Austin, TX
Statesman executive editor to step down, take top editor role at Houston news outlet
American-Statesman Executive Editor Manny García will step down this month to take the role of editor in chief at the Houston Landing, a digital nonprofit news organization.
García’s last day with the Statesman will be March 29. Gannett, the Statesman’s parent company, will conduct a nationwide search for a successor.
“A career highlight for me has been leading the Austin American-Statesman for the past three years,” García said. “It is among the strongest and most talented news teams in all of Texas. No one can tell the story of Austin and Central Texas better than our award-winning newsroom. Period.
“The #MightyStatesman has a great future because of the talented bench of journalists that we have and the top-shelf leadership team that is in place.”
García joined the Statesman in 2021. The February 2021 winter storm caused a major power crisis and disruptions to water systems across Texas, including in Austin, two weeks into his tenure. García drove his truck in the snow to pick up Statesman journalists stranded in their homes and take them to the newsroom, which had power and water.
The newspaper’s “defining moment,” in García’s words, came more than a year later, when a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022.
Under his leadership, the Statesman became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for meritorious public service in 2023 for “unflinching coverage of local law enforcement’s flawed response” to one of the worst mass shootings in Texas history.
García won the Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award from the National Press Foundation in 2022.
Judges who chose García for the top honor cited his decision to publish a video obtained by Statesman journalist Tony Plohetski that showed multiple law enforcement officers stalling in a hallway at Robb Elementary for 77 minutes before a U.S. Border Patrol SWAT team confronted and killed the gunman. The footage disproved early claims by law enforcement and government leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, that officers had rushed in heroically to save lives.
After a federal review of the shooting, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Jan. 18 in Uvalde called the police response the “most significant failure” and said a Justice Department report concluded that had police rushed to confront the shooter, “lives would have been saved and people would have survived.”
A special Texas House committee impaneled to investigate the shooting released its report in July 2022 but would not have a Spanish version of the document for weeks, it said. For Uvalde — a community with more than 80% Hispanic or Latino residents and where half the residents age 5 or older speak a language other than English at home — García got to work to get Spanish speakers the House’s shooting report sooner.
García led the translation effort through a collaboration with Spanish-speaking journalists from USA Today and across the U.S. and in Mexico. The Statesman printed 10,000 copies of the report, and staffers, including García, distributed them for free in Uvalde at churches, restaurants, convenience stores, the library and other locations.
“The Statesman is so fortunate to have had Manny García leading our team and helping us become better journalists,” Managing Editor Courtney Sebesta said. “It’s an honor to help lead the Statesman and support the colleagues I’ve worked alongside for 22 years during this transition. Our Statesman journalists are extremely dedicated to their community and will continue to steadfastly report on issues that are important to Central Texans.”
García has previously held leadership roles at the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald, The Naples Daily Herald, USA Today and the ProPublica-Texas Tribune Investigative Initiative. He has also served journalism through the Investigative Reporters and Editors, the News Leaders Association and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
“We sincerely appreciate Manny’s contributions and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors,” said Kristin Roberts, chief content officer of Gannett. “We are excited about the opportunity to find an Austin American-Statesman executive editor to serve the community and create the growth plan for the No. 1 source for Austin and Texas breaking news, politics and business.”
Austin, TX
Texas lawmakers react to arrests during pro-Palestinian protests at UT Austin
Dozens of people were arrested at the University of Texas at Austin during protests over the Israel-Hamas war and state lawmakers are divided on the university’s response. Jack sits down with both major candidates in the race for U.S. Senate in Texas. And a preview of the runoff for Dallas County Sheriff, in which the incumbent is facing a challenge from the predecessor who hand-picked her.
Jack Fink covers these stories and more in the latest edition of Eye on Politics (original air date: April 28).
Protests flare
Dozens of people have been arrested at college campuses across the country in pro-Palestinian protests. Among the locations of these protests: UT Austin, UT Dallas and Columbia University.
At UT’s flagship campus, 57 people were arrested after failing to disperse as ordered by police. Among those arrested, a news photographer for an Austin television station, who was knocked to the ground by officers. Travis County dropped the charges against the protesters.
UT Austin President Jay Hartzell released a statement to students and faculty that read, in part:
“Peaceful protests within our rules are acceptable. Breaking our rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed. The group that led this protest stated it was going to violate Institutional Rules. Our rules matter and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied.”
Republican State Sen. Brandon Creighton of Conroe told Jack the university did the best it could under the circumstances.
“What goes too far is showing up to occupy university space for the purpose of calling out Jewish students and the Jewish community on campus and chanting anti-Israel chants throughout the protest, and an effort to absolutely duplicate and repeat what happened at Columbia University just a few days before is just unacceptable,” Creighton said.
But not everyone agrees. Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Democratic State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, said UT’s response was not its best work.
“My question would be, does that automatically require riot, police and riot gear with physical weapons,” Martinez Fischer said. “And does that require altercations that resulted in physical contact and potential injury? I’m not so sure that the the remedy met the response … President Hartzell has the absolute right to protect the students on campus, but I don’t believe you can justify that by letting other people get hurt in the process.”
On the second day of protests at UT Austin, there were more students and faculty who joined, but law enforcement did not step in.
The situation was more calm at UT Dallas in Richardson, where protesters led a sit-in at the administration building. They dispersed after the university’s President agreed to meet with them and with a group of Jewish students.
And at Columbia University, pro-Palestinian demonstrations ignited a storm of controversy. Some people called for “death to Jews” and made statements against Israel and the U.S. A rabbi at Columbia messaged nearly 300 Jewish students to go home until it is safe to return.
Jack spoke with both major candidates in the race for U.S. Senate in Texas about the issue.
“While folks have a right to protest, chanting things that are deeply anti-Semitic or are threatening is a line that, once that’s crossed, that’s no longer a protest, that’s an aggressive action,” said Democratic Congressman Colin Allred. “That’s what I’ve seen happening on these college campuses. To me, it’s gotten out of hand.”
Sen. Ted Cruz called the campus protests “disgraceful.”
“This vicious antisemitism is utterly unacceptable,” said Cruz. “We’re seeing radical activists who are pro-Hamas, who are chanting in favor of the Hamas terrorists that butchered 1,200 people on October 7.”
Marquee match-up
Jack also spoke with Allred and Cruz about their campaigns, border security and how they voted on a recent foreign aid package.
Watch Jack’s interview with Cruz below:
Watch Jack’s interview with Allred below:
The Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Cruz leads Allred by 7.2 percentage points, 46% to 38.8%. The Cook Political Report rates this seat likely “R”.
Squaring off
One of the closest races being watched in Dallas County is the Democratic primary runoff on May 28 between incumbent Sheriff Marian Brown and her former boss, former Sheriff Lupe Valdez. Valdez hand-picked Brown to succeed her.
Jack recently moderated a debate between them, sponsored by the Dallas Democratic Forum. During the debate, the candidates made their case to dozens of people on why they should win the Democratic primary runoff next month.
“Some people said she wants her old job back,” said Valdez. “I don’t want my old job back … Correctional officers will tell you things are not improving, it’s getting worse. So, I made the decision after three years of several folks asking.”
In response, Brown said she wouldn’t have been Valdez’s hand-picked successor and appointed by county leaders if she hadn’t done a good job as the number three person in the department.
“When I hear there are 30 people who’ve asked my opponent to return, I say to you there are 2,100 employees at the department,” Brown said. “What percentage of 2,100 is 30 … I’m okay with that because in the real world, if you have 2,100 employees, you’re not going to please everybody.”
Watch Jack’s full report on this race by watching this week’s full episode of Eye on Politics at the top of this page.
Every week, CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink breaks down some of the biggest political stories grabbing headlines in North Texas and beyond. Watch the latest episode of Eye on Politics in the video player above and watch new episodes every Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on air and online.
Austin, TX
US-based Episode Six is banking on Hong Kong demand for virtual payments, SME lending
“We’re seeing increasing demand for virtual card payments, which our platform is perfectly suited for,” said John Mitchell, E6’s co-founder and CEO. “We’re also seeing an increase in demand for our virtual account, and we’re expected to have growing penetration around these two products in Hong Kong throughout the rest of the year.”
“We know there’s a push from the regulators to see more innovative working capital solutions deployed to SMEs, and we have a product that takes the concept of ‘buy now, pay later’ [BNPL] but industrialises it and makes it fit for purpose for commercial banks to offer to SME customers,” Muse-McKenney said, adding that there is some “good traction” taking place in the market, and E6 is looking to officially launch the new product in the second half of this year.
BNPL is a short-term instalment loan that allows customers to make purchases and pay for them later, without being charged interest.
“The problem across the region is that payments technology needs to be modernised,” said Mitchell. “Asia-Pacific is growing for E6, and some of the new payment products require technology that’s not readily available in the markets that we’re entering, whether that’s around contactless QR code payments, or interoperability between payment schemes.”
Both executives also highlighted Japan as “high on the list” for the start-up.
“Japan is a particularly compelling market for E6,” said Mitchell, adding that E6 has been on the ground in Japan since 2017. With positive macroeconomic trends and a fintech-friendly regulatory environment in Japan, financial institutions are investing in modernising their payment infrastructure, he added.
Ant Group adds 14 foreign payment apps in access boost for Hong Kong merchants
Ant Group adds 14 foreign payment apps in access boost for Hong Kong merchants
“Financial institutions in Asia have had more direct competition from fintechs, and thus they have had to wake up sooner and are more advanced in their thinking in terms of the digital experiences they need to create,” said Muse-McKenney.
“The payments innovation landscape in Asia, the idea of faster payments, is a really progressive agenda that’s being pushed, and so banks and financial institutions more broadly are at the forefront of payments innovation, whereas within [Europe, the Middle East and Africa] and North America, they’re more catching up.”
While also steadily expanding in Europe and North America, Asia remains E6’s largest market from both a revenue and accounts perspective, since the company was founded in 2015, Mitchell said.
Hong Kong SMEs more confident of growth than their Singapore, mainland peers
Hong Kong SMEs more confident of growth than their Singapore, mainland peers
E6 in late April announced a partnership with Singapore-licensed financial institution DCS Card Centre that will allow fintech companies to issue their own branded credit cards through E6’s customer interface.
Powered by E6’s card issuance technology, the solution reduces the process needed to launch a new credit card from up to six months to a matter of weeks. It also incorporates access to a virtual account that allows for top-ups with fiat currency through bank transfers, or with digital assets via DCS tokens, which are directly issued by DCS.
With a presence in more than 35 countries, E6 completed its most recent financing round in March 2023, raising US$48 million from investors led by Avenir. E6’s other existing backers include HSBC, Mastercard, SBI Investment Co and Anthos Capital.
Austin, TX
Rubio, Obrian, Stuver guide Austin to 2-0 victory over Galaxy
AUSTIN, Texas — Diego Rubio and Jáder Obrian scored first-half goals and Brad Stuver notched his second straight clean sheet as Austin FC blanked the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 on Saturday.
Austin (4-3-3) jumped in front in the 7th minute when Rubio took a through ball from Obrian and drilled a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner of the net. It was Rubio’s third goal of the season and the second assist for Obrian.
Obrian made it 2-0 in the 19th minute with his second netter of the campaign. Obrian used an assist from Alexander Ring on a fast break to send a right-footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner.
Brad Stuver finished with four saves — three in the first half — for Austin, which has won four of its last five matches. Stuver has posted three shutouts this season.
John McCarthy stopped three shots for the Galaxy (5-2-3), who entered play having won four of their last five matches to move to the top of the Western Conference.
Austin won by holding Dejan Joveljić and Riqui Puig in check. Joveljić entered play with three goals and three assists in five career appearances — one start — against the club. Puig had two goals and an assist in two career starts against Austin.
The Galaxy scored 21 goals in their first nine matches with 13 coming in the second half. LA was shut out for the first time this season and falls to 3-2-1 on the road.
Austin picked up its second victory over the Galaxy, improving to 2-4-1 in the all-time series.
Austin travels to play the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday. The Galaxy head to Seattle to take on the Sounders on Sunday.
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