News from May 8 to 14: CROWN Act passed in Senate, Title 42 ends, judge in Santa Fe HS shooting disqualified
HOUSTON - There's been a lot of things going on in the Houston area and across Texas this past week.
During the week of May 8 to 14, the Texas CROWN Act - a bill to prohibit race-based hair discrimination - passed in the Senate, the pandemic-era policy, Title 42 ended, and the Texas House approved Senate Bill 14 which would ban transgender youth from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
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Here's a compilation of a few of the news stories from this week.
Texas CROWN Act passes in Senate, headed to Governor Abbott's desk
The Texas CROWN Act, also known as House Bill 567 was successfully voted on in the Texas Senate with 29-1 votes and is heading to the Governor’s desk. The CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, would prohibit discrimination on the basis of hair texture or protective hairstyle associated with race.
Title 42 ends: Here's what it did, and how US immigration policy is changing
Texas - The Issue Is: Title 42 expiration intensifies border crisis, concerns of drug trafficking in the U.S.
As thousands of the "uninvited" push across the Southern border into Texas, outrage aimed at the President over lifting the Title 42 restraint has been continual and ferocious. We spoke to DEA Special Agent in Charge Danny Comeaux who is leading the fight in much of Texas to keep deadly narcotics from reaching unwary users.
On the evening of May 11, Title 42 came to an end. Title 42 was an emergency health authority. It was a holdover from President Donald Trump's administration and began in March 2020. The authority allowed U.S. officials to turn away migrants who came to the U.S.-Mexico border on the grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Now with the policy expired, under U.S. and international law, anyone who comes to the U.S. can ask for asylum. People from all over the world travel to the U.S-Mexico border to seek asylum. The Biden administration is now turning away anyone seeking asylum who didn’t first seek protection in a country they traveled through, or first applied online.
Houston Texans release 2023 schedule
The Houston Texans have released their 2023 NFL schedule detailing their future matchups and game dates.
The team's first home game will be against the Miami Dolphins.
Pivotal House vote moves Texas closer to banning puberty blockers, hormone treatments for trans kids
Texas lawmakers debating transgender bills
*EDITOR'S NOTE: This video is from a previous video. In the 88th Texas legislature, lawmakers are debating several bills that could affect the lives of transgender Texans. Alex Boyer from our sister station in Dallas explains how the LGBTQ community is fighting back.
Texas took a major step towards banning transgender minors from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapy - care medical groups say is vital for their mental health - after the Texas House gave Senate Bill 14 approval Friday. The bill would ban trans people younger than 18 from getting certain transition-related care. Kids already accessing treatments would have to be "weaned off" in a "medically appropriate" manner, the bill says. It also bans transition-related surgeries, though those are rarely performed on kids.
Harris County jail: Bill to investigate facility passes, multiple deaths reported in jail
A bill to investigate conditions at the Harris County jail passed in the Texas House. House Bill 3434 was authored by State Representative Ron Reynolds and calls on the Commission on Jail Standards to conduct a study to evaluate the living conditions and safety of inmates in the Harris County jail. It passed through the County Affairs Committee. So far in 2023, 12 in-custody deaths have been reported in the jail. In March, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards told Harris County officials the jail failed to comply with minimum standards. Inmates in the jail have come forward about the deaths and violence they witnessed at the jail while employees who resigned spoke to FOX 26 about the drug use they’ve seen and the violence and sexual assaults from inmates. The jail was even deemed the ‘House of Death.’
Santa Fe Mass Shooting: Judge disqualified from case, Galveston County DA says
In a statement from the Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady on May 8, Judge Jeth Jones has been disqualified from the Santa Fe High School mass shooting case. No details on the reason behind Judge Jones' disqualification were shared, as of this writing.
This comes more than a month after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Office, which represents The University of Texas Medical Branch, filed a motion opposing Judge Jones' motion for a new competency review of accused Santa Fe High School shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis.