Woman allegedly targets man in ‘Palestine’ sweatshirt at Panera, charged with hate crime

(HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS) — Robert Roberson — whose murder conviction in the death of his 2-year-old daughter has come under scrutiny — did not testify Monday before the Texas House committee as previously planned.

Committee members decided against having Roberson address the hearing via video call. However, they did not state whether Roberson would or would not testify before the committee.

“Robert is a person with autism who has significant communication challenges, which was a core issue that impacted him at every stage of our judicial of our justice system,” said state Rep. Joe Moodie. “He’s also spent most of the last two decades alone, locked away from the modern technology we now take for granted. Video conference is poorly suited for Robert specifically to provide his testimony and would only further the harm he’s already suffered.”

Still, the committee continued its hearing on a law that Roberson himself attempted to use to challenge his conviction based on a clinical diagnosis that could be related to different causes.

“I was one of the 12 jurors on the case of Robert the trial, and I took that position very seriously,” a juror on the case told to the House committee on Monday:

“Everything that was presented to us was all about ‘shaken baby syndrome,’ That is what our decision was based on,” she continued. “Nothing else was ever mentioned or presented to us to consider. If it had been told to us, we would have now, I would have had a different opinion. And I would have found him not guilty.”

Among the witnesses speaking before the committee was Dr. Phil McGraw, the talk show host and forensic psychologist. He argued that if legislators execute Roberson, “the death penalty could come under real attack.”

“When we talk about due process and fair trial, that means that all the evidence, everything that is relevant and pertinent to that trial, gets before the trier of fact, whether it be a judge or a jury, and that there’s fair representation and I certainly don’t think that standard has been met here that that high standard by which we would deprive someone of their life has been met,” McGraw said.

Roberson was set to become the first person to be executed in the U.S. based on a death attributed to “shaken baby syndrome,” although several lawmakers, scientists and public figures have cast doubt over the cause of death.

He was set to be executed on Oct. 17. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously decided not to intervene in the case, the Texas Supreme Court issued a temporary stay in the case in what were supposed to be his final hours.

Roberson was found guilty of the 2002 murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, in part, based on the testimony from a pediatrician who described swelling and hemorrhages in her brain to support a “shaken baby syndrome” diagnosis.

However, evidence not shown to the jury at the time states that Nikki had chronic interstitial viral pneumonia and acute bacterial pneumonia at the time of her death and had been prescribed respiratory-suppressing drugs by doctors in the days leading up to her death, and had fallen from her bed the night before her death.

Additionally, Roberson’s autism affects how he expresses emotion — a concern that was also presented against him in his arrest, according to his legal team.

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(WASHINGTON) — Documents purported to show classified U.S. intelligence gathering on Israel’s preparations for a potential retaliatory strike on Iran appeared on social media platforms this week. It is unclear what impact the potential leak may have on any Israeli military planning for a possible strike on Iran, or Israeli-American relations.

U.S. officials declined to provide comment when contacted by ABC News about the possible leak of highly-sensitive material.

ABC News could not independently verify the authenticity of the documents, which appear to show specific details about the types and number of munitions that Israel may be readying for a potentially large-scale strike on Iran in retaliation for the regime’s late September barrage of almost 200 ballistic missiles aimed at Israel.

The documents posted on social media have markings that would indicate that they originated from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the U.S. agency that collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence gleaned from satellite and aerial imagery. ABC News is not quoting directly from or showing the documents.

Analysis of overhead satellite imagery is just one of multiple intelligence collection tools that the U.S. intelligence community uses to make strategic assessments or risk evaluations.

“We are looking into these reports,” a senior U.S. defense official told ABC News when asked about the purported intelligence documents.

The Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation and a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence all declined to provide any comment when contacted by ABC News.

If the posts prove authentic, it would signify a major intelligence breach, one reminiscent of the massive leak discovered last year after hundreds of classified documents were shared on the Discord social media platform.

Earlier this year U.S. Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information relating to the Discord leaks.

Axios first reported on the leaked documents.

“If it is true that Israel tactical plans to respond to Iran’s attack on October 1st have been leaked, it is a serious breach,” said Mick Mulroy, an ABC News national security and defense contributor, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East.

“Everyone that has access to this information has an obligation to keep it secure,” said Mulroy. “The men and women of the IDF that would carry out this mission could be compromised because of this, the future coordination between the U.S. and Israel could be challenged as well.”

“Trust is a key component in the relationship and depending on how this was leaked that trust could be eroded,” he added.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Three rapidly growing Southern California wildfires have burned more than 100,000 acres in less than a week and continued to threaten homes in multiple communities as the state mobilized an all-hands-on-deck response to bolster front-line fire crews battling the raging flames.

Nearly 6,000 National Guard members, law enforcement officers and other first responders have been sent to the firelines. Additionally, a squadron of 51 firefighting helicopters, nine fixed-wing aircraft, including two National Guard C-130 airplanes, 520 fire engines, 75 bulldozers and 141 water tankers were being used in an attempt to tame the blazes, two of which were out of control Wednesday.

The biggest blaze is the Bridge Fire, which ignited Sunday in the Angeles National Forest about 31 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and exploded overnight from about 4,000 acres on Tuesday to nearly 48,000 acres by Wednesday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The fire remained out of control with 0% containment after spreading across Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, destroying the Mountain High Ski Resort where images emerged of the chairlift going up in flames. The fire is also threatening the small mountain communities of Wrightwood and Mt. Baldy, officials said.

At least 33 homes in Wrightwood and Mt. Baldy have been destroyed and another 2,500 structures in the area are being threatened by the fire, according to Cal Fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

During a news conference Wednesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said three people, including an off-duty sheriff sergeant, were trapped by the Bridge Fire about 5 miles west of Mt. Baldy in Los Angeles County. Luna said efforts are underway to rescue the people, who are unable to access roads and need to be airlifted out of the remote area. Luna said heavy smoke in the area was preventing a helicopter from reaching the trapped people and the Los Angeles County Fire Department was attempting to get to them by vehicle.

“It’s just a nightmare,” Candace Lace, a homeowner in Lake Elsinore, a town being threatened by the Bridge Fire, told ABC News. “My girlfriend lost her home and I had to call her and tell her she’s losing her home. I could see it on fire.”

By Wednesday morning, the Bridge Fire had consumed 47,904 acres and prompted numerous evacuation orders and warnings, according to Cal Fire.

Stephanie Beck, a resident of Wrightwood, told ABC News that she has never seen a blaze move as quickly as the Bridge Fire.

“We really didn’t even have time to think,” Beck said of evacuating the fire zone. “It was just throw everything in the car and go.”

The Line Fire

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department arrested a man Tuesday in connection with the Line Fire ravaging areas east of Los Angeles since Sept. 5.

Justin Wayne Halstenberg, a 34-year-old man from Norco, California, was identified “as the suspect who started a fire in the area of Baseline Road and Alpin Street in the city of Highland, also known as the Line Fire,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Halstenberg was being held on suspicion of arson with his bail set at $80,000, officials said.

As of Wednesday, the Line Fire had burned 34,659 and was at 14% contained, according to Cal Fire. The sprawling fire is threatening more than 65,600 structures, including homes and commercial property, according to the latest update.

Authorities issued evacuation orders for 13,300 structures with another 52,300 under evacuation warnings. Evacuation orders were issued for 9,200 structures in the area, with another 56,400 structures under evacuation warnings, Cal Fire said.

No structures are confirmed damaged or destroyed. Three firefighters have been injured in the effort to contain the blaze, fire officials said.

“Today elevated winds and continued dry conditions will allow the fire to grow,” Cal Fire said in a statement. “Smoke from fires across the region will help moderate fire activity unless the skies clear and the smoke thins. That would allow for more slope and vegetation aligned runs.

More than 3,100 firefighting personnel were battling the blaze.

Gov. Gavin Newsom requested Federal Emergency Management Agency aid Tuesday evening to “secure vital resources to suppress the Bridge and Airport fires.”

The Airport Fire

The Airport Fire — which broke out on Monday in an unincorporated area of Orange County and spread to Riverside County — had burned 22,376 acres as of Wednesday, growing by 3,348 acres overnight, according to Cal Fire. The blaze is 0% contained.

The blaze is threatening 10,500 structures, including homes and businesses, and has so far injured five firefighters and two civilians, Cal Fire said.

The Airport Fire began around 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday, sparked by county public works crews working on a fire prevention project by trying to move boulders to prevent public access — mostly by motorcyclists — to an area of the canyon with a lot of dry vegetation that could ignite easily, officials told ABC Los Angeles station KABC.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, officials said 1,400 homes in Robinson Ranch in Rancho Santa Margarita were under mandatory evacuation due to the fire moving south toward communities like Lake Elsinore and Dove Canyon.

A total of 16 active wildfires were scorching California on Wednesday and have burned 613,819 acres, according to a statement Gov. Newsom released Tuesday.

So far this fire season, 6,045 wildfires have erupted in California and consumed more than 900,000 acres, Newsom said.

ABC News’ Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.

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