The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
Most Texas voters don’t want to see Confederate monuments removed or relocated to museums.
That’s according to a new poll from the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune. 56 percent of poll respondents want to either leave these markers where they are – but add historical context or leave them as is.
When the responses are broken down by political party, the difference in opinion is stark. Only 9 percent of Republicans would relocate or remove Confederate symbols. That’s compared with 75 percent of Democrats who would get rid of them or relocate them to museums.
An undocumented teenager in federal custody in Texas remains in limbo.
The young woman is about 15 weeks pregnant and has been seeking an abortion. So far, the Trump administration has been preventing the 17-year-old from getting the procedure – refusing to transport her to the appointment.
The American Civil Liberties Union is representing the teenager. At the end of last week, ACLU attorney Brigitte Amiri appeared before a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. She told the panel of three judges that the Trump administration policy denying her client an abortion violates the teenager’s constitutional rights.
“What we’re talking about here is an unaccompanied immigrant minor, 17 years old, pregnant, who has been forced to remain pregnant for three weeks now against her will because the government has blocked her abortion decision,” Amiri said.
Katherine Dorsey, a lawyer for the federal government, argued that the teenager does have other options. She added that the feds don’t have to facilitate her access to an abortion.
“She has the choice to voluntarily depart and even if that puts her to a difficult choice, between voluntary departure and not being able to obtain an abortion – that’s not a substantial obstacle the government has put her in way,” Dorsey said.
Still Dorsey conceded that abortion is illegal in the teenager’s home country – which has not been publicly identified.
Ultimately the court gave the Trump administration until October 31 to find a sponsor for the girl. That sponsor could help facilitate the abortion instead of the federal government. On Sunday, the ACLU asked the court for an emergency rehearing of the Friday order in the hopes of getting the teenager speedier access to an abortion.
Pop star Lady Gaga met each of the five living former U.S. presidents at Texas A&M University Saturday night. They were in town for a concert benefitting hurricane victims.
Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter launched the fundraising initiative “One America Appeal” earlier this fall. The former presidents emphasized how important it is to help the millions of Americans impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and, Maria.
So far, they’ve raised $31 million from 80,000 donors.
You can view the entire concert here.
