Free Republic

Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico took heat Thursday for suggesting teen killer Karmelo Anthony’s murder conviction was unjust because there were no black jurors at his trial. Talarico — who is seeking to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988 — was asked about the high-profile case during an appearance on “The Breakfast Club” radio show earlier this month and seemingly argued that Anthony’s conviction was proof the justice system “is not working for black Texans.” “Well, I’ve done a lot of work in the state house on justice reform, and right now we’ve got...

When a California couple wanted their surrogate, McKenna West, to abort the baby she was carrying, she fled to Texas. There, pro-life laws and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton helped save the baby, ensuring he got the care he needed. But as Democrat state Rep. James Talarico challenges Paxton for Senate, it raises the question—what would Talarico do? West, an Alaska nurse and single mother of two, agreed to serve as a surrogate for Californians Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar. At the 20-week anatomy scan, doctors diagnosed the baby boy with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious but treatable condition....

Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico once delivered a sermon titled “God is not a Christian” as part of a fiery rebuke of conservatives whom the Democrat accused of trying to transform America into a theocracy. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and Texas state rep., admitted in his 2023 sermon that he is sometimes reluctant to share his faith, while warning, “There is a cancer on our religion.” “God is so much bigger than our human categories. God is not a Presbyterian. God is not a Christian. God is not a noun at all. God is a verb. God is not a...

Lawyers for a group of Texas families with children in the state’s public schools came to the Supreme Court on Monday, asking the justices to weigh in on the constitutionality of a 2025 law that requires each classroom in that state to display a copy of the Ten Commandments. Asking the justices to review a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that upheld the law, the challengers told the justices that the lower court “flouted this Court’s binding precedents and gutted the religious-freedom rights of public-school children and parents.” The justices have considered a similar...

Merchandise promoting the left-wing terror group Antifa were given out for free at Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico’s latest rally, according to Current Revolt. Some of the stickers and buttons read “Anti Fascist Social Club” and “Auntifa,” while others printed the word “Antifa” onto a graphic. Additional merchandise portrayed President Donald Trump as Marie Antoniette, the Queen Consort of France who was executed during the French Revolution, while another ominously read “He’s on the List.” A final sticker read “It’s Okay to Punch Nazis,” sparking reminders to the language used on Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson’s ammunition that conservatives have...

FIRST ON FOX: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday directed a review of state grants to entities operating two major Texas airports over religious accommodations after Dallas Fort Worth International Airport said it would no longer move forward with a proposal to install Islamic washing stations. Abbott said the state will review grants to entities operating DFW and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston for possible revocation and denial of future funding. He also referred both airports to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation. "Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others," Abbott wrote on X Friday. "DFW...

The Food and Drug Administration this week escalated a recall of 1.6 million cartons of eggs over potential salmonella contamination to its most serious classification. On Wednesday, the FDA designated the incident a "Class 1" recall, which the agency applies to product recalls "in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death." The eggs were first recalled on July 22 by North Manchester, Indiana-based Midwest Poultry Services because they could be contaminated with salmonella. The eggs were sold under various brand names at retailers...

🚨FIVE City officials were just ARRESTED for fraud in Refugio, Texas - mayor - ⁠city secretary - ⁠city councilor - ⁠2 former city councilors They allegedly mishandled HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of public dollars. THE FRAUD NEVER ENDS

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday restored several pieces of a 2021 Texas election law that overhauled mail-in and assisted voting, overturning a lower court’s block on those provisions. Five years ago, Texas passed Senate Bill 1, a wide-reaching election law that changed the way local officials administer elections and how some Texans vote, particularly aimed at initiatives Harris County implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The law was denounced by voter advocacy groups, civil rights organizations and Democratic lawmakers, who broke quorum in an attempt to stifle the bill. After several lawsuits over accessibility concerns created by...

James Talarico is too radical for Texas.

A Texas high school teacher was reduced to tears and broke down in front of his class when he realized the seniors he was teaching couldn’t complete a writing exercise. Darius Williams, a teacher for Houston Independent School District’s Wheatley High School, said he couldn’t get through the first class of the second day of school before his students’ poor literacy skills were too much for him. “I just finished a three-hour class, and I literally broke down in the middle of class,” Williams said in an Instagram video during his lunch break on Tuesday. Williams, a New Education System...

Two people were killed Wednesday when a Fort Hood AH-64 Apache attack helicopter violently crashed into a field in Central Texas, sparking a wildfire that forced evacuations and sent emergency crews racing to the scene, authorities said. Bell County Sheriff's Office spokesman Cliff Coleman said authorities received the call about the crash at approximately 1:34 p.m. The helicopter went down in a field south of Salado, roughly 30 minutes from Fort Hood. KWTX reported the crash occurred off Dove Hollow Lane. Coleman described the crash as violent and confirmed two people were killed. No one else was injured. Coleman identified...

The Fifth Circuit restored nine provisions of Texas's 2021 election law, including mail-ballot ID and voter-assistance rules, largely finding that groups challenging them under federal disability laws lacked standing. Judge Oldham said the challengers lacked standing to attack Texas's mail-ballot ID rules because they failed to show that any member faced a substantial risk of future harm. The court noted ID-related rejection rates fell from 11-12% to 2.7% The court also rejected claims that groups had standing because they diverted resources to help voters comply. Citing the Supreme Court, Judge Oldham wrote that an organization cannot establish standing simply by...

TALARICO (D) PAXTON (R) SPREAD RCP Average 6/3 - 7/30 — — 46.0 44.4 Talarico +1.6 Texas A&M/Siena 7/27 - 7/30 619 LV 4.7 47 43 Talarico +4 TSU/YouGov* 7/27 - 7/30 1200 LV 2.8 47 45 Talarico +2 FOX News 7/23 - 7/27 1006 RV 3.0 51 48 Talarico +3 TPOR** 7/15 - 7/17 1048 LV 3.4 45 40 Talarico +5 NY Times/Siena 6/19 - 6/27 656 LV 4.5 47 47 Tie University of Texas* 6/5 - 6/12 1200 RV 2.8 42 43 Paxton +1 Quantus Insights 6/3 - 6/4 800 LV 3.5 43 45 Paxton +2

Leftist outlet MS NOW aired a segment featuring three Texas women who identified themselves as Republicans and vowed to cross over for James Talarico — but records show at least some of them have voted in Democratic primaries and donated to liberal candidates and causes. Talarico, who has sparked backlash for his fringe views on Christianity, affection for transgender children, and disdain for the American flag, is banking on Republican crossover support to become the first Texas Democrat elected statewide in decades. “Republicans for Talarico is as real as the six genders that Talarico claims exist, but has yet to...

Marva Sadler, a longtime Whole Woman’s Health senior clinical director who became a key figure in the abortion provider’s expansion from Texas into New Mexico, says she has lost her job after 18 years and does not intend to return to the same line of work. Marva Sadler relocated to Albuquerque after Whole Woman’s Health closed its Texas abortion facilities and helped establish the organization’s New Mexico operation. In a recent public Facebook post, Sadler described losing her job as a “bad breakup,” writing: losing my job after 18 years really was harder than I wanted to admit.” Days later,...

Nearly 30,000 pounds of raw beef from Argentina has been recalled after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) determined the shipment had bypassed a required import reinspection. “Corte Argentino USA LLC, located in Aventura, Fla., is recalling approximately 29,628 pounds of raw beef products that were imported from Argentina without the benefit of import reinspection into the United States,” the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. The products subject to the recall bear Argentinian establishment number “EST. N° OF. 2025” and shipping mark “26644-AA” The products were distributed to distributors and retailers in Florida and Texas. More from...

The warnings were issued in Florida and Louisiana, where state officials have confirmed at total 23 cases so far. Health officials are urging Gulf Coast beach-goers to take precautions when entering the water during a summer surge of infections from a flesh-eating bacteria that has been attributed to seven deaths. The warnings were issued in Florida and Louisiana, where state officials have confirmed nine cases this year of Vibrio vulnificus infections, including five deaths, according to PBS.com. Louisiana reported an average of seven cases and one death, over the same period over the previous decade. Florida has reported at least...

Texas Republicans are turning years of warnings about political Islam into a state policy campaign focused on foreign money, land, financial practices, public institutions, private tribunals, and terrorism laws. The Republican Party of Texas made “Don’t Sharia Our Texas” one of its official 2026-2028 legislative priorities on June 13. The party is calling for new investigations, expanded attorney general authority and laws aimed at organizations and practices it says could establish a competing political and legal system inside Texas. Republican lawmakers carried that effort into the True Texas Project’s August 1 conference in Fort Worth. The official program included sessions...

After months of ignoring questions and concerns regarding James Talarico’s romantic relationship with a former member of his Texas House staffer Brianna Menard, his campaign has finally confirmed that the pair’s relationship began while Menard worked in Talarico’s office. The Talarico campaign had previously suggested that Menard, who had worked in Talarico’s office from March 2020 until January 2023, did not begin a relationship with Talarico until leaving his office to work for Texas State Representative Salman Bhojani as his office’s chief of staff. According to a statement from Bhojani, Talarico himself reached out to secure Menard a position in...