POLITICS
Rep. Marc Veasey drops bid for Tarrant County judge
DFW | FORT WORTH | lawmakers | local politics | political | politics | TEXAS POLITICS | VOTING IN TEXAS
WATCH: Houston pastor reflects on Hurricane Katrina
| August 26, 2025
Two decades after Hurricane Katrina, Houston pastor Shannon Verrett reflected on the devastating storm, the choas of evacuating and the heartbreak of personal loss.
“Most of the time when you're going through traumatic experiences in your life, you don't even know how strong your faith is. But when you weather the storm—when you're on the other side of through you begin to see: He had me back then. I was stronger than I knew,” Verrett, a pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, told COURIER Texas.
Katrina struck Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005, killing 1,392 people and causing $125 billion in damages. Tens of thousands of New Orleans residents, like Verrett, evacuated to Houston.
WATCH: Texas Republicans are trying to ‘cheat in the middle of the game’ with gerrymandering maps
| August 26, 2025
Congress | EXCO-Player | Gerrymandering | local politics | old texas | redistricting | Republicans | TEXAS
US Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Fort Worth) spoke at Greater Saint Stephen First Church, which currently sits in the diverse congressional district he has represented since 2012, on the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
WATCH: Nicole Collier: ‘I don’t want my people to lose their voice in Congress’
| August 22, 2025
DFW | EXCO-Player | local politics | old texas | redistricting | Republicans | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS HOUSE
Watch as state Rep. Nicole Collier (D-Fort Worth) shares what’s at stake for Texans, and democracy, if the GOP’s redistricting plan passes. It disenfranchises Black and brown voters and flips five US House seats currently held by Democrats to Republicans.
WATCH: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo censured after chaotic debate over child care tax
| August 22, 2025
After Harris County commissioners censured Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county’s top elected official said she’ll never apologize.
WATCH: Dallas, Fort Worth end DEI programs amid Trump funding threats
| August 22, 2025
Two North Texas cities ended diversity, equity, and inclusion programs amid anti-DEI directives from the Trump administration, which has threatened federal funding if cities don’t comply.
Follow COURIER Texas for more.
WATCH: Texas Republican leaders failed us, North Texas lawmaker says
| August 22, 2025
DFW | EXCO-Player | local politics | old texas | redistricting | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS HOUSE
Republican lawmakers have “lost track” of their job, according to state Rep. Nicole Collier (D-Fort Worth), after putting a vote on redistricting before a vote on flood relief and emergency preparedness legislation.
Jasmine Crockett: Republicans have ‘zero path to the White House’ without Texas
| August 22, 2025
EXCO-Player | local politics | old texas | redistricting | Republicans | TEXAS | TEXAS POLITICS | US HOUSE
Texas Democrats are battling Republicans over a GOP redistricting plan that would flip five US House seats currently held by Democrats, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas) is urging Texans to fight back, organize, and vote.
Follow COURIER Texas for more.
In her own words: Why this Texas physician fled to Virginia
| August 22, 2025
ABORTION | HEALTH | HEALTHCARE | HEALTHCARE | Repro Rights | reproduction rights | TEXAS | Texas Lead Story | women's health
I remember very clearly the moment I knew I was done. I could no longer practice as a women’s health care doctor in Texas. I had a patient, probably 18 or 19 years old. I was doing an ultrasound, and she told me she needed an abortion for her safety. She said, “I’m too young. I don’t feel safe with my partner. I’m scared. I need an abortion.”
Texas Senate bans THC again, targets bathroom use by trans people
| August 18, 2025
cannabis | EXCO-Player | LGBTQ | local politics | old texas | TEXAS | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | TEXAS SENATE | thc
Although Texas House Democrats left the state to block a Republican redistricting bill, Republicans in the Texas Senate passed bills targeting trans people and THC.
Al Green fires back at Greg Abbott’s redistricting plan: ‘What is wrong with you?’
| August 18, 2025
EXCO-Player | greg abbott | HTX | local politics | old texas | redistricting | TEXAS | TEXAS LEGISLATURE
US Rep. Al Green said Gov. Greg Abbott ought to be “ashamed” for trying to redraw the state’s congressional districts and targeting his Houston-area seat.
US citizen might not be able to protect her family under the current administration
| August 18, 2025
Rosa Vargas-Galvan became a U.S. citizen in 2022 after living as a permanent resident since she was two years old. Her family did everything by the book, but under the current administration, that may not be enough to protect her or her family.
Texas private schools hire relatives and enrich insiders. Soon they can do it with taxpayer money.
| August 15, 2025
An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public.