Publication

Iran to ‘facilitate’ aid through strait

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tehran has agreed to “facilitate and expedite” humanitarian aid through the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said Friday, even as it endures strikes on its nuclear facilities. Ali...

Lost and found in a flood of memories

The little warehouse is mostly empty now. A table that once held bins of unclaimed possessions has been covered with a red-andwhite checkered plastic tablecloth. The small room where volunteers stored the belongings of young campers, shielded with...

Could veterans help turn Texas blue?

Republicans have long counted veterans as reliable GOP voters. But U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat who has made multiple trips to Texas this month, is working to bring them into the Democratic fold ahead of the upcoming midterms as...

Ex-defense secretary: No good Iran options

America doesn’t have many good options in its war with Iran, according to James Mattis, former defense secretary and retired Marine Corps general who spoke Monday in Houston at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference. He used the Texas coastline to...

Trump says Iran eager for a deal to end war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. was talking with an Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was eager for a deal to end the war. He also extended a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz...

U.S., Iran trade threats on infrastructure, oil

ARAD, Israel — The United States and Iran threatened to target critical infrastructure Sunday as the war in the Middle East, now in its fourth week, puts lives and livelihoods at risk throughout the region. Iran said the Strait of Hormuz, crucial to...

A long goodbye for many AISD teachers

On the first Monday of spring break, Andria Hyden sat at a table in the front room of her Round Rock home using a stylus to make notes on musical scores she had downloaded on her tablet. The scores she pored over were a mix of new and crowd pleasers....

Mix of failures cited in horrific crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has released hundreds of pages of investigative documents showing that a truck driver accused of causing a deadly Interstate 35 pileup last year in North Austin had been issued the wrong type of commercial...

Filing accuses DA of misconduct

When veteran police defense attorney Doug O’Connell filed a motion this week accusing Travis County District Attorney José Garza of misconduct, the explosive allegation spread quickly online among the Democratic prosecutor’s most vocal pro-police...

Both sides in war ratchet up attacks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel killed Iran’s intelligence minister as it kept up its campaign against the Islamic Republic’s top leadership and reportedly attacked an Iranian offshore natural gas field Wednesday, as the war escalated pressure on...

2 Iranian leaders killed

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel said Tuesday it killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow aimed at further weakening the Islamic Republic’s leadership as it faces its greatest test in decades. Iran, which confirmed both...

Prayers answered with reunion

After spending 22 years in prison for a crime she did not commit, Carmen Mejia spent her first morning of freedom walking the leafy streets of East Austin, holding her daughters’ hands. That Wednesday, the rain clouds had cleared and the sun shone...

Legal status rule for licenses strands workers

Iris Yanez spent 12 months and $13,000 working toward a Texas hairdresser’s license. By the time she finished the requirements in early February, a quiet policy change by the state had already made her ineligible. “I’m going to have two credentials...

A city that requires capital

In 1988, Robert Thayer packed his keyboard, his cat and everything else he owned into a Ford LTD coupe and drove east from El Paso to Austin. Like a lot of young musicians at the time, he had heard the same promise: if you wanted to make it in music,...

2,500 Marines ordered to Mideast

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The American military has ordered 2,500 Marines and an amphibious assault ship to the Middle East, a U.S. official said Friday, in a major addition of forces in the region after nearly two weeks of war with...

Proposed THC rules concern advocates

The final version of previously proposed regulations on THC, which align with Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order cracking down on hemp, is set to go into effect at the end of the month. Last week, the Texas Department of State Health Services adopted...

SXSW’s ‘prove it’ year

Some pundits sounded the death knell for the South by Southwest Conference and Festival after it condensed its schedule and dropped its second weekend following the 2025 event. But organizers say the festival will return to Austin next year. Though...

Exonerated after 20 years — now facing ICE detainer

Carmen Mejia should have walked out of a Travis County courtroom Monday a free woman. Instead, the 54-year-old — formally exonerated of killing a baby in 2003 — was returned to the Travis County jail, where she is waiting to see whether federal...

Austin on high alert as SXSW begins

Ryder Harrington and Savitha Shan never made it home from their night out on West Sixth Street. A gunman opened fire along the bar-lined street early on March 1, killing both of them and wounding 16 others in a burst of violence that stunned the...

Slain Iranian leader’s son named successor

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor, Iranian state TV announced Monday, as the war that began a little over a week ago with his father’s killing took a dramatic turn. The...

How horror erupted at Buford’s

For thousands of people each weekend, a night out in Austin ends at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden downtown. The bar’s electric atmosphere on West Sixth Street draws University of Texas students, Austin visitors and longtime patrons celebrating with...

‘He’s gone, but I hope his legacy lives’

CHICAGO — From former presidents to an NBA Hall of Famer to prominent church pastors, stories of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s influence on politics, corporate boardrooms and picket lines loomed large Friday at a celebration honoring the late civil...

Audio, video paint picture of chaos

Austin police on Thursday released a trove of audio and video recordings and other information that together provide the clearest public picture yet of how Sunday’s mass shooting erupted and ended along West Sixth Street — and revealed that 19 people...

Showdown heating up for U.S. Senate seat

Not long after the predawn call by news outlets that state Rep. James Talarico had won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, rival Jasmine Crockett conceded defeat and urged her supporters to rally around the newly minted nominee for the sake...

57-second response to scene ‘saved lives’

When shots rang out on West Sixth Street early Sunday, Austin police officers and medics arrived at Buford’s bar in 57 seconds — unusually fast for a police department often criticized for its slow response times. City leaders praised the swift...

Death toll to rise

As federal and local investigators continued examining what prompted Austin’s largest mass shooting in six decades, authorities on Monday identified Ryder Harrington, 19, and Savitha Shan, 21, as two of the victims killed in Sunday’s...

3 dead, 14 injured in Austin mass shooting

Austin saw its worst mass shooting in six decades in the wee hours Sunday when a lone gunman opened fire on a bar-lined section of West Sixth Street, killing two people and hospitalizing 14 others. The suspect was later identified as Ndiaga Diagne, a...

IRAN ATTACKED

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A major attack launched by Israel and the United States killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Donald Trump said Saturday, announcing an assassination that he said gave Iranians their “greatest...

In Corpus, Trump touts falling prices

CORPUS CHRISTI — President Donald Trump continued his efforts to reframe the discussion around the American economy, insisting prices are coming down and scoffing at the idea that “affordability” is an issue in the midterm elections. “The price of...

Clinton testifies that she never met Epstein

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told members of Congress on Thursday that she had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s or Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes, starting off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill...

Trump’s post-speech sales job starts now

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has delivered the State of the Union. Now the challenge for him is to make that message stick. His address Tuesday was a declaration of pride in the achievements of his still-young second term, as he boasted of an...

Mexico cartel clashes fueling FIFA worries

TAPALPA, Mexico — Maria Dolores Aguirre’s corner store has lived off the tourism that flows into her cobblestoned town of Tapalpa, tucked away in the mountains of Mexico’s state of Jalisco. Then gunshots erupted and helicopters flew overhead as the...

A nation on the edge

TAPALPA, Mexico — A day after the Mexican army killed the country’s most powerful drug lord, the picturesque town where it happened was a study in contrasts. Tourist shops in Tapalpa were open Monday, and workers were on the job. But gunshots also...

‘A big, big loss’

When a neighborhood school closes, a community loses more than a building — it loses a gathering place built around first days of class, graduations and everyday lessons. This fall, the Austin Independent School District will close 10 campuses as it...

Justices strike down Trump’s tariffs

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s farreaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a stinging loss that sparked a furious attack on the court he helped shape. Trump said he was “absolutely ashamed” of some justices...

4 declared innocent in yogurt shop murders

One by one, attorneys and family members of the men once accused of one of Austin’s most notorious crimes — and one of the men himself — rose in a Travis County courtroom Thursday to recount the decades of damage wrought by the false allegations: lost...

MARK OF FAITH

‘Gone through so much hell’ in case

Soon after fulfilling a dream of owning a business when he bought a popular South Austin saloon last year, Forrest Welborn saw a sharp drop in sales — even among loyal customers. The 49-year-old father with a salt-and-pepper beard, admittedly hesitant...

Iran official meets with U.N. nuclear watchdog ahead of U.S. talks

GENEVA — Iran’s top diplomat met with the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency on Monday, ahead of a second TWITTER: @Statesman LINKEDIN: Statesman INSTAGRAM: Statesman FACEBOOK: @Statesman round of negotiations with the United States over...

A RACE IN THE CAPITAL CITY

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tyler Reddick won the Daytona 500 in a car owned by Michael Jordan when Chase Elliott crashed as he and Reddick were battling for the win in NASCAR’s season opener. Reddick, in a Toyota for 23XI Racing, led only one lap on...

East Riverside rapidly evolving

An old office space on the former Tokyo Electron campus in Southeast Austin was filled with presentation boards and leaflets on the final, chilly Saturday of January as residents funneled through to try to learn about the future of their...

Middleton gains on Roy in AG race

In the crowded GOP primary for attorney general, two competitors have everything to lose: U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and state Sen. Mayes Middleton are forgoing reelection bids in their current seats to make an all-ornothing run for one of the state’s most...

License plate cameras put up over city ruling

As Austin has retreated from using surveillance technology in policing, the Texas Department of Public Safety has installed several license plate reader cameras along at least one major roadway in the city — and the agency may share the collected data...

Incident comes amid focus on drones

Days before alleged cartel drones from Mexico were blamed for shutting down airspace around El Paso, the U.S. military published new guidelines for its bases on how to protect themselves against the technology. It appears the push for increased drone...

STEPS TOWARD PEACE

The Buddhist monks who set out on foot from Fort Worth last year on a 2,300-mile journey of hope reached their destination in Washington on Tuesday, arriving on day 108 of the Walk for Peace. Since the group began the endeavor, the goal was to journey...

OLYMPIC REVELRY

Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse guaranteed the U.S. its first Olympic medal in mixed doubles curling, reaching the final Monday with a 9-8 victory over Italy in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The Americans will play Swedish siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wrana, who...

Agents in disguise raising tensions

MINNEAPOLIS — For days, Luis Ramirez had an uneasy feeling about the men dressed as utility workers he’d seen outside his family’s Mexican restaurant in suburban Minneapolis. They wore high-visibility vests and spotless white hard hats, he noticed,...

Austin ISD walkouts singled out by GOP

After days of walkouts on public school campuses across Texas, two state Republican leaders set their sights on a familiar target to rein in the student-led fight against immigration enforcement. They took aim at the Austin Independent School...

Parents of victim sue Camp Mystic

The parents of an 8-year-old Austin girl whose body has not been recovered since she was swept away in the July Fourth flood at Camp Mystic have sued the camp’s owners and management, alleging they failed to have an evacuation plan required by state...

Paxton sues to shut down CAIR-Texas

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday moved to shut down the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Texas branch with a lawsuit that seeks to block the advocacy group from owning property in the state or recruiting members. “Sharia law and the...

TEA warns of walkout sanctions

The Texas Education Agency warned school leaders Tuesday that educators who encourage or assist student walkouts for political protests could face professional sanctions — and that school districts that fail to enforce attendance laws risk state...

Hegseth’s remarks mirror those of Kelly, the senator he censured

He said the Pentagon was led by “political generals” who got ahead by embracing progressives’ pet causes: “social justice, gender, climate extremism crap.” He castigated the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, both...

ICE is at the heart of shutdown debate

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson faces tough days ahead trying to muscle a federal funding package to passage and prevent a prolonged partial government shutdown as debate intensifies over the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration...

What Uvalde acquittal means for ex-chief

The recent acquittal of former Uvalde school police officer Adrian Gonzales, who stood trial for how he responded to a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, didn’t surprise local attorneys who followed his case. They saw the indictments against...

SpaceX blast sparks safety concerns

STARBASE — The latenight blast sent a fireball more than 2,000 feet into the South Texas sky and shook a mileslong swath of the Rio Grande Valley with the force of the military’s most powerful bombs. It triggered dozens of 911 calls, tied up first...

Austin Dems join calls for ICE to pause action

Against a backdrop of daily protests and mounting public pressure, local Democratic leaders gathered Friday at Festival Beach in East Austin to call for a pause in federal immigration enforcement that they say is increasingly affecting Austin...

Lawmaker urges Minn. boy’s release

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said a 5-year-old Minnesota boy who is being held at a South Texas facility should be immediately released, describing the boy’s detention as inhumane and “emblematic of the monstrosity of the (Immigration and Customs...

Tensions still high in Minn. despite talks

MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents, but there was little evidence Wednesday of any significant changes following weeks of...

ICE raid rumors grip Austin

As a winter storm bore down on Austin late last week, residents braced for an onslaught of ice — and, many feared, ICE enforcement in the city. Rumors that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were preparing a major operation in Austin...

Getting warmer — for now

While sunshine helped temperatures rebound slightly and melt some ice Monday, don’t get too comfortable — another very frigid day lies ahead today. High atmospheric pressure remains locked in place, bringing clear skies and light winds. That setup...

One dead as ice, sleet hit Austin

At least one person died from exposure overnight Saturday after an ice storm swept through Central Texas, according to city officials. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson called the death “preventable” during a Sunday news conference, urging residents to use...

Central Texas settles into a quiet wait

The Austin area on Saturday morning felt suspended in a quiet before the storm. Roads were wet but passable, though traffic was nonexistent. Neighborhoods were hushed. At grocery stores that had been overrun days earlier, a smattering of shoppers...