WASHINGTON, DC — Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas made an argument about climate change at a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday that appeared to elicit confusion from a government official and ridicule on Twitter. During the Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing, Gohmert appeared to draw a connection between the moon and Earth’s orbit and solar flares
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — After months of negotiations, the effort to reach a bipartisan agreement on gun background checks has ended, a key GOP senator said Wednesday, leaving Democrats with a final option to move forward on House-passed bills that have no chance of passing in the Senate. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas who
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — The Republican governors of Florida and Texas are headed toward showdowns with some of the world’s largest cruise lines, including Norwegian and Carnival, over whether passengers boarding ships leaving their states can be required to show proof they’ve been vaccinated. The entrenched positions Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed two sweeping pieces of legislation Tuesday to overhaul the state’s power grid after the disastrous and deadly winter storm in February that left more than 4.8 million homes and businesses without electricity for days. The two bills are meant to improve the state’s main power grid and change the
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — The Biden administration is threatening to pursue legal action if Texas Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t rescind his order shutting down federally funded shelters that house migrant children who cross the U.S.-Mexico border without their parents. The deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter obtained
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ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico — The recent crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border is gaining national attention because of the influx of immigrants fleeing their home countries. In order to get to the root of the problem, Vice President Kamala Harris is making her first international trip to Mexico and Guatemala.“It’s going to be an honest and
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Monday that there is no constitutional or statutory requirement for the state to compensate businesses for financial losses due to emergency public health orders during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ruling in favor of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham scuttles about 20 lawsuits against her administration.
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Texas businesses that require customers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 will be denied state contracts and could lose their licenses or operating permits under legislation Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Monday. “Texas is open 100%, and we want to make sure you have the freedom to go where you want without limits,” Abbott
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AUSTIN, Texas — There was hope in the air when state lawmakers from El Paso arrived in Austin for the 2021 Texas Legislature. For them, this was going to be the year they passed substantive firearm restrictions in gun-loving Texas — an unreachable, unfathomable goal for any other Legislative session. But this wasn’t just any
Continue Reading WHITEHOUSE, Texas — Allen West, the chair of the Texas Republican Party, announced his resignation on Friday as he teased a potential run for statewide office. He will remain chairman until his replacement is picked on July 11, the Texas GOP said in a statement. “It has been my distinct honor to serve as Chairman
Continue Reading DALLAS, Texas — A high school valedictorian exhaled as she pulled a piece of paper from underneath her graduation gown. Gathering her courage, Paxton Smith started the speech she had worked so hard on for her graduation on Sunday. But the speech the 18-year-old gave ended up being an entirely different speech than she had
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — A three-judge panel has struck down the federal cap on candidates using political contributions to repay personal loans they make to their campaigns, in a case that hands Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz a win and may have broader implications for campaign finance. The Federal Election Commission had argued the cap was
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced Wednesday night that he’s running for attorney general in Texas, setting up a GOP showdown with one of the most high-profile Republican attorneys general in the country, Ken Paxton. “I am proud to announce I am a Republican candidate to be the next Texas Attorney
Continue Reading ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — Democratic state Rep. Melanie Stansbury will win the special election to represent New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, The Associated Press and CNN projected Tuesday night, securing the seat left vacant when Interior Secretary Deb Haaland joined the Biden administration. Stansbury, a scientist who has served in the New Mexico state House
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Democrats are intensifying their demands for Congress to pass sweeping voting rights legislation, but even with the party in control of the House and the Senate, major obstacles remain. Texas state Democratic lawmakers are calling for federal action after they derailed a restrictive voting bill, and President Joe Biden is sending a
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AUSTIN, Texas – Former President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for re-election on Tuesday, giving him an early and crucial stamp of approval as he confronts a possibly competitive primary. Abbott has already drawn a challenge from former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller also has been considering a
Continue Reading ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — A special congressional election in New Mexico on Tuesday poses an early test of whether Republicans’ strategy of latching Democratic candidates to their party’s most progressive police reform proposals will help the GOP win control of the House in next year’s midterms. Democratic state Rep. Melanie Stansbury and Republican state Sen.
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Democrats on Monday cheered their derailment of a restrictive voting bill, while warning of the continued threat of the legislation that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has promised to bring back during a planned special session. “Today is a great day, but I can’t help but feeling bitter, disappointed, hurt,” Texas state
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republicans’ push to enact a slew of new voting restrictions was stymied — at least for now — by Democrats who walked off the state House floor late Sunday night, leaving majority Republicans without the quorum they needed to approve the bill in the final hours before a midnight deadline. Their
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday criticized the restrictive voting bill moving through the Texas Legislature as “shameful,” saying the legislation and efforts from Republicans in other states to impose strict election measures amount to a “voter suppression epidemic.” “Well the Texas law is shameful and Republicans clearly in Texas and
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AUSTIN, Texas — Republicans in the Texas Senate muscled one of the most restrictive new voting laws in the U.S. to the cusp of the governor’s desk early Sunday, approving fewer ways to cast a ballot and more criminal penalties after rushing the bill to the floor in the middle of the night. The sweeping
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republicans are digging for a final weekend vote on some of the most restrictive new voting laws in the U.S. The sweeping bill finalized Saturday would eliminate drive-thru voting, reduce polling hours and scale back Sunday voting. The changes would have to be approved before the GOP-controlled Legislature adjourns at midnight
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC —With Texas Republicans poised to sign off on a sweeping voting bill, President Joe Biden said Saturday that legislation like Senate Bill 7 that restricts voting access is “un-American.” “Today, Texas legislators put forth a bill that joins Georgia and Florida in advancing a state law that attacks the sacred right to vote, ”
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – A defense lawyer for a Las Cruces man accused of threatening to kill President Joe Biden says texts the man sent were taken out of context and were “simply political expression.” According to court records, 39-year-old John Benjamin Thornton of Las Cruces was arrested this week. A criminal complaint alleged
Continue Reading FORT WORTH, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott called the smuggling of fentanyl across the Texas-Mexico border a “crisis” and said Thursday that he has deployed 1,000 Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and National Guard members to combat the problem. In the first four months of this year, Abbott said at a press conference in Fort Worth,
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AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate has approved a bill to cap the cost of insulin copays at $25. The bill would reduce and cap the cost of insulin co-pays for each prescription per month for insured Texans on state-regulated health plans. Sen. César Blanco joint authored the bipartisan bill Senate Bill 827 by Chair of
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — Texas Sen. John Cornyn was clear in February: Congress should establish a 9/11-style outside commission to investigate the January 6 attack, a rare sign of bipartisanship just a month after the deadly Capitol insurrection. “I agree w/Speaker Pelosi — a 911-type investigation is called for to help prevent this from happening again,”
Continue Reading FORT BLISS, Texas — The shelter at Fort Bliss feels more like a warehouse, according to people who have been there, with rows and rows of bunk cots stacked on top of each other, filling up large white tents where hundreds of migrant children wait. Now, officials are talking about doubling that population — from
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers have given final approval to allowing people carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it. The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor has said he will sign it despite the objections from law enforcement groups
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EL PASO, Texas — There’s no road trip, no soul searching. No beard or blogging. But Beto O’Rourke is making a political life decision again. Three years after becoming Democrats’ breakout star out of Texas, and a year removed from crashing back to Earth in a short-lived presidential run, O’Rourke is again weighing another campaign
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