Southwest
Have battlegrounds shifted with Harris at top of ticket?
President Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise to the top of the ticket have thrown the state of the race into question and possibly shifted the battleground strategy.
Biden was trailing former President Donald Trump nationally in the Real Clear Politics polling average and the seven major swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, but underlying data could reveal what Harris might do to change that.
While polls showed Biden holding his own among older, white working-class voters, the president was starting to lose his grasp on Black and Hispanic voters, a key demographic for Democrats. Harris, on the other hand, has recently been outperforming Biden among Black voters, indicating there is room for her to gain ground on Trump in a close election.
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President Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise to the top of the ticket have thrown the state of the race into question. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
According to one Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted last month, Harris held a 67% favorability rating among Black voters, compared to 23% who had an unfavorable view of the vice president. Biden, meanwhile, came in with a 63% favorable rating, compared to 31% who held an unfavorable view of the president.
An NBC News poll conducted earlier this month revealed similar results when pitting both Biden and Harris against Trump, with Biden beating Trump 69% to 12% among Black voters, a 57-point lead, while Harris led the former president 78% to 14%, a 64-point advantage.
When Biden was still in the race, most of the swing state attention was given to the so-called “Blue Wall” states in the upper Midwest of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. However, Harris’ strength among Black voters could lead the vice president to look south towards Georgia and North Carolina as opportunities to close the gap.
When Biden was still in the race, most of the swing state attention was given to the so-called “Blue Wall” states, but Harris’ strength among Black voters could lead the vice president to look south as an opportunitiy to close the gap. (Fox News)
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According to 2020 census data, Georgia and North Carolina have a Black population of 31% and 20.5% respectively, far more than the populations of Michigan (13.7%), Pennsylvania (10.9%), and Wisconsin (6.4%). On the other hand, those states in the upper Midwest have a higher share of older White voters, a demographic in which Biden was outperforming Harris.
Polling of a matchup between Trump and Harris is so far sparse, especially in battleground states, but there are some early indications that Harris may look south for help. One Landmark Communications poll, which was conducted Tuesday, shows Trump with just a one point lead over Harris in Georgia, a smaller advantage than most of the polling had previously shown the former president enjoyed in a matchup against Biden.
Polling of a matchup between Trump and Harris is so far sparse, especially in battleground states. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
While winning both Georgia and North Carolina would likely not be enough to put Harris over the top, her ability to put them in her column would open up several more viable paths to victory. Without them, Harris would likely need to win all of the other five swing states in order to get to 270 electoral votes.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.
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Southwest
Family of Brianna Aguilera sues over alcohol service ahead of death
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The family of Brianna Aguilera, the Texas A&M student who fell to her death from a high-rise apartment in November, is suing two organizations for allegedly overserving alcohol ahead of the 19-year-old’s death.
Attorney Tony Buzbee on Tuesday announced a $1 million wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Travis County against the Austin Blacks Rugby Club and the UT Economics and Business Association.
“It is illegal to serve minors any amount of alcohol in the State of Texas. It is reckless and irresponsible to grossly over-serve a group of minors at a University of Texas football tailgate to the point where those minors lose their physical faculties and ability to control themselves,” the lawsuit states.
Aguilera died when she fell from an Austin high-rise apartment following a Texas A&M vs. University of Texas football tailgate at around 1 a.m. Nov. 29, according to police.
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An image provided by the family of the young Texas A&M student, Brianna Aguilera, found dead in Austin over the weekend. (GoFundMe)
A police investigation later determined Aguilera died by suicide despite her family’s claims that she was killed.
Brianna Aguilera was found dead in an apartment hours after attending a tailgate party. (Facebook/Brie Aguilera)
According to the filing, the alleged “egregious over-serving of minors” led to Aguilera’s death. Witnesses described her behavior over several hours as “shifting from upbeat to disoriented and ultimately grossly intoxicated,” the suit says.
Brianna Aguilera holds a sign congratulating her on her acceptance to Texas A&M. (Instagram/brie.aguilera)
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Buzbee said the lawsuit is also intended to support the ongoing investigation into the events of that night by allowing the firm to seek phone and text records, documents and data and to compel witness testimony.
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The lawsuit requests a jury trial.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
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Southwest
Key red state could decide US gas prices as Venezuelan oil hits the market
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Nobody handles oil quite like Texas and a fresh supply of Venezuelan crude could soon be headed to the Lone Star State’s coast.
The first barrels of thick, tar-like crude could arrive as soon as next week at ports across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, where dense clusters of refineries are built and bred to process heavy oil.
The development follows President Donald Trump’s Tuesday evening announcement that Caracas will transfer up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S., worth about $2.8 billion at current market prices.
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Venezuelan children swimming near an oil tanker docked at a pier near the refinery of the state oil company PDVSA. (Jesus Vargas/picture alliance/Getty Images)
“The Gulf Coast concentrates most of our refining capacity, and those refineries were built or revamped over the years to process extra-heavy crude similar to what is produced in Venezuela,” explained Jaime Brito, executive director of refining and oil products at OPIS.
“From a market perspective, additional volumes of extra-heavy crude entering the U.S. refining system would be an extraordinarily positive development,” Brito said. “It would allow refiners to operate more efficiently, something they haven’t been able to do for years and could help keep gasoline and diesel prices at better levels because refiners would have access to cheaper crude and more optimal operations.”
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He added that tankers could arrive within five to six days if they leave Venezuelan waters on Thursday.
Because Gulf Coast refineries supply a large share of the nation’s fuel, shifts in how efficiently they operate can ultimately ripple through to prices paid by U.S. consumers.
Texas oil refineries are poised to benefit from additional crude oil supplies. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The arrival of 15 to 25 oil tankers carrying up to 50 million barrels of crude is only a fraction of what Venezuela could ultimately supply.
With more than 300 billion barrels of proven reserves, it holds the world’s largest oil endowment — eclipsing long-standing energy heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.
Despite its vast reserves, U.S. sanctions have effectively blocked most Venezuelan crude from reaching the U.S. Gulf Coast, leaving Chevron — operating under a special authorization — as the sole exporter of limited volumes.
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A Chevron Corp. flag flies on the drilling floor of a Nabors Industries Ltd. drill rig in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, on March 1, 2018. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
That disruption has been felt most acutely in Texas, which anchors the nation’s refining hub and hosts several of the country’s largest heavy-crude refineries.
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A renewed flow of Venezuelan barrels could also intensify competition in the heavy-crude market, particularly between Venezuela and Canada, Brito said.
“You’re going to have fierce competition between Canada and Venezuela, which benefits American refiners and gives them more flexibility to potentially lower fuel prices,” he said, adding that he was speaking strictly from an oil-market perspective.
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Southwest
Security guard fatally shot outside Houston restaurant after confrontation with suspect
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A security guard was fatally shot outside a Houston restaurant Wednesday evening after a confrontation with another man, authorities said.
The shooting happened around 6:15 p.m. outside Connie’s Seafood Market Restaurant, the Houston Police Department said.
Police told reporters that the security guard, who was working for the restaurant, was standing in the parking lot when a fight broke out between him and another man, FOX26 Houston reported.
Police said the security guard was shot at least once. He was rushed to a hospital where he later died.
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A security guard was fatally shot outside a Houston restaurant Wednesday evening after a confrontation with another man, authorities said. (Houston Police Department)
Authorities did not immediately release the name of the victim.
The suspect was last seen running away from the parking lot after the shooting.
The security guard was working for the restaurant at the time of the shooting. (Google Maps)
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No details about the suspect or the circumstances that led to the altercation have been released as of Thursday morning.
Houston police were reviewing surveillance footage as they search for the shooting suspect. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle, File)
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Officials said investigators were reviewing surveillance footage and speaking with witnesses to get a description of the suspect.
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