Texas

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Fastest Speed Limit in US Coming to Texas

Feel free to drive 85mph...

(Newser) - Speed demons, rejoice: A new stretch of Texas highway will have the nation's highest speed limit when it opens in November: 85mph. The record limit on the 41-mile stretch of Texas 130 follows a decision by the state legislature last year allowing 85mph limits on new roads, the Los ...

Federal Court Shoots Down Texas Voter ID Law

Says it puts 'strict unforgiving burdens on the poor'

(Newser) - Three federal judges unanimously rejected Texas' voter ID law today, saying that it imposes "strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor." Since racial minorities are more likely to be poor, the judges ruled that the law violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The judges, who were appointed by...

Gang-Rape Defendant Disappears During Trial

Eric McGowen disappeared during a 10-minute recess

(Newser) - Eric McGowen, one of the men accused of gang-raping an 11-year-old girl, is on the lam, after disappearing during a recess in his trial yesterday. The victim, who is going by the pseudonym "Regina," had just taken the stand, crying as prosecutors showed a graphic cellphone video in...

Donkey Kills Texas Mayor
 Donkey Kills Texas Mayor 
Aug 30, 2012 3:23 AM CDT

Donkey Kills Texas Mayor

Aggressive male kicked, trampled rancher

(Newser) - A small town north of San Antonio is mourning its mayor, who was kicked and trampled to death by a 500-pound donkey. Police say Hollywood Park Mayor Bill Bohlke, 65, was attacked by a stud donkey he kept on his cattle ranch. He was found dead about 50 yards from...

West Nile Death Toll Hits 66
 West Nile Death Toll Hits 66 
Aug 29, 2012 12:41 PM CDT

West Nile Death Toll Hits 66

People in hard-hit states urged to avoid mosquitoes

(Newser) - At least 66 people have now died in one of the worst West Nile virus outbreaks the US has ever seen. Infections shot up 40% this week, with a total of 1,590 now having fallen ill, USA Today reports. Health officials are warning Americans to do their best to...

Texas Voting Maps Discriminate: US Court

Victory for minority activists, but state plans to appeal

(Newser) - A federal court says Texas' new voting maps, redrawn by a Republican legislature, violate the Voting Rights Act. They contain signs of discrimination against minorities, judges said in a 154-page opinion. "The three-judge panel unanimously found intentional discrimination across the state. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about...

America&#39;s Stupidest Drug Laws

 America's Stupidest Drug Laws 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 26, 2012 7:00 PM CDT

America's Stupidest Drug Laws

'Reason' breaks down the most ridiculous laws the drug war has produced

(Newser) - What's more ridiculous than the war on drugs itself? The plethora of strange draconian laws that have cropped up to support it. Don't believe it? Well, Mike Riggs of the libertarian Reason Magazine has come up with a list of the five most ridiculous ones. Judge for yourself:...

Judge: Tax Hike Needed to Fight UN in US Revolution

Texan warns of 'civil war' if Obama is reelected

(Newser) - The freedom-loving people of Lubbock County, Texas, could be crushed under the heel of the United Nations if they don't approve a 1.7-cent rise in the tax rate, warns a local official. Judge Tom Head told a local radio station that the extra funds are needed to prepare...

Texas Teacher Accused of Group Sex With Students

Evidence includes video of her alleged encounter with teens

(Newser) - A startling case out of Texas: Former high school teacher Brittni Colleps, 28, could face up to 20 years behind bars after being accused of having group sex with four of her students, and a separate encounter with a fifth. Prosecutors in the case showed jurors cell phone footage of...

Dallas Declares West Nile Virus Emergency

381 cases in Texas, with 16 reported deaths statewide

(Newser) - After suffering 10 deaths from the West Nile virus so far this year, Dallas County has declared a state of emergency, setting the stage for aerial anti-mosquito spraying. The disease is surging in the state, which has seen at least 381 cases this year, compared to just 27 last year;...

Texas Shares Last Words of Executed

Most farewells mention love, life, family, God, 'sorry'

(Newser) - You know you have just minutes to live. What do you say? If you're about to be executed in Texas, you most often mention love, family, life, or God—and that you're "sorry." Those are the words that most frequently pop up in the farewells of...

Texas Executes Inmate Despite Low-IQ Claims

Supreme Court rejected his appeal hours earlier

(Newser) - A Texas man convicted of killing a police informant was executed this evening after the Supreme Court rejected arguments that he was too mentally impaired to qualify for the death penalty. Marvin Wilson, 54, was pronounced dead 14 minutes after his lethal injection began at the state prison in Huntsville....

Texas to Execute Man Deemed Mentally Retarded

Tomorrow's penalty would run counter to Supreme Court ruling

(Newser) - A Texas prisoner diagnosed as mentally retarded is set for the death penalty tomorrow—despite a 2002 US Supreme Court ruling barring mentally retarded people from execution. The court decision left states some leeway in carrying out executions, and Texas controversially continues to use its own definition of mental retardation,...

Tea Party Scores Huge Win in Texas

Ted Cruz beats Lt. Gov. Dewhurst for GOP Senate nomination

(Newser) - The Tea Party has triumphed in a Texas election seen as a major test for the movement. Former state solicitor general Ted Cruz has defeated establishment favorite Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to become the state's Republican US Senate nominee. Cruz, the 41-year-old son of a Cuban immigrant, is almost...

Tweens Hit With Felony Over Fake Facebook Page

Girls impersonated classmate, made threats, cops say

(Newser) - Two middle-school girls in Texas have been arrested after police say they created a Facebook page in a classmate's name—and used it to fire off threats to other students. The girls, ages 12 and 13, face third-degree felony charges for online impersonation, NBC News reports. The messages caused...

Palin Grabs a Bite at Chick-fil-A

Makes a point of stopping by after Texas campaign event

(Newser) - Stumping for Senate candidate Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin worked up a Texas-sized hunger and sauntered right into the gay-marriage brouhaha ignited by Chick-fil-A : The former Alaska governor tweeted a photo of herself and husband Todd at a restaurant, declaring, "Stopped by Chick-fil-A in The Woodlands to support a great...

Sex Probe Balloons to 38 Victims at Air Force Base

Instructors may have preyed on recruits at basic training

(Newser) - A sex assault and harassment probe at a Texas Air Force base has been expanded to 15 instructors, and the number of possible victims is now up to 38. "There may be others as we continue the investigation" at the Lackland base in San Antonio, said an Air Force...

Pickup Crashes in Texas, Killing 13 of 23 Riders

Truck was jammed with riders in cab and bed

(Newser) - Tragedy in Texas, where at least 13 people are dead and 10 injured after a pickup truck carrying 23 passengers—crammed into both the cab and the bed—ran into two large trees. "This is the most people I've seen in any passenger vehicle, and I've been...

Inmate Is First Executed in Texas With Single Drug

State changes lethal injection formula used since 1982

(Newser) - America's most prolific death penalty state has executed its first inmate using one drug instead of three. Yokamon Hearn, 33, was killed with a single dose of pentobarbital, which had been part of a three-drug mixture used for executions before shortages of the other drugs arose. Ohio, Arizona, Idaho,...

Rick Perry: No ObamaCare for Texas

He says it could financially wreck even Texas

(Newser) - Add Texas to the growing list of states opting out of key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Gov. Rick Perry sent a letter to Kathleen Sebelius today saying that he would not expand Medicaid or offer a state insurance exchange, Politico reports. "I stand proudly...

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