TribCast: Is Robert Roberson innocent?
In this week’s episode, the TribCast crew is joined by Tribune reporter Kayla Guo to break down the evidence in the Robert Roberson death penalty case.
Opening of new Uvalde school marks “bittersweet day” for families and town
Legacy Elementary, which replaces Robb Elementary, where 19 students and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting in 2022, will welcome students on Oct. 20.
Multiple Texas airports are refusing to play video from DHS’ Noem blaming Democrats for government shutdown
Officials from Dallas’ two major airports said the video runs afoul of their policies that prohibit political advertising.
USDA slaps down Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller over New World Screwworm
The federal agency accused Miller of disregarding proven strategies to combat the parasitic pest “in favor of clickbait publicity stunts.”
Texans could begin applying for school vouchers in February
Private schools looking to educate participating students may also have a chance to apply to the program before the end of the year.
Trump posthumously awards Charlie Kirk Presidential Medal of Freedom: Photos
Photos of President Donald Trump posthumously awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to late conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a ceremony at the White House.
Erika Kirk honors late husband Charlie in emotional White House tribute: ‘A free man made fully free’
At a White House ceremony in the Rose Garden on Tuesday on what would have been her husband’s 32nd birthday, Erika Kirk accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of Charlie Kirk and delivered a powerful, deeply personal tribute to his life and legacy. “Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband in such a profound way,” she began. “Charlie always admired your commitment to freedom.” She offered thanks to the first lady, the vice president, and friends and family “watching from all around the world,” along with Turning Point USA staff and chapters nationwide. “You are the heartbeat of this future and of this movement,” she said. “Everything Charlie built lives through you.” Erika added that the Presidential Medal of Freedom itself is rooted in America’s Founding. “The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom,” she said. CHARLIE KIRK POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED MEDAL OF FREEDOM ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS 32ND BIRTHDAY “Our founders etched it into the preamble of our Constitution, and those words are not relics on parchment. They are a living covenant. The blessings of liberty are not man’s invention. They are God’s endowment.” She recalled how Charlie wrote about freedom often. “He believed that liberty was both a right and a responsibility. And he used to say that freedom is the ability to do what is right without fear. And that’s how he lived,” Erika said. “His name, Charles, literally means ‘free man.’ And that’s exactly who my husband was,” she continued. “From the time I met him, sitting across from him being interviewed about politics, philosophy and theology, I saw the fire in his soul. There was this divine restlessness within him that came from knowing God placed him on this earth to protect something very sacred. He never stopped fighting for people to experience freedom.” CHARLIE KIRK’S CLOSE FRIEND PRAISES ERIKA KIRK’S ‘RESILIENCE’ AHEAD OF EMOTIONAL WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY Erika recalled Charlie often saying that “without God, freedom becomes chaos” and that liberty can only survive “when anchored to truth.” She remembered him telling an audience: “The opposite of liberty isn’t law. It’s captivity. And the freest people in the world are those whose hearts belong to Christ.” Looking back at his years building Turning Point USA, she said, “While he was building an organization, he was also building a movement: one that called people back to God, back to truth, and a movement that was filled with courage.” She described him as a man who loved life’s simplest pleasures: quiet walks, shelves full of books and Saturday mornings in the sun with decaf coffee and his phone turned off for the Sabbath. His birthday tradition, she recalled, was mint chocolate chip ice cream, enjoyed only on July 4 and his birthday. “Last year, his one birthday wish was to see the Oregon Ducks play Ohio State — and they won,” she said. “Mr. President, I can say with confidence that you have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have.” CHARLIE KIRK’S COLLEAGUES AND PASTORS PRAISE HIS PATRIOTISM AS TRUMP READIES HIGHEST CIVILIAN HONOR Turning to his final moments, Erika shared: “It was written across his chest in those final moments on one of his simple T-shirts that always carried a message — this one bearing a single word: freedom. That was the banner over his life.” She said her husband never told anyone what to say but always encouraged them “to think outside of traditional political labels, anchored in wisdom and truth.” “Charlie wasn’t content to simply admire freedom. He wanted to multiply it,” Erika said. “He wanted young people to taste it, understand it and defend it. He wanted them to see that liberty isn’t selfish indulgence — it’s self-governance under God.” Every day, she recalled, he lived with fearless conviction. “He didn’t fear being slandered. He didn’t fear losing friends. He stood for truth and stood for freedom. Everything else was just noise to him. And it’s because his confidence in Christ was absolute.” Erika said Charlie lived “only 31 short years on this side of heaven,” but filled every day with purpose. “He fought for truth when it was unpopular. He stood for God when it was costly. He prayed for his enemies. He loved people when it was inconvenient. He ran his race with endurance, and he kept the faith. And now he wears the crown of a righteous martyr.” She told the audience, “Heaven gained what earth could no longer contain — a free man made fully free. To all watching, this is not a ceremony. This is a commissioning. I want you to be the embodiment of this medal. I want you to free yourself from fear. I want you to stand courageously in the truth. And remember that while freedom is inherited in this country, each of us must be intentional stewards of it.” Before closing, Erika shared her daughter Gigi’s birthday message: “Happy birthday, daddy. I want to give you a stuffed animal. I want you to eat a cupcake with ice cream. And I want you to go have a birthday surprise. I love you.” Her young son also gave his own gift, “deciding to become the man of the house and be fully potty-trained at 16 months.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I know that you’re celebrating in heaven today, but gosh, I miss you,” she said through tears. “We miss you and we love you. And we promise we’ll make you proud. Charlie’s life was proof that freedom is not a theory. It’s a testimony. He showed us that liberty begins not in the halls of power, but in the heart of a man surrendered to God.” She ended with a final tribute: “To live free is the greatest gift, but to die free is the greatest victory. Happy birthday, Charlie. Happy freedom day.”
Republican lawmakers demand Treasury probe CAIR over alleged Hamas ties and terrorism concerns
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., are pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), claiming that it may be funded or directed by Hamas or other terrorist groups. CAIR describes itself as a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization founded in 1994 with chapters across the U.S. The request comes as President Donald Trump led a ceasefire in Gaza between Hamas and Israel. Stefanik and Cotton allege CAIR’s historic ties, public rhetoric and activism raise questions about whether the group’s support for Hamas amounts to material support for terrorism. STEFANIK ASKS AG BONDI TO PROBE MEDICAL CHARITY OVER HAMAS PROPAGANDA CLAIMS The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces U.S. sanctions on terrorist groups and their affiliates, has the authority to investigate whether CAIR’s activities violate federal law, the lawmakers said. CAIR has long denied accusations of supporting Hamas, saying it “does not support any foreign organization or government” and calling such claims “false and Islamophobic,” according to a statement on its website. The group says its mission is to advocate for Muslim civil rights in the U.S. Stefanik chairs the House Republican Conference, and Cotton sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Both have pressed for stricter enforcement of anti-terror finance laws in past oversight efforts. DHS PULLS FUNDING FROM GROUPS WITH ‘ALLEGED TERRORIST TIES’ AFTER WATCHDOG REPORT In July, Stefanik criticized the City University of New York for hiring a former CAIR employee. She called the decision unacceptable to New York taxpayers. She and Cotton say a Treasury probe would ensure no U.S. assets are used to advance the objectives of Hamas. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We urge the department to immediately investigate whether CAIR maintains financial links to Hamas that violate U.S. sanctions,” they wrote. CAIR did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
‘Unsightly tactics’: Feds react to nude bicycle protesters who bared all outside ICE facility
The Department of Homeland Security clapped back at a “bizarre” anti-ICE protest that drew several hundred nude demonstrators who bared it all outside a Portland ICE facility on Sunday. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin assured that “these unsightly tactics won’t stop us or slow us down.” “In a bizarre effort to obstruct ICE law enforcement, agitators are now laying in the street naked to stage ‘die-ins’ to block roads in front of ICE facilities,” she told Fox News Digital. “Our law enforcement will continue to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists out of our country.” A nude bicycle gang rolled up to the city’s immigrant detention center on a rainy Sunday, blasting music over a loudspeaker while some yelled, “F— ICE” and made obscene gestures towards federal agents, as seen in a video posted to X by The Post Millennial’s Katie Daviscourt. ANTI-ICE PORTLAND RIOTERS WITH GUILLOTINE CLASH WITH POLICE IN WAR-LIKE SCENES Some had slogans written on their bare bodies, including “No Kings” and “No human being is illegal.” A handful of federal agents overlooked the unclothed open border enthusiasts from a rooftop, with two pulling out their phones in an apparent effort to record the salacious scene. At another point, hundreds of naked demonstrators lay down on nearby Burnside Bridge as part of a “die-in” against ICE and President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops. McLaughlin said that though the demonstration was absurd, federal law enforcement in Portland has had to deal with much more than just cheeky protesters. ICE DIRECTOR REVEALS DANGEROUS NIGHTLY ANTIFA ‘BATTLE’ AS TRUMP PREPARES FEDERAL DEPLOYMENT TO PORTLAND For weeks, federal officers have been targeted by violent protesters in major U.S. cities, including some who rammed and cornered an ICE vehicle in Chicago, prompting the agents to open fire. Anti-ICE protesters have blocked ICE vehicles and have thrown rocks and ignited fireworks at agents. There has also been a surge of agents and their families being doxxed, and there has been a 1,000% increase against officials, according to DHS. McLaughlin said that on Sunday, “Antifa domestic terrorists and anti-ICE rioters assaulted law enforcement outside the ICE office in Portland.” FEDERAL AGENT SAYS CHICAGO’S ‘ICE-FREE ZONES’ ENDANGER OPERATIONS, EMBOLDEN PROTESTERS According to McLaughlin, three “rioters” were arrested for “assaulting law enforcement, including for spitting, kicking, and biting officers.” “Thanks to President Trump, there is a SURGE of federal law enforcement resources from CBP, ICE, FBI, DOJ, and DEA,” she said. “This chaos and violence will end under President Trump. Law and order will prevail.”
Unearthed donations come back to haunt Mikie Sherrill’s ‘defamatory’ attack on GOP rival
FIRST ON FOX: New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill took tens of thousands of dollars from companies linked to the opioid crisis as she hammers her Republican opponent over his alleged connection to that same crisis. Sherrill spoke during a press conference on the Garden State’s opioid epidemic on Monday, where she accused Ciattarelli of “looking at ways to help people get access to the drugs that were killing them” through his ties to pharmaceutical-backed training programs. “So you heard it, Jack made millions,” she said. “The opioid companies made billions, and thousands of New Jerseyans were dying.” However, this attack might come back to haunt her campaign. Her congressional campaigns received three $1,000 donations from the AmerisourceBergen political action committee in 2018, 2019 and 2022, according to campaign finance records reviewed by Fox News Digital. FINAL FACEOFF: CIATTARELLI, SHERRILL, BLAST EACH OTHER ON DEBATE STAGE Her campaign also received at least $4,500 from the Teva Pharmaceuticals PAC, $1,000 from the Endo Pharmaceuticals PAC and $17,000 from Johnson & Johnson. In total, a Fox News Digital review found at least $25,500 in donations going from companies tied to the opioid crisis to Sherrill’s campaign. AmerisourceBergen has been accused, perhaps most notably in 2021 by Washington state’s Democratic attorney general Bob Ferguson, of profiting off billions from the opioid epidemic through the shipment of dangerous prescription painkillers with no regard for how those drugs were contributing to the deaths of citizens. AmerisourceBergen, which now goes by Cencora, and two other companies would go on to reach a settlement with Washington state for over $500 million. In early 2022, AmerisourceBergen, whose executives were exposed for previously mocking West Virginians as “pillbillies” at the height of the opioid crisis, announced it would be agreeing to a $6.1 billion settlement that would be paid out over 18 years and would cover the “vast majority of the opioid lawsuits filed by state and local governmental entities,” according to a press release. JACK CIATTARELLI DEMANDS MIKIE SHERRILL ‘COME CLEAN’ AS EXPLOSIVE ACCUSATIONS FLY IN NJ GOVERNOR’S RACE In late 2022, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against AmerisourceBergen, one of the country’s largest wholesale pharmaceutical distributors, alleging the company “for years flouted its legal obligations and prioritized profits over the well-being of Americans” by failing to report suspicious orders of controlled substances, like fentanyl and oxycodone, which were then sold illegally, fueling the devastating opioid epidemic. The other three pharmaceutical companies that donated thousands of dollars to Sherrill’s campaigns through their PACs also reached massive settlements for their roles contributing to the opioid crisis, which includes over $4 billion from Teva to participating states and local governments, according to a press release from Texas AG Ken Paxton’s office. Johnson and Johnson agreed to pay $5 billion as part of their settlement, according to their 2022 press release. Mikie Sherrill for Governor Communications Director Sean Higgins responded to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, calling the story a “desperate attack from perennial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who refuses to answer for his role publishing misinformation about the dangers of opioids at the height of the opioid epidemic.” “Mikie Sherrill has shown time and again that she will take on anyone to stand up for families and fight the opioid crisis. That’s why she helped pass landmark bipartisan legislation, signed into law by President Trump, to help fund treatment, recovery, and prevention programs in New Jersey.” The campaign did not address a question from Fox News Digital about whether the money donated from the pharmaceutical companies would be returned. In 2017, Ciattarelli received $1,500 from Mallinckrodt LLC PAC, a company that reached a settlement for its involvement in the opioid crisis in 2022. Additionally, the New Jersey Republican received $500 from Johnson & Johnson, a company that also reached an opioid settlement, in 2016. Ciattarelli strategist Chris Russell told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Just like Mikie Sherrill got caught red-handed, personally profiting from investments in the same NJ utility companies she blamed for electricity rate increases, it’s no surprise to learn Mikie’s hypocrisy extends to taking thousands in campaign contributions from the very pharmaceutical companies she maligned yesterday.” “At this point, if Mikie Sherrill’s lips are moving you can just assume she’s lying,” he continued. Sherrill first made her claims that Ciattarelli contributed to the opioid epidemic during last week’s gubernatorial debate. “With regard to everything she just said about my professional career, which provided [for] my family, it’s a lie. I’m proud of my career,” Ciattarelli responded at the debate. It was during his 2021 campaign that Ciattarelli’s connection to opioid manufacturers first surfaced. Ciattarelli sold his company, which published content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain, in 2017. And Ciattarelli’s campaign fired back the day after the debate, pledging to file a defamation lawsuit against Sherrill. “Mikie Sherrill cracked,” Ciattarelli campaign chief strategist, Russell said at the time. “In doing so, she claimed — twice — that Jack Ciattarelli ‘killed tens of thousands of people, including children,’ a clearly defamatory attack that shocked the moderators, press, and public alike,” Russell added. “In a time where political violence and violent rhetoric are becoming all too prevalent, Mikie Sherrill baselessly and recklessly accusing a political opponent of mass murder in a televised debate crosses the line.” Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.