TEXAS NEWS
UNT approves buyouts for professors, faculty as it tackles budget shortfalls
Read full article: UNT approves buyouts for professors, faculty as it tackles budget shortfallsA drop in international student enrollment and state funding contributed to financial woes at the University of North Texas. Other state colleges face similar challenges.
Rep. Greg Casar unveils bill targeting utility costs as part of progressives’ “affordability agenda”
Read full article: Rep. Greg Casar unveils bill targeting utility costs as part of progressives’ “affordability agenda”The proposal is part of a package from the Casar-led Congressional Progressive Caucus focused on cost of living. It’s unlikely to go anywhere but could give Democrats a campaign blueprint.
Dan Patrick eyes closing “gambling loophole” for prediction markets. The feds stand in Texas’ way.
Read full article: Dan Patrick eyes closing “gambling loophole” for prediction markets. The feds stand in Texas’ way.A Trump administration agency has sued other states that sought to regulate Kalshi, Polymarket and other prediction operations under their gambling laws.
ICE warrants were central to Abbott’s immigration dispute with Texas cities. Here’s how they work.
Read full article: ICE warrants were central to Abbott’s immigration dispute with Texas cities. Here’s how they work.Unlike criminal warrants, ICE administrative warrants don’t require approval from an independent judge. ICE defends the practice, but legal experts say they can have errors and risk wrongful detention.
Texas executes James Broadnax after Supreme Court rejects final appeal tied to cousin’s confession
Read full article: Texas executes James Broadnax after Supreme Court rejects final appeal tied to cousin’s confessionBroadnax, who was convicted of killing two music producers in Garland in a 2008 robbery, is the third inmate executed by the state this year.
Supreme Court voting rights ruling empowers Texas Republicans to redraw more partisan maps
Read full article: Supreme Court voting rights ruling empowers Texas Republicans to redraw more partisan mapsTexas lawmakers will be able to draw more aggressively partisan maps for the state House, Senate and education board when they return in 2027.
Texas DACA recipient detained again after ICE deported him, then allowed his return
Read full article: Texas DACA recipient detained again after ICE deported him, then allowed his returnImmigration officials had allowed José Contreras Diaz, 30, to return to Texas on a chartered plane, but immediately sent him to a detention center on Wednesday.
Once thriving, Laredo’s growth stalls under Trump’s immigration crackdown
Read full article: Once thriving, Laredo’s growth stalls under Trump’s immigration crackdownThe city's economic growth has taken a dip, falling short of expectations amid a steep decline in international migration, among other factors.
Christian Menefee’s district sat vacant for 11 months. His first bill in Congress would set a deadline for special elections.
Read full article: Christian Menefee’s district sat vacant for 11 months. His first bill in Congress would set a deadline for special elections.The Houston Democrat was elected earlier this year to finish out the term of Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died in March 2025. The safely blue district was left vacant for 334 days.
Hispanic GOP candidates could reshape Texas’ congressional delegation — if they can win Hispanic voters
Read full article: Hispanic GOP candidates could reshape Texas’ congressional delegation — if they can win Hispanic votersTexas voters could nominate as many as six Hispanic Republicans in the state’s most hotly contested congressional races. Party leaders hope that’ll help keep Hispanic voters in the GOP’s corner.
North Texas man executed as his cousin claims he was shooter in fatal 2008 robbery
Read full article: North Texas man executed as his cousin claims he was shooter in fatal 2008 robberyA North Texas man who claimed he wasn’t the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago and who says prosecutors misused rap lyrics he wrote to secure his death sentence has been executed.
A Houston ISD exec tapped for Beaumont schools superintendent during its second state takeover
Read full article: A Houston ISD exec tapped for Beaumont schools superintendent during its second state takeoverFormer Houston school administrators now work as superintendents or key executives in three districts under Texas’ control. This is Beaumont’s second state intervention in recent years.
U.S. Supreme Court weakens key pillar of Voting Rights Act, opening the door for Texas to redraw political maps
Read full article: U.S. Supreme Court weakens key pillar of Voting Rights Act, opening the door for Texas to redraw political mapsWhile the court did not strike down the provision entirely, Justice Elena Kagan said Wednesday’s ruling made Section 2 of the VRA “all but a dead letter.”
FIFA could make billions from the World Cup. Texas host cities will get little in return.
Read full article: FIFA could make billions from the World Cup. Texas host cities will get little in return.Almost all of the costs for organizing the tournament fall on the cities, whose ability to collect revenue is limited. In Texas, that could leave taxpayers on the hook.
Texas inmate James Broadnax faces Thursday execution amid final appeal arguing he wasn’t the shooter
Read full article: Texas inmate James Broadnax faces Thursday execution amid final appeal arguing he wasn’t the shooterThe death row inmate has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution, pointing to a codefendant’s confession in the shooting death of two people.
Corpus Christi delays action on plan to cut water use by 25% if emergency is declared
Read full article: Corpus Christi delays action on plan to cut water use by 25% if emergency is declaredA Level 1 emergency, which could arrive in September, would limit households to 5,250 gallons a month under proposed restrictions. About 30% of residential customers use more.
Texas DACA recipient will be allowed to return after Trump administration deported him
Read full article: Texas DACA recipient will be allowed to return after Trump administration deported himJosé Contreras Diaz, 30, was arrested earlier this year during an immigration-related appointment and missed his son’s birth. He was deported to Honduras, the country he left when he was 8.
Camp Mystic director apologizes to families of campers, counselors who died in flood
Read full article: Camp Mystic director apologizes to families of campers, counselors who died in flood“I think about the night of the flood every moment of every day,” Edward Eastland said at a committee hearing Tuesday. “We tried our hardest that night and it wasn’t enough to save your daughters.”
Talarico leads both Cornyn, Paxton in new polls of Texas’ U.S. Senate race
Read full article: Talarico leads both Cornyn, Paxton in new polls of Texas’ U.S. Senate raceThe Austin Democrat, who won his party’s nomination in March, led Cornyn and Paxton in two successive polls, though he did not crack 50%.
Texas Railroad Commission GOP runoff: Who is running and what to know
Read full article: Texas Railroad Commission GOP runoff: Who is running and what to knowThe May 26 runoff pits incumbent Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, who’s pitching himself as a “proven advocate for Texas energy,” against Bo French, who has cast himself as a “MAGA conservative.”
Texas wants to ban in-home ketamine and add more physician oversight during treatment
Read full article: Texas wants to ban in-home ketamine and add more physician oversight during treatmentKetamine industry leaders say Texas Medical Board’s proposal to require physician supervision or limit treatments to two people at a time will force clinics to close.
Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby enters treatment program for a gambling addiction following transfer
Read full article: Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby enters treatment program for a gambling addiction following transferTexas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has taken an indefinite leave of absenceto enter a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction.
Poor preparation doomed Camp Mystic victims, investigator tells Texas lawmakers in harrowing account
Read full article: Poor preparation doomed Camp Mystic victims, investigator tells Texas lawmakers in harrowing accountThe summer camp hadn’t prepared counselors and staff with adequate emergency training, an evacuation plan or flood preparedness supplies, the investigator concluded.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Republican runoff: Who is running for Place 3 and what to know
Read full article: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Republican runoff: Who is running for Place 3 and what to knowThe criminal court decides death penalty case appeals and rules on petitions for those who believe they’ve been wrongfully detained. Alison Fox and Thomas Smith are in the runoff for Place 3’s Republican nominee.
ICE releases El Gamal family after re-arresting mother and 5 children, attorney says
Read full article: ICE releases El Gamal family after re-arresting mother and 5 children, attorney saysA plane carrying the family to Michigan was reportedly on its way back to Colorado after a Texas federal judge ordered a halt to their deportation following his ruling that they be released.
Texas agency finds Camp Mystic emergency plan insufficient
Read full article: Texas agency finds Camp Mystic emergency plan insufficientThe camp has 45 days to revise its plan as it aims to reopen for campers this summer. Other youth camps also had deficiencies to correct in their plans, according to the agency that must review them.
Texas police can arrest people suspected of entering country illegally, federal court rules
Read full article: Texas police can arrest people suspected of entering country illegally, federal court rulesThe conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge Senate Bill 4, the 2023 law that lets state police arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally.
North Texas Rep. Pat Fallon running to lead GOP on influential House Oversight Committee
Read full article: North Texas Rep. Pat Fallon running to lead GOP on influential House Oversight CommitteeSeparately, Amarillo Rep. Ronny Jackson is considering a bid for the top Republican spot on the House Armed Services Committee in the next Congress.
Texas child abuse investigations over gender-affirming care no longer blocked
Read full article: Texas child abuse investigations over gender-affirming care no longer blockedThe Texas Supreme Court lifted temporary injunctions protecting three families and members of PFLAG, Inc., after CPS cases were dropped.
Two years after a judge recommended her murder conviction be tossed, Melissa Lucio still waits for freedom
Read full article: Two years after a judge recommended her murder conviction be tossed, Melissa Lucio still waits for freedomA district judge provided two recommendations to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2024, but the court’s process provides no details on when it will rule on the death row inmate’s innocence.