Soros-Backed DA Ditches Death Penalty Against Machete-Wielding Illegal Immigrant In Beheading Case
'Texas is not seeking the death penalty'
Man fatally shoots 2 in Texas — tells cops pair followed him, tried to block his car, physically attacked him
Two males were fatally shot Friday night in Texas — and the man who pulled the trigger said the pair followed him, tried to block his car, and physically attacked him.
Deputies with the Harris County Sheriff's Office told KTRK-TV the shooter said he acted in self-defense.
'Looks like the 2 attackers had road rage. Is he not supposed to defend himself? Whatever it takes.'
Deputies responded around 8:45 p.m. to reports of a possible roadway shooting on Greengate Drive near Spring Stuebner Road in the Spring area, KHOU-TV said.
First responders told KTRK they found two males with gunshot wounds in the 22100 block of Greengate Drive; one died at the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital where he died.
The shooter said the pair followed his car for a while and tried to block him when he reached the neighborhood where the final confrontation took place, the sheriff's office told KTRK.
Deputies added to KTRK that all three exited their vehicles, and the man who pulled the trigger said the pair started kicking him and his car.
“The shooter in the incident stayed on scene and surrendered himself to arriving deputies,” Sgt. Jason Brown noted to KHOU. The man who pulled the trigger is cooperating with investigators, the sheriff's office told KTRK.
The fatally shot males have been identified as 57-year-old Timothy Underwood and 59-year-old Keith McDonald, KTRK said, citing the sheriff's office.
No charges have been filed, officials told KTRK, and the shooter was not in custody.
However, the case was under investigation, and the district attorney's office will review it, the sheriff's office told KTRK.
When asked if the two males were armed, Brown told KHOU, “Not that we know of. We’re still in the process of going through the scene ... but as of right now, we don’t believe that they were armed.”
Reactions under KHOU's Facebook post about the fatal shootings were mixed:
- "They don’t have to be armed to do bodily harm or even kill you," one commenter said.
- "They do if you're in a car ... because why don't you just jump the curb to get away," another commenter countered. "How are unarmed men going to hurt you if the doors are locked?"
- "FAFO," another user bluntly noted before later adding, "Looks like the 2 attackers had road rage. Is he not supposed to defend himself? Whatever it takes."
- "IDK ... call me crazy, but if I felt my life was in danger, I would not park my car and get out of it ... would you?" another commenter wondered. "Self-defense doesn’t work here. He was trigger happy and probably had road rage."
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'We're not chopping nuts': ShamWow guy files to run for Congress — as a Republican
Offer Vince Shlomi, the 61-year-old Israeli-born pitchman whose work selling absorbent towels on late-night TV gained him recognizability as the "ShamWow guy," has filed to run for Congress as a Republican.
According to the Texas GOP's list of filing applications, Shlomi has filed an application to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. John Carter, who has represented Texas' 31st congressional district since 2003 thanks to a series of landslide electoral victories.
'Hopefully I won't make another mistake.'
"The woke churches are after our kids' nuts," Shlomi said in a video where he can be seen standing outside a structure painted in the LGBT imperial colors. "Not no more. We're not chopping nuts. You're going to love your nuts with the ShamWow guy."
The allusion to nuts is both a play on LGBT activists' support for child genital mutilation and the "Slap Chop" infomercial wherein Shlomi states, "With Slap Chop, you're going to love my nuts," prior to dicing a bowl full of almonds and walnuts.
Shlomi, an apparent Los Angeles resident who serves as president and CEO of the TV marketing company Square One Entertainment, told Fox News Digital on Sunday that he was motivated to run for office by a desire to "destroy wokeism" and as a tribute to assassinated conservative Charlie Kirk, whom he referred to as the original "woke buster."
In a recent parody music video titled "Woke Busters," Shlomi signaled opposition to men in girls' locker rooms, child sex changes, the "Me Too" movement, identity politics, and cancel culture.
While Shlomi's new role as culture warrior might find resonance with voters, he may have to address on the campaign trail some of the skeletons crowding his closet.
RELATED: Justice Alito delivers win to Texas GOP, temporarily restores Republican congressional map
For instance, Shlomi was arrested and slapped with a felony battery charge in February 2009 for allegedly pummeling a prostitute at a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.
According to the arrest affidavit, Shlomi kissed a hooker he had met earlier at a nightclub. Shlomi told police that the hooker bit his tongue and would not let go, so he punched her in the face several times. The prostitute reportedly suffered facial fractures and numerous lacerations. Prosecutors ultimately dropped the case.
Two years later, Shlomi's former personal assistant sued him in a separate case, alleging he stalked and emotionally abused her, made unwanted sexual advances, and at one stage offered to buy her eggs, reported CBS News.
In 2013, Shlomi told NBC News that he was cleaning up his act, stating, "People understand you make mistakes in life."
"Hopefully I won't make another mistake," he added.
Shlomi has reportedly not yet formalized his intention to run with the Federal Election Commission.
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Islamist groups in Texas rake in $13M in taxpayer-funded grants amid Abbott’s battle against Sharia law
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has taken aggressive action this week against Sharia law, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Yet critics are demanding to know why, during his time in office, millions in taxpayer-funded grants have been allocated to alleged Islamist organizations based in Texas.
Abbott announced on Tuesday that he had designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations. The following day, Abbott urged local district attorneys to investigate potential Sharia "courts" operating in Texas and defying state and federal laws to push Islamic codes.
'Unlike the previous administration, recipients of grants will no longer be permitted to use federal funds to ... empower radical organizations with unseemly ties that don't serve the interest of the American people.'
Despite Abbott's recent actions, some have faulted the governor for allowing taxpayer dollars to be used to fund the uptick in Islamic mosques in Texas, citing a June report from the Middle East Forum. The article claimed Texas gave "over $13 million of federal and state monies to mosques and community groups aligned with Islamist movements such as Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Jamaat-e-Islami, as well as hostile foreign regimes."
Of the 18 organizations that received funds, a dozen were said to have "extremist links."
"While a few thousand dollars in the state government's data consists of the return of escheated funds, the vast majority of the millions spent appear to be the result of direct state grants, subsidy programs, and federal sub-awards managed by the Texas state government," the Middle East Forum wrote.
The Texas governor's office told Blaze News that the funding referenced in the Middle East Forum's report was not state tax dollars but rather federal funds distributed by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
As part of that program, since 2016, roughly $63 million in federal funds have passed through Texas to nonprofit organizations, including $55 million to churches and synagogues, and a smaller portion went to mosques, according to Abbott's office.
RELATED: Secret Sharia ‘courts’ in Texas may be quietly overriding state law — Abbott calls for investigation
The governor's office contended that organization-vetting for this DHS and FEMA grant program is performed by these federal agencies, not by the state.
Sam Westrop, the director of Islamist Watch and the author of the Middle East Forum report, disputed this claim, arguing that the state was responsible for screening these grant applications and had the authority to exclude applicants.
Westrop told Blaze News that "only a small number" of the $13 million came from the DHS' Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
"However, many of the grants we identified, while not all from DHS, were in fact paid for from federal funds; and are thus subawards," Westrop stated. "But by serving as the primary grantee, the Texas state government is required by the federal government to vet and assess risk. Subawards are discretionary, and the primary grantee may exclude a subawardee."
"So these grants may be financed by federal dollars, but the monies are distributed through and at the discretion of the Texas state government, much by the governor's office itself," Westrop added.
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program seeks to provide financial support to nonprofit organizations that are considered "high risk" of a terrorist attack. These nonprofits can include places of worship, educational facilities, and medical facilities, among other 501(c)(3) organizations. The funds are intended to support security enhancements, such as installing cameras, alarms, and fences. The grant can also be used toward security planning and training, as well as cybersecurity.
RELATED: No Sharia law in Texas: Abbott draws a hard line against radical Islam
According to FEMA, the State Administrative Agency in each state is "the only eligible applicant" for this grant and "responsible for handling the federal award." Therefore, churches and other places of worship seeking funds through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program are "subapplicants that must apply through the SAA in the state or territory where the applying facility is physically located." The nonprofits cannot apply directly to FEMA.
The applications are first "scored by the SAA in coordination with its state." Then the SAA submits "a prioritized list of [investment justifications] with all scores to FEMA."
FEMA notes that a facility's local SAA may have its own requirements to apply for the grant. Texas' SAA contact is the Homeland Security Grants Division under the Texas Office of the Governor.
These now-archived grant opportunities from Texas' eGrants website state that the "Office of the Governor will screen all applications to ensure that they meet the requirements included in the funding announcement." However, it notes that FEMA "makes final funding decisions."
While it remains disputed whether Texas could have blocked these grants from going to alleged Islamist organizations, FEMA has made it clear that the DHS, under Secretary Kristi Noem, has significantly increased the vetting at the federal level.
"Under Secretary Noem's leadership, FEMA conducted a critical evaluation of all grant programs and recipients to root out waste, fraud, and abuse and deliver accountability for the American taxpayer," a FEMA spokesperson told Blaze News. "For Fiscal Year 2025 grant awards, DHS and FEMA worked together to vet grant recipients and ensure that every dollar spent strengthens the nation's resilience."
"Unlike the previous administration, recipients of grants will no longer be permitted to use federal funds to house illegal immigrants at luxury hotels, fund climate change pet projects, or empower radical organizations with unseemly ties that don't serve the interest of the American people," the spokesperson added.
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Justice Alito delivers win to Texas GOP, temporarily restores Republican congressional map
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito delivered Texas Republicans some good news on Friday, temporarily reinstating the Republican-friendly congressional map they passed in August.
After Texas Republicans surmounted weeks of obstruction by their Democratic colleagues, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ultimately signed the "One Big Beautiful Map into law" on Aug. 29, leaving the Lone Star Sate with a congressional map that could net the GOP five extra seats in the midterm elections.
'Radical left-wing activists are abusing the judicial system to derail the Republican agenda and steal the U.S. House.'
However, the adoption of the new map prompted hand-wringing among liberals and a successful Democratic gerrymandering campaign in California — as well as a legal challenge from several race-based groups of plaintiffs led by the League of United Latin American Citizens.
The plaintiffs alleged in their complaint that the map was the result of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering and asked a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to block use of the map for the 2026 elections.
The court on Tuesday ruled 2-1 in favor of the liberal advocacy groups, finding that the challengers likely would be able to prove that it was racially gerrymandered.
RELATED: Yet another state's districts found to be racist, resulting in new map for 2026 midterms
"The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics," wrote Judge Jeffrey Brown in the ruling. "To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was among the liberals who celebrated the ruling, noting that "Donald Trump and Greg Abbott played with fire, got burned — and democracy won. This ruling is a win for Texas, and for every American who fights for free and fair elections."
But the celebration proved premature as Abbott and other Texas officials promptly appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement, "Radical left-wing activists are abusing the judicial system to derail the Republican agenda and steal the U.S. House for Democrats. I am fighting to stop this blatant attempt to upend our political system."
Justice Alito stayed the lower court's ruling Friday and gave GOP map opponents until Monday to respond to his order.
The Republican map is back in play pending the outcome of the state's appeal before the high court.
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