Texas

A Black Texas student's suspension over his hair renews focus on the CROWN Act

5:07am September 22, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

The high school student has been suspended for more than two weeks for wearing a natural hairstyle that officials say violated a dress code. So far, 24 states have signed the CROWN Act into law.

A PEN America report found that the number of books permanently removed from U.S. school libraries and classrooms has quadrupled — to 1,263 books in the last school year from 333 the year before.

School book bans show no signs of slowing, new PEN America report finds

9:31am September 21, 2023

by Tovia Smith

The number of bans and restrictions in the U.S. rose 33% in the last school year, according the the report. Florida had more bans than any other state.

Ken Paxton listens to closing arguments Friday in his impeachment trial in the Texas Senate Chamber in Austin.

Texas Senate acquits state Attorney General Ken Paxton in impeachment trial

8:16pm September 16, 2023

by Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

Paxton, who has been suspended, faced 16 articles of impeachment tied to allegations that he abused his office to protect a political donor. The Senate vote reinstates Paxton as attorney general.

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A barrier to deter migrants from crossing from Mexico into the U.S. floats in the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas.

National

The floating border barrier in the Rio Grande must be removed, a federal judge rules

6:25pm September 06, 2023

by Joel Rose

The judge gave Texas until Sept. 15 to move the barrier to shore and barred the state from placing any additional buoys or other structures in the river. Gov. Greg Abbott plans to appeal the ruling.

Texas authorities released body camera and dashboard video in which Rep. Ronny Jackson, in red shirt, yells profanities at deputies and troopers at a rodeo.

In video, Rep. Ronny Jackson yells profanities at Texas trooper, is put on ground

4:04pm August 15, 2023

by Bill Chappell

"I'm gonna call the governor tomorrow," Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, said as he shouted obscenities at a trooper during an altercation at a rodeo.

A water station for immigrants containing sealed jugs of fresh water sits along a fence line near a roadway in rural Jim Hogg County, Texas, on July 25.

National

Barrels of drinking water for migrants walking through Texas have disappeared

11:09am August 12, 2023

by The Associated Press

As one of the worst heat waves on record set in across much of the southern United States, barrels of life-saving water for wayward migrants traveling on foot have vanished.

The sun sets behind the memorial for the victims of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in August 2022 in Uvalde, Texas.

National

Uvalde shooter's cousin arrested in San Antonio for threatening to shoot a school

12:53pm August 08, 2023

by Laurel Wamsley

Nathan James Cruz, 17, was arrested on charges of making a terroristic threat and making a terroristic threat against his family. His mother reported his statements to police.

The Center for Reproductive Rights brought the lawsuit on behalf of 13 women and two doctors. The women had pregnancy complications that endangered their lives or had fetuses with fatal anomalies.

Texas abortion bans lifted temporarily for medical emergencies, judge rules

9:12pm August 04, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

A Texas judge is temporarily blocking the state's abortion bans from being enforced against doctors who perform abortions in cases of medical emergencies and fetal anomalies.

Texas A&M University has come under fire for suspending and then investigating a professor who spoke critically of Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick during a lecture on the opioid crisis last March.

A Texas A&M professor was suspended for allegedly criticizing lieutenant governor

3:30pm July 26, 2023

by Dustin Jones

Joy Alonzo was suspended and investigated after she allegedly criticized Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a lecture on the opioid crisis. Free speech advocates call the probe "blatantly inappropriate."

A row of mailboxes tagged with evacuation notices during the Oak Fire in Mariposa, Calif., in July 2022. Many residents in the area are losing their home insurance because of rising wildfire risk.

How climate change could cause a home insurance meltdown

4:29pm July 24, 2023

It's increasingly expensive and difficult to get home insurance, as losses rise from climate-driven disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes. And the solutions aren't always politically popular.