President Donald Trump reversed course hours after threatening to veto a must-pass spending bill because it did nothing to address the fate of young undocumented immigrants and did not fully fund his border wall.
March 2018
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Congress
Congress passes $1.3 trillion spending bill that includes some border wall funding
The massive spending bill Congress passed Thursday includes $1.6 billion allocated for a border wall but fell far short of the Trump administration’s demands, and Democrats were able to exact significant restrictions on the wall’s construction.
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Public Education
Analysis: Electioneering is not a crime unless it’s on the taxpayers’ dime
State officials are warning school officials, in effect, not to turn into political organizers. That means educators shouldn’t be telling students how to vote, but it sounds like some state officials don’t even want educators helping students to become voters.
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Demographics
Abilene Christian University bans same-sex relationships for some student employees
After the decision, leaders of the West Texas university affiliated with Churches of Christ said their “first instinct is not exclusion but to love.”
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Environment
Large portions of West Texas sinking at alarming rate, new report finds
A report released Thursday by geophysicists at Southern Methodist University says a 4,000-square-mile area near the “Wink Sinks” is showing signs of alarming instability.
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Criminal Justice
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s gun background check bill added to government funding measure
The bill would hold government agencies accountable for failing to properly document individuals’ criminal histories in the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
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Texas Elections 2018
1 month after attacking Laura Moser, DCCC spars with another Texas Democrat
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee telegraphed its preferences Thursday in two primary runoffs for U.S. House seats in Texas, one month after its effort to torpedo a Houston Democrat’s congressional bid appeared to backfire.
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State Government
Conservative group planted an intern in state lawmaker’s office, former intern testifies
In addition to taking covert videos of Texas lawmakers in 2015, the American Phoenix Foundation allegedly planted an intern in state Rep. James White’s office in 2013 in an attempt to catch the Hillister Republican engaging in fraud.
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Demographics
Census estimates show another year of rapid growth for Texas suburbs
New population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau underscore the extent to which the explosive growth of the state’s suburban areas relies on attracting residents from other areas of the state and country.
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Criminal Justice
Austin residents shared their fears and their info on Nextdoor during bombings
Social networking and surveillance technology played a big role in how Austin residents coped with a frightening few weeks.