Headlines

Children who have died crossing the border or in U.S. detention were remembered on July 4 at the Texas State Capitol, where a "No More Cages" rally and march drew hundreds of participants protesting the Trump administration's policies and treatment of migrants. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Gutting the ACA: Attorneys for Texas were in court Tuesday, continuing their fight to strike down the Affordable Care Act. If successful, AG Ken Paxton's office could be responsible for kicking off 1 million Texans from their health coverage. For those potentially impacted, fear not, Gov. Greg Abbott said in December, "Texas will be ready with replacement health care" including coverage for preexisting conditions. Too bad nothing materialized in the recently adjourned Lege session!

Don't DWI: The Austin Police Department reportedly made 44 DWI arrests during its July 4-7 "No Refusal" initiative, which ran nightly from 10pm to 5am. The arrests included enhanced charges in 11 cases: higher breath samples, prior convictions, or DWI with child passengers.

Palm Dealing: Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt has told City Council the county might be interested in transferring ownership of the historic Palm School to the city – in return for the city's HealthSouth building, the county's Expo Center (which sits on city land) ... and two cents from the Hotel Occupancy Tax, which currently goes to the city. Discussions will continue ...

Austin Leads Soccer Watch: Austinites continue to love soccer – the city ranked No. 1 in the nation for viewing Sunday's Women's World Cup Final in which the U.S. women's team beat the Netherlands – winning the country's fourth World Cup title. During the 2018 Men's World Cup final (France vs. Croatia), Austin ranked eighth in the U.S., but on Sunday, 46% of Austinites' televisions were playing the game with 16.7% of all households with TVs watching.

Nuke-less: On Wednesday, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission heard testimony in Midland, concerning a proposal to store 40,000 tons of high-level, nationwide nuclear waste at a Waste Control Specialists site in Andrews County. Opponents of the plan rallied the day before. "It's clear that Texas does not want this deadly waste," said Lon Burnam, of the Tarrant Coalition for Environmental Awareness.

Houston Has Landed: The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that its third presidential debate will take place in Houston, Sept. 12 and 13 (venue not yet announced). The second set of debates will be in Detroit on July 30 and 31.