Texas

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Man Offers to Cook Texas Inmates' Last Meals, But...

Department of Criminal Justice isn't swayed by Brian Price's free offer

(Newser) - Brian Price made the Texas Department of Criminal Justice an offer they seemingly couldn't refuse—but refuse it they did. The former inmate, who himself cooked 220 final meals before being released, volunteered to cook the last meals for condemned inmates after hearing the state had canceled the tradition...

No More Last Meals for Death Row Cons in Texas
No More Last Meals for
Death Row Cons in Texas
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 25, 2011 7:00 PM CDT

No More Last Meals for Death Row Cons in Texas

They can no longer make special requests

(Newser) - Death row inmates in Texas can no longer request special last meals, and they can blame racist killer Lawrence Russell Brewer. Before he was executed this week , Brewer ordered up a Texas-sized feast, according to the Austin American-Statesman : "Two chicken fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet,...

Meet the Teacher Who Fueled Perry's HPV Fight

Heather Burcham devoted life to raising awareness

(Newser) - After she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, Houston teacher Heather Burcham decided to devote her life to raising awareness of the disease and the HPV vaccine—and one man she inspired was Rick Perry. The Texas governor befriended Burcham following his executive order that girls should receive the vaccine, the...

White Supremacist Executed in Texas Dragging Death

Lawrence Brewer put to death for murder of James Byrd Jr.

(Newser) - The Troy Davis case isn't the only big capital punishment story making headlines tonight. Texas authorities executed Lawrence Russell Brewer for his role in the brutal death of James Byrd Jr. in 1998, reports AP . Brewer and two other white men chained Byrd, a 49-year-old black man, to the...

Dujane Buck Execution Halted
 Duane Buck Execution Halted 
Sep 16, 2011 6:00 AM CDT

Duane Buck Execution Halted

Supreme Court to review Texan's appeal

(Newser) - Duane Buck's life has been spared, for now, without Texas Gov. Rick Perry having to sit in the hot seat. Buck, who shot two people to death in 1995, had been scheduled to die by lethal injection yesterday, but the US Supreme Court decided to review his appeal, AP...

Rick Perry Asked to Halt Tomorrow's Execution

Jury told black men pose greater danger

(Newser) - Lawyers for Duane Edward Buck are urging Texas Gov. Rick Perry to step in and stay their client's execution, scheduled for tomorrow, citing racially biased testimony presented at his sentencing hearing. Texas law requires juries to decide if a defendant poses a “future danger” when deciding whether to...

Bachmann Tones Down Words on HPV Dangers

Rush Limbaugh says she's 'jumping the shark' with retardation anecdote

(Newser) - Michele Bachmann looks to be pulling back from controversial comments she made about the HPV vaccine after drawing flak from the medical community and others—including Rush Limbaugh, notes Minnesota Public Radio . Bachmann scored points in last night's debate by criticizing Rick Perry's decision to try to mandate...

Perry Living High on the (Donors') Hog

Lives the high life—but you wouldn't know it listening to him

(Newser) - Rick Perry may play up his modest background, but these days he’s living in the lap of luxury—with a little help from his friends. Donors pay for the mansion he rents from the state for $10,000 a month—and they’ve covered worldwide travel, resort visits, top-tier...

Donkeys Abandoned Across Texas

Dire drought and high feed costs to blame

(Newser) - Cash-strapped donkey owners in Texas are abandoning the animals in record numbers, creating a headache for authorities and a devoted group of donkey rescuers, the Houston Chronicle reports. Authorities say dire drought and high feed costs are making donkeys, like horses, much harder to keep. "Donkey rescues have gone...

Texas Wildfire Toll: 1,386 Homes, 2 Lives

Bastrop fire just 30% contained

(Newser) - Texas’ Bastrop Wildfire has already been named the state’s worst ever , and it continues to rage: Now 1,386 homes have been destroyed, and the fire is just 30% contained. Two people have died, one of them a city of Austin employee found inside his home. The fire has...

Applause as Perry Defends Death Penalty

But serious questions were raised about execution on Rick's watch

(Newser) - One thing Rick Perry doesn't lose sleep over are the executions in his state. Asked last night if he ever worried that Texas has put an innocent man to death, he answered confidently: "No, sir. I've never struggled with that at all." He praised the state'...

Texas Bastrop Wildfire Burns 500 Homes
 Texas Wildfire Is 'Worst Ever' 
Sep 6, 2011 7:48 AM CDT

Texas Wildfire Is 'Worst Ever'

Nearly 500 homes destroyed; 3.5M acres charred this year

(Newser) - Wildfires continued to ravage Central Texas yesterday as firefighters battled the most devastating single fire in Texas history, the Los Angeles Times reports. As of yesterday, 476 homes had been destroyed in Bastrop County, east of Austin; firefighters battled the flames as they tore through thousands of acres. With 40...

300 Homes Go Up in Texas Fire
 300 Homes Go Up in Texas Fire 
Sep 5, 2011 1:28 AM CDT

300 Homes Go Up in Texas Fire

Mom, child killed in separate blaze in tinderbox state

(Newser) - A mother and child have been killed in a blaze near Dallas, while another "catastrophic" Texas wildfire has destroyed 300 homes and sent thousands of residents near Austin fleeing for their lives. The 16-mile-long Austin fire has burned through 14,000 acres and is now threatening an additional 700...

Tropical Depression to Drench Gulf Coast

Region could see 20 inches of rain

(Newser) - A tropical depression heading toward the Gulf Coast could soak the area in as much as 20 inches of rain, prompting concerns about flash floods in Louisiana, whose governor declared a state of emergency yesterday. What could become Tropical Storm Lee prompted warnings from Mississippi to Texas, the AP reports,...

Shooting Wild Pigs From Helicopters Won't Work

Even if Rick Perry thinks so in Texas: Mark Essig

(Newser) - A new law signed by Rick Perry will allow hunters in Texas to rent a seat on a helicopter and hunt wild pigs from the sky. It may work for Perry politically, but the scheme is a short-sighted one that won't solve the growing problem of feral pigs destroying...

Windows Shot at Congressman's Office

Texas Rep. Gene Green's office may not have been intended target

(Newser) - Shots were fired at the Houston office of Rep. Gene Green yesterday morning, but there were no injuries at the Democrat's office. Police suspect it may have been a random attack. The shots, which shattered a window and damaged nearby properties, probably came from a pellet gun, police say....

Perry Backed Billions in Tax Hikes

Tea Party favorite not always on Norquist's good side

(Newser) - He may be an anti-tax champion now, but Rick Perry has supported billions of dollars in tax hikes throughout his political career—among them the biggest increase that ever occurred in Texas history, the Texas Tribune reports. Just weeks ago, the governor signed an online sales tax provision aimed at...

Texas GOP Candidate Tries to Reason With Donkeys

Finally, a fun political ad: Kirsten Boyd Johnson

(Newser) - Even if you’re not a member of the Grand Ol’ Party, you will probably enjoy this political ad from Republican Texas congressional candidate Roger Williams, in which he attempts to talk sense with donkeys. “Get it?” asks Kirsten Boyd Johnson on Wonkette . Sure, the “horde of dim,...

Austin Breaks Cruel Record: 70 Days of 100-Degree Heat

...and there's little relief in sight

(Newser) - This isn't the kind of record that locals are likely to boast of with pride: Austin, Texas, today broke a record set in 1925 for the most days of 100-plus-degree heat. At 2pm a temperature of 100 degrees was recorded, making today the 70th day of triple-degree heat, reports...

No. 1 Governor in Executions: Rick Perry

234 executions in 11 years sparks debate from death penalty opponents

(Newser) - Rick Perry holds one impressive record as Texas governor that even some of his competitors for the GOP's presidential nomination might not want—overseeing more executions than any governor in modern history, reports the Washington Post . With 234 people executed in Texas in Perry's 11 years as governor,...

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