Beto O’Rourke banks $2.2M in six weeks in bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz

El Paso Rep. Beto O'Rourke, the Texas Democrat hoping to oust Republican powerhouse Sen. Ted Cruz, announced he's raised $2.2 million in the first six weeks of 2018. That's almost as much as O'Rourke raised in the final three months of 2017, when he posted a $2.4 million haul and outraised the sitting senator.

13 Russians charged in plot to influence 2016 elections, targeted Ted …

Thirteen Russians and three Russian entities were charged Friday with an elaborate plot to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, federal prosecutors announced Friday. The indictment, brought by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, alleges that Russians used bogus social media postings and advertisements fraudulently purchased in the name of Americans to sway political opinion during the race between Republican Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent.

House Republicans add 5 members to incumbent protection program

The House GOP campaign arm announced Friday that it is adding five Republicans to the ranks of its incumbent protection program for this year's midterm elections. The National Republican Congressional Committee's Patriot Program now has a total of 23 GOP lawmakers on its roster as it tries to defend the House GOP majority.

U.S. border patrol agent died from fall, not attack: report

A U.S. Border Patrol agent who died three months ago in what President Donald Trump said was an attack likely was killed by an accidental fall into a deep culvert, a newspaper reported, citing a federal agency memo. The memo from the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to agency staff suggests agent Rogelio Martinez, 36, and another agent fell into the culvert on a moonless night on Nov. 18 near the town of Van Horn, Texas, said the El Paso Times, which said it obtained a copy of the memo.

Palin addresses Republicans at annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner in Denton

Sarah Palin, the ninth governor of Alaska, levied accusations against the press, attacked "fake feminists" and called Texas to "revitalize our identity" during Saturday night's Lincoln Reagan Dinner, hosted by the Denton County GOP. More than a thousand people attended Saturday's events, which included a silent auction and a tabling event for local election candidates, as well as a dinner that honored Palin as the night's keynote speaker.

Lawmakers push for budget vote to avert government shutdown

Lawmakers pushed to enact a massive budget deal Thursday along with a stopgap temporary measure to prevent a government shutdown at midnight. GOP leaders tried to shore up support among conservatives for a plan that would shower the Pentagon with the billions they favor but also balloon the deficits they despise.

FEMA, Other Relief Efforts Post-Hurricane Harvey Exceed $12 Billion…

It has been six months since Hurricane Harvey hit and devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands of Houston-area residents. But new information shows that survivors-including African American families-have received more than $12 billion to help them recover from the catastrophic storm in August.

Boosted by PACs, incumbents running for Texas House outraise rivals

State Rep. Matt Schaefer speaks during his campaign kick-off and fundraiser in Tyler, Texas, on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. Representatives of Grassroots America, Texas Right to Life, Texas Eagle Forum, Empower Texans, Texas Home School Coalition, Gun Owners of America, and Texans for Vaccine Choice were in attendance.

Elizabeth Warren bellows rallying cry atactivist event: – We march in pink pussy hats!’

Progressive Texans burst into applause on Friday as Sen. Elizabeth Warren delivered a women's rights speech with the following rallying cry: "We march with pink pussy hats!" Annie's List, a group that aims to recruit progressive women for office in the Lone Star State, turned to the Massachusetts senator this year to energize its members. Ms. Warren's speech ran the gamut of issues addressed at a nationwide series of Women's March protests held Jan. 20-21.

At Annual GOP Retreat, Party Seeks To Sharpen 2018 Focus

A tragic train wreck almost put an early end to this year's GOP policy retreat as lawmakers grappled with whether or not to carry on after an Amtrak train carrying them to the Greenbrier Resort collided with a garbage truck and resulted in at least one fatality. "Personally I gave it a lot of thought.

Koch network targets Texas in push for prison reform in Trump era

It's part of a broader push by the network - backed by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch - to redouble its criminal justice reform efforts while embracing common ground with President Donald Trump and his administration, which have delivered mixed results at best for the unlikely alliances that have formed around changing the system. "We're going to meet people where they are," Mark Holden, a senior network official, told reporters here repeatedly - a kind of mantra for the network's eagerness to make progress on a host of policy issues in the Trump era.

Texas inmate asking federal courts to keep him alive

This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows William Rayford, who is scheduled for execution Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, for the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend Carol Lynn Thomas Hall in Dallas. This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows William Rayford, who is scheduled for execution Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, for the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend Carol Lynn Thomas Hall in Dallas.

Dallas man set to die for 2nd murder while on parole for 1st

This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows William Rayford, who is scheduled for execution Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, for the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend Carol Lynn Thomas Hall in Dallas. less This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows William Rayford, who is scheduled for execution Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, for the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend Carol Lynn Thomas ... more HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Carol Lynn Thomas Hall knew William Rayford had spent time in prison for killing his estranged wife but defended her own relationship with him, telling relatives she believed it was her Christian duty to give the parolee a second chance.

US Supreme Court asked to halt Texas execution this week

Attorneys for a Texas prisoner facing execution this week for killing a woman in Dallas in 1999 are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his punishment after the top Texas criminal court refused to consider their appeal. Lawyers for 64-year-old William Rayford say his execution set for Tuesday evening in Huntsville should be halted so the high court can review whether his trial lawyer during questioning of a witness improperly introduced race as a possible factor jurors could have considered when they decided Rayford, who is black, should die for killing his ex-girlfriend Carol Lynn Thomas Hall.

Continue reading Pressure grows on Texas Sen. John Cornyn to deliver DACA fix

The White House aggravated hard-line conservatives and Democrats when it proposed granting citizenship to 1.8 million Dreamers in exchange for border wall funding and drastic changes to the nation's immigration laws. The Senate majority whip, who has emerged as a key Republican negotiator in talks to resolve the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, says he supports a permanent solution for young immigrants in the country illegally.