Midwest

Texas governor reveals reason why he and Trump have been working together so closely

Published

3 months ago

October 15, 2025

Texas governor reveals reason why he and Trump have been working together so closely

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In an interview with Fox News Digital, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, whose National Guard troops were recently deployed in support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Chicago, revealed the “substantive reason” why he has such a good working relationship with the president: “We both believe in the rule of law.”

“President Trump and I have a good, long-standing, working relationship, and there’s a substantive reason behind that. We both believe in the rule of law. We both believe in public safety. We both believed in securing the borders,” he explained.

Abbott said that he and President Donald Trump are “operating very closely aligned in ensuring that our country’s going to be safe.”

“I’m more than happy to be a partner with the federal government, making sure that we keep our country as safe as possible,” he added.

LONG-HELD SCOTUS PRECEDENTS COULD UNDERCUT PORTLAND, CHICAGO NATIONAL GUARD LAWSUITS

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said his working relationship with President Donald Trump is based on their shared belief in public safety. (Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

This comes as some 200 Texas National Guard troops are currently deployed to the Chicago area, tasked with protecting federal law enforcement officers as they carry out immigration enforcement operations.

For the past several weeks, the Chicago area has been rocked by anti-ICE demonstrations that have on several occasions boiled over into violent disruption. Large crowds of what DHS has called “violent rioters” have gathered outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, and have repeatedly blocked federal vehicles from exiting and entering the facility. Earlier this month, federal agents were rammed and trapped by 10 vehicles, where anti-ICE crowds had gathered for days. Nearly a dozen people were arrested.

Despite this, DHS has said its agents have received little to no support from Democrat leaders in Illinois or local and state law enforcement.

Against this backdrop, Abbott authorized Trump to deploy 400 of his Texas National Guard troops to trouble spots across the country under Title 10 authority. So far, only about half of those troops have been deployed to Illinois as a legal case against the deployment makes its way through federal court.

HOMAN CONFIRMS TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD ‘ON THE GROUND’ IN ILLINOIS, WARNS ANTI-ICE RHETORIC FUELING ‘BLOODSHED’

Military personnel in uniform, with the Texas National Guard patch on, are seen at the U.S. Army Reserve Center on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Elwood, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. (Laura Bargfeld/AP)

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Abbott said the deployment of Texas National Guard troops, who have gained experience keeping the peace through deployments to the southern border, was “only natural.”

“What the National Guard is trained and skilled at doing is dealing with civil unrest like that. They dealt with civil unrest along the Texas border for the past four years while Joe Biden was president. They’ve dealt with civil unrest even in locations in the state of Texas, when I thought it was important to call them out and make sure that we did not have any unrest in our state. So, these are National Guard troopers who are very well-trained at being able to deal with this type of environment,” he said. “It’s only natural that, by extension, that if there’s a need for that elite National Guard to provide assistance anywhere in the entire country, that it would be the [Texas] National Guard called upon.”

Again, Abbott emphasized that the Trump administration shares a common vision with Texas, making them apt partners.

“What Texas is trying to do is the same thing the United States is trying to do. And that is very simply, carrying out the functions of the federal government. One of them is immigration enforcement, and another is public safety. The National Guard from Texas, they’re not there to police the city of Chicago or any other place. They are there to ensure the safety and security of the ability of federal officials to fulfill their constitutional duty to enforce the laws of the United States.”

PRITZKER SUES TRUMP TO BLOCK NATIONAL GUARD ACTION IN ILLINOIS

Then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem surveys the southern border with National Guard troops at McAllen, Texas in July 2021. Noem now serves as the head of the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration. (Office of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem)

Though he gave no indication of what other collaborations Texas might undertake with the Trump administration in the future, he said that Texas remains ready for whatever is needed.

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“No one can accurately predict exactly what’s going to happen in the future. What I can predict is how Texas will respond. And that is, whenever the country is in time of need, Texans will step up and help out any way we possibly can.”

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner, Matt Finn, Michael Tobin and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

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Illinois

Pounds, Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Pounds, Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (6-10, 1-4 OVC) at Western Illinois Leathernecks (4-12, 0-5 OVC)

Macomb, Illinois; Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Tennessee Tech faces Western Illinois in OVC action Saturday.

The Leathernecks have gone 3-4 at home. Western Illinois is 3-8 in games decided by 10 or more points.

The Golden Eagles have gone 1-4 against OVC opponents. Tennessee Tech has a 3-8 record against teams over .500.

Western Illinois is shooting 41.2% from the field this season, 2.7 percentage points lower than the 43.9% Tennessee Tech allows to opponents. Tennessee Tech has shot at a 45.6% clip from the field this season, 0.8 percentage points fewer than the 46.4% shooting opponents of Western Illinois have averaged.

The Leathernecks and Golden Eagles match up Saturday for the first time in OVC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Lucas Lorenzen is averaging 14.9 points for the Leathernecks. Isaiah Griffin is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Mekhi Cameron is scoring 11.3 points per game with 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Golden Eagles. Dani Pounds is averaging 10.7 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 49.3% over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Leathernecks: 3-7, averaging 67.7 points, 32.5 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 40.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.0 points per game.

Golden Eagles: 3-7, averaging 74.5 points, 30.5 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Indiana

Rematch history in CFP and BCS favors Oregon vs. Indiana in Peach Bowl

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Rematch history in CFP and BCS favors Oregon vs. Indiana in Peach Bowl

The College Football Playoff national semifinal at the Peach Bowl marks a rematch of No. 1 seed Indiana’s 30-20 win against No. 5 Oregon in October, the first of several results this year that have left the Hoosiers knocking on the door of a historic and unbeaten season.

With two more wins, Indiana would become the first 16-0 national champion since Yale in 1894. But in order to make history, the Hoosiers will need to reverse some recent history.

Since the 1996 season, there have been seven regular-season rematches in the College Football Playoff and in national championship games played under the two previous postseason formats, the Bowl Championship Series and the Bowl Alliance. Four of these pairings have occurred since the playoff expanded last season.

Surprisingly, all but one of these games have seen the loser from the regular season rebound to win the rematch. This could be a coincidence. At a minimum, though, this trend shows the difficulties in defeating an elite opponent twice in under a four-month span.

The Hoosiers look to buck that recent history. Here’s a look back at these rematches and what they might suggest about the Peach Bowl:

Ole Miss vs. Georgia, 2025

Results: Georgia 43-35, Ole Miss 39-34.

Ole Miss led Georgia in the second half when the two met in October but coughed up a lead for its one and only loss on the year. The two SEC rivals met again in the Sugar Bowl earlier this month, with the Rebels pulling out the win on a late field goal. Unlike during the regular season, Ole Miss landed a big game from Trinidad Chambliss and did much better running the ball, indicating how teams can strategize by looking back and evaluating the previous matchup.

Ole Miss vs. Tulane, 2025

Results: Ole Miss 45-10, Ole Miss 41-10.

Here’s the one outlier. The Rebels stampeded over Tulane at home in September and then did the same in the opening round. The one difference: Lane Kiffin was the head coach for the first game and Pete Golding for the second. In this case, a significant edge in talent was the biggest factor in helping Ole Miss defy recent history.

Oklahoma vs. Alabama, 2025

Results: Oklahoma 23-21, Alabama 34-24.

Again, an SEC rematch that reversed the regular-season result. Oklahoma’s win in November sparked its run to the playoff. That seemed to carry over to the opening round, when the Sooners stormed out to a 17-0 lead. But the Tide crawled back to tie for the biggest comeback in playoff history.

Oregon vs. Ohio State, 2024

Results: Oregon 32-31, Ohio State 41-21.

Oregon narrowly pulled out the win in Autzen Stadium and then went on to post a perfect regular season, earning the top seed in the debut of the expanded playoff. But in the Rose Bowl the Ducks ran into a buzzsaw in the Buckeyes, who stormed out to a 34-0 late in the second quarter and won going away. A year later, Oregon hopes to follow Ohio State’s blueprint and score the upset against the unbeaten Big Ten champs.

Alabama vs. Georgia, 2021

Results: Alabama 42-24, Georgia 33-18.

The Tide knocked off then-unbeaten Georgia in the SEC championship game behind 421 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Bryce Young. That landed Alabama in the four-team playoff as the No. 1 seed, while Georgia slotted in at No. 3. The pair met in the championship game after beating Cincinnati and Michigan, respectively, and the Bulldogs would hold Young to 6.5 yards per throw and make two picks to take the first of back-to-back titles.

LSU vs. Alabama, 2011

Results: LSU 9-6, Alabama 21-0

The Tigers’ overtime win during the regular season was about as ugly as the score suggests with five field goals being the only scores. The rematch in the title game about two months later wasn’t any better. Alabama’s defense barely allowed LSU to cross midfield in this second meeting to win the second of Nick Saban’s six titles in Tuscaloosa.

Results: Florida State 24-21, Florida 52-20.

No other rematch has come within such a short time frame. FSU topped Florida on Nov. 30 to end the regular season and drew the immediate rematch in the Sugar Bowl, which was designated as the championship game in the Bowl Alliance format, because then-No. 2 Arizona State was obligated to face No. 4 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. This time, Steve Spurrier’s Gators bombarded the Seminoles to capture the first national title in program history with the Sun Devils falling to the Buckeyes.

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Iowa

Iowa Great Lakes businessman Butch Parks dies at 81

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Iowa Great Lakes businessman Butch Parks dies at 81

SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) – The Iowa Great Lakes community is remembering Leo “Butch” Parks, a longtime lakes-area businessman and founder of Parks Marina.

He died Tuesday, Jan. 6, at the age of 81.

Parks established the marina on East Lake Okoboji in 1983, growing it from a small fishing boat operation into a business with marinas, sales, service, rentals, storage, and popular destinations like the Barefoot Bar.

Parks and his wife, Debbie, also owned Okoboji Boat Works for 23 years.

Funeral services are set for Friday, Jan. 16, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spirit Lake. It will be followed by a celebration of life at Snapper’s restaurant in Okoboji that evening.

Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.

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