The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - July 8, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today's Tuesday, July 8th and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lauschus and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the recovery process has begun in Kerr County and the surrounding area following the devastating flood that took the lives of more than 100 people across central Texas, though the search continues for six unaccounted people as of now. State lawmakers have started to preface the upcoming special session, slated to begin on July 21st, and the responses to this tragedy that they'll advance when the body reconvenes.

Starting point is 00:00:43 Along the Guadalupe River, there are a handful of flood gauges across its 320-mile length, widgets that detect the flow of water and warn of rising levels. There are no warning signs in the area, with cellular alerts and word of mouth being the only way to spread the message of a flash flood. Do not allow cell phones to be carried by the children. The flood also came on rapidly, with the water level rising 20 feet in the span of a couple hours on Friday morning.

Starting point is 00:01:11 Next, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law this past week, which includes a number of provisions that will have a direct effect on Texas. After the U.S. House passed the OBBB in a 218 to 214 vote on July 3rd, Trump signed it into law the next day. He said from the White House balcony, quote, what we've done is put everything into one bill. The bill includes 870 pages of provisions, including extending tax cuts, raising the cap on the state and local tax deduction, and increasing the U.S. debt ceiling by $5 trillion, among a number of other changes. However, the OBBB also encompasses provisions that will impact Texas in particular.

Starting point is 00:01:56 For example, the bill includes $13.5 billion in border wall reimbursement grants, an issue that has been pushed for by Governor Greg Abbott. In other news, Dallas is the nation's first city to officially declare itself a sanctuary city from socialism, Mayor Eric Johnson stated in a social media post last week. Johnson made the declaration apparently in response to New York State Assemblyman Zoran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, securing the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. Governor Greg Abbott said in response to Johnson that, quote, the state of Texas will provide

Starting point is 00:02:33 whatever support is needed to fulfill that mission. Also, the Texas Ethics Commission found evidence that a former candidate for Fort Bend County Commissioner violated the state's election code but declined to administer civil penalties since the defendant pleaded guilty to charges earlier this year. A TEC order and resolution dated July 1st, 2025 noted that the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office filed a sworn complaint last year after Tural Patel was indicted on charges in relation to faked racist social media posts. By October, the grand jury had handed down four misdemeanor and four felony charges against Patel,

Starting point is 00:03:11 who was the Democratic nominee challenging incumbent commissioner Andy Myers. Earlier this year, Patel, who is also the former chief of staff to Fort Bend County Judge K.P. George, pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges and agreed to a two-year pretrial intervention for his four felony charges. Last but not least, Texas native Ruben Sanchez may proceed with his lawsuit alleging religious and age discrimination against United Airlines and the union that he claims is required to represent him.

Starting point is 00:03:41 On June 30th, a federal district judge in California ruled against the union's motion to dismiss Sanchez's case. required to represent him. On June 30th, a federal district judge in California ruled against the union's motion to dismiss Sanchez's case. Sanchez told the Texan that he is very happy with the judge's decision and that he looks forward to moving ahead with his case. In January, Sanchez filed suit claiming he was fired from his 27-year career as a flight attendant

Starting point is 00:04:01 with United Airlines because of his traditional Catholic beliefs about marriage and sexuality and his conservative political views. 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. Music

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The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - July 8, 2025

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