HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Authorities have confirmed that a man has been charged with capital murder in the death of his sister and niece, who were found stabbed inside a west Houston apartment early Friday.
Family members say Kendrick Rayvon Fisher, 29, had been staying with his 28-year-old sister, Genene, at the Knox at Westchase apartment complex.
At about 3:30 a.m., police say they were flagged down and told that the woman and her daughter were being held hostage inside their apartment.
HPD said once officers arrived at the third-floor apartment, the suspect was found covered in blood, asleep on the couch, and the 28-year-old and 2-year-old were found with multiple stab wounds. They were pronounced dead at the scene
During his arrest, HPD said Fisher was found with injuries consistent with a physical altercation.
“I don’t understand hurting your own sister, hurting a woman, hurting another person, period. But what possessed you to hurt this baby?” Emmanuel Thomas said, who is a close neighbor of the Fisher family.
Jail records show the suspect had gotten out of prison in December 2023 after serving a seven-year sentence for armed robbery with extra time tagged on for being caught with contraband.
According to the neighbor, Fisher had been living with his sister for a few months. He also said residents would feel uneasy around him. Not only the residents but Fisher’s own family also had this feeling.
The suspect’s mother spoke with several reporters on Friday and said he had gotten physical with her.
“He had already beat the hell out of me,” Fisher’s mother, Joanna, said.
According to the neighbor ABC13 spoke with earlier, there was no tension between the suspect and his sister.
“We could see no red flags. This was just completely out of the blue,” Thomas said.
Officials said that Fisher was taken into custody at the Harris County Jail and has since been denied bond.
NEW YORK (AP) — Christmas came early at the box office this year.
“Moana 2” brought in a tidal wave of moviegoers over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, setting records with $221 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. That, combined with “Wicked”and “Gladiator II,” made for an unprecedented weekend in cinemas and a confluence of blockbusters more like what’s often found in late December.
Expectations were high for Walt Disney Co.’s “Moana 2,” but the film — originally planned as a series for Disney+ before it was redirected to the big screen — blew predictions out of the water. Its five-day opening set a new record for Thanksgiving moviegoing. (The previous best was $125 million for “Frozen 2” in its second week of release in 2019.) “Moana 2” added $165.3 million internationally; with $386 million worldwide, it’s the second-best global launch of the year.
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At the same time, the sensation of “Wicked”showed no signs of slowing down. The Universal Pictures musical brought in $117.5 million over the five-day weekend, pushing its two-week global total to $359.2 million. Not accounting for inflation, “Wicked” is now the highest grossing Broadway adaptation over “Grease.” (That 1978 film grossed $190 million, but factoring in inflation would put it past $900 million.)
Those three films drove the overall box office to a record $420 million in overall Thanksgiving weekend ticket sales, according to Comscore — more than $100 million more than ever before. For an industry that has been battered in recent years by the pandemic, work stoppages and the upheaval caused by streaming, it was a triumphant weekend that showed the still-potent power of Hollywood’s blockbuster machine. Before “Wicked,” “Moana 2” and “Gladiator II” arrived in theaters, ticket sales were running about 25% behind pre-pandemic levels.
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Michael O’Leary, president and chief executive of the National Association of Theatre Owners, said the weekend showed what’s possible when “all the pieces of the puzzle come together” in compelling big-budget movies with marketing muscle.
“We’re very optimistic that this weekend is the start of what we believe is a full-on charge into the future,” he said. “The remaining quarter of this year looks very promising and then on into 2025 and 2026. We’re hoping next year is the first kind of normal year this industry has had in a long time.”
Like the last time such anticipated movies collided on the release calendar — 2023’s much-ballyhooed “Barbenheimer” — the movie industry again could see evidence of a rising moviegoing tide lifting all blockbusters. In recent years, studios have typically tried to space out most of their biggest releases. Earlier this fall, “Venom: The Last Dance,” for example, was the No. 1 film for three straight weeks, despite not being particularly successful.
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“For a long, long time in Hollywood, there’s been a belief that you don’t put big blockbuster movies up against each other,” said O’Leary. “But the truth of the matter is that competition is good. It’s good for the movies. It’s good for the studios. It’s good for the theater owners. But it’s particularly good for the moviegoing public.”
“Moana 2” was the nexus of a strategy shift for Disney. When it first began development, it was fashioned as a series for streaming. But when Bob Iger returned as chief executive, he reconsidered the balance between theatrical and streaming. The original “Moana,” after all, was the most streamed movie on Disney+ in 2023, with the added benefit of $680 million in box office in 2016. Only in February this year did Iger announce the release of “Moana 2,” with Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson returning as the voices of Moana and Maui.
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“It just shows you that the big screen and small screen are not adversarial. They can be complementary and additive,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Whoever made that decision to go big screen globally with ‘Moana 2,’ that was one of the greatest decisions ever.”
And it helped lead a resurgence for Walt Disney Co., whose last two animated November releases — “Strange World” and “Wish” — fizzled in theaters. “Moana 2” may become the third $1 billion-grossing movie for the studio in 2024, along with “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Though reviews for “Moana 2″ have only been 65% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences gave it an “A-” CinemaScore.
“Moana 2” is also part of a major rebound for family moviegoing. According to David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment, family moviegoing in 2024 is going to account for approximately $6.8 billion in ticket sales, roughly the sums of 2022 and 2023, combined.
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After such large debuts, “Moana 2” and “Wicked” are likely to continue to drive moviegoing through December. The only question will be if this year’s Christmas movies — historically a much bigger holiday period for theaters — can come anywhere near the Thanksgiving lineup. Among the movies aiming for that holiday corridor are Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King,” Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3″ and Searchlight’s “A Complete Unknown,” with Timothée Chalamet as a young Bob Dylan.
Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Moana 2,” $135 million.
2. “Wicked,” $80 million.
3. “Gladiator II” $30.7 million.
4. “Red One,” $12.9 million.
5. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” $3.3 million.
PEARLAND, Texas (KTRK) — A man accused of firing shots at Pearland police officers, sparking a SWAT standoff, has been taken into custody, according to police.
Pearland police said officers were called to an apartment complex at 2701 Old Alvin Road around 8:45 a.m. Sunday after a concerned citizen spotted bullet holes in the door of an apartment.
When officers arrived, they determined the bullet holes originated from inside the unit.
The officers used a ballistic shield for protection as they approached the apartment door and knocked. That’s when Pearland PD said the suspect fired shots at them from inside.
Fortunately, at least one of the rounds hit the ballistic shield, and no officers were injured, officials said.
The suspect barricaded himself inside the apartment, sparking a SWAT unit response. He was later taken into custody at 11:50 a.m.
Further information about the suspect’s arrest was not immediately released.
An ABC13 crew is at the scene gathering further information. Come back to this post for updates.
The Return of the Texas-Texas A&M Rivalry: A Timeline of Separation and Pettiness
On Thanksgiving Day 2011, the Texas-Texas A&M football rivalry appeared to end when Longhorns senior and future NFL star Justin Tucker nailed a 40-yard game-winning field goal, sealing a 27-25 victory. It marked a bittersweet conclusion to a series that began in 1894.
“It was special,” Tucker said. “This is what we play for in college football. Putting a smile on every Longhorn fan’s face tonight was special to me.”
However, the game’s abrupt end wasn’t just about competition—it was a casualty of conference realignment. Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012, leaving the rivalry in limbo. The Longhorns wouldn’t join the SEC until another major realignment more than a decade later.
The Separation Years: Lingering Rivalry, New Venues
Though the teams haven’t met on the football field in over 4,700 days, the rivalry persisted through social media spats, legislative pushes, and other sports competitions.
2012: Texas replaced A&M on Thanksgiving with TCU, while A&M began facing Missouri. Fueled by Johnny Manziel’s Heisman-winning season and a win over No. 1 Alabama, A&M thrived, while Texas’ Alex Okafor dismissed A&M’s SEC ambitions.
2013: Legislative attempts to force the rivalry’s return began. HB 778, introduced by a Texas A&M graduate, proposed penalizing the school that refused to play. Similar measures failed in subsequent years. Administrators and coaches traded barbs, with Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds declaring, “They left. We get to decide when we play again.”
2014–2017: As Texas experienced leadership changes, A&M capitalized on its SEC success. Aggies officials mocked the Longhorn Network, and the programs took jabs at each other’s performance and traditions. Efforts to rekindle the rivalry, including a proposed 2022–2023 home-and-home series, were rejected by A&M.
Renewed Hope: Texas Joins the SEC
The rivalry’s revival became inevitable when Texas announced its move to the SEC in 2021. Despite initial resistance from A&M leadership, SEC expansion set the stage for the historic matchup to return.
2021: Texas A&M protested Texas’ inclusion in the SEC, citing an unwritten “gentleman’s agreement” to avoid in-state competition. Former A&M chancellor R. Bowen Loftin criticized Texas, claiming, “They have a very high opinion of themselves—but not always justified.”
2024: After years of speculation, the Longhorns and Aggies will face off in their first SEC season together. Texas enters the game as a top contender for the conference title, while A&M seeks to reassert itself under new head coach Mike Elko.
A Rivalry Rekindled
Both Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and A&M’s Mike Elko have welcomed the game’s return. Elko noted, “When you have two programs like that in the same state two hours away, they should play every year. It should mean a lot.”
After 13 years of trash talk, political maneuvers, and longing from fans, Saturday night will mark the rebirth of one of college football’s greatest rivalries.
FREEPORT, Texas (KTRK) — A group of pests derailed a charitable mission in Freeport on Monday.
The Blue Santa Toy Drive, held by the Freeport Police Department, was put in jeopardy after rats soiled hundreds of donations.
Since 2015, Freeport has orchestrated Christmas magic for kids across the community.
Every year, their Blue Santa program provides toys to over 300 families.
“It’s one of the best parts of jobs being able to see the smiles on kids’ faces when they see the toys that Santa brought,” Chief Jennifer Howell with the Freeport Police Department.
Howell says that on Monday, the department’s elves were ready to get to work, but unfortunately, some rats beat them to it. Howell said they infiltrated their city storage facility and ruined all the toys.
“Very heartbreaking to ultimately throw all those toys away, but after speaking to the CDC and the Department of State and Health Services, it just wasn’t worth any risk, for you know, any child to get sick,” she said.
Word of their incredible loss reached the ears of Angleton restaurant owner Jim Luna.
It was a divine intervention, really, given that he had been searching to no avail for a place to donate the toys he and some sponsors had collected.
“It was meant to be. It wasn’t planned, and usually, those are the biggest blessings when you just find it,” Luna said.
Luna and his grandson did just that on a holiday centered around giving. They delivered four industrial-size bags full of toys.
“I said,’ ‘Hey, we have three more at my sister-in-law’s house, so we are going to bring those tomorrow morning,'” Luna said.
So, how did the rats get in? Chief Howell said it was an unfortunate side effect of Hurricane Beryl and the damage it did to their city buildings.
It appears they took a page out of the Grinch’s book.
“The rats stole Christmas, and we were able to push those grinches away,” said Luna.
If you’d like to donate, there is still a need. You can drop off toys or monetary donations at the Freeport Police Department.
Workers for the largest online retailer in the world are planning to go on strike during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the holiday season.
Amazon employees are preparing to protest in 20 countries, including in major cities in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and Brazil, starting on Black Friday over “labor abuses, environmental degradation and threats to democracy,” according to UNI Global Union and Progressive International, a Switzerland-based global labor union.
Dubbed the “Make Amazon Pay days of resistance,” the strike is scheduled to last from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the union announced in a press release. Demonstrators are calling for increased wages and for employees to be permitted to unionize.
The strike could lead to delays in holiday deliveries for customers, economy experts told ABC News.
Unions and allied groups around the world are planning to participate, according to UNI Global Union.
The Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and Citizen’s Action will hold protests in multiple cities across France, and garment workers will also take to the streets in Bangladesh, the union said.
This year marks the fifth annual Make Amazon Pay demonstration, which aims to “hold Amazon accountable around the world” by targeting a busy holiday shopping weekend. In 2023, Amazon represented 18% of the worldwide Black Friday sales, with more than $170 billion in total holiday sales, according to an earnings report released earlier this year.
“Amazon’s relentless pursuit of profit comes at a cost to workers, the environment and democracy,” said Christy Hoffman, general secretary of UNI Global Union. “[Jeff] Bezos’ company has spent untold millions to stop workers from organizing, but the strikes and protests happening around the world show that workers’ desire for justice — for union representation — can’t be stopped. We stand united in demanding that Amazon treat its workers fairly, respect fundamental rights, and stop undermining the systems meant to protect us all.”
Amazon defended its treatment of workers in a statement to ABC News on Thursday.
“This group is being intentionally misleading and continues to promote a false narrative,” Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said. “The fact is at Amazon we provide great pay, great benefits, and great opportunities — all from day one. We’ve created more than 1.5 million jobs around the world, and counting, and we provide a modern, safe, and engaging workplace whether you work in an office or at one of our operations buildings.”
The company announced earlier this year a $2.2 billion investment to increase pay for fulfillment and transportation employees in the U.S. As a result, the average base wage for these employees is now more than $22 per hour and the average total compensation more than $29 per hour when the value of their elected benefits is factored in, according to the company.
Comprehensive benefits for these employees that begin on the first day of employment include health, vision and dental insurance; a 401(k) with 50% company match; up to 20 weeks paid leave, which includes 14 weeks of pregnancy-related disability leave and six weeks of parental leave; and Amazon’s Career Choice program, which prepays college tuition, according to Amazon.
An earlier statement to ABC News from Amazon stated: “While we’re always listening and looking at ways to improve, we remain proud of the competitive pay, comprehensive benefits and engaging, safe work experiences we provide our teams.”
Amazon workers have been outspoken in recent years about workers’ rights, especially as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic increased the number of online orders. E-commerce sales in the U.S. increased by $244.2 billion — or 43% — in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, rising from $571.2 billion in 2019 to $815.4 billion in 2020, according to the Census Bureau’s Annual Retail Trade Survey.
In June 2023, nearly 2,000 Amazon workers organized a walkout after a mandate to return to the office was issued. In Kentucky, Amazon employees who spoke to ABC News alleged that the company was leading a union-busting campaign to discourage employees from organizing.
Amazon told ABC News last year that the disciplinary action taken by the company at an Amazon facility in Kentucky came in response to infractions of company policy.
“Amazon squeezes everything that it can get, but it changes its behavior depending on its jurisdiction,” James Schneider, communications director for Progressive International, told ABC News this week. “Let’s say, in Sweden, it engages much better at how it operates with trade unions. But in the U.S., it engages in union busting.”
A 2022 report by the United Nations’ International Labour Organization found that post-pandemic inflation and the rising cost of living have been decreasing the value of minimum wage globally.
The rise of inflation has paved the way for collective action, experts say. (Starbucks was also part of the 2022 union resurgence.)
“Amazon is everywhere, but so are we. By uniting our movements across borders, we can not only force Amazon to change its ways but lay the foundations of a world that prioritizes human dignity, not Jeff Bezos’ bank balance,” said Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, Progressive International’s co-general coordinator.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Investigators are trying to determine how a mother and her toddler died at a west Houston apartment complex early Friday morning.
The Houston Police Department confirmed the crime scene was unfolding on Richmond Avenue near Shadowbriar in the Eldridge/Oaks West neighborhood.
HPD found the mother, in her 20s, and her daughter – between 2 and 4 years old – both dead in a third-floor apartment after a family member of the woman flagged down officers in the area around 2:45 a.m.
Police said they found a man with blood on him in the apartment and have identified him as a person of interest in this case.
“As they arrived at the apartment, an occupant stepped out,” HPD Asst. Chief J. Bryant said. “They immediately detained him because they noticed suspicious activity at the apartment.”
Investigators aren’t releasing much information about how the mother and daughter were killed or what the man’s relationship with them is. However, police said they’re not looking for anyone else connected with the two deaths.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Unlike years past, shopping centers were eerily quiet during the hours before Black Friday, but retail experts said shoppers are still expected to flock to stores.
The day after Thanksgiving would usually bring long lines, and rushing into stores – otherwise known as Black Friday.
It’s a shopping experience forever seared in Victoria Walker’s mind.
“The Playstation had just come out,” Walker recalled. “There was a whole bunch of people running around. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve never seen anything like this before!’ It was crazy.”
But the crowds, long lines and chaos have become too much for some.
“I gave that up a long time ago,” Walker explained. “It’s too much. It’s too much.”
Black Friday isn’t dead though. The National Retail Federation said 76 million shopped in-store on Black Friday in 2023. But that’s eight million fewer than four years ago. However, this year could be different because Black Friday is so late.
“What that means is certainly we expect a lot of activity around Thanksgiving weekend, record shopping, about 183 million consumers, at least,” National Retail Federation spokesperson Katherine Cullen explained.
Instead of keeping your wallet in a back pocket, put it in the front.
If you eat at the food court, pay attention because officers say bags can be switched.
Try to shop before it gets dark.
Also, if you’re alone, don’t be afraid to ask for an escort to your car, whether it’s a store employee or security guard.
If you plan to shop in-store this weekend, you might want to wait until Sunday. The National Retail Federation said last year, about 40 million fewer people shopped on Sunday of Thanksgiving week compared to Friday.
It’s an annual shopping tradition that’s changed over the years. While some are glad to avoid the chaos, they miss the uniqueness the shopping experience can bring.
“It’s kind of good and bad because you don’t get to meet people,” Walker said. “You used to stand in line and you meet new people and a new crowd. Now, everyone’s at home and they’re shopping online.”
Providing retailers with the sales they’re looking for, but a change for shoppers to the chaotic day they knew for years.
President-elect Donald Trump has issued stark warnings to some U.S. trade partners, threatening to impose substantial tariffs on imported goods. Trump’s aggressive stance has sparked some backlash and fueled consumer anxiety, fearing that such tariffs could increase everyday product prices nationwide.
The president-elect said he plans to impose new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China immediately upon taking office. He announced on Monday his intention to implement a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico. He would add an additional 10% tariff on goods from China.
Trump claims that foreign countries pay tariffs, but it’s U.S. importers who actually cover these costs. The money goes to the U.S. Treasury, and these companies usually raise prices for customers to offset the higher expenses.
Trump believes tariffs will help the economy by forcing more products to be made in America, adding manufacturing jobs, and increasing American innovation.
His objective is to compel these countries to modify policies that he claims are detrimental to the U.S.
“That’s the hope. It’s certainly the intention but it doesn’t always work out that way,” ABC News’ Alexis Christoforous said Tuesday.
Christoforous examines the potential economic effects of Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.
“Canada’s largest export to the U.S. is crude oil,” Christoforous said. “About 160 billion dollars in 2022 alone. This can have a huge impact on Canada’s economy. Canada is saying we want to continue to talk to the incoming administration. The hope here, of course, is that they renegotiate terms so that the tariffs are never put in place.”
However, American consumers source crude oil from various countries, including Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Iraq, and Brazil. The U.S. also has a healthy amount of crude oil inventory, which will take some time to deplete.
When the current stockpile of crude oil decreases over time, Americans can expect importers to pay higher prices. This increase may result in consumers facing higher costs for everyday necessities, such as gasoline.
“If these tariffs are in place importers, must then pay a higher price,” Christoforous said. ” They could then pass that cost onto consumers. We know crude oil is a big component, about 60% of what makes up gasoline. So over time, we can see higher gas prices.”
Despite importing less from China than it did eight years ago, the U.S. continues to import hundreds of billions of electronics from China every year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security.
Many U.S. manufacturers source parts from China for their products. Tariffs may lead Chinese importers to incur higher costs, which they will likely pass on to American buyers. As a result, prices are expected to rise for American consumers.
“So you are looking at imports coming in not only from China but from Mexico, where we get a lot of our car parts,” Christoforous said. “Those items over time, which will take some time, a slow crawl, but those prices could move up.”
WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans with obesity would be eligible to have popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Zepbound covered by Medicare or Medicaid under a new rule the Biden administration proposed Tuesday morning.
The costly proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services immediately sets the stage for a showdown between the powerful pharmaceutical industry and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken opponent of the weight-loss drugs who, as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, could block the measure.
While the rule would give millions of people access to weekly injectables that have helped people shed pounds so quickly that some have labeled them miracle drugs, it would cost taxpayers as much as $35 billion over the next decade.
“It’s a good day for anyone who suffers from obesity,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told The Associated Press in an interview. “It’s a game changer for Americans who can’t afford these drugs otherwise.”
The rule would not be finalized until January, days after Trump takes office. A bipartisan coalition of congressional members has lobbied for the drugs to be covered by Medicare, saying it could save the government from spending billions of dollars on treating chronic ailments that stem from obesity. While it’s unclear where Trump himself stands on coverage of the weight-loss drugs, his allies and Cabinet picks who have vowed to cut government spending could balk at the upfront price tag.
Under the proposal, only those who are considered obese – someone who has a body mass index of 30 or higher – would qualify for coverage. Some people may already get coverage of the drugs through Medicare or Medicaid, if they have diabetes or are at risk for stroke or heart disease.
Becerra estimated that an additional 3.5 million people on Medicare and 4 million on Medicaid could qualify for coverage of the drugs. But research suggests far more people might qualify, with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimating roughly 28 million people on Medicaid are considered obese.
Medicare has been barred from offering the drugs under a decades-old law that prohibits the government-backed insurance program from covering weight-loss products. The rule proposed by the Biden administration, however, would recognize obesity as a disease that can be treated with the help of the drugs.
The anti-obesity drug market has expanded significantly in recent years, with the Food and Drug Administration approving a new class of weekly injectables like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound to treat obesity.
People can lose as much as 15% to 25% of their body weight on the drugs, which imitate the hormones that regulate appetites by communicating fullness between the gut and brain when people eat.
The cost of the drugs has largely limited them to the wealthy, including celebrities who boast of their benefits. A monthly supply of Wegovy rings up at $1,300 and Zepbound will put you out $1,000. Shortages of the drugs have also limited the supplies.
Kennedy, who as Trump’s nominee for HHS secretary is subject to Senate confirmation, has railed against the drugs’ popularity. In speeches and on social media, he’s said the U.S. should not cover the drugs through Medicaid or Medicare. Instead, he supports a broad expansion of coverage for healthier foods and gym memberships.
“For half the price of Ozempic, we could purchase regeneratively raised, organic food for every American, three meals a day and a gym membership, for every obese American,” Kennedy said to a group of federal lawmakers during a roundtable earlier this year. Ozempic is a diabetes drug that can stimulate weight loss.
