Texas businessman tied to impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton to appear in federal court
A businessman at the center of the scandal that led to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtonโs historic impeachment is set to make an initial appearance in federal court following his arrest by the FBI.
Texas' GOP-held House set for impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton
Texasโ GOP-led House of Representatives is set to hold historic impeachment proceeding against Attorney General Ken Paxton, as the scandal-plagued Republican called on his supporters to protest a vote that could lead to his ouster.
Texasโ extraordinary move to impeach scandal-plagued GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton
After years of legal and ethical scandals swirling around Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, the stateโs GOP-controlled House of Representatives has moved toward an impeachment vote that could quickly throw him from office.
GOP-led Texas House panel issues 20 impeachment counts against state Attorney General Ken Paxton
Texas lawmakers have issued 20 articles of impeachment against state Attorney General Ken Paxton, ranging from bribery to abuse of public trust as state Republicans surged toward a swift and sudden vote that could remove him from office.
Supreme Court climate ruling could impact nuclear waste case
The Supreme Courtโs landmark ruling on climate change could have implications for a range of other issues, including a case involving nuclear waste storage and a proposal requiring companies to disclose how climate risk affects their businesses.
Ousters, upsets halfway through 2022 primary election season
More than halfway through a tumultuous primary season, voters have rendered verdicts in a number of contests, many of which featured candidates arguing they best represented a continuation of policies favored by former President Donald Trump.
Reports: Twitter to provide Musk with raw daily tweet data
Twitter plans to offer Elon Musk access to its โfirehoseโ of raw data on hundreds of millions of daily tweets in an effort to push forward the Tesla billionaireโs agreed-to $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform, according to multiple news reports.
Takeaways: Trump's big defeat; election denial backfiring
Former President Donald Trumpโs crusade for vengeance suffered two devastating blows when Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger won their primaries despite rejecting Trumpโs entreaties to reverse his 2020 election loss.
Texas GOP's strict voting bill on the verge of final vote
The Texas Legislature is on the verge of signing off on some of the most restrictive voting measures in the U.S. A vote was expected Sunday in the GOP-controlled Texas House that would send Republican Gov. Greg Abbott a raft of election changes that would eliminate drive-thru voting and empower partisan poll watchers.
The Latest: Navajo Nation extends "safer at home" order
That increased the stateโs totals to 839,334 confirmed cases and 16,912 confirmed deaths. Ad___RIO DE JANEIRO โ Brazil accounts for a quarter of the daily coronavirus global deaths, more than any other nation. AdThere have been 12.4 million confirmed cases and more than 307,000 confirmed deaths in Brazil, second only to the United States. AdPakistan has reported 649,824 total confirmed cases and 14,158 confirmed deaths. The nation of 10.7 million had 1.5 million confirmed cases with 25,639 deaths.
The Latest: Texas state judge upholds Austin's mask mandate
Doug Ducey said the site switch will maintain the stateโs vaccination programโs presence in southeastern Maricopa County while protecting staff, volunteers and people getting vaccinated. Greece is currently grappling with a surge in coronavirus infections which has seen many hospitals run by the state health system reach capacity. 23, a total of 42,028 COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed on the island nation of around 900,000 people, of which 248 died due to COVID-19. Kate Brown said those groups will now be eligible to sign up for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5. ___PHOENIX โ Arizona on Friday reported 571 new coronavirus cases and 24 deaths as the number of virus-related hospitalizations remained fairly stable.
States sue Biden in bid to revive Keystone XL pipeline
Committee Ranking Member Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WVa., speaks during a hearing to examine the nomination of former Gov. โ Attorneys general from 21 states on Wednesday sued to to overturn President Joe Bidenโs cancellation of the contentious Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. Led by Ken Paxton of Texas and Austin Knudsen of Montana, the states said Biden had overstepped his authority when he revoked the permit for the Keystone pipeline on his first day in office. Construction on the 1,200-mile (1,930-kilometer) pipeline began last year when former President Donald Trump revived the long-delayed project after it had stalled under the Obama administration. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana.
Amid FBI probe, Texas official hired from big donor family
FILE - This Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks in Washington, at a rally in support of President Donald Trump. The attorney general's office and Gleason have not responded to repeated requests for comment. Case records show proceeds from the sale went to Tom Gleason as well as his mother and father, Alfred Gleason. Reached by phone, Tom Gleason said he does not speak to reporters and hung up. On Jan. 25, he was in Austin preparing to give a presentation, which the attorney generalโs office declined to release.
Texas power company seeks bankruptcy protection after storm
Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc., the oldest and biggest generation and transmission power cooperative in Texas has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following last months winter storm that left millions without power. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)The largest and oldest power cooperative in Texas is filing for bankruptcy protection, citing last monthโs winter storm that left millions without power, and it is unlikely to be the last utility to seek shelter in the courts. Brazos Electric Power Cooperative serves distributors that supply electricity to more than 1.5 million Texans in 68 counties from the Panhandle to Houston. Brazos said Monday that it was a โfinancially robust, stable companyโ before the Arctic freeze that hit Texas between Feb. 13 and Feb. 19. Ed Hirs, who teaches energy economics at the University of Houston, is sure there will be more power company bankruptcies.
Texas takes on Biden but Republicans keep distance from AG
FILE - This Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks in Washington, at a rally in support of President Donald Trump. Thatโs the real litmus test,โ said Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who pointed toward the deportation lawsuit and challenges last year to mail-in ballot applications around his Houston district. Paxton's budget requests may yet force Republican lawmakers to consider the exodus from his office. Greg Abbott โ who has previously said the accusations raise โserious concernsโ โ and Paxton did not respond to questions. He has pleaded not guilty to allegations that he defrauded investors in a tech startup before becoming attorney general.
Judge bars Biden from enforcing 100-day deportation ban
A federal judge on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, barred the U.S. government from enforcing a 100-day deportation moratorium that is a key immigration priority of President Joe Biden. Tipton said the Biden administration had failed to provide any concrete, reasonable justification for a 100-day pause on deportations. (AP Photo/Emilio Espejel, File)HOUSTON โ A federal judge on Tuesday barred the U.S. government from enforcing a 100-day deportation moratorium that is a key immigration priority of President Joe Biden. That was a reversal from Trump administration policy that made anyone in the U.S. illegally a priority for deportation. The 100-day moratorium went into effect Friday and applied to almost anyone who entered the U.S. without authorization before November.
Actions by GOP attorneys general could damage credibility
The Republican attorneys general for 17 other states made legal filings supporting his effort, which was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Republican attorneys general for 17 other states made legal filings supporting his effort, which was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Republican Attorneys General Association and its counterpart group for Democrats launched two decades ago. Eight Republican attorneys general opted against joining Paxton's effort. Doug Gansler, a former Democratic attorney general in Maryland, said attorneys general should not file motions based on "imaginary evidence,โ but expects judges to see those filings as political actions that do not taint the regular work of attorneys general.
Chaos, violence, mockery as pro-Trump mob occupies Congress
On Wednesday, hallowed spaces of American democracy, one after another, yielded to the occupation of Congress. Trump told his morning crowd at the Ellipse that he would go with them to the Capitol, but he didnโt. Yet Trump, in a video posted 90 minutes after lawmakers were evacuated, told the insurrectionists โWe love you. He said security officers urged lawmakers to put gas masks on and herded them into a corner of the massive room. Shortly after being told to put on gas masks, most members were quickly escorted out of the chamber.
Hundreds of Trump supporters flock to DC ahead of vote
At least two local Black churches had Black Lives Matter banners torn down and set ablaze. Tarrio was accused of burning one of the Black Lives Matter banners in December and was found with two high-capacity firearm magazines, police said. A number of prominent Trump supporters were expected to attend, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, the recipient of a pardon by the president. During previous pro-Trump protests, police sealed off Black Lives Matter Plaza itself, but the confrontations spilled out to the surrounding streets. Black Lives Matter Plaza was sealed off Tuesday.
After top staff exodus, Texas AG seeks $43M for Google suit
FILE - In this June 28, 2020 file photo, Texas' Attorney General Ken Paxton waits on the flight line for the arrival of Vice President Mike Pence at Love Field in Dallas. โThe legal services cannot be adequately performed by the attorneys and supporting personnel,โ of the attorney generalโs office, Paxton wrote. In response to questions for this story, Kayleigh Date, spokeswoman for Paxton's office, said โthe contract speaks for itself." Itโs unclear where the request for $43 million stands, and Paxtonโs office did not answer questions about it. For instance, while Lanier was representing two Ohio counties in their landmark opioid lawsuit, Texas used state employees for its similar case against pharmaceutical company Johnยญson & Johnson.
DC mayor calls in National Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON โ Bracing for possible violence, the nation's capital has mobilized the National Guard ahead of planned protests by President Donald Trump's supporters in connection with the congressional vote expected Wednesday to affirm Joe Biden's election victory. Now with downtown D.C. businesses boarding up their windows, Mayor Muriel Bowser has requested a limited National Guard deployment to help bolster the Metropolitan Police Department. Because D.C. does not have a governor, the designated commander of the cityโs National Guard is Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy. The D.C. Guard will provide specialized teams that will be prepared to respond to any chemical or biological incident. But the official said there will be no D.C. Guard members on the National Mall or at the U.S. Capitol.
No immediate ruling after hearing on fate of DACA program
FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2019, file photo people rally outside the Supreme Court over President Trump's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), at the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)HOUSTON โ A federal judge did not immediately issue a ruling following a court hearing Tuesday on the fate of a U.S. program shielding immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. The states also argued that DACA illegally awards benefits such as work authorization to recipients and has increased states' costs, including $250 million a year for social services to DACA recipients in Texas. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to protect DACA, but a ruling against the program could limit his ability to keep the program or something similar in place. In 2015, Hanen ruled Obama could not expand DACA protections or institute a program shielding their parents.
Obama-era program for immigrants faces new court challenge
The Trump administration has fully restored the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for immigrants brought to the U.S. as youth, complying with a federal judge's order. Arguing in favor of the program is a coalition of DACA recipients, represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. MALDEF argues that Texas and the other states lack standing, the ground on which the Supreme Court dismissed the state's election challenge. Advocates are calling for Congress to pass permanent protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. as youths. Opponents of the program argue that Obama illegally circumvented Congress months before his 2012 re-election and that he failed to follow federal procedure in establishing the program.
EXPLAINER: Dismissed election case pushed debunked claims
The elections lawsuit pushed by President Donald Trump and dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court was filled with claims that failed to withstand basic scrutiny. Together, Trump and his allies argued that the high court should set aside all four statesโ votes, allowing Republican-led state legislatures to swing the election to the president. Itโs just a fact.โThe Supreme Court dismissed the case without addressing most of the lawsuit's allegations. Here is a look at some of the claims made in the case and how those claims had already been debunked. ___THE LAWSUIT CLAIMS: There are โfacts for which no independently verified reasonable explanation yet exists.โTHE FACTS: Each of the listed "factsโ has an independently verified explanation.
Supreme Court rejects Republican attack on Biden victory
Kathy Kratt of Orlando, Fla., displays her Trump flags as she and other protesters demonstrate their support for President Donald Trump at the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. Trump bemoaned the decision late Friday, tweeting: โThe Supreme Court really let us down. Two days after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed his suit, Trump jumped into the high court case. โIf the Supreme Court shows great Wisdom and Courage, the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history, and our Electoral Process will be respected again!โ he tweeted Friday afternoon. Many Republican voters in several states won by Biden have demanded that their elected officials find a way to invalidate the president-elect's victories.
Michigan AG on lawsuit seeking to overturn election: โThis is how democracies dieโ
Related: AG Barr: No evidence of voter fraud thatโd change election outcomeโThis is how democracies die,โ Nessel said Friday. โBy virtue of these types of actions, which are unprecedented in American history.โLegal experts donโt believe the high court will hear the case. Despite that, four Michigan GOP congressmen have signed onto the case and 15 GOP state lawmakers. Nessel and the Attorney Generals of the other states have all filed briefs with the high court. Each member who signed their names on their respective briefs also won their own elections in 2020, which they are now asking to be invalidated.
EXPLAINER: Dismissed election case pushed debunked claims
The elections lawsuit pushed by President Donald Trump and dismissed Friday by the U.S. Supreme Court was filled with claims that failed to withstand basic scrutiny. Together, Trump and his allies argued that the high court should set aside all four statesโ votes, allowing Republican-led state legislatures to swing the election to the president. Itโs just a fact.โThe Supreme Court dismissed the case without addressing most of the lawsuit's allegations. Here is a look at some of the claims made in the case and how those claims had already been debunked. ___THE LAWSUIT CLAIMS: There are โfacts for which no independently verified reasonable explanation yet exists.โTHE FACTS: Each of the listed "factsโ has an independently verified explanation.
Supreme Court rejects Republican attack on Biden victory
Kathy Kratt of Orlando, Fla., displays her Trump flags as she and other protesters demonstrate their support for President Donald Trump at the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. Trump bemoaned the decision late Friday, tweeting: โThe Supreme Court really let us down. Two days after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed his suit, Trump jumped into the high court case. โIf the Supreme Court shows great Wisdom and Courage, the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history, and our Electoral Process will be respected again!โ he tweeted Friday afternoon. Many Republican voters in several states won by Biden have demanded that their elected officials find a way to invalidate the president-elect's victories.
Michigan AG responds to Texas lawsuit against stateโs election process
Michiganโs election results faced another round of legal challenges in courts both big and small just four days before the Electoral College is slated to meet and finalize the 2020 election. In the U.S. Supreme Court, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel responded to the state of Texas, which is suing Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia -- three other key states that voted in favor of President-elect Joe Biden. Texas alleged that Michigan broke its own election laws to send absentee ballots to voters during a pandemic, and argued that the court should throw out millions of votes. More: Michigan AG: Texas AG Paxtonโs election lawsuit is clear signal request for pardon by TrumpNessel said the claims in the lawsuit are โabsurdโ and already have been debunked in lower courts. The scheme has been floated and then called for by President Trump, his campaign and his legal team before and after the presidential election in an effort to overturn election results.
Hundreds of GOP members sign onto Texas-led election lawsuit
In this Nov. 5, 2020, file photo, the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court has rejected Republicans' last-gasp bid to reverse Pennsylvanias certification of President-elect Joe Bidens victory in the electoral battleground. โBut itโs worth it for the Supreme Court to weigh in and settle it once and for all,โ he said. Spencer Cox, who will become governor in January, blasted Attorney General Sean Reyes for deciding to join the suit. Despite the political pressure, Idahoโs Republican attorney general chose not to join the Texas suit.
Michigan AG: Texas AG Paxtonโs election lawsuit is clear signal request for pardon by Trump
Attorneys general in several states including Michigan have to respond to a lawsuit in U.S. Supreme Court filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel believes Paxton has a personal motive and is seeking a pardon by President Trump. And I will say this to General Paxton, if heโs watching, you know who voted for you in Michigan, General Paxton? Donโt come to mine.โโYou know who voted for you in Michigan, General Paxton? The lawsuit repeats numerous false, disproven and unsupported claims of illegal mail-in balloting and voting in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Trump's election fight puts embattled Texas AG in spotlight
AUSTIN, Texas โ A lawsuit that President Donald Trump is now calling โthe big oneโ in his effort to overturn the outcome of the presidential election is helmed by an embattled Texas ally who is likewise trying to reverse his own skidding fortunes. On Wednesday, 17 Republican-led states threw support behind Paxton's lawsuit that rehashes numerous disproven and unsupported allegations of illegal voting. โHe's playing to the hometown crowd with that lawsuit,โ said Bill Miller, a longtime GOP political consultant in Texas who talks with Paxton. Paxton, who has broadly denied wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty in the securities fraud case, has said he will not resign. โI feel sorry for Texans that their tax dollars are being wasted on such a genuinely embarrassing lawsuit,โ Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul tweeted.
Texas AG files lawsuit in U.S. Supreme Court against Michigan on election process
LANSING, Mich. โ Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a Lawsuit Tuesday claiming that Michigan and other battleground states altered election laws and flooded the state with ballots with no chain of custody. The lawsuit asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case after the Court declined to hear a Pennsylvania case that wanted to reverse that stateโs vote certification. The lawsuit repeats numerous false, disproven and unsupported allegations of illegal mail-in balloting and voting in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. This year, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sent out applications to vote, not actual ballots, unless the voter completed the process to vote absentee. Their votes were counted, in some cases, multiple times.โThe audits will include a statewide risk-limiting audit, a complete zero-margin risk-limiting audit in Antrim County, and procedural audits in more than 200 jurisdictions statewide, including absentee ballot counting boards, according to the Bureau.
Trump looks past Supreme Court loss to new election lawsuit
The Supreme Court has rejected Republicans' last-gasp bid to reverse Pennsylvanias certification of President-elect Joe Bidens victory in the electoral battleground. โWe will be INTERVENING in the Texas (plus many other states) case,โ Trump said hours before the high court filing. Shortly before tweeting about joining Paxton's case, Trump distanced himself from the Pennsylvania challenge, saying it wasn't his. โThe case everyone has been waiting for is the State's case with Texas and numerous others joining," he said. Biden beat Trump by more than 80,000 votes in Pennsylvania, a state Trump had won in 2016.
Texas attorney general files lawsuit against Michigan on election process
LANSING, Mich. โ Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a brief Tuesday claiming that Michigan and other battleground states altered election laws and flooded the state with ballots with no chain of custody. This year, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sent out applications to vote, not actual ballots unless the voter completed the process to vote absentee. President Donald Trumpโs legal team has not been successful in Michigan so far. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case that wanted to reverse Pennsylvaniaโs vote certification. Their votes were counted, in some cases, multiple times.โWatch the full report in the video posted above.
'A new movement': Trump's false claims take hold in states
Dozens of state lawmakers, elected officials and party leaders in recent weeks have endorsed and advanced Trumpโs false claims, and in some cases called for undemocratic actions to reverse results. None of the moves have had an impact on the election results โ and even Republican governors have certified Bidenโs win. In Texas, the state's Republican attorney general has filed a lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court demanding that other states' Electoral College votes be invalidated. Even in liberal Massachusetts, five GOP candidates who lost their races filed a federal lawsuit Monday trying to decertify the stateโs election results, recycling claims about irregularities and voting machines. Meanwhile, Trump's attempts to personally persuade GOP lawmakers, governors and state election officials to intervene have failed.
AP Explains: The FBI is investigating Texas AG Ken Paxton
DALLAS โ The FBI recently opened a criminal investigation into claims that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton abused his office to benefit a wealthy donor. Paxton, a 57-year-old lawyer, was a Texas legislator before he became the state attorney general in 2015. Seven senior lawyers in Paxton's office reported him to the FBI in late September, accusing him of abusing his office, bribery and other crimes. In another request for a criminal investigation that reached Paxton's office, Paul claimed businessmen and another judge were conspiring to steal $200 million worth of his properties. But the latter is rare in Texas and the attorney general has a defender in his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton.
Daily COVID-19 deaths in US reach highest level since May
And the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 hit another all-time high at more than 80,000. California ordered a 10 p.m.-to 5-a.m. curfew starting Saturday, covering 94% of the stateโs 40 million residents. COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are at their highest level since late May, when the Northeast was emerging from the first wave of the crisis. โThis is not a bill that can become law.โIn California, the curfew affects 41 of the state's 58 counties. The move came as health officials reported more than 4,000 additional COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day.