This editorial page admires some of the work the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression has done across the country to defend speech on college campuses, regardless of politics. It’s important in a time when student mobs will shout down and physically intimidate speakers they deem offensive rather than defeat them in a debate.
But we disagree with FIRE’s attack against a new Texas law meant to install necessary guardrails around children’s social media use. Also suing Texas are the Computer and Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, two trade groups for tech companies.
No surprise there. Even tepid attempts to rein in social media platforms are met with tooth-and-nail resistance from Big Tech.
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Texas’ Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment law, however, is substantive. The SCOPE Act is supposed to take effect on Sept. 1, and it would require age verification and parental consent for minors to create social media accounts. That in itself is a significant protection, but more important, the law would force social media companies to allow parents to supervise their children’s accounts.
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Further, the SCOPE Act will require companies to limit children’s access to harmful content, such as material that promotes suicide and bullying.
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FIRE wants to turn this into a First Amendment fight. In its complaint, filed on behalf of four plaintiffs, the group argues that the law will limit the ability of children and adults to access and disseminate content “through a medium that has become essential to human communication.”
That’s a stretch for tech that hasn’t been around all that long. There was communication, much of it even good and joyful, before social media.
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What’s more, the law doesn’t ban children from social media. What it does is give parents more power to supervise their children in the digital realm, just as we expect them to do in the physical world. The idea that this is some inexcusable invasion of privacy strains credulity given what we know about social media companies. Companies like Meta have shown time and time again that their priority is profit, not children’s safety and mental health.
CCIA and NetChoice argue that their members already “engage in effective content moderation.” That they expect a court to believe that is laughable. Outlets including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have published multiple exposés about the ways that algorithms connect children with predators, even as parents use social media companies’ designated tools to report explicit material that is sent to their children. Big Tech has tried to downplay the toxic effects of its algorithms on our children, as if we cannot see the effects with our own eyes.
This isn’t about free speech. It’s about whether social media companies should continue to do what they please with our kids. The federal government may be a pushover, but Texas isn’t.
Charles Thompson, who once briefly escaped custody after being sentenced to death, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday evening for the 1998 double murder of his former girlfriend and her friend.
Thompson had gotten into an altercation at his then-girlfriend Dennise Hayslip’s apartment in Houston with her and her friend, Darren Cain, before a police officer escorted Thompson off the property, according to court records. Early the next morning, Thompson returned to the apartment, killing Cain and shooting Hayslip in the mouth. Hayslip was life-flighted to a nearby hospital, where she died a week later.
Thompson was charged with capital murder for killing Cain and Hayslip and sentenced to death in 1999. In 2001, his death sentence was vacated by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after judges ruled the Harris County District Attorney’s Office had unconstitutionally used an undercover investigator to obtain evidence for the trial. Thompson was given a new sentencing hearing, where a jury again sentenced him to death in 2005.
While Thompson does not dispute shooting Cain, he has said the man attacked him first and he acted defensively. Thompson has also asserted that Hayslip would have survived her wounds, which partially severed her tongue, had it not been for her receiving an improper intubation while at the hospital.
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Days after his resentencing, Thompson escaped from the Harris County Jail by switching into the civilian clothes he had worn to resentencing hearings and posed as an employee with the state Attorney General’s Office. The escape led to a three-day manhunt that ended with Thompson being caught drunk in Louisiana.
Thompson filed a new appeal and a request for a stay of execution with the CCA on Jan. 21 that called into question the efficacy of his legal counsel during trial. It also asserted Thompson’s previous claim that the hospital’s alleged improper intubation of Hayslip ultimately killed her. Included in the new filing was an affidavit from a doctor who testified during Thompson’s trial about Hayslip’s cause of death, stating she would withdraw her trial testimony and instead assert medical complications were the cause of death.
The CCA has yet to rule on the stay request or the appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a previous federal habeas corpus appeal from Thompson in 2021.
If executed, Thompson will be the first person put to death in the United States this year, and is one of four men in Texas with currently scheduled executions. Thompson will also be the 136th person Harris County has executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The county has executed more people than any other state, and in 2025 sentenced its 300th person to death.
Texas’ use of the death penalty has dwindled for years as new death sentences and executions per year have remained in the single digits for more than a decade.
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Cedric Ricks is the next person scheduled for execution in Texas on March 11. Ricks was convicted of capital murder in 2014 for stabbing his common-law wife and her 8-year-old son to death in their Fort Worth apartment.
Roads across North Texas have been in poor condition since temperatures dropped Friday night, and while TXDOT and local crews have been working around the clock, many neighborhoods are still dealing with sheets of ice.
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In Fort Worth, the difference between major highways and city streets is easy to see. I‑30 looked nearly clear after TXDOT began pretreating it last Wednesday, well before any ice or snow arrived. But nearby city‑maintained roads remained slick. Each city and county is responsible for its own streets, which means some neighborhoods are still waiting for crews to reach them.
Warmer temperatures Tuesday helped speed up the process.
Fort Worth and Tarrant County crews spent the day spreading salt and sand to give drivers traction. The city said it doesn’t have traditional snowplows like those used in northern states, but workers have been using skid steers to scrape away the thick layer of ice that’s been stuck to the pavement.
Road conditions improved significantly throughout the day, but officials urged drivers to stay cautious.
City urges drivers to slow down
“If you are needing to leave your home and get out on the neighborhood streets and on to roads to travel, please go very slowly,” said Lara Ingram, a spokesperson for Fort Worth’s Transportation & Public Works Department. “Some neighborhood roads may be 35 mph. Fifteen to 20 mph is fast enough.”
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Crews focused Tuesday on hospitals, major thoroughfares and the area around Dickies Arena to keep the Stock Show & Rodeo accessible.
The city is asking residents to remain patient as workers continue moving through neighborhoods.
Editor’s note: To help readers learn more about primary candidates, The Texas Tribune is sharing background information on top candidates. In particularly crowded races, we focused on candidates who have political experience or prominence. For a full list of the candidates running in this race view our primary ballot page. For more information on the primaries and the voting process, check out our voter guide here.
About this seat: The Texas Agriculture Commissioner is the chief advocate for Texas’s agriculture industry. Under the commissioner’s purview, the Texas Department of Agriculture regulates the state’s agriculture industry, including cattle, grain, plants, pesticides, hemp and organic operations. The department provides agribusiness support, promotes Texas products and advocates for policies at the state and federal level that help farmers and ranchers. It also administers the National School Lunch Program to public schools. The department works on economic development in rural areas and provides disaster relief to farmers. The department also ensures that price scanners and scales are all accurate to ensure consumers are paying an accurate price for these items when they purchase them.
What’s at stake: Agriculture is the second largest industry in the state and Texas is home to more than 230,000 farms, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 2024, it was the 6th largest state exporter of agricultural products. Farmers and ranchers are on the frontlines of economic pressures, the effects of climate change, and labor and supply chain disruptions and it’s the responsibility of the state agriculture commissioner to regulate farmers from a consumer protection standpoint, while providing support and funding to farms that are economic engines in rural areas of the state.
Candidates at a Glance:
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Commissioner of Agriculture of Texas
💰 Campaign finance:
💰 Major donors this cycle:
Philip Oshotse, owner of Houston African grocery store – $60,000
Joe Cavender, owner of Cavender’s boots – $5,000
Stan Graff, owner at El Dorado Motors – $10,000
Kent Hance, former U.S. Rep. and chancellor of Texas Tech University System – $10,000
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Experience:
First elected agriculture commissioner in 2014, and reelected twice in 2018 and 2022
12 years in the Texas House of Representatives
Graduate of Tarleton State University in Stephenville, where he lives and owns a tree nursery
Breeds horses and is a rodeo cowboy
Political ideology: Miller is known as a staunch MAGA conservative with a fiery personality and a loyal supporter of President Donald Trump. He is a Christian who often rails against Islam and leftist politics on social media. He’s against diversity, equity and inclusion policies and in 2023, he ordered employees to dress “in a manner consistent with their biological gender,” a move that was viewed as anti-transgender.
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Policy stances:
Increasing water security in Texas
Defending agriculture from invasive pests and disease
Enhancing local food pride through the agency’s Go Texan brand program
Ensure farm and ranchland is not affected by the expansion of data centers in Texas
Supports legalization of marijuana for medical purposes
In the news:
Endorsements:
Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian
Ted Nugent, a guitarist and singer
How to contact or learn more: campaign@sidmiller.com 6407 S US Hwy 377 Stephenville, TX 76401
Campaign photo
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💰 Campaign finance:
💰 Major donors this cycle:
Houston furniture store owner Mattress Mack – $10,000
Sen. Kevin Sparks, a Republican from Midland and family – $13,000
The Saulsbury Family, owners of Saulsbury Industries oil and gas company in Odessa and former donors of Sid Miller’s campaign – $25,000
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Experience:
Texan business and ranch owner
Served for six years in the U.S. Naval Reserve before he graduated from Texas State University
He and his wife founded a honey company called Nature Nate’s, which became famous for its raw and unfiltered honey. He sold the company in 2021 and resigned as CEO in 2024 to run for agriculture commissioner.
Previously worked as communications director for E3 Partners, an evangelist ministry organization that establishes new Christian congregations around the world
Political ideology: Sheets is a conservative Christian and self-declared member of the MAHA (Make American Healthy Again) movement, which was inspired by Trump administration Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Nature Nate’s Honey emphasized testing to ensure the honey didn’t contain pesticides or herbicides, and Sheets has said his experience leading the company shaped his views on healthy eating.
Policy stances:
Helping Texas farmers grow and produce clean and healthy food at home and in the state’s public schools
Boost job opportunities in the agriculture industry in rural areas of the state
Work with the Legislature to ensure Texas has the power to investigate agro terrorists who might spread pathogens that could damage state agriculture production
In the news:
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Endorsements:
Texas Farm Bureau, Texas Cattlefeeders Association
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican from Pennsylvania
How to contact or learn more: campaign@natesheets.com
Campaign photo
💰 Campaign finance:
💰 Major donors this cycle:
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Jim Hightower, former Texas Agriculture Commissioner from 1983 to 1991 – $1,000
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Experience:
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Grew up working on his family’s ranch in Lampasas
Fair trade organizer for the Trade Justice Education Fund, a left-leaning non-profit that promotes awareness of the impact of trade on public health and the environment.
Political ideology: Tucker spent his early career working as a Democratic political campaign organizer. He is an active member of the Texas Democrats and a member of the Texas Progressive Caucus.
Policy stances:
Preserving family farms
Lowering the cost of food and removing chemicals from food
Stop the spread of microplastics and regulate dangerous chemicals like PFAS
Protect Texas from the growth of data centers across the state and “bust monopolies”
Endorsements:
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland
Many Democratic state representatives
How to contact or learn more: info@claytontuckertx.com PO Box 1059 Lampasas, TX 76550
Disclosure: Texas Cattle Feeders Association and Texas Tech University System have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
