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Texas can probe 'vote harvesting' through Election Day, appeals court rules

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Texas can probe 'vote harvesting' through Election Day, appeals court rules


Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton can continue investigating allegations of so-called vote harvesting through the November elections, a U.S. appeals court said Tuesday, a decision critics fear could have a chilling effect on voter outreach and turnout in the state.

The three-judge appellate court for the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court on Tuesday granted a temporary stay for certain portions of S.B. 1, or the 2021 Texas voting law, including a provision of the law that allows Paxton’s office to continue its investigations into alleged illegal “vote harvesting” efforts at least through the Nov. 5 elections. 

The stay will remain in place until a full appeal of the law is either granted or denied, according to the appellate decision.

Their decision temporarily overturns the ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez late last month. Rodriguez ordered an immediate halt to the vote harvesting provision of S.B. 1, siding with plaintiffs in their contention that the provision is overly vague and a restriction of free speech.

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He also acknowledged their “widespread confusion” as to what constitutes the illegal practice of vote harvesting in Texas. 

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A voter wearing a protective mask and gloves, left, signs a document at a drive-through mail ballot. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference meeting on Feb. 23, 2024. (Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Mandel NGAN / AFP)

Paxton had immediately vowed to appeal that decision, arguing that the vote harvesting component of S.B. 1 is crucial to protecting election integrity in Texas and preventing voter fraud.

“Blocking our ability to investigate certain election crimes would have been a serious disruption to the electoral landscape with only a month left before Election Day,” Paxton said at the time.

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Still, the vaguely-defined scope of vote harvesting has prompted some advocacy groups and voter outreach groups in Texas to halt their canvassing, volunteering and other in-person election events altogether, citing fears of being swept up in a raid, or providing volunteers with food or transportation that could potentially be perceived as “compensation,” which is illegal under the law.

In writing for the three-judge appellate court on Tuesday, Judge James Ho appeared to back Paxton’s contention, noting that the provision in question had been on the books for “over three years” before the federal judge’s decision last month.

Still, plaintiffs in the lawsuit say their confusion remains over the vaguely worded definition of vote harvesting, which in turn they say has had a chilling effect on volunteer efforts in the state. 

That is, in part, due to the steep punishment for individuals convicted of the crime, which is classified under S.B. 1 as a third-degree felony.

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Individuals who give, offer, or receive some “compensation or other benefit” for so-called vote harvesting services can be convicted of the third-degree felony, S.B. 1 states, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

“Vote harvesting services” include any “in-person interaction with one or more voters, in the physical presence of an official ballot or a ballot voted by mail, intended to deliver votes for a specific candidate or measure,” according to the law’s text.

Paxton’s office has said previously that “secure elections are the cornerstone of our republic.” 

In August, his office’s Election Integrity Unit executed searches in three South Texas counties as part of the ongoing probe, which it says was conducted only after officials gathered enough evidence to obtain proper search warrants. 

Plaintiffs, however, allege that his office has used the provision to carry out illegal “voter raids” against advocacy groups and organizers in Texas.

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Poll workers sort out early and absentee ballots at the Kenosha Municipal Building on Election Day. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

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Juan Proaño, the CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, lamented the ruling, telling Fox News in an interview Tuesday his group would appeal the case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

“It’s really frightening to our community,” Proaño told Fox News of S.B. 1, noting the provisions have already had a “significant” chilling effect on voters and advocacy groups in Texas – which they have argued are both unjustified and used as a potential means of voter suppression.

“There’s no data at all that actually would show that non-citizens are participating in the election process,” he said, adding that LULAC “stands for election integrity.”

And so we will continue to litigate that all the way up to the Supreme Court, if we have to.” 

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North Texas middle school closes after a norovirus outbreak

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North Texas middle school closes after a norovirus outbreak


A middle school in the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD is closed Friday after an outbreak of norovirus.

According to the school district, they closed Creekview Middle School in Fort Worth on Friday to sanitize and clean the building. The district said they plan on reopening the school on Monday.

The district said children started to get sick on Tuesday with what appeared to be a stomach virus and that on Wednesday it spread to a larger group.

EMSISD said they reached out to the Tarrant County Public Health Department and that they recommended disinfecting and cleaning the school on Wednesday night and reopening the next day.

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More cases continued to be reported on Thursday, so the public health department then recommended that they clean again and close the campus on Friday.

Parents were notified of the district’s decision on Thursday afternoon.

The district has not said how many students and staff were sickened in the outbreak.

Officials with Children’s Medical Center said that because norovirus is highly contagious and resistant to many common hand sanitizers, it presents a unique challenge for families.

The hospital says hand sanitizer isn’t enough and recommends thorough hand washing with soap and water. They also recommend parents keep their children home for a full 48 hours after symptoms stop to prevent further outbreaks.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are approximately 2,500 norovirus outbreaks in the United States each year and that they are most common from November through April. For further tips on preventing the spread of norovirus, visit the CDC.



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Trump heads to Texas, where 3 friends are battling it out in the Senate Republican primary

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Trump heads to Texas, where 3 friends are battling it out in the Senate Republican primary


WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump just can’t seem to choose among friends in the Texas Senate Republican primary.

So when he travels to the state on Friday for his first post- State of the Union trip, where he plans to promote his energy and economic policies, Trump will have all three candidates in the competitive race join him — just days before his party casts ballots in the primary race.

Sen. John Cornyn is battling for his fifth term and is being challenged by state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in a primary fight that has become viciously personal. And all three men, missing the coveted endorsement from Trump, have been trying to highlight their ties to him as they ramp up their campaigning ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

For his part, Trump will be seeking to ride the message of his State of the Union address from Tuesday, where he declared a return to economic prosperity and a more secure America — two centerpiece arguments for Republicans as they campaign to keep their congressional majorities this fall.

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Trump’s hesitation to endorse in the Texas Senate primary speaks to the tricky dynamics of the race.

Cornyn is unpopular with a segment of Texas’ GOP base, in part for his early dismissiveness of Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign and for his role in authoring tougher restrictions on guns after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. But Senate GOP leadership and allied groups see Cornyn as the stronger general election candidate, in light of a series of troubles that have shadowed Paxton.

Paxton beat impeachment on fraud charges in 2023, and has faced allegations of marital infidelity by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, right, is joined by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, during a campaign stop in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. Credit: AP/Eric Gay

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have urged Trump to endorse Cornyn. They and allied campaign groups argue that the seat would cost the party hundreds of millions more to defend with Paxton as the candidate.

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“It is a strong possibility we cannot hold Texas if John Cornyn is not our nominee,” Scott told Fox News on Wednesday.

Hunt, a second-term Houston-area representative, was a later entry to the race, but claims a kinship with Trump, having endorsed him early in the 2024 race. Hunt campaigned regularly for Trump and earned a prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

If no candidate reaches 50% in Tuesday’s primary, the top two finishers will advance to a May 26 runoff.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas,...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, arrive before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. Credit: AP/Allison Robbert

Cornyn’s campaign and a half-dozen allied groups have poured more than $63 million into the race since last fall, chiefly trying to slow Paxton but recently attacking Hunt in an effort to keep him from making it to the runoff.

Earlier this month, Trump feinted toward weighing in on the race when he said he was taking “a serious look” at endorsing in the Texas primary. He has since reaffirmed his neutrality.

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Still, you wouldn’t know it from watching TV in Texas. Cornyn has been airing ads since last year touting his support for Trump’s agenda, even though his relationship with the president has been cool at times. Paxton and Hunt both have ads airing now featuring them standing with Trump.

“I like all three of them, actually. Those are the toughest races. They’ve all supported me. They’re all good. You’re supposed to pick one, so we’ll see what happens. But I support all three,” Trump said earlier this month.

The GOP battle comes as Democrats have a contested primary of their own in Texas between state Rep. James Talarico, a self-described policy wonk who regularly quotes the Bible, and progressive favorite U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

Trump hasn’t been shy about wading into other contested Republican primaries in the state. Parts of Corpus Christi fall within Texas’ 34th congressional district, where former Rep. Mayra Flores is fighting to reclaim her seat against the Trump-endorsed Eric Flores. (The two are not related.) The winner of the primary will face off against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, long a target of the GOP, whose district was redrawn to make it easier for a Republican to win.

Eric Flores will be at the Trump event at the Port of Corpus Christi, which technically is located in a neighboring district.

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Elsewhere in the state, the president has also endorsed Rep. Tony Gonzales, who is fighting calls from his own party to resign from Congress after reports of an alleged affair with a former staffer who later died after she set herself on fire. Gonzales is refusing to step down and has said that there will be “opportunities for all of the details and facts to come out” and that the stories about the situation do not represent “all the facts.”

Gonzales is facing a primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and gun rights influencer who Gonzales defeated by fewer than 400 votes in their 2024 runoff. The White House did not return a request for comment on Thursday on whether Trump stands by his endorsement of Gonzales.



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Man sentenced to 15 years in Texas crash that killed founding member of The Chicks

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Man sentenced to 15 years in Texas crash that killed founding member of The Chicks


EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting his reckless driving caused a head-on collision in rural West Texas that killed Laura Lynch, a founding member of the country music group now known as The Chicks, prosecutors said.

Domenick Chavez, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with Dec. 22, 2023, crash in Hudspeth County, according to a news release Tuesday from El Paso County District James Montoya, who also oversees nearby Hudspeth County.

The news release said Chavez was driving a truck westbound when he tried to pass four vehicles on a two-way undivided highway and collided head-on with Lynch’s eastbound truck. Lynch, 65, of Dell City, was trapped in her vehicle and died. Prosecutors said Chavez was traveling between 106 mph and 114 mph.

Prosecutors said alcohol wasn’t a factor in the crash but that Chavez was driving on a suspended license, which had been revoked due to his failure to comply with DWI-related surcharges and penalties from convictions in 2014 and 2017.

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Lynch, along with Robin Lynn Macy and sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, formed The Dixie Chicks in the late 1980s. Lynch and Macy eventually left the band and Natalie Maines joined the sisters. The trio hit commercial fame with their breakthrough album “Wide Open Spaces” in 1998 and have won 13 Grammys. In 2020, the band changed its name to The Chicks.

In a social media post after Lynch’s death, The Chicks said Lynch had “infectious energy and humor” and was “instrumental” in the band’s early success.



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