The Austin City Council passed protections for gender-affirming care Thursday, only a few days after the state of Texas filed a lawsuit over Title IX changes granting protections for transgender people.
“Trans people deserve the right to self determination,” City Council member José “Chito” Vela, one of the sponsors of the resolution, said at a Thursday Austin City Council meeting.
“Our state has forced them and their medical providers into hiding, and that is wrong,” Vela continued. “Austin should not be a party to that anymore than we legally have to be.”
A draft of the resolution states that “except to the extent required by law, it is the policy of the City that no City personnel, funds, or resources shall be used to investigate, criminally prosecute, or impose administrative penalties upon” transgender and nonbinary people looking for health care or those who provide health care to transgender and nonbinary people.
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The resolution’s passage comes shortly after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued the Biden administration over a final set of changes to Title IX, unveiled last month, that add protections for transgender students to the federal civil rights law on sex-based discrimination. The changes will take effect in early August.
“Texas will not allow Joe Biden to rewrite Title IX at whim, destroying legal protections for women in furtherance of his radical obsession with gender ideology,” Paxton said Monday in a news release.
Paxton also blasted the Austin resolution in a statement Thursday, saying it is “riddled with problems.”
“If the City of Austin refuses to follow the law and protect children, my office will consider every possible response to ensure compliance,” Paxton continued in the statement. “Texas municipalities do not have the authority to pick and choose which state laws they will or will not abide by. The people of Texas have spoken, and Austin City Council must listen.”
The Texas Supreme Court allowed a state law barring gender-affirming care for transgender youth to go into effect in August 2023, after a legal battle over the legislation.
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At least two people have died and six more are injured after several tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi, damaging homes and flipping vehicles.
HOUSTON (AP) — At least two people were killed and six more injured as several tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi on Saturday, damaging homes and flipping vehicles.
One person died in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston, and four people suffered injuries that weren’t considered critical, said Madison Polston, spokesperson for the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office.
Polston said there were “multiple touchdown points” in the county between Liverpool and Hillcrest Village and Alvin. She said that so far officials knew of around 10 damaged homes but were still working to determine the extent of the damage.
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In Mississippi, one person died in Adams County and two people were injured in Franklin County, according to a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
“These storms are probably going to get a lot worse this evening and overnight the further east you go,” said Josh Lichter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
It appeared that at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, though they may discover there were more when crews go out to survey the damage, Litcher said. He said there was damage in the area from both tornadoes and straight-line winds.
North of Houston, mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in, the weather service said.
The storms also caused departure delays of over an hour Saturday afternoon at Houston’s two main airports — Bush Intercontinental and Hobby — according to the website FlightAware.
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About 71,000 utility customers were without power in Mississippi, and that number was expected to rise, said Malary White, chief communications officer for the state’s Emergency Management Agency.
The agency did not have any official damage reports but expected them to come in later. First responders were focused on ensuring people’s safety and making sure everyone was accounted for, according to White.
“We do anticipate more thorough damage assessments starting in the early morning hours,” she said.
Former Texas Longhorns wide receiver Johntay Cook has found his next home.
And it is with a familiar foe.
According to reports from On3’s Hayes Fawcett, Cook has committed to the Washington Huskies, picking the Big Ten team over pursuit from Florida.
The Longhorns, of course, fell to the Huskies in the 2023 College Football Playoff semi-finals, coming up just short of a national title appearance as a result.
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The 5-foot-11, 175-pound speedster had originally been predicted to stay in the SEC and sign with the Florida Gators. That said, with the Huskies, he should have a tremendous opportunity to be the No. 1 receiver in the program.
Texas Longhorns receiver Johntay Cook II (1) makes a touchdown catch over UTSA safety Elijah Newell (22) during the game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Cook II, a five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, had just eight catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns this season. He had three catches for 35 yards and two scores in the win over UTSA on Sept. 14.
There was an expectation entering the 2024 season that Cook II would see an increased role after minimal usage as a freshman but has instead become buried on a depth chart that features Isaiah Bond, Matthew Golden, DeAndre Moore Jr., Silas Bolden, and true freshman standout Ryan Wingo.
Cook ranked as the No. 31 player in the nation, No. 3 wide receiver and No. 5 player in the state of Texas for his class. As a transfer, he ranks as the No. 44 player available in the portal and the No. 14 wide receiver.
Cook ends his Longhorns career with just 16 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns across two seasons.
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Texas State Bobcats (6-4) at Marshall Thundering Herd (5-6)
Huntington, West Virginia; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Marshall will try to keep its four-game home win streak intact when the Thundering Herd face Texas State.
The Thundering Herd have gone 4-2 at home. Marshall ranks ninth in the Sun Belt in team defense, giving up 66.7 points while holding opponents to 39.3% shooting.
The Bobcats are 4-1 on the road. Texas State has a 1-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
Marshall averages 71.8 points, 6.1 more per game than the 65.7 Texas State gives up. Texas State averages 3.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.6 fewer makes per game than Marshall allows.
The matchup Sunday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.
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TOP PERFORMERS: Aislynn Hayes is averaging 17.7 points for the Thundering Herd.
Jaylin Foster is scoring 10.0 points per game and averaging 7.1 rebounds for the Bobcats.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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