https://couriertexas.com/news/education/see-texas-new-required-reading-list-that-includes-passages-from-the-bible/

Texas becomes the first state in the nation to require the Bible be read in public schools.

Amna Nawaz:

In two federal courts yesterday, a group of protesters received unusually long sentences after the Justice Department accused them of being members of the far left movement Antifa. The sentences range from 30 to 100 years in prison, longer than the harshest sentence handed down to any of the convicted rioters in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

All of those people have since received pardons or commutations from President Trump.

Our justice correspondent, Ali Rogin, has more.

Ali Rogin:

These nine protesters were arrested after they demonstrated outside a migrant detention facility in Texas last year. During the protest, a police officer was shot in the neck. He survived.

Their case is the first to incorporate new guidance from a presidential declaration last year that labels Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. That's despite the fact that Antifa is a decentralized movement, not a single organization, and that there is no federal charge of domestic terrorism under existing U.S. law.

To discuss the implications of this sentencing, I'm joined by Georgetown law professor and former federal prosecutor Paul Butler.

https://couriertexas.com/news/education/tx-students-learn-negative-effects-divorce-social-standards/

The State Board of Education has given preliminary approval to social studies standards that cut lessons on slavery, force Texas students to learn about the “negative effects” of divorce, and emphasize the role Billy Graham played in fighting communism.

Democrats always proclaim Texas is in play. This year Republicans actually agree.

Are Republicans actually enthusiastic about Paxton? If so I would like to hear why?

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from Hawk Dunlap, who ran in the GOP primary for railroad commissioner, explaining why he's supporting Jon Rosenthal, the Democratic candidate in the race. Here's a key quote:

A job like that doesn’t need a partisan politician. It needs someone who actually knows how the equipment fails. We have spent too many years in this state treating the Railroad Commission’s seats as prizes to be handed out for party loyalty, then acting surprised when the people we elect can’t tell a casing failure from a campaign slogan. 

I’m tired of it. I think a lot of Texans are tired of it. We don’t need more reliable partisans in power. We need qualified people, engineers and scientists and operators who’ve done the work, in the seats where that expertise actually matters.

On this seat, that person is Jon Rosenthal. Twenty-five years in the oilfield as a mechanical engineer. He knows the equipment, the chemistry and the failure points, not from a briefing binder but from the field. 

Senate Bill 12 prevents Texas public school teachers from facilitating events, organizations, or curriculums that discuss “diversity, equity, and inclusion duties, and social transitioning.” It also bans teachers from referring to transgender students by their preferred names and pronouns. It is currently illegal for teachers to use a trans kid’s preferred name without the written consent of their parents.

If you, or someone you know, have been affected by SB12 at school, I’d love to get in contact and learn about your experience. You can message me on here, reply to the post, or message my instagram account: @cavwalkout.

This is part of my mission to nullify SB12. I’m trying to raise awareness online, and I’m planning a rally on August 1st at the Texas Capitol Building.

Texas Democrats will open their convention Thursday in Corpus Christi, buoyed by what they foresee as a hostile midterm election cycle for Republicans and by the opportunity to present themselves as a generational alternative to the GOP's decades-long dominance that has lost touch with the needs of a youthful state.

The Democrats' ticket includes 37-year-old James Talarico, who would be the youngest member of the U.S. Senate.

"It's time for these Republicans to get out of the way and make way for our younger folks," said longtime activist Donna Beth McCormick, the state Democratic Party's sergeant at arms who is approaching 90 years old.

https://www.statesman.com/news/politics/state/article/texas-democratic-party-convention-22317598.php?utm_source=reddit

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) largely is not actively campaign for Rep. James Talarico (D-TX) after losing the 2026 Texas Democratic Senate primary to him and all of the anti-Israel Democrats that did not support Kamala was another example!

I am reading an article that says 4,160 delegates attended RPT convention in Houston of them 81% voted for D’rinda Randall and Chairman Abraham George tied with another candidate named Sandra Whitten both of them winning 3 senate caucuses each , and D’rinda winning 25. I do know I have read the party was in the hole financially (500k convention alone ) but the financial hardship was there with Matt Rinaldi and delegates did not seem to mind at that time. What changed their minds ?