Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune The Texas House this week gave final approval to legislation that is calling for significant investments to beef up schools’ safety, including hiring at least one armed security officer at every campus, providing incentives for school employees to get certified to carry a weapon and …
Read More »Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Seeks Pardon for Man Convicted of Murdering BLM Protester
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott drew widespread condemnation from legal experts after he said Saturday that he is “working as swiftly” as the law allows to pardon a man who was convicted the previous day of murdering a racial justice protester in 2020. Daniel Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant, was …
Read More »Trump Vows Retribution At Texas Rally: “I am your warrior, I am your justice”
Robert Downen and William Melhado, The Texas Tribune Flanked by supporters waving “witch hunt” signs, former President Donald Trump turned in a signature incendiary performance Saturday in Waco, using his first 2024 campaign rally to frame himself as a victim of politicized legal investigations and vowing to be the MAGA …
Read More »No, Texas Can’t Legally Secede From The U.S., Despite Popular Myth
Texas Tribune Staff, The Texas Tribune Secession and independence have been perennial themes throughout the history of Texas, which broke away from Mexico in 1836 and was an independent republic before it was annexed by the United States in 1845. In 2009, then-Gov. Rick Perry made national headlines for jokingly …
Read More »Texas Abortion Funds Likely Safe From Prosecution, Federal Judge Rules
Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune A federal judge issued a favorable ruling for Texas abortion funds, indicating they likely cannot be criminally charged for helping people travel out of state to terminate their pregnancies. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman temporarily blocked prosecutors in eight counties from pursuing charges against anyone …
Read More »Texas Superintendent Resigns After Student Finds His Gun In School Bathroom
Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune The superintendent of a small school district in West Central Texas resigned this week after parents learned that his gun was found in a bathroom stall by a third grade student, an incident that comes as Texas lawmakers and top officials discuss school safety in …
Read More »Texas Border Republican Accuses GOP Of Using Immigration Crisis For Politics
Matthew Choi, The Texas Tribune U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, accused his fellow Republicans of politicizing the border for their own benefit, further escalating his standoff with more conservative members of his party who he said stood to gain from a sustained migration conflict. “Anyone who thinks a 3 …
Read More »Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Calls For New Election In Harris County
James Barragán, The Texas Tribune Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for a redo Monday of Harris County elections after voters faced difficulties casting their ballots in November when some voting centers did not have enough ballot paper for the number of voters who came in. “How many people went …
Read More »Texas Leads Lawsuit Against Biden Administration’s New Immigration Policy
Uriel J. García, The Texas Tribune Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Biden administration, claiming a new immigration program the president announced last month that would allow 360,000 people a year from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the country is illegal. Texas, …
Read More »Sen. John Cornyn Eyes The Seemingly Impossible: A Bipartisan Deal On Immigration
Matthew Choi, The Texas Tribune A long trail of SUVs snaked out of El Paso carrying a group of U.S. senators into southern New Mexico on a recent, chilly night. Like a funeral procession, the oversized cars glided through traffic with hazard lights on, turning onto a paved road to …
Read More »Abbott Blasted for ‘Cruel Stunt’ as Migrants Bussed to Kamala Harris’ Home on Christmas Eve
Human rights defenders condemned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and “extremist Republicans’ cruel values” after several busloads of migrants were dropped off outside U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ Washington, D.C. home in subfreezing temperatures on Christmas Eve. For the second time since September, Central and South American migrants were bussed from …
Read More »Buses From Texas Drop Off More Than 100 Migrants In A Bitterly Cold Washington, D.C., On Christmas Eve
Jayme Lozano, The Texas Tribune More than 100 migrants bused from Texas arrived at Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve — enduring freezing temperatures in the state’s latest instance of sending migrants to cities led by Democrats. The Washington Post reported Sunday that volunteers who …
Read More »Biden Admin Opens First-of-Its-Kind Civil Rights Probe Into Book Banning in Texas Schools
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 …
Read More »Why Are Pregnancy And Childbirth Killing So Many Black Women In Texas?
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 …
Read More »‘Chilling’: Republican State AG’s Office Sought List of Trans Texans
“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 …
Read More »
Poli Alert Politics & Civics