Tag Archives: Texas

The Texas Tribune reports: Former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus said on Thursday that Midland oil magnate Tim Dunn, one of the state’s most powerful and influential GOP megadonors, once told him that only Christians should hold leadership positions in the lower chamber. Straus, a Republican who is Jewish, relayed the encounter in an interview with former Texas Tribune CEO …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Monday a human case of avian influenza A(H5N1), also known as bird flu, in the state. According to a press release from the department, the person had direct contact with dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza. DSHS did not specify where the person lives or …

ABC News reports: A Texas woman who was charged with murder over self-managing an abortion and spent two nights in jail has sued prosecutors along the U.S.-Mexico border who put the criminal case in motion before it was later dropped. The lawsuit filed by Lizelle Gonzalez in federal court Thursday comes a month after the State Bar of Texas fined …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas’ top campaign finance watchdog gave initial approval last week to a proposal that would require social media users to disclose if they are being paid to share or create political advertisements. The Texas Ethics Commission’s action comes just months after The Texas Tribune reported that a secretive and politically-connected company, called Influenceable LLC, paid internet …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he’s looking into a company that supplies parts to Boeing, and part of his investigation includes whether its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments factored into safety issues. Paxton announced Thursday he sent a “request to examine” letter to Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., which has a facility in Texas and …

Via press release from Texas Democrats: Leaked video shows Hood County Constable Scott London, Hood County GOP Chair Steve Biggers and Hood County GOP Chair candidate Greg Harrell attending a meeting held by Abolish Abortion Texas (AATX) where they supported the death penalty for women who seek abortions or use IVF, including pregnant minors. London and Harrel have also signed …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Senator Ted Cruz is one step closer to his dream law to force law enforcement officers to give top national officials a private escort past airport security. Cruz introduced language into the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding bill. Yet despite some derision against him, the language remains in the bill. During the ice storm of 2021, …

The Guardian reports: A Texas appeals court has thrown out a five-year prison sentence for Crystal Mason, a Texas woman who was sentenced for trying to cast a provisional ballot in the 2016 presidential election that was rejected. Mason, now 49, attempted to vote in Fort Worth in the 2016 even though she was ineligible because she was still on …

CBC News reports: A panel of federal appeals court judges late Tuesday continued to block Texas from arresting and jailing migrants under a contentious state immigration law known as SB4, keeping a hold on the measure while it weighs its legality. In a 2-1 decision, the panel of 5th Circuit Court of Appeals judges denied Texas’ request to suspend the …

The Texas Tribune reports: Prosecutors on Tuesday agreed to drop the securities fraud charges facing Attorney General Ken Paxton if he performs 100 hours of community service and fulfills other conditions of a pretrial agreement, bringing an abrupt end to the nearly nine-year-old felony case that has loomed over the embattled Republican since his early days in office. The deal, …

The Austin American-Statesman reports: In another attempt to limit the accessibility of adult content online, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued two more pornography distribution companies, alleging that they are in violation of a state law requiring age verification for sexually explicit websites. The attorney general’s office filed civil lawsuits against Multi Media, which owns the website Chaturbate, and …

Dallas’s ABC affiliate reports: Before a Dallas Stars hockey game at the American Airlines Center last week, fans were met by an ordinary, eager-looking guy wearing a TCU ballcap and a shirt that read ‘Literally Anybody Else 2024’ by the steps of PNC Plaza. His mission? Impossible. But the sentiment driving it all? Wholly relatable, sympathetic, and engaging to many …

The Austin American-Statesman reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is nearing a resolution to nine-year-old securities fraud charges that have dogged his tenure as the state’s top attorney through a special agreement with prosecutors, the American-Statesman has learned. Under a draft agreement, prosecutors would dismiss felony charges against Paxton if he successfully completes the terms of the deal, according to …

Reuters reports: Texas law enforcement can no longer arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border – again – just hours after the country’s top court said that for now, they could. The legal whiplash came from an appeals court, who halted the enforcement of the Republican-backed state law ahead of oral arguments on the issue scheduled for Wednesday …

NBC News reports:  The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Texas to enforce a contentious new law that gives local police the power to arrest migrants. The conservative-majority court, with three liberal justices dissenting, rejected an emergency request by the Biden administration, which said states have no authority to legislate on immigration, an issue the federal government has sole authority over. …

CNN reports: The Supreme Court on Monday indefinitely blocked Texas from enforcing an immigration law that would allow state officials to arrest and detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally. The so-called administrative stay will remain in place while the court considers emergency appeals from the Biden administration and others, who want the justices to block enforcement of …

Axios reports: A glimpse of next month’s once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse is already one of the country’s hottest attractions. Millions of people are planning to travel to areas with the best views, and businesses are cashing in on the hype by offering eclipse-themed goodies. Come April 8, as the moon’s shadow passes northeast across North America, it should completely engulf several …

The Daily Dot reports: “Pornhub has now disabled its website in Texas,” Paxton wrote victoriously. “Sites like Pornhub are on the run because Texas has a law that aims to prevent them from showing harmful, obscene material to children. Good riddance.” “PUSSY IN BIO” a bot commented on Paxton’s post. Texas State Rep. Nate Schatzline (R), who has said he …

PC World reports: In response to Texas’s age-verification law being upheld, the ultra-popular PornHub and numerous other adult sites operated by parent company Aylo went dark in the state. Replacing the NSFW videos you’d normally expect to see, a message decrying government overreach and proposed compromises has been posted. Texas’s actions prompted an increased interest in virtual private networks, or …

NBC News reports: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request made by an LGBTQ student group that was hoping to host a “PG-13” drag show on the campus of West Texas A&M University over the objections of administrators. The court decision in a brief unsigned order means the group, Spectrum WT, likely will not be able to hold the …