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5 killed, 200 injured in German Christmas market attack

Car drives into crowd at Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Via ABC News

(LONDON) -- At least five people, including a 9-year-old, are now known to have been killed in the vehicle-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday, German officials said Saturday. The four other victims killed in the attack were adults, according to police.

At least 200 more people were injured when a car plowed into festive market-goers in the eastern German city, around 75 miles west of the capital Berlin, according to Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff.

The Magdeburg Christmas market will be closed for the remainder of the season, police told reporters Saturday.

At least 41 of those injured in the attack are in serious condition, according to police. Their lives are still thought to be in danger, according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

A suspect -- a doctor from Saudi Arabia aged around 50 -- was arrested, Haselhoff said. The man has lived in Germany since 2006. A rental car was used in the attack, the minister said.

He will be charged with 5 counts of murder and grievous bodily harm, according to police.

The first emergency call came in at 7:02 p.m. local time and the driver was stopped within three minutes of the attack, according to a police official. Police believe the suspect entered via the space left open for emergency vehicles to access the area.

Police believe the suspect acted alone.

The prosecutor said they are still clarifying the motive behind the attack, but said that it's possibly linked to "dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia and how they've been treated in Germany," but they will "need more time" to determine this.

Police said the suspect has undergone physical and psychological exams but police do not yet have the results.

At Magdeburg Cathedral, a huge crowd gathered on Saturday inside and outside for a memorial service to the victims. Attendees included the mayor, Sholz and first responders.

Elsewhere in the city, a smaller crowd held an anti-immigrant protest with a sign that said "Remigration" and waved German flags, as well as flags of Imperial Germany and ones reading "Homeland."

U.S. law enforcement sources told ABC News that German authorities are treating the attack as a terrorist incident.

"We send our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured and to all those affected by this terrible incident," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

"We stand in solidarity with the people of Germany in grieving the loss of life. The United States is ready to provide assistance as recovery efforts continue and authorities investigate this horrible incident," Miller's statement continued.

Scholz offered his condolences to those affected. "My thoughts are with the victims and their families," Scholz said in a statement. "We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours."

Friday's ramming incident came almost exactly eight years after a similar terror attack at a Christmas market in the German capital. On Dec. 19, 2016, a man drove a truck into a crowd at a market in Berlin, killing 13 and injuring dozens.

U.S. law enforcement officials have warned of similar vehicle-ramming attacks on American soil, particularly over the festive season.

A joint threat assessment about New Year's Eve in New York City's Times Square, for example, noted the use of vehicle-ramming alone or in conjunction with other tactics "has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors in the West."

The NYPD, out of an abundance of caution, will surge resources to similar areas around the city, including Christmas markets, according to NYPD deputy commissioner for counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner.

"We know this is a very festive time, it is a busy time in the city, and we are going to make sure that all of our holiday markets, all of our holiday activities are protected by our counter weapons teams, by officers on patrol, all our counter-terrorism officers, our critical response command," Weiner told ABC New York station WABC.

What’s in the approved government funding bill

(WASHINGTON) -- After days of heated negotiations on Capitol Hill and eleventh-hour interference from President-elect Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk, the House passed a funding bill to prevent a government shutdown Friday night, with the Senate following suit early Saturday morning.

The 118-page bill contains most of the provisions that were put in place in the bipartisan bill that was agreed to on Wednesday before it was killed after Musk criticized Republicans who supported it.

Trump also called for the bill to raise the debt limit ceiling. The federal government is not expected to hit its borrowing limit until sometime in the spring or winter of 2025, and Trump has stated his desire to have the issue dealt with while Joe Biden was president.

Under the proposal, which Biden signed later Saturday morning, the federal government will be funded until March 2025. It did not include a provision to raise the debt ceiling limit.

The bill did include $100 billion for disaster aid, $30 billion for farmers and a one-year extension of the farm bill, provisions that were under heavy debate prior to this week's votes.

Some of the provisions that were in the bill earlier in the week were removed including $100 million for pediatric cancer research and a deal that would have transferred the land that holds Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia.

Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day’s outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”

The House approved Johnson’s new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just after the deadline. At midnight, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations.

“This is a good outcome for the country, ” Johnson said after the House vote, adding he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect “was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.”
President Joe Biden, who has played a less public role in the process throughout a turbulent week, was expected to sign the measure into law Saturday.

“There will be no government shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

The final product was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered House speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government — keeping it open. And it raised stark questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry GOP colleagues, and work alongside Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk, who called the legislative plays from afar.

Trump’s last-minute demand was almost an impossible ask, and Johnson had almost no choice but to work around his pressure for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew there wouldn’t be enough support within the GOP majority to pass any funding package, since many Republican deficit hawks prefer to slash federal government and certainly wouldn’t allow more debt.

Instead, the Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate next year, with big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing they must routinely rely on Democrats for the votes needed to keep up with the routine operations of governing.

“So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?” scoffed Musk on social media ahead of the vote.

The drastically slimmed-down 118-page package would fund the government at current levels through March 14 and add $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.

Gone is Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders told lawmakers would be debated as part of their tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.

It’s essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular setback — opposed by most Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans — minus Trump’s debt ceiling demand.
But it’s far smaller than the original bipartisan accord Johnson struck with Democratic and Republican leaders — a 1,500-page bill that Trump and Musk rejected, forcing him to start over. It was stuffed with a long list of other bills — including much-derided pay raises for lawmakers — but also other measures with broad bipartisan support that now have a tougher path to becoming law.

House Democrats were cool to the latest effort after Johnson reneged on the hard-fought bipartisan compromise.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said it looked like Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, was calling the shots for Trump and Republicans.

“Who is in charge?” she asked during the debate.

Still, the House Democrats put up more votes than Republicans for the bill’s passage. Almost three dozen conservative House Republicans voted against it.

“The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working-class Americans all across the nation,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

In the Senate, almost all the opposition came from the Republicans — except independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said Musk’s interference was “not democracy, that’s oligarchy.”
Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the power but also the limits of his sway with Congress, as he intervenes and orchestrates affairs from Mar-a-Lago alongside Musk, who is heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency.

The incoming Trump administration vows to slash the federal budget and fire thousands of employees and is counting on Republicans for a big tax package. And Trump’s not fearful of shutdowns the way lawmakers are, having sparked the longest government shutdown in history in his first term at the White House.

“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,” Trump posted early in the morning on social media.

More important for the president-elect was his demand for pushing the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before he returns to the White House. The federal debt limit expires Jan. 1, and Trump doesn’t want the first months of his new administration saddled with tough negotiations in Congress to lift the nation’s borrowing capacity. Now Johnson will be on the hook to deliver.

“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump posted — increasing his demand for a new five-year debt limit increase. “Without this, we should never make a deal.”

Government workers had already been told to prepare for a federal shutdown that would send millions of employees — and members of the military — into the holiday season without paychecks.
Biden has been in discussions with Jeffries and Schumer, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “Republicans blew up this deal. They did, and they need to fix this.”

As the day dragged on, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stepped in to remind colleagues “how harmful it is to shut the government down, and how foolish it is to bet your own side won’t take the blame for it.”

At one point, Johnson asked House Republicans at a lunchtime meeting for a show of hands as they tried to choose the path forward.
It wasn’t just the shutdown, but the speaker’s job on the line. The speaker’s election is the first vote of the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, and some Trump allies have floated Musk for speaker.

Johnson said he spoke to Musk ahead of the vote Friday and they talked about the “extraordinary challenges of this job.”

FDA approves Eli Lilly’s obesity medication for obstructive sleep apnea

(NEW YORK) -- The FDA has expanded the approval of Eli Lilly’s obesity medication Zepbound to include treating moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea for people with obesity -- the first medication approved for the condition.

The new, expanded Zepbound approval means that insurance providers, including Medicare, will likely cover the medication for people with sleep apnea and obesity. Some insurance providers, including Medicare, do not offer reimbursement to treat obesity alone.

The new approval is for people with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea who are also living with obesity. Eli Lilly estimates that is about 15-20 million adults in the U.S.

Obstructive sleep apnea isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a serious medical condition that impairs breathing and sleep quality. Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea are linked. People tend to see their obstructive sleep apnea get better when they lose a significant amount of weight. It’s likely the weight loss associated with the medication is helping improve the sleep apnea.

Right now, there is no medicine to treat obstructive sleep apnea -- it’s only treated with a positive airway pressure device.

In a study, people who took Zepbound had at least 25 fewer breathing interruptions per hour while they slept. They also lost an average of 20% of their body weight.

The study also followed people over a year, and found that up to half of the adults taking Zepbound no longer had obstructive sleep apnea symptoms at the end of the year.

Obstructive sleep apnea is more common in men than women. Up to 34% of U.S. men have OSA compared to 17% of U.S. women, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Common signs of sleep apnea include heavy snoring at night, long pauses in breathing while sleeping as well as excessive daytime sleepiness, forgetfulness and morning headaches. The symptoms of the disorder can lead to significant medical problems.

Jack Black, Paul Rudd to star in new ‘Anaconda’ film: ‘We’re making a movie!’

Jack Black and Paul Rudd will star in a new, reimagined Anaconda film.

The duo announced the news in a hilarious video on Friday, which features the two actors on a fun set enthusiastically talking about the new project.

"Hey, what's up people, we're making a movie," Black says in the video.

"Guess what it is?" Rudd continues, before Black says, "Paul Rudd and Jack Black star in the Anaconda!'"

Black then says the film will have a big snake and that "it's going to rip!"

"You want to get scared? You want to laugh? You want to celebrate with your friends? Or maybe you're alone and sad and have nobody but just want to forget about that," Rudd adds before sharing the film's 2025 release date.

"Come see our movie, Anaconda!'" Black adds.

The duo end their video with Black asking Rudd if he saw the snake for the film yet before they head off screen to see it.

Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten wrote the script for the upcoming movie, and Gormican will be directing, according to a description of the film. Brad Fuller and Andrew Form also join the film as producers.

Details about the film's plot are still under wraps.

The first Anaconda movie, an adventure horror film, was released in 1997 and was directed by Luis Llosa. It starred Jon Voight, Jennifer Lopez, Eric Stoltz, Ice Cube and Owen Wilson. The film followed a National Geographic film crew "taken hostage by a hunter who forces them along on his quest to capture the world's largest and deadliest snake," according to a description of the film.

Anaconda, starring Black and Rudd, will slither into theaters Dec. 25, 2025.

Officer-involved shooting in Marshall

MARSHALL – The Marshall Police Department (MPD) is investigating an officer-involved
shooting that occurred on Thursday, December 19, 2024, in the 100 block of Interstate 20. The incident
began around 1:20 p.m. when MPD officers responded to a 911 call reporting a disturbance.
Upon arrival, MPD officers encountered an individual armed with a handgun. Marshall Police officers,
along with the MPD Special Response Team (SRT) and Crisis Negotiation Team, were assisted by the
Harrison County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) SRT and deputies. They attempted to de-escalate the situation
through negotiations. Despite these efforts, the individual shot at officers with a handgun and an MPD
officer returned fire, striking the individual. Continue reading Officer-involved shooting in Marshall

College student allegedly plotted ‘mass casualty attack’ targeting Jews

(VIRGINIA) -- A Virginia college student is accused of plotting a "mass casualty attack" on the Consulate General of Israel in New York, according to court records.

The FBI arrested Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, 18, a student at George Mason University, this week in connection with the alleged plot targeting Jews, court records show.

The case began in May, when the Fairfax County Police Department informed the agency of an anonymous tip reporting an X account that engaged in "radical and terrorist-leaning behavior," according to an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint and arrest warrant filed against Hassan in U.S. District Court in Virginia.

The account, which the FBI says it linked to Hassan, made posts in support of ISIS and al-Qaeda, according to the affidavit. Investigators say they also linked two other radical X accounts to Hassan, according to the affidavit.

An undercover FBI informant engaged with Hassan on one of the suspect's X accounts in August, and the two communicated through various platforms for several months after the source pledged loyalty to Hassan, according to the affidavit.

Hassan was allegedly careful about covering his digital tracks, telling the informant that he "cannot be caught giving instructions about attack planning" because he "believed he was already being watched due to his past," the affidavit stated. He was previously interviewed by the FBI in 2022 in part due to his "support for ISIS online," according to the affidavit.

Hassan discussed with the source "how to travel to join ISIS" and shared ISIS propaganda, before allegedly recruiting the source in October to "conduct a mass casualty attack," according to the affidavit.

Hassan allegedly sent the source a "pro-ISIS video that called for the killing of Jews" in mid-November, and in the ensuing weeks instructions on "how to prepare a martyrdom video" and bomb-making, according to the affidavit.

He allegedly picked the Consulate General of Israel as a target and continued to provide the source with support "regarding the manufacture and use of an explosive device and the planned attack," the affidavit stated.

He also allegedly discussed conducting the attack with a firearm and provided instructions on how to buy a rifle to avoid being tracked down by authorities after the attack, according to the affidavit.

Hassan allegedly directed the source to make a video before the attack for ISIS media, and that if not martyred the source "will be famous," according to the affidavit. He also allegedly instructed the source to livestream the attack so that he could "distribute it to the ISIS media department," and discussed how to flee the country following the attack, according to the affidavit.

Hassan was arrested on Tuesday and charged with the distribution of information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction in furtherance of the commission of a federal crime of violence, court records show.

ABC News has reached out to his attorney for comment.

The suspect, a national of Egypt living in Falls Church, Virginia, was in removal proceedings with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the affidavit.

He did not live on campus at George Mason University and was barred from university property following his arrest, the school said.

"George Mason University continues to take enhanced precautions to maintain a safe and secure university community in light of the recent FBI arrest of one of its students," the school said in a statement. "As criminal proceedings progress, the university will take appropriate action on student code of conduct violations."

Hassan remains in custody at the Alexandria Adult Detention Center, the Alexandria Sheriff's Office confirmed to ABC News. He has not yet entered a plea, court records show.

Kangaroo remains on the loose in Texas after jumping fence

(BELLVILLE) — A family in Austin County, Texas, is anxiously waiting for the return of their 3-year-old kangaroo after the marsupial pushed a gate open and hopped a fence.

The 5-foot-tall kangaroo, named Rowdy, was last seen early Wednesday morning on Pyka Road near Interstate 10 in Austin County, according to the kangaroo’s owner.

Local radio DJ Dana Tyson said she saw the kangaroo while heading to work, she told Houston ABC News affiliate KTRK.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think a kangaroo would jump in front of my car,” Tyson told KTRK.

Tyson recorded the kangaroo on camera and said she later found out a nearby resident, Marsha Matus, was missing one.

Matus said she is anxious for Rowdy’s safe return because she knows he is scared.

“He is our baby. He is not your stereotypical kangaroo. He is our pet,” Matus told KTRK.

Rowdy is one of three kangaroos owned by Matus, she said. After Rowdy got out of the pen, she said he jumped the perimeter fence and ran off. Daphne, another pet kangaroo, only got as far as the yard. And Rocky, the youngest kangaroo, who is still a baby, remained inside the house.

Matus said she loves her kangaroos and she even has kangaroo signs, yard art and a personalized license plate that reads “Roo Mom.”

“They’re unique,” she said. “I’m worried to death.”

On Thursday night, Matus told KTRK a stranger even drove down to help Matus search for Rowdy using his drone that is equipped with thermal imaging. Matus and her husband also used their drone to try and find Rowdy.

In a post on Facebook, Matus says Rowdy spends his days laying down and resting because kangaroos are nocturnal. She urges that if anyone sees him that they call the Austin County Sheriff’s Office.

“Please if you spot him anywhere you can contact myself, Austin Co Sheriff’s office or DPS,” Matus posted on Facebook. “He will not go to anyone, he will not harm anyone or anyone’s pets. He knows my voice and will come to me.”

Matus hopes Rowdy is safe and that he can make it back home.

“I just hope he’s safe because I know he’s scared. I just want him home.”

ABC News reached out to the Austin County Sheriff’s Office for comment and did not receive a response.

Kangaroo remains on the loose in Texas after jumping fence

(BELLVILLE, Texas) -- A family in Austin County, Texas, is anxiously waiting for the return of their 3-year-old kangaroo after the marsupial pushed a gate open and hopped a fence.

The 5-foot-tall kangaroo, named Rowdy, was last seen early Wednesday morning on Pyka Road near Interstate 10 in Austin County, according to the kangaroo's owner.

Local radio DJ Dana Tyson said she saw the kangaroo while heading to work, she told Houston ABC News affiliate KTRK.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think a kangaroo would jump in front of my car," Tyson told KTRK.

Tyson recorded the kangaroo on camera and said she later found out a nearby resident, Marsha Matus, was missing one.

Matus said she is anxious for Rowdy's safe return because she knows he is scared.

"He is our baby. He is not your stereotypical kangaroo. He is our pet," Matus told KTRK.

Matus said she loves her kangaroos and she even has kangaroo signs, yard art and a personalized license plate that reads "Roo Mom."

"They're unique," she said. "I'm worried to death."

In a post on Facebook, Matus says Rowdy spends his days laying down and resting because kangaroos are nocturnal. She urges that if anyone sees him that they call the Austin County Sheriff's Office.

"Please if you spot him anywhere you can contact myself, Austin Co Sheriff's office or DPS," Matus posted on Facebook. "He will not go to anyone, he will not harm anyone or anyone's pets. He knows my voice and will come to me."

Matus hopes Rowdy is safe and that he can make it back home.

"I just hope he's safe because I know he's scared. I just want him home."

ABC News reached out to the Austin County Sheriff's Office for comment and did not receive a response.

Dakota Johnson, Jost Hartnett join Anne Hathaway in ‘Verity’ film

We now know who will join Anne Hathaway in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling book Verity.

Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett will star opposite Hathaway in the drama, which will be directed by Michael Showalter with a script by Nick Antosca.

Hartnett will play Jeremy Crawford, the husband of bestselling thriller author Verity Crawford, played by Hathaway. After Verity is unable to complete the remaining books in her successful series, Jeremy hires struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, who will be played by Johnson, to finish them.

The film will be released in theaters by Amazon MGM Studios.

Verity was first self-published by Hoover in 2018. It then grew in popularity and was acquired by Grand Central Publishing in 2021. It sold more than 1 million copies in 2023.

‘Stranger Things’ wraps production on fifth, final season

It's almost time to say goodbye to our friends in Hawkins, Indiana.

Production has ended on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, Netflix announced on Friday. While a release date for season 5 has yet to be revealed, the show is confirmed to return in 2025.

"THAT'S A WRAP ON STRANGER THINGS. See you in 2025," Netflix shared to the social platform X on Friday.

On the same post, the streamer shared a collage of eight behind-the-scenes images from the creation of season 5. Pictures of the main cast, including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke and Priah Ferguson, were seen in the collage.

The show's creators Matt and Ross Duffer were also pictured, along with director Shawn Levy. While Brett Gelman and Jamie Campbell Bower were not pictured, they are confirmed to return in season 5. Linda Hamilton is also joining the cast in an unspecified role.

U.S. House members want answers on Texas’ decision to not review maternal deaths

WASHINGTON – The Texas Tribune reports members of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability are asking Texas’ maternal mortality committee to brief them on the controversial decision to not review pregnancy and childbirth related deaths from the first two years after the state banned nearly all abortions.

The maternal mortality committee announced in September that it would not review deaths from 2022 and 2023, instead jumping ahead to 2024. At a recent meeting, committee chair and Houston OB/GYN Dr. Carla Ortique defended the decision as necessary to offer more contemporary recommendations on reducing maternal deaths.

But U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas-area Democrat, and three other members of the House Oversight Committee are questioning whether this decision was influenced by the “chilling effect on reproductive care” in Texas.

“Ignoring pregnancy-related deaths during one of the deadliest periods in Texas for pregnant women directly contradicts [the maternal mortality committee’s] statutorily required mission of eliminating preventable maternal deaths in Texas,” says the letter sent to the Texas Department of State Health Services Thursday morning.

The letter was signed by Crockett, ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts.

They are requesting a briefing from the state health agency no later than Jan. 2. A spokesperson for the agency did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Noting that Texas was the first and largest state to implement an abortion ban, the letter says the state’s “top priority” should be analyzing maternal deaths from that period and sharing their findings with the Centers for Disease Control and other states.

Last year, Texas legislators allocated money to create a new maternal death tracking system with the goal of ending the state’s participation in national data sharing. Members of the committee, including Ortique, have raised concerns about this change and its impact on data gathering both in Texas and nationwide.

The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee studies maternal deaths to better understand why so many women are dying or nearly dying from pregnancy and childbirth in Texas. The 23-member committee also issues recommendations to improve outcomes in its biennial report.

This year’s report, released in September, showed maternal deaths jumped in 2020 and 2021, reversing two years of improvement. Every group saw worsening outcomes, even with COVID deaths excluded, except for white women. Black women remain disproportionately impacted.

Many researchers and reproductive health care advocates anticipate an increase in maternal mortality as a result of new abortion restrictions. Texas’ law allows doctors to perform an abortion to save the life of the pregnant patient, but confusion and fear of the strict penalties has led some to delay or deny medical care. Dozens of women have come forward with stories of having to leave the state for life-saving care, and ProPublica has reported on three pregnant Texans who have died since these laws went into effect.

After the news organization reported on two similar deaths in Georgia, all members of that state’s maternal mortality review committee were removed from their roles.

Texas’ committee has previously skipped some years to offer more timely recommendations. But the latest decision has set off alarm bells for advocates, researchers, doctors and pregnant women, many of whom voiced their concerns at a recent committee meeting.

“I know that we’ve always talked about how we want to be as contemporary as possible,” Nakeenya Wilson, a former member of the committee, testified. “What I am concerned about is the fact that the two years that we were skipping are the most crucial years of reproductive health in this country’s history.”

In a statement, Crockett said Texas was trying to “bury the truth” of abortion-ban related deaths.

“Texas Republicans know there is nothing ‘pro-life’ about the stories of these women and the broken families they leave behind,” she said. “I and my fellow House Oversight Democrats will not allow Texas Republicans to hide the consequences of their deadly law … The people of Texas deserve the truth.”

Kilgore will play in first state championship since 2013

KILGORE— The road to becoming a champion is long and winding, and some of the hardest moments of that journey, happen when no one is watching.

The Kilgore Bulldogs have made those sacrifices, and find themselves just one win away from hoisting championship gold.“The reason we’re in this fight is because of the work that they put in there, their dedication and discipline to prepare the right way week in and week, week out as allowed our team one to be ready to go on Friday night, and also to improve every week,” said head coach Clint Fuller. “That’s the reason that we’re we’re playing for a state championship.” Continue reading Kilgore will play in first state championship since 2013

Rep. Michael McCaul calls Tulsi Gabbard a “baffling” pick to lead intelligence

WASHINGTON — The Texas Tribune reports that U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, the House Foreign Affairs chair, called Tulsi Gabbard a “baffling” pick to lead the nation’s Intelligence Community, offering one of the sternest rebukes from a Republican yet.

President-elect Donald Trump selected the former Democratic congresswoman to be the next director of national intelligence, a cabinet-level position that oversees 18 agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. Gabbard ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and later made a hard pivot to supporting Trump. She recently bought a residence in Leander.

Gabbard has stirred controversy for making comments sympathetic to Russian President Vladimir Putin after his 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Gabbard also met in 2017 with recently ousted Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, who has used chemical weapons on his own people as part of the Syrian civil war. Both Assad and Putin are under U.S. sanctions.

“For someone to have this history of comments that appear to be pro-Putin and pro-Assad, who have historically been our enemies, to head up our intelligence to me is a bit baffling,” McCaul said during a wide-ranging interview in his Capitol Hill office Tuesday. When asked if Gabbard’s selection caused him concern, McCaul said, “Yes.”

Gabbard has argued against continued aid for Ukraine in its defense against Russia — a priority that McCaul has fought hard for throughout his time in Congress. She posted on social media in 2022 that the “war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns.”

Gabbard is still subject to confirmation by the Senate, and several senators have kept quiet on how they would vote on her nomination. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, met with Gabbard in his Washington office on Wednesday. His office has not said whether he would support Gabbard’s confirmation, though he said after the meeting that he found her “impressive” and that he looked forward to the confirmation process going forward. Cornyn sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he finds Gabbard to be “a very impressive person,” noting her service as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army.

“She’s smart. She’s serious. I think Tulsi is going to be confirmed. We’ll have a confirmation process for every one of these candidates. Under the Constitution, the Senate has a responsibility to advise and consent. But I believe at the end of the day, that all of the Trump Cabinet nominees are going to be confirmed,” Cruz said in an interview with Dallas’ WFAA.

As a member of the House, McCaul does not have a formal say in Cabinet appointments. He predicted senators would tank the nomination.

“The Senate, they typically pick and choose, and one of them will have to go down. If I were betting, I would say it’s probably the ODNI,” McCaul said, using an acronym for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Several of Trump’s picks for Cabinet positions have stirred controversy. Trump named former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to be his attorney general. Gaetz faces allegations of sexual abuse that made him subject to a federal investigation and a probe by the House Ethics Committee. The federal investigation into sex trafficking ended without charges last year. The House Ethics Committee, which includes El Paso Democrat Veronica Escobar, voted to release its report some time before the end of the year, CNN reported Wednesday.

Gaetz withdrew from the running after his nomination caused considerable controversy and Senate Republicans indicated little confidence in his confirmation.

Trump also named the Fox News host Pete Hegseth to be the next secretary of Defense. Hegseth faces allegations of alcohol and sexual abuse, which he denies, and does not have a résumé typical of Defense secretary nominees. He was a U.S. Army major and also has run advocacy groups for veterans. By contrast, Jim Mattis, Trump’s first Defense secretary, had served as commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command and NATO’s supreme allied commander for transformation before serving as commander of U.S. Central Command.

Trump’s pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, has derided the Justice Department as politically weaponized against conservatives. The Justice Department includes the FBI. He has vowed to gut the agency and disperse agents around the country, turning the FBI’s current Washington headquarters into a “museum of the deep state.”

McCaul, who previously chaired the House Homeland Security Committee and worked as a Justice Department prosecutor before his time in Congress, had less critical things to say about Hegseth and Patel.

McCaul acknowledged that Hegseth “has got baggage” but said he exhibits “some leadership qualities” and could be “very positive” as Defense secretary.

“I do think he’s probably going to make it,” McCaul said of his Senate confirmation.

McCaul expressed sympathy to Patel’s calls for streamlining the FBI, saying “with any department or agency, there’s always a case to be made for getting rid of the dead wood, and making it more agile and effective.” But he added the Justice Department “does extremely important work.”

“There are a lot of good men and women in there, the FBI and the DOJ,” McCaul said. “They’re not waking up every day thinking, ’How can I politically go after somebody?’ In fact, we never wore our political beliefs on our sleeve.”

McCaul said he was willing to buy the argument that the department was weaponized “to some extent, but I wouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. I do think the institution itself is very necessary to protect our national security.”

As landowners resist, Texas’ border wall is fragmented and built in remote areas

SOUTH TEXAS – The Texas Tribune says in December 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott traveled to South Texas to inaugurate the first 880-foot stretch of the state’s newly constructed wall on its border with Mexico. At the press conference, with cameras zoomed tightly on him against a backdrop of the three-story high, slatted wall in Starr County, the Republican governor declared the barrier to be impenetrable. He banged a mallet on a metal beam to drive home his point. “It’s heavy and it’s wide,” he said assuredly. “People aren’t making it through those steel bars.” Three years and $3.1 billion later, Abbott may be right. Migrants and smugglers aren’t breaching the bars. They don’t have to, because they can walk around them. Today, that completed segment, now 2 miles wide, is an island of metal and concrete surrounded by farmland — hardly an obstacle for migrants who have traveled sometimes thousands of miles to reach the United States. An investigation by The Texas Tribune has identified for the first time where Texas has built its border wall, information the state keeps secret as it pours billions into the highly touted infrastructure project. It has revealed that the unprecedented foray into what has historically been a federal responsibility — Texas is the first state to build its own border wall — has so far yielded little return on billions of dollars invested.

The 50 miles constructed through November, totaling 6% of the 805 miles the state has designated for building, are far from the endless barrier Abbott often presents the wall to be in video clips he shares on social media. The wall is not a singular structure, but dozens of fragmented sections scattered across six counties, some no wider than a city block and others more than 70 miles apart. Each mile of construction costs between $17 million and $41 million per mile, depending on terrain, according to state engineers. The Tribune also found the wall building program has been hampered by landowners on the border, who are resistant to letting the state build on their property. Since 2021, the state has asked hundreds of property owners to sign easement contracts, under which the state pays a one-time fee for the permanent rights to a strip of land to host the wall. Officials cannot seize private land for the wall like they can for other public infrastructure projects because the Legislature prohibited the use of eminent domain for the wall program. Landowners in a third of the 165 miles the state is currently trying to secure said they were not interested in participating, the firm overseeing land acquisition wrote in a wall progress report last month. This has resulted in gaps limiting the barrier’s effectiveness in the few areas the state has built. Mike Novak, executive director of the Texas Facilities Commission, the agency in charge of the project, has said in public meetings that land acquisition is the most daunting hurdle in completing the program. As a result, construction appears to be driven by where the state can most easily acquire land, instead of where wall would be most effective at deterring illegal crossings, said several border security experts who reviewed the Tribune’s findings. Texas has mostly built on sprawling ranches in rural areas, the Tribune found, while the experts said the priority should be urban centers where people sneaking across can easily disappear into safe houses or waiting vehicles.