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Texas Shooter’s Last Phone Call

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By The Sun. The Texas mass shooter, who opened fire on worshippers in First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs killing 26 and injuring 20 others, contacted his father to tell him he “wasn’t going to make it” before allegedly taking his own life, according to reports.

Time magazine reports that 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley told his father he was “shot and didn’t think he was going to make it” before he died from what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. An autopsy will determine the official cause of death.

One of the men who chased and shot at Kelley following the incident said he grabbed his gun after his daughter told him she heard gunshots coming from the church.

“I kept hearing the shots, one after another, very rapid shots — just ‘pop pop pop pop’ and I knew every one of those shots represented someone, that it was aimed at someone, that they weren’t just random shots,” Stephen Willeford, 55, said in an interview with 40/29 News.

Mr Willeford said he loaded his weapon and ran straight to the church and began shooting at Kelley. (Read more from “Texas Shooter’s Last Phone Call” HERE)

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Authorities: Texas Church Shooter Had Three Gunshot Wounds

By Holly Yan and AnneClaire Stapleton. Devin Patrick Kelley, the gunman who killed 26 people at a Texas Baptist church, suffered three gunshot wounds, including a self-inflicted shot to the head, Texas authorities said Monday.

Kelley, 26, was also shot in the leg and torso by an armed citizen, said Freeman Martin of the Texas Department of Public Safety, citing autopsy results.

It was not immediately clear whether Kelley died from the self-inflicted gunshot wound or from being shot by the resident.

A day after the worst mass shooting in Texas history, the US Air Force and Department of Defense said they are probing how records of a domestic violence conviction the gunman received while in the Air Force — which would have disqualified him owning a firearm under federal law — were handled. (Read more from “Authorities: Texas Church Shooter Had Three Gunshot Wounds” HERE)

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‘Creepy’ Texas Shooter Preached Atheism

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The Texas church shooter who shot dead 26 people and injured 24 others was an ‘outcast’ who ‘preached his atheism’ online.

Former classmates say Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, who stormed First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas and opened fire on Sunday, was ‘creepy’, ‘crazy’ and ‘weird’.

Patrick Boyce, who attended New Braunfels High School with the killer, told DailyMail.com: ‘He had a kid or two, fairly normal, but kinda quiet and lately seemed depressed . . .

Nina Rose Nava, who went to school with the gunman, wrote on Facebook: ‘In (sic) in complete shock! I legit just deleted him off my fb cause I couldn’t stand his post.

‘He was always talking about how people who believe in God we’re stupid and trying to preach his atheism’ (Read more from “‘Creepy’ Texas Shooter Preached Atheism” HERE)

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Parents Get Angry After Actress Teaches Students About Constitution

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Angry parents expressed outrage after actress Janine Turner’s “conservative” presentation on the Constitution to fifth and sixth graders at Eubanks Middle School in Southlake, Texas.

Turner, the founder of “Constituting America,” spoke to the middle schoolers on Sept. 12 about patriotism and the meaning of America’s founding document. She gave a lecture to promote “civic engagement and understanding of constitutional rights,” the mission of her nonpartisan organization.

“‘Constituting America’ seeks to promote the Constitution for students of all ages,” according to its website.

“The program itself was great as she talked about love for country and being a good citizen,” said school district spokeswoman Julie Thannum, according to The Dallas Morning News Monday. “It wasn’t until later that we started getting calls and seeing social media postings upset about materials the speaker passed out to the children.” (Read more from “Parents Get Angry After Actress Teaches Students About Constitution” HERE)

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Woman Claims She Was ‘Astonished at the Behavior of the Red Cross’ After Bringing 400 Burgers to Harvey Victims

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On Saturday, a Facebook user identified as a pregnant Texas woman publicly aired her grievances with the Red Cross after two of its representatives allegedly “berated” her for trying to provide 400 warm hamburgers to evacuees housed at Jack Brooks Regional Airport near Port Arthur, Texas.

The post, which had been shared more than 64,000 times as of Monday evening, alleges that Lindsey Scott and an unnamed pilot who “donated his time, fuel, money, plane, and arranged the delivery of the burgers,” arrived at the airport-turned-shelter to provide those stranded by the storm with a hot meal. According to Scott, two unnamed Red Cross representatives told her that the gesture was unnecessary because the evacuees “already had a sandwich.”

“Yes, they had one sandwich in 24 hours,” Scott wrote.

Members of the Red Cross then allegedly attempted to place the warm burgers into an ice chest, which prompted Scott to stand in shock, “mouth gaping open and fighting back tears.”

Scott, who had spent the early hours of the day aiding in the transportation and reception of supplies and materials provided by the Sky Hope Network, was perturbed by Red Cross representatives’ alleged treatment of the community upon their arrival.

“The Red Cross was not there at 6:30 am when we got there to find we had no food to serve the 100s of evacuees who had sat on a bus all night and some who had not eaten in 24 hours. They were not there when the sun came up and they woke up hungry, angry, tired, scared, and frustrated. They did not see them fighting over donuts that OUR friends and family answered the call to bring at 7:00 am,” Scott wrote in a post on her sister’s Facebook page.

Scott acknowledged that while she was not disturbed by the Red Cross’ delayed arrival into the area, she was caught off guard by the behavior some members displayed upon their arrival.

She referenced a second incident in which Red Cross members allegedly attempted to prevent local community members from distributing their donations to those in need, instead requesting all items be “shipped to their warehouse for processing and distribution.”

“We need these things here, locally, NOW. And while we refused to turn away anyone who came on foot or by other means (evacuee or not) or any other church, group, or organization asking for supplies…the Red Cross tried to prevent us from sharing OUR donations,” wrote Scott.

Scott attempted to separate the actions of the two Red Cross representatives from the organization as a whole.

“I pray this is not representative of the Red Cross organization as a whole. People who donate their money would be horrified.”

The Texas woman made sure to emphasize the tireless effort put forth by the Sky Hope Network, Republican State Rep. Dade Phelan, and local community volunteers. Scott ended her statement with an emphatic homage to the people of Texas.

“Our men may spit, smoke, dip, cuss, and drink from time to time…but when the s— hits the fan, our husbands, brothers, dads, uncles, cousins, sons, and all the other men we know put on their boots, waders and get their boats and trucks and go to work!” Scott wrote. “And our community will answer the call to donate, collect and distribute supplies and food wherever it’s needed. I won’t be waiting on the Red Cross.” (For more from the author of “Woman Claims She Was ‘Astonished at the Behavior of the Red Cross’ After Bringing 400 Burgers to Harvey Victims” please click HERE)

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Texas Governor Rebuffs CNN Anchor’s Effort to Find Fault With Trump

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott showed he is as nimble as they come this week by leaving a CNN reporter clutching air when she was seeking something to grab onto that she could use against President Donald Trump.

Abbott, whose state was slammed by Hurricane Harvey last weekend and has faced days of flooding in its aftermath, spoke with CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota on Wednesday’s edition of New Day. At that time, Trump had made one visit to Texas. His second visit would come Saturday.

Camerota first wanted to know what Trump actually accomplished Tuesday.

“Well, it was very important for the president to show up and to show how much he cared about the state of Texas, about our citizens, and about his commitment to helping Texas get through this emergency process and then rebuild,” Abbott said.

“But as far as the president himself is concerned,” he added, “I got to visit with him at length and see both his compassion and his commitment to helping Texas get through this process.”

Camerota then second-guessed how Trump spent his time.

“Do you think that the president should have talked more about the victims? I mean, when you talk about his compassion, obviously there is some criticism today that he didn’t talk enough about the victims, he didn’t reach out to them enough,” she said.

Abbott said just because Trump wasn’t wading in floodwaters did not mean he was not thinking about the flood victims.

“Well I know that he talked to me at length about the victims. And about the devastation that he saw and about his deep concern about what people were going through. He and I together were watching on TV the flooding that was occurring in Houston. He didn’t want to go to that location because he didn’t want to interfere with it. But he expressed his sorrow and deep concern about how these people’s lives have been completely inundated, and his compassion and commitment to help them to respond,” Abbott said.

Camerota tried again, asking if Abbott wanted more help.

“We talked about where we’re going to go from here and what needs to be done from here to take care of the challenges that Texans are going to be facing for months and for years to come. And we began to talk in detail about how we will continue to work seamlessly to make sure that we address these ongoing challenges.”

Trump has since said he will seek billions in federal disaster assistance to help Texas and Louisiana recover from Harvey.

Camerota then mentioned that Mexico has troops ready to send if the U.S. can’t do the job.

Abbott made it clear that the relief effort is working fine without them.

“We already have on the ground National Guard from countless states, across the United States. And let me use this opportunity to thank all these states. I can’t even list them all because so many have been involved in this process,” he said. “But again, as we speak, we have these conversations from the president to his Cabinet to the Department of Defense — and have the right strategies in place to make sure that we have the right personnel in place.” (For more from the author of “Texas Governor Rebuffs CNN Anchor’s Effort to Find Fault With Trump” please click HERE)

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Group Fundraises for Texans’ Abortions – No Money for Hurricane Relief

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A Texas-based non-profit has created an “Emergency Fund for Harvey Survivors,” a fundraiser focused on collecting funds for women who seek abortions in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

The Lilith Fund “funds abortion and advocates for change through the movement for reproductive justice,” according to its mission statement. On Thursday, the group’s official Facebook page posted a graphic of Houston reading, “Join us in supporting Harvey survivors seeking an abortion but cannot afford it.” The post included a link to where users could donate money to assist displaced women obtain abortions.

Amid the devastating destruction of Hurricane Harvey, many different organizations, businesses, and individuals have raised millions of dollars to assist in aid, rescue, and relief efforts. President Donald Trump announced Thursday he would donate $1 million of his own money to the cause . . .

The Lilith Fund has chosen to focus its funding elsewhere amid emergency relief efforts.

While the organization’s social media post explained the donated funds would “assist displaced women obtain abortions,” the donation page says simply that it is an “Emergency Fund for Harvey Survivors.” There is no mention of abortions or that the donated money will be used to fund abortions. (Read more from “Group Fundraises for Texans’ Abortions – No Money for Hurricane Relief” HERE)

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Harvey Brings ‘Hell’ to Texas

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By Jill Disis. Texas officials say they’ve gotten hundreds of complaints about price gouging and scams in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

One convenience store in Houston reportedly charged $20 for a gallon of gas, $8.50 for a bottle of water and $99 for a case of water, according to the Texas Attorney General’s office.

The state has received 684 complaints in all, according to Kayleigh Lovvorn, a spokeswoman for the office. The agency has started looking into nine cases so far but expects more. (Read more from “Harvey Brings ‘Hell’ to Texas” HERE)

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Texas Drivers Rush to Fill Gas Tanks as Pump Prices Rise

By Associated Press. Drivers lined up at gas pumps in parts of Texas Thursday as more stations ran out of gas and prices rose steeply in response to Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Gulf Coast refineries.

At least two major pipelines — one that ships gasoline across the southern United States and up to New York, and another that flows north to Chicago — have been slowed or stopped because of flooding and damage. Officials hoped to resume normal flow by Sunday, but meanwhile, the threat of shortages had people running to top off their tanks, even if their gauges weren’t on empty.

At a Shell Station at Interstate 635 in Dallas, manager Tim Flatt had an employee wave away motorists with a paper “Out of Gas” sign after they twice went dry on Thursday. They got a refill at about 10 a.m. and were drained again by 2 p.m. (Read more from “Texas Drivers Rush to Fill Gas Tanks as Pump Prices Rise” HERE)

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Texas Woman’s Gospel Performance at Harvey Shelter Goes Viral

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A Texas woman’s gospel performance inside a shelter for Tropical Storm Harvey evacuees has gone viral after the impromptu performance lifted the spirits of people stranded away from home.

Although it is difficult to understand the full extent of damage from the monster storm until flood waters fully recede, at least 10,000 people have been rescued, more than 30,000 are in shelters and 20 people are reported dead.

Part of the 21-minute long performance was posted on Facebook by Joni Villemez-Comeaux, a volunteer at the Lone Star Convention and Expo Center north of Houston in Conroe. The video has been viewed over seven million times.

Victoria White, who works as an admissions counselor at Sam Houston State University, belted out songs with a few other evacuees, at one point singing “Spirit Break Out,” which was widely shared on social media. (Read more from “Texas Woman’s Gospel Performance at Harvey Shelter Goes Viral” HERE)

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Hillary Aide ‘Triggered’ by Flood-Rescue Image

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It didn’t take long for the politicization of the Texas floods to shift from First Lady Melania Trump’s high heels to the tried-and-true meme of the Confederate battle flag.

Logan Anderson, 24, a former digital strategist for the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign, took to Twitter to vent over white men in an airboat rescuing black people trapped by Hurricane Harvey’s high water because the boat sported the “Southern Cross” – the battle flag of Confederate fighting men.

“Y’all, the Confederate flag crowd is helping black people evacuate in Houston,’ she tweeted, adding three skull emojis to her message.

“I would absolutely get on that boat, by the way. And then, when they dropped me off, I’d tear off the flag and drop it into the flood,” she said in a second tweet.

If Anderson did try to “tear off the flag,” she’d probably be disappointed, as the banner is painted on the airboat’s large rudder. (Read more from “Hillary Aide ‘Triggered’ by Flood-Rescue Image” HERE)

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Hurricane Harvey Smashes Into Texas

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Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast near Rockport as a powerful Category 4 storm late Friday night, packing 130-mph winds and unleashing powerful storm surges.

Harvey, the first major hurricane — classified as Category 3 or above — to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, could dump up to three feet of rain in some regions near the Gulf Coast in the next week as it lingers over the area . . .

The National Weather Service updated Hurricane Harvey to a Category 3 storm with 125-mph winds and located the storm five miles north of Rockport. The National Weather Service also said that it expects Hurricane Harvey’s winds to slowly weaken, but maintain hurricane-force speeds through Saturday . . .

Harvey is the first major hurricane — classified as Category 3 or above — to hit the U.S. in over a decade. Harvey could dump up to three feet of rain in some spots in the next week as it lingers over the area, adding to the threat of flash flooding and storm surges.

Some forecasts are calling for as much as a mind-boggling 60 inches of rain from Harvey. The National Weather Service also warned that Harvey could linger for days and even spin back offshore to regenerate in the Gulf before heading toward Louisiana. (Read more from “Hurricane Harvey Smashes Into Texas” HERE)

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