Dallas News

AUSTIN — A staunchly conservative Rockwall County lawmaker and tea party-style activists have successfully sued to wipe out restrictions on who can spend money to influence a contest for Texas House speaker. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Austin accepted a proposed settlement and permanently barred the state from enforcing ethics laws that prohibit outside money from being spent in …

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed former Republican Dallas County Commissioner J.J. Koch, who lost re-election in November, as a judge over one of Dallas County’s 17 felony criminal courts. Abbott announced Koch’s appointment Wednesday to Criminal District Court 2, a felony court in the Frank Crowley Criminal Courts Building just outside downtown Dallas. State District Judge Hector Garza swore Koch in …

Two employees of the state’s criminal justice system were recommended for termination and others were disciplined after two men on parole with ankle monitors were arrested on murder charges in Dallas, according to a report released Wednesday by the governor’s office. The report, authored by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Department of Criminal Justice, outlined legislative …

A man was arrested after police say he shot at an officer following an attempted traffic stop late Tuesday in Tarrant County. Shortly before 11 p.m., an officer in River Oaks, just northwest of Fort Worth, tried to stop a vehicle for speeding, according to police. The driver of the vehicle, identified by police as 27-year-old Tony Rodriguez Quintanar, drove …

WASHINGTON — Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., was sworn in as Senate president pro tempore Tuesday, the first woman in the country’s history to hold that role. In the process Murray immediately, and temporarily, becomes the second person in line for the presidency. The Senate president pro tem position is typically third in line for the presidency, after the vice president …

WASHINGTON — California Republican Kevin McCarthy went 0-for-3 again Wednesday in his campaign to be the next speaker, leaving the House in limbo as his party scrambled in vain to find unity and take advantage of their slim new majority. On three successive ballots, 20 Republican holdouts supported someone else for speaker, blocking McCarthy from attaining a majority and prolonging the deadlock. …

YANGON: A firebrand monk dubbed the “Buddhist bin Laden” for his role in stirring up religious hatred in Myanmar received a national award on Tuesday, with the junta saluting his work in the country. Wirathu, who received the moniker from Time magazine in 2013 following deadly communal riots, was awarded the title of “Thiri Pyanchi” on Tuesday, the military’s information team said. …

Plano’s Parks & Recreation Department is hosting a series of hiring events in preparation for the summer season, the city stated in an email announcement. The first event is set for Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Carpenter Park Recreation Center, 6701 Coit Road. A second hiring event is planned for March 4 at the same location and time. Applicants …

HOUSTON — Texas plans to use expired and unsafe drugs to carry out executions early this year in violation of state law, three death-row inmates allege in a lawsuit. Prison officials deny the claim and say the state’s supply of execution drugs is safe. The first execution, of Robert Fratta, is set for Jan. 10. The state’s highest criminal court …

Two Plano teachers were named as winners of the Market Street and Mrs. Baird’s Teachers on the Rise program, the school district stated in an announcement. They were chosen from among nominations from students and families across North Texas who believe their teacher’s efforts to go above and beyond are worthy of special recognition. The winners, announced for the month of …