Author: Paul J. Weber
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Investigation: Texas AG Paxton likely broke laws
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AUSTIN, Texas • A Republican-led investigation on Wednesday accused Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of committing multiple crimes in office — including felonies — during an extraordinary public airing of scandal and alleged lawbreaking that plunged one of the GOP’s conservative stars into new political and legal risk. For more than three hours, investigators presented…
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DOJ to ask Supreme Court to put abortion pill limits on hold
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AUSTIN, Texas • A federal appeals court ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone can still be used for now but restored restrictions on the drug in a decision that the Justice Department said Thursday it would swiftly challenge at the Supreme Court. At stake in an accelerating legal battle that began in Texas is nationwide…
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DOJ settles over Texas church shooting for $144M
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AUSTIN, Texas • The Justice Department announced Wednesday a tentative $144 million settlement with families and victims of a 2017 mass shooting at a Texas church that was carried out by a former U.S. airman who was able to purchase firearms despite a criminal history. More than two dozen people were killed when Devin Patrick…
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Texans endure winter storm with no power, heat
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AUSTIN, Texas • Thousands of frustrated Texans shivered in their homes Thursday after more than a day without power, including many in the state capital, as an icy winter storm that has been blamed for at least 10 traffic deaths lingered across much of the southern U.S. A warming trend was expected to bring some…
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O’Rourke responds to heckler over Uvalde with expletive
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AUSTIN, Texas • Democrat Beto O’Rourke responded to a heckler at a campaign stop with an expletive after the Texas gubernatorial candidate heard a cackled laugh while criticizing the ease with which the Uvalde elementary school gunman legally purchased an AR-15-style rifle. By Thursday, video of O’Rourke’s exchange at a town hall in rural Mineral…
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Abortions in Texas fell 60% in 1st month under new limits
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AUSTIN, Texas • Abortions in Texas fell by 60% in the first month under the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. in decades, according to new figures that for the first time reveal a full accounting of the immediate impact. The nearly 2,200 abortions reported by Texas providers in September came after a new…
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Texas board withdraws pardon for Floyd
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AUSTIN, Texas • A Texas board that unanimously supported a posthumous pardon for George Floyd over a 2004 drug arrest in Houston has withdrawn that recommendation over “procedural errors” after sending it to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, his office said Thursday. The unusual reversal announced by Abbott’s office two days before Christmas — around…
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DOJ again presses to half Texas abortion law
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AUSTIN, Texas • The Biden administration is again urging the courts to step in and suspend a new Texas law that has banned most abortions since early September, as clinics hundreds of miles away remain busy with Texas patients making long journeys to get care. The latest attempt Monday came three days after the 5th…
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Despite 15-hour filibuster, Texas passes sweeping election bills
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AUSTIN, Texas • A Texas state senator ended a 15-hour filibuster Thursday in the Democrats’ latest defiance over new voting restrictions, but it only delayed Republicans who went on to approve the sweeping elections bill just minutes after she wearily left the floor. The GOP’s sustained efforts to tighten Texas’ election laws, however, remained no…
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Power outages linger for millions as another icy storm looms
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AUSTIN, Texas • Utility crews raced Wednesday to restore power to nearly 3.4 million customers around the U.S. who were still without electricity in the aftermath of a deadly winter storm, and another blast of ice and snow threatened to sow more chaos. The latest storm front was expected to bring more hardship to states…