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AUSTIN (AP) — A civil trial in Texas over a so-called “Trump Train” that surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus days before the 2020 election reached closing arguments Friday before a federal jury decides whether the rolling highway encounter amounted to political intimidation.

“This case is not about politics,” Robert Meyer, an attorney representing those aboard the bus, told the jury. “It’s about safety.”

The two-week trial in an Austin federal courthouse has included testimony from former Texas Democratic lawmaker Wendy Davis, who ran for governor in 2014, and is one of three people who was on board the bus and brought the lawsuit against six supporters of former President Donald Trump.

No criminal charges have been filed against the Trump supporters, who have argued that their actions during the convoy on Oct. 30, 2020, were protected speech.

Video that Davis recorded from the bus shows pickup trucks with large Trump flags slowing down to box in the bus as it tried to move away from the group of Trump supporters. One of the defendants hit a campaign volunteer’s car while the trucks occupied all lanes of traffic, forcing the bus and everyone around it to a 15 mph crawl.

During closing arguments Friday, Meyer argued that the defendants’ conversations leading up to the convoy about “Operation Block the Bus,” dissemination of flyers and aggressive driving met the criteria for political intimidation.

“This wasn’t some kind of peaceful protest,” Meyer said. “The bus swarmed on all sides.”

Attorneys for the defendants were set to make their closing arguments before the seven-member jury later Friday.

Those on the bus — including Davis, a campaign staffer and the driver — repeatedly called 911 asking for help and a police escort through San Marcos, but when no law enforcement arrived, the campaign canceled the event and pushed forward to Austin.

The trial began with plaintiffs’ attorneys saying that organizers targeted the bus in a calculated attack to intimidate the Democrats, arguing that it violated the “Ku Klux Klan Act,” an 1871 federal law that bans political violence and intimidation.

The City of San Marcos settled a separate lawsuit filed by the same three Democrats against the police, agreeing to pay $175,000 and mandate political violence training for law enforcement.

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports that Dallas police Chief Eddie García once said he’d “run through a wall” for former City Manager T.C. Broadnax, but it appears he will only have to drive down Interstate 35. According to a memo from Broadnax, García will retire from the Dallas Police Department to become an assistant city manager under his former boss, where he will oversee the city’s first responders. According to that memo, his first day will be November 4. Broadnax, who left Dallas for the same job in Austin earlier this year under a cloud of acrimony, had reportedly been eyeing García for the open police chief position there. It prompted interim City Manager Kim Tolbert to tell Houston and Austin to “turn around and go back home.” And even though the city charter doesn’t allow the Council to strike a contract with the police chief, Tolbert seemed to wrangle a deal: in exchange for García’s committing to the city through May 2027, he would get a twice-annual $10,000 retention bonus beginning November 2024, as well as assurances that he would receive a year’s salary if fired “for convenience” during those three years. He will not get those bonuses or severance.

“This was complicated, but we got it done,” Tolbert said in a statement announcing the agreement. “If this was NFL Football, we were able to keep Chief García on the Dallas Team; he’s the right quarterback to lead our police department. We certainly didn’t want to lose him to free agency.” García seemed adamant about staying put. “This is the right place to complete my service, and I know your police officers are honored to serve Dallas residents,” he said. “We will keep doing our jobs with excellence and results.” On May 16, he tweeted “Home = @DallasPD.” This is the risk when a city manager bails. There is always a possibility that he’ll take his preferred employees with him. Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune was among the first to choose Austin, costing Dallas a highly respected administrator with a deep knowledge of public safety. Now it’s García, who teamed with criminologists to translate granular data into a plan that has successfully reduced violent crime in the city of Dallas each of the last four years. It’s been widely cited that Mayor Eric Johnson’s icy relationship with Broadnax forced his resignation, that their time together had grown so sour that little could be accomplished from 1500 Marilla. Now García has chosen his old boss over the city he once pledged to serve for at least five years. He made it three and a half.

AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports that Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, plans a two-day campaign swing in Texas beginning Monday to take part in a get-out-the-vote rally and to raise money on behalf of Democrats in advance of the Nov. 5 election. The rally, scheduled Monday in San Antonio, will be joined by with the city’s mayor, Ron Nirenberg, as well as former Mayor Julia´n Castro and his twin brother, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro. Tuesday’s events will include stops in Austin and in Houston. The venues and programs were not publicly announced Thursday. Republicans, who hold all statewide offices in Texas and majorities in both chamber of the Legislature, said the visit by the husband of the Democratic presidential nominee would do little to change the political landscape in the state. “We welcome Doug Emhoff wasting time by visiting Texas,” said state GOP Chairman Abraham George in a statement. “Texas is, and will remain solidly Republican. We are well on our way to knocking on over 100,000 doors in targeted flippable races.”

With national polls showing the presidential race neck-and-neck, top Texas Democrats have said the ticket of Harris and vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz were unlikely to expend significant resources in the state that is widely expected to remain in the GOP column in November. University of Texas at San Antonio political science professor Jon Taylor, however, said Emhoff’s visit makes at least some political sense, if for no other reason than to tap the checking accounts of the state’s Democratic donors for money that could be spent in the swing states that will likely decide the election. “I would say he’s definitely (coming) here to raise money, definitely to help down-ballot races, given that a lot of polling shows (Democratis U.S. Senate nominee Colin) Allred within 10 to 5 points of Ted Cruz,” Taylor said, referring to the incumbent two-term Republican senator. Among other well-known Democrats who will be joining Emhoff, two Democratic state House candidates running in Republican-held but competitive districts anchored in San Antonio are also scheduled to be part of Monday’s program. Democrat Kristian Carranza, a political newcomer, is challenging two-term Republican John Lujan in House District 118. Lujan scratched out his 2022 victory by fewer than 2,000 votes in the race that drew about 50,000 people to the polls. Laurel Jordan Swift, also a Democratic first-time candidate, will face Republican Marc LaHood, who ousted ousted three-term Republican Steve Allison in District 121 in the GOP primary. Allison won reelection by a more comfortable 5-point margin two years ago.

DETROIT (AP) – General Motors is recalling more than 449,000 of its SUVs and pickup trucks because the electronic brake control module software may fail to display a warning light when a loss of brake fluid takes place.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday that the recall includes certain 2023-2024 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESVs, 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2023-2024 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban 1500, 2023 GMC Sierra 1500, 2023-2024 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL models.

The agency said that without the warning light, a vehicle may be driven with low brake fluid, which can reduce braking performance and increase the risk of a crash.

A free software update will be provided to vehicle owners.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Oct. 28. Vehicle owners can contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006.

HOUSTON – The San Antonio Express-News reports that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is again suing Harris County over its guaranteed income initiative, alleging that the latest version of the program still violates the Texas Constitution despite modifications officials made to pass muster. “The Texas Constitution expressly prohibits giving away public funds to benefit individuals — a common sense protection to prevent cronyism and ensure that public funds benefit all citizens,” Paxton, a third-term Republican, wrote in the suit. “The State of Texas brings this suit to ensure that Harris County follows the law and that public funds are properly expended and not doled out as door prizes at the voting booth.” Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee held his ground in a statement he made Thursday on social media.

“Our 1st basic income program was legal. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, so we created a new program to address concerns,” said Menefee, a Democrat. “If it wasn’t clear before, it’s clear now: @KenPaxtonTX’s goal is to tank a program that will help Texans in need. We won’t back down. See you in court.” Uplift Harris, as the local program is called, is designed to give financial assistance to low-income households picked through a randomized lottery. Around 1,900 participants were selected earlier this year to receive $500 monthly payments for 18 months, following a similar guaranteed income model that has been used around the country. Though the original legal battle over the program is still making its way through the courts, the county decided last month to move forward with a modified program because it’s running out of time to spend the $20.5 million of earmarked funds. The money comes from federal pandemic recovery dollars that must be allocated by the end of the year.

HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports a surgeon in the liver transplant program at Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center admitted earlier this year to circumventing federal rules to make it highly unlikely that certain patients would receive an offer for a life-saving organ, according to federal documents provided this week to the Houston Chronicle. The surgeon, who was not named in the report but was later identified by the hospital as Dr. J. Steve Bynon, said he changed information in a transplant database without going through a formal review process. He is quoted in the documents as saying he took the “shortcut” to “ensure patients were safely transplanted.” Other hospital officials told regulators that the surgeon made the changes because his patients were sick, the documents say. Patients, however, were not notified of the changes while they remained active on the waitlist, according to the documents, which describe deficiencies found during an April 4 inspection by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The surgeon “admitted that it was ‘all his fault,’ and he maybe should have inactivated the patients from the waitlist,” according to the documents. Making such changes without notifying patients is a breach of medical ethics, an expert told the Chronicle. The documents reveal new details about previously reported problems in the hospital’s liver transplant program and raise additional questions about Bynon’s possible motives. They portray an environment where he repeatedly acted without consulting the hospital’s medical review board, a group of medical workers that collectively decides which patients should be added or removed from the transplant wait list. Bynon, a prominent abdominal transplant surgeon who took over the Memorial Hermann program in 2011, has been sued by multiple families who allege their loved one died as a result of changes he made to transplant information. Neither Bynon nor his attorney responded to a request for comment Thursday.

AUSTIN (AP) – Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath on Wednesday said next year lawmakers should ban the use of cellphones in public schools across the state.

Morath’s endorsement of a statewide ban came during his testimony at a Senate Education Committee hearing, where he called the use of cellular devices “extremely harmful” to student progress.

“If it were in my power, I would have already banned them in all schools in the state,” Morath said. “So I would encourage you to consider that as a matter of public policy going forward for our students and our teachers.”

Morath’s comments fall directly in line with a debate taking place in school systems across the country, a contentious subject that doesn’t divide neatly along party lines. The commissioner brought up the topic of cellphones while testifying about student outcomes on national and state exams. On the most recent state exam, only 41% of Texas students demonstrated an adequate understanding of math, a significant cause for concern among lawmakers Wednesday.

People supporting universal cellphone bans note that the devices distract students from learning and are harmful to children’s mental health.

Others worry that banning cellphones prevents young people from exercising personal responsibility and communicating with their parents during emergencies — a growing concern as mass shootings have become more common throughout the United States. During the Uvalde school shooting, where a gunman massacred 19 students and two teachers, children trapped inside the school used phones to call police for help.

Still, some committee lawmakers on Wednesday responded to Morath’s testimony with an openness to the idea.

“Mental health is becoming a bigger and bigger issue,” said Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio. “I like what you said about if we could get rid of the cellphones, you know. I mean, it would help all of us if we could do that. But we can’t. I mean … how would it look?”

Morath pointed out that many Texas school districts already ban cellphones in schools, some outright and others only allowing limited use during times like lunch or traveling in between classes.

“Administratively, this is a very doable thing,” he said.

Sen. Donna Campbell, a New Braunfels Republican, said that “while we will make an attempt” to ban cellphones from class during the next legislative session, it is ultimately the responsibility of school districts to take action.

“Everything doesn’t take legislation,” said Campbell, who proposed a bill during the last legislative session that sought to prohibit smartphone use during instructional time. “It takes leadership.”

Seventy-two percent of high school teachers across the country say that cellphone distractions are a major problem in their classroom, compared with 33% of middle school teachers and 6% of elementary school teachers, according to Pew Research. Seven states thus far have passed laws that ban or restrict cellphone use in schools, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Legislators in California, which has the most students enrolled in public schools in the country, recently approved a bill requiring school districts to develop a policy restricting the use of cellphones by 2026. But it is unclear whether Texas, where more than 5.5 million children go to school, will soon follow suit.

During The Texas Tribune Festival earlier this month, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democratic member of the Public Education Committee from Austin, said she doesn’t like the use of cellphones in the classroom, “but it may be that we should leave it to school districts to decide that on their own.”

“I don’t know,” Hinojosa said. “We’ll have to hear the debate.”

Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, who also serves on the Public Education Committee, said most of the schools he represents have already restricted cellphones.

“I don’t think we need law for everything,” he said.