HOUSTON, Texas — An ultrasound technologist who says she was fired by a Houston hospital because she wouldn’t get vaccinated against the coronavirus told CNN on Wednesday, “I don’t want to work for people like that. Don’t take away my choice.” LaTricia Blank worked at Houston Methodist hospital for eight and a half years. She
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — The top Democratic Party official in Texas on Wednesday blasted Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent decisions to veto a portion of the state budget that funds the Texas Legislature and to convene a special legislative session next month, calling the moves “beyond shameful” as the party squares off with the governor over
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WASHINGTON, DC — A year after U.S. Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén’s death in Texas, which spurred a movement against sexual assault and harassment in the military, federal lawmakers on Wednesday morning renewed efforts to reform — and add external accountability to — the way the military deals with such behavior. RELATED STORY: Defense secretary backs
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COLIN COUNTY, Texas — A grand jury in Texas declined Tuesday to indict the eight former detention officers involved in the in-custody death of Marvin Scott III, according to a news release from Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis. Scott died in March after being placed on a restraint bed, pepper-sprayed, and having a spit
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — More than 150 Houston Methodist Hospital employees were officially out of a job Tuesday, 10 days after a judge dismissed a lawsuit against the hospital by employees who opposed a Covid-19 vaccine mandate as a condition of employment, a hospital spokesperson said. The 153 employees either resigned in the two-week suspension period
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday ordered lawmakers back to work in July, raising expectations of another attempt to pass new voting restrictions after Democrats blocked the GOP’s first try with a dramatic late-night walkout in May. However, Abbott did not reveal why he was ordering a special legislative session session starting July
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed 20 bills that were passed during this year’s legislative session, including two criminal justice priorities of the House speaker, legislation that would have banned tethering dogs outside with heavy chains, and a bill that would have required students to be taught about the perils of domestic violence.
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Prosecutors are dropping criminal charges against two juveniles after police identified a different gunman in a mass shooting in downtown Austin that killed a tourist and wounded more than a dozen others, authorities said Tuesday. Authorities have said the June 12 shooting on Austin’s 6th Street arose after an argument between two groups of teenagers from
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EL PASO, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott has opted Texans out of all additional federal unemployment aid as of the end of this week. In May, Abbott announced that after June 26, Texas would opt out of extra federal assistance for unemployed Texans as a result of the pandemic. Abbott also cut off another initiative, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance,
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DALLAS, Texas — Officials issued a statewide Amber Alert Monday evening for two children out of Dallas who they said were believed to be in danger. According to the alert from the Texas Department of Public Safety, 2-year-old Seven Jeter and 4-year-old Curtis Jeter were taken around 2:30 p.m. Monday in Dallas. Police believed the two
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LINCOLN, Nebraska — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts plans to send about two dozen state troopers to Texas later this month to help patrol the nation’s border with Mexico. Ricketts said the troopers will spend up to 16 days providing law enforcement assistance to the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to the Omaha World-Herald. Ricketts said he was responding
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REYNOSA, Mexico — Fear has invaded the Mexican border city of Reynosa after gunmen in vehicles killed 14 people, including taxis drivers, workers and a nursing student, and security forces responded with operations that left four suspects dead. While this city across the border from McAllen, Texas is used to cartel violence as a key
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DALLAS, Texas — American Airlines is canceling hundreds of flights through at least mid-July as the company strives to maintain service in the midst of massively increasing travel demand while the coronavirus pandemic continues to recede in the United States, according to a spokesperson from the airline. “The first few weeks of June have brought
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AUSTIN, Texas — El Paso’s very own Beto O’Rourke is on the road again, trying to build public pressure on Congress to take action on voting rights while his fellow Democrats in the Texas Legislature take the fight to Washington, D.C., after killing Republicans’ priority elections bill in Austin. Arguably the state’s best-known Democrat, O’Rourke has been crisscrossing
Continue Reading REYNOSA, Mexico — Gunmen in vehicles opened fire in the Mexican city of Reynosa on the U.S. border this weekend, killing at least 14 people and causing widespread panic, authorities said. Security forces then killed four suspects, including one who died near a border bridge. The attacks began Saturday afternoon in several neighborhoods in eastern
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HOUSTON, Texas — An off-duty deputy’s wife and his 4-year-old stepdaughter were shot early Sunday morning when a gunman forced entry into their Houston home and opened fire, according to Police Chief Troy Finner. At about 2:20 a.m. Sunday, Houston police responded to an “officer assist” call on West Dallas Street where the suspect, described
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EL PASO, Texas — El Paso political leaders and immigration rights advocates are condemning Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for describing immigrants crossing the border as an “invasion” this week, calling the rhetoric “dangerous” to Latino communities while pointing out that it mirrors language used by the accused Walmart shooter two years ago. “We are
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AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott late Friday afternoon followed through on a threat to veto a section of the state budget that funds the Texas Legislature, its staffers and legislative agencies. The governor’s move targeting lawmaker pay comes after House Democrats walked out in the final days of the regular legislative session, breaking quorum, to block
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WASHINGTON, DC — Female soldiers at two Army bases in Texas face a greater risk of sexual assault and harassment than those at other posts, according to a new Rand Corp. study. The study, released Friday, looked at Army incidents, and found that active-duty Army women at Fort Hood and Fort Bliss faced the highest
Continue Reading FORT WORTH, Texas — Before Juneteenth became an official federal holiday, 94-year-old Opal Lee was on a mission. “I’m not just going to sit and rock, you know?” the determined “Grandmother of Juneteenth” told CNN. “The Lord is going to have to catch me.” Days later, the spirited nonagenarian shouted with delight as she watched
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EL PASO, Texas — ‘Abbott failed Texas’, those are what some of the signs read at a protest in downtown El Paso on Thursday opposing the permit-less or ‘constitutional carry’ gun rights bill that was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Greg Abbott. The new law states anyone over the age of 21 can carry loaded handguns in
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas –The man killed in a recent mass shooting that left more than a dozen people injured in Austin was visiting the city from Michigan, his family said. Douglas J. Kantor, 25, was originally from Airmont, New York, and attended college at Michigan State and graduate school at the University of Michigan, the family statement
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WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden signed a bill into law on Thursday establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a U.S. federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday is the first federal holiday established since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983, and will become at least
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WASHINGTON, DC — The Justice Department on Thursday charged a U.S. Capitol rioter with bringing a handgun onto Capitol grounds — two days after a hearing where Republican lawmakers downplayed the deadly attack and claimed the pro-Trump rioters were unarmed. The new charge was filed against Guy Reffitt, a Texan whose case received national attention
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WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed a challenge to the Obama era health care law, preserving insurance coverage for millions of Americans. The justices, by a 7-2 vote, left the entire law intact Thursday in ruling that Texas, other Republican-led states and two individuals had no right to bring their lawsuit in
Continue Reading BOCA CHICA, Texas — SpaceX received a warning from a district attorney in Texas this week, warning that the company could be violating several state laws by shutting down public beaches for extended periods of time and using unlicensed security guards to ward people off public roads. The discrepancy centers on SpaceX’s activities in South
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AUSTIN, Texas — Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday began announcing details of his plan for Texas to build its own border wall, starting the hiring process for a program manager and providing $250 million in state funds as a “down payment.” “Texas will build a border wall in our state to help secure our
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the nation. The U.S. House voted 415-14 Wednesday evening to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. Juneteenth commemorates when
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UPDATE, June 16: HONEY GROVE, Texas — Authorities say a man suspected of shooting a police officer in the leg in a small North Texas city, triggering the issuance of a Blue Alert statewide, appears to have fatally shot himself after a standoff Wednesday with officers. Honey Grove police said an officer responded to a
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texans can carry handguns without a license or training starting Sept. 1, after Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed the permitless carry bill into law. House Bill 1927 eliminates the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun. The
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