After healthy pregnancies with her first two children, Yvette Ngo felt she knew what to expect when she found out she was expecting her third.
She surprised her husband Thomas by tucking a positive pregnancy test into an Amazon box.
The Arlington couple shared the news in their annual Christmas card. They celebrated their gender reveal with pink confetti. And they eagerly awaited the arrival of the baby girl they planned to name Zoey.
A life-changing phone call
But a 20-week anatomy scan revealed problems with Zoey’s heart and kidney, leading to further testing. When Yvette Ngo received a call from the genetics counselor, she remembers being asked if her husband was available.
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“I said, ‘Oh, he’s at work right know, but you could tell me.’ And she said ‘I’d like for you to try to get your husband,’” Yvette said. “At that moment I knew there was some bad news coming.”
Zoey had Trisomy 13, a rare genetic condition that affects development of the heart, brain and other organs. In most cases, it results in a miscarriage. When babies do survive birth, it’s often not for long.
After pressing for more help, the family met with neonatologist Dr. Terri Weinman. Her specialty is helping families navigate the unthinkable, providing palliative care, or hospice, to the smallest of patients.
“What I do is meet with families who are pregnant with a child who has been diagnosed with a condition that is scary,” Weinman said. “And can help that family understand this might, in fact, be a life-limiting diagnosis for your baby.”
Palliative care for infants
Weinman said providing palliative care to infants is a hard job, and one that did not exist 20 years ago. That is when Weinman said she first noticed she and her colleagues had different ways of caring for newborns who were unlikely to survive. She learned about palliative care as a specialty, but at the time it was mainly for adults with terminal illnesses, not for young children.
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For two years, she spent her evenings after work with a team of healthcare providers offering hospice care to adults while looking for ways to adapt the practice for her pediatric patients.
“We’re so focused on the medicine part of it, that we weren’t focusing on the human part of it,” Weinman said.
She created a list of questions to review with parents — from what interventions they want to take to what memories they want to create.
“When we met Dr. Weinman and her team the first time, she would say things like, ‘So, what are we going to do when Zoey is here,’ which changed my mindset completely,” Yvette Ngo said. “Before then I hadn’t even thought about that. I was expecting the worst.”
For the first time, the Ngos began to consider what Zoey’s life, short as it might be, could look like.
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“It made us more comfortable with the situation, I mean as comfortable as you can be,” Thomas Ngo said. “She just gave us hope.”
Zoey was born on April 18, 2024. She met her parents, her siblings and her grandparents. She was baptized.
“They made us little crafts and mementos for us to take home, like footprints, really ways to help cherish Zoey’s life,” Yvette Ngo said. “They took her heartbeat and recorded it for us. Little things that we wouldn’t necessarily think of.
Zoey even had a chance to go home. But after 36 hours of life, Zoey passed away in her father’s arms.
The perinatal palliative care Zoey received remains rare. But for families like the Ngos, it provides a small sense of control when it’s needed most.
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CBS News Texas
The perinatal palliative care Zoey received remains rare. But for families like the Ngos, it provides a small sense of control when it’s needed most.
“Being able to plan so much in advance and think about all the different scenarios and how we wanted it,” Yvette Ngo said. ” I think, looking back on our time with Zoey…”
“We wouldn’t have done anything differently,” Thomas Ngo said.
This is part three of three in our series about the work being done by local health experts to address rising infant mortality rates. See more from this series here.
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Andrea Lucia
Andrea Lucia joined CBS 11 and TXA 21 in September 2010, one day before a tornado swept through the area. She’s been covering major stories across North Texas ever since.
A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas can enforce a 2023 law that prohibits drag shows in public or when children are present, although the ruling indicates that the judges do not believe all drag shows would be restricted under the measure.
Senate Bill 12 bans drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on public property or in front of children. Business owners could face a $10,000 fine for hosting these performances, and performers who violate the law could be slapped with a Class A misdemeanor.
A three-judge panel in the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed an earlier decision by a district court, returning the case to the district court, according to The Texas Tribune.
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In Thursday’s decision, the judges ruled that most of the plaintiffs, which included a drag performer, a drag production company and pride groups, were not found to have planned a “sexually oriented performance,” meaning they could not be harmed by the law that seeks to restrict sexually explicit dances, the outlet reported.
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Senate Bill 12 bans drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on public property or in front of children.(Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian via AP, File)
The ruling also suggests that the court does not believe all drag shows are sexually explicit and, therefore, are not impacted by the ban.
In September 2023, U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled that the law was unconstitutional, writing that it “impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment” and that it is “not unreasonable” to believe it could affect activities such as live theatre or dancing.
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Critics of the ban have previously argued that GOP lawmakers were attempting to label all drag shows as sexually explicit, as Republicans continue to target the performances in Texas and several other states.
The court found that performances described by a drag production company are arguably sexually explicit, although the ruling does not specifically state which actions were included.
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The ruling suggests that the court does not believe all drag shows are sexually explicit and, therefore, are not impacted by the ban.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“When asked whether the performers ‘simulate contact with the buttocks of another person,’ the owner testified that the performers sit on customers’ laps while wearing thongs and one performer invited a ‘handsome’ male customer ‘to spank her on the butt,’” the ruling said. “When asked whether the performers ‘ever perform gesticulations while wearing prosthetics,’ the owner testified that in 360 Queen’s most recent show, a drag queen ‘wore a breastplate that was very revealing, pulsed her chest in front of people, (and) put her chest in front of people’s faces.’”
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Judge Kurt Engelhardt also wrote in a footnote that there is “genuine doubt” that these actions are “actually constitutionally protected —especially in the presence of minors.” He was joined by Judge Leslie Southwick, while Judge James Dennis disagreed.
“That gratuitous dictum runs headlong into settled First Amendment jurisprudence and threatens to mislead on remand,” Dennis wrote in his partial dissent.
The court also removed most of the defendants from the case before sending it back to the district court to reconsider a part of the measure that centers on the Texas attorney general’s job in enforcing the law.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the ruling, saying in a news release that he “will always work to shield our children from exposure to erotic and inappropriate sexually oriented performances.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the ruling, saying he “will always work to shield our children from exposure to erotic and inappropriate sexually oriented performances.”(Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“It is an honor to have defended this law, ensuring that our state remains safe for families and children, and I look forward to continuing to vigorously defend it on remand before the district court,” he said.
The plaintiffs and the ACLU of Texas, which represents the plaintiffs, described the ruling as “heartbreaking,” adding that they plan to continue fighting the law.
“We are devastated by this setback, but we are not defeated,” they said in a joint statement. “Together, we will keep advocating for a Texas where everyone — including drag artists and LGBTQIA+ people — can live freely, authentically, and without fear. The First Amendment protects all artistic expression, including drag. We will not stop until this unconstitutional law is struck down for good.”
Where most teams see a drop-off in their offensive production on the road, for Texas A&M football, the distance from home seems to bring out the best in its offensive playmakers. Dating back to last season, the Aggies have scored 40-plus in four straight true road games, which is good, tied for the longest streak in school and Southeastern Conference history.
Being the stand-alone record-holder will be no easy task, as the Missouri Tigers pose a difficult challenge in the Maroon and White’s quest for regular-season perfection. A new face will represent them on the field of battle, with quarterback Matt Zollers tasked to defend their home turf.
Nevertheless, the Aggies have themselves the playmakers necessary to spoil the Tigers’ blackout game and return from a long hiatus from Kyle Field unblemished. Still, in the SEC, there’s no such thing as a pushover opponent, no matter who is under center.
Oct 11, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Mario Craver (1) reacts prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
There are many similarities between the start of this season and that of 2024, namely, a commanding start to the conference stretch. The Aggies have been tearing through their opponents’ defense with ease, summed up perfectly in their second-half plundering of LSU two weekends ago.
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A stark difference, however, is in the firepower the Maroon and White possess. A season ago, the Aggies had limited big-play caliber wide receivers available in their pass-catching unit, but now, there’s no doubt that they have among the best in the SEC.
Wide receivers Mario Craver and KC Concepcion have revitalized the way A&M’s offense operates with quarterback Marcel Reed, as the duo is not limited to just hauling in passes. Both pose threats running the ball, while Concepcion has become one of the most dangerous punt returners in the conference, as he has brought two kicks home into the end zone.
With wide receivers Terry Bussey and Ashton Bethel-Roman in the mix as well, the Aggie pass-catchers have the ability to serve up a four-course meal of knockout punches in taking the top off the defense.
Now, as far as the rushing attack, A&M has the lucky position of having one of the deepest and most talented groups in the entire country. With running back Le’Veon Moss out for another game, the Aggies will look to not skip a beat again on the road.
Ground-and-pound running back Rueben Owens II has taken over the RB1 role with ease, while young rookie running back Jamarion Morrow has been a threat in both facets of the game. Then, combining a solid tight end to complete the recipe, there’s a solid offensive effort in the oven for head coach Mike Elko and Co.
The Texas Education Agency has appointed a conservator to the Fort Worth Independent School District on Thursday to support the district’s low-performing campuses and implement the turnaround plans, according to a news release from the agency.
Christopher Ruszkowski will serve as the TEA conservator for the district, the release said.
He will oversee and direct the actions of the school administration, including the principals and superintendents, report to the agency on the governance activities and academic progress, and attend board meetings and executive sessions.
“This conservator appointment is another opportunity to engage in public service of the highest calling,” Ruszkowski said in a statement shared by the TEA.
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“Throughout my three decades in education, I’ve been honored to take on unique roles during critical inflection points for schools, states and organizations.”
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Ruszkowski previously served as the Secretary of Education for New Mexico and Chief Talent Officer and Associate Secretary of Education for Delaware, according to information provided by the TEA.
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He also serves as the TEA conservator for IDEA Public Schools, one of the largest charter school networks in the state since last year. He is a first-generation American who has obtained degrees from Stanford University and the University of Minnesota, according to the agency.
