DA drops most charges against Austin police officers accused of excessive force in 2020 protests

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• Judge considers holding state in contempt a third time over foster care conditions

  by Karen Brooks Harper 7 hours ago

  U.S. District Judge Janis Jack on Monday considers whether state’s foster care agency has made progress caring for most vulnerable children or should be held in contempt for the third time in an ongoing 2011 lawsuit. Full Story 

• Appeals court halts ruling that Border Patrol can legally cut Texas’ border concertina wire

  by Uriel J. García 8 hours ago

  Less than a week after a Del Rio-based federal judge ruled against Texas in the ongoing fight over the state’s razor wire, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused that decision while it reviews the case. Full Story 

• Senate confirms Texas Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez to 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

  by Matthew Choi and Keaton Peters 9 hours ago

  Ramirez is currently a U.S. magistrate judge for the Northern District of Texas, serving in that role for over two decades. Full Story 

• New Uvalde school shooting documentary and investigation reveal details of law enforcement’s flawed response

  by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and FRONTLINE Dec. 4, 2023

  The “Inside the Uvalde Response” film and related reporting by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and FRONTLINE analyze one of the most criticized mass shooting responses in recent history and show real-time insight into officers’ thoughts and actions. Full Story 

• Texas GOP executive committee rejects proposed ban on associating with Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers

  by Robert Downen Updated: Dec. 3, 2023

  Some members of the committee said such a ban, proposed two months after a prominent conservative activist was caught meeting with a famous white supremacist, might be a “slippery slope” or too vague. Full Story 

• With GOP priorities unfinished, Texas House plans to wrap fourth special session Tuesday

  by Maia Pandey Dec. 2, 2023

  The decision to end work Tuesday leaves long odds for bills to boost school safety funding and make sure that election challenges don’t delay the implementation of property tax cuts, teacher pension raises and infrastructure spending. Full Story 

• Texas will have to cut methane emissions from oil fields under new federal climate rule

  by Erin Douglas Dec. 2, 2023

  The Biden Administration announced a crackdown on methane emissions, a major driver of climate change. Major oil and gas companies also signed on to a voluntary net-zero commitment. Full Story 

• Texas must remove floating barrier from Rio Grande, Fifth Circuit Court orders

  by Kevin Vu Updated: Dec. 1, 2023

  The appeals court upheld an earlier ruling by an Austin federal judge to remove the 1,000-foot-long barrier the state deployed near Eagle Pass. Full Story 

• Texas Senate passes its own school safety funding bill, but little time remains to get it across the finish line

  by Brian Lopez Dec. 1, 2023

  Senate Bill 5 would send an extra $800 million to public schools for security upgrades over the next two years. But the measure is at risk of becoming the latest casualty of the rift between the Texas House and Senate. Full Story 

• Texas Legislature sends $1.54 billion bill for border barriers to Gov. Abbott

  by Uriel J. García Dec. 1, 2023

  Senate Bill 3 would also appropriate $40 million for state troopers to patrol Colony Ridge, a housing development outside of Houston, and allow the state to send money to local jurisdictions to offset the cost of enforcing another immigration-related bill. Full Story 

• Tax cuts, teacher pension increases at stake after misinformation-led challenge to 2023 election

  by Natalia Contreras, Votebeat and The Texas Tribune Updated: Dec. 1, 2023

  Tax cuts were a major legislative priority for Republican leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor cannot certify the election results until the challenges are resolved. Full Story 

• Sandra Day O’Connor, born in El Paso, remains point of civic pride

  by Caroline Wilburn Updated: Dec. 1, 2023

  O’Connor, the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice, died Friday. She is more commonly known as an Arizonan, but she graduated high school in Texas and multiple schools here now bear her name. Full Story 

• Texas attorney general sues Pfizer, claiming vaccines didn’t end pandemic quickly enough

  by Karen Brooks Harper Updated: Dec. 1, 2023

  Experts argue other assertions made in the lawsuit filing are completely unsubstantiated, such as one claiming that vaccinated people were more likely to die from COVID-19, which Texas health data disputes. Full Story 

• Texas is on the verge of making illegal border crossings a state crime. Here’s what you need to know.

  by Uriel J. García Dec. 1, 2023

  Gov. Greg Abbott says he will sign Senate Bill 4, which would make it a state crime to cross the border between ports of entry, allow police to arrest people who do and require judges to order them to return to Mexico. Full Story 

• Texas grid faces winter after failed attempt to get more power online

  by Emily Foxhall Dec. 1, 2023

  Industry experts continue to argue over whether the electricity market in Texas needs to change to make the grid more reliable in winter and summer. Full Story 

• Texas judge orders release of Uvalde shooting records, but DPS could still delay

  by Zach Despart Nov. 30, 2023

  The Department of Public Safety for 18 months has blocked the release of its investigation of the shooting, and it could choose to appeal this latest ruling, too. Full Story