WEATHER ALERT
Judge says heat in Texas prisons unconstitutional as states face mounting lawsuits
Read full article: Judge says heat in Texas prisons unconstitutional as states face mounting lawsuitsA federal judge’s finding that extreme heat in Texas prisons is unconstitutional could lead to the state being ordered to spend billions to install air conditioning to cool them off.
Federal judge rules prison heat conditions are unconstitutional, but doesn’t require air conditioning
Read full article: Federal judge rules prison heat conditions are unconstitutional, but doesn’t require air conditioningAbout two-thirds of Texas prisons are not fully air conditioned, and dozens of inmates have died in the sweltering heat.
Texas’ social media law takes another hit with temporary blocks on three more provisions
Read full article: Texas’ social media law takes another hit with temporary blocks on three more provisionsThe new injunction prohibits advertising and age verification restrictions in the SCOPE Act, which aims to make social media safer for teenagers.
Court allows SCOPE Act’s parental consent for Texas minors online, strikes down content moderation mandate
Read full article: Court allows SCOPE Act’s parental consent for Texas minors online, strikes down content moderation mandateThe new SCOPE Act takes effect this Sunday, adding protections for kids online through age verification and stricter marketplace regulations but one non-profit is challenging it. Will a judge block it? #OnlineSafety #ConsumerProtection #SCOPEAct
Federal judge seems wary of Texas ban on TikTok at public universities
Read full article: Federal judge seems wary of Texas ban on TikTok at public universitiesLast year, Texas joined more than 30 other states in banning TikTok on government-issued cell phones and computers. A nationwide coalition of professors are suing the state over the ban, arguing it has limited their ability to teach and research the social media app.
Texas death row inmate with 40-year mental illness history ruled not competent to be executed
Read full article: Texas death row inmate with 40-year mental illness history ruled not competent to be executedA federal judge has ruled a Texas death row inmate with a long history of mental illness is not competent to be executed.
Convicted murderer Scott Panetti isn’t sane enough to be executed, federal judge rules
Read full article: Convicted murderer Scott Panetti isn’t sane enough to be executed, federal judge rulesPanetti murdered his in-laws in 1992. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2007 set new court precedent with his case, raising the bar on the constitutional restriction against executing the insane.
Third-party candidates may have an easier time getting on the ballot in Texas
Read full article: Third-party candidates may have an easier time getting on the ballot in TexasA federal judge blocks an 118-year-old state law that required minor political party candidates to collect more than 83,000 signatures on paper in order to appear on the ballot.
Llano County officials must offer library books they’d removed, judge orders
Read full article: Llano County officials must offer library books they’d removed, judge ordersLocal officials are appealing the order in a lawsuit that drew national attention. Seven library patrons say the book removals infringed their First Amendment rights.
Federal judge dismisses Wendy Davis’ challenge to Texas abortion ban
Read full article: Federal judge dismisses Wendy Davis’ challenge to Texas abortion banDavis, best known for her 13-hour filibuster of a 2013 abortion bill, sought to block the state’s ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. A federal judge found Davis had not “articulated a credible, imminent threat.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered to testify in abortion lawsuit after evading subpoena
Read full article: Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered to testify in abortion lawsuit after evading subpoenaA federal judge who previously quashed the subpoena ruled that the attorney general must take the witness stand in a lawsuit from abortion funds.
Ken Paxton’s office knew he’d be subpoenaed before he fled his home to avoid being served, emails show
Read full article: Ken Paxton’s office knew he’d be subpoenaed before he fled his home to avoid being served, emails showLawyers for the state argue they didn’t know the attorney general would be served at home. Emails from opposing counsel show they tried repeatedly to serve him through his attorneys.
Texas AG’s office sends mixed signals about whether it can fine nonprofits that pay for out-of-state abortions
Read full article: Texas AG’s office sends mixed signals about whether it can fine nonprofits that pay for out-of-state abortionsLawyers for abortion funds want Ken Paxton to testify in their lawsuit. He fled his home Monday while being served a subpoena that was later quashed by a judge.
Supreme Court returns Texas abortion case to appeals court
Read full article: Supreme Court returns Texas abortion case to appeals courtThe Supreme Court has returned a lawsuit over Texas’ six-week abortion ban to a federal appeals court that has twice allowed the law to stay in effect, rather than to a district judge who sought to block it.
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Texas’ near-total abortion ban will remain in effect as federal appeals court agrees to hear legal challenge
Read full article: Texas’ near-total abortion ban will remain in effect as federal appeals court agrees to hear legal challengeSenate Bill 8 barred abortions as early as six weeks, before many people know they are pregnant. It is the strictest abortion ban in the nation.
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Analysis: Intentional loopholes in Texas abortion law draw a judge’s rebuke
Read full article: Analysis: Intentional loopholes in Texas abortion law draw a judge’s rebukeThe judge who blocked enforcement of the new abortion restrictions in Texas said lawmakers knew it was unconstitutional and tried to prevent federal courts from saying so — and said he wanted to keep other states from copying the idea.
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EXPLAINER: The Texas abortion law’s swift impact, and future
Read full article: EXPLAINER: The Texas abortion law’s swift impact, and futureMost abortions in Texas are banned again after clinics that had raced to provide them during a two-day legal reprieve canceled appointments Saturday following an appeals court ruling.
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Appeals court allows Texas abortion law to resume, stopping federal judge’s order to block its enforcement
Read full article: Appeals court allows Texas abortion law to resume, stopping federal judge’s order to block its enforcementBecause of the way the law is written, it appears that clinics and doctors who performed abortions outlawed by the statute even while the block was in effect would now be vulnerable to lawsuits.
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Abortions resume in some Texas clinics after judge halts law
Read full article: Abortions resume in some Texas clinics after judge halts lawAbortions have resumed in at least six Texas clinics after a federal judge halted the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. Amy Hagstrom Miller is the president of Whole Woman's Health, which has four clinics in Texas.
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At least one major Texas abortion provider resumes procedure lawmakers tried to prohibit, after judge blocks near-total ban
Read full article: At least one major Texas abortion provider resumes procedure lawmakers tried to prohibit, after judge blocks near-total banThe ruling late Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman doesn’t protect providers who perform abortions while the Texas law makes its way through the courts.
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Texas’ near-total abortion ban is temporarily blocked by a federal judge, spurring the state to quickly appeal
Read full article: Texas’ near-total abortion ban is temporarily blocked by a federal judge, spurring the state to quickly appealIt wasn't immediately clear how the temporary order may affect access to abortions in the state. The law is constructed in a way that people who violate it could be liable to litigation if enforcement is reinstated.
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Justice department urges judge to halt Texas abortion law
Read full article: Justice department urges judge to halt Texas abortion lawA federal judge is deciding whether to block the nation’s most restrictive abortion law, which has banned most abortions in Texas since early September and sent women racing hundreds of miles to get care outside the state.
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EXPLAINER: The Texas abortion law’s swift impact, and future
Read full article: EXPLAINER: The Texas abortion law’s swift impact, and futureAbortion providers in Texas say a new law banning most abortions in the state will result in clinics permanently closing unless a court acts in the coming weeks.
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EXPLAINER: Biden administration takes on Texas abortion law
Read full article: EXPLAINER: Biden administration takes on Texas abortion lawAbortion clinics in neighboring Oklahoma and nearby Kansas say they're still seeing a high volume of patients from Texas as a new state law there banning most abortions remains in effect.
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Federal judge blocks Abbott’s order limiting mail-in ballot drop-off sites to 1 per county
Read full article: Federal judge blocks Abbott’s order limiting mail-in ballot drop-off sites to 1 per countyHOUSTON – A federal judge has temporarily blocked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that limits mail-in ballot drop-off locations to one per county. In his preliminary injunction issued late Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman said the public interest is not served by enforcement of Abbott’s proclamation that the “plaintiffs have shown likely violates their fundamental right to vote.”Abbott’s order issued last week also required poll watches to monitor activity conducted at the drop-off locations related to the delivery of marked mail ballots. Pitman did not block that part of the order. The governor said the rule was meant to “strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state.”Democrats blasted the Republican governor’s rule, calling it “modern-day voter suppression.”Harris County, the state’s largest, had originally planned to have more than 10 drop-off locations.
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Blue Bell ordered to pay $17.25M in penalties linked to deadly listeria outbreak
Read full article: Blue Bell ordered to pay $17.25M in penalties linked to deadly listeria outbreakHOUSTON – A federal court in Texas sentenced Brenham-based Blue Bell Creameries L.P. to pay $17.25 million in criminal penalties for shipments of contaminated products linked to a 2015 listeria outbreak, the Justice Department announced Thursday. Blue Bell pleaded guilty in May 2020 to two misdemeanor counts of distributing adulterated ice cream products. Two weeks after receiving notification of the first positive listeria tests, Texas state officials informed Blue Bell that additional state-led testing confirmed Listeria in a third product. Blue Bell again chose not to issue any formal notification to customers regarding the positive tests. Food safety is our highest priority, and we know we must continue to be vigilant every day.