Meta to pay Texas $1.4 billion for using facial recognition technology without users’ permission
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Facebook parent company in 2022, claiming it had used personal biometric data without permission. Full Story
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![A man stands in front of a sign of Meta, the new name for the company formerly known as Facebook, at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Oct. 28, 2021.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria -
In Texas, violating campaign ethics laws rarely yields repercussions. The attorney general’s office is to blame.
The number of fines for breaking state campaign ethics laws has exploded in recent years as Ken Paxton’s office rarely pursues stricter enforcement. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton enters the 185th Criminal District court at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center for a pretrial hearing in his securities fraud case on March 26, 2024, in Houston.]()
Credit: Danielle Villasana for The Texas Tribune -
Attorney General Ken Paxton says House committee is trying to impeach him again
Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday evening said the Texas House ethics committee, which scheduled a meeting for next week, is planning to recommend impeaching him a second time. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Judge denies Texas’ attempt to shut down El Paso migrant shelter
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has accused Annunciation House, which operates a network of migrant shelters, of human smuggling. Full Story
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![A crowd of people gathers in support of Annunciation House during the press conference. Earlier this week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, announced a lawsuit against the migrant shelter Annunciation House for allegedly operating a stash house and human trafficking. Annunciation House has been providing aid and shelter to migrants in El Paso, Texas for more than 40 years. February 23, 2024]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Court ruling suggests recent activity in federal investigation of Ken Paxton
Records don’t name the attorney general’s office, but their details line up with the accusations former top deputies made against Paxton. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the 2024 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Fixing Texas’ ballot secrecy problems won’t be easy, experts say
The burden will fall on local officials to determine which records they’re obligated to release or redact. Full Story
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![Elijah and Melissa Lillo leave the Phillip Center in Gastonia after casting their votes in the North Carolina primary on March 5, 2024.]()
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Voter advocacy groups ask feds to step in after Texas allowed some voters’ ballots to be identified
The request comes as state and local officials undermined ballot secrecy in their bids for election transparency. Full Story
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![People walk past a 'Vote Here' sign outside of the Austin Oaks Church on Mar. 1, 2024. Early voting ends today for the primaries.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Judge upholds Austin ordinance decriminalizing pot
The Texas attorney general accused Austin of violating state law after voters in 2022 approved an ordinance decriminalizing marijuana possession. Full Story
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![An Austin police officer on patrol in downtown Austin on Aug. 2, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge blocks Biden administration’s Title IX guidelines to protect LGBTQ+ students
Judge Reed O’Connor said the Biden administration didn’t have the authority to make the changes, which would expand anti-discrimination protections. Full Story
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![A protester waves a transgender pride flag during a protest at the University of North Texas in Denton on March 23, 2022.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues to block new Biden administration rule protecting access to some gender transition care
In March, the federal government said providers can’t deny gender care to transgender people that would be provided to others for other purposes. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on Thursday, May 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Dallas voters could get the chance to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana
Other cities have passed similar measures, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to block them from going into effect. Full Story
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![A view of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge from The Tower Club on the 48th floor of the Santander Tower in downtown Dallas, on Nov. 07, 2023. Texas metros have a glut of vacant offices space driven by the rise of remote work, overbuilding and other factors during the pandemic. One option companies are doing to combat the changes, is to convert office space into residential housing.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas AG Ken Paxton launches new team to prosecute online privacy and security cases
The new initiative will target companies that illegally collect and sell users’ data, Paxton’s office said. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Here’s how school vouchers, Paxton impeachment affected the Texas GOP primaries
Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton crusaded against House Republicans who voted against school vouchers and in favor of impeachment, respectively. Full Story
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![State Representatives and their families gather on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
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“A sham”: Texas Republicans defend Trump after guilty verdict
Republicans across the party’s political spectrum denounced Trump’s guilty verdict on 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records. Full Story
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![Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the defense table as the jury in his criminal trial is scheduled to continue deliberations at New York State Supreme Court in New York, New York on May 30, 2024. Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.]()
Credit: Justin Lane/Pool via REUTERS -
Texas runoff yields no clear winner among GOP’s warring factions, setting stage for power struggle
Neither of the Texas GOP’s dueling factions landed a clean knockout blow during a grueling primary season that only seemed to set up further chaos and strife. Full Story
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![State Rep. Greg Bonnen and his wife Kim Bonnen on the House floor during Sine Die, the last day of the 88th Texas Legislative Session, at the Capitol in Austin on May 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Here are the organizations that Ken Paxton targeted using consumer protection laws
Attorneys general have increasingly used their power to pursue investigations targeting organizations whose work conflicts with their political views. Paxton is among the most aggressive. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, has been using consumer protection laws to target organizations like Annunciation House, run by Ruben Garcia, right, whose work conflicts with Paxton’s political views. El Paso-based Annunciation House serves immigrants and refugees seeking shelter.]()
Credit: Photo illustration by ProPublica. Source photos: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune, Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
How Ken Paxton is stretching the boundaries of consumer protection laws to pursue political targets
The attorney general repeatedly uses laws meant to protect against fraudulent or deceptive practices to target hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and LGBTQ+ groups. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, right, is using consumer protection laws to target organizations like Annunciation House, run by Ruben Garcia, left, whose work conflicts with Paxton’s political views.]()
Credit: Photo illustration by ProPublica. Source photos: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune, Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
In 75th lawsuit against Biden, Paxton sues to stop new gender identity guidelines for employers
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton aims new lawsuit at Biden Administration to halt compliance of gender identity mandates in the workplace. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton attends the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland on Feb. 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Zach Roberts/NurPhoto via REUTERS -
Texas Republicans were at Trump’s side as his defense rested in hush money trial
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and U.S. Reps. Troy Nehls and Ronny Jackson flew to New York to attend final testimony. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton visited earlier in the trial. Full Story
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![Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, center, accompanies former U.S. President Donald Trump as he speaks to his attorney Todd Blanch at the Manhattan Criminal Court where he is on trial for hush money payments in New York City on May 21, 2024.]()
Credit: Curtis Means/Pool via REUTERS -
Donald Trump says he’d consider Ken Paxton for U.S. attorney general
Trump told a reporter in Texas this weekend that Paxton is “a very talented guy.” Full Story
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![Former president Donald Trump pats Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on the shoulder as he leaves the stage during a rally in Robstown, on Oct. 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Lucas Boland/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via REUTERS