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AUSTIN – KUT reports that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is asking the federal government to let the state continue to approve its own environmental reviews — a delegated authority intended to fast-track highway projects. The public has until Monday night to weigh in on the arrangement that critics have long skewered as “the fox guarding the hen house.” Since 2014, TxDOT has operated under the agreement with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), allowing the state agency to assume responsibility for environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Those reviews analyze the impact of highway projects on everything from air and water to homes, businesses and historical sites. TxDOT says the sweeping powers delegated to the state streamline efforts to avoid “substantial delays in the delivery of important transportation projects,” shaving months off the environmental review process.

“TxDOT is still subject to the same statutory and regulatory requirements that would apply without NEPA assignment, and our agency takes the responsibility for ensuring compliance with those requirements seriously,” TxDOT spokesperson Adam Hammons said in an e-mail. “Over the past ten years, TxDOT has been subject to multiple audits and monitoring events by FHWA.” One FHWA monitoring report issued this year found TxDOT was in violation of federal regulations related to the installation of traffic noise barriers. The report said the state was making changes to come into compliance. Critics of the arrangement say the self-certification process known as “NEPA assignment” doesn’t result in the rigorous reviews intended under federal law, especially for large-scale projects like the expansion of I-35 through Austin. “The federal government does not have the same vested interest in pushing through these projects that TxDOT does,” said Addie Walker with Reconnect Austin, a group that’s pushed for burying I-35 through Central Austin. “They have a really strong interest in pushing these projects through, and especially with NEPA assignment, no real incentive to slow down, listen to what the community and local and regional governments are saying.”

AUSTIN – KUT reports that new testing results show Austin has little to no traces of forever chemicals in its drinking water. Exposure to these chemicals, also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, have been linked to prostate and kidney cancers, thyroid conditions, decreased fertility and other health problems. PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they take thousands of years to break down. The chemicals are “bioaccumulative,” meaning they build up in an organism faster than they can be excreted. Over 1 million people in the greater Austin area get their drinking water from the Highland Lakes. Out of the 29 PFAS compounds Austin Water officials tested in the lakes, only faint traces of six were detected. The test results were verified by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Water samples were tested at each of Austin’s three water treatment plants four times over the past year. At the Handcox Water Treatment Plant, none of the tested PFAS compounds were found. PFAS are found in seemingly everything, including clothes, nonstick pans, cosmetics and probably your bloodstream. The EPA announced earlier this year that it would start regulating five of the most dangerous PFAS. So far, almost 50 Texas water systems have reported PFAS levels exceeding the new limits, two of which are in Williamson County. Water systems in Seguin and San Antonio have also reported levels exceeding the limits. The EPA estimated that somewhere between 6% and 10% of all public water systems will fail the new guidelines. But Austin didn’t. Why? Kasi Clay, the water quality manager for Austin Water, said the results are thanks to protections on the Highland Lakes. “Our drinking water is less impacted by industries and activities that can introduce PFAS,” she said. Clay said traces of PFAS found in Austin’s drinking water were so low they were barely even testable.

TERRELL — A police officer was fatally shot Sunday night while conducting a traffic stop in Terrell, Texas, police said.

The officer, 28-year-old Jacob Candanoza, called for a cover unit upon initiating the traffic stop around 11 p.m., the Terrell Police Department said. But before backup could arrive, police said they received two 911 calls about an officer being shot.

Responding officers found Candanoza at the scene with gunshot wounds, according to police.

He was transported to the hospital, where he died, police said.

The suspected shooter was arrested early Monday, police said, but did not immediately disclose his name. Candanoza was able to provide a license plate to dispatchers that aided in the suspect’s capture, Lt. Mary Hauger, spokesperson for the Terrell Police Department said.

Candanoza had joined the Terrell Police Department in July. He served in the Marines from 2014 to 2019 and previously worked for the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, according to Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA.

“Our deepest condolences go out to his family as they navigate this tragic time,” the Terrell Police Department said in a statement.

Terrell is located about 30 miles east of Dallas.

“Please join Cecilia & me in praying for the family & friends of Officer Jacob Candanoza, who lost his life last night in the line of duty,” Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott wrote on X. “Our hearts go out to his loved ones & to the Terrell Police Department.”

AUSTIN (AP) – A bankruptcy judge scrutinizing The Onion’s bid for Alex Jones ’ Infowars platform was expected to hear a second day of testimony Tuesday after an auctioneer defended the satirical news outlet’s winning offer in November.

It is not clear how quickly U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston will decide whether to approve the bid. The Onion, which wants to turn Infowars’ website and social media accounts into parodies, offered $1.75 million for Infowars’ assets in the auction.

Jones did not attend Monday’s start of the key hearing and instead continued to broadcast from his studios in Austin.

Jeff Tanenbaum, president of ThreeSixty Asset Advisors, was grilled by lawyers for Jones and the company in a Houston courtroom on Monday over how The Onion’s bid came to be valued at $7 million and why a live auction was not held. He defended both the value of the bid and its selection after the two sealed offers were opened.

Lopez could ultimately decide whether to void The Onion’s bid, name the Jones-affiliated company the winner or hold another auction, among other possibilities.

Jones and First United American Companies, which runs a website in Jones’ name that sells nutritional supplements and submitted the other bid, are alleging fraud and collusion in the auction that concluded on Nov. 14. The trustee and The Onion deny the allegations, accusing Jones and the company of sour grapes. First United American Companies bid $3.5 million.
Alex Jones’ bankruptcy case

The sale of Infowars is part of Jones’ personal bankruptcy case, which he filed in late 2022 after he was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in defamation lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas filed by relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. Jones repeatedly called the 2012 shooting that killed 20 children and six educators a hoax staged by actors and aimed at increasing gun control.

Most of the proceeds from the sale of Infowars, as well as many of Jones’ personal assets, will go to the Sandy Hook families to help satisfy judgments issued by juries and judges in state courts in Connecticut and Texas. Some proceeds will go to Jones’ other creditors.

The Onion’s bid also included a pledge by many of the Sandy Hook families to forgo some or all of the auction proceeds due to them to give other creditors a total of $100,000 more than they would receive under other bids.
Auctioneer defends The Onion’s bid

The trustee, Christopher Murray, chose The Onion, saying its proposal was better for creditors because they would receive more money. The Onion valued the bid, with the Sandy Hook families’ offer, at $7 million, because that amount was equal to a purchase price that would provide the same amount of money to the other creditors.

Tanenbaum testified that he agreed with the $7 million valuation and believed The Onion’s bid conformed to the auction rules.

A lawyer for Jones, Ben Broocks, asked Tanenbaum how it was possible that the Sandy Hook families’ offer boosted The Onion’s offer to such a high amount.

“It means the purchase price value has gone up because another purchase price would have to be higher than that value in order to provide the same net benefit to that group of creditors,” Tanenbaum said.

During his opening argument, Broocks said there was no way The Onion should have been chosen over First United American.

“How does a $1.75 million bid beat a $3.5 million bid?” he asked. “How is that $1.75 million greater? Well, it’s voodoo economics to use a phrase.”

Joshua Wolfshohl, an attorney for Murray, told the judge Monday that no wrongdoing occurred during the auction. He called the complaints by Jones and First United American Companies unfounded.

“The vast majority of their complaints are just fantastic, imagined conspiracy theories that have no basis in reality,” he said.

Murray, The Onion and the Sandy families deny allegations of wrongdoing. In his own court filing, Murray called the allegations “a disappointed bidder’s improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open auction process.”
Putting Infowars up for auction

Up for sale at the auction were all the equipment and other assets in the Infowars studio in Austin, Texas, as well as its social media accounts, websites, video archive and product trademarks. Jones uses the studio to broadcast his far-right, conspiracy theory-filled shows on the Infowars website, his account on the social platform X and radio stations.

Jones has set up another studio, websites and social media accounts in case The Onion wins approval to buy Infowars and kicks him out. Jones has said he could continue using the Infowars platforms if the auction winner is friendly to him.

Jones is appealing the $1.5 billion in judgments citing free speech rights but has acknowledged that the school shooting happened.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers and he suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned.

The president-elect, in a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere.

Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning “things do change.”

A look at some of the issues covered:

Trump hems on whether trade penalties could raise prices

Trump has threatened broad trade penalties, but said he didn’t believe economists’ predictions that added costs on those imported goods for American companies would lead to higher domestic prices for consumers. He stopped short of a pledge that U.S. an households won’t be paying more as they shop.

“I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow,” Trump said, seeming to open the door to accepting the reality of how import levies typically work as goods reach the retail market.

That’s a different approach from Trump’s typical speeches throughout the 2024 campaign, when he framed his election as a sure way to curb inflation.

In the interview, Trump defended tariffs generally, saying that tariffs are “going to make us rich.”

He has pledged that, on his first day in office in January, he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada unless those countries satisfactorily stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl into the United States. He also has threatened tariffs on China to help force that country to crack down on fentanyl production.

”All I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field,” Trump said.

Trump suggests retribution for his opponents while claiming no interest in vengeance

He offered conflicting statements on how he would approach the justice system after winning election despite being convicted of 34 felonies in a New York state court and being indicted in other cases for his handling of national security secrets and efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

“Honestly, they should go to jail,” Trump said of members of Congress who investigated the Capitol riot by his supporters who wanted him to remain in power.

The president-elect underscored his contention that he can use the justice system against others, including special prosecutor Jack Smith, who led the case on Trump’s role in the siege on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump confirmed his plan to pardon supporters who were convicted for their roles in the riot, saying he would take that action on his first day in office.

As for the idea of revenge driving potential prosecutions, Trump said: “I have the absolute right. I’m the chief law enforcement officer, you do know that. I’m the president. But I’m not interested in that.”

At the same time, Trump singled out lawmakers on a special House committee who had investigated the insurrection, citing Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.

“Cheney was behind it … so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee,” Trump said.

Asked specifically whether he would direct his administration to pursue cases, he said, “No,” and suggested he did not expect the FBI to quickly undertake investigations into his political enemies.

But at another point, Trump said he would leave the matter up to Pam Bondi, his pick as attorney general. “I want her to do what she wants to do,” he said.

Such threats, regardless of Trump’s inconsistencies, have been taken seriously enough by many top Democrats that Biden is considering issuing blanket, preemptive pardons to protect key members of his outgoing administration.

Trump did seemingly back off his campaign rhetoric calling for Biden to be investigated, saying, “I’m not looking to go back into the past.”

Swift action on immigration is coming

Trump repeatedly mentioned his promises to seal the U.S.-Mexico border and deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally through a mass deportation program.

“I think you have to do it,” he said.

He suggested he would try to use executive action to end “birthright” citizenship under which people born in the U.S. are considered citizens — although such protections are spelled out in the Constitution.

Asked specifically about the future for people who were brought into the country illegally as children and have been shielded from deportation in recent years, Trump said, “I want to work something out,” indicating he might seek a solution with Congress.

But Trump also said he does not “want to be breaking up families” of mixed legal status, “so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back.”

Trump commits to NATO, with conditions, and waffles on Putin and Ukraine

Long a critic of NATO members for not spending more on their own defense, Trump said he “absolutely” would remain in the alliance “if they pay their bills.”

Pressed on whether he would withdraw if he were dissatisfied with allies’ commitments, Trump said he wants the U.S. treated “fairly” on trade and defense.

He waffled on a NATO priority of containing Russia and President Vladimir Putin.

Trump suggested Ukraine should prepare for less U.S. aid in its defense against Putin’s invasion. “Possibly. Yeah, probably. Sure,” Trump said of reducing Ukraine assistance from Washington. Separately, Trump has called for an immediate cease-fire.

Asked about Putin, Trump said initially that he has not talked to the Russian leader since Election Day last month, but then hedged: “I haven’t spoken to him recently.” Trump said when pressed, adding that he did not want to “impede the negotiation.”

Trump says Powell is safe at the Fed, but not Wray at the FBI

The president-elect said he has no intention, at least for now, of asking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to step down before Powell’s term ends in 2028. Trump said during the campaign that presidents should have more say in Fed policy, including interest rates.

Trump did not offer any job assurances for FBI Director Christopher Wray, whose term is to end in 2027.

Asked about Wray, Trump said: “Well, I mean, it would sort of seem pretty obvious” that if the Senate confirms Kash Patel as Trump’s pick for FBI chief, then “he’s going to be taking somebody’s place, right? Somebody is the man that you’re talking about.”

Trump is absolute about Social Security, not so much on abortion and health insurance

Trump promised that the government efficiency effort led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will not threaten Social Security. “We’re not touching Social Security, other than we make it more efficient,” he said. He added that “we’re not raising ages or any of that stuff.”

He was not so specific about abortion or his long-promised overhaul of the Affordable Care Act.

On abortion, Trump continued his inconsistencies and said he would “probably” not move to restrict access to the abortion pills that now account for a majority of pregnancy terminations, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. But pressed on whether he would commit to that position, Trump replied, “Well, I commit. I mean, are — things do — things change. I think they change.”

Reprising a line from his Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump again said he had “concepts” of a plan to substitute for the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which he called “lousy health care.”

He added a promise that any Trump version would maintain insurance protections for Americans with preexisting health conditions. He did not explain how such a design would be different from the status quo or how he could deliver on his desire for “better healthcare for less money.”

DALLAS (AP) — A pair of iconic ruby slippers that were worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” and stolen from a museum nearly two decades ago sold for a winning bid of $28 million at auction Saturday.

Heritage Auctions had estimated that they would fetch $3 million or more, but the fast-paced bidding far outpaced that amount within seconds and tripled it within minutes. A few bidders making offers by phone volleyed back and forth for 15 minutes as the price climbed to the final, eye-popping sum.

Including the Dallas-based auction house’s fee, the unknown buyer will ultimately pay $32.5 million.

Online bidding, which opened last month, had stood at $1.55 million before live bidding began late Saturday afternoon.

The sparkly red heels were on display at the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2005 when Terry Jon Martin used a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and display case.

Their whereabouts remained a mystery until the FBI recovered them in 2018. Martin, now 77, who lives near Grand Rapids in northern Minnesota, wasn’t publicly exposed as the thief until he was indicted in May 2023. He pleaded guilty in October 2023. He was in a wheelchair and on supplementary oxygen when he was sentenced last January to time served because of his poor health.

His attorney, Dane DeKrey, explained ahead of sentencing that Martin, who had a long history of burglary and receiving stolen property, was attempting to pull off “one last score” after an old associate with connections to the mob told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value. But a fence — a person who buys stolen goods — later told him the rubies were just glass, DeKrey said. So Martin got rid of the slippers. The attorney didn’t specify how.

The alleged fence, Jerry Hal Saliterman, 77, of the Minneapolis suburb of Crystal, was indicted in March. He was also in a wheelchair and on oxygen when he made his first court appearance. He’s scheduled to go on trial in January and hasn’t entered a plea, though his attorney has said he’s not guilty.

The shoes were returned in February to memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the museum. They were one of several pairs that Garland wore during the filming, but only four pairs are known to have survived. In the movie, to return from Oz to Kansas, Dorothy had to click her heels three times and repeat, “There’s no place like home.”

As Rhys Thomas, author of “The Ruby Slippers of Oz,” put it, the sequined shoes from the beloved 1939 musical have seen “more twists and turns than the Yellow Brick Road.”

Over 800 people had been tracking the slippers, and the company’s webpage for the auction had hit nearly 43,000 page views by Thursday, said Robert Wilonsky, a vice president with the auction house.

Among those bidding to bring the slippers home was the Judy Garland Museum, which posted on Facebook shortly after that it did not place the winning bid. The museum had campaigned for donations to supplement money raised by the city of Grand Rapids at its annual Judy Garland festival and the $100,000 set aside this year by Minnesota lawmakers to help the museum purchase the slippers.

After the slippers sold, the auctioneer told bidders and spectators in the room and watching online that the previous record for a piece of entertainment memorabilia was $5.52 million, for the white dress Marilyn Monroe famously wore atop a windy subway grate.

The auction also included other memorabilia from “The Wizard of Oz,” such as a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton, who played the original Wicked Witch of the West. That item went for $2.4 million, or a total final cost to the buyer of $2.93 million.

“The Wizard of Oz” story has gained new attention in recent weeks with the release of the movie “Wicked,” an adaptation of the megahit Broadway musical, a prequel of sorts that reimagines the character of the Wicked Witch of the West.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The picture of who will be in charge of executing President-elect Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration and border policies has come into sharper focus after he announced his picks to head Customs and Border Protection and also the agency tasked with deporting immigrants in the country illegally.

Trump said late Thursday he was tapping Rodney Scott, a former Border Patrol chief who’s been a vocal supporter of tougher enforcement measures, for CBP commissioner.

As acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Trump said he had chosen Caleb Vitello, a career ICE official with more than 23 years in the agency.

They will work with an immigration leadership team that includes South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security; former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement head Tom Homan as border czar; and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff.

Here’s a closer look at the picks:

Rodney Scott

Customs and Border Protection, with its roughly 60,000 employees, falls under the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the Border Patrol, which Scott led during Trump’s first term, and is essentially responsible for protecting the country’s borders while facilitating trade and travel.

Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. He became an agent in 1992 and spent much of his career in San Diego. When he joined the agency, San Diego was by far the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. Traffic plummeted after the government dramatically increased enforcement there, but critics note the effort pushed people to remote parts of California and Arizona.

San Diego was also where wall construction began in the 1990s, which shaped Scott’s belief that barriers work. He was named San Diego sector chief in 2017.

When he was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020, he enthusiastically embraced Trump’s policies.

“He’s well known. He does know these issues and obviously is trusted by the administration,” said Gil Kerlikowske, the CBP commissioner under the Obama administration.

Kerlikowske took issue with some of Scott’s past actions, including his refusal to fall in line with a Biden administration directive to stop using terms like “illegal alien” in favor of descriptions like “migrant,” and his decision as San Diego sector chief to fire tear gas into Mexico to disperse protesters.

“You don’t launch projectiles into a foreign country,” Kerlikowske said.

At the time Scott defended the agents’ decisions, saying they were being assaulted by “a hail of rocks.”

While Trump’s focus may be on illegal immigration and security along the U.S.-Mexico border, Kerlikowske also stressed the other parts of CBP’s mission.

The agency is responsible for securing trade and international travel at airports, ports and land crossings around the country. Whoever runs the agency has to make sure that billions of dollars worth of trade and millions of passengers move swiftly and safely into and out of the country.

And if Trump makes good on promises to ratchet up tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada, CBP will play an integral role in enforcing them.

“There’s a huge amount of other responsibility on trade, on tourism, on cyber that take a significant amount of time and have a huge impact on the economy if it’s not done right,” Kerlikowske said.

After being forced out under the Biden administration, Scott has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda. He has appeared frequently on Fox News and testified in Congress. He’s also a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, he advocated for a return to Trump-era immigration policies and more pressure on Mexico to enforce immigration on its side of the border.

Caleb Vitello

Vitello will take over as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency responsible for arresting and deporting migrants in the U.S. illegally. A career ICE official, he most recently was the assistant director for firearms and tactical programs.

He’s also served on the National Security Council and held positions at ICE directly related to the agency’s enforcement operations. That will be key as the agency attempts to ramp up efforts to find and remove people in the country illegally.

ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed leader in years.

“I know Caleb Vitello very well. He’s a consummate professional, cares about the mission,” said Jason Houser, a former chief of staff at ICE under the Biden administration. “He’s probably one of the smartest guys” on enforcement and removal operations, Houser said.

Houser also noted the challenges that come with the job.

There are a limited number of enforcement and removal officers — the people who actually track down migrants and remove them from the country. And there’s more than a million people with final orders of removal, meaning they’ve gone through the immigration process and been found to have no right to stay in America. But the problem is that many of them come from countries to which it’s very difficult to deport people, such as Venezuela or Cuba, Houser said.

Houser said he anticipates that another arm of ICE, called Homeland Security Investigations, will be pulled in more to help with efforts to remove migrants through things like worksite enforcement. Currently HSI investigates anything with a connection to the border, which can mean human trafficking and human smuggling, counterterrorism or cybercrime, he said.

Others

Trump announced Anthony W. Salisbury as the deputy homeland security adviser. Salisbury is currently the special agent in charge of the HSI office in Miami. He has held key positions in Mexico City and overseeing money-laundering investigations.

Separately, Trump announced he was sending the former head of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd, to Chile as ambassador. The council represents Border Patrol agents.

WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) – A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok as soon as next month, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S.