Tag Archives: Texas

The Associated Press reports: San Angelo’s former longtime police chief has been indicted on bribery and fraud counts accusing him of taking $134,000 in bribes to help a radio communications vendor obtain $11 million in city contracts. Timothy Ray Vasquez made an initial court appearance in federal court in San Angelo. He had served as police chief from 2004 until …

Courthouse News reports: Three voters and two nonprofits brought a federal complaint Tuesday that says the failure by Texas to register voters through its online driver’s license application is illegal. The lawsuit comes eight days after a cadre of Democrats sued the Texas secretary of state on voter-suppression claims; thousands of Texans were improperly barred from voting in the 2018 …

CNN reports: All 16 of Texas’ Catholic bishops have issued a joint statement slamming Gov. Greg Abbott, who is Catholic, for announcing the state will bar refugees in 2020. The bishops call Abbott’s decision “misguided” and say it “denies people who are fleeing persecution, including religious persecution, from being able to bring their gifts and talents to our state and …

The Dallas News reports: A North Texas militia member and vigilante who led armed patrols of the Texas-Mexico border and was wanted by federal authorities died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to law enforcement officials. Kevin Lyndel Massey’s body was discovered Dec. 23 in Van Zandt County, according to the sheriff. Pending autopsy results will officially determine the …

The New York Post reports: Mike Bloomberg slammed President Trump – as well as his Democratic rivals – Saturday as he kicked off what he called “Day One” of his run for the White House. “Unlike everyone else in this race, I think what’s important is beating Donald Trump,” he told about 45 supporters at a restaurant in San Antonio. …

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday the state will not allow refugees to resettle in Texas. Under President Donald Trump’s Sept. 26 executive order, cities and states must provide their written consent to allow refugees to resettle within their areas. Nationwide, roughly 40 governors have consented …

Austin’s ABC News affiliate reports: Governor Greg Abbott is warning all Texans to be “vigilant” regarding cyber-attacks from Iran. Abbott said there have been up to 10,000 attempted attacks per minute from Iran over the last 48 hours. “These attacks from Iran-based entities, as well as other entities across the globe, are going to continue,” said Abbott. “I think it’s …

NBC News Dallas reports: The man who fatally shot two people at a White Settlement Church on Sunday before being killed by church security has been identified as a 43-year-old Keith Thomas Kinnunen, a River Oaks man with a criminal record, according to two law enforcement sources. Kinnunen is believed to have been wearing a disguise, including a fake beard, …

Mediaite reports: CNN aired footage on Monday morning from the moment when the gunman behind the West Freeway Church of Christ shooting pulled out his weapon and started attacking service attendees. Two victims were killed in the attack outside of Fort Worth, TX on Sunday, and the gunman also died from return fire from the parishioners. The violence was captured …

The Waco Tribune reports: McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley is suing the Texas agency that investigates judicial misconduct for issuing her a public warning earlier this month for refusing to perform same-sex marriages while continuing to marry [opposite sex] couples. Hensley, backed by the First Liberty Institute, filed a class-action petition in Waco’s 170th State District Court …

Austin’s CBS News affiliate reports: Two men from Dallas pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes on Thursday for their connection to a scheme to target gay men for violent crimes. Daryl Henry, 24, and Pablo Deleon, 19, both used the dating app Grindr to lure gay men to a vacant apartment and other areas in and around Dallas for robbery, …

NPR reports: Pierce Bush, the grandson of former President George H.W. Bush, says he’s running for Congress in Texas. Bush joins a crowded GOP field in Texas’ 22nd congressional district, a seat currently held by retiring Republican Rep. Pete Olson. At least 14 other Republicans are running in the GOP primary for this suburban Houston district, which will likely also …

ProPublica reports: Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant, was seriously ill when immigration agents put him in a small South Texas holding cell with another sick boy on the afternoon of May 19. A few hours earlier, a nurse practitioner at the Border Patrol’s dangerously overcrowded processing center in McAllen had diagnosed him with the flu and measured …

San Antonio’s ABC News affiliate reports: Hours after Chick-fil-A announced it will no longer donate funds to organizations known for their anti-LGBTQ stances, Gov. Greg Abbott said he’s eating elsewhere. Abbott wrote on Twitter Monday evening that he’s “headed to Bill Miller’s tonight,” doubling down on his devotion to the San Antonio-based barbecue chain. Abbott reversed his preference to the …

Three if you count the Proud Boy who showed up late. The Advocate reports: A Straight Pride event at Dallas City Hall plaza attracted three supporters on Saturday. The march was hosted by the anti-LGBTQ group Protecting Our Next Generations (PONG). On its Facebook, the group promised the event would include discussions of abortion (“it is murder”), marriage values (“one …

Buzzfeed News reports: In yet another case of a gender reveal gone horribly wrong, an airplane crashed mid-reveal after the pilot dumped about 350 gallons of pink water out of the aircraft, which stalled and hit the ground. The pilot and a passenger were flying in the one-seat aircraft during the Sept. 7 incident in Turkey, Texas. According to a …

Roll Call reports: Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson is considering a run for Congress in Texas, two sources familiar with his plans said Friday. Jackson was the chief White House physician in 2018, when President Donald Trump nominated him to be Veterans Affairs secretary. But Jackson withdrew his nomination from consideration amid allegations that he abused alcohol and mishandled prescription …

The New York Times reports: Former Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas is dropping out of the presidential race, ending a campaign in which he struggled for months to recapture the energy of his insurgent 2018 Senate candidacy on a national stage full of other big personalities and liberal champions. Mr. O’Rourke made the decision to quit the race in the …

The Texas Tribune reports: First-term Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen on Tuesday announced he will not seek reelection to the lower chamber in 2020 — completing a stunning fall for the Angleton Republican who enjoyed near unanimous support in the House just months earlier. Bonnen’s political future was first called into question in late July, when hardline conservative activist Michael …

The Dallas Morning News reports: A Dallas County jury sentenced Amber Guyger to 10 years in prison after convicting her of murdering her upstairs neighbor Botham Jean in his apartment last year. Guyger, 31, had been facing between five and 99 years or life in prison. After the sentence was read out, chants of, “No justice, no peace,” broke out …