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TEXAS NEWS
3 teens arrested in series of random shootings across Austin that left 4 injured
Read full article: 3 teens arrested in series of random shootings across Austin that left 4 injuredOfficials in Austin, Texas, say three young people are in custody in at least 10 random shootings that left four people hurt in the city over the weekend.
Defense Department delays 54 wind projects in Texas, citing national security concerns
Read full article: Defense Department delays 54 wind projects in Texas, citing national security concernsAfter years of trying to stop offshore wind projects, the Trump administration is now pausing routine federal permits for 165 land-based projects, including dozens in Texas.
3 days ago
$1.7 billion contract awarded “for border wall in Big Bend” amid public confusion over construction plans
Read full article: $1.7 billion contract awarded “for border wall in Big Bend” amid public confusion over construction plansThe contract comes just a week after Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said the agency would not build a wall in Big Bend National Park.
3 days ago
Texas Supreme Court rejects Abbott’s request to remove Democratic Rep. Gene Wu from office over redistricting protest
Read full article: Texas Supreme Court rejects Abbott’s request to remove Democratic Rep. Gene Wu from office over redistricting protestMore than 50 Democrats, including Wu — the House Democratic leader — left the state last August to shut down the Legislature and stall passage of the GOP’s map.
3 days ago
Texas Children’s Hospital must create country’s first “detransition clinic” under legal settlement with state
Read full article: Texas Children’s Hospital must create country’s first “detransition clinic” under legal settlement with stateAttorney General Ken Paxton said on Friday that Texas Children’s must also pay $10 million to the state because it illegally provided transgender care to kids.
3 days ago
Here are the donors bankrolling John Cornyn and Ken Paxton’s record-breaking Senate primary
Read full article: Here are the donors bankrolling John Cornyn and Ken Paxton’s record-breaking Senate primaryThe incumbent senator has dominated financially, thanks to an array of megadonors and dark money groups. The Tribune assembled a guide to the money behind the most expensive Senate primary ever.
3 days ago
Trump administration sues Catholic diocese to seize land on religious site near El Paso for border barrier
Read full article: Trump administration sues Catholic diocese to seize land on religious site near El Paso for border barrierThe lawsuit argues that 14 acres on Mount Cristo Rey, which features a 29-foot-tall statue of Jesus, are needed for barriers and other technology to secure the border.
3 days ago
Seesaw rulings on Texas’ smokeable hemp ban is bad for business, retailers say
Read full article: Seesaw rulings on Texas’ smokeable hemp ban is bad for business, retailers saySome smoke shops say the flurry of court actions since March 31 has already forced them to scale back hours, cut staff and prepare to shut down.
Federal judge halts parts of Texas immigration law the day before it was set to take effect
Read full article: Federal judge halts parts of Texas immigration law the day before it was set to take effectA U.S. judge on Thursday granted a preliminary injunction against critical sections of Senate Bill 4, but a provision allowing police to arrest people suspected of illegal entry did activate.
Abbott’s public safety wish list includes statewide prosecutor, more bail restrictions
Read full article: Abbott’s public safety wish list includes statewide prosecutor, more bail restrictionsSome items on Abbott's agenda would require amending the Texas Constitution, meaning they would need supermajority support in the Legislature.
Texas AG finds over 100 cities out of compliance with audit and transparency requirement; bars property tax hikes
Read full article: Texas AG finds over 100 cities out of compliance with audit and transparency requirement; bars property tax hikesTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent letters to over 130 cities, including multiple cities in Southeast Texas, notifying them that they are prohibited from raising ad valorem taxes above the no-new-revenue tax rate.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blocks more than 130 cities from raising property taxes
Read full article: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blocks more than 130 cities from raising property taxesAttorney General Ken Paxton accused the cities, most of them small, of violating a state law aimed at preventing cities from unduly raising property taxes.
Former Texas lottery director re-indicted for abuse of office by grand jury
Read full article: Former Texas lottery director re-indicted for abuse of office by grand juryGary Grief, former executive director of the now-dissolved Texas Lottery Commission, is alleged to have used his position to defraud the state during a 2023 Lotto Texas drawing.
Lacy Lakeview needs Waco’s help to realize its data center dreams. It’s not going well.
Read full article: Lacy Lakeview needs Waco’s help to realize its data center dreams. It’s not going well.Lacy Lakeview’s hasty approach to the data center project has alienated the Waco officials who would control water service to the site. “Without the City of Waco agreeing to it, Lacy Lakeview can’t do anything out there and neither can Infrakey," State Rep. Pat Curry said. "Those guys don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”
Here are the megadonors and dark money groups boosting James Talarico’s anti-billionaire Senate bid
Read full article: Here are the megadonors and dark money groups boosting James Talarico’s anti-billionaire Senate bidAs the Austin Democrat campaigns against big money in politics, he is being supported by a super PAC bankrolled by several billionaires, as well as nonprofits that do not have to disclose their funders.
Cornyn and Paxton bury each other in negative ads as Senate GOP runoff enters final stretch
Read full article: Cornyn and Paxton bury each other in negative ads as Senate GOP runoff enters final stretchThe incumbent senator and his allies have massively outspent the pro-Paxton side, though polling points to a tight finish in the May 26 election.
Parts of Texas immigration law are likely unconstitutional, federal judge signals
Read full article: Parts of Texas immigration law are likely unconstitutional, federal judge signalsThe law, which gives state law enforcement and judges a role in immigration enforcement, is set to go into effect in two days.
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AG Ken Paxton demands Dallas County sheriff enter formal partnership with ICE
Read full article: AG Ken Paxton demands Dallas County sheriff enter formal partnership with ICESheriff Marian Brown said her office, which already cooperates with federal immigration authorities, has until Dec. 1 to act.
Greg Abbott expands task force targeting repeat offenders from Houston to other large cities
Read full article: Greg Abbott expands task force targeting repeat offenders from Houston to other large citiesThe effort, which combines federal, state and local law enforcement, will expand to the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio metro areas.
For Texas GOP, immigration politics show signs of fading potency
Read full article: For Texas GOP, immigration politics show signs of fading potencyTexas voters have listed immigration and border security among their top issues for years, but recent polling found they are less of a priority than at any point in recent history.
After being deported, allowed to return, then detained again, a Texas DACA recipient fears what’s next
Read full article: After being deported, allowed to return, then detained again, a Texas DACA recipient fears what’s nextJosé Contreras Díaz was one of hundreds of DACA recipients the Trump administration targeted for deportation. He’s one of a few the federal government has allowed to return.
Corpus Christi moves toward mandatory 25% cut in water use if emergency is declared
Read full article: Corpus Christi moves toward mandatory 25% cut in water use if emergency is declaredFinal approval of the curtailment plan is expected at a future City Council meeting. Experts predict that, without significant rainfall, a water emergency could arrive by September.
Former Texas lottery director was indicted by grand jury before case got dismissed
Read full article: Former Texas lottery director was indicted by grand jury before case got dismissedThe indictment accused Gary Grief of misusing his position to defraud the state in a highly scrutinized $95 million 2023 Lotto Texas drawing.
Barack Obama appears with James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa at Austin restaurant
Read full article: Barack Obama appears with James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa at Austin restaurantThe former president greeted patrons while stopping for tacos near the University of Texas at Austin campus — a notable show of support for the Democrats atop the ticket this fall.
Texas public schools see first non-pandemic enrollment drop in decades
Read full article: Texas public schools see first non-pandemic enrollment drop in decadesTexas public schools have seen a drop of about 76,000 students this academic year, marking the first non-pandemic decline in nearly 40 years.
Christian Menefee, Alex Mealer lead Houston-area congressional runoffs, new poll finds
Read full article: Christian Menefee, Alex Mealer lead Houston-area congressional runoffs, new poll findsThe two contests are among the most closely watched U.S. House runoffs in Texas. Menefee, newly elected to Congress, faces longtime Democratic Rep. Al Green in a matchup spawned by GOP redistricting.
Texas Republicans spent years courting Indian voters. Then came talk of the “Indian takeover.”
Read full article: Texas Republicans spent years courting Indian voters. Then came talk of the “Indian takeover.”A North Texas city has become the epicenter of a collision between the GOP’s efforts to win over Indian American voters and some conservatives’ nativist agenda.
Companies moving their legal homes to Texas is good PR, but don’t expect many new jobs
Read full article: Companies moving their legal homes to Texas is good PR, but don’t expect many new jobsA company’s legal home determines which state taxes and laws governing corporations it will be subject to. Some are fleeing Delaware in search of a friendlier environment in Texas.
UT-Austin defends its handling of pro-Palestinian protest in federal trial
Read full article: UT-Austin defends its handling of pro-Palestinian protest in federal trialStudent Ammer Qaddumi is suing the university after he was suspended for his involvement in the 2024 demonstrations, calling it a violation of his free speech rights.
With Trump and Talarico aligned on a gas tax holiday, Cornyn gets on board
Read full article: With Trump and Talarico aligned on a gas tax holiday, Cornyn gets on boardJames Talarico, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, has pushed to suspend the federal gas tax amid soaring fuel costs. Cornyn previously opposed the idea.
Excessive heat suspected as cause of death after six bodies found in rail car near Laredo
Read full article: Excessive heat suspected as cause of death after six bodies found in rail car near LaredoOfficials said one victim found in a Union Pacific car was from Mexico and another was from Honduras. Five men and a woman are among the dead.
Federal appeals court temporarily halts execution of Texas death row inmate Edward Busby
Read full article: Federal appeals court temporarily halts execution of Texas death row inmate Edward BusbyThursday’s execution was blocked by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “pending further order” from the court.
GOP hardliners aren’t buying into U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar’s bipartisan immigration bill
Read full article: GOP hardliners aren’t buying into U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar’s bipartisan immigration billThe latest version of the El Paso Democrat’s Dignity Act includes a key change to make it more palatable to Republicans. Some have gotten on board, but others are firmly opposed.
Teachers with national certification earn more, but Texas is questioning its worth
Read full article: Teachers with national certification earn more, but Texas is questioning its worthThe National Board Certification is widely considered the most demanding for teachers. Texas leaders are examining whether it fits the state’s merit-based system.