Southwest
Sen. Mark Kelly responds to question on serving in potential Harris Cabinet
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., responded to a question about his level of interest in a Cabinet-level role in a potential Kamala Harris administration.
After speaking at the Veterans and Military Families Council meeting during the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Kelly joined Fox News Digital for an interview about the presidential race.
The Arizona senator was asked by Fox News Digital if he would be interested in serving in Vice President Kamala Harris’ cabinet if she won the presidential election in November, specifically in secretary positions in the Departments of Defense (DOD) or Homeland Security (DHS).
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Mark Kelly left the door open to a potential cabinet role. (Getty Images)
“I’m focused on doing everything I possibly can over the next 77 days to make sure that Tim Walz and Kamala Harris are successful on November 5th. That’s my goal,” he said, not indicating whether he’d want to join their administration.
Kelly’s answer was similar to his responses earlier this month when he was being considered and vetted as a potential running mate for Harris. He repeatedly told reporters that it wasn’t about him, and he was focused on making sure Democrats win in November.
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Sen. Mark Kelly and Vice President Kamala Harris (Getty Images)
The Democratic senator’s background as a 25-year Navy combat veteran puts him at a unique vantage point and makes him a very likely contender for a potential stint as the secretary of defense if he were interested. Similarly, Kelly’s role as senator of a border state, who has made clear his concerns regarding illegal immigration, could leverage his standing on a list of possible DHS secretaries.
One sticking point for the Arizona Democrat in the 2024 election is respect for veterans and their families. “Do you expect somebody, Donald Trump to really care about military families when he doesn’t even care about the service members that have put their lives on the line and regard them as suckers and losers?” he asked on Tuesday. “Of course you wouldn’t.”
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Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
However, former President Trump has denied the anonymously sourced report that said he called deceased soldiers “suckers” and “losers.”
He has denied doing so, writing on Truth Social, “Only a sicko with an axe to grind would suggest that anyone would make such a statement.”
But his denial hasn’t stopped opponents, Kelly and President Biden included, from holding it against him.
“You need somebody who cares about our veterans and cares about our service members,” Kelly told Fox News Digital.
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GLENDALE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 09: Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on August 9, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
According to the senator, “a President Harris will make sure that we continue to modernize our military, to make sure our service members can win in conflicts, whether it’s in the Western Pacific, in Europe, in the Middle East, anywhere.”
He further described the “tremendous amount of energy” at the DNC, where Harris is being celebrated as the new Democratic nominee for president after Biden suspended his campaign. But Kelly said the enthusiasm isn’t confined to Chicago.
“Arizona is often thought of as sort of a red state,” he explained. But, “I’ve never seen any energy like this before, in that arena,” the Democrat said in reference to Harris’ recent rally in the state.
“It’s hard to imagine what it’s going to be like in October. It’s going to be off the charts,” he predicted.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub
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Southwest
Uvalde trial halted after key witness changes testimony
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The trial of a former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer accused of not doing more to save lives in the 2022 shooting that left 21 dead was halted after a key witness reportedly changed her testimony.
Adrian Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment following the attack at Robb Elementary. He could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison if he’s convicted, prosecutors said.
Former teacher Stephanie Hale testified on Tuesday that she saw the shooter on the south side of the campus, the same area where Gonzales was located, according to Texas Public Radio.
However, defense attorneys objected, arguing her testimony was different compared to statements Hale made to a Texas Ranger during a 2022 investigation when she placed the shooter closer to Gonzales than previously indicated, the outlet added.
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Former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales leaves the courtroom during a break at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP)
The jury in the trial was then dismissed until Thursday as attorneys are preparing arguments on motions related to Hale’s testimony, the report said. The judge in the case is expected to hear those arguments on Wednesday, and the defense has raised the possibility of a mistrial, Texas Public Radio also reported.
Gonzales, who was among the first to respond to the attack, arrived while the teenage assailant was still outside the building. The officer allegedly did not make a move, even when a teacher pointed out the direction of the shooter, special prosecutor Bill Turner said Tuesday during opening statements in the trial.
Former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales, right, and his attorney Nico LaHood, left, arrive in the courtroom at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP)
The officer only went inside Robb Elementary minutes later “after the damage had been done,” Turner said.
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“When you hear gunshots, you go to the gunfire,” Turner added, noting that Gonzales, a 10-year veteran of the police force, had extensive active shooter training.
Attorney Nico LaHood makes opening arguments during a trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP)
An indictment accused Gonzales of putting children in “imminent danger” of injury or death by failing to engage, distract or delay the shooter and by not following his training. The allegations also said he did not go toward the gunfire despite hearing shots and being told the shooter’s location.
Gonzales’ attorneys disputed accusations that he did nothing at what they called a chaotic scene, saying that he helped evacuate children as other police arrived.
Adrian Gonzales, a former police officer for schools in Uvalde, Texas. At right is a memorial dedicated to the 19 children and two adults killed on May 24, 2022, during a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. (Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office/AP/Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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“The government makes it want to seem like he just sat there,” defense attorney Nico LaHood said on Tuesday. “He did what he could, with what he knew at the time.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southwest
Trump endorses Cuellar opponent after pardoning Dem rep
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President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed Tano Tijerina in Texas’ 28th Congressional District race after criticizing Rep. Henry Cuellar for running again as a Democrat following a presidential pardon.
“I don’t know why, but the fact that Henry Cuellar would be running against Donald J. Trump, and the Republican Party, seems to be a great act of disloyalty and, perhaps more importantly, the act of a fool who would immediately go back to a Political Party, the Radical Left Democrats, whose views are different from his, but not nearly good or strong enough to be a true Republican,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform in part.
The president said if he had to do it again, he would still pardon Cuellar, arguing the prosecution against him was politically motivated, but criticized his decision to run for re-election.
“Henry should not be allowed to serve in Congress again,” Trump added before endorsing Tijerina, a judge in Webb County, Texas, who switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
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Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina poses for a portrait in his office on February 20, 2025, in Laredo, Texas. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“Tano’s views are stronger, better, and far less tainted than Henry’s, and he has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Texas’ 28th Congressional District — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” said Trump.
The commander in chief pardoned Cuellar in December after he was indicted by the Justice Department in May 2024 on charges alleging he accepted roughly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani state-owned oil and gas company and a Mexican bank in exchange for using his office to influence U.S. foreign policy.
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Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was accused of taking more than half a million dollars in bribes from an Azerbaijan-owned energy company and a Mexican bank. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were facing multiple counts, including bribery, money laundering and unlawful foreign influence.
After Trump granted him clemency, the congressman thanked the president for what he called his “tremendous leadership,” and said the decision allowed South Texas to move forward.
President Donald Trump announced his pardon of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas on Truth Social in December. (Nathan Howard/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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“This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on,” Cuellar wrote on X.
Cuellar won re-election in November 2024 and has been in Congress since 2005.
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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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