AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal on a Texas free speech case that allowed local officials to remove books deemed objectionable from public libraries.

The case stemmed from a 2022 lawsuit by a group of residents in rural Llano County over the removal from the public library of more than a dozen books dealing with sex, race and gender themes, as well as humorously touching on topics such as flatulence.

WATCH: The fight against book bans by public school librarians shown in new documentary

A lower federal appeals court had ruled that removing the books did not violate Constitutional free speech protections.

The case had been closely watched by publishers and librarians across the country. The Supreme Court’s decision to not consider the case was criticized by free speech rights groups.

The Texas case has already been used to ban books in other areas of the country, said Elly Brinkley, staff attorney for U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America.

“Leaving the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in place erodes the most elemental principles of free speech and allows state and local governments to exert ideological control over the people with impunity. The government has no place telling people what they can and cannot read,” Brinkley said.

Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Association, said the Supreme Court’s decision not to consider the case “threatens to transform government libraries into centers for indoctrination instead of protecting them as centers of open inquiry, undermining the First Amendment right to read unfettered by viewpoint-based censorship.”

The Texas case began when a group of residents asked the county library commission to remove the group of books from circulation. The local commission ordered librarians to comply and a separate group of residents sued to keep the books on the shelves.

Llano County, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of the Texas capital of Austin, has a population of about 20,000. It is mostly white and conservative, with deep ties to agriculture and deer hunting.

The book titles originally ordered removed included, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent” by Isabel Wilkerson; “They Called Themselves the K.K.K: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group,” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; “In the Night Kitchen” by Maurice Sendak; “It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health” by Robie H. Harris; and “Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen” by Jazz Jennings.

Other titles include “Larry the Farting Leprechaun” by Jane Bexley and “My Butt is So Noisy!” by Dawn McMillan.

A federal judge ordered the county to restore some of the books in 2023, but that decision was reversed earlier this year by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The county at one point briefly considered closing its public libraries rather than return the books to the shelves after the federal judge’s initial order.

In its order on May 23, the appeals court’s majority opinion said the decision to remove a book from the library shelf is not a book ban.

“No one is banning (or burning books). If a disappointed patron can’t find a book in the library, he can order it online, buy it from a bookstore or borrow it from a friend,” the appeals court opinion said.

Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, the ranking official in the county, did not immediately respond to an email to his office seeking comment.

Hillel Italie contributed from New York City.

AUSTIN, Texas – Austin police are looking for a suspect who was seen bashing in another car’s window in a road rage incident.

Austin road rage incident

What we know:

On Friday, Dec. 5, video showed a Subaru cutting off another driver in a Honda on the Capital of Texas Highway. The Subaru driver then steps out of his vehicle with what appears to be a baton and smashes the Honda’s window. 

The suspect then got back into his vehicle and tried to drive away from the scene. The Honda can be seen following in close pursuit, as both drivers used the side of the road to pass stopped traffic.

Austin police said they were treating it as an assault with an injury case. The case is currently under investigation and no suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

At this time, APD has not confirmed if there has been a person of interest identified.

Criminal defense attorney speaks out

What they’re saying:

“That’s aggravated assault all day, every day,” says Jeremy Rosenthal, a criminal defense attorney. 

He says the suspect smashing the window could face some serious prison time.

“It would be a second degree felony, which would carry with it a sentence between 2 and 20 years in a prison in Texas,” Rosenthal said.

In this case, the baton, which the suspect uses, could be seen as a deadly weapon, and could lead to extra criminal charges.

Although the video doesn’t show the moments leading up to the incident, Rosenthal says, based off the captured evidence, that the sort of force used by the suspect would be almost impossible to justify in court.

“There’s really no good defenses here. It’s not me is probably not going to be a defense. The person had it coming is not going to be a good defense. I was defending myself is not going to be a good defense,” Rosenthal said.

By the numbers:

Statistics gathered by the Texas AAA show that this sort of behavior has become all too common on Texas Roadways.

• In 2024, over 1,700 car accidents were the result of road rage in Texas.
• Nationally, 96% of drivers admit to engaging in aggressive driving behaviors.
• 11% of drivers admit to taking violent action, like intentionally bumping another car or confronting another driver.

Based off a recent study from AAA, these sorts of behaviors tend to spread. 

Their research shows that drivers who experienced higher levels of aggressive driving also had higher levels of engagement in aggressive driving.

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin is giving energy students an unprecedented opportunity to harness computational science to make nuclear, oil and gas, and other energy systems safer and more efficient. The initiative provides students with exposure to the latest advances in computational science that are revolutionizing the energy sector and aligns with the State of Texas’ priority to train the future nuclear workforce and accelerate next-generation nuclear development and deployment.

Through access to digital twin technology, artificial intelligence, and the world’s fastest academic supercomputer, the KBH Computational Energy Fellows Program will prepare students for careers at the forefront of energy innovation. Launching in Spring 2026, the program is a collaboration between UT’s world-renowned Oden Institute for Computational Engineering & Sciences and the Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) Energy Center, made possible by a generous grant from the O’Donnell Foundation.

UT leads the nation in scale, depth and breadth of energy programs and expertise, advancing solutions across the full spectrum of energy. The new fellows program will bolster the energy workforce with a unique combination of experience and awareness necessary for Texas and U.S. producers to increase their competitive advantage as energy demand soars.

“Crafting experiences for students to have exposure to cutting-edge energy digital twin applications and high-performance computing is something that no other university could do, and it positions our graduates to enter the energy sector with a unique set of perspectives,” said Karen Willcox, director of the Oden Institute.

“This is a very special moment in the Oden Institute’s history,” Willcox said. “Not only does this program represent an exciting new partnership with the KBH Energy Center, it also brings our partnership with the O’Donnell Foundation full circle — from their early transformative investments in computational and applied mathematics to realizing the societal impact of those foundational ingredients through applications of digital twin technology and artificial intelligence in the energy sector.”

“The O’Donnell Foundation’s commitment to higher education and scientific research has been instrumental in positioning Texas as a leader in innovation,” said former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the center’s founding member. “By building on the O’Donnell Foundation’s commitment to advancing energy production capabilities to meet our country’s vital needs, this fellowship aims to equip the next generation of energy leaders to meet the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly evolving field, ensuring the United States maintains its leadership position in the world.”

About the Fellowship

Students in the KBH Energy Minor Program and the KBH Student Advisory Council will participate in immersive learning opportunities that include nuclear test reactors at UT’s J.J. Pickle Research Campus and a small modular reactor at Abilene Christian University. These tools allow researchers to test and refine energy applications virtually, improving safety and efficiency before real-world deployment.

KBH Fellows will:

• Mentor undergraduate and graduate students in the Energy Studies Minor and KBH Energy Center Student Advisory Council.
• Lead workshops and presentations on cutting-edge computational topics, such as digital twins and artificial intelligence.
• Foster connections between academia and the energy industry, helping bridge the gap between computational science and practical energy solutions.

The KBH Computational Energy Fellows Program will be administered by the Oden Institute, with programming support from the KBH Energy Center. The program will begin taking applications Jan. 5, 2026.

About the KBH Energy Center
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center unites the McCombs School of Business, the School of Law, the Cockrell School of Engineering and the Jackson School of Geosciences. The center is dedicated to preparing the next generation of energy leaders through its interdisciplinary Energy Studies Minor, which combines technical expertise, business acumen and experiential learning. The minor also includes an intensive summer program with opportunities for students to visit energy companies across the state.

About the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering & Sciences
The Oden Institute, a global leader in computational sciences for more than 50 years, brings together more than 140 affiliated faculty members from across UT’s campus to tackle society’s grand challenges. The institute’s cutting-edge research spans traditional and emerging energy sectors including nuclear energy, subsurface modeling, advanced materials, and exploration of transformative artificial intelligence and digital twins. With a robust graduate program and one of the largest postdoctoral fellow populations on campus, the institute is at the forefront of educating the next generation of interdisciplinary leaders in computing.