State Headlines
Uvalde leaders approve $2M for Robb Elementary families in first settlement over 2022 attack
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmAUSTIN, Texas (AP) â City leaders in Uvalde, Texas, approved a $2 million settlement for families of the victims of the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, marking the first time one of the myriad lawsuits has led to financial compensation. Attorneys for the families first announced the terms of the settlement with the city in May 2024, and it was approved by the Uvalde city council Tuesday night. The settlement with the city will spread the $2 million among the 21 families of the victims killed in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, said Javier Cazares, whose daughter Jackie was one of 19 fourth-graders killed by the gunman. Two teachers were also killed. The suit addresses the botched law enforcement response by ... Read More
Texas man is executed for the 2004 strangling and stabbing death of a young mother
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmHUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) â A Texas man convicted of fatally strangling and stabbing a young mother more than 20 years ago was executed Wednesday evening as the victim's mother and other relatives looked on. Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 41, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville and was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m. He was sentenced to death for his conviction in the March 2004 killing of 20-year-old Rachelle OâNeil Tolleson. After a spiritual adviser prayed over him for about two minutes, Mendoza apologized repeatedly to the victim's two parents and other relatives present, calling to each by name. âI am sorry for having robbed you of Rachelle's life,â he said, addressing the parents, one of her brothers, a cousin and an uncle ... Read More
Tax free weekend for emergency prep supplies
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 4:50 pmAUSTIN â Our news partner, KETK, reports that Texans can purchase certain emergency preparation supplies without paying sales tax during a tax holiday from April 26-28. Texas Comptroller, Glenn Hegar, reminds Texans of the stateâs sales tax holiday from 12:01 a.m. April 26 to midnight April 28. Some items you can purchase sales tax free include household batteries, fuel containers and flashlights priced less than $75. Hegar notes that online purchases will include delivery, shipping, handling and transportation charges as part of the sales price. This means if you purchase an emergency ladder online for $299 with a $10 delivery charge, the total sales price comes out to $309. Tax is due on the $309 sales price since the total sales price of the emergency ... Read More
Texas’ insurance crisis is hitting an unexpected target: Public schools
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmHOUSTON - The Houston Chronicle reports that Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Port Aransas Independent School District when it hit in 2017, damaging every classroom and prompting weeks-long school closures. The district is still facing ripple effects today, but in a new form: its insurance costs have skyrocketed, forcing superintendent Sharon McKinney to choose between giving teachers raises and insuring school buildings. School districts across Texas have struggled to keep up with rising property insurance costs as severe weather batters school buildings. Insurance costs for districts have increased by 44% statewide since 2020, according to financial data from the Texas Education Agency. Now, state lawmakers are considering two proposals to help offset these costs â at least in coastal counties, where the crisis is particularly acute. ... Read More
Four Texas school districts at risk for state takeover after 2023 ratings released
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmAUSTIN - At least four Texas school districts could be forced to shut down their chronically underperforming schools or submit to a takeover from the state, based on annual state ratings released Thursday morning. The Texas Education Agency released its A-F grades for the 2022-23 school year, the first complete set in five years. Ratings had not been released due to court battles and pauses to the rating system during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Beaumont, Midland, Fort Worth and Wichita Falls school districts all have at least one school that failed state ratings for five or more years in a row, putting them at risk of bruising state penalties. Of the 8,539 public schools evaluated in the state, 19.3% got an A. Another 33.6% got ... Read More
Abortion clarification bill heads to full Texas Senate
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmAUSTIN - The Dallas Morning News reports A proposal to clarify Texasâ strict abortion laws and allow doctors to provide emergency abortion care â along with amendments aimed at addressing concerns that pregnant women themselves could be criminalized â passed a key legislative hurdle Tuesday. The Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs voted 11-0 to send an amended version of Senate Bill 31 to the full Senate. That bill was authored by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola. Abortion rights advocates have raised concerns that the originally filed version of the bill could resurrect a century-old law that would criminalize women who receive abortions. Theyâve called for the bill to be amended. Before sending the bill to the full Senate, the Committee on State Affairs adopted a ... Read More
Head of NAACP disinvited from speaking to Texas state bar over suit against Trump administration
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmHOUSTON (AP) â The State Bar of Texas rescinded a speaking invitation to the NAACPâs president after the civil rights group challenged the Trump administrationâs dismantling of the Education Department, citing new rules over speaking topics the bar says could be deemed political. Derrick Johnson, the NAACPâs president and CEO, had been set to speak during the state barâs annual meeting in June in San Antonio. He said Wednesday he was shocked his invitation to speak was taken away. âThey have decided to censure free speech on notions of being political when itâs not political,â Johnson told The Associated Press. âThis is the State Bar of Texas. These are lawyers who are sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States. And nothing about our ... Read More
Texas governor signs bill creating another DOGE-inspired effort at the state level
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmAUSTIN, Texas (AP) â Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill Wednesday creating an office inspired by the Department of Government Efficiency and aimed at reducing state regulations, joining other Republican governors who have pledged their own versions of billionaire Elon Musk's cost-cutting group. In establishing the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, Abbott welcomed cutting regulations and putting stricter standards on new ones. He made no mention during a ceremonial bill signing at the state Capitol of intentions to slash jobs like DOGE, which has divided the country. âThe regulatory environment in Texas is getting too burdensome,â said Abbott, who made the bill the first he has signed this year. âIt will put a check on the growth of the administrative state in Texas." The law ... Read More
Starbase, the SpaceX site, is likely Texasâ next city
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmMcALLEN â Nearly 10 years after SpaceX, Elon Muskâs effort to colonize Mars, began operating in a small community in Cameron County just a few miles inland of the Gulf Coast, employees who live there and other residents will vote next month to incorporate their Starbase community as Texasâ newest city. If the majority of them vote yes on May 3, the leaders they elect at the same time will have the responsibility of creating a city from the ground up. What does it take to have a fully functioning city? A few of Starbase's first steps as a newborn city can be anticipated because state law sets certain requirements for raising and spending public money and how governing bodies can operate. Texas generally gives ... Read More
Justice Department brings first terrorism case against alleged high-ranking TdA gang member
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmWASHINGTON (AP) â The Justice Department has charged an alleged high-ranking member of Tren de Aragua in Colombia with terrorism offenses, making the first case of its kind against a member of the gang the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization, officials said Wednesday. The case is part of a broad push to target Tren de Aragua or TdA, a Venezuelan gang that has been blamed for drug smuggling and violence in the United States. President Donald Trump has labeled the gang an invading force under an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants to a notorious El Salvador prison as part of Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown. The Justice Department's application of a criminal statute primarily reserved in recent years for extremist ... Read More
Texas storms are blowing up homeownersâ insurance premiums
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmFORT WORTH - The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that itâs getting more expensive to protect your home in North Texas. Homeowners insurance premiums increased 22% in 2024, according to the Texas Department of Insurance, and insurance companies have had to pay out more claims because there have been more severe storms. The state has had more disasters causing $1 billion in damages in the last five years than the previous decade, according the National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Administration. While legislators in Austin are working to lower residential property taxes, insurance brokers, Realtors, and industry experts say not much can be done when it comes to insurance â the other major cost of a monthly mortgage payment. More storms and inflation have pushed rates higher. Itâs ... Read More
A $750M nuclear power fund advances in Texas House
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmAUSTIN - The Dallas Morning News reports that the Texas House approved a bill that would create a nuclear power incentive program designed to jump-start a long-dormant energy industry. Its passage is a step forward in an energy arms race against China and Russia, the billâs author said. The proposal would create a grant program for the development of a nuclear industry in Texas that could cost taxpayers as much as $2.75 billion if voters approve a related amendment to the Texas Constitution. âInvestment in nuclear technology has now become a strategic and moral imperative for our country,â Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, said. âThe global race for energy dominance is not just an economic competition. It is a geopolitical contest with immense national security implications.â ... Read More
Mexican national who violated immigration laws is caught mid-burglary
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmBEAUMONT âAccording to a press release from the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern district of Texas Abe McGlothin, Jr, a Mexican national has been sentenced for illegally reentering the United States. Heladio Ruchon Rocha-Tellez, 31, pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after removal, and was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on April 22, 2025. According to information presented in court, on December 19, 2023, local law enforcement responded to a burglary in progress at a Beaumont laundromat. When officers arrived, they encountered Rocha-Tellez hiding behind the counter of the laundromat with a large amount of cash hanging out of his pocket. A check of immigration records revealed that Rocha-Tellez was a Mexican national who had previously ... Read More
City of Uvalde reaches settlement with families of school shooting victims
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmUVALDE (ABC) -- An attorney representing the families of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting victims confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday night that a settlement was reached and approved by a unanimous vote at a city council meeting in Uvalde, Texas. Josh Koskoff, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit against the city, did not specify the exact terms of the settlement. The lawsuit responds to the circumstances surrounding the school shooting that took place on May 24, 2022, claiming the lives of two teachers and 19 students. In addition to a monetary settlement that would be paid out by the city's insurance, the families were asking for Uvalde Police to adopt new fitness standards for the force and boost officer training, attorneys ... Read More
State considers remote work again as productivity declines
Posted/updated on: April 24, 2025 at 3:20 pmAUSTIN - The Quorum Report newsletter reports that the vast majority of state agencies report that flexible work schedules have improved productivity, reduced costs, and strengthened recruitment efforts; Gov. Abbottâs return to office order could cause more turnover, increase burnout and has already caused chaos with employees complaining hours wasted hours in Austin traffic couldâve been used instead for work Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced workers to work remotely, many agencies have implemented telework arrangements. According to a 2024 Legislative Budget Board study, of the 96 agencies surveyed about their remote work policies, the benefits are non-exhaustive. 29 agencies reported positive fiscal impacts, including reduced office space needs, fewer consumables and furniture needs. Only the Texas Medical Board and 10th Court of Appeals reported negative ... Read More
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