AUSTIN — A real estate developer, whose relationship with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was at the center of the Republican’s historic impeachment trial in 2023 and a recently-ended federal corruption investigation, was sentenced Wednesday to five years’ supervised release and fined $1 million for lying to a financial institution.
Nate Paul, 38, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge David Ezra to serve four months’ home confinement at night, but he is allowed to leave for work and other appointments during the day. Paul had faced up to six months in prison under a previous plea agreement.
Paul’s attorney, Gerry Morris, did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas declined comment.
Paul was accused by federal prosecutors of overstating his assets and understating his liabilities while seeking loans in 2017 and 2018.
Paul had claimed that federal investigators acted improperly when they raided his Austin home in 2019. He later sought help from Paxton, and the relationship and dealings between the two men played a prominent role in state lawmakers impeaching Paxton, who was later acquitted in the Senate.
Paxton has long denied wrongdoing and was not mentioned in federal indictments against Paul.
A close ally of President Donald Trump, Paxton is now running for U.S. Senate in the Republican primary against Sen. John Cornyn.
A separate federal criminal investigation of Paxton over his relationship and dealings with Paul was quietly ended by President Joe Biden’s administration in late 2024 with no charges. Paxton has called that investigation a “bogus witch hunt.”
Earlier this month, a state district judge awarded more than $6 million to four former Paxton aides who were fired in retaliation for reporting allegations that he was using his office to accept bribes from Paul.
(NEW YORK) -- A United Airlines flight experienced an engine fire shortly after takeoff that was apparently caused by a rare rabbit strike.
United Flight 2325 had departed Denver International Airport en route to Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday when the incident occurred.
LiveATC audio documents the flight crew asking that the plane be inspected for an engine fire and being told that it was a rabbit that apparently got sucked into an engine.
"Rabbit through the number 2, that'll do it," the pilot responded.
The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 153 passengers and six crew members.
"There was a loud bang, and a significant vibration in the plane," passenger Scott Wolff told "Good Morning America."
The plane proceeded to climb, Wolff said.
"Every few moments there was a backfire coming from the engine, a giant fireball behind it," he said. "Everyone in the plane then started to panic."
Wyatt McCurry saw the flames from the ground at the Denver airport.
"My stomach dropped and I just thought, 'I'm going to see a plane go down,'" he told "Good Morning America."
The flight safely headed back to Denver.
"Our flight from Denver to Edmonton (UA2325) returned safely to Denver to address a possible wildlife strike," United said in a statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane returned around 8:05 p.m. local time on Sunday "after the crew reported striking an animal while departing."
The passengers continued to Edmonton on a new aircraft, the airline said.
The FAA is investigating.
In general, wildlife strikes are fairly common, with the FAA reporting more than 20,000 in the United States last year.
Among those, there were only four rabbit strikes reported, including one at the Denver International Airport, according to the FAA. The vast majority are bird strikes.
AUSTIN – The Dallas Morning News reports A proposal to ban public school displays of unapproved flags is heading to the Texas House after passing the Senate on Tuesday in a 23-8 vote. Public schools would only be allowed to display a dozen specific flags, including those of the United States, Texas, the armed forces, flags representing colleges and universities, a school’s official flag and flags that are temporarily displayed as part of required class curriculum. The list of approved flags do not include flags representing LGBTQ pride or transgender people. If enacted, schools that violate the bill and fail to report a remedy within a certain timeframe would be subject to a $500 daily fine. Shortly before the vote, Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, told her colleagues she would oppose the bill because it targets LGBTQ students and teachers.
“It’s truly devastating to me that this bill fails to distinguish between messages of hate and those of community,” Cook said on the Senate floor. “If pride flags are political, then so are the values of respect and belonging. Our students deserve better than a false neutrality.” In a committee report released earlier this month laying out the bill’s intent, Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, said her proposal addresses concerns over political or ideological classroom displays — such as pride flags, Confederate flags, Blue Lives Matter flags and Black Lives Matter banners — that have led to administrative bans, protests and lawsuits. Campbell cited as an example a North Texas high school where students staged a walkout after administrators removed rainbow “safe space” stickers and pride flags. “Similar incidents across the state illustrate the divisiveness and disruption that competing political symbols can generate in school settings,” Campbell wrote. “S.B. 762 ensures schools prioritize education and shared civic values by establishing a uniform standard that prevents political symbol conflicts, maintaining a neutral learning environment.”
HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports leaders of Texas ports and the companies that rely on the ports have spent the past two weeks of tariff upheaval doing what the ship captains do practically every minute of every day: Study the information and keep an eye on the horizon. The one thing they agree on is nobody really knows for sure what the conditions will be for very long at the 23 Texas ports that by many estimates generate more than one-quarter of the state’s gross domestic product. A few predict calm seas. Others see nothing but icebergs. More still cannot even predict what waves and thunderstorms lie ahead. “We’re trying to assess the situation,” Port of Freeport Executive Director Phyllis Saathoff told the crowd at a Greater Houston Port Bureau luncheon on April 10.
Despite the uncertainty of global trade markets as the Trump administration announces American tariff policy, then alters it, and then alters it again, port officials in Freeport and Houston have so far declined to elaborate on what immediate steps they are taking — including the possibility of slowing investment on their own docks or reducing their workforces. Citing the uncertainty and near-daily changes in what tariffs will be in effect and what specific goods will cost, they said it is too soon to either sound an alarm or give the all-clear. “Looking ahead, we will approach our work as we always have,” Port Houston public relations director Lisa Ashley said in a statement. Companies, however, are not waiting to take action, and have been doing so since before tariffs were even discussed, said Tim Sensenig, CEO of TMSfirst, a Spring-based transportation management company whose software helps companies with some 20 million shipments globally each day. Many companies — Sensenig noted the apparel industry — have already changed their patterns to get inventory moved in before tariffs can take effect. Others, such as Apple’s widely reported last-minute flight of Iphones, were temporary measures as they examined the long-term possibilities. “The last thing they want to do is be caught with their pants down with no inventory,” he said of retailers. Other sectors are taking more decisive steps. The impacts of proposed tariffs on auto imports and exports are already leading to layoffs at some automotive factories, as well as declines in the number of cars arriving at Texas ports.
AUSTIN – The Guardian reports that Donald Trump’s plans to expand infrastructure to produce artificial intelligence in the US could face years of delays with the Republican-controlled Texas statehouse poised to pass legislation that imposes regulatory hurdles on data centers. The Trump administration earlier this year announced that a joint venture called Stargate would construct a total of 20 data centers to provide computing power for AI as part of an effort to help the US compete against China for leadership of the technology and spur investors to pursue AI projects. The companies behind Stargate – OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle and MGX, an investor backed by the United Arab Emirates, which together have pledged up to $500bn – chose Texas, with its loose regulation and pre-existing energy infrastructure for the first data center.
But the construction of future data centers to support Trump’s AI agenda faces headwinds as a result of the Texas legislation SB6, which introduces new regulatory measures including a six-month review process in addition to the existing 6-18 month evaluation period with the goal of protecting its own power grid in the face of storms. The effects of the proposed bill are two-pronged: the regulatory measures could result in a maximum 24-month approval process, while the requirement to pay additional fees to the Texas grid operator and install backup generators would dramatically raise construction costs. That could lead tech companies to scale back planned construction of data centers in the state, according to equity analysts. Stargate, for instance, has started building its first 10 data centers in Abilene, Texas, but it is unclear if the second set of 10 would be subject to the bill. And if tech companies do not build in Texas, they might not build the data centers at all, directly hampering Trump’s AI initiative. Other states, from Wyoming to Wisconsin to Tennessee, have courted those construction projects, but lack the infrastructure that exists in Texas.
LINDALE – Smith County Sheriffs Department was involved in a high-speed chase late Wednesday morning leading to the arrest of a suspect firing guns at Hideaway Lake. According to Smith County Sheriff’s Sgt Larry Christian, the first report came in about 11 AM. It said that the suspect, 45-year-old Mason Lowell Ahrens of Hideway, had been firing gun shots out of a pickup truck towards unidentified buildings at Hideaway. By 11-30, deputies pursued Ahrens on highway 69 south through Lindale. He was arrested near Tyler Pipe south of Interstate 20. No injuries were reported.
Nate Bargatze has been tapped to host TV's biggest night.
The comedian will host the 77th Emmy Awards, which honor excellence in television. CBS will broadcast the show live on both coasts from the Peacock Theater in LA on Sept. 14. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
“It’s a huge honor to be asked to host such an iconic awards show and I’m beyond excited to work with CBS to create a night that can be enjoyed by families around the world,” Bargatze said in a press release.
Television Academy chair Cris Abrego called Bargatze "one of the hottest comics in the business," saying his brand of humor "deeply resonates with multi-generational audiences around the globe.”
“We are thrilled to be able to leverage his one-of-a-kind perspective to entertain TV fans watching this year’s Emmy telecast,” Abrego continued.
Nominations for the 77th Emmys will be announced on July 15. The Television Academy will stream the announcement live at 8:30 a.m. PT on Emmys.com.
(SELIGMAN, Ariz.) -- An Arizona toddler who had been missing for 16 hours was found safe by a rancher's dog on Tuesday, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office.
Boden Allen, 2, was first reported missing just before 5 p.m. on Monday, after he wandered off from his family's home in Seligman, a rural area approximately 8100 miles north of Phoenix, officials said.
The incident began after Boden was playing with his mother outside their home and followed her back inside when she went to change his sibling's diaper, according to Yavapai County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Jeff Newnum. Boden returned outside to play and "just disappeared," Newnum told ABC News.
"Within 10 minutes of her changing the diaper, having him right next to her, she looks down, he's nowhere to be found inside," he said.
Deputies, accompanied by over 40 search and rescue members, arrived on the property and scanned the area for Boden for about 16 hours, officials said. During their search, officials noted that they spotted two mountain lions "among the terrain the boy traveled."
On Tuesday morning, rancher Scotty Dunton reported that "a young child had walked onto his property," according to the sheriff's office.
The rancher said his dog, Buford, spotted the boy while he was patrolling the property -- which is approximately seven miles away from the Allen family home -- for coyotes.
"He loves kids so I can imagine he wouldn't leave him when he found him," the rancher said in a video shared by the sheriff's office.
Buford, an Anatolian Pyrenees, remained at Boden's side, garnering Dunton's attention. The boy told the rancher he had slept under a tree, officials said.
"This dog did not obviously view Boden as a threat, but realized that there was something wrong, and instinctively went to this child," Newnum said.
Dunton, who was aware of the search and rescue efforts going on in the area, quickly notified officials that he found Boden, according to Newnum.
"I can't believe that kid made it that far, it's seven miles and that's if he walked in a straight line," Dunton said. "There's three big mountain ranges between here and his house and big valleys. For a 2-year-old to do that, that's insane."
Newnum said the sheriff's office plans on visiting Buford in about a week with a big steak wrapped in a bow.
(NEW YORK CITY) -- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday that a grand jury handed down a number of criminal indictments against multiple state correctional officers in connection to the March 1 beating death of an inmate, Messiah Nantwi.
"The tragic death of Mr. Nantwi at the hands of correction officers, who are responsible for protecting the incarcerated population is deeply, deeply disturbing," Hochul said in a video released by her office on Tuesday. "The loss of any life in our correctional facilities is one too many."
Nantwi, 22, was serving a five-year sentence for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon at Mid-State Correctional Facility, a medium-security state prison in the town of Marcy in Oneida County, New York.
Hochul said that she "immediately terminated" the corrections officers who were indicted in connection to Nantwi's death. The officer's names have not been released so far and it is unclear how many officers were indicted. ABC News reached out to Hochul's office but a request for comment was not returned.
"I express my condolences -- my deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Nantwi and our hearts go out to all of them in the aftermath of this horrific crime," Hochul said.
The termination of the correctional officers comes after a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision confirmed to ABC News on March 26 that 15 persons of interest were identified in connection to Nantwi's death.
Three of those people were suspended without pay and 12 were placed on administrative leave with pay, "pending the results of an ongoing internal disciplinary review process," the spokesperson said.
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision released the names of the persons of interest, including guards from the adjacent Mid-State and Marcy facilities, but it is unclear who was indicted.
A special prosecutor -- Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick -- was assigned to investigate this case after State Attorney General Letitia James's Office of Special Investigation (OSI) announced last month that her office is recusing itself from the investigation into Nantwi's death, citing "internal conflicts."
In a March 6 statement, James explained that her office's Division of State Counsel represents state agencies, including the Department of Corrections and correction officers.
"OSI checks for any internal conflicts that could challenge the integrity of a future investigation," she said. "When the corrections officers involved in the events preceding Mr. Nantwi's death were identified, OSI confirmed that four of those corrections officers are defendants in other matters where they are or were represented by attorneys in OAG's State Counsel Division."
Nantwi's in-custody death came amid a massive correction officer strike over working conditions in New York prisons that lasted for 22 days and led to the firing of more than 2,000 prison guards.
His death was also the second in Oneida County prisons since December 2024 when Robert Brooks, an inmate incarcerated at the Marcy Correctional Facility -- which is across the street from Mid-State -- was fatally beaten at the prison.
In February, 10 former prison guards were charged in Brooks' death.
Benedict Cumberbatch is married to Olivia Colman in the official trailer for The Roses.
Searchlight Pictures released the trailer for director Jay Roach's dark comedy film on Wednesday.
It follows the seemingly picture-perfect married life between Theo and Ivy, played by Cumberbatch and Colman, respectively. Beneath their perfect facade, however, tension lingers as Theo's career takes a hit and Ivy's own life ambitions begin to soar.
"For you, dear, I'd do anything," Cumberbatch's Theo says at the beginning of the trailer.
As it goes on, we see Ivy's career as a famous chef and cookbook writer take off while Theo is fired from his own job.
"I suppose sometimes I do hate you," Theo says. After Ivy looks at him incredulously, he immediately follows that with: "Sporadic hatred."
The Roses is inspired by the Danny Devito-directed 1989 movie The War of the Roses. Poor Things screenwriter Tony McNamara penned the screenplay.
Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao, Belinda Bromilow and Kate McKinnon also star.
The Roses blooms in movie theaters on Aug. 29.
Disney is the parent company of Searchlight Pictures and ABC News.
(WASHINGTON) -- A federal judge has found probable cause that the Trump administration acted in contempt of court when officials last month defied his order to turn around two planes carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.
The administration's "willful disobedience of judicial orders" without consequences would make "a solemn mockery" of "the Constitution itself," U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote Wednesday.
Boasberg last month ordered that the government turn around two flights carrying more than 200 alleged Tren de Aragua members to El Salvador after the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act -- a wartime authority used to deport noncitizens with little-to-no due process -- by arguing that the gang is a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States.
Authorities failed to turn the flights around.
Boasberg faulted the Trump administration for conducting a "hurried removal operation" on March 15 and 16 in the hours after he issued an order blocking the deportations and ordering the men returned to the United States.
"As this Opinion will detail, the Court ultimately determines that the Government's actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for its Order," he wrote.
Boasberg noted that he gave the Trump administration "ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions" yet "none of their responses has been satisfactory."
While the Supreme Court ultimately vacated his court order, Judge Boasberg concluded that the Trump administration still defied the order during the three weeks it was in effect, even if the order suffered from a "legal defect."
"The Constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of judicial orders -- especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it. To permit such officials to freely 'annul the judgments of the courts of the United States' would not just 'destroy the rights acquired under those judgments'; it would make 'a solemn mockery' of 'the constitution itself,'" he wrote.
Boasberg gave the Trump Administration a one-week deadline to file "a declaration explaining the steps they have taken and will take to do so."
The way to "purge" the potential finding of contempt, Boasberg said, would be to obey his initial order.
"The most obvious way for Defendants to do so here is by asserting custody of the individuals who were removed in violation of the Court's classwide TRO so that they might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability through a habeas proceeding," Boasberg wrote, referring to the temporary restraining order he issued.
"Per the terms of the TRO, the Government would not need to release any of those individuals, nor would it need to transport them back to the homeland. The Court will also give Defendants an opportunity to propose other methods of coming into compliance, which the Court will evaluate."
If the Trump Administration does not wish to purge Boasberg's contempt finding, the judge said he will "proceed to identify the individual(s) responsible for the contumacious conduct by determining whose "specific act or omission" caused the noncompliance."
Boasberg said he will begin by requiring declarations from the government, and if those prove to be unsatisfactory, he will "proceed either to hearings with live witness testimony under oath or to depositions conducted by Plaintiffs."
As a final potential step, Boasberg raised the remarkable prospect he could appoint an independent attorney to prosecute the government for its contempt.
"The next step would be for the Court, pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, to "request that the contempt be prosecuted by an attorney for the government," Boasberg said. "If the Government "declines" or "the interest of justice requires," the Court will "appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LOS ANGELES) -- A California mom has been charged with murder for allegedly drowning her 7-year-old daughter, prosecutors said.
Graciela Castellanos, 37, allegedly killed her daughter at an apartment in Van Nuys on April 11, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
First responders pronounced the 7-year-old dead at the scene, prosecutors said.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman called the allegations "profoundly tragic and deeply unsettling."
"Our sympathy goes out to the family and loved ones of this young girl, whose life was cut short far too soon," Hochman said in a statement Tuesday.
Castellanos pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of murder and assault on a child under 8 years old causing death. She's due to return to court on June 17.
TIME has revealed its 2025 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Demi Moore represents the entertainment community as she graces one of the five worldwide covers of this year's Time100 issue of the magazine.
Other entertainers to make the list are Blake Lively, Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Bell, Adrien Brody, Wicked director Jon M.Chu, Nikki Glaser, Danielle Deadwyler, Adam Scott, Kristen Wiig and Diego Luna.
Ryan Murphy penned the tribute to Moore, writing that her powerful spirit has permeated our lives for decades.
"She is one of the most successful movie stars of all time. I’ve always seen her as more than that," Murphy wrote. "I’m so thrilled and proud the entire world has woken up and finally recognized her immense and iconic total power. Now in her 60s, Demi has proved that it’s never too late to get the flowers you truly deserve."
Civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill wrote Lively's tribute, sharing that she does not know the actress from her acting gigs or glamorous red carpet appearances.
"The Blake Lively I know is a philanthropist and a student of our country’s most intractable problems," Ifill wrote. "I remember an early conversation in which she expressed frustration that so much of our nation’s history was not part of the instruction she had received as a student. Her commitment to filling those gaps — and becoming the most fully informed and prepared citizen — is what I appreciate most about her."
The world's most influential people will gather in New York City at the 2025 Time100 Summit on April 23 and the Time100 Gala on April 24, which will then air as a TV special May 4 on ABC.
Here’s a great concept! Your words become art! Find out about it with David Rancken’s App Of The Day. It’s called Wombo Dream . You can find Wombo Dream in the Apple Store and Google Play below.
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) -- Leaders We Deserve, a political organization led by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor and Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman David Hogg, announced Wednesday that it will spend $20 million to help elect younger leaders -- including primary challengers to House Democrats who are in safely Democratic seats.
"The first most important thing here is to understand it isn't necessarily just out with the old and in with the new. I would say it's out with the ineffective and in with the effective. That is what we are doing here," Hogg, 25, told ABC News' Jay O'Brien Wednesday afternoon. "Any person that has eyes can see that we are 27% approval with our base and we need dramatic change."
The move puts Hogg, a member of party leadership as one of its vice chairs, at odds with the party establishment and other Democratic leaders, who usually shy away from supporting challengers to Democratic incumbents.
But it comes as Democratic-aligned voters express discontent with how the Democratic Party is responding to the second Trump administration -- and as some within the party call for a new generation of leadership and representation in Congress amid consternation with some older House and Senate Democrats.
"While [President Donald] Trump creates new existential crises every day, too many elected leaders in the Democratic Party are either unwilling or unable to meet the moment," he added in an earlier statement.
"We need a stronger Democratic Party that is ready to fight back," he added. "Part of making that a reality is replacing ineffective, asleep-at-the-wheel members with Democrats who have the energy, passion, and vision to meet this moment with the urgency our country deserves."
A few Democrats have already announced they will challenge longtime House members in the 2026 congressional primaries. Researcher and social media personality Kat Abughazaleh has announced she is mounting a primary challenge to 14-term Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. Schakowsky has not said whether she will run for reelection.
"This cycle, we're focused on House seats in particular. Those are the types of seats that we are focused on because we want to be as effective as possible in helping to give these young people a chance," Hogg told ABC News.
The announcement from Leaders We Deserve, a group Hogg co-founded in 2023 and of which he serves as president, did not name any specific candidates the group plans to support. The group said it will not challenge "front-line" members facing tough reelection battles against Republicans or "older Democratic leaders like Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi" who it said have been taking on Trump and Republicans successfully.
The announcement was first reported by the New York Times.
In a statement to ABC News, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin thanked Hogg for his work for the party but reiterated the DNC's position of not taking sides in primary elections.
"David Hogg is a passionate advocate and we are grateful for his service to the Democratic Party, whether it be in his role as a DNC Vice Chair or in an outside capacity," Martin wrote. "In order to ensure we are as effective as possible at electing Democrats to office, it is the DNC's longstanding position that primary voters -- not the national party -- determine their Democratic candidates for the general election."
According to the DNC, the party does not intervene in primaries both to allow voters to express their views and to maintain relationships with candidates. The DNC also shared that Hogg was the only party officer not to sign a "neutrality policy" that mandates those officials do not take any actions that may throw their or the party's impartiality into question.
The party said it will be figuring out unspecified next steps with Hogg and party committees.
Hogg was elected as one of the DNC's vice chairs in the party's February elections.
