Texas Politics & News
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news
Texas Grand Jury Indicts 2 Undercover Filmmakers Who Exposed Planned Parenthood
A grand jury in Houston indicted two undercover filmmakers who exposed Planned Parenthood’s alleged sale of aborted baby body parts in a series of videos last summer. The news came late Monday in an investigation requested by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick after the videos surfaced. BREAKING: Harris County grand jury clears Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast… -
news
Why Uber May Leave This Texas City
Waving off pleas from the Austin chief of police and Travis County sheriff, the Austin City Council voted 9-2 on Friday morning to require drivers for ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft be fingerprinted beginning Feb. 1. Unless something changes between now and then, Uber, which has stood firm in opposing fingerprint requirements, will leave… -
news
How Texas Became America’s No. 1 Speed-Trap State
Texas is infested with more speed traps than any other state, according to a new study by the National Motorists Association. The NMA compiled five years’ worth of data from a website it maintains, The National Speed Trap Exchange, and found Texas had far and away the highest speed trap count, with 1,383 locations. The… -
news
Texas Inspector General Says Whistleblower Prompted Planned Parenthood Probe
Stuart Bowen, the inspector general of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, told The Dallas Morning News that a whistleblower alleging Medicaid fraud at Texas Planned Parenthood clinics spurred the agency’s investigation. The Daily Signal previously reported that inspectors from the Texas Office of the Inspector General recently served subpoenas for clinic records at several Planned… -
news
Texas Takes on Planned Parenthood, Investigates Clinics
Inspectors from the Texas Office of the Inspector General served subpoenas for clinic records at several Planned Parenthood centers in the state on Thursday, the organization said. Abby Johnson, a former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas said in a statement that “[i]t is long past time that inspectors, not just in Texas but… -
news
Texas Governor Defends Defunding Planned Parenthood: It’s ‘Money That They Do Not Deserve’
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says that Planned Parenthood has “very serious legal issues” in Texas. A letter was sent to Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas on Monday notifying them that their Medicaid contracts will be terminated. Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Abbott defended the state’s decision to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood… -
news
Texas to End Planned Parenthood’s Participation in State’s Medicaid Program
Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, announced Monday that Texas will end Planned Parenthood’s participation in the state’s Medicaid program. “Texas has stepped forward and shown its unyielding commitment to both protecting life and providing women’s health services,” Abbott said in a statement. “The gruesome harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood will not be allowed… -
news
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Defends Man Charged With Criminal Vote Fraud
The original headline incorrectly described the person facing criminal charges. A client of Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa is facing 16 criminal charges of rigging votes in a Rio Grande Valley election. Lupe Rivera Sr. illegally handled ballots and envelopes in his closely contested Weslaco City Commission race, according to the state attorney general’s… -
news
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: States, Not Federal Government, Traditionally Regulate Marriage
AUSTIN, Texas—Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the federal government has no business regulating the issue of marriage. “In the United States Constitution and the amendments there are more than 7,500 words,” Abbott explains to The Daily Signal. “Not a single one of them mentions the word marriage or gives the federal government authority to regulate… -
news
Federal Court Strikes Down ‘Discriminatory’ Texas Voter ID Law
A federal court has struck down Texas’ voter identification law due to what the judges call its “discriminatory effect.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans ruled that the Texas law is in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. “We affirm the district court’s finding that SB 14… -
news
Texas Mother Arrested Because Her Children Sat ‘30 Feet’ Away From Her in a Food Court
A Texas mother has been charged with abandoning her children after they were found sitting about 30 feet away from her in a food court, according to Houston’s KHOU. Laura Browder was asked to meet a potential employer for a job interview in the food court at Memorial City Mall. Browder was unable to find… -
opinion
Students Will No Longer Face Jail Time for Missing School in Texas
Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes the number of children charged with Class C misdemeanors for skipping school. Texas was one of only two states to consider truancy a crime, and in 2013 the Lone Star State prosecuted over 115,000 kids for missing school. The result: 17-year-old students were locked up with adult… -
opinion
Texas Religious Schools Lose in Obamacare Abortion-Drug Mandate Case
Earlier this week, religious employers suffered another loss at the hands of the coercive Obamacare Health and Human Services mandate. A U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit panel ruled against East Texas Baptist University and a group of other non-profit religious employers in their challenge to the Obamacare requirement that they facilitate health… -
opinion
Victory for Women’s Health and Safety: Court Upholds Texas Law That Regulates Abortion Clinics, Doctors
In a victory for women’s health and safety, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a number of the provisions of a 2013 Texas law that include common sense regulations of abortion clinics and abortion doctors. Known as H.B. 2, the Texas law requires, among other things, that abortion clinics meet the same… -
news
‘Devastating’ Texas Abortion Law Could Be On Road to US Supreme Court
A federal appeals court yesterday upheld a strict abortion law in Texas that critics call “devastating,” and say would shut down the majority of clinics in the state. “If permitted to take effect, the impact will be devastating for women in Texas seeking access to abortion services,” said Stephanie Toti, a lawyer for a clinic… -
news
Texas Bill Would Change Process for Minors to Obtain a Court-Ordered Abortion
Legislation that would tighten regulations on how minors go about receiving court-ordered abortions cleared the Texas House of Representatives last week. House Bill 3994, introduced by state Rep. Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria, amends Texas’ family code to clarify the circumstances in which a minor may obtain permission from a court to receive an abortion without notifying… -
opinion
What to Make of ISIS Claim of Responsibility for Texas Shootings
ISIS has claimed responsibility for a failed attack that occurred on Sunday in Garland, Texas. At the “First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest,” two individuals using rifles opened fire just before nightfall. The individuals pulled up to the entrance, which had received enhanced security measures due to the controversial event, and according to Garland… -
opinion
Should Texas Require Hair Stylists to Have Over 2,000 Hours of Training to Legally Braid Hair?
Did you know Texas imposes stringent license regulations in order to open an African hair braiding business, including a requirement to attend more than 2,000 hours of barber school? Now the Texas Legislature is moving forward on a bill that gives their citizens the freedom to pursue a career in this field without onerous regulatory… -
opinion
The Justice Department’s War on Texas’ Voter ID Law
On Tuesday, April 28, Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller will be up before a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals again, his second appearance there in two weeks. But this time, instead of arguing over the unconstitutionality of President Obama’s immigration amnesty plan, he will be arguing that the Texas voter ID… -
news
Texas Attorney General: ‘If the Law Matters,’ Courts Will Side With States in Fight Over Obama Immigration Policy
As a federal appeals court considers whether to keep or rescind a hold on President Obama’s immigration program, the attorney general of the state leading the charge against the president’s executive actions “is very confident” the plaintiffs will win out. “All I can tell you is, based on the law, I feel very confident,” said…