A boycott campaign propelled by GOP officials in several states sprung up this week against ice cream maker Ben & Jerrys, after an earlier decision by the company to stop selling its products in Israeli occupied territory.
The Vermont-based brand, which has a long history of taking socially conscious stances, put out a statement saying it was “inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” which included the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
According to the Associated Press, “Israel annexed east Jerusalem after the 1967 war and considers the entire city its undivided capital, though the annexation is not internationally recognized. It says the West Bank is disputed territory and says its final status should be resolved in negotiations. The international community, however, widely considers both areas to be occupied territory.”
Both of the company’s founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, are Jewish.
Ben & Jerry’s has a rather unique agreement with its parent company, the international behemoth Unilever, which allows for the board to take controversial stances. To date, the decision is one of the strongest stances an American company has taken against Israel, traditionally one of America’s closest allies.
The backlash was swift, and harsh.
In response to the move, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a threatening statement, vowing to “act aggressively” against the company — even going so far as to call the targeted boycott “a new form of terrorism.”
The decision to stop selling ice cream in what Israel calls “disputed territory” also incensed elected officials in both parties — Biden’s White House lamented that Ben & Jerry’s was “unfairly” targeting Israel — but especially conservative lawmakers and pundits, who have aggressively aligned themselves with Israel in recent years.
Texas and Florida, run by two of the GOP’s most well-known governors, said they are currently exploring harsh actions like a coordinated divestment campaign or even an outright ban.
Both leaders wasted no time decrying the company’s original statement.
“Ben and Jerry’s decision to boycott parts of Israel is disgraceful and an insult to America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” a statement from the office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbot Tuesday night read. “Unilever, Ben and Jerry’s parent company, must reverse this ill-conceived decision.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis placed Unilever under state review, saying “Florida has long had a strong relationship with the State of Israel,” adding that, “As a matter of law and principle, the State of Florida does not tolerate discrimination against the State of Israel or the Israeli people, including boycotts and divestments targeting Israel.”
More than 30 U.S. states have laws on the books prohibiting pension funds from investing in companies that refuse to do business with Israel — though it’s unclear if Ben & Jerry’s action this week qualifies, legally speaking. In its original statement, the company said it would not renew its local license with a longtime Israeli partner — but agreed to continue selling its products in the rest of the country “through a different arrangement.”
Nevertheless, Republican officials in both Florida and Texas both said they were discussing what recourse to pursue against the ice cream maker, including a potential divestment of state resources. Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar even went so far as to suggest a statewide ban of the company’s products.
Fox News also repeatedly railed on Ben & Jerry’s for the action, with many hosts calling for viewers to stop purchasing the brand.
“I wish we could return to the days where companies sold products instead of virtue signals,” Fox host Tomi Lahren lamented. “I don’t believe in cancel culture, but it is time to look at these companies and say, ‘what exactly are you standing for?'”
It wasn’t the first time the network has railed against the staunchly progressive company, with another recent controversy igniting over Ben & Jerry’s Colin Kaepernick-named ice cream, which sought to celebrate the former NFL player’s protest against police brutality.
AirBnB also found itself in a similar situation just a few years ago when the online home rental company announced in 2018 that it would no longer list properties in the occupied West Bank. The company reversed its decision just a few months later in the face of harsh criticism.
In a 2018 announcement similar to the one made by Ben & Jerry’s this week, Airbnb said that it would no longer be offering listings in Israeli settlements.
Airbnb insisted that it was not boycotting Israel and that it opposed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which does not differentiate between Israel proper and the West Bank, as Airbnb was seeking to do. But that was not enough to prevent the vacation rental giant from being inundated with lawsuits by plaintiffs in the United States who alleged discriminatory practices.
In a court settlement reached less than five months after its press-stopping announcement, Airbnb decided to walk back the decision to remove listings in the settlements.
With its Monday announcement that it would cease selling its ice cream in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” Ben & Jerry’s ostensibly aims to take the anti-settlement cause a step further than Airbnb was able to carry it.
But the ice cream giant is slated to face similar legal challenges by pro-Israel activists and lawmakers in the US who do not accept efforts to differentiate between Israel and the West Bank when it comes to boycotts. They maintain that the refusal to sell a pint in Efrat is no different from refusing to sell one in Tel Aviv.
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Israel has not wasted any time, with its ambassador to the US, Gilad Erdan, penning letters to each of the governors of the over 30 states that have passed legislation targeting BDS, urging them to act against Ben & Jerry’s in line with those laws.
In coordination w/ @yairlapid, I sent a letter to 35 Governors of US states that have legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/tGW720oRZL
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) July 20, 2021
That legislation includes requirements for states to pull their pension fund investments from firms that boycott Israel and strip those companies of any contracts signed with said states.
Richard Goldberg, who drafted one of the first anti-BDS laws while working for former Illinois governor Bruce Rauner in 2015, said that in addition to the discrimination lawsuits, Airbnb’s decision to walk back its settlement boycott followed notices from states such as Illinois, Florida and New Jersey that they planned to pull their pension funds as a result of the announcement.
“Those states took action and got Airbnb’s attention very quickly, partly because they were looking forward to an IPO, and state pension divestment actions would likely have been pretty tough for them in that environment,” Goldberg told The Times of Israel.
According to Bloomberg investment data, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Arizona, Illinois and Mississippi all have pension funds currently invested in Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s. They are also six of the 12 states that have passed legislation requiring them to divest their pension funds from companies that participate in a boycott of Israel.
“In this case, you have a decision by a large corporation to inflict economic harm on a company based in Israel for political motivations, which is not just a textbook definition of BDS, but a legal definition within the criteria of the state laws against it,” said Goldberg, who is now a senior adviser to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He was referring to the Ben and Jerry’s plant in Israel, which lost its contract to produce the ice cream due to the company’s decision.
Lara Friedman, who tracks anti-BDS legislation as president of the Foundation of Middle East Peace, said she expected states to act swiftly.
New York State needs to follow its own Executive Order, lead by example, and disassociate entirely from Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s for their anti-Israel and anti-Jewish discrimination. Read my full statement⬇️ pic.twitter.com/VbcMbegTez
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) July 20, 2021
“For legislators trying to make a really political statement, I don’t see them saying, ‘Well let’s wait and see,’” she said, adding that settlement boycott opponents will likely be “scrubbing the books in the states that have these laws to see if they can take some punitive action.”
Targeting pension investments appears to be a more surefire way of exacting revenge on Ben & Jerry’s than blacklisting the company from contracts with states.
Following a series of First Amendment challenges to the laws, many states now set a minimum amount of $100,000 in trade before anti-BDS measures can be triggered against a contractor. That would mean that smaller Ben & Jerry’s contracts would remain unaffected, even in states with anti-BDS laws. But Friedman and Goldberg still said that future contracts with Ben & Jerry’s could be in jeopardy.
The third track of punishment that Ben & Jerry’s will likely face is reputational harm. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid set the tone of the onslaught went he claimed that the ice cream company “caved to antisemitism.”
The West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit, with the Palestinian village of Wadi Fukin in the valley below, June 17, 2015. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
“Trying to slander these companies as antisemitic on the national and international stage is not a small thing,” Friedman said. “The question is how long will companies and shareholders be willing to hold the line against that.
“The folks who oppose this will pull out all the stops to push Ben & Jerry’s to reverse the position like Airbnb did or to punish them so badly that no one else will dare go there,” she added.
Goldberg noted the effort by Ben & Jerry’s to differentiate between its West Bank ban and its willingness to continue selling its products in Israel, in an apparent effort to skirt legal repercussions.
“Differentiation is a comfortable place for those who want to say this is about settlements and not about the State of Israel, which elides the fact that the policy of settlements in the West Bank is a policy of the State of Israel,” Friedman said.
Goldberg noted that states’ anti-BDS legislation makes no such differentiation between the West Bank and Israel proper, “because in the end you are punishing an Israeli company and not one that is only operating in the West Bank.”
The laws appear to have been written with the intention of including boycotts of settlements within the broaderframework of Israel boycotts. In Illinois’s anti-BDS law for example, Israel boycotts are defined as “engaging in actions that are politically motivated and are intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with the State of Israel or companies based in the State of Israel or in territories controlled by the State of Israel.”
More than targeting the boycotters of Israel proper, Friedman maintained that anti-BDS legislation is designed to go after the relatively more moderate firms that urge targeted boycotts of the settlement enterprise. She referred to a recent blacklist compiled as a result of New York’s anti-BDS legislation where the majority of firms listed were ones that engaged in settlement boycotts and added that no major company has pursued a boycott of both Israel and the settlements in the past decade.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joined those condemning the decision by Ben & Jerry’s to bar ice cream sales in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory” (OPT) and said Tuesday he would be staging a boycott of his own.
“I can say that I won’t be eating anymore Cherry Garcia for a while,” de Blasio said in reference to one of the company’s most beloved flavors.
STATE DEPARTMENT REJECTS ISRAEL BOYCOTT MOVEMENT AMID BEN & JERRY’S SALES BAN
“That’s sad to me. I don’t know them well, but I’ve met them over the years and I think they’re good people, literally Ben and Jerry,” he added. “I think they’re good people with good values, but this is a mistake. They shouldn’t do this.”
The New York City mayor’s comments come one day after the ice cream company announced it would be stopping all sales in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
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“We have a long-standing partnership with our licensee, who manufactures Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region,” the company said in a press release Monday. “We have been working to change this, and so we have informed our licensee that we will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year.”
BEN & JERRY’S SLAMMED BY ISRAELI PM, NETANYAHU AFTER ANNOUNCING BOYCOTT OF ‘OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY’
The release said that it will continue to sell ice cream in Israel “through a different arrangement,” but the announcement has been met with condemnation by top Jewish leaders.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, Unilever Plc, of “severe consequences” in a Tuesday phone call with CEO Alan Jope.
Bennett called the move a “glaring anti-Israel measure” and said Israel would act “aggressively against any boycott measure targeting civilians,” reported Reuters.
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Some grocery stores in New York – which is home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the U.S. – are removing the top ice cream chain from their shelves, according to local news outlet WLNY.
And State Department spokesmen Ned Price said the U.S. continues to “firmly reject” the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement “unfairly” targeting Israel.
JERUSALEM, July 20 (Reuters) – Israel warned consumer goods giant Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) on Tuesday of “severe consequences” from a decision by subsidiary Ben & Jerry’s to stop selling ice cream in Israeli-occupied territories, and urged U.S. states to invoke anti-boycott laws.
The Ben & Jerry’s announcement on Monday followed pro-Palestinian pressure on the South Burlington, Vermont-based company over its business in Israel and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, handled through a licensee partner since 1987.
Ben & Jerry’s said it would not renew the license when it expires at the end of next year. It said it would stay in Israel under a different arrangement, without sales in the West Bank, among areas where Palestinians seek statehood. read more
Most world powers deem Israel’s settlements illegal. It disputes this, citing historical and security links to the land, and has moved to penalise anti-settlement measures under Israeli law while securing similar legal protection in some U.S. states.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said he spoke with Unilever CEO Alan Jope about the “glaring anti-Israel measure” by the ice cream maker.
“From Israel’s standpoint, this action has severe consequences, legal and otherwise, and it will move aggressively against any boycott measure targeting civilians,” Bennett told Jope, according to the statement from his office.
Britain’s Unilever did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, said he had raised the Ben & Jerry’s decision in a letter sent to 35 U.S. governors whose states legislated against boycotting Israel.
“Rapid and determined action must be taken to counter such discriminatory and antisemitic actions,” read the letter, tweeted by the envoy, which likened the case to Airbnb’s 2018 announcement that it would delist settlement rental properties.
Airbnb reversed that decision in 2019 following legal challenges in the United States, but said it would donate profits from bookings in the settlements to humanitarian causes.
Palestinians welcomed the Ben & Jerry’s announcement. They want the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip for a future state. Israel deems all of Jerusalem its capital – a status not recognised internationally.
Writing by Dan Williams
Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Raissa Kasolowsky
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
But the brand has come under scrutiny for its relationships in Israel in recent years as tensions in the region have flared up.
The Vermont-based company has aligned itself with liberal causes, including diverting some funds destined for police departments and investing “that money in community-driven solutions that foster real health, peacekeeping, and safety,” it said in a statement in June 2020. The company has called on the United States to end white supremacy and launched a podcast on racism in America last year. In December 2020, Ben & Jerry’s unveiled a Colin Kaepernick-inspired nondairy ice cream flavor called “Change the Whirled.”
Fans have taken the company to task for doing business in Israel — especially in West Bank settlements, considered illegal under international law — arguing it doesn’t align with Ben & Jerry’s liberal image.
The company has been mostly silent on the topic. In 2015, Ben & Jerry’s posted on its website that it was “keenly aware of how complex the local market can be,” and it believed it could affect positive change by maintaining a presence in the region.
But Monday, Ben & Jerry’s had a change of heart, saying it heard and recognized the concerns shared by its fans and partners.
Ben & Jerry’s said it informed its licensee in Israel that its agreement will not be renewed when it expires at the end of 2022. After then, Ben & Jerry’s will no longer be sold in the Palestinian territories. The company’s ice cream will, however, continue to be sold in Israel, “through a different arrangement,” Ben & Jerry’s said, noting it will update customers on those details in the future.
Israeli politicians blasted the decision by the ice cream brand. The country’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, said that Ben & Jerry’s has decided to brand itself as the”anti-Israel ice cream.”
Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s minister of interior, tweeted her disdain for Ben & Jerry’s decision Monday.
“Your ice cream is not in line with our taste,” she said. “We will manage without you.”
The Israeli-Palestinian relationship is fraught with conflict, with some of the disagreements stemming from who settled in the land thousands of years ago. International law considers East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and Gaza as occupied territory under United Nations Security Council Resolutions, though that characterization is disputed by Israel.
Well-known ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s announced on Monday its plan to boycott West Bank settlements and Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, by refusing to allow its products to be sold in those areas.
“We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT),” the company stated in a notice it posted on its website.
— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) July 19, 2021
The move gives a boost to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which has targeted the Vermont-based American company for the last decade.
The group Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine had been particularly active on the issue.
The ice cream company, known for taking a stand on social justice issues, clarified that it was not boycotting Israel, just the “occupied Palestinian territories.”
It said that it would maintain its sales relationship with areas of Israel within the pre-1967 borders.
“Although Ben & Jerry’s will no longer be sold in the OPT, we will stay in Israel through a different arrangement. We will share an update on this as soon as we’re ready,” the company explained.
The boycott language Ben & Jerry’s used was vague in that it referenced the “occupied Palestinian territories” and did not mention the words “settlements” or “east Jerusalem,” but the assumption can be made that these are the territories being referred to.
Ben & Jerry’s stated: “We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners.
“We have a longstanding partnership with our licensee, who manufactures Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region.
“We have been working to change this, and so we have informed our licensee that we will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year.
Uniliver Israel, have responded saying, “we are aware that Ben & Jerry’s has recently made an announcement. To be clear, Unilever Israel does not manage Ben & Jerry’s locally. The brand is run by a competitor’s business which owns the Ben & Jerry’s franchise in the Israeli market. Unilever Israel had no involvement in this decision. It was made by Ben & Jerry’s globally and its independent Board of Directors. We are very proud of our history in Israel and are fully committed to our long-term presence. We employ around 2,000 employees, the majority of which in our factories in Arad, Acre, Safed and Haifa. In the last decade alone, the company has invested in the Israeli market more than 1 billion NIS, and will continue to invest in its people, brands, and business in the local market.”
One resident of the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement who did not want to be named said he was disappointed by the announcement, but added that it wouldn’t cause him to boycott Ben & Jerry’s in return.
“It’s the best ice cream you can get in stores here by far,” he said. “I’ll just buy my New York Chunk Fudge in Jerusalem and smuggle it back home passed all the checkpoints.”
Opposition Head Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to the announcement via tweet writing “Now we Israelis know which ice cream NOT to buy.”
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) July 19, 2021
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan has responded saying that the settlements in Judea and Samaria will still exist after Ben & Jerry’s ice cream will melt.
MK Ofir Akunis (Likud) wrote on his Facebook page “We will stop buying Ben & Jerry’s in Israel, in Judeah and Samaria and every other place in the world”
MK Mossi Raz of the Meretz party has reacted to the announcement saying. ” Once again, Israel is harmed by the immorality of the settlements in the occupied territories. Of course, there are those who are not willing to sell [Ben & Jerry’s ice cream] in settlements that are illegal and immoral, and it is a pity that all Israelis are harmed by their existence.Likud Young Guard are calling for a boycott on the ice cream manufacturer saying that “we don’t need Ben & Jerry’s, we have Golda.”MK Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionist Party has responded saying “don’t stop purchasing Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, as long as Israel is the owner of the brand.”
א. אל תפסיקו לצרוך גלידת בן אנד ג’ריז, כל זמן שבן אנד ג’ריז ישראל מחזיקה במותג. מגיע להם שאפו על ההתעקשות שלא להחרים את יהודה ושומרון.ב. הבעלים של בן אנד ג’ריז העולמי הם חברת יוניליוור. הם הבעלים של מותגים רבים בישראל, ובהם תלמה, שטראוס, בייגל בייגל ואחרים.ג. מי שאמור >>>
— שמחה רוטמן – Simcha Rothman (@rothmar) July 19, 2021
NGO Peace Now have responded stating that “Ben & Jerry’s decision makes it clear that even if the settlers on the right continue to try to erase the Green Line, the world clearly distinguishes sovereign Israel from the occupied territories. International companies are interested in doing business with the State of Israel, but are unwilling to accept military control over millions of Palestinians and with the settlement enterprise. The government of change is well aware of the enormous damage that the settlement enterprise is inflicting on Israel. Anyone who wants to strengthen the Israeli economy and avoid boycotts and international criticism will work to end the occupation. “
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were spotted house hunting again on Friday, but this time the singer’s kids were in tow.
Max and Emme joined Lopez, 51, and Affleck while the two were house hunting in Santa Monica.
Lopez was also seen out-and-about on Thursday house shopping with her beau. It was reported earlier this year that Lopez is looking to relocated from Miami to Los Angeles, where the 48-year-old actor currently resides.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez took her kids Emme and Max to visit a house in Santa Monica on Friday. Lopez looked busy on the phone while Ben drove the car while house hunting. (Stoianov-lese / BACKGRID)
BEN AFFLECK CAUGHT STARING LOVINGLY AT JENNIFER LOPEZ AS SHE SAYS ‘SOME THINGS DO LAST FOREVER’
A source previously told TMZ that while the two have been seen looking for houses together, they don’t yet have plans to move in together just yet – and that Affleck is just lending a helping hand.
Among the properties they toured was a Beverly Park mansion listed for $63.95 million. The over-31,000 square-foot home sits on a 1.4-acre plot on Billionaire’s Row.
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Lopez and Affleck rekindled their relationship after the singer and her fiancé, Alex Rodriguez, called it quits in April.
“We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so,” the couple said in a statement at the time.
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Affleck and Lopez were previously engaged for roughly two years. The two split in 2004 and Affleck went on to marry actress Jennifer Garner in 2005. The pair – who share three children together – divorced in 2018.
Lopez shares Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony.
Ben Affleck adoringly stared at girlfriend Jennifer Lopez while stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic Wednesday morning.
The actor was caught on camera gazing at Lopez while she threw her head up in frustration. Affleck, 48, was reportedly driving Lopez, 51, to her home.
The couple is said to be spending every night together.
“Ben and Jen are spending almost every night together when they’re not working,” an insider told Us Weekly earlier this month. “They plan on moving in together very soon.”
JENNIFER LOPEZ GIVES OFF ‘JENNY FROM THE BLOCK’ VIBES WHILE WEARING TINY CROP TOP, LOW-RISE PANTS FOR OUTING
Ben Affleck adoringly stares at Jennifer Lopez while the two are stuck in Los Angeles traffic. (Backgrid)
JENNIFER LOPEZ, BEN AFFLECK SPOTTED WITH KIDS DURING LOS ANGELES LUNCH OUTING
The two have even begun house hunting, according to the outlet.
“The past few months have been a real whirlwind,” another source said. “They’re well aware some cynics still look at it as a big flashy attention grab and roll their eyes at the speed of it all, but it doesn’t faze them one iota. They’re fully committed to taking the next steps and spending the rest of their lives together.”
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Lopez and Affleck rekindled their relationship after the singer and her fiancé, Alex Rodriguez, called it quits in April.
“We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so,” the couple said in a statement at the time.
Affleck and Lopez were previously engaged for roughly two years. (Getty Images)
Affleck and Lopez were previously engaged for roughly two years. The two split in 2004 and Affleck went on to marry actress Jennifer Garner in 2005. The pair – who share three children together – divorced in 2018.
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Lopez recently opened up about her album “This Is Me… Then,” which included songs written about her then-romance with Affleck. “Loving You,” “All I Have” and “Dear Ben” were all inspired by the “Gone Girl” actor.
“That was a moment. When you go back and hear that, you hear the purity and the love there,” Lopez told Apple Music 1’s Ebro Darden. “And I think that’s why people went back as they saw different things happening in my life now and they go, ‘Wow, really?’ And I think it gave people hope. … Some things do last forever.”
HOUSTON – A Harris County deputy was injured in a shooting during a struggle with a prisoner at the campus of Ben Taub Hospital Wednesday, according to the hospital.
Houston police said the prisoner was brought from jail to the clinic for a doctor’s appointment on the fifth floor of the hospital. Police said the deputy, a 36-year veteran of the department, was escorting the inmate to the bathroom when he tried to escape and then grabbed the deputy’s handgun, which caused shots to be fired during the struggle.
Police said several hospital staff members helped the deputy take down the prisoner. Officials said the inmate was taken into custody shortly after the incident.
“As our deputy was struggling with this inmate, we had 4 hospital personnel who did come to assist and they actually did help get the inmate into custody, so I’d like to commend them for helping us out today,” said HCSO Chief Deputy Edison Toquica.
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According to HPD, the deputy was shot in his left hand during the struggle. Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy is being treated for a non-life-threatening wound and police say the deputy is in stable condition.
Police said there were no reports of injuries to the inmate, staff or patients during the shooting. A Code White was called, which is usually used during an active shooter situation and alerts visitors and staff to take shelter, according to officials with Ben Taub.
“Of course we reacted real fast and quick, everybody knew to turn the lights off. We went in a room where you have to have a code to get in,” said a hospital worker who didn’t want to be identified.
Less than 20 minutes later, the scene was contained and police said there was no longer a threat at the hospital.
Visitor Eusevio Torres said after 4 p.m. he briefly lost contact with his wife and daughter, who were inside the hospital at the time.
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”I couldn’t get in, they couldn’t get out,” Torres said. “I got stuck here. There were police moving around about 15, 16 cars.”
As for the inmate accused of shooting, officials said he was already in custody for possession of a controlled substance and felon in possession of a firearm. However, after the shooting, he will likely face more charges as the investigation continues.
Officials said the Houston Police Department will lead the criminal investigation. The homicide division will process the scene and work with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office on pending charges against the inmate.
The inmate’s name has not been released.
Here is the full press conference following the incident:
Investigators give update on shooting inside clinic at Ben Taub that left HCSO deputy injured
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Copyright 2021 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
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Ben O’Connor wins stage 9 at the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)
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UAE Team Emirates Marc Hirschi stage 9 Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)
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Ben O’Connor wins stage 9 at the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)
Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) took the biggest win of his career to date at the summit finish of Tignes on stage 9 of the Tour de France, soloing almost the whole length of the 21-kilometre climb to take a win from the breakaway.
He won a battle with Colombian duo Sergio Higuita (EF Education-Nippo) and new mountains classification leader Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) on the Montée des Tignes, flirting with virtual maillot jaune at various points before securing victory after another grim and wet day of racing in the Alps.
The Australian now leapfrogs up to second overall, 2:01 down on Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who once again extended his advantage over his fellow general classification riders.
Pogačar responded to an attack from Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) at the four-kilometre mark – just as O’Connor was crossing the line – leaving the fragmented general classification group in the dust once again having dominated stage 8 to Le Grand-Bornand.
Deceuninck-QuickStep climber Mattia Cattaneo took second place on the stage, the Italian finishing a distant 5:07 down on O’Connor, while his compatriot, sprinter Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious), rounded out the podium after a very impressive ride in the mountains, finishing 5:34 down at the line.
Pogačar was unsurprisingly the first GC rider home at 6:02 down on O’Connor. His finishing effort saw him add 32 seconds to his advantage over Carapaz, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), Enric Mas (Movistar) and Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo).
The new general classification sees Pogačar lead third-placed Urán by 5:18, while Vingegaard lies fourth at 5:32 and Carapaz lies fifth at 5:33.
How it unfolded
Stage 9 of the Tour de France saw the peloton tackle another Alpine test and with it the first summit finish of the race. It was another short mountain stage at 145 kilometres, but the day would pack in 4,500 metres of climbing – even more than the brutal stage 8 – with five categorised climbs including the first hors catégorie test of the race and two first-category mountains.
After a flat start out of Cluses, the second-category Côte de Domancy (2.5km at 9.4 per cent) provided the first test of the day, before the early intermediate sprint and the first-category Col des Saisies (9.4km at 6.2 per cent) after 49 kilometres.
Following a descent into the valley, the toughest test of the day followed, with the HC-rated Col du Pré (12.6km at 7.7 per cent) and the second-category Cormet de Roselend (5.7km at 6.5 per cent) coming before the 100-kilometre mark. That one-two – last seen at the Critérium du Dauphiné – would precede a long descent to Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the valley before the mammoth climb to the finish at Tignes (21km at 5.6 per cent), with a flat 1.9km in the town concluding the day’s racing.
As with Saturday’s stage 9, the day was marked by awful weather conditions, with low-hanging cloud on the passes and rain pouring from start to finish. That didn’t dissuade riders from attempting to get away from the peloton into the break in the early stages of the day, though, with multiple riders trying to make the break right from the gun.
Former race favourite Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) and former yellow jersey holder Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) were not among the peloton, however, with the Slovenian choosing to focus on upcoming goals after losing 35 minutes on stage 8, while the Dutchman is set to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Attacks from world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) marked the Côte de Domancy, though as with Saturday, the Bahrain Victorious and Team BikeExchange squads of Sonny Colbrelli and Michael Matthews were keen to keep things together for the intermediate sprint.
They got their wish, despite more attackers trying their luck in the interim, with Colbrelli coming around the outside of a borderline-legal Matthews sprint to take the 20 points. The result saw Matthews move to just 38 points behind green jersey holder Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-QuickStep), however.
Colbrelli pushed on alone afterwards, but it wasn’t until the Col des Saisies when the real breakaway candidates made their moves. Quintana jumped at the start of the climb with Woods quickly making it across to him.
That break only swelled on the climb as polka dot jersey Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) attacked on the front for the second day in the row. 20 others got off the front, too, but the climbers came to the fore as the gradient bit, with Woods, Quintana, Higuita, Lucas Hamilton (Team BikeExchange) and Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) pursuing the Dutchman.
Back in the peloton, UAE Team Emirates were massed on the front in aid of their leader Pogačar, while a larger group including Matthews, Colbrelli, Cattaneo, Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious), and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech) chased the break.
By that point, the chase group was a minute down, while the peloton was taking it easier at six minutes. Quintana took the points over the Saisies after catching Poels, with the Dutchman then left behind by the Colombian, Woods, Higuita, Hamilton and O’Connor on the lower slopes of the next climb, the Col du Pré.
Poels did make it back but was dropped – along with Hamilton – further up the climb along, while Quintana jumped away a kilometre from the top in search of more mountain points. Crossing the summit, he had 10 seconds on his breakmates, 1:50 on Poels, 2:30 on the chasers, and 7:30 on the peloton with 63 kilometres to run.
The attack saw Quintana move into virtual polka dots, bringing him to 44 points to Woods’ 41 and Poels’ 39. It was Higuita and O’Connor who came back to him on the short descent, though, with the trio tackling the Cormet de Roselend despite a brief Higuita foray off the front.
The leaders enjoyed a lead of 8:15 on the peloton as they crested the top of the climb with 50 kilometres to go, putting O’Connor in virtual yellow by a handful of seconds as Quintana beat Higuita to the line to add another five points to his KOM haul.
A 19-kilometre descent followed, with Woods, Poels and the larger chase group a distant 2:50 behind. Higuita was easily the quickest man on the way down, putting a gap into Quintana as O’Connor dropped off the rear of the trio.
The two Colombians joined up at the bottom of the descent – 30 kilometres out – while O’Connor trailed 40 seconds behind. Back in the peloton it was a relatively drama-free descent, with UAE controlling things for Pogačar with four men. He lost Brandon McNulty near the bottom, though, as the American slipped off road down into a grass ditch.
Montée des Tignes
After 10 kilometres in the valley, the riders hit the final climb, with O’Connor having worked his way back to Higuita and Quintana and worked his way further into virtual yellow with the peloton nine minutes behind.
Just a kilometre into the climb, the leaders were reduced to two as Quintana dropped away having been battling in the break for two stages in a row. Back in the peloton, Pogačar enjoyed the company of Mikkel Bjerg, Davide Formolo, Rui Costa and Rafał Majka as he stripped off his rain jersey ready for action with 20 kilometres to go.
The pacemaking by the UAE quintet reduced the break’s advantage in quick time on the early slopes, with Bjerg’s monstrous day on the front coming to an end with the gap down to 7:20. The chasing riders still remained smack bang in between the two groups, with sprinter Colbrelli still hanging in there with the likes of Cattaneo and Guillaume Martin four mountain passes into the stage.
O’Connor, at that point with yellow out of reach, changed tack to strike for stage victory 17 kilometres from the line, dropping Higuita with 15 kilometres of the climb left to run. The Australian flew away from the EF rider, putting 50 seconds into him in just a kilometre of riding.
There would be no way back for the Colombian, though, with race debutant O’Connor only putting time into him as he rode towards the mid-climb reprieve of Tignes and 2.5 kilometres of flat road. By the time he reached the ski resort, he was 2:20 up on Higuita, who was falling back towards Quintana.
By the seven-kilometre to go mark, O’Connor was flirting with virtual yellow again, at eight minutes up on the peloton, while back in the 12-man ‘peloton’ Ineos Grenadiers took over the work with Jonathan Castroviejo and Geraint Thomas. Higuita, meanwhile, was caught by the chasers as Cattaneo pushed on past Quintana, too.
Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) were first to drop from the GC group – who were around five kilometres out as O’Connor hit the final three. He crested the climb alone and could enjoy the final two-kilometre run to his stage victory.
At the four-kilometre banner, Carapaz opened up with an attack, drawing out Pogačar, who then jumped away on his own. Once again, nobody could follow the 22-year-old as the GC group splintered behind.
Carapaz joined up with Urán, Mas, and Vingegaard on the run to the line, solidifying a clear second group of GC favourites behind the runaway leader. Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe) was next on the road, shedding a further 13 seconds to Pogačar, while the likes of David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Premier Tech), who were best of the rest at over 1:30 behind Pogačar.
Full Results
Pos.
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën Team
4:26:43
2
Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
0:05:07
3
Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
0:05:34
4
Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis
0:05:36
5
Franck Bonnamour (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
0:06:02
6
Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
7
Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers
0:06:34
8
Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma
9
Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team
10
Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education-Nippo
11
Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
0:06:38
12
Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo
0:06:47
13
Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
14
David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
0:07:32
15
Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
0:07:36
16
Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
17
Pello Bilbao Lopez De Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious
0:07:59
18
Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
19
Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
0:09:41
20
Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
0:10:23
21
Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
22
Pierre Rolland (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
23
Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
24
Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers
25
Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
0:11:15
26
Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Education-Nippo
0:12:50
27
Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
28
Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo
0:12:54
29
Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
0:13:17
30
Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious
0:14:21
31
Nils Politt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
0:15:27
32
Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
0:15:33
33
Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
34
Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Team BikeExchange
35
Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates
0:17:12
36
Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
0:17:49
37
Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
38
Victor de la Parte (Spa) TotalEnergies
0:21:14
39
Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis
40
Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
0:23:10
41
Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious
42
Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
43
Michael Valgren (Den) EF Education-Nippo
44
Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-up Nation
0:25:27
45
Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
46
Fabien Doubey (Fra) TotalEnergies
0:25:55
47
Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix
48
Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana-Premier Tech
49
Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
50
Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
51
Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
52
Hugo Houle (Can) Astana-Premier Tech
53
Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
0:27:12
54
Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
55
Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
56
Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates
0:28:09
57
Magnus Cort (Den) EF Education-Nippo
58
Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers
0:28:25
59
Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
0:29:22
60
Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
0:30:27
61
Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
62
Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
0:31:37
63
Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
64
Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) TotalEnergies
65
Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
66
Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
67
Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team DSM
68
Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
69
Quentin Pacher (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
70
Carlos Barbero (Spa) Qhubeka-NextHash
71
Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Movistar Team
72
Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
73
Maxime Chevalier (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
74
Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis
75
Clément Russo (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
76
Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
77
Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
78
Michael Schär (Swi) AG2R Citroën Team
79
Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
80
Simon Clarke (Aus) Qhubeka-NextHash
81
Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain Victorious
82
Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
83
Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis
84
Pierre Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies
85
Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
86
Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
87
Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
88
Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-Nippo
89
Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
90
Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
91
Sergio Henao Montoya (Col) Qhubeka-NextHash
92
Mark Donovan (GBr) Team DSM
93
Harry Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal
94
Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Team BikeExchange
95
Danny van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
96
Elie Gesbert (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
97
Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
98
Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal
99
Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
100
Cyril Gautier (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
101
Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
102
Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
103
Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
104
Luke Durbridge (Aus) Team BikeExchange
105
Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
106
Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
107
Petr Vakoc (Cze) Alpecin-Fenix
108
Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
109
Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team BikeExchange
110
Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain Victorious
111
Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
112
Tony Martin (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
113
Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
114
Michael Matthews (Aus) Team BikeExchange
115
Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange
116
Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fra) Cofidis
117
Marc Hirschi (Swi) UAE Team Emirates
118
Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
119
Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo
120
Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
121
Christopher Juul-Jensen (Den) Team BikeExchange
122
Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
123
Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
124
Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team
125
Ide Schelling (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
126
Simon Geschke (Ger) Cofidis
127
Jonas Koch (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
128
Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
0:32:21
129
Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Team DSM
130
Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation
131
Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM
132
Anthony Turgis (Fra) TotalEnergies
133
Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates
134
Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) TotalEnergies
135
Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Qhubeka-NextHash
136
Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
137
Sean Bennett (USA) Qhubeka-NextHash
138
Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM
139
Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
140
Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
0:33:06
141
Marco Haller (Aut) Bahrain Victorious
0:33:21
142
Michael Gogl (Aut) Qhubeka-NextHash
143
Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
0:33:54
144
Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
0:34:11
145
Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
146
Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
0:34:13
147
Miles Scotson (Aus) Groupama-FDJ
148
Casper Pedersen (Den) Team DSM
149
Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Movistar Team
150
Nils Eekhoff (Ned) Team DSM
0:34:39
151
Boy van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux