Texas inmate is exonerated after spending nearly 34 years in prison for wrongful conviction
A Dallas County judge granted a motion to dismiss charges against Benjamin Spencer, 59, who was initially convicted in 1987 of murder. Full Story
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Judge in Texas pauses Biden program offering legal status to spouses of U.S. citizens
Biden announced the program in June and Republicans in 16 states filed suit. The federal judge issued an order that puts the program on hold for at least two weeks. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden delivers the keynote address during an event commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library on July 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Judge rejects Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to shut down Houston immigrant rights group
Paxton’s office claimed the group broke rules prohibiting political activity by nonprofits, but the judge rejected the case outright. Full Story
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![Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL Houston, speaks during a press conference to announce the Drive-Thru Eviction Aid Fair on Jan. 14, 2021, outside of the George Thomas “Mickey” Leland Federal Building in Houston.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Texas, other GOP-led states sue over program to give immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens legal status
The suit targets a new Biden administration policy that allows spouses to remain in the U.S. while they apply for legal status and possibly a path to citizenship. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a border security briefing at Texas DPS regional headquarters in Weslaco on Jan. 27, 2022.]()
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Transgender Texans blocked from changing their sex on their driver’s license
The Texas Department of Public Safety rule change surfaced in an internal email that also asks driver license staff to compile the names of people seeking a gender marker change. Full Story
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![DPS troopers make a traffic stop in southeast Austin on Aug. 7, 2023.]()
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Jury finds parents of student accused in Santa Fe school shooting not negligent
Jurors instead put the responsibility with the shooter and a firearms ammunition retailer in a trial over the 2018 shooting. Full Story
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![Mourners pay their respects at a makeshift memorial in front of Santa Fe High School on May 29, 2018, eleven days after 10 people were killed in a mass shooting.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Houston immigrants’ rights org over political speech
Attorney General Ken Paxton has targeted similar organizations that aid migrants at the border. The lawsuit appears to be the first to focus on political speech and rules that govern nonprofits. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues Biden again to block federal protections for transgender workers
The Texas Attorney General is following his familiar playbook by taking the case to a federal judge with a record of rulings against the Biden administration’s agenda. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge in Texas expands ruling that blocks Biden administration protections of LGBTQ students
The decision in the case brought by the Texas Attorney General preempts any future Title IX regulations that extend federal protections to LGBTQ students. Full Story
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![Scenes from Austin Pride 2024 on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, at on Congress Ave in Austin. The day-long celebration featured drag performances, booths and floats of Austin’s businesses and many Texans clad in rainbow.]()
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Texas Education Agency to release schools’ 2023 performance ratings after court ruling
Texas families have not received a full picture of their schools’ ratings since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and lawsuits blocking their release. Full Story
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![Lorenzo G Alarcon Elementary School received Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to create a calming and quiet room with the school counselor in San Elizario, Texas on July 23, 2024.]()
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After Uvalde city officials end battle over shooting records, victims’ families say other agencies need to follow suit
The city’s release ends a legal battle with news outlets, but other government agencies are withholding materials. Full Story
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![Authorities gather outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde after a gunman entered and killed 19 students and two teachers on May 24, 2022.]()
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Judge dismisses most claims in federal lawsuit filed by Black Texas student punished over hairstyle
Though the ruling was a victory for the Barbers Hill school district, the judge questioned whether its dress-code rule causes more harm than good. Full Story
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![Darryl George has been punished by the Barbers Hill school district for his hair.]()
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Texas executes Arthur Lee Burton for 1997 killing of Houston jogger
Burton was sentenced to death for killing Nancy Adleman, a mother of three, while she was jogging on a summer evening in Houston. Full Story
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![Interior of Death Chamber in Texas.]()
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Appeals court to weigh reimposing fines for Texas foster care failures, removing judge on case
Texas Health and Human Services could face $100,000-per-day fines for violating a judge's orders. The state wants the judge off the case. Full Story
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![A caseworker's badge hangs off her neck as she prepares to assist on a case for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) in June 2018.]()
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Voting Rights Act doesn’t protect coalitions of racial or ethnic groups challenging political maps, appeals court rules
In a lawsuit challenging redistricting in Galveston County, the 5th Circuit said the protections afforded to a single racial group don’t apply to multiple groups who collectively claim voting rights violations. Full Story
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![The Galveston County Courthouse on Thursday, May 16, 2024.]()
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Texas activist frustrates election officials with lawsuit about threat to ballot secrecy
Laura Pressley claims she found an “algorithmic pattern” that links voters to their ballots. But she won’t make it public. Full Story
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![Laura Pressley and an illustration of public records from court filings.]()
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Former Texas prisoners describe suffocating heat during trial over state’s un-air conditioned lockups
A lawsuit seeks to force Texas to fully air condition its prison system. Inmate advocacy groups say temperatures can push above 120 degrees in some units. Full Story
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![Prison staff and inmates move through the Darrington Unit's main hallway on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.]()
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Judge allows parental controls for Texas kids’ social media accounts, but blocks content moderation requirement
The rest of the law goes into effect Sept. 1. It’s been challenged by tech industry groups and a free speech advocacy organization. Full Story
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![FILE: A child uses a cell phone and a tablet on Oct. 18, 2023, in Madrid, Spain.]()
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Meta to pay Texas $1.4 billion for using facial recognition technology without users’ permission
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Facebook parent company in 2022, claiming it had used personal biometric data without permission. Full Story
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![A man stands in front of a sign of Meta, the new name for the company formerly known as Facebook, at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Oct. 28, 2021.]()
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State appeals court strikes down Austin’s marijuana decriminalization ordinance
A state appeals court ruled that Austin’s voter-approved ordinance obstructed the enforcement of state drug laws. The court rejected a similar ordinance in San Marcos last week. Full Story
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![A sign asking for the decriminalization of marijuana is posted outside of an event hosted by Ground Game in Harker Heights on Dec. 3, 2022.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune