Austin, TX
Texas Senate narrowly confirms formerly indicted Austin cop to police watchdog agency

The vote is a show of strength for Texas Republican leadership after several members of the Senate Democratic Caucus sought to block Justin Berry’s nomination.
Statesman photojournalist speaks on documenting George Floyd protests
Photojournalist Ricardo B. Brazziell speaks to moments that have stuck with him while covering the George Floyd protests.
Brontë Wittpenn, Austin American-Statesman
With one Democrat giving Republicans the margin they needed to advance a controversial nomination, the Texas Senate narrowly confirmed the appointment of a previously indicted Austin law enforcement officer to the state agency that governs police conduct in Texas.
Just reaching the two-thirds threshold, the 21-10 Senate vote Wednesday evening was a show of strength for Texas Republican leadership after Democrat Caucus members in the upper chamber sought to block Justin Berry’s nomination to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the state regulatory agency that sets standards for peace officers. Berry, an active-duty Austin Police Department senior patrol officer, was indicted alongside several colleagues in 2022 for shooting less-lethal munitions at racial justice protesters in 2020. The charges were later dropped.
State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen was the sole Democratic senator to vote for Berry’s appointment.
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said the police union “wholeheartedly supports Officer Berry’s nomination to TCOLE,” sending records of Berry’s commendations and performance evaluations to back up his support of the “dedicated” officer.
“He has led community policing efforts, built relationships, and helped his fellow officers all across the state in times of need,” Bullock wrote in an email to the American-Statesman on Wednesday.
But several lawmakers felt Berry’s actions during the social justice protests nearly five years ago were too damning. During the Senate floor debate before the vote, Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, warned that Gov. Greg Abbott’s choice to tap Berry for the commission is “evidence of a growing intolerance to dissent” in state government.
“The symbolism of Officer Berry’s nomination is unmistakable. Of the more than 8,000 peace officers in Texas, the governor chooses Officer Berry not in spite of the fact that he shot into protesters, but because he shot protesters,” Eckhardt said.
The senator invoked Abbott’s recent pardon of Officer Daniel Perry, who was convicted of murdering Austin racial justice protester Garrett Foster in 2020, and his support of Kyle Rittenhouse as similarly symbolic. She also cited several other allegations of excessive use of force or misconduct against Berry as reasons why another candidate would have been better suited for the role. Ultimately, Berry’s charges were dropped.
Sen. Borris Miles, a Houston Democrat and former police officer, drew on his commonalities with Berry to explain his opposition to the cop’s appointment.
“We all took an oath to protect the welfare of our citizens,” Miles said on the Senate floor. “I cannot, in good conscience, support the appointment of Justin Berry to the commission … whose motto is ‘ethical law enforcement’ when he has been shown to be unethical.”
‘A political victory’
A Travis County grand jury indicted Berry in February 2022 for aggravated assault against racial justice protesters. The investigation determined that either Berry or one other officer shot a demonstrator in the face with a less-lethal munition, fracturing her jaw. The protester, wildlife biologist Christen Warkoczewski, later won $850,000 in a settlement with the city of Austin.
In 2023, Austin district attorney Jose Garza dropped the charges against Berry and 18 other officers who were indicted over their conduct during the May 2020 protests. Bullock, the Austin police union president, said the dismissal should have taken Berry’s indictment off the table when considering his confirmation.
“The fact that an incident investigated by the Austin Police Department and the Travis County District Attorney, where both said no policy or law was violated, is now being used against him for political purposes is alarming and disappointing,” Bullock said.
No Republicans gave remarks on Berry’s confirmation during the debate. Hinojosa, the lone Democratic senator to vote for Berry, did not respond to the Statesman’s requests for comment Wednesday but told the Texas Tribune that he felt voting against Berry’s confirmation would make him a “scapegoat” for the officer’s superiors’ failures. An attorney for eight of the indicted officers, Ken Ervin, told the Statesman in 2022 that the order to use beanbag munitions came from “the highest levels of APD command.”
“I didn’t feel there was any criminal behavior that would rise to the level of rejecting his nomination,” Hinojosa told the Tribune.
Berry has already served on the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement for nearly two years but had avoided confirmation until Wednesday. Abbott first appointed him in September 2022, while the officer was still under indictment, but Berry resigned in May 2023 after senators signaled he would not be confirmed before a deadline.
Berry — who has unsuccessfully run as a Republican candidate in two Texas House primary races — then served 14 more months as a TCOLE commissioner after Abbott reappointed him in January 2024. The officer’s term is set to end in August 2027.
Wednesday’s debate touched on held-over tension over Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s decision to deny Democrats’ request to question Berry during a Nominations Committee hearing, a move that Eckhardt said was unprecedented as far as she knew.
“Minority senators should have the same rights and rules as majority senators,” Eckhardt told her colleagues on the floor Wednesday.
While the Austin Democrat’s effort to block the nomination did not succeed, Eckhardt can still “claim this as a political victory,” said Brian Smith, a professor of political science at St. Edward’s University who specializes in Texas politics.
“If you’re in the minority party … you’re not going to win a lot of legislation, but you want to make sure that the other party is going to have to be held accountable for their vote,” Smith said in a phone interview with the Statesman.
Wednesday’s vote also reflected a decision on the part of lawmakers about whether this was a “hill worth dying on,” Smith said.
“Democrats have to look and say, ‘Is there something that I’m going to want later in the session where I’m going to need Republican support?’” Smith said. “It’s a very important position, but it’s not a very visible position.”
Berry did not immediately respond to the Statesman’s request for comment.

Austin, TX
Texas Longhorns’ SEC Opponents Revealed for 2026 and Beyond

The debate over whether or not the SEC should move to nine conference games has been raging on for a while now, but that debate has finally been put to bed.
Last month, SEC presidents moved to adopt a nine-game conference schedule starting in 2026. As part of the schedule, each team will have three annual opponents with the other six games rotating. This will allow every team to play each other at least once every other year.
The SEC previously announced that the Texas Longhorns’ annual opponents would be Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, at least until the league reevaluates annual opponents ahead of the 2030 season. Now, they know exactly who they’ll be facing in conference play for the next four years.
Here’s a look at the Aggies’ full list of conference opponents from 2026-29, as revealed by the league on Tuesday night.
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As part of the nine-game schedule, the Longhorns will finally get to play the other half of the SEC. The conference previously had each of its 14 existing members play either Texas or Oklahoma, but not both, when those two teams joined in 2024, and then just repeated the same matchups in 2025.
This will allow the Longhorns to play some teams they haven’t faced in decades, most notably South Carolina (last played in 1957), Tennessee (1968) and Auburn (1991). With them now playing every other team in the conference at least twice in a four-year span, they have a chance to forge some new rivalries as well.
Additionally, the new schedule will fix a major problem the Longhorns face this season. As they are the designated home team for this year’s Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma in Dallas, they don’t play a true home game between last Saturday against Sam Houston and Nov. 1 against Vanderbilt. They play three road games against SEC opponents and have a bye in that time, thus explaining the month-long drought.
Now, though, the SEC can simply give the designated home team five home games against conference opponents, including the game in Dallas, and the designated road team four home game, thus solving the inequality problem.
It’s a new era in the SEC, and even with the nine-game schedule, the Longhorns are well equipped to compete in their new home.
Austin, TX
Researchers make concerning discovery at bottom of popular lake: ‘Shows how pervasive our impact is’

Austin, Texas, has a growing microplastic problem in its soil and bodies of water.
Danielle Zaleski, a student at the University of Texas’ Jackson School of Geosciences, pulled a core sample from the floor of Lady Bird Lake in Austin. The mesh, intended to separate sediment from plastic, clogged almost instantly. The sample contained so many fragments that the count had to be abandoned.
What’s happening?
A recent report from KXAN dissected research into how microplastic pollution has built up in Austin’s lakes over time, finding that older sediment contained only a few hundred particles per sample while recent layers had thousands.
Zaleski, who works with the University of Texas and the city, has been documenting the rise of microplastics in Austin’s lakes. In older sediment, buried deeper underground, she measured about 200 particles for every 100 grams. Near the surface, the number spiked to 4,600.
The sharpest concentrations were found downtown, beneath Interstate 35, where tire dust and synthetic road debris flow directly into the water. “It’s just another one of those things that shows how pervasive our impact is,” said Brent Bellinger of the city’s Watershed Protection Department, per KXAN.
Why is microplastic pollution concerning?
Microplastics are created when larger plastics break down or during manufacturing. These particles are now found everywhere, including the air, water, soil, and even human bodies. Studies estimate that the average person ingests between 39,000 and 52,000 particles of microplastics and nanoplastics every year.
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The health risks are still being studied, but scientists have linked microplastics to respiratory problems, digestive issues, and possible chemical exposure. For cities like Austin, the concern goes beyond ecology: These lakes provide recreation, influence property values, and connect to broader water supplies. If the buildup worsens, it could threaten both public health and the city’s economy.
The problem isn’t unique to Texas. Research has documented microplastic pollution in rivers, oceans, bottled water, and even in rainfall. These findings suggest the issue is systemic, driven by the massive global use of plastics and inadequate disposal systems.
What’s being done about microplastics?
According to KXAN, Austin’s Watershed Protection Department is incorporating Zaleski’s findings into an upcoming city report, which could inform new policies on stormwater management, waste reduction, and infrastructure design. Researchers also hope the data will push for tighter controls on road runoff, one of the largest contributors.
On an individual level, reducing the use of single-use plastics remains one of the most effective ways to cut back on microplastic pollution. Simple swaps that use less plastic — such as reusable water bottles, cloth bags, or alternatives to plastic packaging — can help limit the plastic stream before it breaks down into microscopic fragments.
Communities around the country are also experimenting with bans on plastic bags and foam containers, along with efforts to clean and restore waterways.
Tackling microplastics won’t be easy, but cities like Austin now have clearer evidence of how urgent the problem has become.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Austin, TX
Live updates from Texas football game Saturday in Austin

Can UTEP (1-1), which has never beaten Texas in six previous games, spring a monumental upset?
Follow along for scores and live updates.
Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said running back Quintrevion Wisner and defensive tackle Alex January were doubtful entering the game, and neither player is listed on the Longhorns’ pregame depth chart. Receiver DeAndre Moore Jr., whom Sarkisian also described as doubtful, is listed atop the depth chart but is not suited up during team warmups.
When: 3:15 p.m. Saturday
Where: Royal-Memorial Stadium in Austin
TV/radio: SEC Network, 1300, 98.1, 105.3 (Spanish)
Line: Texas is favored by 41½ points; over/under is 50½ points.
Sunny skies and hot with highs in the high 90s.
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