What we know about the North Texas outlet mall gunman
The country is grieving yet again in the aftermath of another mass shooting -- this time at an outlet mall in Texas after a gunman, who is suspected to have ties to white supremacist ideology, shot and killed eight people and wounded at least seven others.
2023-05-09 00:54
George Alvarez identified as driver in Texas migrant shelter crash as death toll rises to eight
Brownsvillepolice have identified the driver in a fatal car crash that left eight people dead outside a migrant centre in Texas. Chief Felix Sauceda identified the driver as George Alvarez, 34. Mr Sauceda said Mr Alvarez lost control of his SUV while running a red light. The SUV then rolled onto its side and slammed into a group of people outside a migrant centre. Police found six people dead when they arrived and another 12 that were in need of critical care. The death toll later rose to eight. Mr Alvarez allegedly tried to flee the scene of the accident, but was held down by bystanders, according to the chief. Reporters asked Mr Sauceda if police had ruled out the collision being an intentional act on the part of Mr Alvarez. Mr Sauceda said that police were still in the midst of an investigation and had not ruled anything out at the time of the press conference. Earlier reports suggested Mr Alvarez was allegedly "very uncooperative" with the investigation. Weeks before the attack, thousands of migrants — many from Venezuela — arrived in the city, prompting a state of emergency. No threats of violence were made to the migrant centre where the crash occurred, according to Sister Norma Pimentel, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. Read More Driver in deadly Texas crash charged with manslaughter Shocking video captures moment before car rammed into migrants outside Brownsville shelter Video captures moment people escape out back door of Burger restaurant during Texas mall shooting
2023-05-09 00:53
Brownsville: Driver charged after car strikes migrants in Texas
The driver, identified as George Alvarez, is charged with eight counts of manslaughter in Texas.
2023-05-09 00:52
Oklahoma governor blocks funding to PBS station over LGBT+ characters
Oklahoma’s governor is joining the messaging war against gay, lesbian and transgender Americans with an announcement on Monday that he would veto a bill set to fund the state’s PBS station through 2026. Kevin Stitt made the news on Friday, and expanded on his decision in an interview with Fox News. He told the right-wing network that Oklahoma’s local PBS station OETA was responsible for the “sexualization” of children. “OETA, to us, is an outdated system. You know, the big, big question is why are we spending taxpayer dollars to prop up or compete with the private sector and run television stations? And then when you go through all of the programing that's happening and the indoctrination and over-sexualization of our children, it's just really problematic, and it doesn't line up with Oklahoma values," he said. “I mean, some of the programming that we're seeing… it just doesn't need to be on public television.” he continued. “Oklahoma taxpayers are going, 'Hey, hang on, time out for just a second. That's not my values.” His office provided numerous examples of supposedly objectionable instances of PBS programming to Fox News. Some were typical of the recent anti-transgender panic: A reading of The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish by drag queen Little Miss Hot Mess, while others were more in line with the typical efforts by conservative Republicans to paint any mention of LGBT persons as “propaganda” in support of some sinister political agenda. In that vein, the governor’s office took issue with a PBS Newshour segment where persons who supported the use of puberty blockers were interviewed, as well as a depiction of a same-sex marriage on the show Odd Squad. He argued that the prevalence of digital technology in contemporary life made the concept of a publicly-funded broadcast channel obsolete. Republicans have long made that argument from a government spending standpoint. During the 2012 presidential election, funding for PBS was among the federal programs that would-be president Mitt Romney would have cut had he defeated then-President Barack Obama. At the time, the Obama campaign savaged Mr Romney over his suggestion. “There’s so much television, there’s so much media,” the governor told Fox News. “Maybe in 1957 you could have made an argument that you needed a public television station. That’s totally outdated at this point.” His critics, including some Republicans, argue that his explanation displayed a critical lack of understanding regarding rural life in his home state. “Our broadcast towers are how we inform a lot of rural Oklahoma about disasters like tornadoes and thunderstorms,” said Kenneth Busby, a board member of Friends of OETA and CEO of the Route 66 Alliance. His concerns were highlighted on an MSNBC segment hosted by Joy Reid over the weekend. Mr Stitt dismissed concerns that rural Oklahomans without access to cable news or internet would be adversely affected by a cut to the channel’s broadcast infrastructure. Oklahoma is largely enveloped by an informal section of the American midwest known as “Tornado Alley”, where particularly violent storms are known to form with regularity. "All those towers and our communications, that's all owned by the state and whether we continue to fund an outdated public television station with taxpayer dollars, or we let the free market work, we're still going to have the same capabilities, the same assets, the same towers," he said. "Our DPS system is what rolls out the Amber Alerts, for example. None of that's going away," the governor continued. "So that's just people confusing the issue, not being clear with their mission, trying to make excuses of why the tax dollars should still fund this outdated system. His effort to make his own personal contribution in the campaign to smear content that features LGBT persons or supports their basic rights as the “sexualization of our children” doesn’t appear to be headed for success. If it does, members of his own party (not to mention Democrats) say it will hurt the state’s Department of Public Safety — specifically, the state’s early emergency alert system. A number of Republicans are reportedly against the governor’s veto and told local publication Tulsa World that they plan to override the veto. Doing so would take two-thirds of Oklahoma’s legislature, which leans heavily Republican. The state House speaker and president of the Senate both say they support OETA’s funding. The Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem, Greg Treat, told Tulsa World that he had been reprimanded by his predecessor over his support for a previous attempt to cut OETA’s funds, and was informed at the time about OETA’s importance for the state’s early warning system. “Ever since then, I have supported its continuation,” he told the publication. Read More Turkey’s Erdogan attacks ‘pro-LGBT’ opposition in tight election race To improve kids' mental health, some schools start later Lewis Hamilton criticises Florida’s anti-LBGTQ measures ahead of Miami Grand Prix LOCALIZE IT: States push raises to address teacher shortages Supreme Court blocks Richard Glossip’s execution in Oklahoma Drag queen fronting US Navy’s recruitment drive claps back at critics: ‘They only hate when you’re winning’
2023-05-09 00:48
Texas driver charged with eight counts of manslaughter in crash
By Brendan O'Brien and Tyler Clifford (Reuters) -A Texas man accused of mowing down a group of pedestrians with his
2023-05-09 00:26
US Immigration: What happens when Title 42 is lifted?
US officials are expecting the flow of would-be migrants and asylum seekers to spike after 11 May.
2023-05-09 00:24
Stocks Weaken as Big Tech Weighs; Bond Yields Rise: Markets Wrap
US stocks were weak Monday with mega-cap tech names dragging on equities while Treasuries yields rose amid a
2023-05-08 23:59
About 1 in 5 Asian Americans hide their heritage from non-Asians, some out of fear, report says
An estimated 1 in 5 Asian Americans in the US have hidden details about their heritage from people who are not Asian, a new report shows.
2023-05-08 23:49
Trudeau Minister Sees Progress on Early-Stage India Trade Deal
India and Canada are getting closer to signing an early-stage trade agreement, a move that’s part of a
2023-05-08 23:27
‘Trump is a witness against himself,’ E Jean Carroll lawyer argues in civil rape trial closing arguments
In her closing arguments on behalf of writer E Jean Carroll, lawyer Roberta Kaplan told the jury: “You saw for yourself. E Jean Carroll wasn’t hiding anything.” Ms Kaplan called Ms Carroll’s testimony “credible,” “consistent,” and “powerful,” according to Law & Crime. During his video deposition in October last year, Mr Trump mixed up Ms Carroll and his then-wife Marla Maples. Ms Kaplan said, “Mr Trump pointed to Ms Carroll, the woman he supposedly said was not his type”. “He only corrected himself when his own lawyer” corrected him, she added. Mr Trump “did [what] he always does” when caught, Ms Kaplan said. “He made up an excuse,” claiming that it was “blurry,” the lawyer added. Referencing the Access Hollywood tape, Ms Kaplan said, “He grabbed her, using his words, ‘by the p****.’” “He didn’t even bother to show up in person,” Ms Kaplan said about Mr Trump choosing not to attend the trial. “In a very real sense, Trump is a witness against himself,” the attorney said about Mr Trump’s video deposition. She said Mr Trump “knows what he did. He knows he sexually assaulted E Jean Carroll”. Ms Kaplan laid out a timeline of the alleged attack during her closing argument, saying that it happened while Ms Carroll was hosting Ask E Jean on America’s Talking between 1994 and 1996. America’s Talking was run by Roger Ailes, who later served as the CEO and chairman of Fox News before he was ousted following a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him. Ms Kaplan noted that at the time of the alleged rape by Mr Trump, Ms Carroll was wearing a wool dress with tights, but she wasn’t wearing a coat, indicating what kind of weather there was on that day, according to Law & Crime. Ms Carroll said that it must have taken place after her friend Lisa Birnbach had published her story on Mar-a-Lago, published in February of 1996. The writer said she thinks it happened on a Thursday as the department store was open late. “She was trying to come to grips with the fact that she was being attacked,” Ms Kaplan said during her closing argument on Monday. The lawyer noted that her client remembers the attack in “great detail”. Ms Kaplan spoke to the jury about why they showed Mr Ailes’s interview with Donald Trump from the 1990s. She said that Mr Ailes’s talk show on the shortlived cable news network America’s Talking was recorded in the same building, and broadcast on the same network, as Ms Carroll’s programme on the channel – Ask E Jean. Ms Kaplan noted that Mr Trump would have seen the end of Ms Carroll’s programme if he watched his appearance on Mr Ailes’s show unless he changed the channel the exact right moment. The attorney for Ms Carroll noted that a former executive at the Berghof Goodman said that there weren’t many people in the lingerie department on Thursday nights, particularly in the early spring. Regarding Ms Carroll telling Mr Trump to tell on the lingerie, Ms Kaplan said, “I think we understand what was happening. This was a combination of humour and flirting,” according to Law & Crime. “It was a joke. Ms Carroll could see the joke in her mind’s eye,” Ms Kaplan added. “The point was that it was funny.” Speaking about what Mr Trump is alleged to have done to the writer, Ms Kaplan said, “He grabbed her by the p****, or vagina — I’m sorry for my language”. More follows... Read More Closing arguments start for columnist's claims against Trump Trump news - live: E Jean Carroll trial told Trump is ‘witness against himself’ in closing arguments What are the allegations in E Jean Carroll’s rape case against Donald Trump?
2023-05-08 23:26
Ron DeSantis shares concern about ‘pissing off’ Trump voters in leaked 2018 video
Ron DeSantis expressed concerns about how not to “piss off” supporters of President Donald Trump in a leaked video from when he was a candidate for Florida governor in 2018. In the footage obtained by ABC News, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz asked Mr DeSantis, then a congressman, in a debate preparation: “Is there any issue upon which you disagree with President Trump?” In response, Mr DeSantis sighed and said: “I have to figure out how to do this.” “Obviously there is because, I mean, I voted contrary to him in the Congress,” he said. “I have to frame it in a way that's not going to piss off all his voters.” Mr DeSantis had won the Republican primary largely on the back of his full-throated support of Mr Trump, even cutting an ad with him building a mock version of Mr Trump’s proposed wall on the US-Mexico border with his young child. He had also appeared on Fox News repeatedly, ultimately earning Mr Trump’s endorsement. Mr DeSantis ultimately says he would respond to the question by saying he would “do what I think is right” and “support [Trump's] agenda.” “If I have a disagreement, I talk to him in private,” Mr DeSantis said. The clip is part of nearly two and a half hours of internal tapes from Mr DeSantis’s debate prep sessions. The leak comes as Mr DeSantis prepares to announce his candidacy for the 2024 Republican nomination for president, wherein he will run against Mr Trump. Since then, though, Mr Gaetz and fellow Florida Republican Representative Byron Donalds have gotten behind Mr Trump instead of Mr DeSantis, along with a slew of other Republicans from Florida’s delegation. Florida’s state legislature recently concluded its session, which gave Mr DeSantis significant policy wins. But Mr Trump has attacked Mr DeSantis relentlessly, calling him Ron “DeSanctimonious.” Read More Biden trails Trump in brutal new poll after 2024 kickoff Ron DeSantis heaps praise on Tucker Carlson after Fox firing: ‘Fantastic individual’ Georgia enacts law letting panel punish, oust prosecutors
2023-05-08 23:25
Lori Vallow trial - live: Chad Daybell’s salacious texts read to jury as court mulls date for his case
Week six of “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow’s trial is underway at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, where the mother-of-three is accused of killing her two youngest children and her new husband Chad Daybell’s first wife. The 49-year-old is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Mr Daybell’s wife Tammy, 49. Tylee and JJ were last seen alive in September 2019. In June 2020, their remains were found buried on the Daybell property. Tammy died one month after their disappearance in October 2019. Friday’s testimony included a detailed look at text messages between Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell that spanned their affair, referred to their spouses and children as “obstacles”, and grew increasingly romantic following her husband’s death as she ignored his son’s pleas for more information. Meanwhile, the court is eyeing June 2024 as a possible start date for Mr Daybell’s trial. Read More Lori Vallow’s DNA found on duct tape wrapped around son JJ’s corpse, jury hears A look at who's who in the murder trial of slain kids' mom Chad Daybell claimed Lori Vallow didn’t have children as police launched nine-month search for JJ and Tylee Chad Daybell says wife Tammy is ‘clearly dead’ in disturbing 911 call weeks before he married Lori Vallow
2023-05-08 22:51