A state district judge in Austin has blocked part of Texas' efforts to purge dead voters from registration rolls.
The state had previously sent thousands of letters to Texans, asking if they were alive.
The Social Security Administration has flagged about 81,000 Texas voters who are potentially dead. A new state law requires voter rolls be checked against the agency's death master file.
Bloomberg reports the ruling came in a lawsuit by four voters who were told they would be purged from voter-registration lists as deceased.
State District Judge Tim Sulak in Austin on Wednesday barred the state from ordering counties to send letters to people on the partial match list.
High court rejects appeal of man set to die Thursday evening
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to stop the execution Thursday of an ex-con who confessed to killing five people at an Irving car wash.
The high court's rejection came a little more than an hour before 40-year-old Robert Wayne Harris was to face lethal injection.
Harris was convicted in two slayings 12 years ago at the Mi-T-Fine Car Wash in Irving.
Harris didn't deny the slayings but his lawyer contends he's mentally impaired, making him ineligible for the death penalty.
His appeal also questioned whether prospective jurors at his trial in Dallas were removed improperly because of their race.
Perot Museum: ‘Ahead Of Its Time’
The new Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas will open December 1st, a month ahead of schedule.
The $185 million museum at Woodall Rodgers and Field Street in Victory Park features interactive exhibits, a one-acre science park, and an acre of native Texas plants and rocks on the roof.
Tickets go on sale October 2nd. General admission is $15 for adults, with discounts for children, seniors and Perot Museum members.
Another Study: U.S. Economy Has Nowhere to Go But Up
Poverty in the U.S. could be slowing after a rough 2011 that saw a slow rebound from the Great Recession. NPR’s Two-Way blog spells out the numbers from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
So what next? Hiring isn’t yet strong enough to push down the employment rate, according to the AP. And as for Texas’ specific struggles, the Center for Public Policy Priorities released a report early this year that casts Texas as an “asset poor” state. That means many Texans are starting with little to no savings to fall back on.
DMA Honors 50th Anniversary of Kennedy Assassination with Intimate Exhibit
The Dallas Museum of Art will open an exhibit of the art John and Jacqueline saw their final morning together.
Fort Worth art appreciators had assembled the stunner collection for the pair’s hotel room.
Those works make up “Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy,” which opens May 26 and will run through the beginning of September. After that, it moves to the Amon Carter in Forth Worth.
Retail gasoline prices down 2 cents across Texas
Retail gasoline prices across Texas and nationwide have slipped 2 cents this week. AAA Texas reports the average price at the pump settled at $3.65 per gallon statewide. Retail gasoline prices across the country average $3.85 per gallon.
The travel group says Texarkana has the most expensive gasoline at an average $3.69 per gallon. The cheapest gasoline statewide is in Corpus Christi, El Paso and Galveston at $3.61 per gallon.
AAA Texas says retail gasoline prices are expected to go down through year's end.
AAA’s website offers an online toolto find the lowest gas prices by region.
Bedford Drivers: “Exit Stage Right” – Not Left
Drivers traveling 183/Airport Freeway in the Mid-Cities are in for a change this weekend.
The ramp to northbound Highway 121 switches back to a right lane exit at 9 pm Saturday.
The exit’s been on the left for many months to accommodate construction of the North Tarrant Express that includes new main lanes and frontage roads. Construction officials warn drivers to watch out for cars making last-second lane changes across the freeway to hit the new exit ramp.
North Tarrant Express has provided an informative PDF file with details.
Construction on that 13 mile stretch between Euless and Fort Worth has been underway for two years. Completion date is mid-2015.
Endeavour leaves Houston for new home in Calif.
Space shuttle Endeavour has departed Houston on its trek west to retirement in a Los Angeles museum.
Endeavour, atop a modified jumbo jet, left Thursday morning after a one-day stop at the home of NASA's Mission Control. It continues its journey to Los Angeles International Airport, where it's scheduled to land Friday.
This is the last flight for a space shuttle.
KUT asked it's listeners to snap a few photos of the shuttle's flyover of Austin.
The plane transporting Endeavor will next do a flyover of Tucson, Arizona to honor former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.