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Texas woman turns 115, making her the oldest living person in the US
A Houston, Texas, woman who turned 115 last month is now the oldest living person in the United States.
“She will tell you it’s by the grace of God,” her granddaughter Ethel Harrison, 69, also of Houston, told Fox News Digital.
“That’s how she made it so long. She is very spiritual.”
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Elizabeth Francis was the second-oldest person in the U.S. until the previous longevity record holder Edie Ceccarelli, 116, of Mendocino County, California, died on Feb. 22.
Elizabeth Francis, 115, of Houston, Texas, is now the oldest living person in the United States and the fourth-oldest documented person living in the world. (Ethel Harrison)
Francis is also the fourth-oldest living person in the world — according to the Gerontology Research Group (GRT), a Los Angeles-based global social science institution of researchers in gerontology, human longevity, public health and demography.
“Supercentenarians” are folks who have lived more than 110 years. While there are more than 97,000 people in the United States who are classified as centenarians, there are far fewer supercentenarians, according to data from the World Economic Forum, a nonprofit research institute based in Switzerland.
Francis lives at home with her daughter, Dorothy Williams, who is 95.
The two have several caregivers, including Harrison.
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Francis always believed in the loyalty of family and taking care of her own, Harrison said.
Ben Myers (pictured far right) of LongeviQuest, a global research organization that tracks human longevity, gathers with Elizabeth Francis’ family members and presents her award as the oldest living American in the U.S. (Ethel Harrison)
“She was a caregiver herself,” Harrison said.
“She actually took care of her dad until he passed at the age of 99. And then she had a sister come live with her. She always said, ‘Treat people like you want to be treated.’ That was her motto and we’ve always kind of lived by that.”
Ben Meyers is CEO of LongeviQuest, a global research organization that tracks and studies human longevity.
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“There’s a lot of interest recently in longevity and also aging,” Meyers said.
Ben Meyers, CEO of LongeviQuest, a global research organization that tracks and studies human longevity, said many of those he works with over the age of 100 have a strong sense of faith. (Ben Meyers)
“How to take care of people, live good, fulfilling lives. There’s really no better role model than supercentenarians. They’re very interesting — their histories, their philosophies,” he added.
“And there are folks who are interested in learning the secrets of longevity … trying to come up with formulas. But the only ones we know who are successful at aging to the maximum degree are supercentenarians. We call them the Olympians of aging. Ms. Francis is a great example.”
Meyers visited Francis and her family earlier this year to present her with an award to recognize her as the oldest living American in the U.S.
“One thing that she really is an example of more than almost anybody else I’ve met is just family and community,” he said.
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“She lives at home, and she’s the oldest person in the world to live at home. It’s really pretty extraordinary. Also, the community that she has through her church. So there [are] really active families and communities. It’s very difficult for people to reach that age in isolation,” Meyers added.
Francis is now officially the oldest living person in America after her 115th birthday last month. (Ethel Harrison)
Born in Louisiana on July 25, 1909, Francis has lived through two world wars and now two global pandemics.
She never drove a car, but she worked outside the home, running the coffee shop at a TV station in Houston during the 1970s and 80s.
Francis has three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
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Harrison said her grandmother’s main focus has always been on her family and her faith.
“If we had a gathering, whether a party or a graduation, she was always there,” Harrison said.
Last year, Francis and her family celebrated her 114th birthday. (Ethel Harrison)
Francis only attended one church, which she’s still a member of, Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, which was established in 1872.
“Pastor Cofield and the members still come out to the home,” Harrison said.
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Francis attributes her long life to her faith and still watches her church on television since she cannot attend in person. (Ethel Harrison)
“They come to visit and bring communion,” Harrison said. “She is still an active member even though she is not able to attend church. We watch on television.”
Meyers said the supercentenarians he interviews have a strong sense of faith.
“Ms. Francis gives 100 percent of the credit for her longevity to God,” Meyers said.
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Francis has three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren — all of whom were at her 114th birthday celebration last year. (Ethel Harrison)
Another characteristic Francis exemplifies, Meyer said, is “total fortitude.”
“Not letting herself get distracted by things that are outside of her control,” he said.
“She is really focused on her world. I’ve asked her about the events she lived through and her answers are quite blasé. Every event, good or bad, kind of rolled off her sleeve because she focused on her world day to day.”
Harrison said that although Francis is no longer a big talker, an old hymn definitely catches her grandmother’s attention and she enjoys singing along.
Francis is reportedly only one of 68 people who have reached the age of 115 and 25 of the longest-living Americans in history. (Ethel Harrison)
Francis always had a love for gardening and sharing vegetables with others.
“She believed in cooking her own healthy food and working hard — ‘Just work hard,’ she said. And that’s what we did.”
Francis is one of only 68 people known to have reached the age of 115, and she is among the 25 longest-lived people in American history, according to LongeviQuest.
Last year, when asked what she attributes her long life to, Francis told Fox News Digital, “Just the Lord working with me and keeping me here.”
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Austin bar shooting bodycam released as DA makes major call about cops who shot suspected terrorist
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Bodycam video from the Austin mass shooting, which is being investigated as a terrorist attack, was released on Thursday as the county’s liberal district attorney announced he would take no action against the three officers who killed the suspect.
In 911 audio released by the Austin Police Department along with the bodycam video, one individual told the operator that he “heard like six gunshots.”
“We’re hiding between cars,” the caller said. “There has been a shooting at Buford’s on 6th St. There are people dead over here. There have been multiple people shot. We need help right now.”
In one surveillance video released by police, the shooter, identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, can be seen walking around a parking lot with an AR-15 before opening fire on someone nearby.
53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne killed three people and injured over a dozen more people, Austin police said. (Austin Police Department)
Officers can be seen in bodycam video directing bystanders to get down before opening fire on Diagne, who was killed.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced Wednesday that no action would be taken against the three police officers who killed Diagne. Diagne shot and killed three people and left more than a dozen other people injured on Sunday outside a bar in Austin, Texas.
“Today, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office notified the Austin Police Department that it has formally concluded its review of the mass shooting on 6th Street and will take no action against the three officers who stopped the shooting,” the news release stated.
Under a 2021 policy by Garza’s office, all officer-involved shooting cases were to be presented to a grand jury.
Bodaycam footage shows the night of a shooting in Austin, Texas. (KTBC)
District Attorney Jose Garza speaks at a news conference on Feb. 19, 2026. (Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
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Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock told Fox News Digital he wishes Garza would have made the decision to not convene a grand jury much earlier, and said police officers are under constant fear of being targeted by the liberal district attorney.
“The reality is APD officers are more afraid of the DA targeting them than a gunman shooting at them,” Bullock told Fox News Digital.
Shooter approaches a bar with a rifle in Austin, Texas. (KTBC)
Police officers guard the scene after a shooting on March 1, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Bullock said it’s the first time Garza hasn’t presented an officer-involved shooting to a grand jury since implementing the policy.
Doug O’Connell, a criminal defense attorney representing the Austin police officers, told Fox News the 2021 policy was instituted at the direction of the Wren Collective, which is a criminal-justice reform group providing financial support to progressive prosecutors.
“When our current district attorney came into office about six years ago, he instituted this policy at the direction of the Wren Collective, and it’s been in place since that time. Every officer-involved shooting has been presented to the grand jury,” O’Connell said. “It’s not required by law. It is simply a policy decision that he’s instituted at the direction of Wren Collective.”
Bullock said the Wren Collective has recently pushed “to increase the number of indictments against officers which can only be done through grand jury.”
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The Austin Police Department released a photo of Ndiaga Diagne as the suspect tied to Sunday’s mass shooting. (Austin Police Department)
National Police Association spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith told Fox News Digital that investigations into officer-involved shootings should be internal.
“A grand jury is basically a secret process and is controlled by the prosecutor. These officers cannot have a defense attorney or a union representative in the grand jury,” Smith said. “He is well known as one of the most anti-police district attorneys in the nation.”
Garza previously called the officers that killed Diagne “heroes.” The shooting happened at Austin’s Buford’s Backyard Beer garden shortly before 2 a.m. on Sunday.
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Federal agents comb the scene of a potential terrorist attack in Austin, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Getty Images)
FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran said during a press conference on Sunday that while investigators are still looking for a possible motive, there were “indicators that on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism.”
Law enforcement sources told Fox News that the shooter was wearing a sweatshirt that read “Property of Allah“ as well as an undershirt with an Iranian flag. The sources said a Quran was also found in Diagne’s car. According to CBS News, Diagne had pictures of Iranian leaders at his home as well as an Iranian flag.
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Savitha Shan, 21, Ryder Harrington, 19 and Jorge Pederson, 30, were killed in the shooting, authorities said during a Monday press conference.
Diagne initially entered the United States in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa, according to the Department of Homeland Security, becoming a lawful permanent resident in 2006 after marrying a U.S. citizen.
On April 5, 2013, Diagne became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
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The Austin Police Department and the FBI investigate a shooting at Buford’s on West 6th Street in Austin on March 1, 2026. (Stephanie Tacy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said Diagne “put his flashers on, rolled down his window and began using a pistol shooting out of his car windows, striking patrons of the bar that were on the patio and that were in front of the bar.”
Davis said the suspect exited his vehicle and shot at individuals, but didn’t enter the bar.
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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 800-273-TALK (8255).
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, admitted to having an affair with a former staffer for the first time on Wednesday.
Gonzales made the confession during an appearance on a conservative talk radio show, just one day after he advanced to a runoff election in his congressional district’s GOP primary. The House Ethics Committee also launched an investigation into Gonzales on Wednesday.
“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” he said on “The Joe Pags Show” Wednesday night. “Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife, Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever.”
“When you make mistakes like this, it’s never easy. It humbles you,” he added.
Regina Santos-Aviles, a staffer for Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, died Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Uvalde, Texas. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images | Regina Santos-Aviles Facebook)
The Ethics Committee is investigating whether Gonzales, a married father of six, engaged in sexual misconduct with a female member of his staff and whether he doled out special favors or privileges as a result.
Gonzales has said he has no plan to step down in the face of the accusations, saying last month that there are more details to be released regarding the situation.
“What you’ve seen is not all the facts,” Gonzales told reporters in late February.
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Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, has denied having anything to do with his former staffer’s death. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The three-term congressman argued at the time that he was being “blackmailed” in connection with the case. Controversy first arose after the San Antonio Express-News reported they obtained text messages in which the former staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, wrote to a colleague that she had an affair with the lawmaker.
Santos-Aviles later died after setting herself on fire.
Gonzales denied having anything to do with her death during his radio appearance.
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Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is interviewed by CQ-Roll Call. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“I hadn’t spoken with Miss Santos since June of 2024. She passed September of 2025… I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing. And in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales took to social media last month and accused Santos-Aviles’ husband of “blackmail,” sharing a partial screenshot of an email from the widower and claiming he was seeking money.
“I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,” Gonzales wrote in a Feb. 19 post on X. “Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death.”
In the email posted by Gonzales, attorney Robert Barrera discussed a possible lawsuit against the lawmaker and a potential settlement with a nondisclosure agreement. The email says that the maximum recoverable amount is $300,000.
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Barrera denied he was trying to blackmail Gonzales.
“It is a desperate attempt to make him look again like a political victim,” Barrera told The Associated Press last month. “There’s no blackmail here. I mean, it’s just ridiculous allegations.”
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Nancy Guthrie’s abductor may have returned to the crime scene, left critical clues at tribute: expert
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TUCSON, Ariz. — As a growing memorial outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson-area home continues to draw visitors, new questions are emerging about whether investigators are monitoring the site.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, is believed to have been abducted from her home in the early hours of Feb. 1.
“They could [have eyes on the memorial], we’re just not seeing it,” Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association and a retired police sergeant, tells Fox News Digital. “They could be keeping track of it, but we’re not seeing the cameras.”
Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her Tucson home on Feb. 1. (Getty Images)
Yellow flowers, handwritten notes, artwork and even an open letter addressed to the “kidnapper” have been left at the makeshift tribute in front of her home.
While the memorial grows, however, visible law enforcement presence has significantly dropped.
“Detectives are reviewing all viable leads in this case,” a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital. “We do not speak to specifics, as this is still an ongoing investigation.”
Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect, vehicle or any persons of interest.
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Haunting Nest doorbell camera video shows a masked man on Nancy Guthrie’s front steps around the time of her abduction. He is described as being of average height and build and was wearing a black Ozark Trail backpack.
“In this type of situation where you have the potential for a suspect having done this because he or she is somehow obsessed with Savannah Guthrie or seeing Nancy featured on the ‘Today’ show multiple times… someone who is obsessed with notoriety, celebrity — there’s a lot of pathology involved in that,” Brantner Smith said.
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A member of the Pima County Sheriff’s office was seen outside of Nancy Guthrie’s home, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (Ty O’Neil/AP Photo; Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
“Potentially, that is the type of person that could come back to the memorial, look at the memorial, even take photos of the memorial and add to the memorial themselves.”
As to why there’s been an alleged lack of law enforcement presence monitoring the site, Brantner Smith pointed to one likely scenario.
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“It may be because they have solid suspects, and they just haven’t released that information to the public,” she said.
It’s not uncommon for an offender to return to the crime scene, she added.
A growing vigil in the morning light under cloudy skies is seen at Nancy Guthrie’s home on February 13, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. (Ty O’Neil/AP Photo)
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“Sometimes the offender will come back to the scene of the crime. So, in that vein, they would come to the memorial, and they may have left their own note, their own flowers,” she said.
Often, it’s a mark of their arrogance, she told Fox News Digital.
“I am guessing that the suspect or suspects who did this are frankly taking great pride in the fact that so far they’ve got away with it,” she added. “Coming back can also be a way to bring back that rush that they had when they originally committed the crime.”
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Such behavior happens frequently in arson cases, she said.
Deputies examine a flyer taped to Nancy Guthrie’s mailbox on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. They were called to the scene after volunteer searchers and several streamers walked onto Guthrie’s property with a shovel. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
“But it’s also not untypical in a homicide case or, in this case, a missing person,” she continued. “We’ve got to look at the psychology of people who do this kind of stuff. They also may want to come back to see what kind of people are leaving notes and leaving flowers.”
For that reason, she said, investigators should be reading the notes to develop potential leads.
“They’re coming back to see the impact that they had on this neighborhood and on this family,” she said. “And the rest of us would view that as very sick, but law enforcement has to view that as a way to collect clues.”
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Savannah, her sister Annie, and brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, placed flowers at the growing tribute near the foot of Nancy’s driveway on Monday in a somber visit to the crime scene.
Annie Guthrie, her husband Tommaso Cioni, and Savannah Guthrie at their missing mother Nancy Guthrie’s home on Monday, March 2, in Tucson, Arizona. (Fox News)
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A combined reward for information that leads to Nancy’s recovery from the FBI, local authorities and the Guthrie family stands at over $1 million. It has not yet been claimed.
Savannah is asking anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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