“You’re on the clock”: How time constraints are affecting the Paxton impeachment trial
The prosecution and the defense were each given 24 hours to present their case and cross examine witnesses. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confers with the defense and prosecution at the start of the morning session of day three in suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial September 7, 2023 in Austin.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich/Pool for The Texas Tribune -
As brutal heat tests Texas’ power grid, batteries play a small but growing role in keeping the lights on
This summer, industrial scale batteries have helped boost the energy supply during critical evening hours. Battery storage represents a small fraction of Texas’ energy mix now, but it’s expected to rise sharply in coming years. Full Story
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![An engineer walks past battery banks and inverters at GlidePath's Byrd Ranch energy storage facility in Sweeny, on May 23, 2023.]()
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Former chief of staff for AG’s office details alarm over Ken Paxton’s alleged affair
“My heart broke for her,” Katherine “Missy” Cary said of Sen. Angela Paxton, Ken Paxton’s wife. Angela Paxton is disqualified from voting but has to attend the trial. Full Story
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![State Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, wife of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, listens as Katherine "Missy" Minter Cary, former chief of staff under Paxton, testifies at his impeachment trial in the Texas Senate on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Paxton trial, Sept. 11: Whistleblower says political donor acted like he was the “real boss” of AG’s office
One whistleblower testified that Ken Paxton didn’t trust law enforcement after his own securities fraud indictment. Senators could begin deliberating the impeachment charges later this week. Full Story
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![Katherine "Missy" Cary, former chief of staff former chief of staff in the attorney general’s office, testifies at Ken Paxton's impeachment trial in the Texas Senate on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Paxton empathized with Nate Paul’s distrust of law enforcement because of his own indictment, whistleblower testifies
Mark Penley testified that Paxton made numerous negative comments about the Texas Department of Public Safety because of his 2015 securities fraud case. “He doesn’t trust the [DPS] director and he feels like they ran a corrupt investigation on him,” he said. Full Story
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![Whistleblower Mark Penley testifies on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. Sept. 11 marked the fifth day of Ken Paxtons impeachment trial in the Texas Senate.]()
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U.S. Rep. Randy Weber concerned Texas projects hurt amid Freedom Caucus budget fight
The far-right congressman from Friendswood still backs the conservative push to lower spending, but worries bipartisan Texas projects have been impacted. Full Story
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![U.S. Representative Randy Weber, R- Friendswood, speaks at a House Freedom Caucus press conference about the Equality Act on Feb. 25, 2021 in Washington.]()
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What’s at stake in the long-awaited trial over Texas’s sweeping 2021 elections law
The GOP-backed Senate Bill 1 added voting restrictions that plaintiffs claim unfairly impacts voters of color. Full Story
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![State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 1 on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Carl Sherman becomes latest Democrat to target Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024
The senior pastor positioned himself as a leader who would represent all Texans in contrast to Cruz. The Democratic primary race has already drawn a congressman, a state senator and a South Texas district attorney. Full Story
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![State Rep. Carl Sherman, D-DeSoto, on the House floor on May 8, 2019.]()
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Political warnings and accusations of misconduct: 6 main themes emerge in first week of Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial
The suspended attorney general’s lawyers focused on disloyalty and attacked evidence, while impeachment managers accused Paxton of excessive and obsessive misconduct. Neither side ignored the politics behind the case. Full Story
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![Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, sits with his lawyers Tony Buzbee, left, and Dan Cogdell at the beginning of the first day of Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Texas Senate on Sept. 5, 2023.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/Pool via The Dallas Morning News -
Paxton trial, Sept 8: AG’s former top cop says he warned Paxton about “criminal” Nate Paul
The former top cop for the attorney general’s office testified that complying with real estate investor Nate Paul’s requests would have amounted to criminal activity. Defense attorneys also questioned whistleblowers about their group texts. Full Story
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![Former Texas Ranger David Maxwell testifies as the fourth witness during the afternoon on day four of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial in the Texas Senate on Sept. 8, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Paxton defense presses whistleblower on what evidence he brought to FBI
On cross examination, Paxton’s defense attorney launched into whistleblower Ryan Vassar for bringing no physical evidence when he and others reported their boss to the FBI. Vassar said he was a witness and not an investigator. Full Story
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![Former deputy attorney general for legal counsel Ryan Vassar answers a question during cross examination on the fourth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Austin.]()
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SpaceX can’t launch another rocket until dozens of fixes are made, FAA says
An investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration found multiple failures that led to the explosion of a SpaceX rocket in the Rio Grande Valley in April. Full Story
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![SpaceX's Starship lifts off from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight before exploding, near Brownsville on April 20, 2023.]()
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Slim majority of Texans support Gov. Greg Abbott’s border buoys, poll finds
The UT poll also touched on a range of other topics, including Texas voters’ opinions on the upcoming presidential election and the U.S. Senate race. Full Story
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![A string of buoys is deployed to prevent migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on July 13, 2023.]()
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New Texas law bars animal cruelty offenders from owning animals for five years
The law bans those convicted of animal cruelty, including those involved with dogfighting, from owning any kind of animal for five years after their first criminal offense. Full Story
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![Animals in cages at City of Eagle Pass Vector Control, Eagle Pass, TX, Monday, May 27, 2013.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
The summer’s record heat has caused costly damage to Texas water systems
As dry soils contract, underground pipes rupture and cities must fix thousands of water leaks, frustrating conservation efforts and highlighting the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to a warming climate. Full Story
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![City of Odessa Water Distribution employees work through the night as they attempt to repair a broken water main on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa. According to Mayor of Odessa Javier Joven, repairs were completed around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.]()
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Texas can keep buoys in the Rio Grande while legal challenge continues, federal appeals court rules
Nearly three months after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of the 1,000-foot line of buoys and mesh in the Rio Grande, an Austin federal judge ordered the state to remove the barrier and stop building further obstructions in the river. One day later a higher court sided with Texas. Full Story
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![Migrants walk along the Rio Grande passed the recently installed buoys in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 29, 2023. As there is concertina wire installed along the Urbina’s property, migrants are told to walk to the end of the property. Many make that walk which can be difficult to do through slippery rocks in the water, the current and the inclined river bank, while some find spots through the concertina wire and manage to get through.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Paxton trial, Sept. 7: During new testimony, former AG deputy tears up responding to “rogue” allegations
Former attorney general officials testified that Ken Paxton pushed to release confidential FBI records to friend and donor Nate Paul. They also denied defense attorneys’ assertions that they staged a “mutiny.” Full Story
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![Whistleblower Ryan Vassar tears up during testimony on the third day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial in the Texas Senate on Sept. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
EPA’s inspector general says agency isn’t enforcing benzene pollution rules at refineries in Texas, nationally
A report by the federal environmental agency’s internal watchdog found that EPA is failing to enforce its own pollution limits for the known carcinogen at many refineries — including some in Texas. Full Story
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![A Deer Park neighborhood next to Highway 225, which borders the refineries, petrochemical plants and industrial storage tanks that line the Houston Ship Channel. In 2019, air quality inspectors found that high levels of benzene emissions had wafted across the highway and into residential areas of Deer Park in the weeks after the ITC chemical fire was extinguished.]()
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“It was not a mutiny”: Senior staff had no choice but to report Ken Paxton to the FBI, whistleblower testifies
Ryan Bangert, a former top official under the attorney general, said Paxton allowed a friend and political donor to hijack the state agency, diverting it from its mission to help all Texans. Full Story
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![Ryan Bangert, former first deputy assistant of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, testifies at the impeachment trial of Paxton at the Capitol on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Jay Janner/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Six file to run in special election to replace Rep. Bryan Slaton
The House unanimously voted in May to expel Slaton after a committee investigation found he had sex with a 19-year-old intern after getting her drunk. Full Story
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![Empty chairs on the House floor before a late-night session at the state Capitol on Oct. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune