NACOGDOCHES – Six firefighters from the Nacogdoches Fire Department are heading to California to assist with the deadly wildfires ravaging the state according to our news partner KETK. The team was deployed through the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System to help combat the wildfires burning near Los Angeles in southern California.
On Saturday morning, Battalion Chief Sean Black, Captains Shawn Dillon and Dusty Arreguin and firefighters Kalin Cobb, Garrett Lowery and Wesley Pietruszka began their journey westward. The Nacogdoches Fire Department is asking the community to join them in sending well wishes for the safety of their team as they face the fires.
(NEW YORK) -- TikTok mounted a last-ditch effort at the Supreme Court on Friday meant to stop a ban of the app set to take effect within days -- but the platform's arguments may have landed with a thud.
A majority of the justices appeared inclined to uphold a federal law that would ban the company unless it divests from China-based parent Bytedance.
TikTok has challenged the law on First Amendment grounds, claiming that a ban would limit free-expression rights on a platform used by one of every two Americans. Lower courts, however, have found merit in security concerns about potential data collection or content manipulation that could be undertaken by the Chinese government.
If the court challenge fails and TikTok forgoes a sale, the ban would take effect on Jan. 19, a day before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Experts who spoke to ABC News said the measure would not penalize individuals for accessing or using the app, even after the ban takes hold.
Here's what to know about exactly how the potential ban would work, and how users could still access TikTok, according to experts:
How exactly would the TikTok ban work?
The law potentially banning TikTok -- the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act -- cracks down on the app by targeting third-party companies vital to the functioning of the platform.
Specifically, the law would restrict app stores and hosting companies, which provide the digital infrastructure on which web services like TikTok depend.
Mandatory withdrawal of the app from major app stores, such as those maintained by Google and Apple, would bar new users from downloading the app and prevent existing users from updating it.
Without updates, the app would degrade in quality over time through inconveniences such as video-loading delays and performance glitches, some experts said.
"If the app were not able to download updates, it would eventually become obsolete," Qi Liao, a professor of computer science at Central Michigan University, told ABC News.
A separate stipulation would also make it illegal for hosting companies to provide services for TikTok -- and the measure offers a fairly broad characterization of such firms.
Hosting companies "may include file hosting, domain name server hosting, cloud hosting, and virtual private server hosting," the law says.
TikTok would stop functioning if the firm's U.S.-based hosting companies stopped providing services, experts said.
"For you to pull up TikTok content on your phone, somebody has to be hosting that," said Timothy Edgar, a computer science professor at Brown University and a former national security official.
At least in theory, however, the social media giant could establish partnerships with hosting companies outside the U.S., putting them out of reach of U.S. enforcement, the experts added.
Such a move would keep TikTok available to U.S. users, but the service would likely be slower and glitchier as the digital infrastructure moves further away, they added.
"The whole point of hosting content is to have it close to users," Edgar said. "It certainly wouldn't work in any kind of smooth way."
Considering potential legal liability, TikTok will likely opt against efforts to preserve its U.S.-based platform in modified form, Edgar added. Instead, he said, services may simply come to a halt, as they did in India in the immediate aftermath of the country's 2020 ban.
"You'll get a message saying, 'Oh, it looks like you're using the app in the U.S. It's not available in your country," Edgar said.
TikTok did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
Would TikTok users be able to access the app after the ban?
No matter the extent of potential service interruptions, users would still be able to access TikTok after the ban by using workarounds, experts said.
Users who do so will face technical hurdles and reduced app quality, Liao said. For some, that will likely prove a formidable deterrent; but others may seek out TikTok anyway.
"If they really want to use it, the user will find a way to use it," Liao said.
Users giving it a shot can rest assured that the conduct is perfectly legal, the experts said.
"If you're an ordinary user with TikTok on your phone, you're not a criminal," Edgar said. "There's no penalty at all."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative lawmakers across the U.S. are pushing to introduce more Christianity to public school classrooms, testing the separation of church and state by inserting Bible references into reading lessons and requiring teachers to post the Ten Commandments.
The efforts come as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office pledging to champion the First Amendment right to pray and read the Bible in school, practices that are already allowed as long as they are not government-sponsored.
While the federal government is explicitly barred from directing states on what to teach, Trump can indirectly influence what is taught in public schools and his election may embolden state-level activists.
Trump and his fellow Republicans support school choice, hoping to expand the practice of using taxpayer-funded vouchers to help parents send their children to religious schools.
But there is a parallel push to incorporate more Christianity into the mainstream public schools that serve the overwhelming majority of students, including those of other faiths. And with the help of judicial appointees from Trump’s first presidential term, courts have begun to bless the notion of more religion in the public sphere, including in schools.
“The effect of even Trump being the president-elect, let alone the president again, is Christian nationalists are emboldened like never before,” said Rachel Laser, the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Large numbers of Americans believe the founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation. A smaller group, part of a movement widely called Christian nationalism, champions a fusion of American and Christian identity and believes the U.S. has a mandate to build an explicitly Christian society.
Many historians argue the opposite, claiming the framers created the United States as an alternative to European monarchies with official state churches and oppression of religious minorities.
Efforts to introduce more Christianity into classrooms have taken hold in several states.
In Louisiana, Republicans passed a law requiring every public school classroom to post the Ten Commandments, which begin with “I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Families have sued.
Utah state lawmakers designated the Ten Commandments as a historic document, in the same category as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, so teachers could post it in their classrooms. Many other states have seen legislation that would put them in more classrooms. And attorneys general from 17 GOP-led states recently filed a brief supporting Louisiana’s Ten Commandments mandate.
Schools are permitted — and even encouraged — to teach about religion and to expose students to religious texts. But some say the new measures are indoctrinating students, not educating them.
Critics have raised concerns also about proliferating lesson plans. Some states have allowed teachers to use videos from Prager U, a nonprofit founded by a conservative talk show host, despite criticism that the videos positively highlight the spread of Christianity and include Christian nationalist talking points.
During his first administration, Trump commissioned the 1776 Project, a report that attempted to promote a more patriotic version of American history. It was panned by historians and scholars who said it credited Christianity for many of the positive turns in U.S. history without mentioning the religion’s role in perpetuating slavery, for example.
The project was developed into a curriculum by the conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan and is now taught in a network of publicly funded charter schools supported by the college. It also has influenced state standards in South Dakota.
Challenges to some state measures are now working their way through the courts, which have grown friendlier to religious interests thanks to Trump’s judicial appointments.
In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a football coach in Washington state who was fired for praying with players at midfield after a game, saying the school district infringed on his rights to religious expression. Dissenting justices noted some players felt pressure to join the coach. But the high court said a public school can’t restrict an employee’s religious activity just because it could be construed as an endorsement of religion, reversing a five-decade precedent.
The ruling could pave the way for conservatives to introduce more Christianity in public schools, said Derek Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina.
“Donald Trump’s judicial appointees have emboldened states” to test the separation of church and state, he said.
In the wake of the football coach’s case, courts now analyze church-state separation through the lens of history, said Joseph Davis of Becket, a public interest law firm focused on religious freedom that is defending Louisiana over its Ten Commandments mandate.
The Supreme Court has endorsed the idea that “it’s OK to have religious expression in the public spaces,” Davis said, “and that we should sort of expect that … if it’s a big part of our history.”
Critics say some measures to introduce more historical references to Christianity in classrooms have taken things too far, inserting biblical references gratuitously, while erasing the role Christianity played in justifying atrocities perpetuated by Americans, like genocide of Native people.
These are among the criticisms facing the new reading curriculum in Texas. Created by the state, districts aren’t required to use it, but they receive financial incentives for adopting it.
“The authors appear to go out of their way to work detailed Bible lessons into the curriculum even when they are both unnecessary and unwarranted,” religious studies scholar David R. Brockman wrote in a report on the material. “Though religious freedom is vital to American democracy, the curriculum distorts its role in the nation’s founding while underplaying the importance of other fundamental liberties cherished by Americans.”
Texas Values, a conservative think tank that backed the new reading curriculum, said in a statement that the court’s pivot toward permitting more Christianity in schools, and allowing more taxpayer money to flow to religious institutions, is corrective.
The football coach case has rightfully returned protections for religion and free speech in public school, said Jonathan Saenz, the Texas Values president.
“Voters and lawmakers (are) getting tired of the attacks on God and our heritage of being ‘One Nation Under God,’” he said.
SMITH COUNTY – A third person has been charged in connection to a multi-state Lego theft ring that allegedly stole more than $400,000 worth of products including from several stores in East Texas.
According to our news partner KETK, Semetric Danielle Baker of Burnet, TX, was arrested by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday. Her arrest comes after two other people were arrested in 2024 for alleged thefts from several Walmart and Target stores in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas, including stores in Longview, Tyler, Kilgore and Gun Barrel City.
The two other people accused are Brian Fleming who was arrested on Dec. 6 and Shane Joel Gentry who was arrested on Nov. 21. Gentry would reportedly sell items on eBay and Amazon and, according to an arrest affidavit, he showed Amazon an invoice for the items from Fleming. Continue reading Woman arrested in connection to $400,000 Lego theft ring
TYLER — According to our news partner KETK, United States Attorney, Damien M. Diggs, announced that he will be resigning as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Eastern District of Texas in January. Diggs, 49 of Frisco, will be departing from his officer position where he led an office of nearly 100 employees, including 50 prosecutors, across six fully staffed offices in Beaumont, Lufkin, Plano, Sherman, Texarkana and Tyler. The district covers 43 counties from the Gulf of Mexico to Oklahoma.
Diggs was nominated by President Joe Biden on Feb. 2, 2023 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 4, 2023. He took the oath of office on May 7, 2023 from Chief U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap. During his time in leadership, he focused on public safety, fighting fraud, waste and abuse, civil rights and community outreach. Under Diggs’ leadership, the office achieved noteworthy successes in criminal matters like gun and gang violence, firearms trafficking, drug trafficking, public corruption, healthcare fraud, white collar crime, cybercrime, national security issues, child exploitation and human trafficking. Continue reading U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of Texas announces departure
Gary Ginstling was hired Friday as CEO of the Houston Symphony, six months following his surprise departure from the New York Philharmonic after just one year in charge.
Ginstling will start Feb. 3 and replace John Mangum, who had been Houston’s CEO since 2018 and left in September to succeed Anthony Freud as general director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
“The Houston Symphony has a really strong track record and my goal is to continue to appeal to the greatest conductors and greatest artists of the day that Houston is a place that you want to be,” Ginstling said.
Ginstling, 58, became New York’s CEO on July 1, 2023, and quit last July 11. His predecessor, Deborah Borda, had remained as executive adviser to Ginstling and the board of directors.
Ginstling has not detailed the circumstances of his departure.
“It wasn’t a good fit for him culturally. It wasn’t a good fit for him, from his style. He did a lot of good things there,” Houston Symphony board president Barbara J. Burger said. “He started, from day one with us, how important culture was and I understand that completely. No one wants to work in an environment where they feel like they either can’t be successful, or they’re not trusted or they’ve got somebody looking over their shoulder.”
New York replaced Ginstling with Philadelphia Orchestra CEO Matías Tarnopolsky, who started Jan. 1. He was boosted by his long friendship with Gustavo Dudamel, who becomes New York’s music director in the 2026-27 season.
Ginstling worked for the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony before becoming general manager of the Cleveland Orchestra (2008-13), CEO of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (2013-17) and executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra (2017-22).
Juraj Val?uha started as Houston’s music director for the 2022-23 season and is signed through 2025-26. The orchestra gives 130 concerts annually, has an operating budget of $40.7 million and includes 90 full-time musicians and 74 administrative staff.
Jones Hall, the orchestra’s home, has been undergoing a renovation over three summers that is scheduled to be finished this year ahead of its 60th anniversary in 2026.
HOUSTON (AP) – Constellation is buying natural gas and geothermal power provider Calpine for $16.4 billion, joining together two of the country’s biggest power companies.
The acquisition would create the nation’s leading retail electric supplier, serving 2.5 million customers, the companies said Friday. It’s geographic footprint will span the continental U.S. and include a significantly expanded presence in Texas, the fastest growing market for power demand, as well as other key strategic states, including California, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The buyout will also create the
Constellation will buy Calpine with 50 million of its shares and $4.5 billion in cash. It will also assume about $12.7 billion in Calpine debt. The total value of the deal will be about $26.6 billion.
The combined company will have nearly 60 gigawatts of capacity from zero- and low-emission sources, including nuclear, natural gas, geothermal, hydro, wind, solar, cogeneration and battery storage.
“By combining Constellation’s unmatched expertise in zero-emission nuclear energy with Calpine’s industry-leading, best-in-class, low-carbon natural gas and geothermal generation fleets, we will be able to offer the broadest array of energy products and services available in the industry,” Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez said in a prepared statement Friday.
The deal is anticipated to add more than $2 billion of free cash flow a year, which the companies said will create strategic capital and scale to reinvest in the business.
“Together, we will be better positioned to bring accelerated investment in everything from zero-emission nuclear to battery storage that will power our economy in a way that puts people and our environment first,” Calpine CEO Andrew Novotny said.
The transaction is expected to close within a year of its signing. It will need regulatory approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Canadian Competition Bureau, the New York Public Service Commission, the Public Utility Commission of Texas and other regulatory agencies.
Privately held Calpine is based in Houston. Shares of Constellation Energy Corp., based in Baltimore, surged more than 25% Friday.
ATLANTA (AP) — Flight cancellations piled up and officials warned of continuing dangerous roads Saturday in the wake of a winter storm that brought biting cold and wet snow to the U.S. South, leading to school closures and disrupting travel.
The storm was moving out to sea off the East Coast on Saturday, leaving behind a forecast for snow showers in the Appalachian Mountains and New England. But temperatures were expected to plunge after sundown in the South, raising the risk that melting snow will refreeze, turning roadways treacherously glazed with ice.
“I definitely don’t think everything’s going to completely melt,” said Scott Carroll, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Atlanta. “Especially the secondary roads will probably still have some slush on them.”
Major roads are mostly clear, but tie-ups at affected airports remain
Main thoroughfares were mostly clear, but few people were venturing out early Saturday. The Atlanta Hawks postponed their scheduled afternoon game against the Houston Rockets, citing the icy conditions.
Major airports including those in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, continued to report disruptions. While flights were operating, airlines canceled and delayed more flights after Friday’s weather slowed travel to a crawl.
By Saturday afternoon about 1,000 flights in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were canceled or delayed, according to tracking software FlightAware.
Sarah Waithera Wanyoike, who lives in the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn, arrived at the world’s busiest airport before sunrise Friday to catch an Ethiopian Airlines flight to her job in Zimbabwe.
The plane boarded after a delay but never left, discharging passengers back to the gate after taxiing around for six hours. Wanyoike said her luggage remained on the plane and she dared not try to go home because she was told to be back at the gate before dawn.
“People slept with their babies on the floors last night,” Wanyoike said Saturday.
Delta Air Lines, the largest carrier at the airport, said late Friday that it was “working to recover” and disruptions would be worst among morning flights because of crews and airplanes that weren’t where they were supposed to be after 1,100 flights were canceled.
Richmond drops boil-water advisory after nearly a week
Virginia’s capital lifted the advisory Saturday morning, nearly a week after a snow storm cut power and caused a malfunction to the city’s water system.
Mayor Danny Avula said lab tests confirmed that the water is safe to drink, adding that boil-water advisories had been lifted for some surrounding counties as well.
The temporary halting of the system affected more than 200,000 people, some of whom lacked water in their homes because of diminished pressure.
Freezing rain pushed up electrical outages above 110,000 in Georgia on Friday night, but most had it restored by the following day. The National Weather Service reported small amounts of ice accumulation around Atlanta from the freezing rain.
Parts of mountainous western North Carolina saw as much as 4.5 inches (about 11 centimeters) of snow in a 24-hour period through 7 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. And parts of middle Tennessee saw nearly 6 inches (about 15 centimeters) by the same morning.
Earlier this week the storm brought heavy snow and slick roads to much of Texas and Oklahoma before moving east. Arkansas and North Carolina mobilized National Guard troops for tasks such as helping stranded motorists, and governors declared states of emergency.
Nashville starts digging out
Businesses and churches started digging out from under several inches of snow that fell on Nashville, Tennessee, in order to reopen for the weekend.
At Judah Temple of Praise, church members on Saturday shoveled, salted and blew snow off the sidewalks and the parking lot in advance of the next day’s services.
“We’re not going to use the excuse of a parking lot covered in snow to not show up and praise our God tomorrow,” elder Myyah Lockhart said.
Andy Atkins, co-owner of the Bad Luck Burger Club food truck in east Nashville, brushed off picnic tables with a broom and shoveled the sidewalk in front of his business. After closing down Friday, he hoped that customers would show up again.
“Having a day off is good for the soul, but is bad for the pocket, you know,” Atkins said.
Alabama schools could remain closed if ice doesn’t melt off secondary roads
School was canceled on Friday for millions of children from Texas to Georgia and as far east as South Carolina, giving them a rare snow day. On Saturday, officials in northern Alabama said schools could remain closed Monday if ice doesn’t melt off secondary roads.
The storm piled up more than a year’s worth of snowfall on some cities.
As much as a foot (about 31 centimeters) fell in parts of Arkansas, and there were reports of nearly 10 inches (about 25 centimeters) in Little Rock, which averages 3.8 inches (9.7 centimeters) a year.
More than 7 inches (about 18 centimeters) fell at Memphis International Airport in Tennessee. The city usually sees 2.7 inches (6.9 centimeters) a year.
The storm also dumped as much as 7 inches (about 18 centimeters) in some spots in central Oklahoma and northern Texas.
The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually spins around the North Pole, but it sometimes ventures south into the U.S., Europe and Asia. Some experts say such events are happening more frequently, paradoxically, because of a warming world.
The cold snap coincided with rare January wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area.
PALESTINE — An East Texas representative has filed an ethics complaint against Abraham George, Chairman of the Texas Republican Party, accusing him of using coercive political tactics including threats and intimidation to silence dissent within his own party.
State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine), one of the few Republicans to publicly oppose the party’s endorsed Republican caucus nominee for House Speaker, Rep. David Cook., is in the crosshairs of party leadership. Harris, alongside fellow East Texas Representatives Cole Hefner and Jay Dean, have instead thrown their support behind Rep. David Burrows (R-Lubbock), whom they argue represents a stronger conservative alternative to Cook.
KETK News spoke with Harris who asserted that East Texans have little tolerance for bullying. “Growing up here in East Texas, there’s only one way to deal with a bully and that’s to punch him in the nose, so that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m not going to sit back and let him stifle the voices of the people of East Texas.” said Harris. Continue reading Lawmaker files ethics complaint after receiving political threats
Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(LONDON) -- How warm was 2024? By March, just three months into the year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had already estimated a 55% chance that 2024 would be the warmest year on record for the planet. By July, they gave it a 77% chance.
It was nearly certain by November.
Turns out, breaking the record was never really in doubt. Last year easily beat out the previous record holder, 2023, for the warmest year on record globally, according to data collected and analyzed by Copernicus Climate Change Service, part of the European Union's climate research program and confirmed by NASA and NOAA scientists.
Copernicus said the global temperature for all of 2024 was 1.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level. NASA's estimate came in slightly lower, with their scientists finding that the earth was 1.47 degrees Celsius warmer than in the mid-19th century. NOAA reported 1.46 degrees Celsius. There is a slight variation in the numbers because each scientific organization conducts its own analysis using different tools. However, the fact that the findings of three independent scientific agencies are so close demonstrates the strength of the data.
It was also a record year for the contiguous United States, according to NOAA. In 2024, the average temperature of the contiguous U.S. was 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit above average and the warmest in its 130-year record.
The year 2024 was the first complete year the planet was warmer than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to the pre-industrial average from 1850 to 1900. If that number sounds familiar, it's because the historic Paris Agreement established a 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
Global temperature was above the Paris Agreement threshold for 11 of 12 months, according to Copernicus. We've now had back-to-back record-breaking years for the warmest global temperature and each of the past 10 years has been one of the 10 warmest years on record.
While this is the first calendar year on record to top the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming threshold, it's not the first time the planet has passed that mark, including the 12-month global average temperature between February 2023 and January 2024 and the monthly global average temperature in February 2016.
Exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold over several months or even for a few years isn't considered a failure to meet the Paris Agreement's goal. The agreement looks at the global temperature average over multiple decades before making a final determination.
However, climate experts say short-term threshold breaches like we saw in 2024 are an important warning that record-breaking temperatures are likely to continue in upcoming decades if the world doesn't reduce its emissions.
"All of the internationally produced global temperature datasets show that 2024 was the hottest year since records began in 1850. Humanity is in charge of its own destiny but how we respond to the climate challenge should be based on evidence. The future is in our hands -- swift and decisive action can still alter the trajectory of our future climate," said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, in a press statement.
What's causing the warming?
Since last summer, the recent short-term spike in global temperatures has been fueled primarily by the El Niño event in the equatorial eastern Pacific. Record highs for global average temperature tend to occur during El Niño years.
But an El Niño alone isn't causing the record-breaking warming, according to climate scientists. What happened in 2024 is that a short-term El Niño spike occurred on top of the gradual, long-term global warming trend primarily driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, we've seen global warming accelerate during both El Niño and non-El Niño seasons.
"The defining factor in the evolution of many key climate indicators in 2024 has been the increasing global temperature, which is largely associated with the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, a consequence of human activities," said Copernicus.
Copernicus data shows that in 2024, the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached the highest annual levels ever recorded.
"Our data points clearly to a steady global increase of greenhouse gas emissions and these remain the main agent of climate change," added Laurence Rouil, director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
While human-produced greenhouse gas emissions and El Niño were key contributors to the 2024 record, some scientists believe there is something else at play as well.
One possibility is that the planet is a victim of its own success in curbing air pollution. In recent decades, regulations, including one in 2020 that drastically cut the amount of sulfur dioxide being released by ships, have significantly reduced the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere.
Aerosols are tiny particles that can reflect sunlight back into space and reduce global temperatures. But their concentrations are now greatly diminished. According to the EPA, U.S. sulfur dioxide emissions have dropped 94% since 1980. The burning of fossil fuels by power plants and other industrial facilities is the largest source of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere.
While this means cleaner air, fewer atmospheric aerosols also results in a greater amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface creating a heating effect. Some research suggests that this may have contributed to recent warm Northern Hemisphere surface temperatures.
Some climate experts believe the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcano may be playing a role in our warming trend. This eruption released an unprecedented amount of water vapor into Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA.
Typically, volcanic eruptions cool the Earth's surface by emitting sulfur dioxide, which transforms into sunlight-reflecting aerosols. However, the 2022 eruption was different, as it released a substantial amount of water vapor—a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.
A study published in the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate, found that this event could have a significant impact on surface temperatures around the world, triggering warming of over 1.5°C in some regions, while cooling others by around 1°C. However, other studies investigating the eruption have come to very different conclusions.
In July 2024, research published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmosphere concluded that most of the volcano's effects dissipated by the end of 2023. Experts say that the atmospheric aerosol data used in the calculations could be behind the contradicting conclusions.
Copernicus said the total amount of water vapor in the atmosphere hit a record high in 2024.
Climate scientists say one thing is certain. As long as we continue to burn fossil fuels in large amounts, we will continue to see temperatures increasing globally.
To make that point, Andrew Dessler, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M shared on social media an email template he reuses each year when reporters ask him about the global temperatures.
His auto reply reads, "No, this is not surprising -- it is exactly in line with predictions. Here is a comment you can use for your story: Every year for the rest of your life will be one of the hottest in the record."
So certain of the trends, Dessler concludes by saying that this year "will end up being among the coldest years of this century. Enjoy it while it lasts."
High hopes with the Paris Agreement
It wasn't supposed to be like this. When the historic Paris Agreement was signed in 2016, then-President Barack Obama said, "Today, the world meets the moment. And if we follow through on the commitments that this agreement embodies, history may well judge it as a turning point for our planet."
But in large part, the world hasn't met the moment nor followed through on its commitments.
In October, the United Nations Environment Programme published a report aptly titled, "No more hot air ... please!" which found the world has made little progress in reversing the use of fossil fuels and faces twice as much warming as agreed to during the Paris Climate Agreement.
The World Meteorological Organization said carbon dioxide concentrations have increased by more than 11% in just two decades, making 2023 a record for the amount of this greenhouse gas currently in our atmosphere.
So, it was little surprise when researchers at Climate Action Tracker, an independent project tracking government action on climate change, declared that efforts to curb climate change have "flatlined" since 2021.
As leaders fail to take decisive action, the consequences of record-break warming take their toll on lives and property.
These extreme weather events, which ranged from severe storms to hurricanes to wildfires, killed at least 418 people and impacted large swaths of the country.
Human-amplified climate change has led to the significant warming of the oceans, which provides the energy hurricanes need to intensify. Hurricanes Beryl and Milton rapidly intensified over unusually warm ocean water, made several hundred times more likely due to human-amplified climate change.
A recent study from Climate Central found that every Atlantic hurricane in 2024 saw an increased maximum wind speed, ranging from 9 to 28 mph, because human-amplified climate change resulted in elevated ocean temperatures. The researchers said it's unlikely Beryl and Milton would have reached Category 5 status without the impact of climate change.
While the severe impact of hurricanes and wildfires is evident in the images of mass destruction, extreme heat is actually the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States.
Research has discovered that children and adults over 65 are among the most vulnerable to heat-related illnesses and death and the Journal of the American Medical Association found that heat deaths in the United States have nearly doubled since 1999 and represent a 63% increase in death rates caused by heat between 1999-2023.
Extreme heat also affects a child's health, development, behavior, and learning ability. A 2020 study found that a 1°F hotter school year is associated with a 1% reduction in learning that year, based on test scores.
Because our oceans absorb the majority of the planet's heat, global sea temperatures reached record highs for the first half of 2024 and remained well above average for the rest of the year. According to NOAA, this has fueled the largest ocean coral bleaching event on record impacting nearly 77% of coral reef areas.
Uncontrolled climate change is also putting nearly one-third of the world's species at risk for extinction, according to a recent analysis by University of Connecticut researcher and biologist Mark Urban. He found that 160,000 species are already at risk because of changes in our climate.
Reasons to be hopeful
ABC News Chief Meteorologist and Chief Climate Correspondent Ginger Zee said, "1.5 degrees is bad, but it's better than 1.6, which is better than 1.7."
She added, "Each point one degree of warming creates more severe consequences for us, especially the most vulnerable. There's still time to slow or even stop the warming curve if we stop burning fossil fuels and reduce our consumption."
While we haven't reached peak fossil fuel use yet, renewable energy, like wind and solar, is growing exponentially. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the "world added 50% more renewable capacity in 2023 than in 2022." The IEA forecasts that the next five years will see the fastest growth yet for clean energy.
Although it was less than many countries wanted, world leaders attending the COP29 UN climate conference agreed to increase contributions to developing nations dealing with the effects of climate change to $300 billion annually by 2035, triple the previous goal of $100 billion.
Companies across the globe are working on ways to collect and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and keep it from being released during electricity generation and manufacturing. While these carbon capture and storage technologies are in their infancy and have yet to significantly contribute to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, billions of dollars are being spent on these efforts.
There are also tens of thousands of green tech companies around the globe working on everything from clean fusion energy to harnessing the power of waves for electricity to making more efficient electric vehicle batteries.
AUSTIN (AP) – Many were shocked Tuesday when University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell announced he’d be leaving the 53,000-student public school to lead Southern Methodist University, a growing but smaller university in Dallas.
But not Holden Thorp.
Thorp resigned in 2012 as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2013, he accepted the role of provost at Washington University, which is also a smaller, private school. His departure came after he presided over an athletics scandal but he said not having to deal with lawmakers was another significant factor for his decision to leave UNC. He clashed with the North Carolina Legislature on issues such as creating gender-neutral student housing and immigration.
“The reward if I had stayed would have been that I would have had to do battle with this GOP legislature who was suspicious of me to begin with because I came from strong connections in Democratic politics, and so bailing made all the sense in the world,” said Thorp, who now serves as the editor-in-chief of the journal Science.
For Thorp and some public higher education observers, Hartzell’s departure is indicative of how difficult it has become to be a university president amid growing political pressures.
In Texas, navigating the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion offices has been particularly challenging, with Texas GOP leaders criticizing universities of not doing enough to enforce it and students and faculty criticizing university administrators of going too far with its implementation.
In recent years, Texas public universities have been under constant pressure to correct what conservative leaders view as a liberal bias. In 2023, Texas GOP leadership threatened to end tenure after UT-Austin faculty reaffirmed their right to teach critical race theory, which was banned in K-12 classrooms. Republican lawmakers have signaled a desire to draft legislation targeting faculty senates, curriculum and speech on college campuses during this year’s legislative session.
At least one bill has already been filed that would require universities to define certain speech as antisemitic in response to the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses last spring.
Political interference led in part to the resignation of former Texas A&M President Kathy Banks. She left the position after turmoil over the botched hiring of Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalism professor who the Texas A&M System Board of Regents perceived as left-leaning.
Turnover among university presidents has been higher in recent years. Fifty-five percent of university presidents plan to step down in the next five years, according to a American Council of Education, which surveyed 1,000 presidents in 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic, a projected decline in college-bound students in the Northeast and upper Midwest and budget deficits are the top contributors for this, said Jorge Burmicky, assistant professor of education leadership and policy at Howard University.
In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, Hartzell said the state’s political climate did not push him to leave UT-Austin. He did say, however, he would appreciate not having to go to the Texas Capitol as often in his new role at SMU. He also said he can be more “nimble” at the Dallas private university, and that he has no plans to eliminate its DEI office.
Hartzell starts his new job on June 1 — and some UT-Austin faculty are concerned his departure will make it more difficult for him to effectively represent the flagship campus’ interest in the legislative session that starts next week. They worry lawmakers will broaden the DEI ban to include academic programs and try to curtail faculty’s voice on campuses by limiting the influence of faculty senates, which have long played a role in developing curriculum and protecting schools’ academic mission. Republican legislators have criticized them as “woke” activists who indoctrinate students with far-left ideas.
Hartzell’s departure also opens the question of what kind of leader will now step up to the job.
“I would be very nervous if I were a faculty member at UT or someone invested in the future of UT because you’ve essentially had two presidents — three, if you go back to [former UT President] Bill Powers — that the Legislature has made their job difficult, and I’d worry who would want that job,” said Michael Harris, an SMU education policy professor.
Pauline Strong, president of the UT-Austin Chapter of American Association of University Presidents, believes faculty should be involved in the hiring process of the university’s next president. She said she wants that person to be supportive of both academic and speech freedoms, “but I don’t think that is assured.”
Some conservative leaders hope Hartzell’s departure will allow someone who better reflects their values to move into the position.
“This presents an opportunity to get real bold conservative leadership and get back to the basics, which is educating the workforce of tomorrow and strengthening the Texas economy,” said state Rep. Brian Harrison.
The Midlothian Republican has frequently criticized UT-Austin and other public universities in Texas for what he sees as a failure to comply with the DEI ban. He said he doesn’t care if the next president comes from the academic world, “provided they are willing to do a massive course correction to end liberal indoctrination.”
In other Republican-led states like Florida, people with more experience in politics than academia have increasingly been hired as university presidents.
Experts say former politicians have fundraising acumen, but point to former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska as an example of how they do not always follow university rules for hiring and spending. Sasse served as president of the University of Florida from 2023 to 2024 and, in that time, spending in his office tripled, according to the Alligator, the University of Florida student newspaper.
“He hired multiple of what are known in Washington, D.C., as ‘beltway bandits.’ It’s not really clear what any of them did,” said Judith Wilde, a George Mason University professor who studies university presidential searches, contracts and exit agreements.
Thorp said Hartzell is probably feeling the relief he felt more than a decade ago when switching from a public to private university, but laments that leaders like he and Hartzell have to factor political pressures when making that choice.
“Research universities like UT-Austin that are so outstanding are incredibly important assets to the country. The fact that it’s more attractive to run a smaller university that is nowhere close in research is a sad thing,” Thorp said.
Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the original article, click here.
LONGVIEW– The Longview Police Department is asking for the public’s help as they search for a missing 21-year-old woman. Officials said Nyah Newton was last seen on Tanglewood Road. She is described as being around 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs around 90 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.
According to our news partner KETK, officials said Newton was last seen wearing a brown shirt and checkered black and white pajama pants. Anyone with information about Newton’s whereabouts is asked to call the Longview Police Department at 903-237-1199.
JACKSONVILLE — Jacksonville Police Chief Joe Williams was “relieved” from his duties on Thursday afternoon. The City of Jacksonville said the action was made by City Manager James Hubbard after Williams held the position for nearly five years.
“A pattern of poor judgement, disengagement and disrespect culminated in my decision,” Hubbard said. “I wish Mr. Williams well and look forward to naming a new chief that will provide the service and professionalism deserved by the department, organization, and community.”
According to our news partner, KETK, Assistant Chief of Police Steven Markasky has been named as Acting Chief of Police, that will ensure a smooth transition.Plans regarding the process to install a new police chief will be released soon, the city said.
(LOS ANGELES) -- As devastating wildfires continue to spread across southern California, thousands of structures have been destroyed or damaged and at least five people have been killed.
Residents and firefighters have suffered physical injuries, but doctors say the wildfires can also take a heavy mental health toll on civilians and first responders.
"I think when disaster like this is unfolding, it makes sense to prioritize people's lives and mortality but, over time, we have to think about mental health consequences too," Dr. Sarah Lowe, associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at Yale School of Public Health, told ABC News.
"We also know that mental and physical health are connected," she continued. "While mental health symptoms might not necessarily be linked to the exposure itself, they could be linked to or exacerbated by physical health ailments."
Mental health experts say that most people are resilient and do not develop a mental health condition as a result of trauma from a natural disaster.
However, those with more exposure to the event -- such as losing a home, losing a loved one or experiencing injury -- are at higher risk, the experts said.
"It is common to experience emotional distress during these traumatic events, where people often lose a sense of control," Dr. Jace Reed, director of emergency psychiatry for the department of psychiatry & behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, told ABC News. "The current wildfires have led to evacuations, the destruction of homes and property, the loss of beloved pets, physical injuries and even death, all of which can be profoundly distressing.
"Individuals may feel a range of emotions, including denial, anger, sadness, shock and hopelessness," he added. "This emotional response can evolve into later stages, such as acceptance, further sadness, depression and bitterness."
Research has shown wildfires can lead to increased rates of anxiety and depression and symptoms may become worse among people who already have these conditions.
Additionally, people can develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can include intrusive thoughts and nightmares.
Leaving PTSD untreated can result in the use of or dependence on drugs and alcohol, increased risk of chronic health conditions and increased risk of self-harm.
Dr. Ian Stanley, an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, told ABC News that untreated PTSD can put a strain on relationships including familial relationships, romantic relationships and friendships.
"It can really begin to eat away at, not just the person's well-being, but also the social environment in which they live," he said.
Wildfire smoke can also put you at risk
The experts said it's not just people directly affected by the fire who are at risk of mental health impacts. People exposed to wildfire smoke are at risk as well.
Wildfire smoke can travel long distances, meaning cities hundreds of miles away may be experiencing unhealthy air quality.
A 2024 study from Emory University found that wildfire smoke was linked with emergency department visits for anxiety disorders with higher risks among girls, women and older adults.
"Even people who aren't directly affected by fires, the smoke from them, coming into their neighborhoods and communities, even if it's imperceptible, can have impacts on mental health," Lowe said. "We're seeing more and more, and that's with a range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety."
Firefighters, first responders also at risk
Firefighters battling the flames and first responders helping treat those who are injured or are in need are also at risk of experiencing mental health impacts.
Firefighters and other rescue personnel are at greater risk of developing PTSD compared to the general population. An August 2016 study found approximately 20% of firefighters and paramedics meet the criteria for PTSD at some point in their career compared to a 6.8% lifetime risk for the general population, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
"They're on the front lines, and first responders, firefighters, police, EMS have potentially pre-existing vulnerabilities to developing mental health problems at a higher rate than the civilian population," Stanley said.
The duties of first responders -- facing challenging situations, reaching out to survivors, providing support -- can be strenuous and put them at an increased risk of trauma, according to a 2018 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
"They're trained to do this; this is their job, and yet it can still take a toll on them, especially the crews that are away from home, spending weeks away from home and maybe lacking the traditional support system that are used to," Stanley said.
How to help those with mental health impacts
Lowe said it will be important for California to make sure it is providing enough licensed professionals to the areas where people may be in need.
This can be challenging in the face of a large-scale mental health crisis in the U.S. in which there is a shortage of mental health professionals.
"Having good coverage for mental health services, increasing access to services" is important, she said. "A lot of times, we can't practice outside of our jurisdiction, but there's declarations during disasters, folks can practice outside ... so just ways to increase access."
The experts also recommend limiting time reading news coverage and social media posts of the wildfires, much of which can be distressing.
"This can lead to increased anxiety, sleep difficulties and stress, causing many people to feel the urge to consume more information," Reed said. This increased consumption is likely more anxiety-provoking than comforting. … I recommend that people consume this content in moderation and focus on activities that help reduce their stress levels."
Family members and friends can help by providing a sense of support for their loved one and confidently checking in, the experts said.
"You can think of kind of the 3 Hs here: Do you want to be helped? Do you want to be hugged? Or do you want to be heard?" Stanley said. "Some people just want a shoulder to cry on. Some people want you to go into problem-solving mode and some people just want a listening ear."
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NACOGDOCHES – Six firefighters from the Nacogdoches Fire Department are heading to California to assist with the deadly wildfires ravaging the state according to our news partner KETK. The team was deployed through the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System to help combat the wildfires burning near Los Angeles in southern California.
