Articles written by Paul J. Weber & Acacia Coronado


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  • Texas keeping most truck inspections despite border gridlock

    PAUL J. WEBER and ACACIA CORONADO|Apr 13, 2022

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he will continue truck inspections that have gridlocked the U.S.-Mexico border for days. The two-term Republican governor said Wednesday he would not repeal his new policy at all bridges until there are more assurances of security. Abbott did lift inspections at one international bridge after announcing what he said was an agreement for more enhanced security with Nuevo Leon, Mexico. But the most dramatic backups of commercial trucks along Texas' 1,200-mile border have occurred at other b...

  • Texas Democrats dig in after exodus; GOP threatens arrest

    PAUL J. WEBER and ACACIA CORONADO|Jul 14, 2021

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Democrats who hurriedly took off to Washington to block sweeping new election laws urged Congress on Tuesday to quickly pass legislation protecting voting rights, while Republican Gov. Greg Abbott threatened them with arrest the moment they return. Speaking to reporters outside the Capitol, the Democrats were realistic about the limits of their gambit, noting they can hold up the GOP-backed proposals at home for only so long and arguing that only federal legislation would prevent some of the new restrictions from b...

  • Dems walk, stop Texas GOP's sweeping voting restrictions

    PAUL J. WEBER and ACACIA CORONADO|Jun 2, 2021

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Democrats pulled off a dramatic, last-ditch walkout in the state House of Representatives on Sunday night to block passage of one of the most restrictive voting bills in the U.S., leaving Republicans with no choice but to abandon a midnight deadline and declare the legislative session essentially over. The revolt is one of Democrats' biggest protests to date against GOP efforts nationwide to impose stricter election laws, and they used the spotlight to urge President Joe Biden to act on voting rights. But the v...

  • Texas GOP puts final touches on sweeping voting restrictions

    PAUL J. WEBER and ACACIA CORONADO|May 30, 2021

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans dug in Saturday for a final weekend vote on some of the most restrictive new voting laws in the U.S., putting the last touches on a sweeping bill that would eliminate drive-thru voting, empower partisan poll watchers and limit voting on Sundays, when many Black churchgoers head to the polls. The changes would need to be approved before midnight on Sunday, when the GOP-controlled Legislature wraps up a session dominated by Republicans muscling through staunchly conservative measures pertaining to guns, a...

  • Texas GOP's strict voting bill on the verge of final vote

    PAUL J. WEBER and ACACIA CORONADO|May 30, 2021

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Legislature was on the verge Sunday of signing off on some of the most restrictive voting measures in the U.S., putting the GOP on the brink of a major victory in their nationwide effort to tighten voting access following the 2020 election. A vote in the state House expected later Sunday is the last barrier to sending Republican Gov. Greg Abbott a raft of election changes that would eliminate drive-thru voting, empower partisan poll watchers and impose new requirements in order to cast a ballot by mail in T...

  • Southern cities hit hard by storms face new crisis: No water

    PAUL J. WEBER and ACACIA CORONADO|Feb 19, 2021

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Southern cities slammed by winter storms that left millions without power for days have traded one crisis for another: Busted water pipes ruptured by record-low temperatures created shortages of clean drinking water, shut down the Memphis airport on Friday and left hospitals struggling to maintain sanitary conditions. Texas authorities ordered 7 million people — a quarter of the population in the nation's second-largest state — to boil tap water before drinking it because low water pressure could have allowed bacte...