Headlines

Sen. Elizabeth Warren addressed a crowd of over 5,000 Austinites on Sept. 10 at Auditorium Shores. The presidential hopeful discussed her working-class background and outlined the fundamentals of her platform, including her plan for a 2% wealth tax on the largest American fortunes, before taking audience questions. Warren will be in Houston today (Sept. 12), for the third Democratic primary debate. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Under Fire: Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore and her First Assistant Mindy Montford are accused of attempting to "prevent or dissuade" one of eight rape survivors suing the city, county, local law enforcement and the D.A.'s office from pursuing the class action suit in a new lawsuit filed Wed., Sept. 11.

No Service: Five percent of Austinites do not have home broadband services, according to a new study by the city and UT. While the number of residents living with high-speed internet has jumped from 92% in 2014 to 95% – making Austin "well ahead" of the national 65% average – the city is hoping to "bridge the digital divide," according to the Wednesday press release. Additionally, 76% of non-users said they didn't know enough about the internet to use it.

Ungoogle It? Texas is one of 50 states whose attorneys general announced an investigation of tech behemoth Google for evidence of anticompetitive business practices, particularly of skewing ad searches to disfavor competitors.

Mission Accomplished: The relentless Republican attacks on the Affordable Care Act have begun to achieve their short-term purpose: Reducing access for millions of Americans. For the first time, the 2018 national percentage of uninsured rose a half point, to 8.9%, and Texas increased its lead for the most uninsured, from 17.3% to 17.7% (5 million people). The long-term goal is to return to pre-ACA levels, when 17% (44 million nationally) were uninsured (22% of Texans).

Known Unknowns: Democratic primary voters might start paying attention if they expect to end the reign of GOP incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. The Texas Tribune reports that its poll with UT found 66% of Dems either don't know or aren't sure of their primary U.S. Senate candidates. Among those: veteran and author MJ Hegar leads with 11%, state Sen. Royce West is second with 5% ... followed by a string of also-runners, including Austinite Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, tied with Houstonian Sema Hernandez at 3%.

Handmaid's Tale: Omaha and Naples, Texas, passed similar ordinances on Sept. 9 effectively banning abortion within city limits. Texas Right to Life's Katherine Pitcher told Naples City Council, which passed the ordinance 5-1, the new city law "does not contradict the Constitution," and is drafted to protect "preborn citizens" from abortion and the city from lawsuits.