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Lawyers of teen charged with murder in track meet stabbing release 1st statement

(FRISCO, Texas) -- The family of a 17-year-old student charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of another student at a high school track meet last week is "sincerely saddened" over the death, the teen's attorneys said in their first public statement since the incident.

The incident occurred on April 2 at a Frisco Independent School District stadium during a track and field championship involving multiple schools in the district.

Austin Metcalf, 17, an 11th grader at Frisco Memorial High School, died after police said another student stabbed him during an altercation in the bleachers at the meet.

The suspect in the deadly stabbing -- Karmelo Anthony, a student at Frisco Centennial High School -- has been charged with first-degree murder, police said.

His family has retained Dallas-Fort Worth-area defense attorneys Billy Clark of the Clark Law Firm and Kim Cole of K Cole Law in the case, according to a joint press release from their firms.

"Karmelo and the entire Anthony family are sincerely saddened that a life was lost and offer their condolences to the family of Austin Metcalf," the attorneys said in a statement on Monday.

"During this difficult time, we urge the public to refrain from rushing to judgment before all the facts and evidence are presented," they continued. "Karmelo, like all citizens of the United States, is entitled to a fair and impartial legal process; we are committed to ensuring that Karmelo's rights are indeed protected throughout each phase of the criminal justice system."

Anthony is being held in the Collin County jail on $1 million bond.

The attorneys said they plan to work with the Collin County District Attorney's Office to seek a reduced bond and a "better determination of the filed charge."

"This will certainly be a long road ahead and during this challenging time, we ask for prayers for both families and we ask for your patience and respect for the legal process as we seek the truth," the attorneys said.

In the wake of the incident, Anthony's family has launched a fundraiser on the platform GiveSendGo, which as of early Tuesday afternoon has raised more than $236,000. The fundraising page did not detail how the funds will be used.

Anthony allegedly confessed to the killing and officers say he told them he was protecting himself, according to the arrest report.

One officer who responded to the scene said Anthony told him unprompted, without being asked any questions about the incident, "I was protecting myself," according to the arrest report.

When the officer advised another responding officer that he had "the alleged suspect," Anthony reportedly responded, "I'm not alleged, I did it," according to the arrest report.

Anthony "made another spontaneous statement" and reportedly asked an officer if what happened "could be considered self-defense," according to the arrest report.

The stabbing occurred under the Memorial High School tent in the stadium bleachers at approximately 10 a.m. on April 2, according to the arrest report.

Responding officers said they spoke to multiple witnesses, including one who reported that the altercation began after Metcalf told Anthony to move out from under their team's tent, according to the arrest report.

The witness reported that Anthony allegedly reached inside his bag and said, "Touch me and see what happens," according to the arrest report.

Metcalf grabbed Anthony to move him, according to a witness, and Anthony allegedly pulled out what the witness described as a black knife and "stabbed Austin once in the chest and then ran away," the arrest report stated.

"Just doesn't make any sense," Metcalf's mother, Meghan Metcalf, told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA in emotional remarks last week. "Just because the kid was mad, my son is not here anymore, and I don't understand it."

Frisco Police Chief David Shilson called the incident a "senseless act of violence" in a lengthy statement last week while offering his "deepest condolences to all the families involved especially the Metcalf family."

He also warned that false information related to the stabbing was being circulated on social media and "to only trust information that comes from official releases and verified sources."

Shilson said police are investigating a fake account created using his name that was "perpetuating misinformation" on the incident. Police said they are pursuing felony charges.

‘The Angry Birds Movie 3’ coming to theaters in 2027

Those angry birds are back for more.

Paramount Pictures has announced that The Angry Birds Movie 3 will soar into theaters on Jan. 29, 2027. John Rice will direct the third film based on the video game from a script by Thurop Van Orman.

Red, Chuck, Silver and Bomb will return to the big screen, again played by the returning voice cast of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Rachel Bloom and Danny McBride.

Newcomers lending their voice this time around are Emma Myers, Keke Palmer, Tim Robinson, Lily James, Marcello Hernandez, Walker Scobell, Sam Richardson, Anna Cathcart, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Nikki Glaser, James Austin Johnson and Psalm West.

Sony Pictures distributed the first two films in the Angry Birds franchise. The Angry Birds Movie was released in 2016, while its sequel The Angry Birds Movie 2 came to theaters in 2019.

“We’re very excited to be partnering with Paramount Pictures and extremely proud of our incredible cast,” the film's producer, John Cohen, said in a statement. “Not only do we have Jason, Josh, Rachel and Danny returning to voice their fantastic characters, but they’re surrounded by an all-star ensemble of comedic talent. These are some of the funniest people out there today, and we’re so thrilled to have them all on board.”

Texas measles outbreak tops 500 cases, including multiple at a day care

LUBBOCK (AP) – A day care facility in a Texas county that’s part of the measles outbreak has multiple cases, including children too young to be fully vaccinated, public health officials say.

West Texas is in the middle of a still-growing measles outbreak with 505 cases reported on Tuesday. The state expanded the number of counties in the outbreak area this week to 10. The highly contagious virus began to spread in late January and health officials say it has spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mexico.

Three people who were unvaccinated have died from measles-related illnesses this year, including two elementary school-aged children in Texas. The second child died Thursday at a Lubbock hospital, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended the funeral in Seminole, the epicenter of the outbreak.

As of Friday, there were seven cases at a day care where one young child who was infectious gave it to two other children before it spread to other classrooms, Lubbock Public Health director Katherine Wells said.

“Measles is so contagious I won’t be surprised if it enters other facilities,” Wells said.

There are more than 200 children at the day care, Wells said, and most have had least one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, which is first recommended between 12 and 15 months old and a second shot between 4 and 6 years old.

“We do have some children that have only received one dose that are now infected,” she said.

The public health department is recommending that any child with only one vaccine get their second dose early, and changed its recommendation for kids in Lubbock County to get the first vaccine dose at 6 months old instead of 1. A child who is unvaccinated and attends the day care must stay home for 21 days since their last exposure, Wells said.

Case count and hospitalization numbers in Texas have climbed steadily since the outbreak began, and spiked by 81 cases from March 28 to April 4.

On Tuesday, the state added another 24 cases to its count and two additional counties, Borden and Randall. One more person was hospitalized since Friday, with 57 total.

Gaines County, where the virus has been spreading through a close-knit Mennonite community, has the majority of cases, with 328 on Tuesday. Neighboring Terry County is second with 46, followed by Lubbock County with 36.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention met with Texas officials Monday to determine how many people it would send to West Texas to assist with the outbreak response, spokesman Jason McDonald said Monday. He expected a small team to arrive later this week, followed by a bigger group on the ground next week.

The CDC said its first team was in the region from early March to April 1, withdrawing on-the-ground support days before a second child died in the outbreak.

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Texas Businesses: April 15 is deadline for filing property tax renditions

(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar reminds business owners that April 15 is the deadline to file property tax renditions with their county appraisal districts. Different deadlines apply for certain regulated property.

A rendition is a report that lists a business’ good faith estimate of value for its taxable inventory, furniture and fixtures, machinery, equipment and other property owned or managed as of Jan. 1 each year. The appraisal district may use the information reported in the rendition to set property values.

A rendition allows property owners to record their opinion of their property’s value and ensures that the appraisal district notifies property owners before changing a recorded value. Exempt property, such as church property and equipment used for farming, is not subject to rendition.

Owners whose property was damaged by storm, flood or fire last year may file a special decreased value report, which indicates the property’s condition on Jan. 1, 2025. Filing the decreased value report could lower those owners’ final tax bills for 2025.

Rendition forms and decreased value report forms are available from county appraisal district offices statewide and may be downloaded at the Comptroller’s property tax forms webpage.

For more information about property renditions, deadlines, deadline extensions, penalties and rendition forms, taxpayers may contact the Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division at 800-252-9121 (press 3) or visit the division online.

Texas energy company wins first-of-its-kind permit to suck carbon out of the air

ODESSA — The Environmental Protection Agency has approved a Texas company’s application to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and inject it underground, becoming the first project in the state to be awarded such a permit.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, a Houston-based oil firm, will start storing 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in deep, non-permeable rock formations 4,400 feet underground as soon as this year. The facility will be located 20 miles southwest of Odessa.

“This is a significant milestone for the company as we are continuing to develop vital infrastructure that will help the United States achieve energy security,” Vicky Hollub, the company’s president and CEO, said in a statement. She said these permits will help energy companies “address their emissions or produce vital resources and fuels.”

Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of oil and gas production and the largest contributor to climate change. Oil and gas facilities leak or vent the greenhouse gas, which traps heat in the atmosphere and prevents it from cooling. Environmentalists and the oil and gas industry are divided over the environmental benefits of carbon capture.

While the industry has hedged its climate goals on the technology, environmental policy experts remain skeptical about whether it significantly reduces air pollution, saying the world should transition to other fuel sources to slow climate change. Some Texas scientists say the injection method has been tested and proven to work for years and now needs to be implemented.

Oxy will attempt to reduce the output of the gas through a technology called direct air capture, or DAC. It grabs the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and separates it from other particles in the air by incinerating them. The equipment then compresses the gas to a brine before transporting and storing it permanently underground.

According to the draft permit, which the EPA presented to the public for feedback last fall, Oxy will monitor the pressure and temperature of the well and downhole. It will measure every second on the surface and every ten seconds inside the well, providing a reading every ten minutes. Workers will account for corrosion and groundwater every three months. The company must alert the EPA 30 days before most tests or if there are any changes. It must also alert them of any malfunctions within 24 hours.

Virginia Palacios, executive director of Commission Shift, an oil and gas watchdog group, said Oxy’s permit application redacted certain details regarding the layers where the carbon dioxide would be stored, which only the EPA could review. She said that concealing this information gives residents no assurance that the gas will stay put, adding that the public should have been allowed to evaluate that information. The permit contains information showing the depth and construction of the injection well as well as the layers of rock.

More companies could follow Oxy’s lead, and win quicker approval if Texas regulators win the authority to grant such permits. The Texas Railroad Commission, the state agency regulating oil and gas companies, has applied to the EPA for the power to issue similar permits. The EPA is currently accepting public testimony. A public hearing for the public to issue feedback has not been set.

Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.

Trump touts falling oil prices, borrowing costs. Experts say they’re warning signs.

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted a drop in oil prices and borrowing costs as a sign that sweeping new tariffs bode well for the U.S. economy.

Experts who spoke to ABC News largely rejected the notion, saying the trends indicate expectations of an economic slowdown that would diminish energy demand and send money flooding into bonds as safe-haven investments.

A drop in oil prices and borrowing expenses could offset some of the damage caused by a potential downturn, some experts noted, but such relief is unlikely to offset acute economic pain.

“The reason those prices have fallen is not positive,” Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Investment Management, told ABC News. “Oil prices and Treasury yields fell because there are concerns about economic growth going forward.”

Oil prices plummeted about 15% last week as Trump’s tariff announcement roiled global markets and triggered warnings about a possible recession.

Meanwhile, 10-year Treasury yields last week fell below 4% for the first time in nearly six months. The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, or the amount paid to a bondholder annually, helps set interest rates for just about any loan, including credit cards and mortgages.

“Oil prices are down, interest rates are down,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday morning outlining the benefits of his tariff policy.

He repeated the sentiment hours later, boasting of low borrowing costs and predicting the price of a gallon of gasoline would fall to $2.50. The current national average price of a gallon gas is $3.25, according to AAA.

“We have everything down at levels that nobody ever thought possible,” Trump said.

The drop in oil prices and borrowing costs will likely offer some near-term improvements for U.S. consumers, including lower gas prices, experts said.

“Motorists can expect gas prices to begin falling nearly coast-to-coast, with oil now at its lowest level since the early days of the pandemic in 2021,” Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News in a statement.

In the case of oil, prices are dropping as forecasters increase the odds of a possible U.S. recession, which would reduce economic activity and slash demand for oil. If appetite for oil falls, the price will too.

“In addition to falling oil prices, the stock market has dropped sharply, and the risk of a recession has increased – raising the likelihood of reduced global energy and oil demand, which is sending prices lower,” de Haan said.

The recent decline in Treasury yields owes to hotter demand rather than a cooling off, experts said.

The price of a bond moves in the opposite direction as its yield, or the amount of interest accrued by a bondholder. In other words, when bond yields go down, bond prices go up. The decline in yields over recent days has resulted from a surge in demand as investors flee stocks and seek out safe-haven assets.

“Risky assets sold off and safe investments like Treasury bonds saw prices increase as Treasury yields fell,” Pappalardo said.

The Trump administration has largely declined to rule out the possibility of a recession. Speaking at the White House last month, Trump said a "little disturbance" may prove necessary to rejuvenate domestic production and reestablish well-paying manufacturing jobs.

On Tuesday, oil prices and Treasury yields ticked up slightly as the Trump administration signaled negotiations with some countries targeted by tariffs.

“Any good news of decreasing the tariffs is going to cause oil and yields to rally,” Derek Horstmeyer, a finance professor at George Mason University's Costello College of Business, told ABC News. “It improves the economic picture.”

Even after the increases on Tuesday, oil prices and Treasury yields remained well below levels seen last week.

Horstmeyer said the benefits of lower oil prices and borrowing costs may offer consumers a false sense of reassurance.

“Falling oil prices always make people feel good,” Horstmeyer added. “They’re usually seen as bad forward indicators, so it portends what’s to come.”

‘Death sentence’: Advocates blast $1.3 billion in State Department food aid cuts

(WASHINGTON) -- The State Department has moved to squeeze lifesaving foreign aid dramatically for countries around the world, according to several U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The latest cuts include the termination of all remaining U.S. Agency for International Development contracts supporting the delivery of food, water and medicine to populations in Afghanistan and Yemen, the cancellation of the largest World Food Programme (WFP) contract for Somalia, and the termination of several awards that funded the delivery of critical assistance in Syria and Lebanon, three officials told ABC News.

Jordan, Haiti, Gaza, Niger, Palau and Papua New Guinea, as well as several other countries and major aid groups, also saw significant lifesaving aid contracts terminated in recent days, they added.

The latest round of cuts to aid totals over $1.3 billion, according to OneAID, a grassroots advocacy group made up of former and current USAID experts and partners.

It also marks an apparent reversal for the State Department, which previously granted exemptions for the funding to continue after the Trump administration's sweeping reduction in U.S. foreign aid prompted widespread backlash.

The WFP confirmed on Monday that the U.S. government had informed the organization that funding for emergency food assistance in 14 countries had been terminated.

"If implemented, this could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation," the WFP said in a statement. "We are in contact with the US administration to seek clarification and to urge for continued support for these life-saving programmes."

ABC News reached out to the State Department for comment on the cuts but did not receive a response.

It's unclear what motivated the latest round of funding cancellations, but one official said they were ordered by Jeremy Lewin, the USAID deputy administrator for policy who previously worked with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to dismantle the agency.

The official also said many of the programs hit by the latest cuts were recently granted hiring privileges or had spending modifications to their contracts approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

These special permissions were viewed as an indication that State Department leadership viewed the work as essential for fulfilling its mission of delivering "core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance" amid the Trump administration's review of all foreign aid spending.

Shortly after returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump ordered all a freeze on all foreign assistance for 90 days, leading to a flurry of stop-work orders and hiring freezes affecting a broad range of humanitarian aid work.

Since then, the Trump administration has moved to cancel some $60 billion worth of foreign aid grants and contracts, but senior officials like Rubio have promised that the most essential assistance would continue.

"This is not about getting rid of aid. This is about restructuring how we're going to do aid," Rubio said last month.

Rusk man attempts to escape from courtroom during hearing

CHEROKEE COUNTY – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Rusk man attempted to flee from deputies Tuesday morning during his court ordered probation hearing, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said.

According to the sheriff’s office, Krystopher Michael Free, 26 of Rusk, was at a court ordered probation hearing in the 369th District Court in Rusk when the presiding judge ordered Free to be taken into custody. Officials said Free attempted to run from the courtroom as a Cherokee County Bailiff tried to take him into custody. Deputies and the bailiff were able to take Free into custody after a brief struggle with one of the bailiffs receiving minor injuries.

Free was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries, and once discharged, he was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on charges of assault of a public servant and evading and resisting arrest.

IRS, DHS sign data-sharing agreement for taxpayer data of those illegally in US

(WASHINGTON) -- The IRS and Department of Homeland Security have reached a data-sharing agreement to support the Trump administration's immigration enforcement agenda, according to a court filing late Monday night.

Under the terms of the agreement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would submit names and addresses of immigrants living in the United States without legal status who have final removal orders, which would be used to check against IRS taxpayer records.

"As laid out in the MOU, DHS can legally request return information relating to individuals under criminal investigation, and the IRS must provide it," the court filing said. The actual memorandum of understanding was filed in court and said the agencies are exercising this authority under the president's executive order.

"Each request will attest that [redacted] information will only be used by officers and employees of ICE solely for the preparation for judicial or administrative proceedings or investigation that may lead to such proceedings," the MOU said.

A spokesperson for the Treasury Department confirmed the MOU and said the basis is legal.

"The Internal Revenue Service and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement have entered into a memorandum of understanding to establish a clear and secure process to support law enforcement's efforts to combat illegal immigration," the Treasury spokesperson said.

"The bases for this MOU are founded in longstanding authorities granted by Congress, which serve to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans while streamlining the ability to pursue criminals," the spokesperson added. "After four years of Joe Biden flooding the nation with illegal aliens, President Trump's highest priority is to ensure the safety of the American people."

The MOU, according to a Treasury Department official, creates guardrails for the agencies to follow in carrying it out.

Consistent with IRS privacy protection laws, specifically Internal Revenue Code Section 6103, the Treasury Department is committed to protecting the taxpayer data of lawfully abiding persons, the official said.

However, Section 6103 has a criminal exemption. This exemption obligates the IRS to assist law enforcement in the pursuit of criminals and will be used against any migrant who has overstayed for more than 90 days as part of the carveout.

Veterans of the IRS have raised concerns about the unprecedented use of tax data and the use of exceptions to the strict laws governing its use, some of which are meant to help law enforcement in criminal investigations.

Section 6103 requires that the IRS keep individual taxpayer information confidential with certain limited exceptions, including with law enforcement agencies "for investigation and prosecution of non-tax criminal laws" with approval from a court, according to the agency's website.

Current and former agency officials also said they worry the new policy could affect tax collections and discourage immigrants without legal status who are working from paying taxes for a variety of reasons.

The IRS has allowed immigrants without legal status to file income tax returns with individual tax numbers. These migrants contributed $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes using borrowed or fraudulent Social Security numbers, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The court filings were filed in a case attempting to stop the MOU from being signed.

A senior DHS official said that under the Trump administration, "the government is finally doing what it should have all along: sharing information across the federal government to solve problems."

"Biden not only allowed millions of illegal aliens to flood into our country -- he lost them due to incompetence and improper processing," a DHS official said. "Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense."

Chicago man charged in connection to series of sexual crimes: Police

(CHICAGO) -- A Chicago man was charged in connection to a series of sex crimes targeting women at least five times over the past three years, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Chakib Mansour Khodja, a 36-year-old Jefferson Park resident, was charged with 16 felonies and two misdemeanors on Monday, including aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed, home invasion with a dangerous weapon and public indecency with lewd exposure, police said in a press release.

The earliest incident allegedly occurred on May 7, 2022, and the latest on Feb. 2, police said.

"This man was a violent, serial predator who literally went out hunting for his victims," Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke said during a press conference on Monday.

In February, Khodja allegedly "approached the female victims from behind (twice on the sidewalk and once in an apartment building hallway)" and sexually assaulted them, police said. In one of these instances, he was armed with a sharp object, police said.

"These women survived something that was horrible and terrible and it's something that they will continue to live with throughout the rest of their days," CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said.

Investigators used video surveillance and DNA evidence to connect Khodja to the crimes, police said.

The suspect was arrested on April 4 at O'Hare Airport, when he was coming back from out of town, police said.

Khodja made his first court appearance on Monday, officials said. He was held pending trial.

He was appointed a public defender, but the lawyer was not named in court records.

"Today, the city is safer. Today, every single woman in the city, every single man who has a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister should all be breathing a sigh of relief," O'Neill said.

Snelling said officials are still determining if there are any additional victims of Khodja's attacks.

15-year-old arrested for fatally stabbing grandmother, injuring mother: Police

(SELDEN, N.Y.) -- A 15-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing his grandmother and injuring his mother in Selden, New York, according to police.

Vanessa Chendemi was allegedly stabbed by her son at about 9:45 p.m. Monday after which she ran out of her house and a passing motorist stopped to offer assistance, the Suffolk County Police Department said. Upon arriving at the scene, officers said they found 56-year-old Concetta Chendemi with stab wounds in the residence.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Vanessa Chendemi, 36, was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition, Suffolk County police said.

The suspect fled the scene after the stabbing, police said. He was later arrested at around 11:20 p.m.

The accused stabber -- who has not been identified by police because he is a minor -- has been charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

Measles cases in Texas outbreak surpass 500 with 24 new infections confirmed over last 5 days

Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto via Getty Images

(AUSTIN, Texas) -- The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow, with 24 new cases confirmed over the last five days, according to data published Tuesday.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

Three of the 505 cases are among residents who have been vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Seven cases are among those vaccinated with two doses.

At least 57 measles patients have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.

Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, followed by children ages 4 and under.

Gaines County, which borders New Mexico, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, with 328 cases confirmed so far, DSHS data shows.

There have been two confirmed deaths linked to the outbreak, both of which occurred in unvaccinated school-aged children.

"Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities. DSHS is working with local health departments to investigate the outbreak," the health department said.

The Indiana Department of Health recently reported the first laboratory confirmed case of measles in the state this year.

Additionally, the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment confirmed the second case in the state on Monday -- an infant in Denver who was too young to be vaccinated.

As of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has so far confirmed 607 measles cases in at least 21 states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York State, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.

This is likely an undercount due to delays in states reporting cases to the federal health agency.

Among the nationally confirmed cases by the CDC, about 97% are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.

Of those cases, 1% are among those who have received just one dose of the MMR inoculation and 2% are among those who received the required two doses, according to the CDC.

The CDC currently recommends that people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective, the CDC says. Most vaccinated adults don't need a booster.

Health officials may expand vaccination recommendations during an outbreak for those 6-12 months old to receive an earlier dose, as they are in several counties in Texas.

If a child receives a dose before their first birthday, they should follow up with the standard recommendations to receive a second dose at 12 through 15 months and a final dose at 4 through 6 years – for a total of three doses.

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, CDC data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years.

Mike White on ‘The White Lotus’ composer quitting: ‘I don’t think he respected me’

The White Lotus creator Mike White is speaking out about the show's composer quitting the show.

In an interview with Howard Stern on Tuesday, White was asked his thoughts about Cristóbal Tapia de Veer publicly announcing via The New York Times that he would not return to compose the music for season 4 of the HBO series. De Veer told the outlet he and White had "already had our last fight forever."

“I honestly don’t know what happened, except now I’m reading his interviews because he decides to do some PR campaign about him leaving the show,” White said. “I don’t think he respected me. ... We never really even fought. He says we feuded. I don’t think I ever had a fight with him — except for maybe some emails."

White believes de Veer had an issue with receiving notes from him.

"It was basically me giving him notes. I don’t think he liked to go through the process of getting notes from me, or wanting revisions, because he didn’t respect me," White said. "I knew he wasn’t a team player and that [he] wanted to do it his way. I was thrown that he would go to The New York Times to s*** on me and the show three days before the finale. It was kinda of a b**** move.”

Additionally, White believes de Veer is making a big deal out of a creative difference.

“He is very talented. [But] I’ve never kissed somebody’s a** so hard to just get him to — to lead that horse to water. Have fun with whatever you’re doing next,” White said.

The White Lotus aired its season 3 finale on Sunday. HBO has renewed the drama series for a fourth season.

Cass County man discards drugs at a Family Dollar

LINDEN – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a man was arrested on Monday after he threw a bag out the window of a vehicle at Family Dollar in Linden filled with a “white crystalline substance”.

According to the Linden Police Department, an officer on patrol stopped a vehicle with a headlight out in the parking lot of Family Dollar at 604 W. Houston St. As the vehicle parked, the officer noticed what appeared to be trash thrown out the window.

Officials said that upon further investigation the officer discovered that the “trash” was actually illegal narcotics that had been thrown out. The officer found that the illegal narcotics consisted of a bag containing smaller bags filled with a white crystalline substance. Continue reading Cass County man discards drugs at a Family Dollar

Supreme Court allows Trump to terminate 16,000 probationary federal workers

Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Trump administration can move forward with the termination of 16,000 probationary federal workers across six agencies and departments, rescinding a lower court order that they be reinstated as litigation challenging the layoffs continues.

In a brief, unsigned order, the court said the nine labor unions and nonprofit groups that had challenged the firings lacked standing in the matter. The groups' "allegations [of harm] are presently insufficient to support the organizations' standing," the order read.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson indicated that they would have denied Trump's request.

A federal judge last month ordered the administration to reinstate the affected employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Interior and the Department of Treasury.

The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court for an emergency stay of the judge's order, arguing the plaintiffs lacked standing and had "hijacked the employment relationship between the federal government and its workforce."

The unions had asked the Supreme Court to preserve the district court judge's order that those workers be reinstated because of the imminent harm that would come from termination.

"Because probationary employees include not only those new to the government but also those recently promoted, agencies lost experienced individuals and directors of programs and were left with arbitrary and unexpected gaps in critical functions," they wrote in their brief. "The reverberations throughout agencies and impacts on services were dramatic and immediate."

On Tuesday, the coalition of unions called the Supreme Court order "deeply disappointing" but vowed to continue fighting the terminations.

"Despite this setback, our coalition remains unwavering in fighting for these workers who were wronged by the administration, and in protecting the freedoms of the American people. This battle is far from over," the coalition said in a statement.

ABC's Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.