Ken Paxton impeachment updates: Texas Legislature set to decide fate of embattled attorney general
A Texas House committee has filed 20 articles of impeachment, but it’s not yet clear when the full chamber will take them up. Republicans’ attempts to remove one of their own sets up a dramatic showdown in the waning days of the 2023 regular legislative session.
Judge stops Texas execution after questions raised in case
A Texas judge has stopped next week’s scheduled execution of a death row inmate who has long said he’s innocent so there can be more time to review his claims that he was convicted more than 20 years ago with false testimony and questionable evidence.
Two constables, four police chiefs and over 3,000 other Texans were members of the Oath Keepers, report says
A recent analysis of Oath Keepers’ membership rolls leaked last year found that Texas had more members of the far-right extremist group than any other state — and the most who worked as elected officials, law enforcement officers or members of the military.
U.S. Rep. Van Taylor ends reelection campaign after he admits to affair
Taylor made the stunning announcement hours after he finished his five-way primary with 49% of the vote. Former Collin County Judge Keith Self, who finished second, is now likely to become the next congressman for the 3rd District.
Texas county officials call election audits an unnecessary partisan ploy while voicing confidence in 2020 results
Officials in some counties targeted by audits accuse Republican Texas leaders of pandering to conspiracy theorists and undermining faith in elections. They also say the secretary of state’s office hasn’t provided details on what the audits entail.
Collin County detention officers won't face charges over in-custody death of Marvin Scott III
Since Scott’s death, family members had led regular demonstrations outside the Collin County Jail. Multiple news outlets reported that a grand jury recommended the formation of a group to study Scott’s death, which had been ruled a homicide.
Lawyers prosecuting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s fraud case challenge decision to move trial back to his home county
Last month, a divided three-judge panel ruled that the case should move back to Collin County. Prosecutors are asking the full 1st Court of Appeals to review and reverse that ruling, potentially further delaying the 6-year-old case.
There are likely more tigers in captivity than in the wild, Humane Society of the United States says
Even though captive tigers are a “serious threat,” the Humane Society of the United States said there are likely more tigers in captivity than there are in the wild across the world. “The Humane Society of the United States strongly opposes keeping tigers and other wild animals as pets,” she said. Here’s an expanded list of prohibited animals in Bexar County, according to an order from the Commissioners Court:Prohibited animals in Bexar County, according to an order from the Commissioners Court. AdNorwood said more than 15 years have passed since ACS last helped retrieve a tiger from a San Antonio home. Those include game wardens with the Texas Parks and Wildlife, the San Antonio Zoo or different animal sanctuaries.
Collin County is the center of a political storm as the Texas suburbs become more competitive for Democrats
Six years ago, Collin County was so solidly Republican that many of its representatives in Austin and Washington didn’t even draw Democratic opponents. Collin County was among the first Texas counties this week to exceed its 2016 turnout, and 62% of its voters had already voted as of Wednesday. “Collin County voters are smart,” Taylor said. At the same time, Democrats also see opportunity in injecting the president into the Texas House races in Collin County. “What’s happening in Collin County is what’s happening all across the country,” Leach said.
Judge rules Ken Paxton's 5-year-old criminal case can be heard in his hometown of Collin County
The case was sent to be tried in Houston in 2017 given Paxton’s close political ties in Collin County. Paxton once represented the region in the state Legislature, and now his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, does. Prosecutors argued they could not get a fair trial in a part of the state where the Paxtons are so well connected. In July 2019, Paxton’s defense attorneys asked a judge to send the case back to Collin County, arguing that the judge who removed it to Houston had not had the authority to do so. Judge Jason Luong sent the case back to Collin County on Friday.
White evangelicals hope to keep changing Texas red for Trump
During a break between morning church services, Beverly Sides, right, with the Prestonwood Cultural Impact Team shows Suzie Brewer election voter guides for various north Texas counties at Prestonwood Baptist Church Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Plano, Texas. He spoke in the parking lot of a pizza place in McKinney, Texas, the county seat. Jeffress, the leader of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, also sees the changes underway in his state. Despite the United States’ troubles with the pandemic and economic crash, white evangelicals remain among the president’s most loyal supporters. Texas evangelicals expect Barrett, whose confirmation hearings are underway in the U.S. Senate this week, to uphold more limits to abortion.
Five health experts on the states coronavirus data backlog and what to expect as schools reopen
The agency has fast-tracked the onboarding of more than 300 labs to provide testing data as quickly as possible, Anton said. Question: Whats the effect of the backlog and the later data dump from a public health standpoint? However, there are relatively few positive TB tests, and there's no expectation that you report negative tests, only the positive ones. Second factor: the poor analysts at the state, they're getting data feeds from I think 600 different laboratories across the state. So I think we're going to see a surge, I think we'll see a surge of positive cases in the next 10 days to two weeks.
Criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will return to his native Collin County, judge rules
A judge moved Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons case to Harris County years ago, after prosecutors said they could not get a fair trial in Collin County. REUTERS/Bill ClarkYears after it was sent to Harris County, the criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will move back to his native Collin County, a Harris County judge ruled Thursday. A judge moved Paxtons case to Harris County years ago, after prosecutors said they could not get a fair trial in Collin County, Paxtons home and former district from his time in the state Legislature. The two attorneys prosecuting Paxton, Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, disputed that at a December hearing and said the case belongs in Harris County. But when the Texas State Securities Board reprimanded him for soliciting clients without being properly registered, he signed a disciplinary order without disputing its findings.