Rita Garcia

1 month ago | abc13.com | Rita Garcia

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The 9th annual Houston Latino Film Festival kicks off Wednesday and is showcasing at least 70 films from around the world. The five-day event is an opportunity to show Latinos are great storytellers, filmmakers, and artists. There's also so much opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to get their start in the industry, and ABC13 spoke with Pedro Rivas, the events program director, on our 24/7 live stream about Wednesday's kick-off.

2 months ago | abc13.com | Rita Garcia

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In the midst of the sizzling sixth season of her daytime talk show, Tamron Hall visited ABC13 to talk about her native Texas roots and how they've inspired her award-winning career and show. First though, Tamron and morning anchor Rita Garcia went for a ride to Whataburger. It's more than just a local favorite. Tamron -- born and raised in Luling, Texas -- says it's a ritual.

Nov 18, 2024 | abc13.com | Rita Garcia

ByRita GarciaMonday, November 18, 2024 10:13PMHOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The number of school threats is rising in Texas, and now the Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning students that their actions today could negatively impact their future. "We take these seriously. We know that a lot of these threats made by students or others are meant to be a joke or a hoax, but we don't treat them as a joke. We treat them all very seriously," Assistant Special Agent Christopher Soyez says.

Nov 14, 2024 | abc13.com | Rita Garcia

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is seeing a rise in the number of calls when it comes to peer-to-peer abuse with the production of deepfakes, and what some may not know, this can also be considered a form of child sexual abuse material or CSAM. A spokesperson with the national nonprofit said they have a strong message for any and all creators who are now throwing artificial intelligence into the mix.

Nov 13, 2024 | abc13.com | Rita Garcia

When it comes to keeping your children safe in schools and online, a national non-profit is working to remove explicit images of minors being shared. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children gave Eyewitness News the latest number of reports submitted to its cyber tip line, which shows that the number of submissions is continuing to trend up. When you add in the ability to manipulate photos and videos using artificial intelligence, it appears the data will only keep going up.