Texas

After months of dropping hints and dodging specifics, Matthew McConaughey has finally announced his much-speculated-about plans for the Texas governor race: He won't be running in it.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked the state's association of school boards to review and remove any school library books with "pornography or other inappropriate content." It's part of a larger trend.

In Shreveport, La., near the Texas border, the Hope Medical Group for Women is seeing increased demand after the restrictive law was passed — and after a hurricane impacted other parts of the state.

A federal judge will decide whether to block Texas' new restrictive abortion law after hearing from Justice Department attorneys and lawyers for the state. He offered no timetable for a decision.

The law bans nearly all abortions, and doctors providing pregnancy care are hoping for more clarity soon, as legal challenges continue.

For years Texas tried to lure businesses to locate there from other states. Now, Chicago is using a new Texas abortion ban and other social issues to recruit businesses from the Lone Star state.

"What can we provide for our family?" one Haitian told the AP. "We can't do anything for our family here. There is nothing in this country."

Texas officials call it a "historic surge." Thousands of new arrivals, largely from Haiti, are straining an already overstretched system, and more are on the way.

The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to temporarily block the new Texas abortion ban while its lawsuit against the state continues.

Parts of southern Louisiana could see isolated rain totals of 20 inches through Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. Hundreds of thousands of utility accounts are now without power in Texas.

The surf is always up in Waco, Texas, thanks to an artificial wave so good it's attracting top professionals and casual riders. It's a sign of just how far the technology of wave making has come.

The new Texas law bans abortions after a 'fetal heartbeat' is detected, usually about six weeks into pregnancy. But doctors say that's not an actual medical term, and it's being used inaccurately.