Free Republic

After two days of emotional testimony, Texas lawmakers and investigators Tuesday laid out a grim assessment of Camp Mystic’s leaders’ role in last summer’s devastating floods that left 27 dead: no real evacuation plan and a delayed response as waters rose. That’s raised mounting doubts for state lawmakers about whether the camp should reopen as planned. The work of the state legislative committee – led by the same two investigators lawmakers hired in 2022 to investigate the Uvalde school massacre – offered the clearest picture yet of what happened at Camp Mystic’s Guadalupe River campus in July, pieced together through...

The suspect in a deadly shooting that happened outside a Strongsville Costco on Saturday evening, April 25, faced a judge on Monday morning. Christian M. Bryant, 22, of Fort Worth, Texas, is facing an unclassified felony count of murder, accused of shooting an employee outside the store, according to Strongsville police.

A 2023 Texas law that lets state police arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally can go into effect after a federal appeals court on Friday lifted a lower court ruling that had stopped it for years. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the temporary injunction without weighing in on the underlying legal questions because the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue, according to the court’s order. The Legislature passed the law, known as Senate Bill 4, in response to record illegal border crossings that the state said amounted to an invasion, and that have since subsided. Immigration...

Rev. Jim Rigby also called the confederacy the 'heart of the MAGA movement' and labeled it a 'fascistic movement' Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called on Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico to "condemn" his pastor's Sunday sermon, claiming that Talarico's pastor "made light" of the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this past Saturday. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, has centered his campaign and progressive policies — which include anti-ICE and open borders messaging — on his faith background. At the same time, he has railed against Christian nationalism and called for the separation of...

The video celebrates a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reinstates a Republican-drawn congressional map in Texas. The 6-3 conservative-majority Court formalized an earlier interim decision, lifting a lower court block on the new Texas map. The map, passed by the Republican-led Texas legislature in August 2025 and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, is designed to flip up to five Democratic seats to Republicans ahead of the November 2026 elections. Liberal justices dissented, citing concerns over racial discrimination, but the majority allowed the map to stand. Broader DiscussionThe host contrasts this with Democratic redistricting efforts, particularly in Virginia, where a Democrat-controlled...

FORT WORTH, TEXAS — A long-time cattle rancher said Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration understands his industry and what it needs to continue producing quality beef for the American people. Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Director Steve Sikes told Breitbart News that under past administrations, ranchers were pressured by rules that made their work more difficult, but things have since changed. “We’ve got the EPA that is run pretty well, and in the past that was always a deterrent for ranchers because they were putting in rules that were almost impossible to cope with. They had a...

An illegal migrant maniac allegedly high on a powerful drug chomped on a toddler’s face in Texas last week, two years after the Biden administration failed to kick him out of the country despite his arrest in an earlier violent assault, authorities told The Post. The horrific April 18 attack in a San Antonio park left 3-year-old Amelia Perez with deep scratches and bite wounds across her face, two teeth knocked out, and life-changing trauma, her family said. “That brute was ravaging my baby!” mom Gabriella Perez, 27, told The Post. “She’s terrified to sleep. She’s lashing out, angry. She...

When he was 19, James Broadnax jotted down rap lyrics, thoughts and even job leads in a notebook that would become evidence at his capital murder trial. Prosecutors selected lyrics with alleged references to gang affiliation and shootings to convince jurors that instead of life in prison, Broadnax, who is Black, should be put to death after his conviction — a move his lawyers argue biased the almost all-white jury. Broadnax isn’t the only defendant or even the only person on Texas’ death row whose rap lyrics have been introduced to a jury. Rap lyrics have featured in hundreds of...

The Texas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit over the state's investigations into families with transgender children because most of the investigations were closed and the children are no longer minors. In a ruling Friday, the state’s highest civil court ruled that because the Department of Family and Protective Services isn’t actively investigating the families, they no longer face the alleged threats they outlined in their 2022 lawsuits against the agency. The plaintiffs argued against dismissing the case, suggesting DFPS could choose to reopen its investigations without the injunction. But the Texas Supreme Court dismissed those concerns over future investigations as...

The first battery-grade lithium hydroxide refining facility in North America is now operational in Texas. In May 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott, Tesla founder Elon Musk and other officials broke ground at what would become Tesla North America’s new lithium refinery in Robstown. By January 2026, it was fully operational. The facility is the first of its kind to ever be built in North America, The Center Square reported. The facility is part of Abbott’s goal for Texas to lead in reducing reliance on China for critical minerals and technology. Under Abbott, Texas is leading in semiconductor manufacturing and development, state-led...

The court that paused a 2023 law allowing state and local police officers to arrest migrants has now ruled that the measure is legal, a decision likely to be appealed.A federal appeals court cleared the way on Friday for Texas to act on an expansive 2023 state law that empowers state and local police officers to arrest migrants who cross illegally from Mexico, the latest development in a long-running case that could have far-reaching implications for immigration enforcement in the United States.In a 10-to-7 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing...

Sen. John Cornyn is facing renewed scrutiny after a resurfaced video began circulating online, raising fresh questions about his past positions on immigration as his re-election campaign intensifies. Cornyn, who has aligned himself closely with Donald Trump on the campaign trail, is now drawing criticism from conservatives who argue his record does not match his current messaging—particularly on the issue of amnesty. The unearthed clip has fueled backlash among Republican voters and added momentum to attacks from his primary challenger, Ken Paxton. Immigration has quickly emerged as a defining issue in the race, with critics pointing to the video as...

The parents of an 18-year-old Lexington, North Carolina, woman charged in connection with an alleged plot to attack a Houston synagogue say their daughter had no means or intention to carry out any attack, describing the online activity that led to her arrest as nothing more than fantasy role-play. Angelina Han Hicks was arrested on Wednesday by the Davidson County Sheriff's Office and faces two felony conspiracy counts after investigators alleged she and co-conspirators planned a mass-casualty attack at Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Houston. A juvenile was separately charged in Harris County, Texas. Her father, Dannie Hicks, speaking in...

SCOOP In an unearthed video, Senator Cornyn’s team forgot to delete a video from YouTube where Cornyn advocates for amnesty for illegal aliens. It would be a shame if every Republican in Texas sees this before the May 26th runoff. No amnesty!

An appeals court has ruled that the Ten Commandments can be displayed in public school classrooms throughout Texas, reversing lower court rulings against the law. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision regarding whether a Texas law that requires the display of the Decalogue is constitutional. Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee, authored the court opinion, being joined by eight other appeals court members, including Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod. Duncan wrote that the law “requires no religious exercise or observance” on the part of public school students, and thus...

A simmering feud between Reps. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has roared back up to a boil, escalating to tit-for-tat threats of expulsion as each lawmaker publicly lobs attacks on the other’s character. Mace on Monday filed a resolution to expel Mills, citing allegations of dating violence and campaign finance laws — a move that comes amid renewed scrutiny of sexual misconduct by House members after Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned last week. “Cory, your days are numbered. Start packing,” Mace said in a statement announcing the expulsion resolution.But Mills is pointing the finger...

Houston Police Officers’ Union: “In no way does the HPOU or its leadership condone or tolerate racist behavior from any of our officers.”A Houston police officer has been relieved of duty after a video circulating on social media allegedly shows her making offensive, racist remarks, according to the Houston Police Department. Officer Ashley Gonzalez was sworn in in January 2024 and assigned to the South Gessner Patrol Division. She has been relieved of duty pending an investigation, an HPD source confirmed Tuesday morning. Gonzalez was identified as the speaker in a video of a racist rant that has gone viral...

“The sheriff leading the investigation into the unsolved disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has a checkered past in law enforcement, including allegedly beating a handcuffed suspect and threatening witnesses, records allege. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, 70, was suspended eight times when he worked for the El Paso Police Department in Texas early in his career, reports Arizona Republic. The outlet obtained records from Nanos' past through a public records request, which detailed a litany of alleged violations from Nanos when he was a young police officer.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against ActBlue in Tarrant County, Texas, following a multi-year investigation into the fundraising platform’s compliance with election laws. The lawsuit, filed in Fort Worth, alleges that ActBlue misled both Congress and the public while failing to follow federal and state requirements designed to prevent improper or illegal political donations. During an exchange with commentator Benny Johnson, Paxton confirmed the legal action and outlined the basis for the case. “ I assume you've heard of ActBlue. We just filed a lawsuit this morning in Tarrant County, which is...