The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - August 7, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, August 7th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg crossed party lines to endorse Senator Ted Cruz, citing the incumbent senator's work for public safety. Ogg said in a statement to The Texan, My constituents hate crime and expect the government to keep them safe from criminals. They deserve protection, but our country's laws and policies don't always work to that end. Last week, Ogg voiced support for legislation introduced by Cruz and Representative

Starting point is 00:00:46 Troy Nels, named after Jocelyn Nungary, a 12-year-old Houston girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered in Houston earlier this year, allegedly by two Venezuelan nationals illegally present in the U.S. The Justice for Jocelyn Act would require federal authorities to detain more illegal immigrants and more closely monitor those released into the country, but congressional Next, the social media giant X-Corp, formerly known as Twitter and owned by Texas billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or GARM, alleging the Worldwide Association of Advertisers operated a conspiracy costing X billions of dollars in advertising revenue, and in doing so robbed the public of fair competition in the social media industry. X Corp CEO Linda Iaccarino announced

Starting point is 00:01:43 the lawsuit in an open letter to advertisers, writing that recent findings in an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary found that Garm targeted X in what is likely an illegal boycott. She added that the Garm boycott had cost X, quote, billions in revenue. In other news, Carroll Independent School District has announced it is at a stalemate with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights following investigations into multiple cases of student-to-student harassment. Carroll ISD Board of Trustees President Cam Bryan wrote, quote, After a thorough review, we have concluded that our district has complied

Starting point is 00:02:22 with the law in each case. For that reason, we have declared an impasse in the negotiations and look forward to defending the district at all levels of this process. Carroll ISD addressed the DOE in a letter where it laid out the legal framework for its response in connection with the OCR cases. The letter highlights the recent Title IX ruling involving Carroll ISD, similar court rulings in the state, and a Supreme Court of the United States case that, quote, held that the Department of Education and OCR's interpretation of federal statutes is no longer entitled to deference. Carol ISD asks for a response from DOE within five days of this letter in relation to the OCR cases that involve issues of Title IX. Also, project approvals for two liquefied natural gas export facilities and a pipeline in Texas'

Starting point is 00:03:12 Rio Grande Valley have been voided by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the agency overseeing them failed to sufficiently update environmental impact statements. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved permits for two Cameron County projects, Texas LNG Brownsville and Rio Grande LNG, back in 2019 after the projects had been under development and review for three years. In 2021, the City of Port Isabel, the Sierra Club, and other plaintiffs sued over the approvals, alleging that regulators did not appropriately update environmental impact statements in congruence with the permit grants. The three-judge panel wrote,

Starting point is 00:03:53 The Commission erroneously declined to issue supplemental environmental impact statements addressing its updated environmental justice analysis for each project, and its consideration of a carbon capture and sequestration system for one of the terminals. It also failed to explain why it declined to consider air quality data from a nearby air monitor. Last but not least, the Bayer County GOP announced it is considering filing a lawsuit that challenged Democrat Christian Carranza's ballot eligibility in House District 118, saying she changed her name on official records to run for office in a Hispanic-majority district. A Monday release about a Tuesday press conference from the Bayer

Starting point is 00:04:36 GOP stated, quote, The party will provide evidence that Christian scratched out her real birth name, Thompson, on an official government document and replaced it with Carranza, a name she has never held until deciding to move into the district to run for office. Carranza is the Democratic nominee in HD 118, one of the most competitive seats in the Texas legislature. Thanks for listening. To support The Texan, please be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - August 7, 2024

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