Texas

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Texan Man Arrested in 'Ding Dong Ditch' Shooting

Boy, 11, was shot to death after ringing a doorbell in Houston

(Newser) - Houston police have arrested a 42-year-old man after a boy was fatally shot while playing "ding dong ditch," reports NBC News . Leon Gonzalo Jr., 42, has been charged with murder in the Saturday night shooting. Police say 11-year-old Julian Guzman rang a doorbell about midnight as a prank...

After Heavy Rain in Texas, 2 Bodies Wash Up

Victims in San Antonio were reportedly unhoused

(Newser) - A man and a woman were found dead along a San Antonio creek on Monday following a rainstorm the night before, police said. "It appeared that they were washed up with the water last night coming down the creek," said Police Chief William McManus, per the AP . He...

Drunk Friends Allegedly Took Turns Shooting—Until One Died

Stunt with kevlar helmet ends with man suffering 'a bullet hole in the top of his head,' judge says

(Newser) - A bizarre shooting experiment between two Houston-area men ended in tragedy, leaving one dead and the other facing murder charges, police say. Sean Odonnell, 37, was arrested Thursday in connection with the death of Aaron Prout, a 34-year-old originally from the UK who was living in Harris County, Sheriff...

Police: Texas Mom Left Toddler in Hot Car 'Intentionally'

Police say mother left child in car on 95-degree day

(Newser) - A Texas mother is facing a murder charge after authorities say she "intentionally" left her 15-month-old child in a parked car for more than two hours on a 95-degree day. The child did not survive. Vanessa Esquivel, 27, allegedly left her toddler inside a vehicle without working air...

Abbott Signs Map Trump Wants Into Law

Democratic leader blasts GOP effort to please the president

(Newser) - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a new congressional voting map designed to help Republicans gain more seats in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a win for President Trump—an effort to satisfy the president that a state Democratic leader called "pathetic." Because the Supreme...

Former MLB All-Star Is Running for Congress

Mark Teixeria says he's 'ready to defend President Trump's America First agenda'

(Newser) - The Republican side has won the annual Congressional Baseball Game five years in a row, and the wins could become more lopsided after next year's midterm elections. Former Major League Baseball All-Star Mark Teixeira announced Thursday that he is running for a House seat in Texas, NBC News reports....

Undocumented Students in Texas See Tuition Soar

Trump administration hopes to make this an issue far beyond the state

(Newser) - As a new school year begins, thousands of undocumented college students in Texas are facing soaring tuition bills under a fast-tracked deal between state leaders and the Trump administration to scrap their in-state tuition. Now, the same tactic may be used in other states, reports the Washington Post . In...

States That Are the Most Fun
States That Are the Most Fun
Aug 24, 2025 1:10 PM CDT

States That Are the Most Fun

California tops WalletHub's rankings, while West Virginia needs to lighten up

(Newser) - Every day of your existence "should be sprinkled with at least a little bit of fun," not just your vacations. That's Travel + Leisure's take , and why the magazine is promoting WalletHub's latest rankings to find the state that has the most of it. The...

New Texas Map Passes After Last-Minute Drama

Republicans blocked Democratic state senator's filibuster

(Newser) - The Texas Senate gave final approval to a new, Republican-leaning congressional voting map early Saturday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature. President Trump has pushed for the map to help the GOP maintain its slim majority in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. It has five new...

Alleged Killer Mom Among 'Most Wanted' Is Nabbed

Cindy Rodriguez Singh charged in relation to disabled son's 2022 disappearance

(Newser) - A Texas mother on the FBI's "Top 10 Most Wanted" list has been captured more than two years after fleeing overseas following the disappearance of her 6-year-old son. Cindy Rodriguez Singh, 40, faces charges of capital murder and fleeing prosecution in connection with the presumed death of...

Onetime Ken Paxton Ally Is Running for His Job

GOP Rep. Chip Roy announces he's running for Texas attorney general

(Newser) - Throw another one onto the pile of Republicans running for state attorney general in Texas. GOP Rep. Chip Roy, described by Politico as a "conservative antagonist" in DC, announced on Thursday that he's vying to take over the AG job from his former boss, Ken Paxton, who could'...

Texas House Votes to Give Trump New Congressional Map

Measure goes to GOP-controlled state Senate next, then Abbott

(Newser) - Republicans pushed a new congressional map designed to give them five more US House seats through the Texas House on Wednesday, after a seven-hour debate in which Democrats portrayed the bill as a racially discriminatory plan by President Trump to swing next year's midterm election. The measure was approved...

Judge Rules Against Texas Ten Commandments Law

Public schools in some districts won't be forced to display commandments in classrooms

(Newser) - Texas cannot require public schools in Houston, Austin, and other select districts to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, a judge said Wednesday in a temporary ruling against the state's new requirement. A group of families from the school districts sought a preliminary injunction against the law, which...

After 24 Hours, Toddlers Tell Cops: Our Parents Are Dead

Houston parents of 3 young kids found dead in suspected murder-suicide

(Newser) - Authorities responded to an apartment in West Houston, Texas, on Monday, finding three toddlers who led officers to the bodies of the parents, dead in a suspected murder-suicide. Neighbors initially came upon the "hungry and thirsty" children, ages 1 to 3, outside the home, a resident of the apartment...

More Texas Democrats Join Lawmaker 'Locked In' Capitol

Some state lawmakers are refusing the police escorts required of them to leave

(Newser) - Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier refused to come to the Texas state Capitol for two weeks. Now she won't leave , and fellow Democrats are joining her protest, the AP reports. Collier was among dozens of Democrats who left the state for the Democratic havens of California, Illinois, Massachusetts and...

Texas Inmate Mistakenly Freed From Jail

Apparently confusion with Troy Dugas' paperwork led to his release

(Newser) - A Texas inmate convicted of family violence assault and evading arrest was accidentally released just as he was about to begin serving his sentence for the crimes. Troy Dugas, 36, had been at the Harris County Jail since Aug. 14 on other charges, which were ultimately dismissed, after which he...

Texas Democrat Will Stay Locked in Capitol Until Wednesday

Nicole Collier protests GOP escort rule amid redistricting standoff

(Newser) - The latest twist in the dramatic redistricting standoff between Texas Democrats and GOP leaders: Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier will stay locked inside the state capitol until Wednesday morning. The Fort Worth Democrat declined to submit to Republican leaders' requirement that she sign off on a law enforcement escort...

Johnson Promises to Block Redistricting in California

Speaker says he'll fight Democrats with everything Republicans have

(Newser) - House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday accused California Democrats of orchestrating an "illegal power grab" by redrawing their state's congressional map and pledged to marshal all available Republican resources to stop the plan in its tracks. "Democrats across the nation have played politics with redistricting for...

After 762 Cases, Texas' Measles Outbreak Ends

State reports there hasn't been a new illness since July 1

(Newser) - The Texas measles outbreak that has sickened 762 people since late January is over, state health officials said Monday. Health officials have not confirmed a new case in the affected counties in more than 42 days, passing the threshold used to declare measles outbreaks over. The last outbreak-related case in...

Texas Dems Return, Ending Redistricting Standoff

Lawmakers vow to keep fighting GOP's plans to redraw maps in Lone Star State, elsewhere

(Newser) - As promised , Texas Democrats who left the state to throw a wrench into their GOP colleagues' redistricting plans have returned to Austin. Politico reports that the Lone Star lawmakers have wrapped up their two-week impasse, meaning that Republicans now have enough legislators to pass the new map they're...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser