Texas
Texas congressman Tony Gonzales, who represents Uvalde, breaks with House Republicans to vote for gun bill
Join The Temporary, our every day e-newsletter that retains readers up to the mark on probably the most important Texas information.
WASHINGTON — Practically all Texas Home Republicans voted towards the landmark bipartisan gun laws Friday even because the measure was partially impressed by the the Uvalde college taking pictures and sponsored by Texas’ senior Republican senator, John Cornyn.
The vote passed off precisely one month to the minute after the mass college taking pictures at Robb Elementary College on Might 24 that left 19 kids and two academics useless. It sailed by way of the chamber and is en path to President Joe Biden’s desk, the place he has signaled he plans to signal.
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio broke together with his celebration and was the lone Texas Home Republican to assist the laws. The freshman lawmaker introduced that call earlier this week, citing childhood experiences of witnessing his stepfather threatening his mom with a gun.
“As a Congressman it’s my responsibility to move legal guidelines that by no means infringe on the Structure whereas defending the lives of the harmless,” he wrote on Twitter. “Within the coming days I look ahead to voting YES on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.”
Gonzales’ vote tracked equally with the Cornyn place: The 2 Texas Republicans entertained this gun security measures that’s meant to maintain weapons out of the arms of harmful people, however they weren’t prepared to go a lot additional. Earlier in his first time period, Gonzales voted towards two background verify payments that handed the Home however by no means turned legislation.
“I voted NO on two gun management measures within the Home at this time,” he wrote in a March 11, 2021, tweet. “I’m a proud supporter of the Second Modification and can do all the pieces I can to oppose gun grabs from the far Left.”
The invoice handed lower than a day after Cornyn efficiently moved it by way of the once-intractable Senate, which has spent three many years paralyzed relating to passing virtually any gun coverage.
The invoice handed the Home by a 234-193 vote, with 14 Republicans becoming a member of the Democratic majority. Authored initially within the Senate by a small bipartisan group of senators that included Cornyn, the laws targeted on holding weapons out of the arms of harmful people and expanded psychological well being sources.
“We make selections each day to both uphold our constitutional liberties or whittle them away,” mentioned U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, an Irving Republican, who voted towards the invoice. “Whereas this invoice has a lot to assist, and I consider lots of its supporters have good intentions, the obscure provisions, considerations about due course of and purple flag legislation funding make it inconceivable for me to assist.”
From the start, Home Democrats signaled they might settle for virtually any gun coverage the Senate may produce. And so they delivered.
“Right now, Congress has voted to move historic gun security reforms that may save lives and preserve lethal weapons out of the arms of people that current a transparent hazard to their communities,” U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, mentioned in an announcement. “We have to make extra progress on gun security, however at this time’s vote is a crucial step ahead.”
The invoice addresses what is named “the boyfriend loophole.” At the moment, federal statutes prohibit gun purchases for these convicted of committing home violence towards spouses or companions who stay collectively or share a toddler.
To shut the loophole, the Senate invoice will go away to the courts the contours of increasing outline and embody courting companions who commit such abuse. Conservatives beforehand raised considerations that an expansive definition of a companion may threaten constitutional rights. The brand new invoice may also allow offenders to regain their gun rights if there are not any additional offenses over 5 years.
It additionally comprises measures incentivizing purple flag legal guidelines, which stop people who’re deemed harmful from acquiring weapons. The invoice grants will go towards not simply implementing purple flag legal guidelines but in addition to courts that deal with drug circumstances or circumstances involving veterans.
It additionally features a 10-day window to permit native officers to scour databases for disqualifying data on first-time gun patrons underneath the age of 21.
Regardless of some high-profile GOP assist, Texas Republicans largely opposed the invoice. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz joined the Republican opposition Thursday evening, voting towards the invoice. In that chamber, the invoice handed 65-33.
Be part of us Sept. 22-24 in particular person in downtown Austin for The Texas Tribune Pageant and expertise 100+ dialog occasions that includes huge names you realize and others you need to from the worlds of politics, public coverage, the media and tech — all curated by The Texas Tribune’s award-winning journalists. Purchase tickets.
Texas
Texas vs South Dakota State: Longhorns head into holiday break with a 46-point win
Texas women’s basketball nonconference schedule
Texas women’s basketball nonconference schedule
After a 103-57 win over South Dakota State on Sunday, the Texas Longhorns will head into their holiday break on a high note.
Sunday’s lopsided win at Moody Center came five days after Texas beat La Salle by a 111-49 score. Texas hadn’t scored 100 points in consecutive games since it did so against McNeese State and UTSA in November 2017.
Texas never trailed on Sunday, and freshmen Jordan Lee and Justice Carlton served as first-half catalysts for the No. 6 team in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll. Lee started and scored 10 first-quarter points while Carlton came off the bench to score 17 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting. Combined, Lee and Carlton had 29 points in the first half. South Dakota State’s entire team had 26.
While Texas built its 53-26 lead in the first half, eight of the nine Longhorns who played scored. The surprising exception was All-American Madison Booker, who distributed three assists and grabbed three rebounds but missed her three shots.
A perennial NCAA tournament qualifier that had split its prior games against ranked Creighton and Duke teams, South Dakota State (10-3) never cut into its 27-point halftime deficit in the second half.
Here are three observations from Sunday’s 46-point rout:
Mwenentanda remains patient with her process
Carlton finished with 19 points and nine rebounds while senior forward Taylor Jones had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Lee and senior guard Rori Harmon respectively added 14 and 13 points for a Texas team that shot 53.9% from the field. Booker was limited to nine points, but Harmon pointed out after the game that Booker’s +/- of 41 was the best among the Longhorns.
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda was the fifth Longhorn to record a double-digit scoring total. Over 11 minutes, Mwenentanda scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Mwenentanda grew up in South Dakota and was that state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022. The school in Sioux Falls where she won a state championship is about an hour drive from South Dakota State’s campus. Mwenentanda was recruited by the Jackrabbits but she said that she was attracted to what Texas could offer her athletically and academically.
Since arriving on campus, Mwenentanda has shown glimpses of her potential since arriving at Texas, but she has mainly been a role player for the Longhorns. Sunday was the 11th time that she scored at least 10 points in a game. Just twice in her career has she played more than 25 minutes.
Mwenentanda sees herself as a Swiss Army Knife on the Texas roster. She’s listed as a 6-foot-2 guard on the team’s roster, but Vic Schaefer has mainly used her as a “4” player this season. Mwenentanda played some in the paint last season, but she got more playing time as a guard. Training more with the post players this offseason has helped her adjust to that role this season.
“I physically prepared for it, I mentally prepared for it. I’m enjoying it,” Mwenentanda said.
Schaefer praised the play of Mwenentanda in his postgame press conference on Sunday. Earlier in the week, Mwenentanda said that she was staying patient with her process.
“Everybody’s process is different. I feel like comparing myself to other people’s process would be one reason to give up,” Mwenentanda said. “Everybody on this team are great players, are great women so even though this process is a little bit different for me, it’s not something I look at negatively because I know everybody’s working hard and everybody’s pitching in.”
Status for sidelined Laila Phelia remains unclear
Texas senior Laila Phelia missed her third straight game on Sunday. Phelia suffered a detached retina during the offseason. Texas has not announced a timeline for her return, but Schaefer has said the program will soon release an update.
The leading scorer at Michigan last season, Phelia has played in just eight of the Longhorns’ 13 games. She is averaging 6.1 points and 19.4 minutes per game while shooting 40.5% from the field.
What’s next for Texas? Rest and one final tune-up
Next on the schedule for Texas is a home game against UTRGV (6-6) on Dec. 29. That will be the Longhorns’ final game until their Southeastern Conference debut at Oklahoma on Jan. 2, 2025.
But first, the Longhorns will get some rest. Mwenentanda won’t be able to fly back to South Dakota until Monday morning, but the rest of the Longhorns headed home after Sunday’s win. The Longhorns will return to practice on Dec. 27.
How will the Longhorns spend their break? The three players who attended Sunday’s postgame press conference – Carlton, Harmon and Mwenentanda – said they’d take some time off, but they added that they’ll get some workouts in with family and hometown trainers.
As for Schaefer? He’ll do some work over the break, but he won’t be in his office.
“I’m going to be standing in about knee-deep water in the morning calling a duck and having my son (Logan) with me and my dog, my hunting dog, not my show dog. We’ll enjoy some time together in the morning and then we’ll wet a line and fish in the afternoon,” Schaefer said. “I’ll probably sit in my bow stand a couple of nights with my computer in my lap and watch film. I don’t really care if I see anything or not, but I usually see a lot. I get more work done sitting in a bow stand in a bow blind than I do a lot of times sitting at my desk.
“I’ll just enjoy time with family. I’m really blessed with Holly and Logan and Blair here and we’re all together at Christmas, and it’s just a special time for us. We really embrace the Christmas season.”
Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Get access to all of our best content with this tremendous offer.
Texas
Former Colorado defensive end Dayon Hayes transfers to Texas A&M
Former Colorado Buffaloes defensive end Dayon Hayes is set to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M after transferring following a season-ending injury. Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defender, began his journey at Pitt, where he played from 2020 to 2023, accumulating 13 sacks and 80 tackles over four seasons.
At Pitt, Hayes showcased his potential in his sophomore and junior years, logging around 500 combined snaps and producing 30 pressures. His breakout came in 2023 when he amassed 44 pressures and a 13% pass rush win rate, ranking 12th in the ACC. Hayes also demonstrated solid run defense, posting an average tackle depth of 1.6 yards and recording 10.5 stops for loss. His ability to set the edge and prevent runners from escaping outside made him a critical piece of Pitt’s defense.
Following his success at Pitt, Hayes transferred to Colorado as a highly sought-after addition to Deion Sanders’ revamped Buffaloes roster. He made an immediate impact, registering two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in Colorado’s first three games. However, his promising start was cut short by a knee injury in the fourth game, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
Deion Sanders says he won’t attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay
Despite the setback, Hayes’ strong early performance likely earned him a medical redshirt, granting him another year of eligibility. With his final collegiate season on the horizon, Hayes opted to join Texas A&M, bringing his pass-rushing skills to the SEC. The Aggies, coming off an eight-win season, are set to face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hayes’ ability to pressure quarterbacks and defend the run should bolster Texas A&M’s defensive front, adding experience and depth to their edge rotation for the 2024 season.
Texas
D-FW can claim Texas’ best high school football team in an otherwise down year for Dallas
ARLINGTON — North Crowley showed out on Saturday in its dazzling 50-21 victory over Austin Westlake in the 6A Division I state title game, winning the program’s second state championship and putting Fort Worth high school football on the map in front of 36,120 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Until North Crowley took the field at 7:30 p.m., there was a possibility the Dallas-Fort Worth area might boast only one state champion in 2024. Celina routed Kilgore 55-21 in the 4A Division I state championship to capture the program’s ninth state title and its first under coach Bill Elliott.
But North Texas teams came up short in the next three title games, the region’s worst showing at state since 2021, when South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD school to win a recognized state championship since 1958, but Denton Guyer and Duncanville fell in the 6A state championship games.
Two-time state champion South Oak Cliff missed a last-second field goal, falling 38-35 to third-year program Richmond Randle in the 5A Division II state title game Friday night. It was SOC’s second straight loss in the state championship game.
“The future is still bright,” South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd said. “We just gotta find out what’s going to get us over this hump.”
Smithson Valley, from the San Antonio area, topped Highland Park 32-20 as the six-time state champion faded in the second half of the 5A Division I state title game Saturday afternoon.
In the second game of the day, eight-time state champion Southlake Carroll extended its title drought to 13 years with a 24-17 loss to Austin Vandegrift in the 6A Division II game.
“It’ll happen one day. I’m excited about what the future holds,” said Carroll coach Riley Dodge, who fell to 0-2 in state title games as a coach.
The Dallas area claimed three football state champions in 2023 with Anna winning the 4A Division I state title and Duncanville and DeSoto sweeping the 6A Division I and II state championships, respectively. The southern Dallas County schools also swept the 6A state championships in 2022, when South Oak Cliff won its second straight 5A Division II state title.
But this year, the rest of Texas didn’t let the Dallas area, a high school football mecca, run the table. Teams from each of the state’s major metros — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio —- won a title in each division of the UIL’s two highest classifications.
Even before this week’s state championship games, 2024 seemed to mark a changing of the guard. Neither Duncanville, DeSoto nor Houston-area power Galena Park North Shore made it to AT&T Stadium this year. Nor did 12-time UIL state champion Aledo, the juggernaut west of Fort Worth that had won the last two 5A Division I state championships.
But North Crowley did, after knocking off both DeSoto and Duncanville this season. North Texas might not have dominated the competition as it has in recent years, but for a third straight season, the king of 6A reigns in Dallas-Fort Worth.
“When you get to this point, there’s only one team that’s standing that’s hoisting the trophy. And fortunately for us, this year it’s us and we just happen to be from 817,” North Crowley coach Ray Gates said. “We’re elated to be able to bring that type of recognition back to our community, just to let people know that when you talk about this area, when you talk about Metroplex football, you can’t forget about us.”
On Twitter/X: @t_myah
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Sign up for our FREE HS newsletter.
-
Politics1 week ago
Canadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
-
Technology1 week ago
OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change
-
Politics1 week ago
U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California's zero-emissions goal
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit
-
Business1 week ago
Freddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age
-
News1 week ago
East’s wintry mix could make travel dicey. And yes, that was a tornado in Calif.
-
Technology2 days ago
Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps