Progress Texas Podcasts

An unusually large wave of migrants has crossed into and is now crowding Eagle Pass: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/us/texas-border-eagle-pass-migrants.html ...While escalated inspections of incoming cars and trucks have again caused major backups of international shipping traffic: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/09/20/texasbordereagle-passimmigrationgreg-abbott/ Several GOP Senators were...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Education in the spotlight, as Governor Greg Abbott promises special session after special session - and threatens primary challenges for Republican resistors - in his quest for school vouchers: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/09/19/texas-gov-abbott-threatens-special-sessions-even-primary-battles-to-pass-school-choice/ ...While schoo...

Following his acquittal from impeachment, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faces even more serious state and federal charges: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/18/us/texas-ken-paxton-legal-problems.html ...While Republicans who voted to convict him face problems from within their own party: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/16/ken-paxton-impeachment-kelly-hancock-robert-nichols/ ...Former Presid...

The acquittal of Ken Paxton is anything but a surprise to progressives in Texas: https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/nicole-russell/article279427534.html ...More entertaining is the escalation of GOP infighting: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2023/09/18/texas-legislature-senate-house-split-deepens-attorney-general-ken-paxton-acquittal/70885735007/ ...Lt. Governer Dan Patrick...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Ken Paxton defense lead Tony Buzbee calls four friendly witnesses - all current Texas AG Office employees - before resting: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2023/09/14/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-live-updates-coverage-day-eight/70836056007/ Donald Trump weighs in - while admitting he doesn't...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Anticipation that Ken Paxton's alleged mistress might testify in the ongoing impeachment trial is for naught: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article279286904.html ...As former Paxton aide Drew Wicker is grilled over that infamous kitchen remodel: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/13/ken-paxton...

Some Texans have been paying close attention all day, every day for the last week as the historic impeachment of Ken Paxton unfolds - others have, you know, jobs and stuff. So we're glad to have stolen a bit of time today with one particular Texan who's doing both at the same time! Justin Miller writes on Texas politics for the Texas Observer and has been covering every minute of the proce...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Impeachment Day 6: Outside lawyer Brandon Cammack, central to Ken Paxton's questionable relationship with Nate Paul, appears to have ended up a victim himself: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/09/12/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-takeaways-day-6/ ...While former Travis County DA Margaret Moore testifies that she found Nate...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Day 5 of the Ken Paxton impeachment sees the most extensive discussion yet of his extramarital affair: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/11/ken-paxton-affair-impeachment-trial/ ...While a former deputy reveals the AG's general mistrust of law enforcement: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/11/ken-paxton-mark-penley-impeachment-tr...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Friday saw testimony from legendary Texas Ranger David Maxwell: https://news.yahoo.com/former-texas-lawman-says-warned-210156665.html ...While prominent voices on the right continue to support the justification for the proceedings - some more surprising than others: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/texas-republicans-weigh-in-on-pa...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Paxton aides say they turned him in to the FBI when it became clear he had been compromised: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/09/07/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-takeaways-day-3/ ...While Senator John Cornyn finds the whole mess "very deeply disturbing": https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/09/07/john-cornyn...

In Texas, for ANY progressive, it takes serious guts and commitment to run for office - it also helps to have a keen mind for politics, a strong heart for service, and buckets of class and charisma - former Miss Texas and SMU Law graduate Averie Bishop, by those standards, fits the bill pretty nicely! Bishop is running to unseat longtime TX-112 Rep. Angie Chen Button, a Republican representing a d...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Former second-in-command Jeff Mateer recounts Paxton's erratic push for Nate Paul: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/09/06/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-takeaways-day-2/ ...Bringing up Paxton's adulterous affair for the first time, in front of Senator Angela Paxton: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/06/ken-paxton-imp...

The impeachment of Ken Paxton rolls into Day 2, after a dramatic launch yesterday: https://www.npr.org/2023/09/05/1197811021/paxton-impeachment-trial-texas-attorney-general-ag-conspiracy-bribery ...While the state's well-funded far-right's campaign to pressure Senators to dismiss fails: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4188298-texas-gop-ken-paxton-impeachment-critics-primary-threat...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The historic impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is underway this morning at the Texas State Capitol: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-texas-attorney-general/ ...With big conservative money doing all it can to prevent his removal: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/us/ken-paxton-impeachment-cons...

The Instagram account of the AI-assisted artists RuPublicans has been a rallying point for the Texas LGBTQ+ community and its allies, just as several new laws perscuting their community have been enacted in the Lone Star State. We're proud to be joined by Craig, one half of the couple behind the RuPublicans effort, as well as representatives of two Texas orgs that have benefitted from the terr...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: A judge temporarily blocks a new Texas law limiting drag shows: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/us/drag-show-ruling-texas.html The Texas Supreme Court allows a new law banning gender-affirming care for minors in Texas to take effect while it's under consideration: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-top-court-lets-ban-gender-tre...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The "Death Star" law, designed for state pre-emption of a wide range of local ordinances in Texas cities and set to take effect tomorrow, has been ruled unconsitutional by a judge in Austin: https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2023-08-30/texas-death-star-law-ruled-unconstitutional-two-days-before-taking-effect/ New detail...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: A whistleblower report accuses intelligence officers with Operation Lone Star of conducting illegal spying operations: ⁠https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-national-guard-whatsapp-spying-border-iraq-watchdog-2023-8⁠ Texas Senators were at the Capitol yesterday in closed-door preparation for next week's impeachment trial of Attorney...

Governor Greg Abbott makes highly arguable statements about Texas' "sovereignty" in a national op-ed: https://nypost.com/2023/08/28/texas-gov-abbott-we-will-take-biden-to-supreme-court-to-protect-border/ ...While an Operation Lone Star soldier shoots a man across the border on the other side of the Rio Grande in Juarez: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-texas-national-guard-s...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: A new law will provide very narrow exceptions allowing doctors to provide abortion care to Texans with problematic pregnancies: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/28/texas-limited-access-abortion-law A judge finds new transgender care bans unconstitutional - and once again, the Texas AG immediately appeals: https://www.metroweekly...

Various Christian religious orders in Texas have begun to merge in worrisome ways: in particular, the growing political goals of the "prosperity gospel" movement have found common cause among those following the "Seven Mountains Mandate" philosophy - one that calls for Christians to take over essentially all aspects of our lives. Diving deep into all of this has been our friend...

ERCOT and the Texas power grid narrowly avoided rolling blackouts last night - what's in store for this hot weekend? https://www.tpr.org/environment/2023-08-24/strong-possibility-of-power-outages-thursday-evening-san-antonio-asks-residents-to-conserve ...Follow along with ERCOT's supply and demand dashboard, showing a thin margin of error during Friday night football games tonight: https:/...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: A Trump-appointed judge in Victoria will hear arguments over the Biden administration's humanitarian parole program, starting today: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biden-immigration-policy-giving-temporary-legal-status-thousands-faces-rcna101383 Whistleblowers at Texas Health and Human Services allege errors and bad management h...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Texas journalists seeking access to an encrypted e-mail account owned by Attorney General Ken Paxton are denied by his office, claiming "attorney-client privilege": https://twitter.com/lmcgaughy/status/1694031900988317710?t=w1jWJMjxUIoAEmVUHthoQA&s=03 A federal judge in Austin rejects Governor Abbott's claims of an &quot...