POLITICS
Texas Supreme Court rejects Abbott’s request to remove Democratic Rep. Gene Wu from office over redistricting protest
Read full article: Texas Supreme Court rejects Abbott’s request to remove Democratic Rep. Gene Wu from office over redistricting protestMore than 50 Democrats, including Wu — the House Democratic leader — left the state last August to shut down the Legislature and stall passage of the GOP’s map.
Trump says sculpture garden honoring prominent Americans is planned for park along Potomac River
Read full article: Trump says sculpture garden honoring prominent Americans is planned for park along Potomac RiverPresident Donald Trump plans to build an exhibit of statues featuring prominent Americans along the Potomac River.
Texas Children’s Hospital must create country’s first “detransition clinic” under legal settlement with state
Read full article: Texas Children’s Hospital must create country’s first “detransition clinic” under legal settlement with stateAttorney General Ken Paxton said on Friday that Texas Children’s must also pay $10 million to the state because it illegally provided transgender care to kids.
Election denial is a fault line in Republican primary for Georgia secretary of state
Read full article: Election denial is a fault line in Republican primary for Georgia secretary of stateThe 2020 election continues to haunt Georgia's political landscape, especially in the Republican primary for secretary of state.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Louisiana's primaries
Read full article: AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Louisiana's primariesLouisiana voters will participate in a revamped and stripped-down state primary Saturday and decide the political fate of an embattled Republican U.S. senator targeted for defeat by President Donald Trump.
North America’s largest commuter rail system faces a potential shutdown
Read full article: North America’s largest commuter rail system faces a potential shutdownA New York-area train system with 250,000 daily commuters is facing a shutdown if it cannot reach a deal with unionized workers to avert a strike.
Here are the donors bankrolling John Cornyn and Ken Paxton’s record-breaking Senate primary
Read full article: Here are the donors bankrolling John Cornyn and Ken Paxton’s record-breaking Senate primaryThe incumbent senator has dominated financially, thanks to an array of megadonors and dark money groups. The Tribune assembled a guide to the money behind the most expensive Senate primary ever.
Seesaw rulings on Texas’ smokeable hemp ban is bad for business, retailers say
Read full article: Seesaw rulings on Texas’ smokeable hemp ban is bad for business, retailers saySome smoke shops say the flurry of court actions since March 31 has already forced them to scale back hours, cut staff and prepare to shut down.
Trump administration sues Catholic diocese to seize land on religious site near El Paso for border barrier
Read full article: Trump administration sues Catholic diocese to seize land on religious site near El Paso for border barrierThe lawsuit argues that 14 acres on Mount Cristo Rey, which features a 29-foot-tall statue of Jesus, are needed for barriers and other technology to secure the border.
Trump weighs Taiwan arms package after summit aimed at steadying US-China ties
Read full article: Trump weighs Taiwan arms package after summit aimed at steadying US-China tiesPresident Donald Trump says he’s not yet made a decision on whether a major sale of U.S. arms to Taiwan can move forward following his three-day visit to China.
Federal judge halts Texas immigration law the day before it was set to take effect
Read full article: Federal judge halts Texas immigration law the day before it was set to take effectA U.S. judge on Thursday granted a preliminary injunction against sections of Senate Bill 4, which would have allowed local police to arrest suspected illegal border crossers.
Lawyers urge judge to block Trump order that would create eligible voter list, limit mail ballots
Read full article: Lawyers urge judge to block Trump order that would create eligible voter list, limit mail ballotsVoting rights groups are arguing that a federal judge should stop President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail voting because he doesn’t have the authority to do so.
Abbott’s public safety wish list includes statewide prosecutor, more bail restrictions
Read full article: Abbott’s public safety wish list includes statewide prosecutor, more bail restrictionsSome items on Abbott's agenda would require amending the Texas Constitution, meaning they would need supermajority support in the Legislature.
Justice Thomas hails US Constitution as common bedrock in divided America
Read full article: Justice Thomas hails US Constitution as common bedrock in divided AmericaSupreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas urged Americans to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary by defending deeply held beliefs and protecting free speech rather than relying on patriotic slogans or celebrations.
Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill, while lawsuit plays out
Read full article: Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill, while lawsuit plays outThe Supreme Court has preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blocks more than 130 cities from raising property taxes
Read full article: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blocks more than 130 cities from raising property taxesAttorney General Ken Paxton accused the cities, most of them small, of violating a state law aimed at preventing cities from unduly raising property taxes.
Justice Department accuses Yale medical school of illegally using race in admissions
Read full article: Justice Department accuses Yale medical school of illegally using race in admissionsThe Justice Department is accusing Yale University of illegally considering race in its medical school admissions.
Trump administration aims to roll back limits on toxic wastewater from coal-fired power plants
Read full article: Trump administration aims to roll back limits on toxic wastewater from coal-fired power plantsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to relax limits that require coal-fired power plants to prevent the release of toxic heavy metals into streams and rivers.
Powell's tenure as Fed chair marked by fight for independence while trying to tame inflation
Read full article: Powell's tenure as Fed chair marked by fight for independence while trying to tame inflationWhen Jerome Powell was sworn in as chair of the Federal Reserve eight years ago, economists worried that inflation and interest rates were too low and that too few Americans had jobs.
Ex-aide to California Democrats admits guilt in scheme to steal campaign funds from health secretary
Read full article: Ex-aide to California Democrats admits guilt in scheme to steal campaign funds from health secretaryA top California Democratic political aide has pleaded guilty in a scheme to steal campaign funds from Xavier Becerra when he served as the federal health secretary.
Former Texas lottery director re-indicted for abuse of office by grand jury
Read full article: Former Texas lottery director re-indicted for abuse of office by grand juryGary Grief, former executive director of the now-dissolved Texas Lottery Commission, is alleged to have used his position to defraud the state during a 2023 Lotto Texas drawing.
Lacy Lakeview needs Waco’s help to realize its data center dreams. It’s not going well.
Read full article: Lacy Lakeview needs Waco’s help to realize its data center dreams. It’s not going well.Lacy Lakeview’s hasty approach to the data center project has alienated the Waco officials who would control water service to the site. “Without the City of Waco agreeing to it, Lacy Lakeview can’t do anything out there and neither can Infrakey," State Rep. Pat Curry said. "Those guys don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”
Louisiana senators pass new US House map while South Carolina plans for extra redistricting work
Read full article: Louisiana senators pass new US House map while South Carolina plans for extra redistricting workState senators in Louisiana have passed a new congressional map after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the previous one.
In new lawsuit, Justice Department challenges efforts to sanction Trump administration lawyers
Read full article: In new lawsuit, Justice Department challenges efforts to sanction Trump administration lawyersThe Justice Department is challenging efforts to sanction attorneys from the first and second Trump administrations, asserting in a lawsuit that the District of Columbia Bar is unfairly playing politics with the legal disciplinary process.
Trump administration will join a prayer gathering criticized for promoting Christian nationalism
Read full article: Trump administration will join a prayer gathering criticized for promoting Christian nationalismPresident Donald Trump and several top administration officials are joining with a cast of mostly conservative Christian clergy this Sunday for a prayer gathering.