Democratic district attorneys and county attorneys from across the state filed lawsuits Friday challenging the constitutionality of new oversight rules imposed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which they argue infringe upon prosecutorial independence and violate the state constitution.

The lawsuits were filed by a slew of Democratic DAs and county attorneys, including Delia Garza and Jos茅 Garza of AG真人百家乐 County, Sean Teare of Harris County, Joe Gonzales of Bexar County, John Creuzot of Dallas County and Christina Sanchez of El Paso County. They argue that Paxton's recently adopted regulations 鈥� requiring district and county attorneys in counties with over 400,000 people to submit detailed reports and grant the Attorney General's Office access to certain case files 鈥� exceed his legal authority.

Under the new rules, district attorneys must report indictments against police officers and poll workers, communications with federal authorities and office policies to the Attorney General鈥檚 Office. The reports also require a wide range of information 鈥� including how cases are resolved, how budgets are spent, internal emails and details about how prosecutors make decisions.

鈥淭hese reporting requirements do not make communities safer,鈥� said Gonzales, Bexar County鈥檚 district attorney. 鈥淭hey create barriers that divert limited resources away from what matters most, which is prosecuting violent offenders and protecting our community.鈥�

At the time, the policy was intended to 鈥渞ein in rogue district attorneys.鈥� According to the state鈥檚 , noncompliance could result in prosecutors being removed from office. In a statement on Friday, Paxton called the rule 鈥渁 simple, straightforward, common-sense measure鈥� and accused the DAs of attempting to sidestep accountability.

Paxton described the lawsuits as 鈥渕eritless and merely a sad, desperate attempt to conceal information from the public they were sworn to protect.鈥�

The prosecutors, on the other hand, say their counties are being unfairly singled out and seek to block enforcement of the new rule. It only applies to about a dozen of the state鈥檚 more than 250 counties, and most of them are Democratic-leaning.

鈥淧axton should be working with all district and county attorneys in pursuit of justice, not picking fights with the Democrats in large cities,鈥� said Creuzot, Dallas County鈥檚 DA.

Harris County DA Sean Teare didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a in Austin, AG真人百家乐 County Attorney Delia Garza said the rules 鈥渋nvade the separation of powers" of the Texas government.

During the same briefing, El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez added that Paxton鈥檚 policy has placed an 鈥渆xtreme burden鈥� on counties across the state by adding 鈥漵ignificant operational costs鈥� for additional administrative tasks brought on by the rule.

鈥淲e stand ready to fight this particular rule,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淲e stand ready to respond.鈥�

A Houston-area midwife accused of performing illegal abortions has laid out the case for her innocence for the first time, alleging in an appeal filed Monday that the Texas Attorney General鈥檚 Office was so desperate to prosecute an abortion case that it 鈥渃onducted a shoddy investigation and leapt to wild conclusions.鈥�

鈥淭he Attorney General boasts that he has caught a 鈥楬ouston-Area Abortionist鈥� and has shut down 鈥楥linics Providing Illegal Abortions,鈥欌�� the appeal begins. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 a snag: it isn鈥檛 true.鈥�

Maria Rojas, a 48-year-old native of Peru who ran a string of health clinics for primarily low-income and Spanish-speaking clientele, is asking the First Court of Appeals to overturn a temporary injunction that prevents her from practicing medicine or operating her clinics.

Rojas was , first on charges of practicing medicine without a license and then on additional charges of performing an illegal abortion. She is the first person arrested under Texas鈥� near-total abortion ban, which comes with up to life in prison and $100,000 in fines.

She has not yet been formally indicted on these criminal charges. But in the meantime, the Office of the Attorney General brought a civil suit asking a judge to shut down her clinics and bar her from practicing. A Waller County judge .

鈥淭his is a critical win in our fight to uphold Texas law, protect the unborn, and protect all Texans from dangerous clinics practicing medicine without a license,鈥� Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement at the time. 鈥淩ojas and her network of illegal clinics operated with blatant disregard for the law, putting people鈥檚 lives at risk.鈥�

Her lawyers now argue the injunction was improper because it didn鈥檛 explain why it was necessary or what it prohibited, and it didn鈥檛 set a trial date. They assert that there is no evidence that Rojas practiced medicine without a license, as opposed to providing services consistent with a midwife, and question why the chief investigator was not present at the hearing to be questioned.

Rojas is represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, a New York-based nonprofit law firm that has led high-profile lawsuits against state abortion bans, including in Texas.

In the appeal, Rojas鈥� attorneys raise questions about whether the woman investigators claim underwent an illegal abortion was actually treated for a miscarriage. The appeal asserts that Rojas told the woman her pregnancy would not be successful and gave her a low dose of misoprostol 鈥� a treatment regimen appropriate for managing a miscarriage, not inducing an abortion. The lawyers questioned why investigators didn鈥檛 fact-check this woman鈥檚 story with the data stored on the clinic鈥檚 ultrasound machine, which they seized as part of the investigation.

Rojas鈥� lawyers also questioned whether Paxton has the authority to seek a temporary injunction or bring a lawsuit on behalf of the state in an abortion-related case. Texas鈥� abortion ban has criminal and civil penalties, but does not explicitly allow the attorney general to pursue injunctive relief or file suit on behalf of the state, the appeal says.

The Office of the Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment. The state has filed a motion to transfer the appeal to Texas' 15th Court of Appeals, a new court specifically for lawsuits by or against the state. That motion is unopposed but still pending.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Five months into a pilot program to improve safety on Sixth Street, Austin police officials said there have been fewer fights, arrests and incidents where they used force.

Late last year, Austin began reopening Sixth Street to vehicles on weekend nights, erecting barriers to keep people on newly expanded and protected sidewalks.

Water-filled, orange-and-white plastic barricades have been installed, replacing metal fences that were damaged by people leaning on them or vehicles driving over the footings.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the metal fencing was never meant to be long-term and called the new barriers another phase in the program.

"When you look at [that old fencing] and when you look at the crowds getting larger now that the summer is coming up and the weather is getting warmer, [we knew] it was time to change the barriers," she said.

The new barricades are stronger and more cost-effective, city officials said.

Sixth Street is lined with bars, restaurants and clubs, making it a popular nightlife destination. The road had been closed to vehicle traffic on weekend nights for decades. That allowed crowds to gather in the street, which public safety officials said created an unsafe environment.

Restricting people to sidewalks keeps them safe and discourages fights and shootings from breaking out, Davis said. She added that it took a lot of resources from the short-staffed police department to close the street to traffic.

Preliminary data from the Austin Police Department show the use of force by officers against someone on Sixth Street decreased by 50% from January to February of this year, when the data was last collected. Anecdotally, APD officers said they've also noticed a decrease in fights.

Davis said safety improvements on Sixth Street is about policing differently and officers being more visible while they are patrolling on foot and in vehicles.

"We have to be more engaged with the people" on Sixth Street, she said. "And I think being seen, being more visible, being more engaged with what's occurring there, that is where we want to be, where everyone is safer."

As summer approaches, Austin is preparing for an influx of visitors. The city said it is committed to keeping the street open, but that might not always be possible as crowds grow.

鈥淐rowd size changes based on the weather, they change based on a number of factors," Davis said. "But how do we move with that? And so we always have to be prepared that when we see [crowds getting too large] that safety always comes first. And anytime it's about safety we will close the street.鈥�

APD is also working with bar and club owners to help maintain crowds and keep people moving safely up and down the sidewalks.  

It's unclear when the city will decide on a permanent change to Sixth Street or how it will pay for it, but Davis said it could be a while. The city is staring at a $33 million budget deficit for next fiscal year, making funding programs and projects difficult.

"The reality is this a citywide-led focus," she said. "We have to look at different things, and it's going to be a cost shared throughout the city."

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This story has been updated with a statement from ICE.

A mother and her three children were deported from the Austin area Tuesday, the family's lawyer said.

Daniel Hatoum, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said Denisse Parra Vargas is from Mexico and is undocumented. Her attorneys and advocates working with the family said she entered the U.S. in 2016, fleeing an abusive former partner. She has three kids 鈥� aged 8, 5 and 4 鈥� two of whom are U.S. citizens.

Hatoum learned about the case from advocates at . The nonprofit organization got involved after Parra Vargas was stopped in North Austin on Thursday for driving with expired tags.

She and her partner were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Hatoum said Parra Vargas was released later that day with an ankle monitor; her partner remained in ICE custody.

Parra Vargas was told to report to a processing center in Pflugerville on Tuesday. Her attorney and advocates with Grassroots Leadership said she thought she was going for a routine check-in.

"They seem to have convinced her that her going was for the benefit of her partner as well," Hatoum said. "鈥奡o she went with her three children, and ICE decided to arrest them all."

After about 24 hours of searching for the family, advocates with Grassroots Leadership said they located them Wednesday in Mexico.

鈥淭his is incredibly traumatizing for the children, and our community deserves answers,鈥� Annette Price, executive director of Grassroots Leadership, said in a press release. 鈥淭his family deserves dignity, due process, and to remain in Austin where they belong.鈥�

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement Thursday saying Parra Vargas chose to bring her children with her to Mexico.

鈥淭he narrative that DHS is deporting American children is false," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement. "Rather than separate their families, ICE asked the mothers if they wanted to be removed with their children or if they wanted ICE to place the children with someone safe the parent designates."

The family's attorneys said, however, that ICE did not allow Parra Vargas to communicate with relatives nearby who were willing to keep the children in the U.S.

Correction: A previous version of this story said the eldest child was 9. The children are 8, 5 and 4.

Two judges are ordering UT Austin to not delete communications between the University of Texas Police Department and the Dean of Students Office surrounding arrests last year during protests of the Israeli war in Gaza.

On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell ordered the university to keep 鈥� or not delete 鈥� communications surrounding the arrest of Ammer Qaddumi, a pro-Palestinian demonstrator who was arrested last year. The order came after Qaddumi's attorneys balked at UT Austin's move to delete information related to Qaddumi's April 2024 arrest and suspension from the university.

In another case involving a January 2024 arrest of Jarrid Cornell, a AG真人百家乐 County judge ordered the university to "cease and desist all deletion" of internal communications. That order came on Thursday after Cornell's attorney alleged UT staff used chat apps to hide information leading up to his client's arrest at a pro-Israeli event.

The two cases have hearings scheduled later in May. KUT reached out to the university for comment on the orders, but a university spokesperson declined to comment.

The rulings come on the heels of another lawsuit filed by students who were arrested during pro-Palestinian demonstrations last April. Students sued Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety, UTPD and the UT Board of Regents on Wednesday. The federal suit filed on behalf of four students argues UT unlawfully targeted them in "violent" arrests 鈥� and that the university violated students' First Amendment rights to protest peacefully.

Officials at UT Austin used chat apps to hide internal communications in violation of state law, according to a motion filed in a AG真人百家乐 County court.

Jarrid Cornell was arrested after during a pro-Israel event on campus in January 2024. In the motion filed last week, his lawyer, George Lobb, accused UT officials of actively hiding communications about the case by using apps that can hide or delete messages.

Lobb asked the court to order UT to turn over texts leading up to, during and after the event from staff's personal devices.

He argued "high-level administrators" at UT have been "instructing employees to change settings in commercial messaging apps on their personal devices so that the messages ... delete automatically."

KUT asked UT whether the university had a policy on the use of apps like Signal, which has an auto-delete feature for messages, or iMessage, which has an "invisible ink" function that makes texts illegible in court or open-records requests.

A university spokesperson declined to speak about the allegations.

Lobb said UTPD bodycam video of the arrest shows officials texting, "and they're not talking about dinner," he said. He requested those texts, and he got "bupkis."

"I don't have a single one of those text messages," Lobb said. "Nothing."

Lobb said he believes texts were squirreled away or deleted outright because they "were publicly embarrassing" to UT.

Under the Texas Public Information Act, is public information and shouldn't be deleted. UT had argued the texts are privileged and aren't relevant to the case. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton agreed and asked the court to throw out Lobb's request.

Lobb is now asking the court to force UT officials to provide the texts or prove in court that the university doesn't use platforms like Signal, the app that recently landed the Trump administration .

Lobb said UT is trying to "hide the ball" and that the university started using the apps in response to requests from the media about pro-Palestinian demonstrations on UT campus. More than 100 people were arrested at protests last spring with the help of state police after pressure from lawmakers.

"What they're doing is wrong," Lobb said. "They don't get to claim privilege. In this situation, there is no privilege for them."

A Hays County grand jury has determined there's not enough evidence to charge a man who police believed to be responsible for the Iconic Village apartment fire in San Marcos.

The fire broke out in the early morning hours of July 20, 2018, killing five people: Haley Frizzell, 19; Dru Estes, 20; Belinda Moats, 21; David Ortiz, 21; and James Miranda, 23. Several others were injured. The fire destroyed one building and damaged others nearby.

Jacobe De Leon O Shea Ferguson, 31, was arrested in 2023 in connection with the fire.

The case went unsolved until 2022 when a task force was created and began to review the evidence with assistance from the ATF, San Marcos Police Department and the Texas Rangers. Their findings pointed to Ferguson.

Ferguson was a student at Texas State University and lived at the complex at the time. His arrest report stated the fire started on a mattress that was left in the breezeway of a building. One resident told investigators she had left the mattress there for Ferguson. He initially denied knowing anything about it, but later said he lied.

Hays County officials said the grand jury met several times over two months to consider the evidence. This week the jury stated that they 鈥渇ailed to find a bill of indictment against the accused鈥� and that they 鈥渆ncourage law enforcement to continue this investigation.鈥�

Hays County Criminal District Attorney Kelly Higgins said in a written statement that his office would continue to work with law enforcement to ensure the investigation into the fire continues.

鈥淚 want to thank the members of the Grand Jury for their time and attention to this matter. I also want to thank the families of the young people killed and injured in this tragic fire for their patience and understanding,鈥� Higgins said. 鈥淲e feel for their loss every day and we remain committed to bringing the arsonist to justice to provide closure to those who have lost so much. We take the Grand Jury鈥檚 encouragement to continue the investigation to heart and will continue to work with the task force to that end.鈥�

Ferguson served jail time but was released on bond. This week鈥檚 ruling frees him from that bond.

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A state appeals court on Thursday struck down an Austin law that prohibits police from citing and arresting people for carrying small amounts of marijuana.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had sued the city, arguing the ordinance 鈥� which was adopted after voters approved it in 2022 鈥� violated state law.

The court's decision means Paxton鈥檚 lawsuit, which had previously been dismissed by a AG真人百家乐 County judge, will now go to trial. In the meantime, people could get cited or arrested for marijuana possession in Austin.

In a statement, the city said it was reviewing the ruling "as we evaluate our next steps."

Austin Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes said the court decision was a "huge letdown."

"Now, our police will be forced to waste time on minor marijuana cases instead of focusing on violent crimes," she said in a statement. "Once again, the State is stepping on local decisions that reflect the values Austin residents actually care about.鈥�

Weed in small amounts has effectively been decriminalized in Austin since 2020. That鈥檚 when police, responding to pressure from council members, agreed to stop citing people for the low-level offenses.

But the journey to decriminalization in Austin really began when Texas legalized hemp in 2019. Hemp and marijuana are both derived from the cannabis plant 鈥� although the latter contains a higher concentration of THC, the ingredient that gets people high.

The law forced local authorities to decide whether they would buy testing equipment to determine whether a seized substance was legal (hemp) or illegal (marijuana).

Elected officials in Austin said they did not want to pay for testing. Prosecutors in AG真人百家乐 County had already said they would stop pursuing these cases.

Thursday's decision came from the 15th Court of Appeals, which lawmakers created in 2023 to oversee appeals involving the state. The three justices on the court are conservatives who were appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, according to reporting from .

The same court released an opinion last week reversing San Marcos鈥� marijuana decriminalization ordinance.

Similar ordinances are in effect in Elgin, Denton and Killeen.

Ground Game Texas, the organization that helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in Austin, San Marcos and other places throughout the state, said in a statement it will continue to "craft policies that respond to [the court's] ruling."

"These decisions don't change the fact that the people of Austin and San Marcos spoke with one voice," executive director Catina Voellinger said. "It doesn't change the fact that for years, the ordinance protected residents from arrest and criminalization over low-level possession. And it definitely doesn't change our commitment to this fight."

Yolanda Tinajero stood up in court and walked over to the man who killed her brother. She wrapped her arms around him while he hunched over into her embrace.

"I feel in my heart to hug you very tight so you could feel my forgiveness, especially my loss," Tinajero said.

She had just offered her impact statement at the end of the case involving the man who in 2019 killed 23 people and injured dozens at a Walmart in what's considered one of the worst attacks on Hispanics in the U.S. in modern history.

Judge Sam Medrano allowed her to approach the gunman after she said it would bring her peace, comfort and healing.

Adriana Zandri, whose husband Ivan Feliberto Manzano was murdered during the attack, also hugged the gunman, bringing an end to one of the most painful moments of this largely Hispanic city that borders Ciudad Ju谩rez, Mexico.

On Monday, Patrick Crusius was sentenced to 23 consecutive life sentences after he pleaded guilty to capital murder and nearly two dozen aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges in state court.

The gunman drove more than 650 miles from his home in Allen to El Paso and opened fire on shoppers at a Walmart on Aug. 3, 2019.

The Texas gunman targeted people he thought were Mexicans, according to police. Hours before the shooting, Crusius published an online screed saying his actions were a response to the "Hispanic invasion of Texas."

In 2023 a federal judge sentenced him to 90 consecutive life sentences, after he

No room for hate

Yvonne Gonzalez lost her parents, Maribel Hernandez and Leonardo Campos Jr., during the attack. As Crusius was sentenced, she sat across the courtroom. She did not look at him during her impact statement, sometimes peering at her notes, but she had pointed words for him.

"It is not up to me to make you answer for your sins. I may never hear from you. But no one walks away from answering to God," Gonzalez said. "I have no more room for hate in my heart." 

Crusius accepted a plea deal offered by the El Paso District Attorney James Montoya, in return for Montoya not pursuing the death penalty.

Montoya said a and survivors asked him to bring this case to a close.

After reading the sentence, Judge Medrano said: "Your name and your hate will be forgotten." Medrano told the gunman he failed to divide the city.

"The community you tried to break has become a symbol of resilience, of love overcoming hate, of humanity enduring in the face of evil," he said. "This community will always remember those whose lives you stole, their names, their stories, their accomplishments, their lives will never fade."

Olivia Rodriguez, who survived the attack, had her statement read in Spanish and in English.

"Es un monstruo que debe pagar aqu铆 en la Tierra. He is a monster who must pay here on Earth," her statement read.

The case came to a close after victims and relatives offered statements over two days. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office will now transfer custody of the gunman to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Crusius' attorney, Joe Spencer, said his client suffers from a mental disorder that makes it difficult for him to be able to separate reality from delusion.

He said it was not an excuse but his client became isolated and began listening more to online chatter about immigration and erroneous claims about "an invasion" of the United States.

Crusius did not offer any apology on Monday.

Instead, Spencer said: "We offer our deepest condolences."

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A man is in jail after officers found and detonated a large amount of homemade explosives at a house in South Austin, the police department said.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said police received a call around 3:13 p.m. Tuesday about the possibility of bomb material inside a home. The APD Bomb Squad and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene.

After investigating, Davis said officers decided the safest way to detonate the material was on-site. The material was destroyed on Wednesday around 5 p.m. Surrounding homes and streets were evacuated. No one was injured in the blast.

The home, which was destroyed by the explosion, is located in the 2400 block of Vintage Stave Road, which is just off Brodie Lane and Frate Barker Road.

Steven Aldrich, who lived in the home, was arrested and charged with felony possession of components of explosives. Additional charges are possible, police said.

Aldrich, 66, has previous explosives-related arrests in Williamson County, where he served six years in jail. He had two weeks left in his parole, Davis said.

Police are still investigating the incident and are not releasing any information about the exact amount and what kind of materials he was using.

鈥淲hat his plan was 鈥� I cannot say,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淏ut it was enough to destroy a home.鈥�

The incident comes just days after a home in Northwest Austin exploded, injuring six people and damaging 24 homes. The cause of that explosion is under investigation, but officials said they do not expect a criminal investigation to come from that incident.

The two explosions are not related and there is no current threat to the public, police said.

Mayor Kirk Watson said he was pleased with the response to both incidents and said the safety of residents is a top priority.

鈥淭he reaction was appropriate, it was detonated in a way that was safe,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淪o we are working hard and we will continue to work hard to make sure that people are safe.鈥�

Warning residents ahead of the detonation through the city's alert system was key in keeping people safe, officials said. The mayor encouraged residents to sign up for those alerts at .