Tag Archives: Texas

Julia Conley, Common Dreams The Biden administration is conducting a first-of-its-kind federal investigation into book banning by a school district, stepping up its response to nationwide right-wing attacks on LGBTQ+ people and the libraries and schools that seek to create a welcoming environment for the community. The Office for Civil …

Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune Nakeenya Wilson was at a meeting of Texas’ maternal mortality review committee when she got the call: Her sister, who had recently had a baby, was having a stroke. Wilson raced to the hospital, leaving behind a stack of files documenting the stories of women who …

“Despicable.” “Disgusting.” “Egregious.” “Terrifying.” Those were some of the responses to reporting by The Washington Post on Wednesday that the office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to create a list of state residents who had changed their gender on driver’s licenses and other Department of Public Safety …

Emma Williams, The Texas Tribune Despite the state’s near-total ban on abortion, just 12% of Texans think abortion should be illegal in all cases, according to an August poll from The Texas Politics Project. One Texas Democrat hopes to give voters more of a say in abortion policy. State Rep. …

Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News The Biden administration has approved plans to build the nation’s largest oil export terminal off the Gulf Coast of Texas, which would add 2 million barrels per day to the U.S. oil export capacity. The approval by the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration was filed …

Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Herschel Walker is the beneficiary of a tax break meant for permanent Texas residents—a possible violation of both Texas law and residency rules for voting and political candidacy in Georgia, CNN reported Wednesday. Records reviewed by the network show Walker benefited from Texas’ homestead tax exemption, …

William Melhado, The Texas Tribune To many Hispanic and Latino Texans, the word “invasion” brings a particular horror to mind. It’s the same word the gunman in El Paso invoked in 2019 in a hate-filled manifesto about immigration — posted just before he killed 23 people. To many hardline conservatives …

By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, considered a rising star among Texas Democrats, overcame a vigorous challenge from a well-funded Republican opponent Tuesday night and barely held on to her seat overseeing the state’s most populous urban county. Hidalgo faced a steep fundraising disadvantage, attacks …

Marilyn W. Thompson, ProPublica, and Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica This article is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica’s Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published. District of …

William Melhado and Trent Brown, The Texas Tribune Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday called Texas’ abortion ban “immoral” and urged Texans to protect reproductive rights when considering their choices in the upcoming November elections. “A democracy will be as strong as our willingness to fight for it,” she said …

James Barragán, The Texas Tribune Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke clashed Friday night over immigration, abortion and gun control in the only planned gubernatorial debate before the Nov. 8 elections. Throughout the debate, Abbott tried to depict O’Rourke as an acolyte of Democratic President Joe Biden …

Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune Veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove said Saturday that Texas’ abortion law is too extreme, underscoring an increasingly public discomfort with the measure among Republicans. Rove made the comment during an exchange at a Texas Tribune Festival panel about elections following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June …

Jolie McCullough, The Texas Tribune It is no longer constitutional to ban people under felony indictment from buying guns, a federal judge in Texas ruled Monday. U.S. District Judge David Counts, appointed by former President Donald Trump to Texas’ western federal district, found that a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling …

Stephen Neukam, The Texas Tribune Three Venezuelan migrants flown from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard last week filed a federal class action lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida officials Tuesday after the firebrand Republican’s move to transport migrants to a Democrat-controlled state sparked national controversy and a …

Jesus Vidales, The Texas Tribune A Texas law prohibiting large social media companies from banning users’ posts based on their political viewpoints will go into effect after a federal appeals court on Friday lifted a block placed on the statute. NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association sued Texas …