RUSK COUNTY – A cyber tip from the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children lead to the arrest of an East Texas man possessing child pornography on Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK and the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, investigators obtained an arrest warrant for 35-year-old Christopher Smith II of Mount Enterprise following the cyber tip. A search warrant was also obtained to locate any additional child pornography he may have in his possession.
The sheriff’s office and a Texas Department of Public Safety officer who specializes in digital forensics executed the search warrant at Smith’s home. Smith was taken into custody and several items were seized as evidence, the sheriff’s office said. Smith is currently in the Rusk County Jail under a $65,000 bond for his possession of child pornography charge. According to the sheriff’s office, the case is still under investigation and may result in additional charges.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event on health care affordability in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Donald Trump is a polarizing figure. (In other news, it gets hot in Texas in the summer.)
More than any recent president, Donald Trump evokes a visceral reaction among a large proportion of voters. Millions of people – disproportionately concentrated in coastal states – despise the man.
A big reason is his outsized, brash personality that is unlike that of any politician in our time. Since the 2015 escalator ride that kicked off his first campaign, we have observed his penchant for incendiary statements, insulting personal attacks and often outlandish exaggeration. To a significant degree, Donald Trump himself has contributed to much of the animus against him. (To be fair, many of these characteristics have been greatly muted in his second term.)
But for my money, one of the biggest and most consistent contributors to Trump hatred is the corrupt and fundamentally dishonest legacy media. Shrinking in size, scope and influence as the legacy media are, a meaningful percentage of Americans still rely solely on the likes of ABC, CBS, NBC, et. al. for their news. In the same way that the diet of a college kid is carb heavy, the news diet of a legacy media consumer is agenda heavy. Members of the legacy media almost to a person see it as their civic and sacred duty not to merely report on what Donald Trump does and allow readers and viewers to form their own conclusions. They see themselves instead as specially charged with saving the republic from him. Example: If Trump vigorously prosecutes attacks on Iran, the media says he’s a “war criminal.” If he extends a ceasefire, they say he’s a “TACO” (i.e.Trump Always Chickens Out.)
The once-trusted legacy media are using the last shards of the credibility they once enjoyed to intentionally and shamelessly lie about Trump, his policies and his accomplishments.
And there’s a key word: accomplishments. They are many.
Since taking office for his second term, Trump has essentially stopped illegal immigration. Not slowed it down. Stopped it. It’s a campaign promise kept.
Another campaign promise: energy independence. The president has unleashed the American oil & gas industry in way that is completely reshaping the world geopolitical landscape for the long term in America’s favor. (It’s worth noting that in times not so long past, a war in Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz wouldn’t have simply caused gas prices to go up, as has happened. There would have been gasoline lines.)
Some agenda-laden reporting to the contrary notwithstanding, very soon Trump will have completed the neutralization of a terroristic, nuclear weapons-seeking Iran – a regime that vexed seven prior administrations while holding the entire world hostage.
All of this while lowering the tax burden on every single American taxpayer.
There’s more, but space doesn’t permit.
The real knock on Trump boils down to this. The man has had the temerity to actually take on and solve problems that establishment politicians – of both parties – merely fundraise on.
In the realm of high-level Washington politics, that’s simply unforgivable.
LONDON (AP) — Opponents of smoking got a breath of fresh air as Parliament passed a bill that will put cigarettes out of reach for future generations.
“The end of smoking, and the devastating harm it causes, is no longer uncertain — it’s inevitable,” Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said after a decades-long campaign in favor of legislation approved Tuesday.
Children born after Dec. 31, 2008, will be banned from ever buying cigarettes under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
The legislation that needs approval by King Charles III — a formality — before taking effect will also allow the government to regulate tobacco, vaping and nicotine products, including flavors and packaging.
It is currently illegal to sell cigarettes, tobacco products or vapes to people younger than 18. But most youths today will continue to face a ban their entire life as the minimum age to buy cigarettes rises each year.
The passage gives the U.K. one of the toughest antismoking measures in the world. The law is similar to one New Zealand lawmakers passed in 2022, but that was repealed by a subsequent government.
The number of people who smoke in Britain has declined by two-thirds since the 1970s, but some 6.4 million people — or about 13% of the population — still smoke, according to official figures.
Authorities say smoking causes some 80,000 deaths a year in the U.K, and remains the number one preventable cause of death, disability and poor health.
“Children in the U.K. will be part of the first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm,” Health Secretary Wes Streeting said.
TATUM – A safety concern along a stretch of highway in East Texas is getting attention after the Tatum police chief made a public plea for action. The concern is along State Highway 149, from the city limits traveling south to Tatum Middle School, where on Tuesday, an 18-wheeler hydroplaned into oncoming traffic before slamming onto school property. Continue reading Chief makes plea for road safety
SMITH COUNTY – Traffic along Interstate 20 entering Lindale is back open after an 18-wheeler crash backed up traffic for miles. Our news partner KETK reports that the crash happened around 5:30 p.m. on I?20 between U.S. 69 and FM 14. DPS officials reported that a pickup truck carrying a camper lost control on the interstate and an 18?wheeler struck the camper from behind. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.
Close up of senior woman using cannabis at home (Getty/Emilija Manevska)
(WASHINGTON) -- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order on Thursday reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
The order moves marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, putting state-licensed medical marijuana in the same category as some pain medications, ketamine and testosterone.
Schedule I drugs are defined as "drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse" while Schedule III drugs are defined as "drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence," according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
While this change aligns federal guidelines with many state laws, marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. It does not remove cannabis from the federal controlled substance list, legalize recreational use nationwide or allow unregulated sales similar to tobacco and alcohol.
However, the move could allow for expanded research and ease many of the tax and regulatory rules placed on the cannabis industry.
"These actions will enable more targeted, rigorous research into marijuana's safety and efficacy, expanding patients' access to treatments and empowering doctors to make better-informed healthcare decisions," Blanche wrote in a statement on X.
President Donald Trump announced late last year that his administration would seek to reclassify marijuana, but not legalize it for medical or recreational use under federal statutes. Over the weekend, the president appeared to express frustration that the administration was slow-walking the effort.
Blanche said the Justice Department and DEA will begin the process of potentially reclassifying all marijuana to Schedule III. The DEA is planning to hold a hearing in late June.
"The new hearing ... will provide a timely and legally compliant pathway to evaluate broader changes to marijuana's status under federal law," according to a press release from the Justice Department.
The process of reclassifying marijuana began under the administration of former President Joe Biden.
In October 2022, Biden asked then-Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra and then-Attorney General Merrick Garland "to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law."
The HHS in August 2023 made a recommendation to the DEA to move medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.
In May 2024, the Justice Department announced Garland had submitted a notice of proposed rule-making to move medical marijuana to Schedule III, with DEA announcing in August 2024 that a hearing would be held on the proposal.
That hearing was scheduled to begin on Jan. 21, 2025, but was postponed about a week before by a judge.
Marijuana is the most widely used federally illegal drug in the country. Nearly one in five Americans -- 52.5 million people -- reported using it at least once in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
So far, 24 states and the District of Columbia have fully legalized recreational marijuana for adults, allowing adults aged 21 and older to possess, use and, in most cases, cultivate small amounts of cannabis, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Although cannabis may have potential medical uses, it has also been associated with mental health problems, impaired driving, and lung and heart conditions. About three in 10 cannabis users will develop cannabis use disorder, meaning they are unable to stop using cannabis even though it's causing health and social problems, according to the CDC.
Cannabis use directly affects the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning, attention and decision-making, the CDC says.
The CDC also cautions that it can cause harm to brain development in young people and use during pregnancy may be linked to lower birth weight and possible developmental effects.
JACKSONVILLE — An infant was safely reunited with their mother after being briefly kidnapped, with law enforcement locating the toddler in a wooded area in Jacksonville. According to our news partner KETK, Jacksonville Police responded to a welfare check on Wednesday at around 1 p.m. on Myrtle Drive. A man had reportedly entered a residence and took a 1-year-old child. The man was later identified as Brian Damon Black, 42, of Jacksonville.
The initial caller was concerned that Black was seen walking into a nearby wooded area with a child. The child was located unharmed and reunited to the mother.
Black was located a short time later in a wooded area near Skyline. He was arrested following a brief pursuit.
Black was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on charges including burglary of a habitation, kidnapping and evading arrest or detention.
An Israeli artillery unit fires toward Lebanon on April 9, 2026 in northern Israel. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)
(LONDON) -- Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors are expected to convene again at the State Department on Thursday for a second round of meetings amid the latest conflagration in the Middle East.
The first direct negotiations between the two states since 1993 are intended as preparatory meetings to shape future talks on a deal to normalize ties between the countries.
Thursday's meeting is expected to focus on extending a shaky ceasefire that has halted fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, long considered by experts as a "state within a state" wielding enormous influence over Lebanon's political, economic and security spheres.
The technocratic government in Beirut, which came to power in 2025, is juggling dual pressure campaigns -- sustained Israeli attacks and seizure of Lebanese territory on one hand and the internal threat of Hezbollah and its Iranian backers on the other.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Tuesday that the goal of the negotiations was to "stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the [Lebanese] army all the way to the internationally recognized southern borders."
"We negotiate for ourselves," Aoun said. "We are no longer a pawn in anyone's game, nor an arena for anyone's wars. And we never will be again."
Paul Salem, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute think tank, told ABC News from Beirut that Thursday's talks are "historically significant in what they might eventually lead to," but framed the meetings as the first steps on a long and difficult road.
The government in Beirut is facing "a prolonged conundrum," Salem said. "Iran is insisting on maintaining its presence and backing Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah seems to be happy to continue to play their role with Iran."
And in southern Lebanon, Israel seems intent on a devastating campaign and seizure of land which its Defense Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly said will be modeled on the destruction of Gaza.
"The Lebanese state needs to be able to bolster its credibility by not allowing a long-term Israeli occupation," Salem said.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office told ABC News of the talks that there is "one obstacle: Hezbollah the Iranian proxy holding Lebanon hostage and threatening Israel. Peace through strength: remove Hezbollah and peace becomes possible."
President Donald Trump's administration pushed for a ceasefire in Lebanon earlier this month, as the White House sought a pause in the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel following the first round of talks on April 14 -- a ceasefire Netanyahu seemingly had no choice but to support.
But Trump and his top officials have also made clear that Hezbollah cannot be allowed to retain its pre-war clout within the country, nor continue to pose a military threat to Israel.
"We will make Lebanon great again. It's about time we did so," Trump said over the weekend.
Ahead of Thursday's talks, a State Department official told ABC News, "The United States welcomes the productive engagement that began on April 14."
"We will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments," the spokesperson added.
A tentative ceasefire
Thursday's talks in Washington will resume amid a tentative U.S.-backed ceasefire, under which Israeli strikes against alleged Hezbollah targets continue in eastern and southern Lebanon.
Under the U.S.-backed deal, Israel retains the right to fire on what it deems an "imminent threat" to its troops. The IDF has fired several times on Hezbollah targets since the ceasefire began on April 17. On Tuesday, Hezbollah said it fired rockets and drones at Israeli forces for the first time since a 10-day truce took effect.
Israeli ground forces are still operating in southern Lebanon, with the goal, according to Israeli officials, of establishing a demilitarized "buffer zone" between the Israeli border and the Litani River, around 18 miles to the north.
The IDF says it is holding approximately 15 positions about six miles deep into southern Lebanon, which it says includes about 50 Lebanese villages. Israeli officials have blamed the Lebanese government for being unable or unwilling to keep Hezbollah away from Israel’s northern border -- a responsibility set out in the U.S.-brokered November ceasefire.
The campaign includes the razing of dozens of Lebanese towns and villages, plus the forced -- and, at least for some, permanent -- displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
Human Rights Watch said this month that more than a million people across the country have been forced to flee their homes -- nearly one-fifth of the entire population of the country. The Israeli evacuation orders have included all of southern Beirut, the suburbs of which are traditionally considered a Hezbollah stronghold.
Israeli action has killed at least 2,294 people and wounded another 7,544 people since March 2, Lebanon's Health Ministry said last week. The strikes included a barrage of more than 100 strikes within 10 minutes on April 8, killing at least 357 people across the country, Lebanese authorities said.
Israeli health officials say Hezbollah gunfire, rockets and drones have killed 20 Israelis since March 2 and injured hundreds of others.
On March 2, Hezbollah joined Iran in its response to the U.S.-Israeli military campaign launched against Iran on Feb. 28. With those strikes, Hezbollah broke a U.S.-backed cross-border ceasefire that had been in place since November 2024. Hezbollah said the attacks were retaliation for alleged Israeli violations of the same ceasefire.
Hezbollah defied assessments it had been substantially weakened by its two-year involvement in the war in Gaza, firing more than 6,500 munitions toward Israel in the first five weeks of renewed fighting, according to the IDF.
Hezbollah fighters have also inflicted significant casualties on invading Israeli forces. Sixteen Israel Defense Forces troops had been killed in the current round of fighting in Lebanon as of Wednesday. The IDF says it has killed more than 1,800 Hezbollah operatives since March 2.
"Hezbollah is back in business," Salem said. Israel's operation "enables Hezbollah to resume its resistance narrative. And it certainly suits Iran to keep the Lebanon front open and active, to keep Israel distracted and to drain some of its resources and attention."
Dual threats
Within Lebanon, Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have faced veiled threats from Hezbollah and Tehran.
After the first round of talks in Washington, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Aoun's government was "subjecting Lebanon to these humiliations by negotiating directly with the Israeli enemy and listening to its dictates."
Hezbollah is not a party to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which seeks to sideline the Iranian-backed militant group.
Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah member of parliament, has called on Aoun to pull out of the talks. "We will reject and confront any attempt to impose political costs on Lebanon through concessions made to this Israeli enemy," Fadlallah told AFP this week, though said the group wants "the ceasefire to continue" along with an Israeli withdrawal.
A potential clash between Beirut and Hezbollah has been brewing since the Aoun-Salam government took power last year.
In an unprecedented step, The Lebanese cabinet has repeatedly asserted its ambition for Hezbollah to disarm and has declared all military activity by the group to be illegal. Earlier this month, the cabinet ordered security forces to restrict weapons in Beirut exclusively to state institutions
The state's all-volunteer Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is widely considered to be outgunned by Hezbollah, though it has around 80,000 personnel. Polls suggest the LAF is broadly popular among Lebanese people, but its multi-sectarian character has raised questions as to whether it would prove dependable in the event of renewed communal fighting.
But despite Hezbollah's mauling in the last round of fighting with Israel and the loss of a key neighboring partner with the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2024, observers say the group -- which is part of the Lebanese government and holds more than a dozen seats in parliament -- retains extensive military and political power, particularly in parts of the capital Beirut and in its southern and eastern heartlands.
Before the outbreak of its latest war with Israel in 2023, estimates of Hezbollah's military strength ranged from 30,000 to more than 50,000 operatives.
Israeli leaders have committed to an open-ended seizure of parts of southern Lebanon and demanded Beirut's assistance in the total disarmament of Hezbollah, raising fears that Lebanon's confessional power-sharing system could fracture and the country slide back into the kind of civil war that killed more than 100,000 people between 1975 and 1990.
Israeli leaders have been clear that they will not tolerate Hezbollah’s presence in southern Lebanon, vowing to keep troops there until the militant group is disarmed.
Risking such a calamity on behalf of Israel -- a country which has invaded Lebanon six times since 1978, which is now again occupying parts of the south and which Lebanese authorities say has killed thousands of Lebanese civilians in three and a half years of war with Hezbollah -- may be deeply unpopular.
LAF chief Gen. Rodolphe Haykal said on Tuesday that Lebanon "will reclaim every inch of its land under Israeli occupation," according to a readout posted to the LAF's X page.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah's patrons in Iran -- specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps -- appear unwilling to give up their Lebanese ally, which for decades has been perhaps the most potent proxy within of Tehran's "forward defense" strategy by which Iran has sought to deter and punish U.S.-Israeli action against it.
Prominent Iranian leaders who survived the initial U.S.-Israeli onslaught demanded that Lebanon be included in the two-week ceasefire announced on April 8. "For years, Hezbollah has been fighting with the Zionist regime, but in the recent war, Hezbollah fought for the Islamic Republic," parliament speaker and lead Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said.
Others have hinted at costs for Beirut if the government tries to defang Hezbollah. Ali Akbar Velayati -- an adviser to Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamanei -- for example, said in a post to X this month that Salam "should know that ignoring the unique role of the resistance and the heroic Hezbollah will expose Lebanon to irreparable security risks."
"Lebanon's stability rests exclusively on cohesion between the government and the resistance," Velayati said.
For many Lebanese -- Shiites among them -- the return to war between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran means more turmoil piled atop years of cascading economic and political crises.
Last month, Salam expressed his own frustration. "This war was imposed upon us," the Lebanese prime minister said, adding that Beirut "could have avoided it" if Hezbollah had not resumed attacks on Israel.
ABC News' Chris Boccia and Jordana Miller contributed to this report
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — After nearly 30 years, human remains found in Alabama have been identified as those of James Carol Jackson, a man from Groveton, Texas, whose death has been ruled a homicide.
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama said Jackson was identified using forensic genealogy in April 2026. The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office in Texas confirmed that Jackson was from Groveton.
Officials said in January 1994, a person was walking in the wooded area off of State Highway 225 when they spotted skeletal remains. Found with those remains were a trucker hat, a western shirt, an inhaler, a digital watch, prescription glasses, a mechanical pencil and pen set, as well as a torch tip.
Officials believe the homicide happened in 1988 or 1989, after he arrived in the area around 1987, when he was 50 years old.
Jackson drove a 1978 to 1981 Chevrolet Camaro that the sheriff’s office has not been able to locate.
He was a welder, and in 1987, he told his family he was going to Alabama for work.
At the time, I-65 was being expanded, and officials believe he may have come to the area to help work on the project.
Officials also said he stopped communicating with his family about 12 months after leaving Texas.
It is believed that he may have been living off Highway 225 and may have frequented the Tensaw Lodge.
Family described him as a non-violent, easy-going guy.
Anyone who may have any information on the case can submit a tip through the sheriff’s office website or through Crimestoppers.
LINDALE — The Texas Rangers are investigating the death of a Lindale ISD student following a choking incident at school, district officials confirmed on Wednesday. In a letter addressed to parents and the community, Lindale ISD said the student, Adrian Thompson, suffered a medical emergency that prompted immediate lifesaving efforts on campus. According to our news partner KETK, staff responded by performing the Heimlich maneuver, using a LifeVac device and administering CPR. Emergency services were then called, and Thompson was transported for treatment before being taken to a medical center in Fort Worth.
The district commended the actions of staff, including teachers, aides, the school nurse and first responders, for their quick response. Lindale ISD also emphasized that safety protocols and lifesaving equipment have been in place across the district for medical emergencies.
The Texas Rangers are now leading the investigation into the incident. District officials said the findings will be shared with Thompson’s family and the community once available. In addition, Lindale ISD said it will seek an independent review of its safety equipment and emergency response procedures. Continue reading Choking death investigated
HIDEAWAY – Drivers on Interstate 20 east near Hideaway should expect significant delays Wednesday evening after a crash involving an 18-wheeler and a pickup truck towing a camper. The crash happened around 5:30 p.m. on I-20 between U.S. 69 and FM 14. According to preliminary information from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the pickup truck lost control on the interstate and an 18?wheeler struck the camper from behind.
TxDOT cameras show a miles-long backup in the eastbound lanes, where only one lane remains open. Traffic is moving slowly through the area. Injuries are currently unknown. People are asked to avoid the area at this time.
AUSTIN (AP) – Three congressional candidates are accused of betting on the outcome of their own elections on the prediction market Kalshi, which said Wednesday that it fined and suspended the three men from their platform for five years.
It is the latest high-profile case of alleged insider trading on prediction markets including Kalshi and Polymarket, which have brought bipartisan scrutiny from Congress and calls for stricter regulations of the websites where people can put money on just about anything.
Kalshi’s disciplinary documents named Mark Moran, who is running as an independent in Virginia’s U.S. Senate race; Ezekiel Enriquez, who ran in a Texas Republican primary for a U.S. House seat; and Matt Klein, a Democratic state senator running for a U.S. House seat in Minnesota.
Klein and Enriquez both placed bets less than $100 related to their “own candidacy,” Kalshi said. Moran said on social media that he “traded $100 on myself.”
Moran refused to reach an agreement with Kalshi and was fined the most at more than $6,200, while Klein and Enriquez did reach agreements and face penalties of over $530 and $780, respectively, the company said. All were suspended from Kalshi for five years. The agreements are with the company, and not with a government oversight or law enforcement agency.
Far from denying the allegations, Moran took to social media on Wednesday to say that he placed the bets because he wanted to draw attention to the issue.
“We live in a Country destroyed by vice, which Kalshi directly contribute to,” Moran wrote on X, saying the goal of the trade was to “highlight how this company is destroying young men.”
Klein also confirmed Kalshi’s findings in a post on social media on Wednesday. The $50 wager he placed in October was the first time he had used a predictions market, he said in a statement on X, and he was “curious about how it worked.”
“This was a mistake and I apologize,” he wrote, saying that the experience made it clear that the markets need more regulation.
Enriquez, known as Zeke, lost his House race in the beginning of March with less than two percent of the vote. Contact information for Enriquez was not immediately found to request comment.
HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston city ordinance that limited police officers’ cooperation with federal immigration agents was amended on Wednesday after Texas’ governor threatened to take away millions of dollars in public safety grants.
Houston, as well as Austin and Dallas — three of the state’s biggest cities and Democratic strongholds — are being confronted by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott with threats of losing public safety dollars over policies that dictate how law enforcement interacts with federal immigration authorities. The three cities are being threatened with the loss of about $200 million in public safety funding, including tens of millions expected to cover security at World Cup matches this summer in Dallas and Houston.
Two weeks ago, Houston City Council passed the ordinance, which eliminated a requirement that Houston police officers wait 30 minutes for agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pick up someone with a nonjudicial administrative warrant. If ICE agents didn’t show up in time, police officers took a detained person’s information and then released them.
But Abbott warned city officials that the new ordinance and its limitation on cooperating with ICE agents violated the terms of $110 million in state grants Houston had received for police and security during the World Cup games the city is hosting in June.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had also filed a lawsuit against Mayor John Whitmire and members of the city council over the ordinance, accusing them of violating a 2017 state law that prevents cities from adopting policies that limit the enforcement of immigration laws and which also banned “sanctuary city” policies in the state. There is no strict definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe limited cooperation with ICE.
After more than two hours of discussion during its weekly meeting, Houston City Council voted 13-4 to make changes to the ordinance. Whitmire said he had consulted with Abbott’s office about making changes that would prevent Houston from losing its funding.
The amended ordinance deletes language that highlighted that administrative warrants — versus warrants signed by a judge — that ICE agents use to take individuals into custody are not enough for officers to arrest or detain an individual.
“We have no alternative for Houston to survive, prepare for (the World Cup), patrol these neighborhoods,” Whitmire said. “We’ve got to have today the restoration of the $114 million.”
Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said the governor expects any policy Houston police adopt has to comply with the city’s certification that it will fully cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security.
“This vote is a step in the right direction after Houston leaders put public safety at risk with reckless policies that undermined law enforcement,” Mahaleris said in a statement.
Council member Abbie Kamin, one of three members who had pushed for the ordinance, voted against amending it, saying that doing so was giving in to bullying tactics from state leaders.
“If we rollover now to a bully, what will he come for next?” Kamin said.
Council members Edward Pollard and Alejandra Salinas, who also pushed for the ordinance, said they remained hopeful the changes approved Wednesday would not violate individuals’ constitutional rights and wouldn’t result in people being held on nonjudicial warrants.
Nikki Luellen, an advocate for criminal justice reform for the ACLU of Texas, called the amended ordinance “a greenlight for deeper collaboration between ICE and the Houston Police Department.”
Martha Castex-Tatum was one of several council members who had supported the ordinance but voted in favor of amending it in order to protect the city’s finances.
“For some people, this may feel like surrender. It’s not. It’s real stewardship,” Castex-Tatum said.
Dallas officials have said they are committed to ensuring public safety and would respond to Abbott’s threat by Thursday.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a moderate Democrat, said the local policy complies with state law. He said Abbott’s threat to cut nearly $3 million in Austin would cut trauma aid for police officers and sexual assault victims.
“We don’t have the time and will not play into this political theater,” said Watson.
Austin officials have since indicated they could try to negotiate with Abbott.
The debate in Houston and other Texas cities comes amid the federal government’s aggressive enforcement of immigration laws. Whitmire and other local leaders in many of Texas’ left-leaning urban areas have tried to not get the federal government’s attention amid the aggressive immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump’s administration.
MARSHALL — The Marshall Police Department announces the arrests stemming from a large-scale disturbance that occurred on March 29, on Sanford Street. The incident involved about 300 individuals during a large party and prompted an extensive criminal investigation by Marshall Police.
Responding patrol officers made initial contact with the disturbance and arrested four individuals for offenses directly related to the incident. Officers also recovered three firearms at the scene. Following the initial response, Marshall Police Detectives initiated a comprehensive investigation of evidence collected during the incident.
RUSK COUNTY – A cyber tip from the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children lead to the arrest of an East Texas man possessing child pornography on Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK and the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, investigators obtained an arrest warrant for 35-year-old Christopher Smith II of Mount Enterprise following the cyber tip. A search warrant was also obtained to locate any additional child pornography he may have in his possession.
LONDON (AP) — Opponents of smoking got a breath of fresh air as Parliament passed a bill that will put cigarettes out of reach for future generations.
SMITH COUNTY – Traffic along Interstate 20 entering Lindale is back open after an 18-wheeler crash backed up traffic for miles. Our news partner KETK reports that the crash happened around 5:30 p.m. on I?20 between U.S. 69 and FM 14. DPS officials reported that a pickup truck carrying a camper lost control on the interstate and an 18?wheeler struck the camper from behind. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.
HIDEAWAY – Drivers on Interstate 20 east near Hideaway should expect significant delays Wednesday evening after a crash involving an 18-wheeler and a pickup truck towing a camper. The crash happened around 5:30 p.m. on I-20 between U.S. 69 and FM 14. According to preliminary information from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the pickup truck lost control on the interstate and an 18?wheeler struck the camper from behind.