Laura Lynch, founding member of The Chicks, was tragically killed in a car crash in El Paso, Texas on Friday evening. The band released a statement expressing their shock and sadness, and her legacy will live on in the music she helped create. Lynch founded the band in 1989 alongside three other women, and in a 1992 interview she expressed her hope for female harmony to make a big comeback.
Posts tagged as “Annual Texas Country”
The Justice Department has filed a federal lawsuit against Colony Ridge Development, LLC, and its subsidiaries, accusing them of predatory lending practices targeting members of the Houston area's Hispanic community. The lawsuit alleges that the developers exploited language barriers and sold land in disrepair, and seeks to stop the defendants from engaging in any further predatory lending practices and to provide restitution to affected borrowers. The Justice Department is continuing to investigate the matter and is encouraging anyone with information about the alleged predatory lending practices to contact the department.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed two new border bills into law, prompting a lawsuit from civil rights organizations arguing that the laws are unconstitutional. Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has also spoken out against the law, accusing Abbott of wanting to gain popularity. The lawsuit argues that the measure is unconstitutional as the federal government has sole authority over immigration.
Robert Yancy Jr., a 39-year-old man serving life without parole for sexual abuse of a child, escaped from prison in southeast Texas on Sunday afternoon. He was recaptured Monday morning in Palacios, 45 miles away, after two civilians recognized him and called police. Two people, including Yancy's mother, are suspected of helping him escape and an investigation is ongoing.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law SB4, a sweeping new immigration bill that gives state law enforcement the power to arrest and seek the deportation of migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally. The bill has been met with strong opposition from civil rights groups, and is likely to face legal challenges in the coming months. Attorney General Ken Paxton has defended the bill, saying it is necessary to protect Texans from “dangerous criminals” and does not authorize racial profiling.
Alex Jones and Free Speech Systems, based in Austin, Texas, have both filed for bankruptcy in response to a lawsuit brought against Jones by the families of the victims of the 2012 Newtown school shooting. Jones' plan would pay the Sandy Hook families a minimum total of $55 million over 10 years, while Free Speech Systems' plan would pay $15 million. The court will decide which plan is the most beneficial and issue a final order in February.
Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two in Texas, has been at the center of a high-profile legal challenge to the state's abortion laws. After learning her fetus had a rare disorder, Cox sought a court order to terminate her pregnancy, which was granted by a state district court but overturned by the Texas Supreme Court. She has since left the state to terminate her pregnancy, sparking a nationwide debate about the rights of pregnant women and the importance of access to safe and legal abortions.
Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz declined to comment on Tuesday when asked about a recent Texas Supreme Court ruling that barred a woman with a life-threatening pregnancy from getting an abortion. The ruling has sparked a national debate on the issue of abortion rights, with many arguing that the ruling is a violation of a woman's right to choose. The case is the latest in a series of high-profile cases arising as a result of severely restrictive abortion laws around the country.