The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - January 6, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks, today is Tuesday, January 6th, 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, in a January 5th letter to the Texas Workforce Commission and the Health and Human Services Commission, Governor Greg Abbott directed the state agencies to investigate potential child. child care fraud in Texas. Abbott said, quote, recently, the Trump administration and independent journalists have uncovered potential systematic fraud in subsidized child care systems in states like Minnesota. On December 26th, independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a video on X alleging extensive

Starting point is 00:00:50 child care fraud in Somali immigrant-run child care and health care facilities in Minnesota. The video was reposted by Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance and has garnered more than 138 million views on X. On December 31st, the Trump administration announced it would be pausing child care funding to all states and releasing funds, quote, only when states prove they are being spent legitimately. Next, a Texas man was federally charged on international terrorism offenses due to his alleged involvement with attempting to provide bomb materials and financial assistance to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization. John Michael Garza Jr., a 21-year-old from Midlothian, was arrested on December 22nd

Starting point is 00:01:45 after a successful undercover operation by law enforcement. Garza brought explosive materials, in addition to other forms of assistance, to whom he thought was an ISIS brother, but was a instead an undercover agent. In other news, the trial of a former Yuvalde consolidated independent school district police officer began on Monday, January 5th in Corpus Christi. Adrian Gonzalez was charged with 29 counts of abandoning and endangering a child, to which he pleaded not guilty. Gonzalez is the first police officer in Texas to be tried for failing to do more to save children at Rob Elementary during a mass shooting event in 2022, where in 19 children and two teachers were killed. According to the indictment issued in 2024, Gonzalez,

Starting point is 00:02:33 quote, by act and omission, intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, and with criminal negligence, placed children, quote, younger than 15 years of age, in imminent danger of bodily injury, death, physical impairment, and mental impairment, end quote. He allegedly failed to engage, distract, or delay the shooter, and, quote, failed to follow and attempt, to follow his active shooter training to respond to gunfire by advancing toward the gunfire. Also, the City of Dallas Historic Preservation and Landmark Commission voted unanimously on January 5th to allow Oak Lawn United Methodist Church to keep its rainbow-painted stairs for three more years as a temporary art installation. The church has been an official Dallas landmark since 1984.

Starting point is 00:03:21 Oak Lawn Methodist Church invited community members to attend a public hearing with the Dallas Landmark Commission at Dallas City Hall to discuss the future of the church's front steps. The church said in a December 31st Facebook post, quote, The Rainbow Steps at Oakland United Methodist Church were painted in response to Governor Greg Abbott's directive to remove rainbow crosswalks. The decision was not an act of defiance, but an expression of faith and solidarity with the LGBTQ plus. community." End quote. In an October 8th press release, Abbott directed the Texas Department of Transportation to remove any and all political ideologies from the state's roads. Last but not least, the Texas Secretary of State has confirmed that Harris County's voter rules include registrations listing a PO box as a residential address, a violation of state law that could result in additional penalties and state oversight for the county if not resolved. The SOS launched an investigation last year in response to an administrative complaint filed by State Senator Paul

Starting point is 00:04:27 Bettencourt based on a limited sample of voter registrations. Betancourt said in a statement, quote, no one lives in a PO box, and Texans cannot legally register to vote from one. It's the law and it's been the law for four years in statute. End quote. Betancourt's analysis determined that there were 65 registrations listing the same location on Westheimer Road and another 59 individuals listed as living at one location on Waugh Drive. He noted that those are the only two locations his office has investigated, but told the Texan that in addition to the 127 registrations he identified, there are likely at least hundreds more.

Starting point is 00:05:06 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. Thank you.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - January 6, 2026

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