The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - October 13, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks, today is Monday, October 13th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burroughs have announced the formation of investigating committees to examine the deadly July 4th flooding disaster that devastated central. Texas this summer. During both the first and second special sessions of the 89th legislature, lawmakers passed a bevy of bills in response to the central Texas floods that took the lives of more than 130 people, including 27 children and counselors at Camp Mystic. In addition to legislation, multiple hearings were convened so that members could hear directly from families and locals who were impacted by the devastation. Next, Governor Greg Abbott issued guidance

Starting point is 00:01:00 to the Texas Department of Transportation last week regarding political agendas on Texas roadways, directing the state agency to coordinate with localities to make sure they, quote, remove any and all political ideologies from our streets. The same day as Abbott's issuance, TextDOT released its own letter to city and county transportation officials to provide clarification, stating that, quote, Pavement markings, such as decorative crosswalks, murals, or markings conveying artwork or other messages are prohibited on travel lanes, shoulders, intersections, and crosswalks, unless they serve a direct traffic control or safety function. The letter adds, quote, this prohibition includes the use of

Starting point is 00:01:45 symbols, flags, or other markings conveying any message or communications. If localities do not comply with the directive, they could see their state and federal funding withheld. Tex Dodd is giving Texas localities 30 days to comply with the directive, and a number of cities have already responded. In other news, an illegal alien and member of the Asian boys' street gang was arrested and charged for unlawful possession of a weapon after he allegedly murdered a Texas woman in Victoria. Savin Sang, also known as Two Face, was arrested on October 3rd after a brief manhunt following a shooting incident that left one woman dead in Victoria, Texas. A cell phone was found at the location of the shooting, which allegedly contained photos of saying holding an extended

Starting point is 00:02:33 magazine and Glock pistol, per a witness who initially identified him as the suspect responsible for the woman's gunshot to the head. He was found by law enforcement while in possession of, quote, a loaded Glock 17, 9mm pistol in his shorts, along with a loaded 31 round, extended magazine. It was announced on Wednesday that among the charges Seng is facing, one is related to his illegal presence in the United States. He was ordered to leave the country in 2016 as an aggravated felon by an immigration judge, 34 years after his entry into the U.S. from Cambodia as a child. Also, Austin Independent School District Superintendent Mataya Segura announced the district school consolidation and boundary change plan in a letter last week.

Starting point is 00:03:21 Last month, Segura informed AISD families that, following the August release of the Texas Education Agency's accountability ratings, AISD would need to draft 24 turnaround plans for struggling schools, with a list of 12 campuses potentially facing closures. Segura's October 3rd letter outlined four main effects of this plan, boundary changes for 98% of schools, 13 school building closures, one program relocating to, a new campus, and six schools repurposed for programming with no school zone. Last but not least, Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson was scheduled to be put to death this week. But after the case garnered national attention last year, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted his execution last Thursday, and the court proceedings involving Roberson could go on for many years to come. Roberson was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2003 in connection with

Starting point is 00:04:21 the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002. In the following decades, appeals from his legal team have been consistently denied. But after involvement from non-profit legal group The Innocence Project and a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers, his case was thrust into the national spotlight due in part to public activism and pronouncements about whether certain pieces of evidence presented at trial tainted the guilty verdict. Visit the Texan. News for reporter Cameron Abrams' breakdown of the timeline in this case. 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 - October 13, 2025

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