In DNC Keynote, Castro Courts Latinos, Youths
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, in the most defining moment of his young political career, gave a Democratic National Convention keynote on Tuesday night that reiterated Barack...
View ArticleTexan is DNC's First Undocumented Speaker
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Benita Veliz, a 27-year-old San Antonio woman whose parents brought her into the country on a short-term tourist visa nearly two decades years ago, became the first undocumented...
View ArticlePerry Adviser Says Governor Will Run for Re-election
Ken Armbrister, Gov. Rick Perry’s legislative director, told a crowd on the University of Texas at Austin campus Tuesday that his boss had told him he had decided to run for re-election in 2014 — a...
View ArticleBefore Health Exchange Deadline, Perry Reaffirms Stance
Ahead of a Friday deadline to decide, Gov. Rick Perry's office has reaffirmed that Texas will not implement a major tenet of federal health reform — a state-based online marketplace for consumers to...
View ArticleLawmakers Could Restore Family Planning Funds
When state lawmakers passed a two-year budget in 2011 that moved $73 million from family planning services to other programs, the goal was largely political: halt the flow of taxpayer dollars to...
View ArticleStraus Makes House Committee Assignments
House Speaker Joe Straus announced committee assignments for the Legislature's lower chamber on Thursday, ending speculation over key chairmanships and giving lawmakers the go-ahead to start...
View ArticleLege Could Ban Drone Surveillance of Private Property
A drone, no bigger than a toy airplane, hovered north of the Texas Capitol, floating over the heads of lawmakers momentarily distracted from their morning meetings. Several of them gathered beneath it,...
View ArticlePerry Stands Firm on Rejecting Medicaid Expansion
Just six months ago, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Florida Gov. Rick Scott were fishing together on FoxNews, pitching then-presidential contender Mitt Romney’s Medicare plan and arguing that decisions...
View ArticleFor Cornyn, Right Turn Could Be Defensive Play
After more than a decade representing blood-red Texas in the U.S. Senate, John Cornyn finds himself in an unusual spot: burnishing his conservative credentials.One would think the senior Texas...
View ArticleBig Tobacco Beats Small Tobacco on Tax Vote
Small cigarette manufacturers would face new state fees on their sales under a measure that passed the Texas House in a preliminary vote on Monday — a big win for Big Tobacco. The bill passed 85-53....
View ArticleGOP Donor Releases Songs Opposing 'Obamacare'
He's already a Houston physician, Republican campaign donor, radio talk show host and litigant in a federal lawsuit against the roll-out of "Obamacare." Now Dr. Steve Hotze may be adding aspiring pop...
View ArticleLawmaker Transparency Bills Got Little Traction
Lawmakers talked a big game about improving transparency this session, but when push came to shove, they did next to nothing to advance it.
View ArticleSusan Combs Won't Seek Re-election
Comptroller Susan Combs announced Wednesday that she will not seek re-election and that she is retiring from public office at the end of her term in 2015. Combs, who had been positioning herself to run...
View ArticlePerry to Veto Integrity Funds Unless Lehmberg Resigns
Gov. Rick Perry will veto financing for the public integrity unit — the state's ethics enforcement division — unless embattled Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg resigns, an official...
View ArticleSteve Stockman Files to Run Against John Cornyn
U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, has filed to run against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the March GOP primary, joining at least eight other hopefuls vying for the senior senator's seat, according to...
View ArticleAfter Komen Drama, Planned Parenthood Expands Screening
Planned Parenthood will expand breast health services to more than 40,000 women across five Texas cities, the result of increased donations following Dallas-based
View ArticleUnlike Romney, State Leaders Oppose Abortion After Rape
The state’s Republican leaders are at odds with the presumptive GOP presidential ticket on one key element of abortion politics — whether they oppose the procedure for victims of rape.
View ArticleTexans Reading a Lot Into Castro Keynote
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Call them idealistic, but the Texas delegates in town for this week’s Democratic National Convention are reading a lot into the selection of San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro to give...
View ArticleJulián Castro is Obama's Pick to Head HUD
Julián Castro will be President Obama's next secretary of housing and urban development, sources close to the San Antonio mayor said Saturday. The New York Timesconfirmed the move to HUD on Saturday,...
View ArticleAnnie's List Executive Director Killed in Fatal Crash
Grace Garcia, the executive director of the Democratic women-in-politics group Annie's List, was killed in a fatal car accident in Waxahachie on Monday, the organization said early Tuesday morning."It...
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