About 58 names were etched into the Texas Peace Officers’ Memorial, including at least 6 officers from North Texas.

“This is a very difficult time of year for all Texas police officers, especially for those of us at Grand Prairie Police Department who are here at the State Capitol honoring fallen officer Brandon Tsai. Quite frankly, I hope it’s something we never have to do again and I hope that this ceremony becomes something that’s not necessary in Texas,” said Grand Prairie Police Chief Daniel Scesney who attended the ceremony.

Grand Prairie Officer Brandon Tsai was killed while pursuing a suspect with fake paper tags in Nov. 2022.

Another local officer remembered Sunday night was Officer Steve Nothem from the Carrollton Police Department. He died in the line of duty last September when his patrol unit was struck on the George Bush Turnpike while assisting with a DUI investigation.

His father, who is from Wisconsin, was at the ceremony in Austin and said he was too emotional to speak but shared pictures of where his son’s name is now forever etched into the wall. He expressed his appreciation for the honors his son has received at the local and state level in Texas.

Gov. Abbott also spoke about honoring the heroes who died while wearing the badge.

“In Texas, we support our law enforcement officers, period,” said Abbot.

He said the memorial is an eternal reminder of the Texas heroes and it’s a tangible way to honor the men and women who gave everything to protect and serve.

North Texas officers honored:

• Officer Christopher Gibson, Dallas Police (Jan. 2, 2022)
• Corporal Albert Gomez, White Settlement Police (July 27, 2021)
• Sr. Corporal Arnulfo Pargas, Dallas Police (Sept. 23, 2021)
• Detective Rodney Mooneyham, Denton Police (Oct.16, 2021)
• Officer Brandon Tsai, Grand Prairie Police (Jan. 14, 2022)
• Officer Steve Nothem, Carrollton Police (Sept. 18, 2022)

The apologies from the convoy members, Hannah Ceh and Kyle Kruger, were part of a settlement for a lawsuit brought by four people who were on the bus as it traveled Interstate 35 between Austin and San Antonio on Oct. 30, 2020, to rally people for the last day of early voting.

As the bus moved, it was met by several protests, culminating in highway harassment. According to the lawsuit, members of the convoy pulled in front of the bus, driving between 15 to 25 mph on the expressway, which had a 70 mph speed limit. The bus driver had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid hitting the other vehicles.

The incident prompted the Biden campaign to cancel two events scheduled for the same day.

Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Leigh Wall, who was the superintendent of the Sante Fe ISD when there was a mass shooting at Sante Fe High School where eight students and two teachers were killed.

“The idea of a mass shooting at all is difficult, but to involve children in senseless acts is something that is very difficult for people to accept, of course, and then understand. So, that is the hope is that we can work together to learn and hopefully prevent these in the future, and at the very least do a better job of responding, and be prepared to do that,” said Wall.

Wall has since retired and now has a new focus.

“What I hope my job now is, is to work with schools, school leaders, communities and organizations that support schools and school safety, to help make the world a better place,” added Wall.

Superintendents, school-based law enforcement, administrators and counselors all heard from school safety experts.

“I hope they have this takeaway. This one takeaway. Safety is everyone’s responsibility,” said La’Evening Woodard, Region 10 Education Service Center safety and security coordinator.

Retired Dallas ISD Chief of Police Craig Miller was also at the event.

“We have to be able to work hand in hand, and I think that is what events like this are all about, is being able to get law enforcement and school administration on the same page. In the middle of a crisis is not the time to start planning,” said Miller.

Educators also received updates about bills in the Texas legislature, dealing with school safety. Both the House and Senate have passed a number of bills to strengthen it. The Senate’s bill has a new office of safety and security, which will make standards for school safety plans, and yearly audits of each school. 

The House bill includes an armed security officer at every campus. Now they must come to an agreement before the session ends.

The worker was injured in the area where planes pull up to the terminal, an airport spokesperson said.

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services said it was called shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday and found a person dead from “traumatic injuries.”

Cpl. Destiny Silva, with the Austin Police Department, said the employee had been operating a ground service vehicle that struck a jet bridge.

APD’s Vehicular Homicide Unit is investigating the crash as an accidental death, according to Silva.

“I don’t have any indication that anyone is not cooperating. The main focus here is that someone, unfortunately, lost their life in an unfortunate accident. We are utilizing all of our resources,” Silva said Thursday evening.

Fort Worth-based American Airlines released a statement on the matter Thursday.

“We are devastated by the accident involving a team member at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport,” said a spokeswoman for American Airlines. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and our local team members.”

American Airlines declined to comment further. The name and sex of the worker and details about how they were injured were not immediately available.

Working around aircraft can be dangerous work. At least three deaths of ramp workers have been recorded since 2019.

In December, a baggage handler for American subsidiary Piedmont Airlines in Montgomery, Alabama, died when she walked in front of a running jet engine and was pulled into the fan blades.

Last September, a contractor’s employee who was unloading bags from a Frontier Airlines plane at the New Orleans airport died after her hair got caught in a conveyer belt.

In 2019, an employee of a United Airlines contractor at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was pinned under a bag-loading vehicle. He died later at a hospital.

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The Texas Department of Public Safety was notified by the Austin Police Department around 4 p.m. on Sunday that a 911 call from an unknown person claimed there was a pipe bomb at the capital.

Out of caution, DPS evacuated the capital and the grounds.

Troopers and explosive K-9s searched the premises and no explosive devices were found.

The all-clear was given at 7:23 Sunday evening.

The investigation is ongoing and no further information is available.

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A Travis County judge unsealed 76 pages of documents as the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles considers an unusual request from Gov. Greg Abbott to pardon Perry, an Army sergeant.

Perry’s posts included messages like “It is official I am a racist because I do not agree with people acting like monkeys.” And in 2019, Perry wrote it was “to [sic] bad we can’t get paid for hunting Muslims in Europe.”

Perry was found guilty by a jury April 7 for killing an armed protester at a Black Lives Matter march in Austin in 2020. Perry, who also worked as an Uber driver, came across demonstrators in his car and fatally shot 28-year-old Garrett Foster, who was attending the protest with his fiancée. Foster was carrying an AK-47, which is legal.

Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.

Greg Abbott Apr 10

Victim's Fiancée Says Abbott's Call for Pardon of Convicted Murderer is ‘Disgusting'

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Apr 10

Gov. Abbott Calling for Pardon of Man Found Guilty of Murder

Greg Abbott Apr 12

‘Egregious Overreach': Juror Pushes Back on Abbott's Call to Pardon Shooter

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In an interview with The Associated Press, Jere Dowell said prosecutors put on a convincing case against Daniel Perry, who was in his car working as a ride-share driver when he shot 28-year-old Garrett Foster, who had been legally carrying an AK-47 while marching with demonstrators through downtown Austin.

As an alternate, Dowell did not have a vote in convicting Perry but said she was in the room for deliberations and she agreed with the verdict handed down Friday.

“I just think it’s a travesty,” Dowell said of Abbott already seeking a pardon.

Her comments are the first time a juror has spoken publicly since Abbott, a Republican, announced Saturday he would use the power of his office and seek to wipe away the verdict. Legal experts have called the governor’s move highly unusual and prosecutors condemned it as troubling.

Abbott made his intentions known on Twitter less than 24 hours after the verdict and amid outrage from conservative voices on social media and television over the conviction.

“I just thought it was an egregious overreach of power,” Dowell said. “It’s undermining due process. It’s undermining democracy. I was upset, honestly.”

Perry, who was on active duty at the time of the shooting, is still awaiting sentencing from a judge. He faces up to life in prison.

Dowell, who said she has not previously supported the three-term governor politically, said she worried that Abbott wading into the case could cause other jurors to second-guess their decisions. She said the verdict was strictly based on evidence, following 17 hours of deliberation, and politics did not factor in.

“If your governor is coming out and saying you made the wrong decision, that may make you think twice about what you said or what you felt,” she told AP.

The AP has attempted to reach all jurors who served during the weeklong trial in Austin. Others have declined to speak about the case or not returned messages.

Spokespersons for Abbott did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Wednesday.

The trial had received little national attention prior to Friday’s verdict and Abbott had not previously commented on the case publicly. He has has not elaborated on how he reached his conclusion about Perry’s case, and his office on Monday referred questions to his statement on Twitter.

The encounter leading up to the shooting began when Perry turned onto a street and into one of the demonstrations that swept the country after Minneapolis police killed of George Floyd.

In video that was streamed live on Facebook, a car can be heard honking amid the downtown crowd. Then, several shots ring out, and protesters begin screaming and scattering.

Perry drove off, later calling police to report the shooting, and officers arrived to find Foster shot. What led up to the gunfire was a core question in the trial that resulted in Perry’s conviction.

Dowell said her confidence in the verdict was based in part on testimony that Foster’s gun was pointing up — close to his ear — moments before the shooting and that Foster was at least a foot away from Perry’s car.

She said prosecutors also presented text messages between Perry and a friend, exchanged prior to the shooting, discussing other cases in which protesters had been shot and whether it amounted to self-defense.

Witnesses testified that Foster never raised his rifle at Perry, and prosecutors said the sergeant could have driven off rather than opening fire with a handgun. Perry didn’t testify. But his defense attorneys have said Foster pointed his gun at the driver and that the shooting was self-defense.

“I look forward to approving the Board’s pardon as soon as it hits my desk,” Abbott tweeted Saturday.

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, whose office prosecuted the case, said Wednesday in an interview on CNN that it appeared clear that neither Abbott nor his staff had watched the trial. Garza, who ran as a progressive when he was elected in 2020, has previously been a target of criticism from the governor.

The district attorney said he did not know why Abbott was pushing for the pardon: “I don’t know what’s in the governor’s mind.”

Garza has requested to meet with the Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles and present evidence. The board did not immediately respond to questions emailed Wednesday.

Clint Broden, Perry’s attorney, has said they did not petition the governor for a pardon prior to Abbott’s tweet. He has also filed a motion seeking a new trial.

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Garrett Foster and his fiancée Whitney were part of a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin in July 2020 when the fatal encounter occurred.

Perry was driving for Uber that night when he entered the intersection. Both men were armed. Perry fatally shot Foster. Perry’s attorneys argued in court it was self-defense. The jury disagreed and on Friday, April 7, they found him guilty of murder.

“I was relieved to get that verdict and it’s a bittersweet feeling obviously,” Whitney told NBC 5. “The whole trial has brought back so many things.”

Less than 24 hours after the verdict, Abbott posted on Twitter on Saturday afternoon that he had ordered the pardons and parole board to expedite a pardon recommendation to this office, citing the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

“Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive district attorney,” Abbott tweeted. “I look forward to approving the Board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk.”

“It’s just disgusting,” said Whitney in response. “It’s not fair and it’s just wrong. It’s just wrong.”

NBC 5 spoke to two local attorneys not connected to the case. Both called Abbott’s move highly unusual.

“I do not recall another instance of this ever happening,” said former Dallas County prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Russell Wilson.

Under state law, Abbott has the power to pardon someone convicted of murder if a majority of Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles members recommend it. The seven board members are appointed by the governor.

Joe Padian is a criminal defense attorney and said while there is a standard process to follow, the board sets its own guidelines.

“The board has a great deal of discretion in what they review and the basis on which they make a decision,” Padian said, adding the board can review other factors not presented in a trial.

“I would hope that if a decision is made, regardless of what the governor’s statements have been, it’s based on everything that was observed by the jury in the evidence in the case and not based on political motives,” Padian said.

Wilson said the move by the governor can undermine the legal process.

“Obviously there are many criminal cases decided where one side or another has a different opinion regarding the results for the case, but the system that we are invested in works when we put confidence in the jury trial system,” Wilson said. “When we start giving exceptions when we don’t like the outcome it sends a message of favoritism or bias.”

For Foster’s loved ones the latest move by Abbott is another unwelcome chapter in grieving the loss of the man she loved.

“It’s horrifying and I don’t understand it,” said Whitney. “We’ve just gone through too much to get here to have that happen.”

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The annual fan-voted awards show in Austin, Texas, on Sunday also will honor country superstar and five-time Grammy winner Shania Twain with the Equal Play Award, recognizing her for being a “visible and vocal advocate” for diverse voices in country music.

Hosted by Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini, fan-favorite and scheduled performer Lainey Wilson leads the nominations with four chances to win.

Carrie Underwood has a chance to extend her record as the most awarded artist in CMT history with 25 awards. Underwood, who also will perform, was nominated again for video of the year for “Hate My Heart.”

Country Music Mar 8

Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and More Receive 2023 CMT Music Awards Nominations: See the Complete List

Academy of Country Music Mar 29

Icons Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks to Host Academy of Country Music Awards in Frisco

Other performers include Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Wynonna Judd with Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Jelly Roll, Tyler Hubbard and Brown with his wife Katelyn.

Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd will be honored with a tribute performance following the death in March of the last original member, Gary Rossington. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Slash of Guns N’ Roses and the Allman Brothers’ Warren Haynes and Chuck Leavell are slated to perform with singers Paul Rodgers and Cody Johnson with backup vocals from LeAnn Rimes and Judd.

Four-time Grammy winner Clark Jr. will perform a tribute to the late Texas guitarist Vaughn.

The show airs live on CBS at 7 p.m. CST.

Since 2021, NBC 5 Investigates has exposed how the paper tag system has been riddled with fraud.

Officers, including Grand Prairie Chief Daniel Scesney, showed up at a House Transportation Committee hearing Wednesday urging lawmakers to switch from paper plates to metal tags that they say would be harder for crooks to counterfeit and sell online.

“I don’t think anybody can look at this issue with plain common sense and come to any other conclusion that paper tags are bad for Texans. So I’m optimistic that our elected officials will get this done,” Scesney said.

Scesney has made it his mission to eliminate paper tags. As NBC 5 Investigates first reported on Monday, Scesney’s department has confiscated hundreds of fraudulent tags in recent months many of them replicas of the Department of Motor Vehicles’ new paper tag format that was supposed to be harder to copy.

Among the group showing support were Grand Prairie officers who worked alongside Brandon Tsai, who died in November in a crash while pursuing a car with a fraudulent paper tag.

Wednesday, Scensney and Rep. Craig Goldman from Fort Worth passed out fraudulent tags the Grand Prairie Police Department made with each of the House Transportation Committee members’ names on them, trying to illustrate just how easily the new paper tags can be manipulated and reproduced.

Goldman and Scesney told the committee metal tags are the best solution and told NBC 5 Investigates they were humbled by the number of officers who turned out to back their message.

“Very humbling. Very humbling. I mean, when we filed the bill in November, we heard from law enforcement all over this state,” Goldman said.

The bill was left pending in committee but could come up for a committee vote in the next week.

nbc 5 investigates Feb 7

NBC 5 Wins 2023 duPont-Columbia Award for Investigative Series ‘Paper Tag Nation'

paper tag nation Mar 27

Texas DMV's New Paper Tag Design Easily Counterfeited, Police Say

fake inspections real plates Mar 22

Investigators Believe Millions of Texas Cars Were Never Checked for Safety & Emissions

Senator Royce West has introduced identical legislation in the Senate.

Goldman and West have said they were motivated to act after seeing NBC 5 Investigates‘ series of reports which first showed how crooks were becoming licensed car dealers so they could get into the state’s computer system and system and produce and sell tags for profit.

Since NBC 5 first reported on this issue in 2021, the Texas DMV has taken steps to shut down many of those so-called dealers, but counterfeiters quickly filled the void producing replica tags.

Now, many police officers are hoping the legislature will help put a stop to that.

PREVIOUS REPORTS

• March 27, 2023- Texas DMV’s New Paper Tag Design Easily Counterfeited, Police Say
• Nov. 17, 2022 – Texas DMV Redesigns Paper License Tags to Include New Security Features
• Nov. 15, 2022 – Police Searching for Paper Tagged ‘Ghost Car’ in Deadly Grand Prairie Chase
• June 1, 2022 – Police Make Bogus Tag Bust Tied to Social Media Ads
• May 18, 2022 – TxDMV Names New Executive Director Amid Paper Tag Crisis
• May 17, 2022 – Vehicle Used in Dallas Salon Shooting Had Paper Tag
• May 12, 2022 – Ads for Fake Tags Persist, Despite Facebook, TxDMV Efforts
• May 4, 2022 – Texas’ Paper Tag Problem Compounded by Small Dealers Misusing Them
• May 3, 2022 – Dallas Police Shut Down Accused Fake Paper Tag Dealer
• April 26, 2022 – Texas House Set to Hold Paper Tag Hearings
• April 14, 2022 – Texas DMV Cracks Down on Dealers Selling Temporary Paper Tags
• April 13, 2022 – TxDMV Closes Inspection Loophole That Put Unsafe Cars on Roads
• April 12, 2022 – Dallas Police Go Undercover to Fight Illegal Paper Tags
• April 7, 2022 – Police Warn of Fake Paper Tags Used to Cheat Car Buyers
• April 5, 2022 – Texas Senate Will Investigate Illegal Paper Tag Crimes, Smuggling
• March 9, 2022 – Texas Paper Tag Crime Danger Extends Nationwide
• March 5, 2022 – Texas House Will Hold Hearings on Paper Tag Mess
• Feb. 28, 2022 – License to Smuggle: Drug Cartels and Human Smugglers Use Paper Texas Tags to Evade
• Feb. 15, 2022 – Fort Worth Police Announce Special Operation Targeting Paper Tags
• Feb. 14, 2022 — Crash Victim’s Parents Want More Cops to Police Paper Tag Fraud
• Feb. 13, 2022 – More Funding Need to Fight Criminals Using Bogus Paper Tags: Police
• Feb. 10, 2022 – Police Report Drop in Fraudulent Tags But Warn Crooks Are Adapting
• Feb. 9, 2022 – Texas DMV Shuts Down Six More Dealers Suspected of Selling Paper License Tags
• Feb. 7, 2022 – TxDMV Director Resigns Amidst Paper Tag Mess
• Jan. 27, 2022 – TxDMV Takes Emergency Action to Keep Crooks From Selling Paper Tags
• Jan. 21, 2022 – Dallas Police Operation Targets Fraudulent Paper Tags
• Jan. 17, 2022 – Recording Shows Police Warned TxDMV of Paper Tag Security Flaw Years Ago
• Dec. 16, 2021 – DMV Committee Recommends Fingerprinting Some Dealers to Slow Paper Tag Fraud
• Dec. 14, 2021 – Texas House Transportation Chair Vows to Stop Paper Tag Fraud
• Dec. 6, 2021 – Texas DMV Boss Deflects Blame for Paper Tag Debacle
• Nov. 23, 2021 – Illegal Paper Tags Costing Texas Taxpayers and Toll Roads Millions
• Nov. 10, 2021 – Suspected Paper Tag Peddler Shut Down Tuesday, Reopens Wednesday: Investigators
• Nov. 8, 2021 – How Texas Paper Tags Became a $200M Criminal Enterprise: NBC 5 Investigates

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In Austin, one startup is trying to fill that gap and give workers full control over their time.

Reflex allows people to pick up shifts where they want and when they want. All Reflex workers are paid directly through the platform.

“You can find shifts at your favorite brands, choose when and where you work, get paid in 24 hours instead of two weeks,” Meyers said.

Right now, the Austin-based startup works with over 60 shops in Austin, Dallas and Houston.

READ MORE from our media partners at Nexstar

Christijan Stevens was arrested Wednesday in Killeen, north of Austin, and is charged with capital murder, police said. Jail records did not list an attorney for him who could comment on the allegations.

Police have said that the shooter left the lounge after opening fire on Jan. 28. They have said he “had prior history with one of the victims” but haven’t said which one. Police on Monday did not provide any additional information on what led to the shooting.

Brayden Bolyard, 17, died at the lounge, and Jaitron Tatum, 18, died on Feb. 1. The school district in Jarrell, located about 40 miles north of Austin, has said that both of them were students there.

Senator Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) and Representative Giovanni Capriglione (R-Keller) filed SB 1541 and HB 3395, aimed at shielding Texas merchants from costly swipe fees when they are required to collect taxes on behalf of state and local governments.

According to the Texas Restaurant Association — which is supporting the measure — the swipe fee fairness legislation will save Texas businesses over $587 million a year without creating any new costs for the government or Texas consumers.

“We are incredibly grateful to Sen. Parker and Rep. Capriglione for filing swipe fee fairness legislation in Texas,” said Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D., President & CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. “Swipe fees have become one of restaurants’ highest costs—behind only food and labor—requiring even small, family run restaurants to spend thousands of dollars a year to collect taxes that they must turnover to our government. Restaurants play a critical role in our economy and in our communities; we shouldn’t expect these main street businesses to pay costly fees to collect our government’s taxes.”

Like legislation filed in other states, Texas’ swipe fee fairness bill prevents banks and card companies like VISA and Mastercard from charging merchants a swipe fee when they collect sales, alcohol, hotel occupancy, and other consumption taxes on behalf of the government.

“It’s essentially when businesses are collecting tax revenue, not for themselves, but for the government, they shouldn’t have to pay a third party a fee in order to do that,” said Kelsey Erickson Streufert, Chief Public Affairs Officer of the Texas Restaurant Association. “And especially with inflation, the cost of these swipe fees has really skyrocketed in recent years for restaurants. It’s usually the third highest cost restaurants face after food and labor.”

Currently, merchants like restaurants, hotels, and retailers pay card processors a fee ranging from 2-5% on every transaction, including any taxes they are required to collect and send to the government. The TRA said businesses have very little control over these costs because they are required by law to collect taxes.

Those fees have also increased since the pandemic, as more people use credit cards and move away from physical cash. Data shows nearly 67% of payments are made with a credit or debit card.

“Our mom-and-pop shops operate on thin margins where every penny counts,” said Annie Spilman, Texas State Director for NFIB. “Unfortunately, as swipe fees have more than doubled since 2012, those margins have only continued to shrink. Skyrocketing inflation acts as a multiplier, since swipe fees are a percentage of each sale. Our members are grateful to Sen. Parker and Rep. Capriglione for introducing this legislation to ensure our small business owners can continue to keep their doors open and meet their customers’ needs.”

A number of advocacy groups are supporting the legislation. It would apply to all businesses in Texas, large or small, no matter the industry.

If it passes, the bills would take effect this September. The current legislative session ends on May 29.

“Retailers are proud to help power the Texas economic engine that relies in large part on our state’s business-friendly environment,” added John McCord, Executive Director of the Texas Retailers Association. “The legislation proposed by Sen. Parker and Rep. Capriglione will help fight inflation, keep consumer costs down, and spur economic growth.”

House Bill 2 by Dallas Republican Rep. Morgan Meyer also would slash rates on schools’ main property levy, delivering a $461 tax break next year for the owner of a $350,000 home – and $590 in fiscal 2025, Phelan said.

The House “is going to focus on property tax relief in a new way, the likes of which we haven’t seen in many, many decades,” he said at a policy summit sponsored by the conservative think tank the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Under an amendment to the Texas Constitution voters approved in 1997, the appraisal for a home declared as a homestead may not increase more than 10% a year. Phelan said spiraling real estate values make notices of new appraisals traumatic.

“You get your appraisal, you hold your breath and open it. It’s like getting a letter from the IRS. This is not good news,” he said.

Click here to read more from our partners at The Dallas Morning News on the House’s plan.

The last leg of the band’s 17-date North American tour kicks off in October at the Moody Center in Austin before heading to California, Washington, Canada, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland.

The stop in Austin on Oct. 29 is the only Texas stop on the farewell tour, which culminates in the band’s famous hometown venue on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2.

“Kiss was born in New York City. On 23rd Street. Half a century ago. It will be a privilege and honor to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks and 50 years from where we first started,” said the band in a statement.

The band is currently made up of original members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons as well as Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. Their best-known songs include “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and “Detroit Rock City.”

Tickets will be available to the public on March 10 at livenation.com. Fan presales start March 6.

But as we approach the three-year anniversary of the pandemic, there’s a situation brewing within the healthcare community – a dire shortage of nurses.

Along with the rest of the country, Texas faces a critical shortage of registered nurses. It’s impacting every corner of the state from big cities to rural counties.

That’s why Texas Nurse Day at the Capitol, taking place this week, is bringing together thousands of nurses in Austin.

Led by the Texas Nursing Association, the event started with panel discussions, work sessions and a luncheon on Monday to allow nurses to hear more about nursing issues, identify opportunities to influence healthcare policy, and develop a personal advocacy message.

On Tuesday, the group will meet with lawmakers to push for policies that will address the shortage, workplace violence and other concerns that are pushing nurses out of the profession.

The shortage is a result of a number of things, from nurses retiring to total burnout during the pandemic and many searching for better pay and less stress elsewhere.

While a nursing shortage and worker burnout were happening even before 2020, all of these factors were exacerbated by the pandemic.

According to a Texas Workforce Commission analysis last year, there’s a gap of about 20,000 registered nurses in Texas. Those vacancies tripled during the pandemic.

A survey of over 300 hospitals by the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies in the fall of 2022 found similar results – with vacancies for licensed vocational nurses quadrupling. Pediatric ICU openings have also been the hardest positions to fill.

At the same time, demand for all healthcare occupations is expected to grow at a much faster rate than all occupations combined. According to the TWC, projections indicate employment in healthcare occupations will grow 18.4% by 2028, adding more than 190,000 new jobs. This growth will account for more than 11% of the overall expected growth in Texas.

But since the pandemic, it has been difficult for facilities to retain those workers. To meet understaffing, many hospitals have temporarily moved staff like physical therapists and respiratory technicians to support overworked nurses. Other hospitals decided to change nurse-to-patient ratios.

“You’re seeing hospitals close floors and units in their facilities – so now the community is suffering if they don’t have a certain surgery center that is no longer open or a certain floor is no longer open. And patients have to travel even further to get this care,” said Dan Pollock, CEO of Advantis Medical, during a panel discussion about the nursing shortage led by Molina Healthcare of Texas.

Hospitals in the TCNWS report say nurses left staff positions for higher-paying travel jobs during the pandemic, but burnout caused them to leave the profession altogether.

“Through that, burnout increased. Nurse-to-patient ratios got stretched and we saw clinicians completely leave the bedside, which further made this problem even more acute,” said Pollock. “What’s happening now, as census has somewhat normalized and dropped, we’ve seen demand for travel nursing also drop. And pay packages have declined. We’re seeing nurses go back and accept staff jobs and reapproach the original facility they left. But I think that doesn’t mean that the staffing demand at these facilities has been met.”

Either way, experts say none of this is acceptable.

“It’s really clear that if we don’t change if we stay within the status quo, things will not be sustainable,” said Nate Moore, COO of TCARE.

The nurses in Austin this week say solutions will have to come from a team effort, from both the Texas legislature and through changes from management within the industry.

To address the nursing shortage, Texas lawmakers have so far introduced several bills aimed at increasing funding for nursing education and providing incentives for nurses to work in underserved areas. Nurses are also pushing for higher pay, compensation for more experienced nurses who are training new nurses, and more resources, especially when it comes to mental health.

Additionally, healthcare facilities are taking steps to retain existing nursing staff, such as offering competitive salaries, benefits, and professional development opportunities.

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A street takeover, or sideshow, involves a group of people blocking off intersections with vehicles and spectators and then drivers use the intersection to perform stunts, like drifting, spin-outs, donuts or other dangerous tricks.

Abbott is directing the Texas Department of Public Safety to bring an end to the takeovers described as “violent and more frequent, resulting in injuries to law enforcement officers and endangering the public.”

The governor said the DPS task force would work closely with local officials and law enforcement to investigate, prosecute, and prevent takeovers.

“We must send a clear message that these reckless, coordinated criminal events will not be tolerated in Texas,” Abbott said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Grapevine Police said they arrested a 22-year-old man they said was the “ringleader” of a New Year’s Eve street stunt takeover along the city’s Main Street entertainment district. At one point an onlooker ignited fireworks in the intersection, which sparked a small fire in the grass next to a restaurant.

In January, Fort Worth Police said a fatal car crash that killed two people and injured two others was tied to an intersection takeover near West 7th Street and White Settlement Road when the driver sped away with his lights off before crashing and flipping over.

Mike Mata, President of the Dallas Police Association, said he applauds the Governor’s actions. The Dallas Police Department already formed a speeding and racing task force team after seeing an uptick in recent years.

“They think they are in control of that vehicle,” Mata said. “That is a 1-ton, 2-ton vehicle going at a high rate of speed. You are only in the control that the vehicle allows you to be in.”

Grapevine Feb 22

‘Ringleader' of Grapevine NYE Street Stunt Takeover Arrested

Fort Worth Jan 23

Fort Worth Police Say Deadly Car Crash Tied to Intersection Take Over

Last weekend in Austin, KXAN-TV reported police responded to four different “street takeover” incidents on Saturday night. During these takeovers, Austin Police said the crowd threw rocks and bottles and pointed lasers at officers.

A YouTube video linked from the KXAN report showed officers in Sunset Valley interacting with a crowd in a shopping center parking lot before the takeovers took place. Sunset Valley Police Chief Lenn Carter told KXAN that the officer was trying to establish a connection with the organizer while warning them that if they crossed a line they could face consequences.

Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw said the takeovers are risking the lives of Texans and Texas law enforcement officers.

“We are seeing fireworks fired at officers in crowds, lasers pointed at aircraft, drivers driving upwards of 130 mph with no lights on in the dark of night — all of it is reckless, and it needs to be stopped,” McCraw said in a statement.

For Dallas County resident Dr. Angel Durr, watching video of a recent takeover in Austin is difficult. She said she’s all too familiar with the potential consequences. Durr’s mother, 54-year-old Lynetta Mae Washington, was killed during a street takeover in Dallas. Police said racers shut down an intersection near Duncanville Road when an unknown gunman opened fire, hitting Washington.

“They’re creating a public hazard for people and putting peoples’ lives at risk. And ending people’s lives, too,” said Durr. “There’s a lot of times in the last year and a half where I just felt hopeless.”

Over the course of just one weekend in 2021, the year that Durr’s mother was killed, Dallas Police arrested 81 people connected to takeovers. Mata said there is serious danger in the unknown.

Addiction recovery centers have been facing an uphill battle lately with rising costs, stagnant state funding and a raging opioid crisis.

It’s especially important right now, with fentanyl overdoses and drug busts making the headlines so much lately, with seemingly no end in sight.

That’s why Nexus Recovery Center – a space where women and even their children can live and heal during recovery – is pushing for change.

The Dallas nonprofit sent a team down to the state capital this week to lobby for more funding for recovery and sobriety organizations, as lawmakers continue their state budget work during the legislative session.

“We want to make the biggest and loudest noise possible in Austin this legislative session, to let all of our legislators know that this funding is crucial,” said Nexus CEO, Heather Ormand.

Brenda Hewitt, a Nexus graduate who often speaks publicly about her recovery journey, testified directly to a room full of lawmakers throughout the day Tuesday, as the senate finance committee decides the budget for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

That’s where agencies like Child Protective Services, mental health providers and hospital systems get their funding. Substance abuse organizations also get their funding from that budget, and it can be hard for nonprofits to compete.

So everyone must state their case for a piece of that pie and how much of the pie they will get.

Hewitt shared her story about the importance of treatment and how it can change the trajectory of a woman’s life and of a family’s life like her own.

“Treatment really is the answer to the opioid crisis that we’re facing right now. Without treatment, these women and these families in particular don’t have a lot of hope or chance of survival,” said Ormand. “So we need the increased funding so that we can be here and provide services in the long term.”

Inflation and rising costs have made it hard for recovery centers to do what they do best – help people out of substance addictions.

For example, Nexus has spent an extra $2 million dollars in the last few years just to keep up with living wages for employees.

State funding and reimbursement rates have remained flat for years, so Nexus has had to turn to the community to fill the gaps.

They – like many other nonprofits – have been forced to dip into reserve funds.

All of this is happening while drug overdose deaths have reached all-time highs.

“So many treatment providers have been forced to close and we don’t want any more to close because there are increasing demands for our services and we want to make sure there’s as many providers out there as possible that can treat people suffering from a substance use disorder,” said Ormand.

She stressed that nonprofits can’t treat someone with a fentanyl issue or substance use disorder if they don’t have the proper funds to do it, a place to house them, or staff to take care of them.

“So, the answer really to the overdose deaths and crisis in our country right now is treatment. And making treatment available to all of those that need it,” said Ormand. “Treatment shouldn’t be a luxury. It has to be a fundamental right. And we serve women and women with children here at Nexus that don’t have the opportunity and can’t afford to seek treatment elsewhere. So we have to be here and we will be here no matter what it takes.”

This week’s efforts in Austin won’t be the last. Nexus has been sending teams to the capital throughout the session and has plans to send a larger group to the capital at the end of March for one on one meetings with legislators to secure support.

They’re also looking to make Narcan – which reverses drug overdoses — over the counter so that more people access to the life-saving medicine.

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said that after a review of the evidence, and considering the wishes of Randi Trew, Beard’s fiancée, his office determined the charge of assault by strangulation/suffocation-family violence could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Beard was arrested on Dec. 12 after Trew called 911 and told officers Beard strangled, bit and hit her during a confrontation in his home. She later said Beard acted in self-defense and that she never wanted him prosecuted.

Beard’s attorney has said the coach is innocent.

The Associated Press does not typically identify alleged victims of sexual abuse or domestic violence, but Trew issued a public statement on Dec. 23 in which she denied telling police Beard choked her. She also said she never intended for him to be arrested or prosecuted.

Texas suspended Beard without pay the day he was arrested. He was fired on Jan. 5 when Texas officials told Beard’s attorney he was “unfit” to lead the program.

Texas has been led by interim coach Rodney Terry since Dec. 12. The Longhorns are ranked No. 6 and share first place in the Big 12.

NCAA Jan 5

Texas Fires Chris Beard Amid Felony Domestic Violence Charge

University of Texas Dec 23, 2022

Texas Men's Basketball Coach Chris Beard's Fiancée Says He Didn't Strangle Her

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Patrick’s list of top bills includes the aforementioned state budget (SB1) but also includes popular efforts to reduce the property tax burden on Texas landowners (SB4) while also using the state budget surplus to fund a raise for teachers (SB9) and give retirees a 13th check (SB10).

The list also includes potentially controversial legislative efforts around the teaching of critical race theory in college (SB16), banning DEI hiring policies in higher education (SB17) and ending tenure at public universities (SB18). The Texas Senate also wants to add provisions that would allow elected district attorneys (SB20) and judges (SB21) who do not follow state laws to be removed from office.

The lieutenant governor’s list of priorities also includes bills that would block gender modification surgeries in children (SB14), ban children from attending drag shows (SB12) and protect children from “obscene books” in libraries (SB13).

Only the first bill has been filed, SB1, so details regarding the specifics of the other 29 bills will not be known until they are filed by lawmakers.

“I believe Texans support our priorities because they largely reflect the policies supported by the conservative majority of Texans. Most will pass with bipartisan support,” Patrick said in a statement.

The lieutenant governor typically holds back the first 30 bill numbers for his legislative priorities but said there were so many issues to tackle during this session he could have expanded it to 50.

“Just because a bill does not make the priority list does not mean it is not a priority for me or the Senate. We will pass over 600 bills this session. As I like to say, every bill is a priority to someone, otherwise, we would not pass it,” Patrick said.

LT. GOV. PATRICK’S PRIORITY BILLS

As of Feb. 13, only SB 1 has been filed. The other bills will be listed here once filed by a lawmaker.

Senate Bill 1 – State Budget
Senate Bill 2 – Restoring Voter Fraud to a Felony
Senate Bill 3 – Increasing the Homestead Exemption to $70,000
Senate Bill 4 – Adding Additional Property Tax Relief
Senate Bill 5 – Increasing the Business Personal Property Tax Exemption
Senate Bill 6 – Adding New Natural Gas Plants
Senate Bill 7 – Continuing to Improve the Texas Grid
Senate Bill 8 – Empowering Parental Rights – Including School Choice
Senate Bill 9 – Empowering Teacher Rights ¬¬– Teacher Pay Raise
Senate Bill 10 – Adding 13th Checks for Retired Teachers
Senate Bill 11 – Keeping Our Schools Safe and Secure
Senate Bill 12 – Banning Children’s Exposure to Drag Shows
Senate Bill 13 – Protecting Children from Obscene Books in Libraries
Senate Bill 14 – Ending Child Gender Modification
Senate Bill 15 – Protecting Women’s College Sports
Senate Bill 16 – Banning Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Higher Education
Senate Bill 17 – Banning Discriminatory “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI) Policies in Higher Education
Senate Bill 18 – Eliminating Tenure at General Academic Institutions
Senate Bill 19 – Creating A New Higher Education Endowment Fund
Senate Bill 20 – Removing District Attorneys Who Refuse to Follow Texas Law
Senate Bill 21 – Removing Judges Who Refuse to Follow Texas Law
Senate Bill 22 – Assisting Rural Law Enforcement Funding – Increasing Pay and Needed Equipment
Senate Bill 23 – Creating A Mandatory 10-Year Prison Sentence for Criminals Committing Gun Crime
Senate Bill 24 – Expanding Alternatives to Abortion
Senate Bill 25 – Creating New Scholarships for Registered Nurses
Senate Bill 26 – Expanding Mental Health Care Beds Across Texas – Focus on Rural Counties
Senate Bill 27 – Creating A New Business Specialty Court
Senate Bill 28 – Addressing Texas’ Future Water Needs
Senate Bill 29 – Banning Local COVID-19 Mandates
Senate Bill 30 – Supplemental Budget

The 88th legislative session began on Jan. 10 and will adjourn on May 29.

Troopers saw the vehicle drive through the southwestern portion of the fence about 6:40 p.m. Thursday in Austin, according to a statement from Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Victor Taylor.

The vehicle was then driven up the south steps of the building before it stopped, Taylor said.

“The driver/sole occupant is in custody. There are no additional known threats at this time,” according to a DPS memo obtained by the Austin-American Statesman.

“The scene is secure and safe for normal activity,” the memo stated.

Taylor said the investigation was ongoing and unspecified charges were pending against the driver. The driver was not identified and no other information was immediately released.

In September, a San Marcos Man was arrested after the perimeter fence on the Texas State Capitol grounds was damaged. The 42-year-old man was booked on charges of criminal mischief and reckless driving.

“We are planning for worst-case scenario,” he said.

Making any plans has been difficult — and downright infuriating — for nearly 20,000 customers who still had no electricity Monday nearly a week after a deadly ice storm crippled the Texas capital and brought down power lines under the weight of fallen and frozen tree limbs. Schools finally reopened, but noisy generators rattled before dawn and outdoor extension cords running 100 feet (30 meters) or longer became lifelines between neighbors who had power and those who didn’t.

The boiling frustration over the slow pace of restoring power, and officials repeatedly saying they could not offer timetables for repairs, escalated Monday as the future of Austin’s top city executive plunged into jeopardy even as the number of outages continued falling.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, called a meeting for this week that will put City Manager Spencer Cronk’s job on the line. The move reflected the rising discontent in America’s 11th-largest city, where late Sunday night, Austin Energy issued a statement in the face of growing criticism that full power restoration may not happen until Feb. 12 — nearly two weeks after the outages began.

“To all our Austin citizens who are furious about the ongoing power outage, you’re right,” Watson tweeted. “There must be accountability.”

Cronk, who oversees city staff, responded by telling reporters he was focused on the storm recovery and restoring power. Watson did not outright say whether he thinks Cronk should be fired but said Thursday’s meeting would “evaluate the employment” of the city manager.

For the vast majority of Austin residents, the lights were on Monday or never went out in the first place. At the peak of the outages, about 170,000 homes and businesses — nearly a third of utility customers in Austin — had no electricity, and in many cases, no heat. By Monday, the outages were down to about 4% of all customers.

But in neighborhoods still without power, familiar scenes unfolded.

Spoiled food piled up in trash bins. Power outlets in coffee shops and restaurants were snatched up by people charging battery packs and devices. And on text message groups and social media apps, the sights of repair crews were treated as urgent developments.

Katy Manganella, 37, grew so fed up that when Austin Energy came to her neighborhood Sunday with a charging station for residents — but still no repair trucks — she paced in front of the station holding a poster that read, “This pregnant lady is over it!”

“It’s been pretty miserable,” said Manganella, a therapist who is seven months pregnant and was unable to work last week because of the outages. “How is there no plan for this?”

Austin Energy has described the remaining outages as the most complicated and time-consuming. The storm plunged temperatures near or below freezing and coated trees with ice across Austin, weighing down branches that eventually snapped and crashed onto power lines. Iced-over equipment and crews driving on slick roads also slowed recovery efforts, according to city officials.

Crews have also come across “irate customers” out in the field, said Craig Brooks, director of operations for Austin Energy, including one instance in which police were called. He did not provide specifics about the encounters, describing them as, “Some verbal. Some people protecting their property.”

The utility warned Monday that a new front of high winds and potential storms starting Tuesday could further hamper restoration efforts.

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They have to figure out what to do with that money. Many are pushing to prioritize education.

This week, State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin, Dist. 50) plans to file a bill that would do just that and target one of the biggest demands from educators across the state: Raise teacher salaries.

Talarico unveiled the legislation on Tuesday plans alongside teachers associations, public education advocates, and other Texas House Democrats on Tuesday morning to share more details about the bill.

“We’re going to be proposing the biggest teacher pay raise in Texas history. Totally stop the bleeding. And try to recruit the best and brightest into our classrooms so that we can serve the next generation,” he said.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, Texas teacher salaries average around $58,000 and currently rank in the bottom 10 states across the country.

Talarico told NBC 5 that the bill would move Texas into the top 10 states for teacher pay.

“We’re about $7,500 behind the national average. So this bill, if we pass it, if we bring Republicans and Democrats together to make a big move on teacher pay, we could rocket Texas into the top 10 of states in teacher pay. And that’s something our teachers deserve,” he said.

Talarico, a former middle school teacher, said with the state’s current financial position and the $33 billion budget surplus, there’s no excuse for not making a down payment on the future.

“So even doing the biggest pay raise in Texas history will still leave more than half the surplus left to spend on other priorities. This is something we have to do for our kids. And for our teachers and for the next generation,” he said. “When I was an educator, I struggled to make ends meet and now, 40% of teachers have to work a second job just to pay the bills. So it’s no wonder that thousands of teachers are leaving the profession, throwing our state into a historic teacher shortage crisis.”

The bill would also include a 25% bump for support staff in schools working in key positions like school nurses, cafeteria workers, counselors, and bus drivers. The average pay for such positions is just over $29,000.

Many of these needs have been on the wish list of the teachers advocates for a long time – including the Alliance AFT, the union representing employees in Dallas ISD.

“There’s no question where [the budget surplus] needs to go. And that’s in the future investment of our future Texans right here in our public schools,” said Alliance AFT president Rena Honea.         

While starting salary for teachers in districts like Dallas and Fort Worth is $60,000, rural districts with less funding can’t come close to higher salaries without help from the state.

According to the Texas Education Agency, the minimum salary for classroom teachers, full-time librarians, full-time counselors, and full-time registered nurses is currently set to just over $33,000 for starting pay. The paytable shows increases with experience.

The minimum has stayed the same for the last four years, up from $28,000 in 2018.

Honea said these lower amounts are common in more rural districts as opposed to the larger districts, which are each offering highly competitive salaries and bonus incentives for new hires, as well as bonuses for existing employees. She said the paytable needs to be updated to keep up with modern-day changes.

“There are so many variables in our districts today, all of them large and small, that are dependent on the pay that the state sets and the increases that come,” Honea said. “The biggest thing right now is the educational allotment. The raises are incredibly important to stop the mass exodus of our educators all across the state, but the educational funding allotment has not taken place since at least 2004 to 2008 and so the demographics in the state [have changed], the state has grown. But our educational system has not made any adjustments for that at all. And now’s the time to do it.”

Honea said inflation has made it worse for everyone, everywhere. She said some Dallas teachers can’t afford to live in the neighborhoods they teach in.

“That’s the lack of respect for educators and school employees that’s driving them out of our underfunded jobs. So what we are asking is certainly respect in the paychecks,” she said.

Supporters of the pay increases say it can help keep teachers in the profession, as many educators continue to leave in droves across the entire state.

“I think Texas saw an exit of about 43,000 employees and teachers last year alone,” said Honea.

Talarico introduced a similar piece of legislation in 2021 that would have made the minimum salary for teachers $70,000 but it failed. The teachers union hopes the mindset is different this time around.

“So many of our legislators run on the need to improve our schools. Well, they need to put their money where their mouth is. Really take it to heart,” said Honea.

During the press conference on Tuesday, Texas Democrats said negotiations with Republican lawmakers on could result in a different number from the requested $15,000 teacher pay bump as the legislative session continues.

“I’m hoping, as much as possible, we can move the final product closer to $15,000 because, Texas, we don’t do things small, right? We do big things in this state,” said Talarico.

The legislative session runs through May.

Representatives for the singer announced the Madonna: The Celebration Tour on Tuesday with three dates in Houston, Dallas, Austin in September.

On Thursday, three more shows were added on Sept. 14, Sept. 19 and Sept. 22. The full list of dates is below but may change as more shows are added.

The tour will kick off in Vancouver in July and will make 35 international stops before wrapping up in Amsterdam on Dec. 1.

The Celebration tour will feature hits from Madonna’s four decades of music which include 38 songs in the Billboard Hot 100. Some of Madonna’s Hot 100 hits include “Vogue,” “Music,” “Crazy For You,” “Like a Virgin,” “Like a Prayer,” “Justify My Love,” “Live to Tell” and “Papa Don’t Preach.”

The Celebration Tour will offer a one-of-a-kind experience with special guest Bob the Drag Queen on all dates on the global tour.

Tickets go on sale for all dates on Friday, Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. Presale for Citi cardmembers begins at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17.

MADONNA: THE CELEBRATION TOUR NORTH AMERICAN DATES

Sat Jul 15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Tue Jul 18 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Sat Jul 22 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
Tue Jul 25 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Thu Jul 27 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
Sun Jul 30 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Wed Aug 02 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
Sat Aug 05 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Mon. Aug 07 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Wed Aug 09 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Sun Aug 13 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Sat Aug 19 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
Wed Aug 23 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Thu Aug 24 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Wed Aug 30 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Sat Sep 02 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Tue Sep 05 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Thu Sep 07 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
Sat Sep 09 – Miami, FL – Miami-Dade Arena
Wed Sep 13 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Thu Sep 14 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Mon Sep 18 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Tue Sep 19 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Thu Sep 21 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX
Fri Sep 22 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX
Wed Sep 27 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
Wed Oct 04 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Sat Oct 07 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena

MADONNA: THE CELEBRATION TOUR EUROPE DATES

Sat Oct 14 – London, UK – The O2
Sat Oct 21 – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis
Wed. Oct. 25 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
Sat Oct 28 – Stockholm, SE – Tele2
Wed Nov 01 – Barcelona, ES – Palau Sant Jordi
Mon Nov 06 – Lisbon, PT – Altice Arena
Sun Nov 12 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
Mon Nov 13 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
Wed Nov 15 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
Thu Nov 23 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum
Tue Nov 28 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena
Fri Dec 1 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome

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For the third legislative session, Democrat State Rep. Jarvis Johnson of Houston filed a bill to abolish it.

“The call now is to get rid of this harmful, hateful holiday,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday in Austin.

Joined by other Democrats including State Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas, who is sponsoring the bill in the Texas Senate, they called on colleagues to end the Texas holiday honoring confederate generals.

“Being dead and fighting for the wrong cause doesn’t make you a hero,” said Johnson. “What makes you a hero is if you see what’s right and you pursue it.”

Recognized every Jan. 19 to coincide with Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s birthday, state offices remain open but employees receive paid time off.

The holiday was passed by the legislature in 1973 and at the same time, statewide efforts to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. failed.

“I’m not surprised, but horrified,” said Dr. Michael Waters, pastor at Dallas’ Abundant Life A.M.E Church. “My hope is that this state legislature will do what is right and finally take away this holiday.”

Waters helped lead efforts to remove confederate monuments in Dallas including a statue of Lee from a city park in 2017.

“It’s not surprising to me that we have a state legislature that’s unwilling to tear down these holidays to confederate heroes and at the same time are willing to push politics to harm decedents of those who were enslaved.”

Previous legislation to abolish the statewide holiday has failed to make it out of committee, though past bills have received some Republican support.

Authors of the bills said it attracts more support each season and they remain hopeful this Jan. 19 will be the last time the holiday is recognized.

“This thing doesn’t belong on our books. It creates divisions,” said Johnson. “If you wouldn’t vote for supporting it now, how can you leave it on the books?”

To my fellow Texans, thank you for your support and trust.

Thanks to Chief Justice Hecht for administering the oath of office.

I want to thank Lieutenant Governor Patrick and Speaker Phelan for their leadership. Thanks to the statewide officials and legislators. We will work together to keep Texas the land of opportunity.

God has blessed me with a wonderful family, including my extraordinary wife, Cecilia, who has championed Texans most in need. She has focused on foster care and ending the scourge of human trafficking in Texas. She and I share a constant ray of sunshine in our lives, our remarkable daughter, Audrey.

I also want to thank our family here today, led by my father-in-law, Bill Phalen.

GREG ABBOTT INAUGURAL 2023

Governor's third inaugural ceremony was held on Jan. 17, 2023, in Austin, Texas.

Greg Abbott Jan 17

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All Americans are heirs to the freedom secured by the men and women who have worn the uniform of the mightiest military in the history of the world. My brother, Gary, is among them-having served in the Navy for 20 years, including flying combat missions in the first Gulf War. He is here with his wife, Denise.

Also with us are our Texas State and National Guard, who are leading the charge to defend our border. They are led by Major General Suelzer.

We would not have the freedom to do events like this one today, if not for the sacrifices made by our brave men and women in uniform. If you’ve ever worn the uniform, please stand or wave so we can show you our gratitude.

Our state song, “Texas our Texas,” is a hymn. A hymn that glorifies the exceptionalism of our state. We work every day to live up to that excellence.

It begins like this, and I assure you, I won’t sing it, but I will recite it, because the words are important to who we are as a people.

“Texas, Our Texas!
All hail the mighty State!
Texas, Our Texas!
So wonderful, so great!

Boldest and grandest, withstanding EV’RY test
O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest.

God bless you Texas!
And keep you brave and strong,

That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.”

By the grace of God, we have fulfilled that aspiration to be that “mighty state.”

Texas is America’s undisputed economic leader, providing pathways to prosperity for all Texans. Our $2 trillion economy is now the ninth-largest in the world. Texas is number one in America in producing the food, the fiber, and the fuel that we use every day.

The gas you put in your truck, the jeans you wear, the steak you eat for dinner, all of it is made in Texas. In fact, “Made in Texas” is the mightiest brand in America, and we use it to build the number one economy in the United States.

The second line of our state song declares: “Texas, Our Texas! So wonderful, so great!”

Texas is great in so many ways. We are home to more Fortune 500 headquarters than any state in America. We are now the headquarters of headquarters.

We consistently rank number one in economic development and lead the nation in job growth. We’re number one in semiconductor manufacturing. We have the world’s largest medical center. We export more products than any other state. Texas is providing opportunity that people cannot get anywhere else.

Much of our success is driven by our small local businesses. More than 95 percent of Texas businesses are small, and they employ nearly half of all working Texans. We have more black business owners, Hispanic women business owners, and veteran business owners than anywhere else in America. It just shows that everyone can succeed in Texas.

In fact, more Texans have a job today than ever before in the history of our state. That puts more Texans on the path to prosperity, through higher wages and unparalleled opportunities.

Our great economy has produced another record. We now have the largest budget surplus in the history of our state. But make no mistake, that money does not belong to the government. It belongs to the taxpayers. We will use that budget surplus to provide the largest property tax cut in the Texas history.

Our state song goes on to proclaim that we are the “Boldest and Grandest.”

Just as early pioneers explored our vast frontier, our modern pioneers are boldly exploring our vast universe. The first word spoken by Neil Armstrong after landing on the Moon was, “Houston.” Now we have teams in Texas that are building the pathway to Mars.

Texas is the epicenter of innovation. We attract the brightest minds and hardest working entrepreneurs.

To ensure that our booming state can meet the needs of our future, we must work this session to bolster our infrastructure including, the roads we drive on, the water we use at home and in the fields, and the ports that we use to ship products around the globe.

Our state is so grand, as Texas now has more than 30 million residents. By 2050, there may be 50 million. People from across America are fleeing the oppression of high taxes, red-tape, burdensome regulations in other states, and coming to Texas, where freedom and fortune are found around every corner.

Americans are showing that what Davy Crockett said still rings true today: “You may all go to Hell. I will go to Texas!”

Texas has also lived up to the next line of our song that we “withstand every test.” Let me highlight just one.

I signed 14 bipartisan laws that fixed the flaw in our power grid. Then, last summer we set 11 all-time power generation records, and last month we weathered brutally freezing temperatures across the state. All without any disruption to the Texas grid. Since our bipartisan reforms, no Texan has lost power because of our grid.

We all know that increased demand will be placed on the grid as Texas continues to grow. So, we will build a grid that powers our state for more than just the next four years, but for the next 40 years.

The next line of our song states the obvious: “O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest.”

Texas is blessed in so many ways. One of our greatest blessings is our children. One thing they deserve is a quality education. Per-student funding for public schools is at an all-time high. We have one of the best high school graduation rates in America. We’re number one for National Blue Ribbon Schools, and number one for Tier 1 Research Universities.

Texas is now the knowledge capital of America.

But we must remember this, our schools are for education, not indoctrination. Schools should not push social agendas. They must focus on fundamentals.

We must reform curriculum to get kids back to the basics of learning and empower parents with the tools to challenge that curriculum when it falls short of expectations. No one knows what is better for a child’s education than their parents.

Those parents deserve the freedom to choose the education that’s best for their child.

One essential part of our schools is safety. We must prioritize protecting students and staff. We must provide mental health services to students who need it. Parents must know that their children are safe when they drop them off every morning.

We will not end this session without making our schools safer.

Public safety is a core priority for Texas. It flows from the chorus of our state song: “God bless you Texas, and keep you brave and strong.”

In Texas, we believe in law and order, and we support our law enforcement officers-period.

Those who serve in law enforcement put their lives on the line for us every day. If you have ever worn the badge, please stand or wave so we can show you the appreciation you deserve for the long hours of service to your community.

Last session, we passed a law that defunds any city that defunds their police. This session, we must end the easy bail policies that let dangerous criminals back on our streets. We must impose mandatory sentences on criminals caught with guns and on anyone caught smuggling illegal immigrants.

Make no mistake, the border is a crisis for one simple reason. The Biden Administration is not enforcing the laws already on the books. As a result, more illegal immigrants crossed our border last year than ever before. In fact, over the past two years more illegal immigrants crossed the border than the populations of Austin, El Paso, and Houston combined.

With the Biden Administration missing in action, Texas is using every tool to protect our state.

We are building a wall, deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers to enforce the law, and targeting the Mexican drug cartels that traffic people, weapons, and drugs into our state.

One of the worst consequences of Biden’s open border policies is the deadly fentanyl pouring across the border. DPS has seized enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States. In Harris County alone, more than one person dies a day because of fentanyl.

There are parents with us here today who lost a child to fentanyl. They know we cannot bring back their child, but their hearts cling to the hope that their loss will not be in vain. They deserve action that will save other innocent families from the devastation they suffered.

They will get that action this session. The hopes of those parents rest upon leaders in this capitol. Our job is to deliver solutions for our fellow Texans. That is exactly what we will do.

Our state song closes with this aspiration: “That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.”

From our economy, to our people, to our public safety, Texas has never wielded more power or enjoyed such economic might as we do today.

Ever since early pioneers settled our frontier, Texas has been the land of opportunity. We have built that brand for generations.

We live in a state of infinite possibilities. A state that encourages Texans to reach for the heavens and beyond. We provide a ladder for anyone to climb from humble beginnings to the heights of success.

A Texas where children can access the knowledge and tools they need to be the future entrepreneurs, scientists, and artists that will help shape the Texas legend for generations to come. A Texas where we value freedom, security, and the rule of law so that everyone can feel safe in their home, workplace, and school. A Texas where anyone can design their own destiny and then achieve it.

Today, we gather on the threshold of a legislative session that will transform the lives of Texans for generations. Together, we will build the Texas of tomorrow, not just for the next four years but for the next century. Together, we will ensure that Texas remains the greatest state in the greatest country the world has ever known.

Thank you. God bless you all, and may God bless the great State of Texas.

energy Jan 15, 2019

Governor Greg Abbott Delivers 2019 Texas Inaugural Speech

Jan 20, 2015

Greg Abbott's 2015 Texas Inaugural Speech

Representatives for the singer announced Tuesday morning that Madonna: The Celebration Tour will kick off in Vancouver in July and will make 35 international stops including dates in Dallas, Austin and Houston in September before wrapping in Amsterdam on Dec. 1. The full list of dates is below.

The Celebration tour will feature hits from Madonna’s four decades of music which include 38 songs in the Billboard Hot 100. Some of Madonna’s Hot 100 hits include “Vogue,” “Music,” “Crazy For You,” “Like a Virgin,” “Like a Prayer,” “Justify My Love,” “Live to Tell” and “Papa Don’t Preach.”

The singer will “be highlighting her unmatched catalog of music from the past 40-plus years,” according to the announcement. It will also “pay respect to the city of New York, where her career in music began.”

“I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for,” Madonna said in the announcement.

The Celebration Tour will offer a one-of-a-kind experience with special guest Bob the Drag Queen on all dates on the global tour.

Tickets go on sale for all dates on Friday, Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. Presale for Citi cardmembers begins at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17.

MADONNA: THE CELEBRATION TOUR NORTH AMERICAN DATES

Sat Jul 15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Tue Jul 18 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Sat Jul 22 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
Tue Jul 25 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Thu Jul 27 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
Sun Jul 30 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Wed Aug 02 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
Sat Aug 05 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Mon. Aug 07 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Wed Aug 09 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Sun Aug 13 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Sat Aug 19 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
Wed Aug 23 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Thu Aug 24 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Wed Aug 30 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Sat Sep 02 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Tue Sep 05 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Thu Sep 07 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
Sat Sep 09 – Miami, FL – Miami-Dade Arena
Wed Sep 13 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Mon Sep 18 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Thu Sep 21 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX
Wed Sep 27 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
Wed Oct 04 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Sat Oct 07 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena

MADONNA: THE CELEBRATION TOUR EUROPE DATES

Sat Oct 14 – London, UK – The O2
Sat Oct 21 – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis
Wed. Oct. 25 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
Sat Oct 28 – Stockholm, SE – Tele2
Wed Nov 01 – Barcelona, ES – Palau Sant Jordi
Mon Nov 06 – Lisbon, PT – Altice Arena
Sun Nov 12 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
Mon Nov 13 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
Wed Nov 15 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
Thu Nov 23 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum
Tue Nov 28 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena
Fri Dec 1 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome

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Abbott begins his third four-year term after beating Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke in November 2022. Abbott campaigned on his promise to continue to work to further secure the border with Mexico and stem the tide of migration while also providing meaningful property tax reform to Texans.

In his inaugural address on Tuesday, Abbott on Tuesday laid out his vision for the next four years. Texas has an almost $33 billion surplus this legislative session and the governor wants to use it for property tax cuts.

“But make no mistake, that money does not belong to the government. It belongs to the taxpayers. We will use that budget surplus to provide the largest property tax cut in Texas history,” said Abbott.

Abbott said Texas will continue to work to secure the border while also making improvements to roads, and ports, to keep up with population growth.

In addition, Abbott pointed to improvements made with the power grid, which held up during recent tests of severe winter weather. But he said they will need to do more to keep up with the increased demand for power as the state’s population continues to grow.

Abbott also talked about school security, mental health services and school choice — with regard to the latter, Abbott said parents should be able to make decisions about their child’s education.

“No one knows what is better for a child’s education than their parents,” said Abbott.

Though the 88th legislative session is already underway, Abbott will lay out his legislative priorities, and name his emergency items, in his State of the State address next month.

TEXAS DEMOCRATS RESPOND TO ABBOTT’S ADDRESS

Democrats responded after the governor’s speech. Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) is the caucus chairman and said Republicans have controlled the state for 30 years and 30 years later costs are higher than ever. Fischer said Texas Democrats will work to lead cost-cutting efforts to save Texas families money.

“What we did not hear from Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Patrick is a plan to address the economic pain Texans are facing. All over this state, families are having difficult conversations around the kitchen table about the rising costs of goods and services: a dozen eggs are $6, college tuition is rising, and insurance and utility bills are skyrocketing,” said Fischer. “We should use this historic moment to right the wrongs of the last thirty years. House Democrats will lead on cutting costs for Texas families and we will work with anyone that’s ready to work with us to deliver for Texans.”

TEXAS LT. GOV. ALSO PROMISES RELIEF FOR FAMILIES

Patrick, who also serves as the leader of the Texas Senate, is also beginning his third four-year term on Tuesday.

Patrick prioritized his items for the 88th session in December and said Tuesday he was committed to property tax relief — “you come first, it’s your money.”

“In the budget that we will release this week, the Texas Senate will raise your homestead exemption to $70,000, which will save you thousands of dollars in the lifetime of your home,” said Patrick.

Patrick said the increase to the exemption is an increase of $30,000 over the current $40,000 limit which was increased during the 2021 legislative session.

INAUGURAL EVENTS

The event began at 11 a.m. with the Texas National Guard posing the colors followed by the pledge of allegiance and national anthem. Patrick and Abbott both gave inaugural addresses after being sworn in. Those speeches can be watched below. Abbott’s can be read and watched here while Patrick’s can be watched here.

TEXAS INAUGURAL SPEECHES, SWEARING IN

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The inauguration will be followed by the “Taste of Texas” inaugural luncheon, which will include food from individual restaurants around the state. North Texas is represented at the luncheon by Dallas’ Pelican House Restaurant which will plan to serve cajun chipotle corn salad and BBQ brisket jambalaya. The Texas Restaurant Association, which is coordinating the lunch, has a complete list of participants here.

The day will end with the inaugural ball on Tuesday night — a “Celebration of Texas” — at Austin’s Moody Theater.

The Texas Legislature reconvened Tuesday in Austin for the 88th legislative session, which runs for 140 days until May 29.

The House elected Phelan with a vote of 143-3, with three votes going to State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington). The Texas House is made up of 86 Republicans and 64 Democrats.

Phelan was first elected speaker in 2021, during the 87th session. He replaced Republican Dennis Bonnen who did not run for reelection in 2020 following the release of a secretly recorded conversation in which he was heard seeking help to defeat members of his own party.

“It is a privilege to serve as a member of this distinguished body, and I am once again humbled by the opportunity to serve as Speaker of the Texas House,” Phelan said in his opening day remarks. “As I look out upon this distinguished gathering, I see 149 people – ordinary Texans – who are eager to get to work on extraordinary things. I am grateful to the majority of you who have honored me with your vote, but I am proud to represent all of you as Speaker of the 88th Legislature.”

Phelan’s office listed the following priorities for the House during the 88th legislature:

• Providing lasting, meaningful property tax relief;
• Increasing access to and giving patients greater control over their healthcare;
• Prioritizing criminal justice reform, DA accountability, and public safety;
• Utilizing the state’s once-in-a-lifetime budget surplus to improve infrastructure;
• Fighting back against the exploitation, sexualization, and indoctrination of Texas children;
• Making schools safer for students and teachers;
• Extending postpartum health coverage for new mothers to a full year; and
• Addressing the threats posed by a porous border.

Phelan was nominated by State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine), with Reps Angie Chen Button (R-Richardson), Tracy King (D-Uvalde), John Lujan (R-San Antonio), Toni Rose (D-Dallas) and Shelby Slawson (R-Stephenville) providing seconding motions.

Phelan’s opening day speech, as provided by his office, is below. Remarks have been edited for brevity.

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SPEAKER DADE PHELAN’S OPENING REMARKS TO THE TEXAS HOUSE

As I look out upon this distinguished gathering, I see 149 people – ordinary Texans – who are eager to get to work on extraordinary things. I am grateful to the majority of you who have honored me with your vote, but I am proud to represent all of you as Speaker of the 88th Legislature.

I also see your beautiful families, friends and supporters. Let us not forget the sacrifices they have made to get you where you are today. Texas appreciates you. Members – let us give them a round of applause.

For the newcomers here, our freshman class of 2023, congratulations. Words of caution — please do not confuse this body with the one in Washington, DC. After watching Congress attempt to function last week, I cannot imagine why some want Texas to be like DC.

You are now in the Texas House of Representatives — and part of a historic assembly. One hundred years after the first woman was elected to the Texas House, our membership now includes 45 women, the highest number ever.

All of us together represent 150 unique populations from cities, the suburbs and the countryside.
194,000 strong in each district. And while our districts are certainly unique, they have one thing in common: they have trusted us to be their voice. And this is what we will be over the next 140 days – one day at a time, one issue at a time, one bill at a time.

All of that work will be rooted in one of the most fundamental, necessary elements of this institution — the Texas House rules. As the most deliberative body in this nation, our rules matter. My advice to new members is to know them, love them, and be certain we will enforce them. Because our rules keep the game fair, but they do not dictate the outcome. We will have divisions. Every session does. But that division does not have to define us.

So let the political fires that have raged compel us to come to the table for a solution, not flee from our responsibilities. There will be countless outside voices — not from your district, and some not even from this state — that seek to control our conversation, and they will be plenty loud. But the conversations that matter to us…the conversations that matter to our constituents…happen in here. They happen in this room.

In the Texas House, we do our work here, together. And when we do that, we just might be surprised to find out how much we have in common.

We can find our first patch of common ground in the most fundamental element of society – the family. If we are going to be a family-focused House, and I do hope we will be, we must take a long look at what matters to Texas families. Fortunately, everyone in here just spent the better part of a year on the campaign trail, hearing directly from our constituents.

Like you, I heard some very straightforward concerns from the families in my district. I have heard about the economy, inflation and the difficulty in making ends meet. Ever-increasing property taxes have led many to feel – year-in and year-out – that they are renting their property from the government. Like them, I believe that tax relief should be a priority.

Time and time again, we have seen the Legislature provide some form of property tax relief, but to make it lasting, we must do something about runaway appraisals. Taxpayers deserve better.

My constituents also talked about the need for quality healthcare at a reasonable price for families and businesses. They appreciate the progress we made last session, tackling the cost of prescription drugs and health plans, pricing transparency, and improving outcomes for women and children – and they need us to do more. So, let us continue our momentum by giving patients greater control over their health care as well as better access.

In my travels, I also heard about Texans’ desire for safe streets. During the 87th, we reset the national conversation on criminal justice. We showed it is possible to improve public safety while defending the rights of the accused and offering second chances when deserved. We lead the nation in decreasing incarceration rates, reducing recidivism, and facilitating reentry. We have proven you can be tough on violent criminals while also making the criminal justice system work better for nonviolent offenders. And that is what we will continue to do. We can work all day on these issues, but if rogue District Attorneys will not uphold the law, what progress are we really making? It is time to rein them in.

Our constituents also want roads that can move them in a timely manner from their home to their job, to their child’s school, or their place of worship. Texans want a reliable supply of water, resiliency from flooding, dependable energy and high-speed internet across this great state. They want exceptional schools with exceptional teachers. With a once in a lifetime budget surplus, now is the time to put a down payment on the future of Texas.

To make this down payment even more critical – over a thousand people move to Texas every single day. They do not bring these investments with them. We all serve different regions, but we recognize these as common obligations.

Perhaps we have no greater task ahead of us than protecting those who will carry on what we have started – the children of Texas. I created the Select Committee on Youth Health & Safety last session to examine the issues facing our children. The threats to their safety are all too real: child trafficking, violence in schools, bad actors seeking to exploit their innocence, and social media companies that prey on the insecurities of children, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, sexualization, and indoctrination. Members, we must stand up for the children of Texas.

Teachers and parents alike want safer schools, and our kids deserve them. Last May, the lives of 21 Texans – teachers and children – were stolen when a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. We owe it to the memory of those children and teachers to make sensible, meaningful change.

I want to thank the families of Uvalde for inviting me to meet with them just last week. Having heard from them directly — and taking into account the findings of our investigative committee — we have insights to inform our decisions. This is going to be an especially tough conversation, but this body has proven capable of handling tough conversations in the past. I am confident we will do so again.

As we work to make Texas an even better place to raise a family, we must acknowledge there is true suffering in society, and we have to make things better for those families in the toughest situations. The most important thing to do, certainly, is to ensure our economy continues to generate quality jobs and meaningful wages. After all, an opportunity to provide for one’s family is a powerful motivator, no matter where one is in life.

At the same time, let us not forget people who need more than just a job. Even with a vibrant economy, a single parent who can work, afford childcare, healthcare, transportation and housing, is indeed rare. How can we improve their lives and their children’s futures? Tax-free diapers, wipes and other childcare supplies would be a great start, and so would ensuring health coverage for new moms that lasts – not sixty days, not six months but a full year.

Starting today, I represent Jasper County. Last week, I read a story about the local county hospital joining the 60% of rural Texas hospitals that no longer deliver babies. Mothers in rural areas now face hour-long drives for basic services. We should not leave this session without a firm commitment to reversing this trend. Because in my dictionary, the definition of “pro-life” includes ensuring access to affordable healthcare for all, especially Texas mothers and their babies.

To show the Texas House is committed to the maternal health of our own staff this session, I am proud to announce we are now offering additional resources to guarantee twelve full weeks of paid maternal and paternal leave for those working in this chamber this session.

Our names may be on the office door, but the men and women who serve in our capitol and district offices are the ones who do the heavy lifting. We must provide an environment that respects them and recognizes their value. With rapid inflation, let us also retain them by finally increasing their salaries.

Making things better for all Texas families is how we deliver on the limitless potential for our state in every area, from gainful employment to public safety. That includes border security, which is certainly on the minds of our members, but especially for those who represent border communities.

We can all agree that our border towns have been bearing the brunt of Washington’s failed immigration policies – some going as far as declaring themselves to be in a state of disaster. It is a legal and humanitarian crisis. Every Texas budget I have ever voted for has poured hundreds of millions, now billions, of dollars into the gap between federal policies and the realities on the ground. As stewards of every budget dollar, we must ensure our strategy not only fits the realities on the ground, but is truly, measurably effective.

We must also acknowledge the additional threats posed by a porous border. More than 1,600 Texans died from fentanyl overdoses in 2021. That is 1,600 too many. Before more Texas families get that heartbreaking call, we must stop the cartels in their tracks. And we will.

Members, though we may face many challenges this session, there will be even more opportunities. The work is hard, but it is worthwhile. The work is demanding, but it is noble. The work is necessary, and, because we have the privilege of doing it for the people of Texas, I know we will get it done together.

It is a privilege to serve as a member of this distinguished body, and I am once again humbled by the opportunity to serve as your Speaker. Thank you for this enormous honor and thank you for serving this great state. May God bless you and May God bless the great State of Texas.

During the 140-day session that starts Tuesday, lawmakers will approve a budget — the only task they are mandated to complete. But many bills involving taxation, education, health care, infrastructure and various social issues will be debated and sent to Gov. Greg Abbott to be signed into law.

While most legislation has a purpose, some are more impactful than others.

Our partners at The Dallas Morning News take a look at five proposals that could change the lives of Texans including property tax reduction, school choice, abortion, sports betting and mass shootings/school safety.

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Hoang was last seen Dec. 16 in College Station. His car was found in Austin near the Pennybacker Bridge Overlook, NBC station KAGS reported Friday.

College Station police said the Austin Police Department is investigating the death.

“So sad to state that Tanner’s family reports that he was found deceased today in Austin not far from where his vehicle was recovered. Certainly not the outcome so many people had hoped for. Please keep Tanner’s family in your prayers during this difficult time,” missing person nonprofit Amber Alert Network Brazos Valley wrote in a Facebook post.

Austin-Travis County EMS confirmed a body was found in the 5400 block of N. Capital of Texas Highway, just north of the Pennybacker Bridge, around noon Saturday. The on-duty Austin Police watch commander said the person was “obviously deceased” and that officials could not identify the body until after an autopsy.

ATCEMS obtained a death pronouncement around 12:21 p.m. The Austin Fire Department also responded to the call.

For updates on this story, visit our sister station at KXAN.

A giant, 16-foot python was caught in the Coronado Hills neighborhood earlier this week and reunited with its owner in Dallas after going missing several months ago.

The Austin Animal Center said it got a call on Monday after someone reported the giant snake, which apparently had been spotted slithering through the neighborhood since July.

Due to the cold temperatures this week in Texas, the snake was lethargic enough that a couple of residents were able to catch it and keep it in their garage. When an officer arrived at the residence, he was greeted by an unhappy 16-foot-long albino reticulated python.

Some staff members at the animal center said they recalled seeing a lost and found post for a large albino snake a few months earlier, and after searching online with no success, they contacted a former intake staff member for assistance. Sure enough, she immediately found the owner’s post and information on the neighborhood social networking app Nextdoor.

Staff from the animal center called the owner, who identified a unique feature on the python and drove the next day to pick her up. At the time the python went missing, the owner was just visiting Austin from Dallas when his car was broken into and the tote which was carrying the snake was stolen.

The snake was kept in temporary overnight housing before Austin Zoo took it in for a day until the owner was reunited with his long-lost pet.

The review of autopsies and other records is part of a criminal investigation by Texas Rangers into the hesitant police response at Robb Elementary School in May, said Dr. Mark Escott, who serves as the city of Austin’s chief medical officer.

Police waited more than 70 minutes before confronting the gunman inside a fourth-grade classroom. Five months after the shooting, many families still question whether any of the 19 children and two teachers killed could have been saved had nearly 400 law enforcement officers on the scene acted sooner.

Escott said he asked the Texas Department of Public Safety to do the review, which he described as in line with steps taken following other mass shootings in the U.S.

“We expect that we will find some lessons learned that can be applied to policy around the country,” Escott said.

The review was first reported by the Austin American-Statesman.

It was not clear how much the findings will impact the state’s criminal investigation. The Texas Department of Public Safety did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday.

Escott said the review could take between three and six months and expressed hope that the results will quickly be made public. Four other physicians who are EMS and trauma specialists, along with other expert advisors, will also help in the review, Escott said.

He said the review will look at autopsy reports and medical records from hospitals and paramedics who treated the victims. Among the questions, Escott said, is whether victims could have survived if they had received first response help within 10 minutes and arrived at a trauma center within an hour.

“The challenge we have in Uvalde is it is a small community and there are limited EMS resources and the closest level 1 or level 2 trauma center is 90 minutes away,” he said.

Last week, Col. Steve McCraw, Texas’ state police chief, said the criminal investigation into the police response to the shooting led by Texas Rangers would be wrapped up by the end of the year and turned over to prosecutors. He didn’t indicate whether charges would be recommended against any officers.

McCraw told families of the children killed in the shooting that the Texas Department of Public Safety “did not fail” Uvalde during the response amid escalating scrutiny over the department’s actions. One state trooper has been fired and several others were placed under internal investigation.

UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING

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Uvalde Families Make Last Push for Gun Reform Ahead of the Midterms

Relatives, who marched to the mansion of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott carrying the altar, chose the location to again demand tougher gun laws in Texas following the May shooting at Robb Elementary School. They have been most vocal about raising the age to purchase AR-15-style rifles from 18 to 21. Abbott, who is up for reelection, has pushed back on that, saying it would be “unconstitutional.”

“We are here today celebrating our children’s lives,” said Kimberly Rubio, whose daughter Lexi Rubio died in the Uvalde shooting, “but also trying to reach out to parents on a personal, on a mom and dad level. Just if you care about your children, protect them, go out to vote for candidates who support sensible gun legislation.”

Uvalde Mass School Shooting

Uvalde School Shooting Nov 1, 2022

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Uvalde Families Make Last Push for Gun Reform Ahead of the Midterms

Day of the Dead — or Dia de los Muertos — is a Mexican and Latino holiday in which people celebrate the lives of deceased loved ones and encourage their souls to visit with them. Nearly three-quarters of the residents of Uvalde are Hispanic.

Abbott is running for a third term against Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who has drawn the support of several Robb Elementary parents but faces an uphill climb in Tuesday’s election.

Back when the two-time Formula 1 champion could jog the city streets without being noticed, move through a hotel lobby with ease, and drive to the Circuit of the Americas for the U.S. Grand Prix without planning for traffic well ahead of time.

No more. If anything demonstrates the explosive growth of F1 in the U.S., it’s the projections of more than 400,000 fans expected to pack the city and the circuit this weekend for the 10th anniversary of the Texas race that put the series’ footprint back on American soil.

“In the last four years or three years, there’s a lot of fans. It has changed everything. It changed the traffic, it changed the hotel,” Alonso said this week. I ran this morning in the city and everyone recognized us now.”

The U.S. Grand Prix has been the foothold for F1 in the U.S. since the first surprise announcement that a $300 million racetrack was being cut through the rocky soil a dozen miles from the state Capitol. The series’ explosive growth in America has led to an additional race in Miami that started this season, and another coming in Las Vegas next year.

Sunday will be the final race of the original 10-year agreement in Austin because the COVID pandemic canceled the race in 2020. But F1 isn’t going anywhere. A five-year extension was already announced last year.

“I spent most of my adult life putting the pieces together for F1 to come to my hometown,” said Tavo Hellmund, the founder of the Texas race and its initial promoter.

“My vision was for F1 to be the success it was the inaugural year in 2012 and last year in 2021. My wife used to say to me, ‘Gosh, when Americans get to see F1 the way you do, they’ll be hooked.”‘

The Texas race has had its share of ups and downs.

Lewis Hamilton won the first race in 2012, overtaking eventual season champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. Vettel returned in 2013 to spin donuts after a victory in a dominant year that saw him tie Michael Schumacher’s single-season wins record of 13.

That was also the last of Vettel’s four championship seasons and he’s set to retire this year. Red Bull’s current champion, Max Verstappen, can tie the single-season victory record if he wins Sunday. Even with this season’s title already in hand, Verstappen plans to push for the victory and the record.

“I still want to win,” Verstappen said.

Hamilton clinched two of his seven championships here.

The first came with a rainy victory in 2015 amid a bitter rivalry with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton’s post-race cap toss to a dejected Rosberg in the cool-down room — and Rosberg throwing it back past Hamilton’s face — is memorable. Hamilton clinched his sixth championship here in 2019.

Attendance dipped for several years. But it began to rebound when Circuit of the Americas President Bobby Epstein started tying major entertainment acts into the race weekend. Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake and Billy Joel are among the pop stars who have performed Saturday night concerts on the midfield in recent years.

“We learned from the fans what they wanted. We started out thinking this was just about motorsports,” Epstein said. “What we should have been doing is saying, what do the fans want? How do we make this about entertainment? That’s why we see such huge crowds here.

“Of course, we were worried about it a lot between years four and seven. And then the pandemic hits just when we were getting on our feet and getting successful and profitable,” Epstein said.

The year away and the gripping championship fight between Verstappen and Hamilton in 2021 brought a massive crowd.

Fans love the place and so do the drivers.

“This is one of the better circuits we have,” said Hamilton, who along with Vettel, Alonso, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo have raced in Austin every year since it opened.

“We get this crowd that just keeps growing year on year. They just do it differently here. Us Europeans, we’re good at sports …. but the sport is growing as a whole in how we put on a show.”

Ricciardo, an Australian, embraces the Texas atmosphere like no one else. Every year, he mimics a Texas drawl and finds a way to connect with the locals.

On Thursday, he rode into the paddock on a horse while wearing a cowboy hat and jacket made to look like an American flag ahead of what may be his final race in Austin. Ricciardo won’t return with McLaren next season and currently doesn’t have a seat for 2023.

“The U.S. Grand Prix is one of my absolute favorite races of the year,” Ricciardo said. “The extra energy I get from the atmosphere is immeasurable and I love everything about it.”

How do you put a price tag on their suffering?

That’s part of the task faced by a Connecticut jury that has been asked to decide how much Infowars host Alex Jones and his company should pay for spreading a conspiracy theory that the massacre never happened.

The six jurors deliberated for less than an hour Thursday before breaking for the evening. Their work was set to resume Friday.

Jones now acknowledges his conspiracy theories about the shooting were wrong, but says he isn’t to blame for the actions of people who harassed the families. His lawyers also say the 15 plaintiffs have exaggerated stories about being subjected to threats and abuse.

Here are some questions and answers about the deliberations.

COULD THE JURY DECIDE THAT WHAT JONES DID IS PROTECTED BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT?

No. A judge has already ruled that Jones is liable for defamation, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and violating Connecticut’s unfair trade practices law. The jury’s job is to decide how much he owes for harming the people who sued him over his lies.

HOW MUCH COULD JONES PAY?

Jones, who lives in Austin, Texas, could be ordered to pay as little as $1 to each plaintiff or potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to them. The decision will be based on whether the jury determines the harm to the families was minimal or extensive.

Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the jury should award the plaintiffs at least $550 million. Jones’ lawyer, Norm Pattis, says any damages awarded should be minimal.

HOW DOES THE JURY COME UP WITH THE DOLLAR FIGURES?

In her instructions to the jury, Judge Barbara Bellis said there are no mathematical formulas for determining dollar amounts. Jurors, she said, should use their life experiences and common sense to award damages that are “fair, just and reasonable.”

The jury, however, heard evidence and testimony that Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, made millions of dollars from selling nutritional supplements, survival gear and other items. A company representative testified it has made at least $100 million in the past decade.

WHAT KIND OF DAMAGES ARE THE JURY CONSIDERING?

Jurors could award both compensatory and punitive damages.

Compensatory damages are often meant to reimburse people for actual costs such as medical bills and income loss, but they also include compensation for emotional distress than can reach into the millions of dollars.

Punitive damages are meant to punish a person for their conduct. If the jury decides Jones should pay punitive damages, the judge would determine the amount.

DOES CONNECTICUT CAP DAMAGES?

No, and yes. The state does not limit compensatory damages, while punitive damages are limited in many cases to attorney’s fees and costs. So if the jury says Jones should pay punitive damages, he would potentially have to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Sandy Hook families’ lawyers’ costs.

IS THIS THE FIRST TIME JONES HAS FACED A VERDICT LIKE THIS?

No. At a similar trial in Texas in August, a jury ordered Jones to pay nearly $50 million to the parents of one of the children killed in the school shooting for pushing the hoax lie on his Infowars show.

But legal experts say Jones probably won’t pay the full amount. In most civil cases, Texas law limits how much defendants have to pay in “exemplary,” or punitive, damages to twice the “economic damages” plus up to $750,000. But jurors are not told about this cap. Eye-popping verdicts are often hacked down by judges.

A third trial in Texas involving the parents of another child slain at Sandy Hook is expected to begin near the end of the year.

Video Thursday morning showed a broken perimeter fence, shards of glass, a smashed sign and tire tracks along the east entrance to the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin.

The incident happened around 10 p.m. Wednesday, when officers saw an unauthorized vehicle drive through an iron gate on the east entrance and through a grassy area in the direction of the south steps, where the driver collided with a bollard and fixture, according to a Texas DPS statement.

The suspect, a 42-year-old San Marcos man, was arrested and booked on charges of criminal mischief and reckless driving, according to the statement.

Earlier Thursday, a state department of public safety officer was on scene inspecting the damage. Hours later, yellow tape marking a police line had been placed along an estimated 10 feet of broken fencing, but no officers remained on scene along the path of light tire marks that stretched well into the grounds.

The public safety department said the incident is under investigation by the Capitol Region Criminal Investigation Division.

The trial in Waterbury is to decide damages for an FBI agent who responded to the school and the families of eight children and adults who died who sued Jones for defamation. Victims’ relatives have given emotional testimony during the trial’s first six days about being traumatized by people who say the shooting was fake.

More than a dozen relatives of the 26 shooting victims showed up to observe his often contentious testimony in Waterbury Superior Court, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Newtown, where the shooting occurred.

Jones was found liable last year by default for damages to plaintiffs without a trial, for what the judge called his repeated failures to turn over documents to their lawyers. The six-member jury is now deciding how much Jones and Free Speech Systems, parent of Jones’ Infowars media platforms, should pay the families for defaming them and intentionally inflicting emotional distress.

On Thursday, Jones admitted calling parents “crisis actors” on his show and saying the shooting was “phony as a three-dollar bill.”

Plaintiff attorney Christopher Mattei accused Jones of putting targets on the parents’ backs, pointing to the family members in the courtroom and saying “these are real people.”

“Just like all the Iraqis you liberals killed and love,” Jones responded. “Just, you’re unbelievable. You switch on emotions, on-and-off when you want. You’re just ambulance chasing.”

“Why don’t you show a little respect?” Mattei shot back, as Jones’ lawyer, Norm Pattis, shouted objections and several family members shook their heads in apparent disbelief.

The exchange went on with Mattei pointing out that the families in the courtroom had “lost children, sisters, wives, moms.”

“Is this a struggle session?” said Jones, who in recent years has acknowledged the shooting was real. “Are we in China? I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times and I’m done saying I’m sorry.”

After excusing the jury for the day, Judge Barbara Bellis admonished both sides, saying further outbursts would lead to a contempt hearing.

Bellis had begun the day by going over the topics that Jones could not mention in his testimony: free speech rights; the Sandy Hook families’ $73 million settlement this year with gun-maker Remington (the company made the Bushmaster rifle used to kill the victims at Sandy Hook); the percentage of Jones’ shows that discussed Sandy Hook; and whether he profited from those shows or a similar case in Texas.

“This is not the appropriate forum for you to offer that testimony,” Bellis said. Jones indicated that he understood.

But the jury had to be sent out of the courtroom several times while attorneys argued about the scope of Jones’ answers.

“You’re going to get your exercise today, for those of you who wear Fitbits,” the judge told jurors.

Earlier in the trial, family members of the victims have given often emotional testimony describing how they endured death threats, in-person harassment and abusive comments on social media. Some moved to avoid the abuse.

Jones’ shows had portrayed the Sandy Hook shooting as staged by crisis actors as part of gun control efforts.

Testimony also has focused on website analytics data run by Infowars employees showing how its sales of dietary supplements, food, clothing and other items spiked around the time Jones talked about the Sandy Hook shooting.

Evidence, including internal Infowars emails and depositions, also shows dissension within the company about pushing the hoax lies.

Pattis is arguing that any damages should be limited and accused the victims’ relatives of exaggerating the harm the lies caused them.

Jones has already been found liable by default in two similar lawsuits over the Sandy Hook hoax lies in his hometown of Austin, Texas, where a jury in one of the trials ordered Jones last month to pay nearly $50 million in damages to the parents of one of the children killed. A third trial in Texas is expected to begin near the end of the year.

Jones was asked Thursday about a page on his Infowars site that called the trial a “kangaroo court” and included a graphic showing the judge with lasers shooting from her eyes. He said the page was created by his staff but called it a “good report.”

He was asked about advertisements on that page and other Sandy Hook content, as well as daily profit reports. Jones said he could not answer those questions, but denied he saw the trial as a marketing opportunity.

Later, when asked about his fundraising and items offered in his Internet store, he made sure to give out the URL where people could buy cryptocurrency to support his company.

“That will end up as a clip on your show tonight,” Mattei said. “You’re advertising for your cryptocurrency page?”

“I mean people want to keep us in the fight, so I mean I hope whoever the big whales are that would give us money before keep doing it,” Jones said.

Jones, who is expected back on the stand Friday, made brief comments to reporters while leaving the courthouse.

“The First Amendment will prevail,” he said. “The American people will never be silenced.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A building collapsed Tuesday morning on Chicago’s West Side after a nearby explosion, and fire officials requested a mass casualty ambulance-bus to assist after multiple injuries were confirmed and a search continued for people who may still be inside the building.

The collapse happened just after 9 a.m. Tuesday at West Washington Boulevard and North Central Avenue, fire officials tweeted. Injuries were confirmed and 10 ambulances were requested, according to authorities.

“Requesting manpower for searches in structure,” the Chicago Fire Department tweeted.

The department tweeted that an explosion occurred at North Central Avenue and West End Avenue. The adjacent building was being evacuated as of 9:50 a.m., according to authorities.

Fire officials tweeted “this is a confirmed explosion” but the source of the explosion was not immediately known.

At least eight people were transported to nearby hospitals, fire officials said, at least three of whom are in critical condition.

Fire officials said the cause of the explosion was not immediately known. Peoples Gas and ComEd confirmed both companies were responding to the scene, but it was unclear if gas was involved.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted her thoughts were with the injured and the firefighters working the scene.

“My thoughts are with those who were injured and displaced in the building collapse in the Austin neighborhood. We must also thank the brave men and women of the Chicago Fire Department who are working to abate the dangerous conditions,” she wrote.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for the latest updates.

Former Travis County sheriff’s deputy Stephen Broderick, 42, was automatically sentenced after pleading guilty to capital murder Tuesday in Austin in the 2021 deaths of ex-wife Amanda Broderick, 35; stepdaughter Alyssa Broderick, 17; and Willie Simmons III, 18. Broderick rammed his vehicle into his ex-wife’s house and shot dead all three people inside.

Prosecutors set aside a possible death penalty in exchange for the guilty plea.

The ex-deputy killed the three during a custody visit with his son, whom he didn’t shoot. Stephen Broderick was free on bond at the time of the shooting after being charged the year before with the sexual assault of a child and losing his job as a result.

Stephen Broderick was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device, but state District Judge Karen Sage ordered the removal of the device five months after his release, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Prosecutors dropped the sexual assault charge as part of Broderick’s plea deal. Amanda and Alyssa Broderick’s family said the dismissal denied justice to Alyssa, who was the victim of the sexual assault.

But prosecutors said they doubted they could obtain a conviction on the charge because the victim was dead.

Sage, who passed the sentence on Broderick, expressed sympathy with their anger.

“I wish I could bring you justice,” Sage said. “But the truth is, the loss you’re suffering, there’s nothing I can do to make that loss go away. It’s the best we can do in the system we have, and it’s never enough. My heart goes out to you. Three beautiful, wonderful people — I see their lives shine on through all of you. I hope that at some point you can find some peace.”

Amtrak canceled all long-distance trains nationwide starting Thursday, as it prepares for a possible freight-rail strike that would impact its service.

A member of the House Transportation Committee, Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas, tweeted about the shutdown after widespread media reports. Amtrak later confirmed it via statement.

Amtrak said it will only operate trains long enough this week to ensure they get to their final destinations by 12:01 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16.

The Texas Eagle travels between Chicago and San Antonio — it winds through Illinois, across the Mississippi River through the Ozarks and piney woods of East Texas before traveling through Dallas and Austin.

Connecting service between San Antonio and Los Angeles is available through the Sunset Limited which also suspended service Wednesday.

Here is the statement Amtrak released Wednesday:

Amtrak is closely monitoring the ongoing freight rail – rail labor contract negotiations. The negotiations do not involve Amtrak or the Amtrak workforce. While we are hopeful that parties will reach a resolution, Amtrak has now begun phased adjustments to our service in preparation for a possible freight rail service interruption later this week. Such an interruption could significantly impact intercity passenger rail service, as Amtrak operates almost all of our 21,000 route miles outside the Northeast Corridor (NEC) on track owned, maintained, and dispatched by freight railroads. These initial adjustments include canceling all Long Distance trains and could be followed by impacts to most State-Supported routes. These adjustments are necessary to ensure trains can reach their terminals before freight railroad service interruption if a resolution in negotiations is not reached.

Suspended services starting Tuesday, Sept. 13:

• Southwest Chief
• Empire Builder
• California Zephyr
• Train #421 portion of the Texas Eagle (Los Angeles-San Antonio)

Suspended services starting Wednesday, Sept. 14:

• City of New Orleans
• Coast Starlight
• Crescent
• Lake Shore Limited
• Silver Star
• Sunset Limited
• Texas Eagle

Suspended services starting Thursday, Sept. 15

• Auto Train
• Capitol Limited
• Cardinal
• Palmetto (south of Washington)

The trial is being held in Waterbury, less than 20 miles from Newtown, where 26 children and teachers were shot to death in 2012.

It’s the second such trial for Jones, who was ordered by a Texas jury last month to pay nearly $50 million to the parents of one of the slain children.

A six-member jury and several alternates will decide how much the conspiracy theorist should pay relatives of eight victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school. Judge Barbara Bellis found Jones liable without a trial last year after he failed to turn over documents to the families’ lawyers.

Jones is not expected to attend the trial Tuesday. He said on his show Monday that he would be traveling to Connecticut next week.

The trial is expected to last about a month and feature testimony from both Jones and the families.

The Sandy Hook families and former FBI agent William Aldenberg say they have been confronted and harassed for years by people who believed Jones’ false claim that the shooting was staged by crisis actors as part of a plot to take away people’s guns.

Some say strangers have videotaped them and their surviving children. They’ve also endured death threats and been subjected to abusive comments on social media. And some families have moved out of Newtown to avoid harassment. They accuse Jones of causing them emotional and psychological harm.

Jones, whose web show and Infowars brand are based in Austin, Texas, has been banned from YouTube, Facebook and Spotify for violating hate-speech policies.

Jones now says he believes the shooting was real. At the Texas trial, he testified that he realizes what he said was irresponsible, did hurt people’s feelings and he apologized.

He continues, however, to insist that his comments were protected free speech. He views the lawsuits as efforts to silence him and put him out of business.

Jones’ lawyers say he intends to appeal the judgement against him in Texas. Jones also will face a third trial back in Texas involving the parents of another slain child.

The power outage was reported in the terminal shortly after 4 a.m. and soon after flights at the airport had been stopped. The lights were back on by 8 a.m., but airport officials told passengers that flights would be delayed as they recovered from the outage.

According to KXAN News in Austin, police shut down all entrances to the airport to keep additional people from entering the property while flights were stopped. The closed entrances led to backups on the freeway.

Shortly after 5 a.m., it was reported that 20 flights had been canceled at the airport.

Airport officials said teams have been dispatched to investigate the cause of the outage.

At approximately 5:45 a.m., an announcement was made inside the terminal that said the power should remain out for another hour or so.

The Austin energy power map indicated that the outage at the airport was the only power outage citywide.

As of 6 a.m., some of the lights began to come back on at the airport, almost two hours after the outage began, KXAN reported.

Shortly after 8 a.m., the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport announced that power had been restored. TSA checkpoints were open once again. However, airport roadways still remained closed.

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A lawyer was strolling with her mother, friends and a colleague along the beachfront boulevard in Nice to celebrate France’s national day. Four young sisters from Poland had spent a day of sightseeing. Two Russian students were on a summer break. And a Texas family, on vacation with young children, was taking in some of Europe’s classic sights. The bright lights of the packed boardwalk glittered along the bay like a string of stars.

Those lights would mark a pathway of murder and destruction that night of July 14, 2016. Shortly after the end of a fireworks display, a 19-tonne (21 U.S.-ton) truck careered through the crowds for 2 kilometers (1¼ miles) like a snow plow, hitting person after person.

The final death toll was 86, including 15 children and adolescents, while 450 others were injured.

Eight people go on trial on Monday in a special French terrorism court accused of helping the attacker, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who left a gruesome trail of crushed and mangled bodies across 15 city blocks. Bouhlel himself was killed by police the same night.

“It was like on a battlefield,” said Jean Claude Hubler, a survivor and an eyewitness to the horrific attack that holiday Thursday. He rushed to the boardwalk to help after hearing desperate screams of people, who had been cheering and laughing and dancing on the beach a minute before.

“There were people lying on the ground everywhere, some of them were still alive, screaming,” Hubler said. As he waited for the ambulances to arrive, he kneeled down beside a man and a woman as they lay dying on the pavement, in a pool of blood and surrounded by crushed and mangled bodies.

“I was holding her hand on her last breath,” Hubler said.

Three suspects have been charged with terrorist conspiracy for alleged links to the attacker. Five others face other criminal charges, including for allegedly providing arms to the assailant. If convicted, they face sentences ranging from 5 years to life in prison. The verdict is expected in December.

Investigators did not find evidence that any of the suspects was directly involved in the murderous rampage on that hot summer night in 2016.

Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian with French residency, was the lone attacker, and is considered solely responsible for the deaths 86 people, including 33 foreigners from Poland, the United States, Russia, Algeria, Tunisia, Switzerland and elsewhere.

Myriam Bellazouz, the lawyer, lived a few blocks from Nice’s boardwalk. She was strolling along it with her mother on the night of the attack and was killed. It took friends and colleagues three days of frantic searching around the traumatized city and pleas on social media to find her remains.

Only two of the four Chrzanowska sisters, on vacation from Poland, returned home alive.

When the truck sped through the crowd, one of the students from Moscow, Viktoria Savachenko, couldn’t get out of the way in time and was killed. American Sean Copeland, the father of the family from a town near Austin, Texas, also died in the attack along with his 11-year-old son, Brodie.

Christophe Lyon is the sole survivor of an extended French family that had gathered in Nice for the Bastille Day celebrations. His parents, Gisele and Germain Lyon, his wife, Veronique, her parents Francois and Christiane Locatelli and their grandson Mickael Pellegrini, all died in the attack. Lyon is listed among dozens of witnesses, survivors and victims’ family members who will later this month testify in the Paris court to the horrific events of that night.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the carnage. However, French prosecutors said that while Bouhlel had been inspired by the extremist group’s propaganda, investigators found no evidence that IS orchestrated the attack.

Eight months before the Nice attack, on Nov. 13, 2015, a 20-member team of battle-hardened Islamic State extremists, spread around Paris to mount coordinated attacks on the Bataclan concert hall, cafes and the national stadium, killing 130 people and injuring hundreds.

After nine months of trial, the lone survivor of the murderous group that had terrorized the French capital, Salah Abdeslam, was in June convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the deadliest peacetime attack in France’s history.

The trial of the eights suspects in the Nice attack will take place in the same Paris courtroom as the proceedings against Abdeslam. French law mandates trials of terrorism are held in the capital.

The proceedings will be broadcast live to the Acropolis Convention Center in Nice for those victims’ family members and general public not traveling to Paris. Audio of the trial will also be available online, with a 30-minute delay.

Many survivors and those mourning loved ones brace themselves for reliving the traumatic events during the trial. For others, the proceedings — although far away from the city that is still reeling from the bloodshed and loss — are an opportunity to recount publicly their personal horrors inflicted that night and to listen to countless acts of bravery, humanity and compassion among strangers.

With the perpetrator dead, few expect to get justice.

Audrey Borla, who lost her twin sister, Laura, will travel to Paris to face the group of eight suspects. She wants to tell them how she’s survived the past six years without the woman she calls her “other half,” and how she plans to live a full life for many years even without her.

“You took my sister away from me but you are not going to make me stop living, ” Borla said in a interview with broadcaster France 3.

“You are not going to make me give up on life.”

A Fort Worth federal court tossed the state’s law that prohibited people ages 18 through 20 from being able to carry a handgun.

“The Second Amendment doesn’t have any sort of age restriction. The absence is notable,” U.S District Judge Mark Pittman wrote in the ruling. “Based on the Second Amendment’s text, as informed by Founding-Era history and tradition, the Court concludes that the Second Amendment protects against this prohibition.”

This ruling comes after an 18-year-old gunman used a legally purchased AR-15-style weapon to murder 19 kids and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24. The order will not go into effect immediately, as the state of Texas has 30 days to appeal the decision.

At the rally in Austin on Saturday, families of victims and survivors marched outside of the governor’s mansion and the Capitol grounds, demanding Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special legislative session to raise the age to buy weapons and KXAN spoke with those families.

Javier Cazares, who lost his daughter in the Uvalde shooting said he was not there in political protest but to keep a promise to not let down his daughter Jackie. 

“Our children’s lives depend on common sense laws that the vast majority of Texans desperately want. No matter what their party is,” Cazares said.

His other daughter, Jazmin Cazares, also spoke at the Rally and says that not only did she lose her little sister, but she also lost her cousin, Annabelle, 19, who was also killed at Robb Elementary on May 24.

“Because of an 18-year-old boy with an AR-15, my sister never got to celebrate becoming double digits. She will forever be 9 years old,” she said. “It’s been three months since 19 children and two teachers were killed in Uvalde, and still not much has changed in Uvalde, let alone the state of Texas.” 

Speakers at Saturday’s rally included self-proclaimed Republicans and Texans of all ages, like Robb Elementary shooting survivor Kaitlyn Gonzalez.

“You have to be 21 to buy a case of beer, but an 18-year-old bought a gun to kill kids. That does not make sense,” she said.

KXAN reports that a special legislative session on this topic is likely. The governor has often deferred to other action in the legislature, pointing to interim committee work and recommendations related to school safety and mental health, as well the $100 million lawmakers transferred to the Texas Education Agency for related resources. Abbott and other Texas Republicans have maintained their stance that gun laws would not stop the violence.

To read more, visit our affiliate, KXAN.

This comes after the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde where an 18-year-old gunman killed two teachers and 19 children.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth ruled that the state law prohibiting most 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying a handgun outside the home violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms and cannot be enforced. He stayed the ruling from taking effect for 30 days.

The group marching will also include survivors from the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, where 10 Texans were killed.

The child was located and found safe according to the Austin Police Department. The alert was canceled around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Anyone with any information is asked to call 911 immediately.

TEXAS STATEWIDE ALERT PROGRAMS

There are seven kinds of alerts that can be issued for people in Texas. They are listed below with links to a page with more information.

• Amber Alert
• Active Shooter Alert (in development)
• Blue Alert
• Silver Alert
• CLEAR Alert
• Camo Alert
• Endangered Missing Person Alert

Vegas currently serves as the Executive Vice President at NiSource Utilities in Columbus, Ohio. He also previously served in leadership positions with American Electric Power, including as President and Chief Operating Officer for AEP Texas, ERCOT said in a news release on Tuesday.

“I’m excited to return to Texas both personally and professionally. Texas is the fastest growing electric grid in the nation with peak demand larger than any other state, and leads the nation in advancing reliable resources,” said Vegas. “Texas leaders have faced the challenges in the ongoing energy transition head-on and are committed to driving improvements in the energy economy for the benefit of generations to come. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead an exceptional organization of people and make a positive impact on millions of Texans.”

As the new ERCOT CEO, Vegas will make an annual salary of $990,000 with opportunity for bonuses based on performance, according his employment agreement.

Approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas came immediately following the ERCOT Board of Director’s vote to hire Vegas as CEO as is required by Texas law.

“Pablo’s exemplary track record of leadership and success at a major U.S. utility where he focuses on reliability and customer service make him the right leader at the right time for ERCOT,” said PUCT Chairman Peter Lake. “ERCOT’s thorough and deliberate search process delivered an outstanding leader who brings deep experience and expertise managing large organizations and complex energy systems.”

ERCOT, or the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc., is the agency that runs the state’s power grid.

Current Interim CEO Brad Jones took charge of the agency after the deadly power disaster during the 2021 winter storm, but he did not want the job permanently.

The ERCOT Board of Directors has already given a list of 20 potential candidates to Governor Greg Abbott, though the governor does not have any formal role in the selection process.

In an agenda released Monday, the ERCOT Board of Directors said they would discuss the CEO position and compensation during Tuesday’s meeting.

The board held an urgent meeting on Monday where personnel matters were discussed. The details of the meeting concerned the release of information concerning the board’s new CEO selection to local media outlets.

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The district said it has done aggressive recruitment efforts and increased starting salaries to $23 per hour, but the shortage continues.

Lake Travis ISD announced in a letter to parents on Tuesday the following changes will be implemented, effective the first day of school, Aug. 16:

• Students who reside outside a two-mile radius from their home campus will be provided transportation on a rotating schedule, meaning bus service will be provided one week on and one week off. Bus schedules will be posted on the Lake Travis ISD Transportation Department webpage beginning Wednesday. Multi-student households may not necessarily be assigned similar schedules.
• Students who reside within a two-mile radius from their home campus will not be provided transportation; while this is not a popular decision to make, this is the most realistic option we can provide with the limited number of bus drivers currently on staff.

Read more from our media Nexstar media partners at KXAN-TV