AUSTIN – Texas lawmakers are considering following President Donald Trump’s lead and renaming the body of water that touches 367 miles of the state’s coast to the Gulf of America.
If approved, the bill would require the name to be changed in every official reference made by a state agency, resolution, rule or publication. The Sunset Advisory Committee would be required to include these changes in future reviews of state agencies.
The fiscal note said any associated costs could be absorbed using existing resources and there would be no significant fiscal impact on local government.
Senate Bill 1717 by Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican, was passed with 20 out of 31 senators in favor of the bill. This means the House will now get the bill for consideration.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 38, which recognizes the “strategic importance” of the Gulf of America, was also passed to engrossment with 22 senators voting aye.
“Senate Bill 1717 reignites the spirit of American Exceptionalism,” Middleton said. “America is a beacon of hope. We are that shining city on a hill, as President Reagan said. We are a nation set apart from the rest of the world, upholding that sacred right of life and liberty and property.”
Democratic Sens. José Menéndez of San Antonio and Juan Hinojosa of McAllen aired their concerns about the legislation in a debate on the Senate floor.
Menéndez wanted to know whether this bill solved any problems and if this move was just a whim based on the current federal administration. Hinojosa argued the name is historical, used widely by the rest of the world and that this move was purely political.
“I guess what it means is next time that you get another president that believes we ought to change the name back to the Gulf of Mexico … then again, we’ll have to change everything?” Hinojosa asked.
Middleton maintained that the bill was not a whim, and said the lawmakers were always welcome to introduce a bill later to change the name within the state code.
Sen. Pete Flores, a Pleasanton Republican, took up for the measure by pointing to changes made by former Gov. Ann Richards, who changed the names of several Texas landmarks. He did not provide examples of these changes on the Senate floor.
Trump signed an executive order changing the name of the waterway along the southern U.S. border to the Gulf of America on Jan. 20, leading to widespread debate. Other world leaders, however, said they would not likely follow suit, including Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.
“They can continue to call it the Gulf of Mexico,” Flores said. “What your bill is doing is codifying the name of the Gulf of America to reflect the maps that the United States government has put into effect.”
Middleton said this move is to reflect those changes.
A similar bill in the Texas House, by Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Deer Park Republican, was referred to the House State Affairs Committee in March. It has not moved since.
Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.
(MILWAUKEE) -- The federal government announced two separate arrests Friday of a current judge and a former judge alleged to have assisted undocumented immigrants who authorities claim were violent criminals, moves that have raised red flags among Democrats and others.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested Friday by the FBI over allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest last week. Her arrest took place hours after federal authorities arrested former New Mexico Judge Joel Cano and his wife Nancy Cano for allegedly housing a Venezuelan national with reported gang ties, Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Bondi spoke with ABC News Live's Kyra Phillips Friday afternoon to discuss the cases and dismissed critics who accused the Trump administration of intimidating judges who oppose their crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
"Nobody is above the law, not even a judge," Bondi told Philips.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced Judge Dugan's arrest earlier Friday in a social media post, which was briefly deleted and reposted.
"Just NOW, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction — after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week," Patel said in the new post. "We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest."
Dugan was charged with two criminal counts of "obstructing and impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States" and "concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest," according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday.
County court records show the undocumented immigrant in the Milwaukee case -- Eduardo Flores-Ruiz -- was set to appear in court on April 18 before Dugan for a pretrial conference in a case where he has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery/domestic abuse connected to an incident on March 12. The case is ongoing.
Federal prosecutors allege Flores-Ruiz illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico and was issued an Expedited Removal order in January 2013, according to a criminal complaint.
Bondi alleged that Flores-Ruiz beat his roommate and a woman so badly that they needed to be hospitalized and that he continued to be belligerent in the hospital before his arrest.
According to the complaint, Dugan allegedly sought to help Flores-Ruiz evade arrest by federal officers from an ICE task force.
When Judge Dugan learned ICE officers were present in court to arrest Flores-Ruiz, she became "visibly angry" and said the situation was "absurd" before leaving the bench and entering her chambers, according to the complaint, which cited witnesses who spoke to the FBI.
Dugan and another unidentified judge then allegedly approached the arrest team in the public hallway, according to the complaint. She was "visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor" and asked one of the officers whether they were present for a court appearance, the complaint alleged.
When the officer replied they were there to make an arrest, the complaint alleges Judge Dugan asked if they had a judicial warrant, to which the officer responded, "No I have an administrative warrant."
Multiple witnesses cited in the complaint later allegedly said Judge Dugan returned to her courtroom after directing members of the arrest team to the office of the court's chief judge.
"The courtroom deputy then saw Judge DUGAN get up and heard Judge DUGAN say something like 'Wait, come with me,'" the complaint states. "Despite having been advised of the administrative warrant for the arrest of Flores-Ruiz, Judge DUGAN then escorted Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom through the 'jury door,' which leads to a nonpublic area of the courthouse."
"So she continues, continues with her docket, finishes her docket. Two victims sit in court all morning long waiting and at the end. The prosecutors say 'What happened? Why didn't the case get called?'" Bondi said.
A DEA agent saw Flores-Ruiz and his attorney in the public hallway of the courthouse and he appeared to be making efforts to evade arrest, the complaint says. After he was encountered by FBI and DEA agents outside the building, Flores-Ruiz "turned around and sprinted down the street" before he was ultimately apprehended, according to the complaint.
Dugan was arrested Friday morning at the courthouse, a law enforcement official confirmed to ABC News.
She appeared in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Friday on the two charges, but did not enter a plea. She was released on her own recognizance.
Dugan retained former United States Attorney Steven Biskupic to represent her and he said in a statement that the judge will "defend herself vigorously and looks forward to being exonerated."
"Judge Hannah C. Dugan has committed herself to the rule of law and the principles of due process for her entire career as a lawyer and a judge," Biskupic said in a statement.
If convicted on the charges, Dugan could face up to six years in prison.
Bondi responded to the statement by stating that everyone is entitled to their day in court but reiterated that so are victims of crimes.
"They didn't get it because she let a criminal defendant walk out a door. She helped them. She obstructed justice," Bondi told Phillips.
Judge Dugan's arrest angered Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who accused the federal agents of "showboating" and contended Dugan was not a flight risk.
"They're just trying to have this show of force and in the process of a courthouse where people need to go for court proceedings, they're scaring away people from participating in the court process," the mayor told reporters.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, in a statement on Friday afternoon, criticized President Donald Trump and the White House for what he said were efforts "to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level."
Evers said he would continue to have faith in the justice system "as this situation plays out in the court of law." He did not mention Dugan by name.
In an interview Friday, Phillips asked AG Bondi if she thought the government's actions were intimidating people in the court system, but she dodged the question.
"We're attempting to protect citizens, make America safe again," she said.
Bondi brought up the New Mexico case, where former Judge Joel Cano faces a charge of tampering with evidence.
Court documents allege that on Feb. 28, an alleged Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang member was arrested at the Canos' residence.
On April 24, agents served a search warrant at their residence and conducted an interview with Cano where he admitted to destroying a cell phone that belonged to the alleged gang member by smashing it with a hammer and throwing it in the trash, according to the complaint and Bondi.
"Cano stated that he destroyed the cellphone and further admitted that he believed the cellphone contained photos or videos that would reflect negatively on Ortega," the complaint states. "Through further questioning, agents ascertained that … Cano destroyed the cellphone believing that it contained photographs of Ortega holding firearms that Ortega had uploaded onto social media platforms which would be additional incriminating evidence against him."
Cano and his wife have not yet entered pleas in their cases, according to court records, and did not immediately have defense attorneys listed for them.
Bondi reiterated that the immigrants connected to the judges were allegedly violent.
Phillips again pushed Bondi about the arrests, asking if there was concern that the federal government was just going after judges, but the AG maintained that the charges were serious.
"Those are the people that have to be arrested and taken out of our country. Doesn't matter who you are, no one can harbor them, not even a judge," she said.
Phillips questioned how far the government was willing to go to arrest undocumented immigrants, and if that meant that mayors and governors could be targeted.
Bondi appeared to dodge the question and reiterated that the administration's goal is to keep people safe.
"I would hope a mayor, I would hope a governor would never harbor anyone," she said.
AUSTIN – A lottery courier company is suing the Texas Lottery Commission in an effort to block the agency from placing a ban on their services in less than a week.
Lottery courier Lotto.com filed the lawsuit Thursday against the commission and its new acting director, Sergio Rey. The lawsuit calls the potential courier ban an “about-face” from the agency’s previous stance on couriers, as lottery commission officials had previously told lawmakers they lacked the ability to regulate the services, the company said.
“It is time to reconsider the agency’s politically motivated decisions regarding lottery couriers and restart good faith collaboration between our companies and fresh leadership at the TLC,” said a statement from the Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers, a group formed in 2025 that represents Lotto.com and other couriers.
Couriers are third-party services that sell lottery tickets online. The services print tickets at licensed retailers they own and send digital scans of purchases to customers. Lotto.com comes in second to the nation’s largest retailer, courier Jackpocket, as the state’s highest-selling lottery retailer.
The lottery commission indicated it would ban the businesses after a heated Senate Finance Committee hearing in February, during which lawmakers voiced concerns about the potential for money-laundering through couriers or bulk purchase of lottery tickets.
Amid the mounting scrutiny, Ryan Mindell, the lottery commission’s executive director, resigned on Monday.
The lawsuit claims the commission violated 30-day rule-change notice requirements when it announced in February it would seek to ban couriers and confiscated dozens of lottery terminals from couriers that same day. It also claims that because the lottery commission had previously indicated multiple times to lawmakers that the agency could not regulate the services, the ban is invalid.
The 57-page lawsuit also cites communications between Lotto.com and the lottery commission as an indicator that agency officials were aware of Lotto.com’s operation and communicated with them repeatedly.
Lawmakers’ money-laundering concerns and others, such as illegal sales to minors and out-of-state players, have drawn couriers and the lottery further into lawmakers’ scrutiny. The commission is now under two separate state investigations by the attorney general’s office and the Texas Rangers, a division of the Department of Public Safety. Lt. Gov Dan Patrick also has listed banning couriers as one of his top legislative priorities, and a bill criminalizing the services passed through the state Senate unanimously in February.
Senate Bill 28, authored by Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, has yet to be heard in the House. The lottery commission will vote on their courier ban on April 29 if the judge does not file an injunction before the meeting.
Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.
(DECATUR, Ala.) -- An Alabama man died on Tuesday, a week after he was shocked with a stun gun while being arrested, according to a statement from the Decatur Police Department.
Authorities released a nearly-30-minute video from body camera footage of John Scott Jr.'s arrest on the evening of April 15 outside of his mother's home in Decatur. In a statement last week, authorities said they received a call about concerns over Scott's
When officers arrived that evening, body camera footage shows a cordial conversation between Scott and the officers. Scott asks officers their names and shakes their hands.
At one point, Scott, who is sweating profusely, appears agitated and uneasy as five officers stand near him telling him to either enter the ambulance or he will be detained by police. Scott refuses to enter an ambulance called to the scene after officers spend about 15 minutes telling him that he needs to receive medical treatment.
Police then proceed to handcuff Scott after he refuses to enter the ambulance. As he resists, it appears that a stun gun is deployed and officers strike him near the head as they attempt to cuff his hands behind his back.
Scott says that he can't breathe a few times as officers hold him down. After police handcuff Scott and attempt to put him in the police vehicle, he appears to continue to keep struggling. What sounds like spitting can be heard in the footage. One of the officers claims that Scott spit on him in the video. A spit-hood appears to be placed over Scott's head.
The police department said in a statement last week that officers made a visit earlier that day to the same location after receiving a call that Scott had taken his mother's cell phone. Scott returned the cell phone before the officers arrived, according to police. Once law enforcement reached the location, Scott's mother indicated that her son might not be taking his medication and was having a "mental breakdown", according to authorities.
Lee Merritt, Scott's family attorney, told ABC News in an interview on Thursday that Scott took medications for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Officers believed that Scott exhibited signs of using "illicit substances," according to a statement from law enforcement last week, but a mental health liaison was called to the scene and determined that Scott was not "an imminent threat of harm to himself or others and did not meet criteria for forced hospitalization," according to a police statement last week.
It was a second 911 call that day that ended in Scott's arrest, according to a statement from police last week. When Scott was taken to the Morgan County Jail, it was difficult to place him in a cell due to his "size" and "passive resistance," according to a follow-up statement from police on Tuesday.
After over an hour in his cell, jail staff noticed Scott exhibited signs of medical distress and he was transported to Decatur Morgan Hospital in an ambulance, according to the Tuesday statement.
Merritt told ABC News that Scott was foaming from his mouth in his cell when inmates notified police of his condition. Scott died after a week in the hospital with no pre-existing physical conditions, according to Merritt. The family will conduct an independent autopsy and are still not aware of his exact cause of death, according to Merritt.
The Morgan County Coroner told ABC News over the phone on Thursday that Scott's autopsy was completed that day, but he could not release the findings because of the ongoing investigation. The oficial said that the autopsy report could take another two months to be completed after test results are finished.
In a statement last week, the Decatur Police Department said that Scott had an active warrant issued by Morgan County, but Merritt told ABC News that the warrant was for a misdemeanor traffic incident, which he said did not make an arrest necessary.
The Decatur Police Department said in the Tuesday statement that officials have made a request to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the FBI for assistance with the investigation into Scott's death.
"The FBI is aware of the death of John Scott, Jr. and takes allegations of federal law violations seriously," the agency told ABC News in a statement on Wednesday. "The FBI reviews allegations of criminal conduct and conducts further investigation if there is evidence of a potential violation of federal law."
Merritt told ABC News that the Morgan County Sheriff's Office will take over the investigation and the family plans to file a lawsuit within 30 days of Scott's death.
The sheriff's office did not immediately return ABC News' request for a statement.
Merritt told ABC News that he also represents the family of Steve Perkins, another Black man who died after an altercation with Decatur police. Perkins was shot and died on Sept. 29, according to Huntsville, Alabama, ABC affiliate WAAY. One former officer has been charged in his death.
LUFKIN – Our news partner, KETK, reports that the Lufkin Police are searching for a man accused of placing Easter eggs filled with marijuana around the city as part of a scavenger hunt.
According to a release from the Lufkin Police Department, a resident tipped officials after they saw several Facebook posts regarding the eggs. The suspect, Avante Nicholson, allegedly posted four photos showing each location as hints to find the eggs.
“He also posted a photo of five plastic eggs in the seat of a vehicle. Officers found four eggs and believed he had not placed the fifth,” Lufkin PD said. “However, the fifth egg was found by a man and his granddaughter at Winston Park the following day and brought to the police station.”
The Easter eggs were found at three city parks and a local motel. The police department said the marijuana totaled more than a quarter of an ounce of marijuana. Officials also found several posts referencing selling narcotics. Continue reading Marijuana-filled Easter eggs found around Lufkin
Julia Garner is opening up about her upcoming role in Fantastic Four: First Steps.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actress talked about her role as Silver Surfer and said, "She's so different than anyone I've ever played."
"I don't expect everybody to watch Ozark or [Inventing] Anna or The Assistant," she said. "Some people are only going to watch certain things, so that's why I want to branch out to every genre, and that's one of the reasons why I wanted to do Marvel -- it's reaching a different kind of audience."
Audiences got a first look at Garner as Silver Surfer when the trailer was released last week. It features Garner gliding above the city on her floating surfboard.
Before the film, the Emmy Award-winner said she familiarized herself with the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer comics.
"I knew about some of the famous comic book characters, some of them I didn't know," she said. "So when I got presented with this opportunity, I was like, 'Wait, what? Me?' Yeah, I was in disbelief, almost because it was so cool."
"I knew that this Fantastic Four was going to be told in a very different way than even the other movies," she added.
Garner said director Matt Shakman couldn't say much about the character before she took on the role, but described Silver Surfer to her as having a "mystery about her."
When asked if she would be interested in doing a Silver Surfer spinoff movie, Garner said, "A hundred percent."
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach also star in Fantastic Four as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing, respectively.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters July 25.
Disney is the parent company of Marvel and ABC News.
(LONDON) -- A car bomb in Moscow has killed a senior Russian military officer, Russian officials said.
A statement from the Russian Investigative Committee said that “Lt. General Yaroslav Moskalik, the deputy head of Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed in an explosion,” after an IED that was allegedly planted in a parked car detonated.
A team of investigators are now at the site of the explosion, Russian officials confirmed.
ABC News has seen video of the moment the parked vehicle explodes as a person can be seen walking toward the vehicle.
The footage is seemingly from a CCTV camera overlooking the parking lot of what appears to be an apartment complex.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
We now have a date for the 83rd annual Golden Globes. Nikki Glaser will host the awards ceremony for a second year in a row on Jan. 11, 2026. The show will air on CBS and also stream on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME for subscribers of that service live from the Beverly Hilton in LA. Nominations for the awards will be announced on Dec. 8 ...
McKenna Grace volunteers as tribute. The actress will star in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel film Sunrise on the Reaping. Grace will play Maysilee Donner, who is one of the tributes that, along with protagonist Haymitch Abernathy, represents District 12 in the 50th annual Hunger Games. Previously announced cast members include Joseph Zada as Haymitch and Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove ...
The Hamnet adaptation starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley will arrive in theaters everywhere on Dec. 12, Focus Features has announced. The studio also shared that it will come to select theaters first on Nov. 27. Oscar winner Chloé Zhao directs the film, which also stars Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn ...
Protesters show support for Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, at Federal Court on April 15, 2025 in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Trump administration admits Abrego Garcia was deported accidentally, but has not yet acted on a judge's order to facilitate his return to the U.S. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) -- Americans hold mixed views on President Donald Trump's immigration policies, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.
Voters are divided on sending migrants living in the United States lacking legal status who are accused of gang membership to an El Salvador prison without a court hearing but mainly oppose deporting international students who criticize U.S. policy in the Middle East, according to the poll.
In the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a migrant who was deported to El Salvador despite a court order prohibiting it, more respondents said he should be returned to the U.S. rather than remain imprisoned in El Salvador, 42-26%. There's room for movement; 3 in 10 in an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released Friday said they don't know enough about the case to say.
Overall, 46% said they approve of the way Trump is handling immigration, while 53% said they disapprove. On one hand, that's a 4-point drop in approval from a Washington Post/Ipsos poll in February. On the other, it's Trump's best rating across seven issues tested in this survey, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, with fieldwork by Ipsos.
There's about an even division, moreover, on Trump's efforts to deport undocumented immigrants in general. Forty-eight percent said Trump is "going too far" in this regard, while 50% said he's either handling it about right (34%) or not going far enough (16%).
There's also a close split on the deportation of suspected gang members to an El Salvador prison without a court hearing: Forty-seven percent said they support this action, while 51% said they opposed.
That result underscores animosity toward undocumented immigrants, as seen in contrast to views on deporting international students who have criticized U.S. policy in the Middle East: In this case, support for deportation drops to 39%, with 59% opposed.
Partisans
Partisanship is a strong factor.
About 9 in 10 Republicans said they approve of Trump's handling of immigration, while 1 in 10 Democrats said they approved. Among independents, 45% said they approve.
Trump also wins approval on immigration from 93% of his 2024 voters, compared with 8% of those who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris. However, he falls well short among those who didn't vote for president in the 2024 elections, who disapprove of Trump on immigration by 59%-40%.
In another broad partisan gap, 85% of Democrats said they think Trump is "going too far" with deportations. Sixty percent of Republicans said they think he's handling this about right -- and 27% said he's not going far enough. Independents again fall in between.
Republicans' attitudes are not monolithic. Eighty-two percent said they support sending suspected gang members to a prison in El Salvador without court hearings. Fewer, but still 70%, said they support deporting international college students who are critical of U.S. policy in the Middle East. Fewer still, 53%, said Abrego Garcia should remain in El Salvador, though just 14% said they favor his return, with the rest unsure.
Hispanic people said they disapprove of Trump's handling of immigration overall, by 67%-32%. Men divided about evenly on the issue, while most women said they disapprove, 58%-41%. Approval on the issue ranges from 65% of people in rural areas to 45% in suburbs and 36% in cities, with sizable rural and suburban gender gaps.
And there's a gap by age: Fifty-nine percent of those younger than 40 said disapprove of Trump on immigration, while 48% of those age 50 and older said they disapprove.
Methodology: This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® April 18-22, 2025, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,464 adults. Partisan divisions are 30%-30%-29%, Democrats-Republicans-independents.
Results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, including the design effect. Error margins are larger for subgroups. Sampling error is not the only source of differences in polls.
(ROME) -- Pope Francis, who led the Roman Catholic Church for 12 years, died on Monday morning at the age of 88.
Francis' life and time as pope, which was noted for humility and outreach efforts to people of disparate backgrounds and faiths, will be remembered during a funeral service taking place on Saturday, the Vatican said.
Here's what to know about Francis' funeral and how to tune in.
Where and when is Pope Francis' funeral?
Pope Francis' funeral will take place on Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern) and will be held in St. Peter's Square or in the Basilica, depending on the weather, in Vatican City.
The pope's body will be placed in a cypress-wood coffin before the funeral and then placed in two other coffins that fit inside one another, each made of different types of wood, at his burial site.
Where to watch the pope's funeral There are several ways to watch Pope Francis' funeral. ABC News Live coverage of the funeral will begin on Saturday at 3:30 a.m. ET and will air on ABC stations as well as streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
Additionally, ABC News Digital will live blog the latest from the funeral as it happens and provide analysis and coverage of the biggest takeaways from the event.
Who will attend Pope Francis' funeral?
As of Thursday, 130 foreign delegations have confirmed they are attending Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday morning, the Vatican press office said.
That number includes "approximately" 50 heads of state and 10 reigning sovereigns.
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prince William are among those expected to attend.
The funeral, known as Missa poenitentialis, is also attended by cardinals, clergy, representatives of world organizations and diplomats, along with huge crowds of the faithful.
Where will Pope Francis be buried?
After the funeral mass on Saturday, Francis will be buried outside the Vatican in St. Mary Major, a basilica in Rome. Francis will be the first pope in more than five centuries to be buried there.
SACARAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Luis Urias scored on Jacob Wilson’s two-out single in the ninth inning as the Athletics rallied to beat the Texas Rangers 4-3 on Thursday night.
Trailing 3-2 heading into ninth, the A’s got going when Max Schuemann drew a one-out walk. Urias followed with a single into the gap in right-center that bounced off the glove of Rangers center fielder Leody Tavares for an error, allowing Schuemann to score the tying run.
After Lawrence Butler flew out, Wilson lined a 3-1 pitch off Rangers closer Luke Jackson (0-2) to drive in Urias for the game-winner. It was Jackson’s first blown save in eight chances this season.
The rally enabled the A’s to win their first series at their temporary home at Sutter Health Park.
Tyler Soderstrom had two hits and two RBIs for the Athletics, and Gio Urshela had three singles.
Rookie reliever Grant Holman (1-0) recorded six outs for the win.
Josh Jung, Jonah Heim and Leody Tavares all hit solo home runs in the fourth inning for the Rangers.
Before the A’s rallied, Rangers starter Jacob deGrom was in line get his first win in two years. The right-hander allowed two runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings.
A’s starter J.T. Ginn allowed three runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Key moment
After Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford appeared to lose Butler’s fly ball in the lights that landed for a double and put runners at second and third, deGrom fielded a sharp comebacker and caught Urshela in a rundown between third and home for an out.
Key stat
The A’s struck out looking four times against deGrom and seven times overall.
Up next
Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-2, 2.64 ERA) faces the Giants in San Francisco on Friday. A’s RHP Luis Severino (1-3, 3.31) goes against the Chicago White Sox.
Evan Mobley said his goal coming into the season with the Cleveland Cavaliers was to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
He got it done.
The Cavs consider Mobley to be their best defensive player, and the league thought even more highly of him. Mobley held off fellow finalists Dyson Daniels of Atlanta and Draymond Green of Golden State for the award, the results being announced Thursday night in a broadcast on TNT.
“It just feels great to finally get this award,” Mobley said.
Saying “finally” might be a bit of a stretch. Mobley is only 23 — the fifth-youngest player to win the award, joining fellow 23-year-olds Dwight Howard, Jaren Jackson Jr., Alvin Robertson and Kawhi Leonard as winners of the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy.
Mobley won the award in a season where he was an All-Star for the first time and set a career high for scoring.
“That was going hand-in-hand all year,” Mobley said. “I was trying to figure out how I could be more offensively productive and still maintain my defensive style and prowess. So, I feel like I did a good job this year and it clearly shows.”
But the case Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson made for Mobley was how different the Cavaliers’ defensive numbers were with Mobley on the court and without. Put simply, with him on the court, they were airtight.
“It’s a huge dip, like 12 places or something,” Atkinson said. “That really screams out, to me. Probably the No. 1 stat that I look at.”
It was a wide-open race with seven players getting at least one first-place vote and Mobley getting the top spot on only 35% of the ballots. There was a consensus, however, that he was a top-three player — Mobley was listed somewhere on 85% of ballots, by far the most of anyone in the DPOY chase.
Green won the award in 2017, was a top-three finisher for the fifth time, and was bidding to become the 11th player in NBA history to win it at least twice. Mobley won it for the first time, after finishing third in the voting in 2023. Daniels was a finalist for the first time.
Daniels was second in the voting, with Green third.
Daniels had 229 steals this season, the most in the NBA since Gary Payton had 231 for the Seattle SuperSonics in 1995-96. Daniels was also the first player to average more than 3.00 steals per game since Robertson for the Milwaukee Bucks in 1990-91. Nate McMillan averaged 2.959 in 1993-94 for Seattle; John Stockton averaged 2.976 in 1991-92 for the Utah Jazz.
“Clearly, in my mind, he’s the defensive player of the year,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder told reporters last month. “I think in a lot of people’s minds, the things that he’s doing, even offensively the double-doubles. I think maybe the conversation should go to his character, because, as I’ve thought about and answered those questions about his balance, his anticipation, a lot of the attributes that allow him to do are usually focused on what he does on the court. And I think the correlation between who he is as a player and who he is as a person is very high.”
Based on Daniels, Green and Mobley all being finalists, it’s reasonable to think that they will be on the All-Defensive team when it is released by the NBA later this spring. It would be the ninth All-Defensive selection for Green, the second for Mobley and the first for Daniels.
Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert won the award last season, his record-tying fourth DPOY trophy.
The award was voted on earlier this month by a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league. The NBA releases a list of three finalists for its seven major individual awards — MVP, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Clutch Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year — after the votes are counted but keeps the order of finish a secret until the results are broadcast.
Daniels got 25 first-place votes and Green received 15. Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort got 11 to finish fourth, Houston’s Amen Thompson was fifth and had nine first-place votes, and Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers got four first-place votes and was sixth.
Jackson was seventh, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo got a first-place vote and was eighth, Portland’s Toumani Camara was ninth, and three players — Miami’s Bam Adebayo, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston’s Derrick White — tied for 10th.
Gobert got one third-place vote and was 13th.
Earlier this week, Boston’s Payton Pritchard won sixth man of the year and New York’s Jalen Brunson won clutch player of the year.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Chet Holmgren scored all but one of his 24 points in the second half and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 29-point deficit after Ja Morant left the game with a hip injury and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-108 on Thursday night for a 3-0 series lead.
Morant was hurt with just over three minutes left in the first half and Memphis leading 67-40. The Grizzlies led by 26 at halftime.
The 29-point comeback was the second-largest in an NBA postseason game since play-by-play data began being recorded in the 1996-97 season.
The only one bigger: A comeback from 31 points down by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State on April 15, 2019.
The top-seeded Thunder, who won Game 1 131-80 in the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history, didn’t even have a lead in this one until the fourth quarter. Now, they can close out the series Saturday.
“I just through out of halftime, we kind of reconnected to who we are. We were very out of character in the first half,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points for Oklahoma City and Jalen Williams added 26, splitting a pair of free throws with 1:20 left to give the Thunder their first lead.
Scotty Pippen scored 28 points, two short of his career high, to lead Memphis. Jaren Jackson Jr. added 22 points as Memphis saw its substantial lead evaporate in the second half.
“Understanding leads,” Williams said. “You’re never too far ahead, and you’re never too far behind.”
“They built a 29-point lead in a half, so we felt like all we had to do was build our own 29-point lead,” GIlgeous-Alexander said.
Morant went down hard under the basket with just over three minutes remaining in the first half and was ruled out for the remainder of the game early in the second half with a left hip contusion.
Memphis was on a fast break after a Thunder turnover. Pippen was driving to the basket when he dropped the ball off to Morant at the rim. Luguentz Dort, who was stumbling at the time, fell into Morant while he was in the air, sending the Morant crashing to the floor. The play was reviewed for a flagrant foul, but was ruled a common foul.
Morant had 15 points and five assists.
Memphis carried a 77-51 lead into the break. But the Thunder used a 36-18 scoring edge in the third quarter to claw back,
“I think it is very hard to describe to anyone who hasn’t been in that situation,” Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said.
New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel noticed something about LSU left tackle Will Campbell when the team had a follow-up meeting with him last week ahead of the NFL draft.
“He showed up with one purpose and that was for us to pick him,” Vrabel said. “From the time that we walked in the building to the time that we left and got on the plane, he had one objective and that was to prove to us that he was the right player for us.”
Campbell left the right impression.
The Patriots selected him with the fourth overall pick in the draft on Thursday night, adding a player they hope will solidify the protection of second-year quarterback Drake Maye.
Campbell is confident he ended up on the right team.
“I just think that the culture and the New England Patriot logo speaks for itself,” Campbell said. “I believe in the guys in that locker room. I believe in the quarterback and coach Vrabel is my kind of guy. He’s all ball, no BS, and that’s what I want to play for.”
Early last season, when Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf visited LSU, Campbell told him his sights were on New England.
“This is where I’ve wanted to be since the start,” Campbell said.
At 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, Campbell was a three-year starter for the Tigers and a first-team All-America selection as a junior last season. He was a three-time All-Southeastern Conference selection.
He described his style of play as “nasty.”
That was on display during a workout the Patriots put Campbell and other LSU players through. It included Vrabel, a former Patriots linebacker, lining up against Campbell and the other linemen.
“I’m not going to lie, I got him. I got him on the ground,” Campbell said.
Campbell played 37 of his 38 college games at left tackle and logged 2,451 snaps. He allowed just two sacks over the past two seasons, and now he turns his attention toward protecting Maye’s blind side.
Campbell would form a beefy combination with 6-3, 350-pound Mike Onwenu, the Patriots’ starter on the right side.
“We coveted this player,” Vrabel said. “Part of the draft is adding great pieces and great players to your roster. Which is what we did.”
Vrabel said Campbell would be in the mix to start at left tackle but hasn’t been handed the job.
“He hasn’t even shown up here in Foxborough. We’re not going to talk about where he’s going to play or what he’s going to do. I’m going to let everything really speak for itself,” the coach said. “We’ve watched every game that he’s played, put a lot of work into this and we’re all excited and happy that he’s here.”
New England finished 4-13 and missed the playoffs for third straight time last season, leading owner Robert Kraft to fire coach Jerod Mayo after one season and hire Vrabel, a former Tennessee Titans coach.
The Patriots’ offensive line ranked near the bottom of the NFL last season in pass-block win rate (51%) and was 31st in run-block win rate (67%).
That should improve with Campbell, who has said his favorite thing about football is the physicality that takes place on the offensive line. He should fit in with the attacking style that Vrabel said he wants to implement.
New England has eight remaining picks spread over every round except the sixth.
Campbell said he had numerous chances to talk with the Patriots ahead of the draft and developed a rapport with the coaching staff.
Those conversations included gauging his comfort with NFL terminology, which Vrabel said is similar to what was used in the pro-style system Campbell played in at LSU.
“They threw the ball a ton — a lot (more) drop-back snaps than pretty much anybody else in college football … and it wasn’t (run-pass options) like everybody else,” Vrabel said. “He’s pass protected, he’s run blocked, he’s coming out of a pro system. … We’ll give him exactly what he can handle.”
