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Texas can require public schools to display Ten Commandments in classrooms, court rules

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Texas can require public schools to display Ten Commandments in classrooms, court rules


FILE – A copy of the Ten Commandments is posted along with other historical documents in a hallway of the Georgia Capitol, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

DALLAS — Texas can require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday in a victory for conservatives who have long sought to incorporate more religion into classrooms.

The 9-8 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a boost to backers of similar laws in Arkansas and Louisiana. Opponents have argued that hanging the Ten Commandments in classrooms proselytizes to students and amounts to religious indoctrination by the government.

In a lengthy majority opinion, the conservative-leaning appeals court in New Orleans rejected those arguments in Texas, saying the requirement does not step on the rights of parents or students.

“No child is made to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin,” the ruling says.

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The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups that challenged the Texas law on behalf of parents said in a statement that they anticipate appealing the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when and if to provide their children with religious instruction. This decision tramples those rights,” they said in the statement.

The mandate is one of several fronts in Texas that opponents have fought over religion in classrooms. In 2024, the state approved optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools, and a proposal set for a vote in June would add Bible stories to required reading lists in Texas classrooms.

The decision over the Ten Commandments law reverses a lower federal court ruling that had blocked about a dozen Texas school districts — including some of the state’s largest — from putting up the posters. The Texas law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott took effect in September, marking the largest attempt in the nation to hang the Ten Commandments in public schools.

From the start, the law was met almost immediately by a mix of embrace and hesitation in Texas classrooms that educate the state’s 5.5 million public school students.

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The mandate animated school board meetings, spun up guidance about what to say when students ask questions, and led to boxes of donated posters being dropped on the doorsteps of campuses statewide. Although the law only requires schools to hang the posters if donated, one suburban Dallas school district spent nearly $1,800 to print roughly 5,000 posters.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, called the ruling “a major victory for Texas and our moral values.”

“The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day,” he said.

Tuesday’s ruling comes after the appeals court heard arguments in January in the Texas case and a similar case in Louisiana. In February, the court cleared the way for Louisiana to enforce its law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

Republican Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the Texas ruling “adopted our entire legal defense” of the law in her state. In Alabama, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey also signed a similar law earlier this month.

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“Our law clearly was always constitutional, and I am grateful that the Fifth Circuit has now definitively agreed with us,” Murrill said in a statement posted to social media.

Judge Stephen A. Higginson, in a dissenting opinion joined by four others on the court, wrote that the framers of the Constitution “intended disestablishment of religion, above all to prevent large religious sects from using political power to impose their religion on others.”

“Yet Texas, like Louisiana, seeks to do just that, legislating that specific, politically chosen scripture be installed in every public-school classroom,” Higginson wrote.

The law says schools must put donated posters “in a conspicuous place” and requires the writing to be a size and typeface that is visible from anywhere in a classroom to a person with “average vision.” The displays must also be 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall.

Texas’ law easily passed the GOP-controlled Legislature and Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have backed posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

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Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report from Honolulu, Hawaii.





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This Week in Texas: $1500 for every Texas Household, ICE accountability, politics in sports

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This Week in Texas: 00 for every Texas Household, ICE accountability, politics in sports


Saturday, July 11, 2026 11:10PM

This Week in Texas: ICE accountability, politics in sports

This Week in Texas, we talk about the fatal shooting in Houston involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Our political insiders, Jacey Jetton and Shea Jordan Smith, offer their perspectives on that and the proposal from Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Gina Hinojosa to give every Texas household $1500 from the state’s rainy day fund.

Also, a report on big drainage money that the City of Galveston might have let slip through the cracks.

And a look at the intersection of politics and sports, This Week in Texas.

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Copyright © 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Texas Man Finds Hidden GPS Tracker in His New Truck: “They Didn’t Want Me To Find This”

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Texas Man Finds Hidden GPS Tracker in His New Truck: “They Didn’t Want Me To Find This”


A man in Texas, suspicious about his newly acquired truck, decided to take a look inside. To his surprise, he found a GPS tracker that was monitoring his every move. As expected, people online reacted as they normally do: a collective meltdown.

The man in question is none other than David Allen, also known as ToTouchAnEmu. He is a very popular content creator who has over 9.8 million followers on TikTok alone.

And while he shares a wide variety of content, one of his latest videos addresses this apparent breach of privacy. He detailed how he was surprised and overwhelmed as he went through the terms and conditions after purchasing his new truck.

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His dealer had signed him up and paid for a one-year subscription to CarRx, a platform and mobile app that monitors vehicles’ data. David, however, was not too thrilled to find out exactly what that meant.

Tracking Everything

For starters, he showed that, under the terms and conditions, CarRx would sell all collected information to third parties. David was not too worried about that.

Instead, he showed all the data that the platform collects from vehicles. Understandably, he was shocked.

Monitored information includes the car’s VIN, mileage, oil and battery status, fuel, and charging history. The platform can also track a vehicle’s location, speed, crash detection alerts, braking events, and even camera image and sensor data.

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Finding the Tracker

David, still astounded by the revelation, knew that something was fishy. He asked, “I start thinking, how do they know all that information about my car if they don’t have some sort of GPS tracker on it?”

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And to no one’s surprise, and thanks to a Google search, it turns out that there was, in fact, a tracker installed in David’s truck. And not willing to let it slide, the man got to work immediately.

The Texas man searched for the tracker near the OBD port. He noticed a Y-cable right below it and found the tracker connected to it. The tracker had an IMEI, meaning that it had a SIM card in it, so tracking is pretty much a guarantee.

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Viewers React Accordingly

Of course, David’s video caused a multitude of reactions. Some took issue with how he labeled his SUV a truck, but most viewers were worried about their privacy.

“We need data privacy laws stat!” one said. Another one commented, “This isn’t new, unfortunately. I used to work for GM; they track everything. In real time.”

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The latter comment seemed to echo the majority of reactions. Other users, former car dealership employees themselves, said the exact same thing. 

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Texas Rangers investigating City of Trinidad after water issues, controversial arrests, firings

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Texas Rangers investigating City of Trinidad after water issues, controversial arrests, firings


After controversial arrests, alleged retaliatory firings and a litany of water issues, the Texas Rangers are investigating the City of Trinidad.

What we know:

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The Texas Rangers confirmed to FOX 4 they have begun an investigation into the City of Trinidad.

“We can confirm the Texas Rangers are investigating. As this is an active investigation, we have no further information to provide,” the Texas Rangers said to FOX 4 in a statement.

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Dig deeper:

The law enforcement agency’s investigation comes as multiple lawsuits have been filed against the city over retaliatory firings and controversial arrests related to the city’s water quality issues.

This week, former Trinidad City Administrator and Secretary Lindsey Patterson filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming she had “no record of discipline” when she was terminated in Feb. 2026.

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Patterson’s suit claims she was fired after reporting to the Trinidad Police Department that “public funds belonging to the city were being held by private individuals.”

Former Trinidad City Administrator Lindsey Patterson

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Trinidad’s current City Administrator, Cynthia Dosier, has been listed as a defendant in several of the lawsuits. She has not returned FOX 4’s request for comment since our first report.

On Friday, FOX 4’s David Sentendrey attempted to speak to Dosier at her office in Trinidad. Dosier had no comment when asked about the Texas Rangers’ investigation.

“It’s way bigger than just water”

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What they’re saying:

Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws previously called for an investigation by the Texas Rangers into the city’s now-public issues. He tells Sentendrey he’s glad that’s finally happening.

“I wanted people here to know that there is going to be transparency at the end of this,” Haws said.

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“We need to know that our office is in order and I think the best way to do that is with a third party having eyes on it and finding out what really is going on here.”

Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws

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The investigation wouldn’t have come without Henderson County resident Jennifer Combs’ arrest for a Facebook post concerning the city’s water quality. 

“To tell the story to someone they would think you were crazy. You know what I mean?”

She says she’s glad the Texas Rangers are investigating, but that the root of the issue remains: the city’s water issues.

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“I’m just ready for all of it to calm down and what’s going to happen is gonna happen, and the rest needs to be done so we can get back to the real issues of fixing the water. People deserve clean water.”

Trinidad Water Saga

Timeline:

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The saga in Trinidad, which claims less than 800 residents, began in May following Combs’ arrest over the city’s water issues.

Combs’ post stated that people had been hospitalized after drinking the city’s water. FOX 4 has not verified that anyone in Trinidad was hospitalized from drinking the city’s water.

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A Henderson County grand jury declined to indict Combs, who has since filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Trinidad and Gregory which alleges she was arrested in “an act of deliberate political retaliation.”

Since our initial report, FOX 4 has continued to receive images of dirty and discolored water from the residents of Trinidad.

Trinidad officials have admitted the city has struggled to keep its water clean. Combs said the water “looks like the Trinity River.”

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The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) confirmed to FOX 4 it received a complaint regarding the water quality in Trinidad, and that an investigation is ongoing.

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One day after FOX 4’s initial report on Combs, citizen journalist Winston Noles protested outside Trinidad City Hall with a sign with expletives targeting “bad cops.”

Noles was arrested and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct for the sign. The Trinidad Municipal Judge, Shellena Bivens, later dismissed the charge.

On Wednesday, May 27, Alex Estrada and Colby Reyes, two former Trinidad employees, filed a lawsuit against the city claiming the city administrator fired them without cause.

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Reyes, the former Trinidad Water Clerk, says in the lawsuit that she was fired because she “refused to lie” on behalf of Gregory and City Administrator Dosier.

Reyes’ lawsuit claims Gregory publicly fabricated a story that Reyes was frightened by Noles in order to arrest him, in which Reyes says she put in writing she was “never offended” by Noles.

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A law firm representing Estrada and Reyes and Consumer Wellness Center Labs are organizing free independent water testing for people on Trinidad’s water supply as the TCEQ investigation continues.

At a May 28 Trinidad City Council meeting, Judge Bivens was fired as the city’s municipal judge. The issue of water quality in Trinidad was never addressed.

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Gregory, who made his first public comments since FOX 4 initially reported on the story, said he had “nothing to hide” in relation to Combs and Noles’ arrests.

Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws suggested to Sentendrey that the Texas Rangers should investigate the city and its police department after the recent arrests and water issues have come to light.

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Bivens is considering legal action against Trinidad, with her attorney saying her firing was unjust. “I’m a good judge. I’m a damn good judge,” Bivens told Sentendrey.

In June, a family in Trinidad alleged that after showering with the city’s water, their teenage daughter suffered a chemical burn.

An attorney for the family provided a preliminary water test strip result that showed “dangerous” free chlorine levels in the Logan family’s water. It remains unclear if Trinidad’s recent water treatment led to the Logans’ daughter’s rash.

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A planned meeting for Thursday, June 4 to give an update on the city’s attempts to fix their water quality issues was canceled. Mayor Haws said he did not receive a reason for the cancellation, though a small protest took place outside the planned meeting.

Gregory resigned from his position as Trinidad Police Chief following the multiple controversies. His final day with the department was June 19.

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Gregory has declined interview requests from FOX 4, citing pending lawsuits.

Following news of Gregory’s resignation, the Trinidad judge who approved the arrest warrant for Combs wrote a scathing letter against him and his police department.

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McKee’s letter questions “the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of information presented” to him by two Trinidad police officers in relation to Combs’ arrest warrant.

What’s next:

Interim Trinidad Police Chief Cameron Beckham told Sentendrey over the phone he has a meeting with the Texas Rangers in the next few weeks and plans to fully cooperate with their investigation.

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The Source: Information in this story comes from the Texas Rangers, the City of Trinidad and previous FOX 4 reporting.

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