Democrats have struggled to find effective ways to oppose President Donald Trump, and even some Democratic voters describe the party as weak.
Mounted patrol officers, known as tick riders, who typically patrol the southern border to protect cattle from fever tick, will also now serve as the first line of defense against screwworm.
The U.S. plans to build a $750 million factory in southern Texas to breed billions of sterile flies to ramp up its efforts to keep flesh-eating maggots now in Mexico from damaging the American cattle industry.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for another Texas Legislature’s special session after the first session was adjourned Friday morning after failing to make a quorum.
The second session is set to consider the same agenda that stalled in the first, with redistricting and disaster response at the top of the governor’s priorities.
The third-term governor appears determined to win any battle — even if it means scorched-earth primary crusades or trying to boot duly elected legislators from office.
Democrats have unveiled a proposal that could give California’s dominant political party an additional five U.S. House seats in a bid to win the fight to control Congress next year.
In a statement, the House Democratic Caucus said its lawyers had advised returning “to build a strong public legislative record for the upcoming legal battle” against the GOP’s map.
With Democrats’ walkout over redistricting bringing the House to a standstill, both parties are accusing each other of abandoning Central Texas flood victims.
In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor ask University of Houston law professor David Froomkin to help them break down the legal cases seeking to remove 13 Democrats from the Texas House.
Democrats' absence has halted work in the Texas House, which must also approve the new boundaries, for more than a week.
In a dramatic turn of events, Texas Senate Democrats staged a walkout on Tuesday, challenging Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to prioritize redistricting over urgent flood relief for the state’s devastated communities.
The leaders of both chambers said they would adjourn for the session Friday if Democrats do not return, while the governor said he might add more items to his agenda.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is escalating the partisan redistricting fight by asking a judge to hold progressive activist Beto O'Rourke in contempt.
The governor and attorney general have asked the court to find that Democratic lawmakers abandoned their seats when they left Texas to delay a new congressional map.
Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse.
With no sign of Texas Democrats returning soon, Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to call a series of special legislative sessions. He says he is authorized to call these sessions every 30 days.
Republicans who are censured by their county party leaders may be blocked from the primary ballot under a new party rule passed last year, that is expected to be tested by the courts.
Texas Republicans are trying to reconvene the state Legislature to vote on redrawing congressional maps in their party's favor.
Texas Republicans have escalated the penalties against Democrats as they enter a second week camped out in states across the country to block new U.S. House maps pushed for by President Donald Trump to win more seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Gov. Greg Abbott previously asked the court to expel Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader. Paxton disputed the governor’s authority to make the request.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have appeared shoulder-to-shoulder with Texas Democratic lawmakers in a show of support for their nearly weeklong walkout.
Democrats concede there’s only so much they can do to keep Texas from redrawing its maps. But they want to encourage blue states to retaliate.
In response to Texas Democrats blocking the quorum needed for redistricting, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, and Attorney General Ken Paxton are turning up the heat—threatening legal action and seeking federal help to bring the lawmakers back.
"We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities," U.S. Senator John Cornyn said in a statement.
The Texas Supreme Court said in 2021 the Constitution allows members to thwart legislation by leaving the state. Abbott wants them to reconsider.
Texas Democratic lawmakers who left the state to block a Republican plan for congressional redistricting are pleading for donations to help cover their costs.
While the Democrats could technically derail the GOP’s redistricting map, such efforts have been largely symbolic and had limited success blocking past legislation, experts say.
A tweet by Sen. Mayes Middleton questioning if Houston lawmaker Gene Wu was "back in China" sparked backlash amid a Democratic walkout to block GOP redistricting plans.
Texas Republicans and President Donald Trump are pushing to redraw congressional maps to secure more GOP seats in the U.S. House next year.
Starting April 1, 2026, Texans who use SNAP benefits won’t be able to buy candy or sweetened drinks — including sodas and artificially sweetened beverages. The change, approved by the federal government, aims to promote healthier food choices.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to remove from office a top state lawmaker he called the “ringleader” of Democrats who left the state to block a vote on a new congressional voting map pushed by President Donald Trump.
Legal experts say it’s “inconsistent with the Texas Constitution” to argue that leaving the state to halt legislative action qualifies as abandoning an office.
As a political chess match wages on against Texas lawmakers and an attempt to block a vote on a “rigged” congressional redistricting map, officials with the Democratic National Convention are joining the effort in Illinois.
The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the Department of Justice for files in the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, part of a congressional probe that lawmakers believe may show links to President Donald Trump and other former top officials.
Texas and California are at the center of a national political power struggle that could reshape Trump's second presidency.
Texas Republicans are trying to redraw congressional districts to pick up five additional U.S. House seats. Democrats face financial and political risk in their bid to block the GOP plan.
Democrats fled the state to stop Republicans’ attempt to redraw congressional districts, but bills aimed at everything from a THC product ban to bolstering flood response are now in doubt.
The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.
Dozens of Democratic state lawmakers in Texas have scattered across the country in a last-ditch effort to prevent Republicans from adopting U.S. House maps that President Donald Trump wants in place before the 2026 midterm elections.
As the new school year kicks off on August 12, Houston ISD is implementing a new statewide policy that prohibits K-12 students from using cell phones during school hours.
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers have left Texas in an attempt to block the adoption of redrawn U.S. House maps sought by President Donald Trump.
Texas Democrats have prevented their state’s House of Representatives from moving forward, at least for now, with a redrawn congressional map sought by President Donald Trump.
Sunday night, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a heated statement warning of legal consequences for Democratic members of the Texas House who chose to leave the state to break quorum and block Republican-backed legislation earlier in the day.
Texas Democrats have left the state in an attempt to prevent the state House from holding a vote Monday on new congressional maps that Republicans hope will net them several additional U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
The lawmakers’ absence means the lower chamber won’t have enough members present to function, stalling passage of a draft map Democrats have condemned as a political power grab.
Democrats are arguing that a Republican plan for redrawing districts in Texas to create more winnable U.S. House seats for the GOP is an attack on Black and Hispanic voters.
Roy Boyd has also become one of the loudest cheerleaders for partnerships between sheriffs and ICE to offer the federal agency unprecedented access to jails and deputies.
Two top leaders in a rural Texas county were asleep and a third was out of town in the initial hours of a catastrophic flood that caused widespread destruction and killed more than 130 people.
The first draft of the lower chamber’s new redistricting map targets Democratic members of Congress in the Austin, Dallas and Houston metro areas and in South Texas.
Texas Republicans have proposed a new congressional map that creates five additional GOP-leaning districts as they brace for a challenging midterm election in 2026.
State officials have initiated construction on the Lubbock Psychiatric Center, a $121 million, 50-bed maximum-security mental health hospital funded as part of Texas' $2.5 billion overhaul of its mental health care system.
With several candidates lined up to represent the district, which has remained unseated since March, the results from the survey further demonstrate how heated the race has become.
Hundreds of Texas residents gathered at the University of Houston today to speak directly to lawmakers about a controversial redistricting proposal that could reshape the state’s political map.
The bills would carry a $5,000 fine for a first-time violation and comes as momentum for such restrictions has increased in the state and nationally.
State lawmakers are moving forward with efforts to redraw congressional maps a move that’s sparking both political controversy and public pushback ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Senate Bill 5 would ban products containing any detectable amount of any cannabinoid, creating criminal offenses for possession of hemp-derived THC.
A newly introduced bill in Texas is reigniting concerns over the future of hemp-derived products. During a special legislative session, lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 5, a proposed law that would ban any detectable amount of THC, and regulate other cannabinoids.
Search and recovery efforts are still underway in the Texas Hill Country after heavy rains flooded the Guadalupe River, causing a flash flood that took hundreds of lives earlier this month.
Far beyond Harvard University and its standoff with the Trump administration, Republican officials in several states have been pushing for changes at public universities.
The governor eventually agreed to include redistricting on his special session agenda after discussing the matter with the president on a phone call.
The Texas Capitol is buzzing as the legislative special session officially begins. Lawmakers were called back to Austin on orders from Governor Greg Abbott to address pressing state issues.
With few options to prevent the Republican majority from passing a new congressional map, Democrats threatened to filibuster, delay hearings and even break quorum.
Lawmakers will have 30 days to tackle a packed agenda outlined by Gov. Greg Abbott, from flood relief to redistricting to THC products.
A controversial bill banning consumable THC products has been vetoed by Governor Abbott, who instead calls for tighter regulations in the upcoming special session. A Houston CBD store owner says the ban would have forced him to shut down and supports age restrictions and labeling requirements to keep his business open and customers safe.
Texas Republicans are poised to redraw the state’s congressional map during a special session that starts Monday.
Harris County is at the center of a heated debate over redistricting, as state lawmakers prepare for a special session beginning Monday with the issue on the agenda.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the federal government has updated the president’s Major Disaster Declaration to include Hamilton and Travis counties in response to the recent flooding across Texas.
The number of people still missing in a Texas county ravaged by deadly flooding over the Fourth of July holiday weekend now stands at three, down from nearly 100.
Want your voice heard? Now's the time to reach out to your local representatives and express your concerns.
Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a press conference following a briefing on Texas’ continued response to recent severe flooding that impacted communities in San Angelo.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has requested disaster assistance for three additional counties in Texas due to severe flooding.
President Donald Trump is pushing Republicans in Texas to redraw the state's congressional maps to help ensure the party keeps its majority in the U.S. House in next year's midterm elections.
Officials are keeping a wary eye on river levels as some crews resume the search for people still missing after catastrophic flooding pummeled Texas this month.
Members of Congress from Houston are pushing back against a special legislative session called by Governor Greg Abbott.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday that the federal government has updated the Presidential Disaster Declaration following recent flooding in Texas to include additional counties.
President Donald Trump toured the devastation from catastrophic flooding in Texas and lauded local officials amid mounting criticism that they failed to warn residents quickly enough that a deadly wall of water was coming their way.
Texas officials say more than 170 people are considered unaccounted for after extraordinary floods swamped parts of Kerr County and nearby areas.
The 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial” in Tennessee, where a teacher was prosecuted for teaching evolution, continues to influence debates on religion in public schools.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has announced the agenda for the upcoming special session of the Texas Legislature.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered Texas flags across the state to be lowered to half-staff in memory of those who lost their lives during the Hill Country floods.
Texas police described some of the harrowing rescues they conducted after flash floods engulfed camps and homes in the state's Hill Country.
Just weeks ago, President Donald Trump said he wanted to begin “phasing out” the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this hurricane season to “wean off of FEMA” and “bring it down to the state level.”.
Officials in Texas are facing questions about whether they did enough to get people out of harm’s way before a flash flood swept down the Guadalupe River and killed at least 120 people, including more than two dozen children and counselors at an all-girls Christian camp.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says more than 160 people are believed to be still missing days after flash floods killed more than 100 people across central Texas.
Flash flooding in Texas Hill Country has triggered one of the largest rescue operations in the state’s history.
In the days after the devastating flood that killed dozens in Central Texas, local officials have deflected direct questions about preparations and warnings in advance of the storm that struck July Fourth.
The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend has surpassed 100.
