BREAKING: Texas AG Ken Paxton will not face federal charges, according to AP sources out of DC. Paxton attorney Dan Cogdell told me this morning he has no knowledge of this development but added, “They never had a case to begin with.”

NEW: An unfolding federal civil rights suit stemming from Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star could give a template, experts say, for similar cases against Travis County, where people have sat in jail for weeks and months with no formal charges: www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

NEW: Austin fire officials say they believe smoke in parts of the city, resulting in 911 calls, are the result of a 400-acre wildfire near Fredericksburg.

BREAKING: Austin police think an 18-wheeler driver was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash and "not capable of operating a vehicle safely," an affidavit says. He "seemed calm and relaxed given the situation," the document says.

UPDATE: The NTSB has opened an investigation into this crash.

NEW: A 37-year-old man has been booked into jail on five charges of intoxication assault — one for each victim — in connection to a crash on I-35 that killed 5 people including an baby and child.

NEW: When a firestorm hit his administration over not indicting felony cases in a state-mandated period, Travis County DA Jose Garza implied the issue is statewide. But we found no pervasive issue in Texas. www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

Whoa! As often as I travel I have never witnessed this semi-organized chaos at @AustinAirport. Pre-check ✅ line hundreds and hundreds deep. Thank you to nice workers on megaphones 📢 directing us. But sheesh!

BREAKING: State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt has issued an usual rebuke to a member of her own party -- to Travis DA Jose Garza -- after what she said are "grave concerns" about the operations of his office www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

NEW: A judge has raised a murder suspect's bond to $100,000 and is returning him to custody amid a furor that erupted after the Travis DA's office failed to bring an indictment in 90 days. There is still no explanation for the prosecutorial lapse. www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

NEW: Prosecutors in the Travis County DA's office have twice in 10 weeks missed crucial deadlines to indict murder suspects, leading to their release on dramatically reduced bonds. One case sparked a weekend social media furor. The other was not known until now. www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

NEW: We examined holes in the state school bus seatbelt law after the deadliest crash in almost a decade in March. Now, a lawmaker looks to tighten those laws. www.statesman.com/story/news/s...

While Elon Musk continues his blitz of government disruption in D.C., here’s a look at what’s happening in a town just outside Austin where he is setting up his 400-acre Snailbrook: www.statesman.com/story/busine...

As we continue to dig for numbers and data from ICE, this is what Austin’s top political and law enforcement leaders say they have learned from the feds about the “enhanced operations” in Austin. Here’s our extended conversation: youtu.be/VLO7ei37ous?...

NEW: Texas sets the base wage for caretakers at $10.60 for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I've done some work in recent years (and a team project) on the issue, but this story shows how a lack of staffing can create dangerous situations: www.kvue.com/article/news...

Thanks for the invite @sunlightresearch.bsky.social

NEW: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued five executive orders directing state agencies to work with federal immigration officials to “investigate, arrest, detain and deport illegal immigrants in Texas” and to deploy share all information with the feds on “foreign terrorist organizations.”

Here’s what we know — and what we don’t — so far about Sunday’s immigration operations in Austin.

NEW: Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis says feds tell her that operations in Austin Sunday were to serve warrants for "wanted violent offenders." She didn't know the number or immigration status of arrestees. It comes as anxiety increases for many, especially in Austin's immigrant community.

NEW: Austin leaders are taking new efforts to remove mental health response from the hands of police and put them in those of trained healthcare professions. In a rare meeting of the minds, both police and city officials agree officers should have less of a role. www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

Texas Rep. Andy Hopper, endorsed by many of the state’s ultra conservatives, has filed a bill that would require approval of the state AG or local sheriff before before the feds could arrest any Texas citizen. He says the feds have wrongly “tormented, bankrupted and jailed” thousands.

I've been watching and seeing amazingly fun New Orleans snow pictures, and after what happened earlier this month, I can't think of a place more worthy of a light-hearted day. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/w...

Winter in Austin. Shoal Creek and Koenig. ❄️❄️

With up to 2" of snow and sleet expected for Austin on Monday night/Tuesday morning, here are the 5 biggest snow events the city has seen in 50 years: January 1985: 7.5 February 2021: 6.4" November 1980: 2" January 1982: 2" February 2004: 1.6"

BREAKING: Nate Paul, whose relationship with Texas AG Ken Paxton was a basis of a 2023 impeachment effort of Paxton, pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of making false statements to a financial institution and faces up to six months in prison. Other charges will dropped.

The Dan Rather Medal for News & Guts given through the University of Texas is accepting applications for two prizes, one for professional and the other for student journalists, through Jan. 31 with $5,000 prizes each. I'm honored to again be a juror. Submit here: danrathermedals.com/apply/

Texas lawmakers are expected to again take aim at Austin, a liberal bastion of the state, through multiple bills. “The Legislature always decides that Austin doesn't know best about Austin,” said state Rep. Donna Howard, an Austin Democrat. www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

Austin lost dozens of homes to wildfires in 2011, but could it see a similar fire similar to what's happening in Los Angeles? We're at risk, officials explain in this expanded conversation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9P-...

BREAKING: University of Texas President Jay Hartzell is joining Southern Methodist University as its president, departing the state’s flagship university.

Hat tip to Politifact for its scrutiny and dismantling of the false narrative, shared by Fox News and politicians, that the New Orleans suspect had crossed the border at Eagle Pass two days earlier. www.statesman.com/story/news/p...

NEW: The FBI says they do NOT believe the 42-year-old suspect was "solely responsible."

BREAKING: The Sugar Bowl, set for tonight in New Orleans, has been postponed, according to local station WDSU.

Austin had its hottest year on the record in 2024, following its second-hottest year in 2023.

NEW: Security barriers set up in 2017 to prevent an attack similar to what happened in New Orleans along Bourbon Street were "in the midst of being replaced" at the time of this morning's incident, according to nola.com. www.nola.com/news/traffic...

NEW: U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, confirms that the truck involved in the New Orleans attack had a Texas license plate in an interview with local TV station WDSU.

UPDATE: The FBI is now calling this incident a terrorist attack, according to WDSU in New Orleans. Police are investigating the possiblity of improvised explosive devices throughout the French Quarter. The death toll remains at 10; 2 police officers shot and injured by the suspect, who is dead.

BREAKING: 10 dead, more than 30 injured in New Orleans after a car drives into a French Quarter crowd in what officials say they suspect is a terrorist attack: www.nola.com/news/mass-ca...

New Orleans is magical in the holidays. Merry Christmas to all. 💚❤️

NEW: The worst school bus crash in Texas in nearly a decade happened against a backdrop of declining enforcement of commericial vehicles as the state DPS diverted officers to Operation Lone Star, among other reasons. Enforcement was lowest where the crash occurred: www.statesman.com/story/news/s...

This comment from RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor of law at the University of Utah, about the ABC News/Trump settlement is 👀

Thank you @texastribune.org for inviting me to interview my friend Craig Garnett, publisher of the Uvalde Leader-News about his newly released book, "Uvalde's Darkest Hour." You can watch our conversation here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v51...

BREAKING: An Austin police officer has been sentenced to two years in state prison in the shooting death of a man suffering mental illness in a case that placed a microscope on how police respond to such incidents.

Thank you @joshuajfriedman.com!

So happy to be here! And I mean that. 😀

The conservative America First Legal took in $80K from fundraiser in a Texas Hill Country county to help fight its federal book ban case. But the county hasn’t seen a dime, reports @baylisswagner.bsky.social: www.statesman.com/story/news/p...

Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🍂🍁 Enjoying this Austin tradition for the I-have-lost-count-how-many-years.

NEW: Months after we began examining the issue, and amid a growing transparency and political fight, Travis DA Jose Garza confirms a $65K taxpayer expense to make his home safer. He also released social media posts and a death threat prompting the security effort: www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

NEW: As Matt Gaetz withdraws his AG nomination, Texas AG Ken Paxton, a longtime Trump ally, is still floated in state political circles as a possibility.

NEW: We’ve been reporting for months on a secret $115K security allotment to Travis DA Jose Garza, including taxpayer dollars to protect his home, which has now sparked a growing political and legal battle. Here’s the latest: www.statesman.com/story/news/l...