Austin, TX
Texas Supreme Court likely to remain an all-Republican court
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court, the state’s court of last resort for civil matters, will likely remain an all-Republican court for now as all three incumbents were headed for wins Wednesday morning.
According to The Associated Press, Republican incumbent Jimmy Blacklock has defeated Democrat DaSean Jones by 58% with almost all of the votes counted, Republican incumbent John Devine is heading for victory with a sizable lead over Democrat Christine Weems—but the race has yet to be called—and Republican incumbent Jane Bland fended off challenges by Democrat Bonnie Lee Goldstein and Libertarian David Roberson winning over 56% of the vote.
The Texas Supreme Court has nine justices, three of whom ran for reelection with opposition.
Devine was the only justice with a primary challenger. In March, he survived a challenge by Brian Walker, of the Second District Court of Appeals, by 1 percentage point.
Devine has been controversial. He has called church-state separation a “myth,” was the Tea Party candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, once called his GOP colleagues “brainwashed” in leaked audio and has claimed he was arrested 37 times at abortion protests in the 1980s.
Weems is a judge on the 281st Civil District Court in Harris County. Her biography says she’s the daughter of immigrants who fled Vietnam when Saigon fell in 1975. Previously a trial attorney in personal injury civil law and civil trial law, in an election ad available on YouTube, Weems says she is a judge “who upholds the law” and lives “by a Texas code of ethics.”
Spectrum News 1 partner the Texas Tribune noted that Democrats targeted the court this election in hopes that backlash over rulings on abortion and LGBTQ+ issues would be enough to break up the Republican hold on the court.
Blacklock was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2018. He previously served as Abbott’s general counsel and in the Attorney General’s Office under then-AG Abbott.
Jones is a district court judge in Harris County. He’s been a judge on the 180th District Court since 2019 and is a veteran. According to his biography, he’s the first combat veteran and minority to preside over the 180th District Court.
Bland has served on the Texas Supreme Court since 2019. Prior to that, she was a justice on the First Court of Appeals for 15 years and served six years as a state district judge.
Dallas Judge Goldstein was elected to the 5th District Court of Appeals in 2020. She was previously the presiding judge on of the 44th Judicial District Court in Dallas County.
Libertarian Roberson has experience working as an attorney and as vice president of operations at Prime Tax Group. He identified the most pressing issues as abortion restrictions and I-35 corridor construction through Austin.
William “Bill” B. Moriarty, of Austin, Texas, passed away on April 26, 2026, at the age of 73, following an extended battle with cancer. A devoted partner, father, brother, uncle, an…
WIMBERLY, Texas – The names of all five people killed in the Central Texas plane crash late Thursday night have been released.
Plane crash victim names
The latest:
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the names of the five victims in the Wimberly, Texas crash are as follows:
- Justin Appling (pilot)
- Hayden Dillard
- Seren Wilson
- Brooke Skypala
- Stacy Hedrick
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigators are on scene and serving as the lead investigative agencies, DPS said in their Saturday release.
What we don’t know:
The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.
Fatal Texas plane crash
The backstory:
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra says first responders received the call just after 11 p.m. April 30 about an aircraft down in the Wimberley area.
The crash happened in a wooded area in the 200 block of Round Rock Road, near the area of Ledgerock Road and FM 2325, northwest of Wimberley. The NTSB says the crash happened at around 11:03 p.m.
A post-impact fire destroyed the plane, says the NTSB.
According to FlightAware, the plane was on its way to New Braunfels from Amarillo.
The aircraft has been identified as a Cessna 421C that had five people on board. All five are confirmed dead.
A preliminary investigation shows the plane was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the crash, but there is no indication of a mid-air crash. A second plane traveling in the same area landed safely in New Braunfels.
Flight tracking data shows the plane had a normal takeoff, climbing to 17,400 feet, but just before 11 p.m., something went wrong. The data showed the plane suddenly started dropped, plunging more than 5,000 feet per minute. Within minutes, radar contact was lost.
The Source: Information in this update comes from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Five people were killed when a small private plane crashed and caught fire near Austin, Texas, according to state and local officials. A pickleball club identified the victims as members who were traveling to a tournament.
The crash happened at about 11:05 p.m. on Thursday in the Wimberley area, about 40 miles southwest of Austin, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety and Hays County officials. The FAA said the aircraft was a Cessna 421C.
Sgt. Billy Ray with the Texas Department of Public Safety said all five people on board were killed, including one pilot and four passengers. He also confirmed that the plane caught fire after the crash.
The Amarillo Pickleball Club identified the victims as Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala, Stacy Hedrick, Glen Appling and Hayden Dillard. The club said they were members of its “Amarillo pickleball family” and were traveling to a pickleball tournament when the crash happened.
“Today, the Club has received terrible news that we all must mourn in the loss of five members of our Amarillo pickleball family,” the club said in a statement. “Please keep their precious families in your thoughts and prayers.”
Fire and EMS personnel remained at the crash site through the early morning hours, according to Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra. Preliminary information indicated the aircraft was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of impact.
Becerra said there was no indication of a mid-air collision. A second aircraft that was flying nearby landed safely in New Braunfels, a city northeast of San Antonio.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
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