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SAN ANTOINIO – A federal judge in San Antonio has ruled that the state of Texas’ ID requirements for mail ballot applications are unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez on Thursday found that the provisions in the state’s 2021 voter security law SB1 discriminate against voters with disabilities.

Mail-in voters are principally people over the age of 65 and people with disabilities. Since the law was enacted, many voters reported having their ballots rejected because they didn’t provide an ID number, or the number they provided did not match the one the state had on file.

“The problem with that is that many Texans have more than one department of public safety ID number,” said Victor Genecin, an attorney with the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund. “So the first hurdle for a voter who’s applying for an absentee ballot is they may not know which number is in the election system. And even if they do know which number is in the election system and they put it in correctly, the election system may not have the number right.”

Genecin cited testimony at trial, where the Texas Secretary of State conceded that more than 650,000 registration records in their system were incorrect.

He added that expert testimony at the trial estimated that more than 2 million people were unable to vote due to the ID restrictions.

The ruling ordered the Texas secretary of state to remove the requirements from mail-in ballot applications. However, the ruling came just weeks before Texas’ municipal elections, so they will remain in effect through May 3.

Judge Rodriguez also struck down provisions of SB1 that require those who assist voters to swear an oath under penalty of perjury.

“Normally when somebody says to you, ‘would you help me?’ you either step up to help them or you don’t. But you don’t say, you know, ‘what’s wrong with you? Why do you need help?’ You just help,” Genecin said. “And so the idea that that people who are disabled must explain why they’re unable to vote without assistance is offensive in itself.”

Genecin added that part of the oath is that the assister must swear to be understanding that if the voter turns out not to be eligible for assistance, then the vote could be invalidated.

“So it puts the assister in the position of having to evaluate whether the voter is eligible for assistance, and the word ‘eligible’ is not defined anywhere in the statute,’ he said.

The state of Texas was expected to appeal.

Opponents of SB1 applauded the decision and called it a victory for voters with disabilities.

“It truly is such a victory for voting accessibility, and it affirms that our electoral system must protect and prioritize the right of every voter to be able to participate fully,” said Elsie Cooke-Holmes, International President and Board Chair of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a co-plaintiff in the case. “It really does provide an opportunity for the 3 million plus voters with disabilities in Texas to be able to exercise their rights to vote without undue hardship. It ensures that their voices will be able to be heard, and that their votes will actually count.”

Judge Xavier Rodriguez ruled last fall that the state of Texas could no longer investigate voter assistance efforts as a criminal act. The state of Texas has appealed that ruling.

Cooke-Holmes said her organization sees momentum in the challenge to SB1.

“We know the fight is not over. We are going to continue to advocate for policies that eliminate all forms of voter suppression,” she said.

SB1, which was passed in the wake of President Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud without evidence following the 2020 election, also limited early voting hours, banned 24-hour voting, eliminated drive-thru voting centers, limited multiple drop-off locations for mail ballots, limited the distribution of mail-in ballot applications and expanded the authority of partisan poll watchers.

Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston police are looking for two suspects after six men were shot and wounded early Sunday at an after-hours nightclub.

Four of the wounded are in critical condition, said Assistant Chief James Skelton during a news conference. He provided no information on the conditions of the two other victims.

Dispatchers were called around 3 a.m. to the packed nightclub, which was still serving drinks after the city’s bars are supposed to be closed, Skelton said.

He said police are reviewing video and talking to witnesses, but the preliminary investigation suggests that the people involved knew each other. He described it as an “isolated attack” that illustrates the problems of after-hours clubs.

“Establishments like this, that harbor within our city, contribute to crime,” Skelton said. “So the Houston Police Department, we are targeting these locations, and we’re going to shut them down because it harbors the DWIs and the assaults, and that’s exactly what we saw here tonight.”

Officers are looking for a black car with the two suspects in it, he added.

DALLAS (AP) – History buffs dove into thousands of pages of government records released online this week, hoping for new nuggets about President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. They instead found revelations about U.S. espionage in the massive document dump that also exposed some previously redacted personal information.

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration posted more than 63,000 pages of records on its website, following an executive order from President Donald Trump. Many of the documents had been released previously but with redactions that hid the names of CIA sources or details about its spying and covert operations in the 1960s.

Kennedy was killed on Nov. 22, 1963, during a visit to Dallas. As his motorcade finished its parade route downtown, shots rang out from the Texas School Book Depository building. Police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, who had positioned himself from a sniper’s perch on the sixth floor. Two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald during a jail transfer broadcast live on television.

The latest release of documents pumped new energy into conspiracy theories about the assassination. Kennedy scholars said they haven’t seen anything out of line with the conclusion that Oswald, a 24-year-old ex-Marine, was the lone gunman.

“The chase for the truth will go on forever, I suspect,” said Philip Shenon, who wrote a 2013 book about the killing of JFK.
It’s a big document dump, but it doesn’t include everything

The vast majority of the National Archives’ collection of more than 6 million related pages of records, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings and artifacts had already been released before the archives posted about 2,200 files online this week.

Writers, historians and conspiracy promoters have spent decades pushing for the release of all the records. In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all assassination-related documents be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration. The collection was required to be opened by 2017, barring any exemptions designated by the president.

According to researchers and the FBI, roughly 3,700 files held by federal authorities still haven’t been released.

Trump’s order also called for declassifying the remaining federal records related to the 1968 assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Scholars describe a chaotic release

Scholars and history buffs described the latest release as rushed and expressed frustration that going through the files one by one represented a random search for unreleased information.

“We’ve all heard the reports about the lawyers staying up all night, which I believe, because there’s there’s a lot of sloppiness in this,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of “The Kennedy Half-Century.”

Scholars and history buffs grumbled that, unlike past releases, the National Archives didn’t provide an index or workable search tool. Also, the files included material generated after the 1960s, and some people listed in the records were angry to find out that sensitive information about them was revealed, including Social Security numbers.

They include Joseph diGenova, a former campaign lawyer for Trump. His personal information was on documents relating to his work for a U.S. Senate select committee that investigated abuses of power by government officials in the 1970s, including the surveillance of U.S. citizens.

He is planning to sue the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration for violating privacy laws.

“I think it’s the result of incompetent people doing the reviewing,” he said. “The people who reviewed these documents did not do their job.”

White House officials said a plan was in place to help those whose personal information was disclosed, including credit monitoring, until new Social Security numbers are issued. Officials are still screening the records to identify all the Social Security numbers that were released.
New details about covert CIA operations

The latest release represented a boon to mainstream historians, particularly those researching international relations, the Cold War and the activities of the CIA.

One revelation was that a key adviser warned President Kennedy after the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 that the CIA had grown too powerful. The aide proposed giving the State Department control of “all clandestine activities” and breaking up the CIA.

The page of Special Assistant Arthur Schlesinger Jr.’s memo outlining the proposal had not been released before. A previous release of part of his memo redacted Schlesinger’s statement that 47% of the political officers in U.S. embassies were controlled by the CIA.

Schlesinger’s plan never came to fruition.

Timothy Naftali, an adjunct professor at Columbia University who is writing a book about JFK’s presidency, said scholars likely now have more details about U.S. intelligence activities under Kennedy than under any other president.

“It’s quite remarkable to be able to walk through that secret world,” he said.

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This story has been updated to correct that the date of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination was Nov. 22, 1963, not Nov. 23.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state Legislature has endorsed a bill that would raise royalty rates for new petroleum development on prime pieces of land in New Mexico, on one of the world’s most prolific oil production areas.

A 37-31 vote on Thursday sent the bill from the Statehouse to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for consideration.

The proposal would increase the top royalty rate for oil and gas development from 20% to 25% on New Mexico’s state trust lands with implications for the energy industry in the Permian Basin, which overlaps southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. The area accounted for 46% of U.S. oil production in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

New Mexico deposits royalty payments from oil and gas development in a multibillion-dollar investment trust that benefits public schools, universities and hospitals.

“We have a legal duty to maximize the return on these assets,” said Democratic state Rep. Matthew McQueen of Galisteo, a co-sponsor of the bill.

Legislative approval was the culmination of a yearslong effort backed by Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard to increase top-tier royalty rates. A year ago, Garcia Richard put a hold on lease sales indefinitely for coveted tracts while advocating for the rate increase.

Proponents say neighboring Texas already charges up to 25% on state trust land amid intense competition to drill in the Permian Basin. The royalty changes in neighboring New Mexico would not go into effect in Texas.

Opponents say the rate change threatens to penalize petroleum producers and public beneficiaries, noting that oil production is significantly taxed in other ways and hinges on volatile commodity prices.

In a news release, Garcia Richard said the goal is “to make as much money as possible for school kids and our public institutions.”

“Raising the oil and gas royalty rate on premium state lands was always the right thing to do,” she said.

Garcia Richard, a Democrat, terms out of office as land commissioner in 2026 and this week announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor.

New Mexico is the No. 2 state for oil production behind Texas.

Efforts by New Mexico to save and invest portions of a financial windfall from local oil production are paying dividends as state government income on investments is forecast to surpass personal income tax collections.

The state’s land grant permanent fund currently distributes about $1.2 billion a year to beneficiary schools, universities and hospitals as well as the state general fund.

New Mexico state government relies heavily on a financial windfall linked to oil production amid increasing concerns about the connection between climate change and natural disasters including wildfires.

A coalition of environmental groups praised the passage of bills this week that would underwrite local clean energy and environmental sustainability projects and related job training.

But Albuquerque-based attorney Gail Evans of the Center for Biological Diversity vowed to press forward with a lawsuit against the state seeking compliance with the “pollution control clause” in the New Mexico Constitution on behalf of Native Americans who live near oil wells.

“Our legislators didn’t even take the tiny step of ensuring our kids are protected from dangerous oil and gas pollution when they’re at school,” said Evans, alluding to a stalled bill to restrict oil and gas operations within a mile (1.6 kilometers) of school property.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A new museum devoted to telling the stories of those who have received the nation’s highest military honor is opening this coming week in Texas.

The National Medal of Honor Museum is set to open Tuesday in Arlington, just west of Dallas. It highlights the lives and service of Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War to the global war on terrorism. Over 3,500 people have received the Medal of Honor, which is awarded by Congress for risking one’s life in combat beyond the call of duty.

Jack Jacobs, a retired U.S. Army colonel who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Vietnam War, said he wants museum visitors to realize the recipients aren’t “spectacular supermen,” but regular people who “embody the kinds of values that are really important.”

“Really grand things, not just in combat, but in everyday life … are all accomplished by ordinary people who come to the conclusion that something has to be done and they are going to do it,” Jacobs said.

When his unit was ambushed by the Viet Cong on March 9, 1968, Jacobs took charge after his commander was seriously wounded. Despite being wounded in the head by shrapnel and bleeding heavily, Jacobs reorganized the company and repeatedly ran through enemy fire to rescue the wounded, saving the lives of a U.S. adviser and 13 soldiers.

Jacobs, now 79, said he lost a lot of friends in the battle.

“You really do wear the award for all of the people who can’t wear the award,” he said.

The museum’s focus is on telling the life stories of the recipients, said Alexandra Rhue, the museum’s senior vice president of engagement. “Here you met the people first and then you learn what they did,” Rhue said.

The recipients featured in the museum include those from various branches of the military, conflicts and geographic locations, as well as different ethnicities and races.

Chris Cassidy, the museum’s president and CEO, said he hopes the exhibits inspire visitors.

“Everybody needs courage in some form or fashion,” he said. “So that’s our aim: to inspire people through the stories of Medal of Honor actions, to bring a little courage into your own life.”

Several of the recipients, including Jacobs, appear in videos in an exhibit where their images answer visitors’ questions. There are over 60 recipients who are still living.

A celebration Saturday ahead of the opening will feature musical performances, fireworks and a drone show. The museum is nestled amongst Globe Life Field, where the Texas Rangers play, and AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

TEXAS (AP) – As measles cases in West Texas are still on the rise two months after the outbreak began, local public health officials say they expect the virus to keep spreading for at least several more months and that the official case number is likely an undercount.

But there’s a silver lining, officials say: More people have received a measles, mumps and rubella vaccination this year in Texas and New Mexico, which also has an outbreak, compared to last year — even if it’s not as high as they would like. And pharmacies across the U.S., especially in Texas, are seeing more demand for MMR shots.

As of Friday, the outbreak in Texas was up to 309 cases and one measles-related death, while New Mexico’s case count was up to 42 and also one measles-related death. Forty-two people have been hospitalized across the two states.

Texas’ outbreak, which has largely spread in undervaccinated Mennonite communities, could last a year based on studies of how measles previously spread in Amish communities in the U.S. Those studies showed outbreaks lasted six to seven months, said Katherine Wells, director of the public health department in Lubbock, Texas. Lubbock’s hospitals have treated most of the outbreak’s patients and the public health department is closely assisting with the response.

“It being so rural, now multistate, it’s just going to take a lot more boots on the ground, a lot more work, to get things under control,” Wells said during a media briefing this week. “It’s not an isolated population.”

The outbreak includes 14 Texas counties, two New Mexico counties and four probable cases in Oklahoma, where health officials said the first two were “associated” with the West Texas and New Mexico outbreaks.

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases. Its slow way of spreading makes it especially hard to contain and outbreaks can have multiple peaks, said Justin Lessler, an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Many people spread the measles virus unknowingly for days before the telltale rash appears. The virus also can hang in the air for up to two hours after a sick person has left a room.

“Within this community, it’d be perfectly reasonable to think probably another couple months before things die out,” Lessler said. “But if it gets into another community, you just potentially start that clock over again.”

If the outbreak goes on until next January, it would end the United States’ status of having eliminated measles, which is defined as 12 months without local virus transmission, said Dr. William Moss, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University and executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center.

“We’re only three months in. I think if we had a strong response where the messaging was clear that measles vaccination is the way to stop this outbreak, I would be surprised if it went for 12 months or more,” said Moss, who has worked on measles for 25 years, mostly in Africa. “But we’re not seeing that type of response, at least from the federal government.”

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. instead has sown doubt about the measles vaccine, which has been safely used for more than 60 years and is 97% effective after two doses. In an interview with Fox News last week, Kennedy said MMR shots cause “deaths every year,” although he later added that vaccinations should be encouraged.
Vaccinations are up in Texas and New Mexico

Still, there are signs the outbreak has had an effect on vaccinations, especially locally.

Between Feb. 1 and March 18 last year, New Mexico Department of Health registered 6,500 measles vaccines. During that timeframe this year, more than 11,600 measles vaccines were administered in New Mexico — about half given to adults and half to children.

Southeast New Mexico, where the outbreak is located, represents a large portion of the count, with 2,369 doses administered.

In Texas, at least 173,000 measles doses were given from Jan. 1 to March 16, compared to at least 158,000 over the same timeframe last year, according to the state health department. That includes more than 340 doses in given by public health in the West Texas outbreak area as of March 11.

Texans must opt-in to the state’s immunization registry, so most people’s vaccinations are not captured in the Texas Department of State Health Services numbers, department spokeswoman Lara Anton said.

“We don’t know if more people are opting in or if this is a true reflection of an increase in vaccinations,” Anton wrote in an email. “It may be both.”

Pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS told The Associated Press that they’re seeing higher demand for MMR vaccines across the U.S., especially in the outbreak areas.

Texas health officials say they’d like to see more uptake in the communities at the epicenter of the outbreak, especially in Gaines County — where the childhood vaccination rate against measles is 82%. That’s far below the 95% level needed to prevent community spread, and likely lower in the small religious schools and homeschooling groups where the early cases were identified.

Prasad Ganji is a pharmacist in Seminole, the biggest town in Gaines County. He said he ordered a 10-dose box of the MMR vaccine as cases started to spread.

He can give vaccines to people older than 14. But he still has doses left.

“The uptake for vaccines been definitely been a struggle,” Wells said of Gaines County, “I want to be honest with that.”