Free Republic

SAN ANTONIO – KSAT’s discovery of hundreds of emails and text messages between the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office and an Austin-based criminal justice reform group has revealed just how much of an influence the group had on the DA. Earlier this week, KSAT obtained more than 200 pages of conversations between the firm’s founder, District Attorney Joe Gonzales and First Assistant District Attorney Christian Henrickson — many of which involve specific cases and policies. KSAT obtained the records through an open records request. The Wren Collective’s website states it is a strategic advising firm made up of former public...

The city of Austin, Texas, helped provide a guaranteed income of $1,000 a month to 135 households for a one-year period. According to a new report prepared by the Urban Institute, most of the money went toward housing. According to the report, nearly 60% of the money used in the UpTogether program was spent on housing, while 20% went to basic needs, 10% went to other bills, and the remainder was put into investments or given to help others.

Apple is undoubtedly one of the largest tech companies in the world. And with almost 37,000 of its 161,000 total employees working in California and its headquarters based in Silicon Valley, the tech giant had long been synonymous with the Golden State. However, Apple recently announced that an entire division based in San Diego will be shut down in April 2024. For those working there, they have two options: move to Austin, Texas, or be let go.

A disgruntled passenger was removed for farting excessively on an American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Austin last week, it has been claimed. The early evening flight from the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas was forced to return to its gate and delayed by 15 to 30 minutes, according to a passenger who was on the flight said. The Texas-based traveler wrote on Reddit: 'I was on a direct American flight from Phoenix to Austin and I was seated near the row where this situation occurred.' The Reddit poster described the...

When it was first reported on Saturday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been in the hospital since January 1, it was natural to assume that key figures in the Pentagon and the White House, for whatever reason, chose to keep his hospitalization a secret. What possible motive could there be for doing this? Who knows? It didn't make a lot of sense, but the Biden administration has an extensive record of covering up scandals, so it wasn't exactly out of character for the Biden administration to cover something up. The truth that has been coming out over the course...

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe sounds off on the Biden administration's handling of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization during a time of war ..

There is only one national command authority.The national command authority is the constitutionally mandated, congressionally required, DoD-directed unbroken chain of command from the president of the United States as our commander-in-chief to the secretary of Defense.Our entire Department of Defense — the brave men and women in uniform, rely on this chain of command every single day to execute the no-fail mission of protecting this great nation. There is no greater national security priority than maintaining its authority, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.Any SECDEF who is absent in his duties and fails to...

Email Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since Jan. 1 for complications following a surgery to treat prostate cancer, officials at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said Tuesday. The news of Austin’s treatment and condition came after a tortious week during which Austin was hospitalized, but the Pentagon refused to say why. Austin underwent the initial prostate cancer surgery on Dec. 25, during which he was under general anesthesia, according to doctors from Walter Reed. On Jan. 1, Austin experienced complications from the surgery including nausea and severe abdominal, hip and leg pain, which was later identified as...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and underwent a minimally invasive procedure to treat and cure it, according to a statement from Walter Reed National Military Center officials on Tuesday. "Secretary Austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. [snipped out section quoting officials saying his prognosis is excellent] Austin was then admitted to Walter Reed on Jan. 1 "with complications from the December 22 procedure, including nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain," the officials said.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday said President Joe Biden “continues to have complete confidence” in Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin even after he was admitted on January 1 to the intensive care unit — where he remains — but did not alert Biden of his condition until Thursday, January 4. A reporter asked Jean-Pierre, “Should the American people have confidence in Austin, given his lack of transparency?” Jean-Pierre then claimed that Austin had “taken responsibility” by issuing a statement on Saturday.

President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin — the two officials with National Command Authority, or the authority to give military orders — were both out of office on New Year’s Day, raising questions as to who exactly would be in charge in the case of a military emergency. Biden began his vacation to the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, and headed back to Washington on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. He was scheduled to leave St. Croix around 5:45 p.m. Eastern. By then, his defense secretary had — unbeknownst to him — already been hospitalized since...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is one of the most reclusive Pentagon chiefs in recent memory. That’s creating a major problem for him now. Austin’s failure to inform his most senior advisers, congressional leaders and even President Joe Biden of his hospitalization last week due to complications from a medical procedure has erupted into a controversy that’s left senior White House and Pentagon officials infuriated and befuddled. Some Republicans quickly called for investigations or even for Austin to be disciplined or fired. Advertisement Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown was not informed of Austin’s situation until Tuesday, the day after his...

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin has been hospitalized since the first day of 2024, and while Pentagon officials have not said when he will be released, they continue to avoid saying why he went to the hospital in the first place. Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last Monday, for what Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder described as complications from an elective medical procedure. On Sunday, Ryder told Fox News that Austin had an elective medical procedure at Walter Reed on Dec. 22, 2023. Austin was on leave at the time of...

President Trump posted a statement on Truth Social Sunday night calling on Joe Biden to fire Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for “improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.” Austin, 70, has served as secretary of Defense since the start of the Biden administration in January, 2021. Austin has come under fire after the Pentagon revealed Friday he had been secretly seriously ill in an ICU since Monday without informing Joe Biden, White House staff or Congress for three or four days, respectively. Austin’s job is reportedly safe for now, with Biden having spoken with him by phone on Saturday....

The Biden administration waited until Friday to announce that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized on Monday, a delay of several days that alarmed the Pentagon press corps. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided a brief update on Austin in a statement that was released by the Department of Defense (DoD) at around 5 p.m., or the close of business, right as the weekend was getting underway for many in the country. “On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications following...

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has been in the hospital since Monday, after complications from a recent elective medical procedure, the Pentagon said on Friday. Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, declined to elaborate on the source of Mr. Austin’s medical issues, citing patient privacy. …

A congressman with links to ‘The Squad’ who proudly voted to defund Austin police has been slammed after he requested enhanced patrols outside his home in the Texas city. Democrat Rep. Greg Casar was a prominent voice in the defunding of the Austin Police Department as a member of the city council in 2020 following the Black Lives Matter movement. Last week he also criticized the force for alleged racist practices. Now, he has submitted a request through the United States Capitol Police in Washington, DC, for a police patrol at his house - the request was forwarded to Austin...

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Elon Musk says prototypes are easy, production is hell. And when it comes to the long-awaited Cybertruck, Tesla's hell is its pioneering 4680 battery. Tesla delivered the first of its futuristic stainless steel-plated electric pickups last month and CEO Musk said in October that it would probably hit an annual production rate of a quarter of a million vehicles at some point during 2025.

A progressive congressman associated with "The Squad" who proudly voted to defund the Austin Police Department as a city council member and blasted the department just last week for alleged racist practices is under fire after requesting a police patrol at his home from the same department. "It’s come to our attention that Anti police king of the defund movement in Austin @GregCasar who only last week called APD an agency with racist practices has requested enhanced patrols around his house for the next week," the Austin Police Retired Officers Association posted on X Tuesday. "We want everyone in Austin...

Austin’s progressive district attorney is facing criticism in the community after a man who allegedly killed two while committing his 7th DUI is walking the streets after his charges and bond were reduced. Roberto Rangel, 52, was arrested last year in Travis County, Texas, for his 7th DUI that resulted in the deaths of 22-year-old Kate Garcia and 23-year-old Mark Narvaez, Fox 7 Austin reported. Rangel, who has been sentenced to over 14 years in prison for DUIs dating to 1989, reportedly pulled out of a Chick-fil-A parking lot in Austin at 2:45 a.m. and parked his car sideways in...