El Paso and Harris counties joined cities in Tennessee and Ohio in the suit arguing the new requirements are unconstitutional and would cost millions to implement.
Ayden Runnels
Ayden Runnels is the afternoon/evening reporter. Previously, they were a breaking news reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. A graduate of the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas, Ayden was a Dallas Press Club Foundation reporting fellow at the Tribune in 2023. They were born in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake and speak English and Arabic. They served as editor-in-chief of the North Texas Daily, UNT's student-run newspaper, and have worked on freelance projects for Newsweek.
To report a tip, contact Ayden on Signal at @aydenrunnels.17
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Fifth Circuit reaffirms death row inmate Brittany Holberg’s conviction
A three-judge panel of the court had reversed Holberg’s sentence in 2025, but Friday’s split decision will keep the district court’s decision to affirm her conviction.
Posted in
Courts
Lawsuit seeks to stop Big Bend border wall construction
A tribal nonprofit and an outdoor recreation company filed the federal lawsuit, arguing the work threatens archeological sites and sacred grounds.
Posted in
Courts
Texas’ mail ballot ID requirements restored by federal appeals court
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rebuked the lower court’s 2025 ruling that struck down nine provisions of a sweeping election law related to voter assistance.
Posted in
Courts
Houston mothers’ bid for temporary hold on Ten Commandments posters in Texas classrooms denied
The parents’ suit tried to leverage Texas law — versus federal First Amendment arguments — in the latest legal case involving the classroom posters. An injunction hearing is set for Aug. 17.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Flock license plate cameras are surging in Texas. So is an anti-surveillance backlash.
More than 200 local law enforcement agencies have data-sharing agreements with DPS, providing wide access to vehicle information.
Posted in
Environment
Paxton lawsuit prompts end of federal endangered species protection for Texas lizard
The state’s attorney general sued the Biden administration in 2024, citing incomplete data for the updated endangered status of the Permian Basin’s native dunes sagebrush lizard.
Posted in
Houston ICE Shooting
Witness to Houston ICE shooting released from immigration detention
A federal judge on Monday ordered that Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego be released within 48 hours. He was one of three passengers in the van Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was driving when he was fatally shot by ICE.
Posted in
Environment
As flooded Texas towns recover, downstream river levels haven’t yet peaked
While Gov. Greg Abbott declared “the worst of the rain is behind us,” he cautioned that rivers in the hardest-hit counties still pose a danger.
Posted in
Environment
Uvalde residents shocked by rare flooding that ripped through homes
The week’s prolonged flooding hit Uvalde harder than almost anywhere else in the state, Gov. Greg Abbott said. Homeowners never imagined they’d have to deal with a flood in the South Texas city.
