Free Republic

The Dallas-Fort Worth Airport has reportedly scrapped plans to install Islamic footwashing stations, Fox News reported. The news follows Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directing a review of state grants that operate airports in Texas after Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport reportedly planned to build ablution facilities for Islamic washing rituals. Abbott posted on X. “Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others. DFW plans to install Islamic wudu washing facilities are illegal. I've directed a review of all state grants to both airports for possible revocation, and referred DFW & IAH to USDOT for investigation.” Abbott said he referred DFW...

Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico now says he does not support gender mutilation surgery for minors—but when Texas lawmakers voted to prohibit the procedures, Talarico voted no.Talarico voted against Senate Bill 14, legislation prohibiting physicians from performing gender-mutilation surgeries on minors as well as prescribing sterilizing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the purpose of changing a child’s biological sex. The measure was ultimately approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.Talarico’s legislative record also includes another vote involving insurance coverage for gender-mutilation procedures and the consequences of those treatments. In 2025, Talarico voted against...

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport will install Islamic foot wash stations inside bathrooms at the facility, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The project was officially registered with Texas regulators on July 31, according to documents detailing the project. The installation of the Wudu ablution stations is expected to be complete by the end of the year. "Project consists of adding Ablution stations to existing concourse level restrooms in Terminal D, one Men's ablution station in existing men's restroom and one Women's ablution station in the existing women's restroom," the project details read. It is privately funded and...

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...

Elon Musk is betting that the next phase of his sprawling technology empire will require a building on a scale that has never existed before. SpaceX and Tesla are building Terafab, a 100-million-square-foot semiconductor manufacturing facility in Grimes County, Texas, more than five times the size of the world's largest building. "Terafab Texas will be the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far. And it will be stunningly beautiful," Musk wrote on X. "We're now embarking on the most epic chip-building effort—combining logic, memory, and advanced packaging all under one roof," said Musk in a press release. The...

The Democrat Senate nominee said the experience was part of the religious tradition that eventually led him into politics. Democrat U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico says the church he grew up in once housed illegal aliens who were facing deportation by federal immigration authorities. The comments, first reported by Fox News, came during a 2023 appearance by Talarico on Texas Impact’s Weekly Witness podcast. Asked how his faith influenced his political career, Talarico pointed to a history of progressive activism at his church. “Our church was really active in LGBTQ rights in the ’90s. We caught some attention by letting...

Tulsa National Little League granted temporary restraining order to play in tournament By: KJRH Digital Posted 6:37 PM, Aug 10, 2026 Hours after the Tulsa National Little League baseball team was removed from the Southwest regional, 2 News was told a judge in Waco has granted a Temporary Restraining Order, allowing them to play. Earlier August 10, the Little League International Tournament Committee said in a statement, "Following a recent protest related to the eligibility of players on the Tulsa National Little League Baseball team, the Little League® International Tournament Committee has determined that a player who participated on the...

Three years can be a long time in Texas politics. Republicans who once stood on opposite sides of one of the party’s most bitter battles are now sharing stages, exchanging embraces, and urging voters to unite behind Attorney General Ken Paxton in November. The display has unfolded during Paxton’s campaign tour this week, where several lawmakers with a history of conflict with the Republican senate nominee have appeared alongside him and encouraged voters to put past disagreements aside. The most prominent example came in Allen, where State Rep. Jeff Leach introduced Paxton before a packed crowd and embraced him as...

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...

The Northern District of Texas strikes again, granting final judgement in a case with GOA and Silencer Shop Foundation to challenge the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act. The Judgement rules that because the government no longer collects a tax on short barrel rifles, short barrel shotguns, and suppressors, then their entire regulatory scheme is unconstitutional as it exceeds their authority as it no longer uses the enumerated taxing power

Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state regulators to conduct a comprehensive verification and audit of all data centers advancing through the interconnection process before any additional projects are approved. Abbott said projects that fail to comply with state requirements, or with state law, must be denied connection to the Texas grid. The Monday letter, addressed to the leaders of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), cited “the failure of some data centers to comply with the PUC’s survey measuring water and power usage” as a reason for the new order. “[ERCOT]...

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has reached a deal with the Justice Department to end the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for President Trump’s allies, paving the way for Cornyn to vote to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination to serve as attorney general. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Blanche’s nomination on Tuesday and Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), two members of the panel, were threatening to vote “no” because the administration wouldn’t agree to clarify a settlement with Trump to permanently end the proposed $1.8 billion fund. “Sen. Cornyn has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice,...

An Afghan woman residing in Fort Worth has been arrested for her alleged role in plotting to commit a terrorist attack in 2024 and faces deportation from a federal court that existed only on paper for 30 years. Nazira Haji Zada, 47, appeared before a federal judge Thursday morning for her first hearing in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, according to a Department of Justice news release. This is the first time the court — referred to by legal experts as a “zombie court” — has been used since its creation by Congress in 1996. This special court is located...

A serial drunk driver has been sentenced to 50 years behind bars after he was caught driving under the influence for the fifth time. A Texas jury last week found Eugenio Les Zavala, 34, guilty of driving drunk in Montgomery County on February 17, 2025, according to court records obtained by the Daily Mail. Zavala was arrested and charged last year following a traffic stop conducted by Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies, the district attorney's office said. During the investigation, Zavala refused to exit his vehicle, became 'argumentative,' and 'physically resisted' officers. His eyes were glossy, speech was slurred, and his...

The Walt Disney Company has dramatically escalated its showdown with the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the agency of carrying out a politically motivated campaign on behalf of President Donald Trump that could strip broadcast licenses from some of Disney-owned network ABC’s biggest television stations. In a 109-page filing, Disney argued the federal agency’s actions amount to retaliation over the entertainment company’s programming, including criticism of the president by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and scrutiny surrounding Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. “The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of...

A Texas woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to smuggling unaccompanied illegal immigrant children into the United States from Juarez, Mexico. Dianne Guadian, 33, together with three other members of a smuggling organization, transported foreign children aged 5 to 13 into the country, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a July 28 statement. Candy laced with THC, the major psychoactive constituent in cannabis, was sometimes used to sedate the children. Drivers and co-conspirators would claim to be their parents and show the inspecting officers false U.S. documents. Once the group entered the United States, the children were transported to El...

Democrat James Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton by five percentage points in a survey of likely Texas voters released Tuesday, marking a shift from earlier polling that showed the attorney general narrowly ahead or tied in the U.S. Senate contest. Discover more Legislative Branch Government Voter registration services Texas Public Opinion Research found Talarico leading Paxton, 45 percent to 40 percent, “marking the Austin state representative’s largest lead in any public poll taken during the general election period,” the Texas Tribune reported. The group surveyed 1,048 likely voters from July 15 through July 17. The poll has a margin of...

James Talarico, the radical Democrat nominee for the U.S. Senate race in Texas, once credited Islamic teachings and authors as an inspiration for his Christian faith. 🚨UNEARTHEDJames Talarico — who said he "hates Christianity" — praised Islam for inspiring his religious beliefs:"I’ve learned as much about my faith from Salman’s tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi, as much as I have from Christian authors..." pic.twitter.com/2UeksY9Hko— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 27, 2026“I’ve learned as much about my faith from Salman’s tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi, as much as I have from Christian authors,” Talarico...

A Texas appeals court on Thursday reversed a temporary injunction against a Houston-area woman accused of violating the state's abortion ban. Maria Margarita Rojas was arrested in March 2025 and accused of providing "illegal abortions" and practicing medicine without a license at a network of clinics in northwestern Houston, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Rojas' attorneys have argued that the allegations are not true and that the state has failed to prove any abortions were happening at the clinics or that any unlawful practice was occurring. A lower court in Waller County issued a temporary injunction against Rojas...

SpaceX to launch 13th Starship flight test What we know: SpaceX's latest test flight is currently scheduled for Thursday with the 90-minute launch window opening at 5:45 p.m. The latest test flight will test the company's Super Heavy booster with the objective of a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn and landing burn. SpaceX said the booster's hardware has been modified to improve relight reliability. For Starship, the company hopes to launch 20 Starlink satellites and have a successful relight of an engine while in space with a controlled entry, descent and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The company...