Texas is offering a parcel of rural ranchland along the U.S.-Mexico border to use as a staging area for potential mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump. Texas originally purchased the 1,402-acre property last month. It is located in rural Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley. Republican Dawn Buckingham, the Texas Land Commissioner, sent a letter on Thursday to Trump extending the offer. The letter is embedded at the bottom of this article. The land offer is the latest illustration of a sharp divide between states and local governments on whether to support or resist Trump’s plans for mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. illegally. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted to become a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities to carry out deportations. Texas leaders have long backed aggressive measures on the border to curb crossings, including installing razor-wire barriers and passing a law last year that would allow law enforcement to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally. “By offering this newly-acquired 1400-acre property to the incoming Trump Administration for the construction of a facility for the processing, detention, and coordination of what will be the largest deportation of violent criminals…

Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says private school voucher legislation will be his top priority in the upcoming legislative session. Patrick has reserved Senate Bill 2 for the proposal, which has not yet been authorized. He also said that he hoped Republican Gov. Greg Abbott would declare school choice one of his emergency items for this session. By law, no bills can be passed within the first 60 days of the session unless the governor has deemed them emergency items. “School Choice” is frequently used to describe school vouchers and programs that use taxpayer money to help pay for private schools. “A one-size-fits-all approach to education in a state with a population of 30 million, 254 counties, 1,200 school districts, and over 8,000 campuses simply cannot possibly meet the needs of every student,” Patrick said. The proposal for school choice has been made five times since 2015. The Senate would pass it, but once it reached the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, it would be shut down every time. SCHOOL CHOICE Education May 30 Gov. Abbott says he's got the votes for…

For the first time, we’re hearing from the toddler’s family at the center of the “shaken baby” case. The death penalty execution of Robert Roberson remains on hold as advocates and lawmakers fight for an acquittal in the 2002 death of two-year-old Nikki Curtis. Now, Nikki’s biological half-brother is breaking his silence – describing what his family has endured for the past twenty years. In Palestine, Texas, people go on about their daily lives of school, work, and play. However, Matthew Bowman tells NBC 5 he feels stuck, unable to move past what happened 20 years ago. “All the stuff that we’ve gotten out of the storage building that we put off five years ten years ago now, we’re having to dig through it,” said Bowman. He’s never left Palestine, even with all its painful memories. He’s the older brother of Nikki Curtis, the toddler at the center of what’s now known as the ‘shaken baby’ case. “It’s been very difficult. We’ve never stopped living this. It’s been something that’s been brought up since 2002 all the way until now,” Bowman said. “My family feels like it’s something they never could let go.” Death row inmate Robert Roberson was…

House members were successful in halting the execution of Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson III. The Supreme Court of Texas granted a stay late Thursday night. “We are deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas legislature in such consequential matters. We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol, and long with 31 million Texans, finally giving him — and the truth — a chance to be heard,” Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee chairmen Joe Moody and Jeff Leach said in a joint statement Thursday night. Roberson was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at about 6 p.m. Thursday, for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter. The state’s legal fight to get the execution carried out faced a midnight CDT deadline when the death warrant authorizing Roberson’s execution expired. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said late Thursday night that Roberson will be moved back to the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas. “I had the opportunity to go back there to speak with him, and he was shocked to say the least. He praised God, to thank his supporters,” said Amanda Hernandez with the TDCJ. Roberson was convicted…

The Texas Historical Commission has partnered with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and will bring the institute’s Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program to Clifton this fall. Clifton, located approximately 35 miles northwest of Waco, is the second of seven stops in Texas for the traveling exhibit. It will host the program from Oct. 12 to Dec. 1. The exhibit is currently on display in San Augustine. The Texas Historical Commission selected Clifton and six other towns in the state to host the MoMS, which brings exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. The traveling exhibit tour usually last about 10 months, stopping at seven communities all across the state for six weeks each. The MoMS exhibits are normally around 500 to 800 square feet in size and include interactive components as well as audio and video experiences. Each exhibit covers a single topic of broad national interest and is designed to engage a wide range of communities and capture the feel of life in small towns in America. The exhibit, “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” will be housed at the Bosque Museum, 301 S. Avenue Q, in Clifton.It will be open from 10 a.m. to…

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck near the Midland-Odessa Metropolitan area Monday evening, briefly rattling parts of North Texas. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake happened in Martin County at 7:49 p.m., about 21 miles southwest of Ackerly, Texas. USGS map shows the location of the West Texas earthquake on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The USGS initially reported the earthquake as a 4.8 magnitude with a depth of 4.8 kilometers. It later upgraded the magnitude to 5.1 with a depth of 8.4 kilometers. According to the Lubbock Avalanche Journal, Monday’s earthquake was the seventh strongest quake in Texas history. Residents in Lamesa said their homes were shaking for five to 10 seconds when the earthquake hit. Residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex also reported feeling the tremor. The U.S. National Weather Service, Midland, Texas, shared on social media that its personnel felt the earthquake at their office. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office told NBC 5 they have not received any structural damage or injury reports. Check back and refresh this page for the latest update. As developments unfold, elements of this story may change. Courtesy of Texas News – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth …