Free Republic

Jesse Watters made fun of candidate for Senate and Texas state Rep. James Talarico for hiding his girlfriend’s identity from the public on his Fox News show Wednesday. The host of “Jesse Watters Primetime” jeered that Talarico was 37 and not married, drawing laughs from his panel of co-hosts. He also speculated whether he had a girlfriend at all. “He says just recently that he has a girlfriend and that they’ve been together for four years. He called her his best friend,” Watters said. “He’s not revealing her identity because he wants to respect her privacy and keep her safe...

A federal judge in Texas struck down a 2023 state law Tuesday that sought to restrict drag shows, ruling it was unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge David Hittner, a Reagan appointee, said the measure, known as Texas Senate Bill 12, improperly restricted speech, violating the First Amendment of the Constitution. The ruling prevents state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the Senate, from enforcing the law and denies his motion for a new trial. In the ruling, Hittner also had advice for “those who find such activities as described in this case offensive.” “The solution is relatively simple ......

The wife of an active-duty US soldier was deported on Monday to her native Honduras, according to her family and the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ... Villafranca-Trejo, who entered the US in 2016 at age 18, was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 2017 after failing to appear at a hearing, according to the DHS.

Morgan Stanley has picked Dallas for a major expansion of its banking empire outside New York City — accelerating Wall Street’s migration to Texas following the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, The Post has learned. The financial giant plans to relocate up to 4,800 jobs to the state by 2031, passing over Alpharetta, Georgia, according to municipal filings reviewed by The Post. The firm will anchor a new $1.3 billion, 709,000-square-foot skyscraper in the fast-growing Texas metropolis known to financiers as “Y’all Street”. The Wall Street behemoth led by CEO Ted Pick — which began exploring options outside the Big...

On Tuesday, a court in Dallas, Texas will convene to decide the fate of a small baby called Gabriel or Rumi, depending on who you believe his mother is. Gabriel-Rumi is at present a sort of Schrödinger’s baby, suspended between possible futures and suspended also, poor sod, between life and death: born with heart disease, headed now for surgery. Gabriel-Rumi’s short life has so far been the subject of a media frenzy, for reasons I’ll explain, but should he later look back and be appalled at all the fuss, I’d like him to know what a service he’s already done...

A judge has denied Karmelo Anthony's request for a new trial in the murder of Austin Metcalf after his new defense team called for it in the wake of his conviction earlier this summer. Judge Michael Chitty rendered his decision Saturday after testimony stretched into Friday evening. The decision could have a major impact on how people perceive the justice system in Texas. Anthony was convicted of murdering 17‑year‑old Austin Metcalf after stabbing him during a Frisco ISD track meet in April 2025. A Collin County jury rejected his self‑defense claim and found he intentionally stabbed Metcalf during an altercation.

In perhaps the least surprising revelation of this campaign cycle, besides the epiphany that the guy with a Nazi tattoo turned out not to be very nice to women, was that the Deputy Legislative Director for nominally Republican Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) just enlisted in the legions of blasphemous, demonic Democrat James Talarico. For any Texans wondering if, in retrospect, they should’ve given Ken Paxton a shot instead of sticking with the incumbent, you’ve got your answer: Hell yes. This turncoat, one Jacob Smith, had a central role in developing policy for an allegedly Republican senator, yet he slid seamlessly...

With under nine weeks to go until early voting begins in Texas’ U.S. Senate race, both Ken Paxton and James Talarico have been campaigning around the state, meeting voters everywhere from restaurants to music halls as they’ve pitched their political visions. But on television, Texans have only seen one of them. Talarico, an Austin state representative, has spent over $25 million on advertising since the general election began in late May, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact — with nearly $10.7 million deployed on broadcast and an additional $8.4 million on streaming devices. (The rest has gone to a combination...

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...

Gov. Greg Abbott is calling on Texas lawmakers to ban foreign funding in public schools and prohibit districts from employing workers through the federal H-1B visa program. Abbott announced the proposals Tuesday as part of a broader push aimed at eliminating foreign influence in Texas classrooms. “The minds of our students are driven by influences that they are exposed to in our public schools,” said Abbott. “Those minds should be shaped by policies that are approved by state lawmakers.” Abbott pointed to Austin Independent School District’s acceptance of hundreds of thousands of dollars from Qatar to support Arabic language and...

AUSTIN, Texas — Democrats are doubling down on their fight to convince Americans that their transgender policies should return. The plan is to hammer home stories of transgender teens suffering discrimination and humiliation, gaining sympathy from voters and making a liability out of the expected onslaught of GOP ads attacking Democrats’ transgender policies. One DNC member described it as a “slingshot” moment. The party laid out the strategy in an LGBTQ caucus meeting at the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting in Austin. “Anti-trans attacks are going to be used in this election at the largest scale we have ever seen...

Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D) has hired a top staffer from the office of the Senate Republican he hopes to replace, a move political commentators viewed as strategically savvy to help him win over independent and crossover GOP voters. The incumbent Republican, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), lost a viciously contentious primary to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who scored President Donald Trump's endorsement but is widely viewed as a weaker candidate in the general election due to a series of scandals, lawsuits, a messy and contentious divorce, and other controversies. Talarico, the Democratic nominee, has had a slight lead...

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...

"Doing business in the state of California sucks," Hil Davis, a California businessman, bluntly told Fox News Digital. That frustration ultimately drove Davis, CEO of Digital Brands Group, more than 1,300 miles to Texas. The apparel and e-commerce company relocated its headquarters to Round Rock, just north of Austin, leasing roughly 70,000 square feet of warehouse and office space as it expands its collegiate sports apparel business. Davis said the sprawling Texas facility costs roughly the same as the company’s former space in Vernon, California, about five miles south of Los Angeles. And rent was only part of the equation....

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 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...