Dallas News

WASHINGTON — Weeks before the midterm elections, Austin Rep. Michael McCaul – the House Republican point man on Ukraine policy – averred that colleagues calling to cut off aid “may not understand what’s going on” with Russia. Now poised to take over as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, McCaul is embracing the rhetoric of more strident GOP lawmakers who …

President Joe Biden plans to call on Congress to act to stop a looming shutdown of the nation’s freight railroads, according to a person familiar with the matter. The White House is holding off on a public announcement of the president’s intentions until his aides are certain they have the votes to pass legislation, according to the person, who has …

Mary Frances Burleson, who started her career as Ebby Halliday’s $2.50-an-hour, part-time secretary in 1958 and worked her way up to president and CEO of the Dallas-based residential real estate company, died Sunday morning of natural causes. She was 87. The graduate of Highland Park High School and Southern Methodist University rose quickly through the management ranks, becoming executive vice …

WASHINGTON — A bill strengthening protections for same-sex and interracial marriage cleared another procedural vote Monday night despite lobbying to reject it by some Republicans, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. The U.S. Senate returned from the Thanksgiving holiday break for a vote to limit debate on an amendment to the Respect for Marriage Act, which requires the federal government and …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a Texas-led case with wide-ranging ramifications for the future of immigration enforcement in the country as well as the relationship between the states and the federal government. At issue are enforcement guidelines Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued last year prioritizing the apprehension and removal of individuals in three categories: terrorists, those …

Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of former Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean a day after the death of the ex-cop’s defense attorney Jim Lane. Dean stands trial for the deadly 2019 shooting of Atatiana Jefferson in her family’s Fort Worth home. Testimony is set to start next week inside the Tarrant County courthouse. State District Judge George …

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott, ushering off stage a bureaucrat he recruited from another red state just three years ago, has turned to a veteran of Texas’ health care and nutrition safety-net programs to lead the state’s embattled Department of Family and Protective Services. Starting on Jan. 2, Stephanie Muth will replace Jaime Masters as the department’s commissioner, Abbott announced …

A man was killed in a shooting early Sunday in Stemmons Corridor, Dallas police said. The shooting was reported about 3 a.m. in the 5000 block of Sharp Street off Irving Boulevard. According to a Dallas police call log, an unknown person shot the victim before fleeing. The victim, whose identity was not immediately released, was pronounced dead, police said. …

Jim Lane, a former Fort Worth council member and longtime attorney known for defending police officers and soldiers accused of misconduct, died Sunday — the day before the long-delayed murder trial of his client, former Fort Worth police Officer Aaron Dean, was scheduled to begin. Lane was 78. His death was confirmed on Twitter by Fort Worth Police Officers’ Association President Manny Ramirez, who …

Denton police are asking for the public’s help to identify the driver of a car they believe was involved in a fatal auto-pedestrian crash on Thanksgiving. Around 9 p.m. Thursday, emergency crews were notified that a man had been struck by a vehicle near the intersection of University Drive and Bell Avenue. The driver left the area after the incident, …