Paxton's own voting address is under scrutiny, the Bible's headed to Texas classrooms, ICE kills a man in Houston, Democrats float $1,500 checks — and flesh-eating flies enter the feral-hog debate.
Howdy y’all, it’s Brian Gaar with The Barbed Wire.
This week in Texas: the attorney general who built his brand around election integrity is facing questions about his own voting address, the state just voted to make Bible stories required reading for millions of students, ICE fatally shot a man during an immigration operation in Houston, Democrats are pitching $1,500 checks for every household, and scientists are trying to figure out whether flesh-eating flies can slow down Texas' feral hogpocalypse.
🦒 On the bright side, Gracie the missing giraffe has been found and she’s fine. We stan a queen who just needed a few days to herself.
Let’s dig in!
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Ken Paxton's voting address is under scrutiny 📍
For years, Attorney General Ken Paxton has made cracking down on voter fraud one of the defining issues of his political career. Earlier this year, he even launched a public tip line encouraging Texans to report suspected election crimes, reminding voters that "it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records."
Now, reporting from The Texas Tribune and ProPublica says Paxton himself may have violated that same law.
According to the investigation, Paxton has continued voting from the Collin County home he once shared with State Sen. Angela Paxton, despite her divorce filing stating he moved out in 2024. The news organizations report he voted from that address in six elections over the past two years, including this year's Republican Senate runoff.
Three election lawyers told the outlets Paxton may have violated Texas election law, though proving residency cases can be difficult because state law considers multiple factors and allows voters to keep their registration if an absence is temporary and they intend to return.
Paxton's campaign didn't answer questions about his voter registration, instead issuing a statement saying he has been "a national leader on election integrity" and dismissing the reporting as "a baseless, lie-filled tabloid story."
The irony here is difficult to ignore. Even legal experts quoted in the story emphasized that residency disputes are often more complicated than they first appear. Which, as one law professor pointed out, is exactly why actual voter fraud cases are so rare.
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Texas schools are getting a required reading list — and yes, it includes Bible stories 📖
The Texas State Board of Education voted to establish statewide required reading lists for every grade level, meaning more than five million public school students will study many of the same books.
Among them: classics like Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, historical documents like the Gettysburg Address … and, you guessed it, Bible stories and passages.
Elementary students will read adaptations of David and Goliath and Daniel in the Lion's Den. Older students will read passages from Genesis and Psalms alongside works by George Washington, Langston Hughes and Robert Frost.
Supporters say the Bible should be taught as an essential literary work that helps students understand Western history and American founding documents.
Board member Brandon Hall called the changes "a generational opportunity" and said, "We're going to stop watering down American history."
Opponents argue the new curriculum favors Christianity and crosses constitutional lines.
Republican board member Evelyn Brooks, the lone GOP vote against the plan, called it "unconstitutional," while Democratic board member Tiffany Clark argued that "Bible lessons should be taught on Sundays."
The changes begin rolling out during the 2030-31 school year.
Houston ICE shooting prompts calls for an independent investigation
A federal immigration officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a targeted enforcement operation Tuesday in Houston.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Salgado Araujo ignored commands to stop, rammed an ICE vehicle and attempted to run over an officer with his van.
His son, however, told Telemundo Houston that his father had been looking for workers to hire when he was shot.
Reuters reviewed surveillance video showing what appeared to be the aftermath of the shooting, with a person lying beside a white van surrounded by officers.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia called for an independent investigation, saying all available footage and communications should be preserved.
Juan Proano, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, also called for a transparent investigation, saying, "We don't take DHS at their word at all."
According to Reuters, this is at least the sixth fatal shooting involving federal immigration officers since President Donald Trump's intensified immigration enforcement began.
Gina Hinojosa wants to send Texans $1,500 💸
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa has a campaign pitch designed to get people's attention: a $1,500 check for every Texas household.
Her proposal would use roughly $17 billion from the state's Rainy Day Fund, which currently holds nearly $25 billion.
Hinojosa calls it a "corruption tax refund," arguing Gov. Greg Abbott is "hoarding" money that should be helping Texans struggling with rising costs.
"It is irresponsible," she said. "This money should be in our economy in Texas."
The proposal would require legislative approval and leave roughly $10 billion remaining in the state's reserve fund.
Abbott's campaign declined to comment.
Whether it has any chance of making it through a Legislature dominated by Republicans is another question entirely, but it's an early sign that affordability, not just culture war politics, is likely to dominate this governor's race.
Finally, nature is pitching its own solution to Texas' feral hog problem 🐗
Texas has somewhere between 3.5 million and 6 million feral hogs.
It also has a returning population of New World screwworms, aka parasitic flies whose larvae feed on living flesh.
Naturally, scientists have begun asking a deeply Texas question: could one invasive nightmare solve the other?
The answer appears to be, please don't root for that.
Experts told Texas Monthly that while screwworms will almost certainly infect feral hogs, they'd also threaten cattle, goats, sheep, wildlife and pets.
"It's going to kill pigs, but at what cost?" Texas A&M wildlife professor John Tomeček said. "I don't want to live in a world where screwworms are so widespread that they're making a landscape-level dent in the feral-hog population."
In other words, if the flesh-eating flies become good enough at controlling hogs, Texas will probably have much bigger problems than hogs.
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