The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 14, 2026
Episode Date: April 14, 2026Want to support The Texan and help us continue providing the Lone Star State with news you can trust? Subscribe today: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/The Texan’s Daily Rundown brings you a quick re...cap of the latest stories in Texas politics so you can stay informed with news you can trust.Want more resources? Be sure to visit The Texan and subscribe for complete access to our in-depth articles, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, videos, podcasts, and more.Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review!
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Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, April 14th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown.
I'm the Texans managing editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics.
First up, Houston's new ordinance prohibiting police from detaining suspects with administrative warrants from U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement may cause the city to lose $110 million in state grants for public safety.
In a 12-5 vote last week, the Houston City Council approved a proposition that rescinded a previous Houston Police Department policy,
under which officers could detain suspects with the administrative warrants for up to 30 minutes while waiting for ICE to respond.
On Monday, Governor Greg Abbott's office notified Houston Mayor John Whitmire that the city's newly approved policy breached agreements with the state to receive certain grants for public safety purposes.
Should the governor's office rescind the grants, the city will be required to repay $110 million
already received.
Earlier this month, the city controller forecast that the city will face a budget deficit
of $174 million by the end of the fiscal year.
Last Friday, the Texas Office of the Attorney General also launched an investigation into
whether Houston's new ordinance violates Senate Bill 4, approved by lawmakers in 2017 to punish
so-called sanctuary cities and counties. Next, a Travis County district judge enacted a temporary
restraining order that lifted statewide restrictions on certain smokable hemp products throughout Texas.
The restraining order comes after new rules were implemented on March 31st by the Department of
State Health Services, which set a legal threshold for the amount of THCAA allowed in smokable hemp
products. Products most affected by the new rules include pre-rolled joints and THCA flour. The
state of Texas bans marijuana, but in 2019, it legalized hemp in quick succession to the federal
2018 Farm Bill, which distinguished hemp from marijuana. It defined hemp as containing no more than
0.3% Delta 9 THC on a dry weight basis. The ruling comes after a lawsuit filed by the Texas
Hemp Business Council and numerous other hemp distributors in the state against the
DHS, its commissioner Jenny Shoeford, and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The plaintiff sought a temporary restraining order and a subsequent temporary and permanent injunction.
In other news, the seventh and final hearing of President Donald Trump's Federal Religious Liberty Commission,
chaired by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, was held on Monday,
serving as a forum for final conversation as the board prepares to present recommendations to the president in May.
The hearing, which was about five hours long, included testimony from various religious leaders and ordinary people sharing,
life experiences of being affected by religious liberty violations. Former Miss California USA
Kerry Prejean Bowler was removed from the Commission in February for what Patrick called the
hijack of a hearing on the rise of anti-Semitism in the country for her, quote, personal and political
agenda. The Commission will present its findings on religious liberty, whether it be evidence of its
violation or solutions to protect it, to the President in May for his consideration. Last but not
least, two former members of the godly police department, including the former chief of police,
were arrested for their alleged involvement in a prostitution conspiracy that led to the arrest
of one other suspect with ties to the officers. In an arrest affidavit obtained by the Texan
on Friday, a search warrant was first conducted at the home of godly residence Michael and
Ashley Catcherside on March 31st, where evidence was discovered suggesting the married couple's
promotion of prostitution, also linking two officers to the illicit operation.
Investigators found several electronic devices at the Catcherside residents, which revealed,
quote, a large volume of evidence supporting an ongoing prostitution conspiracy.
Ashley Catcherside's burner phone allegedly contained correspondence between former members of GPD,
who were identified as former police chief Matthew Cantrell and former officer Solomon Omotoya,
as well as several other clients.
Johnson and Somerville County District Attorney Timothy M. Good stated in his press release that as the investigation is active and ongoing, additional arrests in the case are anticipated.
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