After school voucher bill falls apart, supporters and opponents get ready for future fights
The Texas House’s vote to block education savings accounts disappointed voucher advocates and likely spelled doom for additional public school funding. Both bands say they’ll keep pushing for their priorities during next year’s primary elections and the 2025 legislative session.
Louisiana granted extra time to draw new congressional map that complies with Voting Rights Act
Louisiana lawmakers now have until the end of January to draw and pass new congressional boundaries to replace the current map that a federal judge says dilutes the power of the state’s Black voters.
With GOP priorities unfinished, Texas House plans to wrap fourth special session Tuesday
The decision to end work Tuesday leaves long odds for bills to boost school safety funding and make sure that election challenges don’t delay the implementation of property tax cuts, teacher pension raises and infrastructure spending.
Texas GOP executive committee rejects proposed ban on associating with Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers
Some members of the committee said such a ban, proposed two months after a prominent conservative activist was caught meeting with a famous white supremacist, might be a “slippery slope” or too vague.
5 takeaways from AP's Black attorneys general interviews about race, justice and politics
In wide-ranging interviews with The Associated Press, six sitting Black attorneys general discussed the challenges and opportunities of serving as the top law enforcement officer in their respective states.
Texas Senate passes its own school safety funding bill, but little time remains to get it across the finish line
Senate Bill 5 would send an extra $800 million to public schools for security upgrades over the next two years. But the measure is at risk of becoming the latest casualty of the rift between the Texas House and Senate.
Texas Legislature sends $1.54 billion bill for border barriers to Gov. Abbott
Senate Bill 3 would also appropriate $40 million for state troopers to patrol Colony Ridge, a housing development outside of Houston, and allow the state to send money to local jurisdictions to offset the cost of enforcing another immigration-related bill.
Trump attorney says trial during campaign would be 'election interference' if he is GOP nominee
An attorney for former President Donald Trump says it would amount to “election interference” if his client is the Republican nominee for president while on trial in Georgia in the months running up to the general election.
Biden is heading to Hollywood for a major fundraiser featuring Steven Spielberg and Shonda Rhimes
President Joe Biden will head to Los Angeles next week for a big-dollar event that will be his first since strikes by writers and actors effectively ground his fundraising to a halt in the heart of the entertainment industry.
Texas attorney general sues Pfizer, claiming vaccines didn’t end pandemic quickly enough
Experts argue other assertions made in the lawsuit filing are completely unsubstantiated, such as one claiming that vaccinated people were more likely to die from COVID-19, which Texas health data disputes.
What if Donald Trump is convicted? The 2024 Republican convention rules don't address the issue
The Republican National Committee’s rules for next year’s nominating contest and convention have been released, but a major question is unaddressed: Can delegates vote for a different candidate if the party’s presumptive nominee is convicted of a felony.
A Texas politician wants to provide emergency services to constituents who don’t have them. Will they let him?
In unincorporated West Odessa, residents relish their freedom. And they also go without basic services. Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett, a young Republican with Ronald Reagan good looks and politics, wants to change that.
More than 765,000 older Texans are struggling to cover housing costs
A new Harvard University study found an increase in the number of Texas households headed by people 65 or older spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Advocates say keeping older adults housed will require substantial public investment and reforms.
How one man's open records obsession sparked a fight over transparency and power in East Texas
Once a tool of journalists and concerned citizens to hold government accountable, open records requests have been increasingly used by political opponents and conspiracy theorists to slow down the pace of government.
Trump embraces the Jan. 6 rioters on the trail. In court, his lawyers hope to distance him from them
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers have suggested their strategy in his election interference case in Washington involves distancing him from the horde of U.S. Capitol rioters, whom he has embraced on the campaign trail.
Donald Trump draws cheers, some boos in Haley's backyard at Clemson-South Carolina football game
Donald Trump used college football rivalry weekend to bask among his supporters in a state and region that are key to his presidential fortunes, while trying to upstage his Republican opponent Nikki Haley on her home turf at the Clemson-South Carolina football game.
A Texas university removed its unique public billboards after students used them to share thoughts on Gaza war
The University of Texas at Dallas replaced three boulders — known as the Spirit Rocks — with trees, citing “extended political discourse.” Students say the quirky public square is a frequent venue for political messaging.
School voucher fallout leaves Texas Legislature with no clear sense on next steps
Vouchers were left without a clear path forward after a decisive vote Friday. Gov. Greg Abbott, who had threatened lawmakers with more special sessions to pass the proposal, seems to have turned his attention to punishing voucher opponents in next year’s primary elections.
In Texas’ Panhandle, a long-awaited oasis for mental health care is springing up
The region that includes Amarillo, a Panhandle city of more than 200,000 people, and surrounding towns has long been a mental health care desert. Officials hope a new $159 million hospital can help reduce a massive spike in suicide attempts.
Judge imposes stricter bond conditions on Trump co-defendant in Georgia election subversion case
The Georgia judge overseeing the election subversion case against former President Donald Trump and others imposed stricter bond conditions for one of the defendants after prosecutors complained about his social media posts that mentioned witnesses and co-defendants.
Ken Paxton announces investigation of media group following Elon Musk’s lawsuit
After a report from Media Matters showed advertisements from major brands appeared next to antisemitic posts on X, the company sued the media watchdog group and its reporter. The Texas Attorney General’s Office plans to investigate the nonprofit for potential fraud.