State Headlines
Suspect in shooting at Dallas high school is in custody, officials say
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmDALLAS (AP) — A suspect in a shooting at a Dallas high school that wounded four students and drew a heavy police response to the campus has been taken into custody, school district officials announced Tuesday night. Three of the students were injured by gunfire and the fourth was injured in their lower body, according to the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department. The department said units were dispatched to Wilmer-Hutchins High School just after 1 p.m. and that the four students, all of whom are male, were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from serious to not life-threatening. “Quite frankly, this is just becoming way too familiar. And it should not be familiar,” Stephanie Elizalde, superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, said at a news conference. ... Read More
Trump’s tariff fight upsets the ports that bring Texas $700 billion a year in business
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmHOUSTON - The Houston Chronicle reports leaders of Texas ports and the companies that rely on the ports have spent the past two weeks of tariff upheaval doing what the ship captains do practically every minute of every day: Study the information and keep an eye on the horizon. The one thing they agree on is nobody really knows for sure what the conditions will be for very long at the 23 Texas ports that by many estimates generate more than one-quarter of the state's gross domestic product. A few predict calm seas. Others see nothing but icebergs. More still cannot even predict what waves and thunderstorms lie ahead. “We’re trying to assess the situation,” Port of Freeport Executive Director Phyllis Saathoff told the crowd ... Read More
Trump’s AI infrastructure plans could face delays due to Texas Republicans, including Dan Patrick
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmAUSTIN - The Guardian reports that Donald Trump’s plans to expand infrastructure to produce artificial intelligence in the US could face years of delays with the Republican-controlled Texas statehouse poised to pass legislation that imposes regulatory hurdles on data centers. The Trump administration earlier this year announced that a joint venture called Stargate would construct a total of 20 data centers to provide computing power for AI as part of an effort to help the US compete against China for leadership of the technology and spur investors to pursue AI projects. The companies behind Stargate – OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle and MGX, an investor backed by the United Arab Emirates, which together have pledged up to $500bn – chose Texas, with its loose regulation and pre-existing ... Read More
Border deployment vehicle accident kills two service members, third in critical condition
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmWASHINGTON (AP) — Two service members deployed to the U.S. Southern border were killed and a third is in serious condition after a vehicle accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, the military announced late Tuesday. The region where the accident took place is just over the state line and west of Fort Bliss, a major Army installation in West Texas that has played a critical role in dispatching military deportation flights and served as a touchpoint for thousands of soldiers and pieces of equipment now deployed along the border. The troops are deployed there in support of President Donald Trump’s executive order to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. A defense official speaking on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details not yet made public said ... Read More
Senator Cornyn must ‘activate the silent majority’ to compete against Paxton
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pm
TYLER - According to our news partner, KETK, Smith County Republican Party Chairman David Stein is responds after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his intention to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 Republican primary. “It was expected,” Stein said. “The people were encouraging him, and I think he’d been thinking about it for quite some time.” According to Stein, Paxton’s decision ultimately stems from political momentum and strategic confidence. “Paxton has both statewide and national appeal,” he said. “It makes him a very formidable candidate.” Paxton enters the race with an early advantage, according to a recent poll from Texas Public Opinion Research, which shows him holding an 11-point lead over Cornyn in a hypothetical Republican primary. Stein also addressed the path ... Read More
Judge throws out rule that would have capped credit card late fees
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmHOUSTON (AP) — A Texas judge on Tuesday threw out a federal rule that would have capped credit card late fees after officials with President Donald Trump's administration and a coalition of major banking groups agreed that the rule was illegal. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth came a day after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a collection of major industry groups that had filed a lawsuit last year to stop the rule announced they had come to an agreement to throw out the rule. The groups that sued included the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The banks and other groups had alleged the new rule — proposed last year under ... Read More
Dozens of student pilots sue United Airlines and its flight school
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmCHICAGO (AP) - Dozens of former student pilots who say they racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt for tuition are suing United Airlines and its flight school in the Arizona desert, saying it didn’t have enough teachers or aircraft to properly train and graduate its students. The federal lawsuit accuses United and the school, United Aviate Academy, of falsely promoting a well-equipped, intensive training program that would put students on a path to becoming commercial pilots after a year. In reality, the students said in an amended complaint filed last week, their flight time was limited due to the staffing shortages and frequent staff turnover. In some cases, students were teaching other students, according to the lawsuit. Some of the students said ... Read More
Bill banning LGBTQ, other advocacy flags in public schools clears Texas Senate
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 1:38 pmAUSTIN - The Dallas Morning News reports A proposal to ban public school displays of unapproved flags is heading to the Texas House after passing the Senate on Tuesday in a 23-8 vote. Public schools would only be allowed to display a dozen specific flags, including those of the United States, Texas, the armed forces, flags representing colleges and universities, a school’s official flag and flags that are temporarily displayed as part of required class curriculum. The list of approved flags do not include flags representing LGBTQ pride or transgender people. If enacted, schools that violate the bill and fail to report a remedy within a certain timeframe would be subject to a $500 daily fine. Shortly before the vote, Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, told ... Read More
RFK Jr.’s mixed message about the measles outbreaks draws criticism
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmWASHINGTON (AP) — As measles outbreaks popped up across the U.S. this winter, pediatricians waited for the nation's public health agency to send a routine, but important, letter that outlines how they could help stop the spread of the illness. It wasn't until last week — after the number of cases grew to more than 700, and a second young child in Texas had died from a measles infection — that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally issued its correspondence. The delay of that letter may seem minor. But it is one in a string of missteps that more than a dozen doctors, nurses and public health officials interviewed by The Associated Press identified in the Trump administration's response to the outbreak. Health ... Read More
Former Texas Rep. Mayra Flores is recovering after health scare
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmAUSTIN (AP) — Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores is recovering after being hospitalized Tuesday shortly after announcing that she will run for a U.S. House seat in 2026, according to her campaign. In a statement posted on X, the campaign said “Mayra Flores faced a sudden health scare, but thanks to the incredible care she received and the support of her loved ones, she is now fully recovering and feeling stronger than ever.” Flores, who is from Texas, launched a bid Tuesday to unseat Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar. Her campaign announced just hours later on social media that she had been hospitalized with no further details. ORIGINAL STORY: Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas on Tuesday launched a bid to unseat Democratic ... Read More
Trump administration pulls support for Dallas-to-Houston bullet train
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmDALLAS - The Dallas Morning News reports the Trump administration is pulling nearly $64 million in support for a proposed Dallas-to-Houston bullet train project, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calling the project “a waste of taxpayer funds.” The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday that it would terminate a $63.9 million grant for the project led by Texas Central, the company behind the planned high-speed rail line. The funds were awarded to Amtrak, a public rail provider that Texas Central said in 2023 would help move the project forward. The Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak agreed to terminate the $63.9 million previously awarded under the Corridor Identification and Development Program, according to Monday’s announcement. “This project was originally announced as a purely private venture, but ... Read More
Measles cases linked to Texas outbreak reach 561, with 20 new infections confirmed
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmAUSTIN -- The measles outbreak in western Texas continues to grow, with 561 confirmed cases, according to new data published Tuesday. This is an increase of 20 new cases over the last five days. Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Four of the cases are among residents who have been vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Seven cases are among those vaccinated with two doses. At least 58 people with measles have been hospitalized so far. Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, followed by children ages 4 and under. Gaines County, ... Read More
Susman Godfrey files federal lawsuit against President Trump
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmHOUSTON - The Dallas Morning News says Texas litigation powerhouse Susman Godfrey filed a federal lawsuit late Friday accusing President Donald Trump of issuing unconstitutional executive orders against it and other law firms. The law firm calls the president’s actions a violation of the rule of law and “a grave threat to this foundational premise of our Republic.” The 66-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that President Trump “is abusing the powers of his office” and “is engaged in an unprecedented and unconstitutional assault on those bedrock principles [found in Article I and in the First and Fifth Amendments] and on the independent bar.” “In recent weeks, the president has issued multiple executive orders targeting law firms and their ... Read More
Texas House expected to vote on voucher bill Wednesday
Posted/updated on: April 16, 2025 at 4:03 pmAUSTIN - The Dallas Morning News reports that in what could portend a sweeping change for education in Texas, the state House is set to vote on a school choice bill Wednesday that would create a $1 billion fund for parents who could then use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school education. The vote is one of the few remaining hurdles for the legislation, which has been a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott and passed in the Senate on Feb. 5. The proposal, Senate Bill 2, has been at the center of one of the most intense political fights at the Legislature over the past two years. The bill appears to have enough support to pass the House. More than half of the ... Read More
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