The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 21, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, April 21st, and you are 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, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burroughs added an additional interim charge for House members to study children's safety online, in response to discovering a Roblox game simulating the 2022 Rob Elementary School shooting in Yuvalde. His office described the supplemental charge as, quote, focused on strengthening child safety and enforcing accountability for online gaming platforms that have failed to address widespread harmful content and risks to minors. Roblox is an online gaming platform launched in 2006, where users can create and play their own

Starting point is 00:00:55 games. The company reported having 144 million active players in 2025, up from 85 million in 2024 million in 2024, of which about 40% are under the age of 13. The charge is titled Protecting Miners on Gaming Platforms, as reported by the Texas Bullpen on Monday, and was placed under the House State Affairs Committee's duties for the interim leading up to the 90th legislative session next year. Burroughs explained that State Representative Don McLaughlin, who is the former mayor of Yuvalde, flagged content that he was made aware of on Roblox that simulated the shooting that took the lives of 21 people, including 19 children. Next, Kima Mayor Robin Collins may soon settle a legal

Starting point is 00:01:40 battle over a disputed handwritten will she presented for her late stepfather 10 years after his death, but negotiations have stalled over terms and a proposed non-disclosure agreement. Harold Lee Peterson died May 1st, 2014, but a will addressing his assets was never presented until October 28, 2025, when Collins filed for. probate. The probate filing drew protest from Peterson's biological children and grandchildren, who noted that under Texas law, a probate must be filed within four years of death. Otherwise, the deceased is considered to have died without a will, and the assets are then divided among the decedent's living heirs. Peterson's two living biological daughters and the children of

Starting point is 00:02:26 his deceased daughter challenged the validity of the will and provided affidavits asserting the handwritten letter to Collins' mother Margie Stone Peterson was likely a fraud. Collins is also accused of fraudulently transferring other properties owned by Peterson into her own name and collecting rent on those properties. Peterson's daughter, Natalie Herrera, told the Texan last year that the family had been unaware of Collins' probate filing until they were contacted by the media. In other news, a Dallas man was convicted last week of making threats against federal judges and mailing them fake biological weapons. A federal jury in Dallas convicted Donald Ray McCray, age 67, of three counts of sending

Starting point is 00:03:10 threatening communications to several federal judges, in Texas and New York, and one count of sending hoax biological weapons to the federal courthouse in Fort Worth. U.S. attorney Ryan Raybold said in a press statement, quote, threats and disruptions to the orderly functioning of our federal courts will not be tolerated. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, while in a state prison, McCrae sent multiple letters containing an unidentified white powder to the clerk of courts at the federal courthouses in Amarillo and Fort Worth. McCrae was convicted in 2019 of a similar threat against a Texas state judge.

Starting point is 00:03:48 In addition to the white powder, the letters contained threats against the lives of federal employees, including judges. Last but not least, for his service during the 18-minute Battle of San Jacinto on April 21st, 1836, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Millard was given a pair of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana's dueling pistols by General Sam Houston. However, this Texas revolutionary hero who successfully led two companies of infantry and a battalion of volunteers during the battle is little remembered today. Visit the Texan. News to learn more about the life of Henry Millard and his service during the Battle of San Jacinto, 190 years ago, today in Texas history.

Starting point is 00:04:32 Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the Texan.News and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 21, 2026

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.