Latest news with #Craddick
Newsweek
03-07-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Woman Rescues 'Terrified' Dog from Meat Trade—Then His Dreams Come True
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A dog who was rescued from the meat market has been given a second chance at life, and now he's putting those unthinkable horrors in the past. While dog owner Christina Craddick may already have three canines in her home in Los Angeles, California, she couldn't resist adding one more to her tally. After hearing about Norman, a "terrified" dog who was saved from the meat trade two years ago, she knew she had to adopt him and give him the life he deserves. Norman spent much of his life chained up at a Korean meat market where he was only given "sticks to eat." The poor dog is incredibly nervous and gets overstimulated easily, but he's certainly on the mend in his forever home. Craddick often shares videos about Norman (and her other rescue dogs) on TikTok (@christinancraddick). A heartwarming video showing Norman fast asleep in her lap and cuddling up to her has delighted the internet, leading to more than 518,800 views and over 90,700 likes on TikTok at the time of writing. Norman the rescue dog cuddling up to his owner, 2 years after being rescued from the Korean meat market. Norman the rescue dog cuddling up to his owner, 2 years after being rescued from the Korean meat market. @christinancraddick / TikTok The caption alongside the sweet clip reads: "Norman's been THROUGH IT, how could you be mean to this dog?" At present, it's believed that an estimated 2 million dogs a year are reared on meat farms across South Korea. They are predominantly slaughtered by electrocution, which can take up to five minutes to die. But in recent years, the dog meat industry has seen a decline in numbers, with a survey by Gallup Korea suggesting that 70 percent of South Koreans will refuse to eat dog meat in the future. In 2024, South Korea passed a Special Act to cease the breeding, slaughtering and distribution of dogs for consumption. In the six months that followed, 623 dog farms closed down, equating to 40 percent of the total number across the country. It's also expected that 60 percent, or 938 farms, will be closed by the end of 2025. Thankfully, Norman's life was spared, and he is now living his best dream in the U.S. It breaks Craddick's heart to think about what he once experienced, but she's so glad that she could provide him with a loving forever home. Since sharing the sweet clip of him laying beside her, the viral video has generated over 800 comments on TikTok. One comment reads: "He's perfect! Thank you for saving him and giving him a safe place to feel what every dog Another TikTok user wrote: "This literally made me cry. He deserves the world." Another person added: "The fact that dogs can be so hurt, but still just want to be loved will never cease to break my heart." While one commenter replied: "I wish with all my heart that all of them get saved and loved." Newsweek has contacted @christinancraddick via Instagram. We could not verify the details of the video. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@ and they could appear on our site.
Newsweek
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Woman Left Sobbing After Seeing What Her Terrified Rescue Dog Does
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. What a pet parent captured her rescue dog doing for the very first time after two years together brought TikTok users to tears. Owner Christina Craddick and her husband adopted their dog Norman about two years ago in Los Angeles. Originally from Korea, Norman was rescued from a meat market. He was chained up outside and abused before being saved. But despite his new life with the couple, he was still terrified, especially of her husband. "For the first few months of us adopting him, Norman wouldn't even leave his bed unless he was using the bathroom or eating," Craddick told Newsweek via TikTok. They had learned that it would take time for Norman to trust humans again, and with them, there was no rush. But a May 21 video posted to Craddick's TikTok account, @christinancraddick, showed Norman turning over a new leaf. For the first time since being adopted, Norman snuggled with Craddick's husband. She walked into the bedroom to find their dog in bed next to her husband, cuddling. Norman's head rested on her husband's shoulder. Her husband leaned over and kissed him on the head. The dog didn't flinch. He accepted the love, knowing he was finally safe and sound. The caption reads: "I ugly sobbed this is all I ever need." Screenshots from a May 21 TikTok video of a pet parent sobbing after seeing her rescue dog snuggle with her husband for the first time. Screenshots from a May 21 TikTok video of a pet parent sobbing after seeing her rescue dog snuggle with her husband for the first time. @christinancraddick/TikTok Craddick said this unexpected moment started happening more frequently since she posted the video. "He'll actually jump on the bed now to hang out with him when I'm not there, which is REALLY big for him," she said. Viewer Reactions TikTok viewers joined Craddick in sobbing happy tears, knowing Norman finally feels comfortable after two years. The clip reached over 369,500 views and 99,500 likes as of Thursday. "He's finally safe, and he knows it," wrote one user, while another added: "That's a pup that knows he's loved & safe." A third person commented: "Girl, we ugly sobbing together. This is so beautiful to see." Others shared how this should also be a sign for her and her choice in partner: "Girl if this isn't the GREENEST OF GREEN FLAGS idk what is." Someone else chimed in: "This is proof you picked the right man for this baby to feel so safe." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Craddick passes House Bill 5, House Joint Resolution 3 to establish the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas
Apr. 28—AUSTIN — Representative Tom Craddick has passed through the Texas House of Representatives House Bill 5 and House Joint Resolution 3 to create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas ("DPRIT"), a groundbreaking initiative aimed at advancing research, prevention, and treatment strategies for Alzheimer's. "Texas is ranked third in the nation for Alzheimer's diagnosis and second in the nation for Alzheimer's deaths," Craddick said in a news release. "These bills allow Texans to decide to invest in research and prevention for the diseases which impact so many families. I look forward to breakthrough research conducted right here in Texas, which will benefit all Texans." The Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas will fund and accelerate research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and related disorders while supporting medical and scientific breakthroughs that enhance Texas' leadership in medical research. The institute will award grants to institutions of higher education, medical research facilities, and other public or private entities dedicated to combating Alzheimer's. Additionally, it will develop prevention programs aimed at reducing the impact of dementia on Texas communities. "House Joint Resolution 3 allows for every Texan to vote on investing $3 billion into finding a cure for these diseases. I look forward to voting for this Resolution in November 2025," added Craddick. HB 5 and HJR 3 represent a major step in addressing one of the most pressing healthcare challenges of our time. House Bill 5 will be sent to the Governor's desk for signing. The Texas Legislative Session began on January 14, 2025, and will run through June 2, 2025.
Associated Press
25-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
West Texas lawmakers push bills to divert some oil and gas taxes to oil patch infrastructure needs
ODESSA, Texas (AP) — The fracking boom that resuscitated the Texas oil fields has also beaten up the infrastructure in the Permian Basin, the state's biggest oil and gas drilling region. More heavy trucks drove through small towns, tearing up roads. Companies built temporary workforce housing, called man camps, which local officials said dramatically increased the population, requiring more public services like garbage pick-up, hospital beds and first responders. Local leaders say the oil boom has caused strains that their city and county budgets can't keep up with. Two West Texas lawmakers want to divert 10% of the roughly $8 billion that oil and gas companies pay the state in so-called severance taxes to benefit oil-producing counties. Legislation sponsored by State Reps. Tom Craddick of Midland and Brooks Landgraf of Odessa would redirect a portion of those taxes to 32 eligible counties to be used for infrastructure repairs, emergency services, health care, education and workforce development. Regulators, industry and environmental policy experts agree that addressing the damage caused by decades of oil and gas production will require significant policy and funding changes. A report by the House Appropriations Committee on House Bill 2154, which Craddick and Landgraf authored together in 2019 to address the same issues, said that failing to help communities in the oil patch repair their infrastructure could also impede the oil and gas industry. 'In recent years, the regions of Texas responsible for the growth in the state's oil and natural gas production have encountered significant challenges that have limited the potential growth of the energy sector and could pose a significant threat to the sustained future growth of oil and natural gas production in the state,' the report said. Their 2019 bill died in the Senate. And in 2021 and 2023, they tried and failed again. This time, they introduced two separate proposals. Craddick authored House Bill 265, which is basically identical to the 2019 bill. Landgraf introduced House Bill 188, which would also devote money to oil field cleanup and emissions reduction programs managed by the Texas Railroad Commission and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — and give property tax relief to homeowners statewide. Landgraf could not say whether the changes will be enough to finally win support in the upper chamber. 'It's a high barrier. I've known that since 2018 when I first started looking into this,' Landgraf said. 'But I do think that if it's a policy that we can put in place, it would have great dividends for every corner of Texas, and that's why I think it's a fight that's still worth fighting.' The two bills would redirect some oil and gas tax money to certain oil and gas-producing counties, as well as coastal counties where a port authority transports oil and gas. Landgraf's bill would set aside $500 million, while Craddick's would collect up to $250 million for all eligible counties. Under Landgraf's bill, county governments, school districts, colleges and nonprofits in qualifying counties could apply for the money and spend it on things like road repairs, improving schools, workforce development initiatives and emergency services. The remaining $300 million would go toward the Property Tax Relief Fund, an account managed by the state comptroller used to reduce maintenance repairs in school districts, which are funded by local property taxes. If one or both of the bills can get through the Legislature and get Gov. Greg Abbott's approval, they would still need to go before Texas voters this fall as a constitutional amendment. Budget writers in both chambers typically don't like being told how to spend money through constitutional amendments, said Sherri Greenberg, a dean of state and local government engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. The intense pace of oil production in the Permian Basin, which covers 75,000 square miles between Texas and New Mexico, has also inflicted environmental damage. The Texas Railroad Commission, the state agency that regulates the state's oil and gas industry, has said it cannot afford to keep up with the increasing cost of plugging thousands of so-called orphan oil and gas wells, which have no clear owner or were drilled by now-bankrupt companies. Recently, a number of these wells have unexpectedly erupted with toxic wastewater that apparently migrated from oilfield disposal wells. Under Landgraf's bill, 1% of the diverted money would go to the Railroad Commission to help plug orphan wells. An additional 1% would pay for emissions reduction efforts in trucking, farming and construction overseen by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Oil companies, trade groups and environmentalist policy experts have testified in favor of both bills. Cyrus Reed, a legislative and conservation director for the Sierra Club, which advocates for policies that strengthen environmental protections nationally, said he supports Landgraf's bill for its environmental propositions. 'We're going to support any solution that gets more revenue paid by the oil and gas industry to resolve (environmental) issues,' Reed said. 'We don't want to rely on … just general revenue from the people of Texas to pay for a problem that industry created.' Landgraf hopes that expanding the legislation so it has an impact beyond energy-producing regions of Texas will help it gain more support in the Legislature. 'My position is that what's good for the Permian Basin is good for all of Texas,' he said 'But sometimes that takes a bit more of a holistic or longer view for people not from the Permian Basin to reach that conclusion.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
West Texas lawmakers push bills to divert some oil and gas taxes to help oil-producing counties with roads, other needs
ODESSA — The fracking boom that resuscitated the Texas oil fields has also beaten up the infrastructure in the Permian Basin, the state's biggest oil and gas drilling region. More heavy trucks drove through small towns, tearing up roads. Companies built temporary workforce housing, called man camps, which local officials said dramatically increased the population, requiring more public services like garbage pick-up, hospital beds and first responders. Local leaders say the oil boom has caused strains that their city and county budgets can't keep up with. Two West Texas lawmakers want to divert 10% of the roughly $8 billion that oil and gas companies pay the state in so-called severance taxes to benefit oil-producing counties. Legislation sponsored by State Reps. Tom Craddick of Midland and Brooks Landgraf of Odessa would redirect a portion of those taxes to 32 eligible counties to be used for infrastructure repairs, emergency services, health care, education and workforce development. Regulators, industry and environmental policy experts agree that addressing the damage caused by decades of oil and gas production will require significant policy and funding changes. A report by the House Appropriations Committee on House Bill 2154, which Craddick and Landgraf authored together in 2019 to address the same issues, said that failing to help communities in the oil patch repair their infrastructure could also impede the oil and gas industry. 'In recent years, the regions of Texas responsible for the growth in the state's oil and natural gas production have encountered significant challenges that have limited the potential growth of the energy sector and could pose a significant threat to the sustained future growth of oil and natural gas production in the state,' the report said. Their 2019 bill died in the Senate. And in 2021 and 2023, they tried and failed again. This time, they introduced two separate proposals. Craddick authored House Bill 265, which is basically identical to the 2019 bill. Landgraf introduced House Bill 188, which would also devote money to oil field cleanup and emissions reduction programs managed by the Texas Railroad Commission and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — and give property tax relief to homeowners statewide. Landgraf could not say whether the changes will be enough to finally win support in the upper chamber. 'It's a high barrier. I've known that since 2018 when I first started looking into this,' Landgraf said. 'But I do think that if it's a policy that we can put in place, it would have great dividends for every corner of Texas, and that's why I think it's a fight that's still worth fighting.' The two bills would redirect some oil and gas tax money to certain oil and gas-producing counties, as well as coastal counties where a port authority transports oil and gas. Landgraf's bill would set aside $500 million, while Craddick's would collect up to $250 million for all eligible counties. Under Landgraf's bill, county governments, school districts, colleges and nonprofits in qualifying counties could apply for the money and spend it on things like road repairs, improving schools, workforce development initiatives and emergency services. The remaining $300 million would go toward the Property Tax Relief Fund, an account managed by the state comptroller used to reduce maintenance repairs in school districts, which are funded by local property taxes. If one or both of the bills can get through the Legislature and get Gov. Greg Abbott's approval, they would still need to go before Texas voters this fall as a constitutional amendment. Budget writers in both chambers typically don't like being told how to spend money through constitutional amendments, said Sherri Greenberg, a dean of state and local government engagement at the University of Texas at Austin. The intense pace of oil production in the Permian Basin, which covers 75,000 square miles between Texas and New Mexico, has also inflicted environmental damage. The Texas Railroad Commission, the state agency that regulates the state's oil and gas industry, has said it cannot afford to keep up with the increasing cost of plugging thousands of so-called orphan oil and gas wells, which have no clear owner or were drilled by now-bankrupt companies. Recently, a number of these wells have unexpectedly erupted with toxic wastewater that apparently migrated from oilfield disposal wells. Under Landgraf's bill, 1% of the diverted money would go to the Railroad Commission to help plug orphan wells. An additional 1% would pay for emissions reduction efforts in trucking, farming and construction overseen by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Oil companies, trade groups and environmentalist policy experts have testified in favor of both bills. Cyrus Reed, a legislative and conservation director for the Sierra Club, which advocates for policies that strengthen environmental protections nationally, said he supports Landgraf's bill for its environmental propositions. 'We're going to support any solution that gets more revenue paid by the oil and gas industry to resolve (environmental) issues,' Reed said. 'We don't want to rely on … just general revenue from the people of Texas to pay for a problem that industry created.' Landgraf hopes that expanding the legislation so it has an impact beyond energy-producing regions of Texas will help it gain more support in the Legislature. 'My position is that what's good for the Permian Basin is good for all of Texas,' he said 'But sometimes that takes a bit more of a holistic or longer view for people not from the Permian Basin to reach that conclusion.' Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. We can't wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
