chances of victory.
Though he has already secured his second term, Trump appears unlikely to help the Biden administration with any foreign policy "wins" in its closing days.
"There's a lot of uncertainty and room for maneuver -- it's highly unpredictable," Vinjamuri said.
Russia and Ukraine
Russia's war on Ukraine has dominated much of Biden's presidency. He will leave office with Moscow's forces holding large parts of Ukraine and still advancing, even if slowly and at huge cost.
"I think that now Biden can be much more decisive in support of Ukraine, especially when he sees that Trump will be the next president," Oleksandr Merezhko -- a member of Ukraine's parliament and the chair of the body's foreign affairs committee -- told ABC News.
"Biden has his hands completely untied," Merezhko added. "Now Biden is thinking about his legacy."
"He might even try to take some decisions which will make irreversible changes in support of Ukraine -- for example, he might lift all the restrictions on the use of the Western weapons on the territory of Russia," Merezhko said. "And he might start the process of inviting Ukraine to join NATO."
Merezkho acknowledged that progress on the NATO front might be ambitious. "Yes, he doesn't have much time," he said. "But he -- with [National Security Adviser] Jake Sullivan and [Secretary of State] Antony Blinken -- might do something creative to help Ukraine."
It appears unlikely that Biden's final months will bring Kyiv any closer to NATO membership. Ukrainian leaders are still pushing for an invitation to join the alliance despite fierce opposition from Russia -- and hesitance among key alliance members. Allies have repeatedly said that "Ukraine's future is in NATO," but even top officials in Kyiv acknowledge this cannot happen amid war with Moscow.
The outgoing president may at least be able to ring fence much-needed funding for Kyiv.
Matthew Savill of the Royal United Services Institute think tank in the U.K., said Biden "might choose in his last months in office to use the remainder of the funding available for support to Ukraine under Presidential Drawdown Authority, amounting to over $5 billion."
The Pentagon has already committed to rolling out new funding packages between now and January totaling some $9 billion. "That is consistent with how we've been doing this in the past," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told journalists last week. "It's something that we've done on a pretty regular, almost weekly, basis."
Biden has also reportedly already decided to allow non-combat American defense contractors to work in Ukraine to maintain and repair U.S.-provided weaponry.
Yehor Cherniev -- a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chairman of his country's delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly -- told ABC News that deeper sanctions on "Putin's inner circle" are on Kyiv's wish list, along with the delivery of all previously allocated aid, commitments for more, plus the end to restrictions on Western weapon use inside Russia.
Trump has suggested he would quickly end Russia's invasion by threatening to cut off military aid to Kyiv unless it agrees to hand Moscow direct or indirect control of swaths of occupied territory in the south and east of the country.
As such, his election has raised concerns in Ukraine of an imminent sellout.
Merezhko, though, stressed the unpredictability of the president-elect. "Trump might become even more critical of Russia to show that all suspicions about him are groundless," he said.
"We know that Trump loves his country and seeks to protect its interests in accordance with his vision," Cherniev said. "Therefore, we are confident that the U.S. will not leave us alone with Russia, since this is not in the interests of the U.S. and the free world."
"However, much will depend on Putin's willingness to make concessions and compromises," he added. "If the Russian dictator does not show due flexibility, I think Trump will increase his support for Ukraine."
As to potential tensions between Trump and Biden in the coming months, Merezhko said, "Competition between them will continue."
"For us, it would be better if they compete amongst themselves on who will do more for Ukraine."
European nations, meanwhile, will be bracing for Trump while hoping to influence the president-elect's take on the war.
Vinjamuri, of the Chatham House think tank, said Europeans will also be working closely with the Biden administration "to put in place everything that they can to keep Europe and Ukraine in as good a place as possible before Jan. 20, when Trump comes in and tries to negotiate a peace deal."
"That means that getting Ukraine in the best position on the ground, because when you start negotiating a peace, a lot of what gets locked in is based on what land people hold," she said.
The Middle East
The Biden administration's pre-election Middle East diplomatic push does not appear to have made significant breakthroughs in either Gaza or Lebanon. Fierce ground fighting and devastating Israeli airstrikes continue on both fronts, with the toll of civilian dead and displaced growing ever larger.
The regional war began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw around 250 taken back to Gaza as hostages. Israel's military response in the strip has killed some 43,600 people and injured more than 102,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israel's airstrike and ground campaign in Lebanon has killed more than 3,000 since Oct. 8, 2023, Lebanese health officials say.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replaced Defense Minister Yoav Gallant -- one of his prime political rivals and an advocate for a cease-fire deal -- on the eve of the U.S. election, reinforcing his position and entrenching his government's commitment to what he has called "total victory."
Hafed Al-Ghwell, senior fellow and executive director of the North Africa Initiative at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University, told ABC News he has little expectation of peace during Biden's final months. "I don't think he has any incentive to do anything," Hafed said.
"In the case of Israel and Palestine, Biden has taken not just a political stand but an ideological one, and there is no sign that he is going to change that," Hafed added. "He has called himself a Zionist, and he had ample opportunity to stop this war. Even when the United Nations proposed a resolution to end the occupation, he didn't support it."
"It would be really controversial for an outgoing president to make any major decisions," he continued.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu will be confident in the new White House's backing in his suppression of Palestinian and Lebanese groups, as well as in his wider showdown with Iran.
Netanyahu "probably feels like he has a free run," Vinjamuri said. "Even if Biden tried to push him, I'm not so sure he would be responsive, because he knows that Trump is now coming into office."
Hafed suggested Netanyahu's domestic concerns, too, will be driving his policy in the coming months. "He knows that the minute this war stops, the Israeli public won't want him around," he said. "So, he will continue the war in Lebanon and probably threaten Iran, knowing he will have the full support of Trump."
Burcu Ozcelik at RUSI said the extent of Trump's influence over Netanyahu tops "a complex list of unknowns."
"Trump in recent weeks indicated that he was prepared to give Israel freer rein, provided that the war ended by the time he entered office," he added.
Those living in the region will be left grappling with the fallout, Hafed continued. "For the people of the Middle East, Biden's legacy is one of a bloodbath," he said. "The region is bitter and battered."
ABC News' Luis Martinez contributed to this article.
UPDATE: The two people found dead at a Tyler residence Sunday night have been identified as Rolanda Garcia-Vasquez, 38 of Tyler, and Fidel Meza-Marmolejo, 43 of Dallas, officials said.
The Tyler Police Department said Garcia-Vasquez lived at the residence.
ORIGINAL STORY: TYLER – A woman and a man were found dead at a Mockingbird Lane home on Sunday and the Tyler Police Department said they’re investigating it as a homicide-suicide. According to our news partner KETK, shortly after 7 p.m. officers were dispatched to a shooting at the 1400 block of Mockingbird Ln. When police arrived, they found a woman dead who looked like had been shot.
Officials said a man who appeared to have a self-inflicted gunshot wound was also found dead.
The identities of the individuals are being withheld until family can be notified and it is an active investigation, Tyler PD said.
PALESTINE – The City of Palestine said they’re planning a temporary water outage for a part of West Reagan Street this Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK, the outage is being done for utilities work and will impact West Reagan Street from South Durrance Street to South Fulton Street on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience,†the City of Palestine said.
MIAMI (AP) — From Pennsylvania to Florida to Texas, areas with high numbers of Hispanics often had little in common on Election Day other than backing Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris for president.
Trump, the president-elect, made inroads in heavily Puerto Rican areas of eastern Pennsylvania where the vice president spent the last full day of her campaign. Trump turned South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, a decadeslong Democratic stronghold populated both by newer immigrants and Tejanos who trace their roots in the state for several generations.
He also improved his standing with Hispanic voters along Florida’s Interstate 4 corridor linking the Tampa Bay area — home to people of Cuban, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, Colombian and Puerto Rican origin — with Orlando, where Puerto Ricans make up about 43% of the local Hispanic population. Trump was the first Republican since 1988 to win Miami-Dade County, home to a sizable Cuban population and the country’s metropolitan area with the highest share of immigrants.
It was a realignment that, if it sticks, could change American politics.
Texas and Florida are already reliably Republican, but more Hispanics turning away from Democrats in future presidential races could further dent the party’s “blue wall†of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, that had helped catapult it to the White House before Trump romped through all three this time. The shift might even make it harder for Democrats to win in the West, in states such as Arizona and Nevada.
Harris tried to highlight the ways Trump may have insulted or threatened Latinos.
Trump, in his first term, curtailed the use of Temporary Protected Status, which Democratic President Joe Biden extended to thousands of Venezuelans, and tried to terminate the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He also delayed the release of relief aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017 until nearly the end of his term, having long blasted the island’s officials as corrupt and inept.
Once he returns to the White House, Trump has pledge to stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. That could affect millions of families in mixed-status homes, where people who are in the United States illegally live with American citizens or those with legal residency.
But the Democratic warnings did not appear to break through with enough voters for Harris. Now the party must figure out how to win back votes from a critical, fast-growing group.
“Trump, he’s a very confounding figure,†said Abel Prado, a Democratic operative and pollster who serves as executive director of the advocacy group Cambio Texas. “We have no idea how to organize against him. We have no idea how to respond. We have no idea how to not take the bait.â€
Ultimately, concerns about immigration did not resonate as much as pocketbook issues with many Hispanics.
About 7 in 10 Hispanic voters were “very concerned†about the cost of food and groceries, slightly more than about two-thirds of voters overall, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. Nearly two-thirds of Hispanic voters said that they were “very concerned†about their housing costs, compared with about half of voters overall.
Trump had a clear edge among Hispanic voters who were “very concerned†about the cost of food. Half said he would better handle the economy, compared with about 4 in 10 for Harris. Among Hispanic voters who were very worried about crime in their community, Trump had a similar advantage.
“When they looked at both candidates, they saw who could improve our economy and the quality of life,†said Marcela Diaz-Myers, a Colombian immigrant who headed a Hispanic outreach task force for the Pennsylvania Republican Party. “Did he sometimes offend? Yes. But that happens in political campaigns. Many of the people who voted for President Trump were able to get past this and trust that he will move the country in the right direction.â€
Harris promised to lower grocery prices by cracking down on corporate price gouging and to increase federal funding for first-time homebuyers. Also, recent violent crime rates have declined in many parts of the country.
Shen also spent many of the final days of the campaign trying to capitalize on remarks by a comic who spoke at a Trump rally in New York and joked that Puerto Rico was a “floating island of garbage.†She even leaned on Puerto Rican celebrities — from Bad Bunny to Jennifer Lopez — to decry racism.
But Trump nonetheless gained ground in some of the areas with the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania, the state where Harris spent more time campaigning than any other. He won the counties of Berks, Monroe and Luzerne — and lost Lehigh County by fewer than 5,000 votes against Harris. Biden had carried it by nearly three times that margin in 2020.
Trump’s victory was even wider in Florida, where nearly one-quarter of residents are Hispanic. He won the state by 13 percentage points — or about four times his 2020 margin.
Trump also flipped the central Florida counties of Seminole and Osceola, where many Venezuelans have immigrated as their home country becomes increasingly unstable, and narrowed Democrats’ advantage in Orange County, which is also heavily Venezuelan.
Farther south, Trump won Miami-Dade County with an 11-percentage point advantage after losing it by 7 percentage points to Biden and by 30 percentage points to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Kevin Marino Cabrera, a Miami-Dade County commissioner who was state director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, said Hispanics rejected the “woke ideology.” Trump has made his opposition to transgender rights central to his campaign.
“To be clear, Hispanic voters are not buying what Democrats are selling,†Cabrera said.
The same was true in South Texas, where Hispanics are largely of Mexican descent.
Prado, the Democratic operative and pollster, lives in Hidalgo County, which is 92% Hispanic and the most populous part of the Rio Grande Valley. Trump carried it after losing by more than 40 percentage points in 2016. Trump swept all the major counties along the Texas-Mexico border.
Prado said Democratic county commissioners and state legislators helped secure funding for new bridges across the Texas-Mexico border and for other initiatives that have sparked commerce and economic and job growth in the area. Yet, he said, “the Republican Party has done a really good job of inserting themselves as an answer to nonexistent problems and then taking credit for (things) that they didn’t do.â€
Prado said many Hispanics in the Rio Grande Valley, particularly devoutly religious ones, were alienated by national Democrats’ focus on reproductive and transgender rights, with the latter becoming a key political weapon for Republicans.
“This nonsense about you’re going to send your son to school and he’s gonna come back a girl,†he said. “Our side scoffed because we said, ‘No one’s going to believe that.’ But, no, it struck a chord.â€
Others were simply looking to cast a defiant vote, Prado said, or were inspired by the idea of self-made people embracing the American dream, even though Trump got his start in business with a large loan from his father.
Daniel Alegre, CEO of TelevisaUnivision, which owns the Spanish-language television Univision, along with other television and radio properties, said Trump’s gain among Hispanics was less about party than issues and that Hispanics were most concerned about the economy and immigration.
Alegre, whose network hosted town halls in October with both Trump and Harris, also noted that there’s a growing feeling among Hispanic citizens that new immigrants were getting more government services than were available when immigrants who have been here longer arrived in the United States — and that the Trump campaign tapped into resentment around that issue.
“The most important thing either party can do is keep their ears to the ground and stay connected to the community,†he said, and in this case, the Trump campaign clearly accomplished that.
___
Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Linley Sanders in Washington and David Bauder in New York contributed to this report.
UPDATE: Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace identified James Robert Belcher as the worker who was found dead at a cell tower in Trinity on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Wallace said that Belcher’s next of kin has been notified.
TRINITY COUNTY — A man was found dead after he apparently fell off a cell tower he was working on near State Highway 94, Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace said.
According to Wallace, the sheriff’s office got a call at around 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday from Mastec Network Solutions. The company asked them to do a welfare check at a cellphone tower located at 7587 State Highway 94 after worker assigned to that tower didn’t return home on Monday. When deputies arrived, they found the man dead after he seemingly fell off a platform raised about eight feet in the air, Wallace said.
The sheriff’s office is currently investigating the worker’s death.
