Galveston preps for Lone Star Rally weekend despite cancellation

It's billed as the largest four-day bike rally in America and it's not happening this year, but island officials still expect an influx of visitors.

Recommended Stories

  • 10 death row inmates in Oklahoma could get new trials

    As many as 10 death row inmates in Oklahoma, more than one-fifth of the state’s prisoners condemned to die, could escape execution because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. The inmates have challenged their convictions in state court following the high court’s ruling last year, dubbed the McGirt decision, that determined a large swath of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation. The decision means that Oklahoma prosecutors lack the authority to pursue criminal charges in cases in which the defendants, or the victims, are tribal citizens.

  • What to do if you lose your COVID-19 vaccine card

    Go back to the place you got your first shot if you lose your paper card, and make sure to take a photo of the vaccine card after your first dose.

  • Democrats decry Biden's airstrikes in Syria as unconstitutional. Republicans praise them as 'proportional.'

    Democrats are calling the Biden administration's airstrikes in Syria unconstitutional. President Biden on Thursday ordered airstrikes against facilities in eastern Syria used by Iranian-backed militant groups, his first military action since taking office. The strikes were in response to several rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq. While Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the limited scope of the airstrikes "aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq," many Democrats expressed concerns on Friday that the move has done just the opposite, and argued it wasn't legally justified. "Some Democrats said that Congress has not passed an authorization for the use of military force specifically in Syria," reports CNN. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said "there is absolutely no justification for a president to authorize a military strike that is not in self-defense against an imminent threat without congressional authorization ... we need to extricate from the Middle East, not escalate." Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) agreed, calling for an immediate congressional briefing and saying "offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances." Republicans, however, were seemingly largely pleased with the move. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the U.S. response a "necessary deterrent" to tell Iran that attacks on U.S. interests "will not be tolerated," reports CNN. As Fox News notes, Republican Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), among others, also applauded the strike, calling it "proportional." White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended the action as "necessary," and said Biden "has the right to take action" as he sees fit. She said "there was a thorough, legal response" and the Defense Department briefed congressional leadership in advance. More stories from theweek.comBiden's COVID-19 relief bill will head to the Senate after House voteBiden in the quagmireJosh Hawley, Senator No

  • Princess Diana wasn't allowed to call Prince Charles by his first name until they were engaged

    It's been 40 years since Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer announced their engagement with a televised interview.

  • Dutch appeals court says coronavirus curfew was right move

    A Dutch appeals court said on Friday the government had been right to impose a night curfew in the fight against the coronavirus, overturning a lower court's order which had caused confusion over the measure last week. In a clear victory for the government, the appeals court said it had rightfully used emergency powers to install the curfew, the first in the Netherlands since World War Two, and had adequately proved that the measure was necessary to rein in the pandemic. The district court in The Hague last week had ruled that the government had failed to make clear why emergency powers were needed at this stage of the pandemic, siding with anti-lockdown activists who had brought the case.

  • Son of world-renowned UC Davis professor arrested after 911 call

    Son of world-renowned UC Davis professor arrested after 911 call

  • TikTokers tried to prove that snow in Texas was 'fake' as weather conspiracy theories ran wild online

    From "fake snow" to Bill Gates, conspiracy theories about the Texas storm are spreading. Right-wing pundits and politicians aren't helping.

  • Prince Harry knew he and Meghan Markle had something 'pretty special' by their second date. Here's a complete timeline of their relationship.

    The couple's royal love story began in 2016 when they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend.

  • Covid-19: India in a 'delicate phase' of its coronavirus battle as cases surge

    A surge in cases in some Indian states has scientists worried about a possible new wave.

  • Russian scientists say Sputnik V performs well against COVID mutations

    A Russian trial testing the effectiveness of revaccination with the Sputnik V shot to protect against new mutations of the coronavirus is producing strong results, researchers said on Saturday. Last month President Vladimir Putin ordered a review by March 15 of Russian-produced vaccines for their effectiveness against new variants spreading in different parts of the world.

  • Residents of an Indian slum thought they were getting vaccinated like everyone else but were unknowingly part of a clinical trial

    After a white van advertised COVID-19 vaccines to a central-Indian slum, many of its residents feel duped after finding out they were in a trial.

  • Merkel won’t take AstraZeneca vaccine, says she's too old

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she won't take AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine because she is too old, a comment that comes as millions of Germans refuse to take the vaccine because they do not trust it.

  • Dollars flood Venezuela as Maduro abandons 'socialismo' in favour of Chinese system

    Perched on the mountain range that divides the sprawling city of Caracas from the Caribbean Sea, Venezuela’s Hotel Humboldt can be seen from nearly all corners of the capital. The 65 year-old, 14-floor structure can only be reached by cable car from the city below. It currently boasts 69 rooms, six dining areas, a casino, a night club, and a swimming pool and spa. “It will be the first seven star hotel in Venezuela,” President Nicolas Maduro once proudly proclaimed as the 1956 symbol of oil wealth was being lavishly renovated. Now, the hotel is open again as a symbol of an impending economic recovery and tourism boom in a country that has suffered the worst economic crisis in modern Latin American history. But the so-called Socialist president’s touting of the luxurious, $300 per night hotel in a country where most live in poverty represents something else to others - an abandonment of a political project promising a socialist utopia in favor of an 'anything goes', capitalist kleptocracy.

  • Kashmir villagers hopeful but wary after India and Pakistan agree to ceasefire

    Villagers living on both sides of the Line of Control dividing the Himalayan region of Kashmir welcomed an agreement between long-time foes India and Pakistan to stop shelling from each side, but some were sceptical it would hold. The nuclear-armed neighbours signed a ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) in 2003, but that has frayed in recent years and there have been mounting casualties. In a joint statement on Thursday, India and Pakistan said they would observe a ceasefire.

  • 'Oath Keeper' Jessica Watkins denounced the extremist group but will stay in jail before her trial, judge says

    The ruling comes after Watkins requested pretrial release earlier this week due to safety concerns in jail related to her being transgender.

  • Trump lost because 'character counts.' That's why his CPAC speech won't change anything.

    The problem in 2020 was with the Republican candidate. That won't change in 2024 if Trump stays on top.

  • IS bride loses bid to return to UK to fight for citizenship

    A woman who ran away from London as a teenager to join the Islamic State group lost her bid Friday to return to the U.K. to fight for the restoration of her citizenship, which was revoked on national security grounds. Shamima Begum was one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015. Begum's lawyers appealed,, saying her right to a fair hearing was harmed by the obstacles of pursuing her case from the camp.

  • Tiger Woods car crash: Golfer 'in good spirits' after latest treatment

    The golfer received successful "follow-up procedures" following Tuesday's serious car crash in LA.

  • Fledgling Actor From Texas Bashed a Cop With a Crutch in Capitol Riot: Docs

    Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos via FBI/GettyAn aspiring actor from Texas, who said he was almost “gassed to death like… a Jew” during the Capitol insurrection, has been charged with using a crutch to bash a cop in the Jan. 6 riot.Luke Coffee, a 41-year-old from Dallas, has been charged with a slew of crimes, including assault of a federal law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. In a newly unsealed criminal complaint, prosecutors said Coffee is seen in photos and videos using a crutch to assault D.C. Police officers who were trying to protect the Capitol.Before gaining notoriety for storming the Capitol, Coffee worked in post-production on two primetime television shows, including Everwood, according to his IMDB page. Returning to Dallas in 2010 after stints in Hollywood and Cape Town, Coffee established a production house under the umbrella of a company owned by his mentor, director Rocky Powell, according to his website. He has directed a documentary, a TV pilot, and continued acting, with appearances in NBC’s Friday Night Lights and Las Vegas.But his social media shows his affinity for former President Donald Trump and his belief in conspiracy theories, including QAnon and how hydroxychloroquine can cure COVID-19. The day before the riots, Coffee said in one YouTube video, “All hell is going to break loose tomorrow,” before mentioning former Trump strategist Steve Bannon. “Cue the storm baby Q storm,” he added.According to Dallas news site Central Track, Coffee also documented his trip to the Capitol. The morning of the riots, Coffee—who prosecutors say was wearing a brown cowboy hat, camouflage jacket, and a blue bandana—posted a photo alongside another rioter. Behind them, hundreds of rioters with MAGA flags can be seen.“Historic Day for ‘Merica!!” Coffee captioned the photo on Facebook. Criminal Complaint The complaint states that during the riots, Coffee is seen in videos on the steps of the Capitol near the Lower Terrace tunnel entranceway. He is seen turning toward the sea of rioters trying to breach the building and making “several statements,” though it’s not clear what he said.The group of rioters at the Lower Entrance tunnel, which included Coffee, violently attacked officers with blunt objects and threw items at officers, the complaint says. One D.C. cop was “violently dragged down the Lower Terrace steps by protesters.”Coffee was seen holding a crutch over his head before lowering it toward his waist and rushing into the line of D.C. and Capitol Police officers, the complaint says.Bodycam footage shows that, after Coffee was forced back, he charged at the officers again, using the crutch “as a blunt object weapon by positioning the crutch directly toward the officer’s upper chest/head area.” It took about two D.C. officers to hold Coffee and his makeshift weapon back.Prosecutors add that video footage shows the crutch being passed around to several insurrections who all used it to attack officers. Criminal Complaint The FBI was tipped off to Coffee from several witnesses, including a “college classmate who happens to be a Special Agent,” the complaint says. One witness, who said they met Coffee in mid-2020, said they recognized him because he was wearing “attire that stood out.” The witness also added that Coffee featured in a YouTube video last October in which he “discussed several conspiracy theories.”During a Jan. 13 interview with federal authorities, Coffee admitted that he drove to D.C. from Dallas in a truck and was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. While he acknowledged that he “held up a crutch over his head” outside the building, “Coffee stated he did not engage in any type of physical confrontations with the police while at the Capitol Building,” the complaint says.After the riots, Coffee appeared in several YouTube videos where he continued his rants about other conspiracy theories, including questioning the validity of the moon landing, and dabbling in Flat Earth and reptilian beliefs. In a since-deleted Facebook video, he admitted to pushing police with the crutch.“Those cops I fought, uh, I was pushing against, I grabbed a crutch. And I went in and pushed against the line. I pushed all against the line and was, like, trying to drive them back, and God gave me some supernatural energy, and they sprayed in my eyes,” Coffee said in the Facebook video, according to Central Track.Describing the violence as an “antifa false flag attack,” Coffee added that he was “ready to die” with “patriots” exercising their right of freedom of speech.“I was ready to die last night. We thought we were, we were totally gassed. And I literally thought I was getting gassed to death like I was in Nazi Germany, a Jew getting gassed to death. Okay,” he said. Luke Coffee featured in one of the FBI’s Most Wanted posters following the riot. FBI Daniel Caldwell, a 50-year-old from Texas, was also charged Friday with assaulting and “spraying a mist at police officers” who were attempting to protect the Capitol steps on Jan. 6. Caldwell, who is seen in photos and videos in a camouflage outfit and a hoodie that said “Guns SAVE Lives,” was interviewed at a D.C. hotel after the riot. He admitted to being at the Capitol when a fight broke out and a “female was hit in the neck,” he said, according to a newly unsealed complaint.“According to Caldwell, the fight then started and then ‘they took their guys’ and then someone took her (referring to the female who was hit) and took off,” the complaint says. “Caldwell said that individuals stayed in the area and police were spraying mace towards him. Caldwell said he told them if they continued, he would return spray.” Caldwell then said in the interview that “once the officers sprayed him” he retaliated and sprayed about 15 cops. “Caldwell stated that officers then shot him with a big cannon with rubber bullets,” the complaint adds. Criminal Complaint The complaint says the FBI received many tips about Caldwell, including from a witness who said he engaged with the 50-year-old in an Airsoft Military Simulation—or MilSim. The game is described as “a live-action, in-person simulation of armed conflict scenarios conducted by civilians that involve airsoft plastic projectiles launched by replica weapons, but do not involve actual firearms.” The witness told the FBI that he met Caldwell while playing MilSim about three years ago, and described him as a “huge white supremacist” and “a complete wacko.” While playing the game, the witness said, Caldwell “would bring a real firearm to the course and had to be corrected on multiple occasions to return the firearm to his vehicle,” the complaint states. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • 'Blame Trump' defense in Capitol riot looks like a long shot

    Facing damning evidence in the deadly Capitol siege last month — including social media posts flaunting their actions — rioters are arguing in court they were following then-President Donald Trump's instructions on Jan. 6. “This purported defense, if recognized, would undermine the rule of law because then, just like a king or a dictator, the president could dictate what’s illegal and what isn’t in this country," U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said recently in ordering pretrial detention of William Chrestman, a suspected member of the Kansas City-area chapter of the Proud Boys. Chrestman’s attorneys argued in court papers that Trump gave the mob “explicit permission and encouragement” to do what they did, providing those who obeyed him with “a viable defense against criminal liability.”