Dallas News

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators agreed Wednesday on proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act, the post-Civil War-era law for certifying presidential elections that came under intense scrutiny after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. Long in the making, the package introduced by the group led by Sens. Susan Collins …

Making sure Texans’ air conditioning and heat stay on during extreme temperature swings is coming at a potentially hefty cost to consumers — $1.5 billion this year. That price tag is a result of steps taken to boost the reliability of the state’s electric grid — measures being stress-tested now by a heat wave engulfing Dallas-Fort Worth and the rest of the state. Those …

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Wednesday voted to advance a new ban on certain types of semi-automatic rifles they say are appropriate for war zones but have no place on American streets. The House Judiciary Committee voted to send to the floor a bill that would ban semi-automatic rifles and pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and feature particular …

Low-income Dallas seniors were seven times more likely to visit a food pantry in the year after becoming Medicare eligible, leading to better food security, according to a new study from UT Southwestern Medical Center. Authors of the study looked at data from nearly 545 households that visited the Crossroads Community Services food pantry in Dallas, analyzing levels of food insecurity and …

WASHINGTON — The new federal law passed in response to a series of mass shootings includes provisions to better incorporate juvenile records into the federal background check system, but states vary greatly in the way they approach access to guns and the background checks themselves. As states navigate the new law, they will face pressure from critics who view gun-related scrutinizing of …

WASHINGTON — House Democrats passed legislation Tuesday to strengthen same-sex marriage rights as Republicans emboldened by comments from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas hope to topple other precedents following the reversal of Roe vs. Wade. In a concurring opinion in the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health decision which removed the constitutional right to abortion, Thomas wrote the court “should reconsider …

Seventeen House Democrats, including one from Texas, were arrested outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday for civil disobedience during an abortion rights rally. U.S. Capitol Police said they issued three warnings to stop blocking a street near the court and arrested those who failed to comply. Police made a total of 35 arrests, according to a tweet. El Paso Rep. …

While North Texas as a whole has grown to 7.8 million people during the pandemic, Dallas County has lost almost a full percentage point of its population. The U.S Census Bureau says Dallas County’s population in July 2021 dropped to 2,556,050 – about 25,000 residents down from the previous year. North Texas’ three other most populous counties, Tarrant, Collin and …

WASHINGTON — Secret Service text messages from around the time of the attack on the U.S. Capitol were deleted despite requests from Congress and federal investigators that they be preserved, the agency confirmed Tuesday in response to a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee. Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Democratic member of the Jan 6. panel, said the Secret Service …

AUSTIN – Democratic mega donor George Soros and an Austin-area couple each gave $1 million to Beto O’Rourke’s campaign to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott. While Texans gave $14.5 million to the Democrat’s campaign, nearly half of O’Rourke’s record-breaking $27.6 million fundraising haul came from out-of-state donors. The details come from an O’Rourke campaign finance report so huge it took several days to upload to …