The latest Attorney General's Office news from The Texas Tribune.
A Virginia federal district court judge's ruling today that the individual mandate portion of the Obama health care law is unconstitutional is a "huge victory" for Texas, Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a phone interview. Full Story
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James Ho said today that he's leaving the post he's held as Texas solicitor general since 2008. Full Story
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The legal wrangling between Texas and the federal government over the state's air-pollution permitting system for big industrial plants is intensifying, as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a brief in a federal court yesterday defending the system. Full Story
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The Texas state climatologist on the reasons for rising temperatures, why international science on climate change is fundamentally sound (no matter what state officials say), what he thinks of our fight with the EPA and how long the drought in Central Texas is likely to continue. Full Story
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Warren Jeffs has made it to Texas. The embattled leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints — the polygamous Mormon breakaway sect whose Eldorado ranch was raided by child welfare officials in 2008 — will stand trial in San Angelo for allegedly sexually assaulting a child. Full Story
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The Texas attorney general's office is weighing in on the back-and-forth between the Texas Windstorm Insurance Agency and Democratic attorney Steve Mostyn, who has been fighting in the courts to keep Hurricane Ike settlement details private. Full Story
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Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads his Democratic challenger, Bill White by 10 points — 50 percent to 40 percent — in the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Libertarian Kathie Glass has the support of 8 percent of respondents; Deb Shafto of the Green Party gets 2 percent. In the last UT/TT poll, conducted in early September, Perry led by 6 points, 39 percent to 33 percent. In a red state in a red year, GOP incumbents in other statewide races are beating their Democratic opponents by between 13 points and 20 points, the new poll found. Full Story
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Travis County prosecutors who reviewed allegations of irregularities at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas decided months ago not to pursue the case. Full Story
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The Texas Association of Community Colleges is accusing the University of Texas of siphoning money from programs that support community colleges into UT’s College of Education. Full Story
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Come January, the Environmental Protection Agency will begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions around the country for the first time — but not if Texas can help it. Attorney General Greg Abbott last week lodged legal challenges in a federal court against EPA actions on multiple fronts, including a reiteration of the state's long-standing argument against the agency's scientific foundation for determining the dangers of greenhouse gas pollution. Full Story
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Talking point No. 1 for an elected official facing an ethics investigation in Texas: Blame the politicization of the Public Integrity Unit, which is funded by the Legislature but operates out of the district attorney's office in heavily Democratic Travis County. Full Story
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Texas has fired off another volley of legal challenges against federal environmental regulators. Full Story
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The Texas Attorney General is investigating suspicions that the Internet giant is gaming search results to harm competitors. Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports. Full Story
The state court of appeals says two men can't turn their Massachusetts marriage into a Texas divorce. Full Story
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For the 11th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the attorney general of Texas on the politics and constitutionality of gay marriage, why he's suing the feds over health care and why he filed a brief in support of the Arizona immigration law. Full Story
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The full interview and audience Q&A with the Texas Attorney General. Full Story
The Democratic nominee for attorney general on how long of a long-shot campaign she's mounting, the incumbent’s predilection for “show lawsuits” and whether she's willing to debate her opponent (we'll give you one guess). Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive interview, Attorney General Greg Abbott wouldn't say whether he'll square off against his Democratic opponent, Barbara Ann Radnofsky. "That is going to be up to the people who run my campaign," he said. Full Story
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BP's problem-plagued Texas City refinery — where a 2005 explosion killed 15 and injured 170 — now faces two civil lawsuits stemming from its release this spring of more than 500,000 pounds of cancer-causing pollutants over 40 days. One suit seeks $10 billion on behalf of 2,000 exposed workers; the other, filed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, seeks more than $1 million in fines. Both aim to punish the company for one of the largest chemical emissions events the state has ever seen. Full Story
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The Texas attorney general accuses BP of "once again prioritizing profits over environmental compliance" at its Texas City refinery. Full Story