Finding no abuse
Despite concerns raised by their own officers, the Texas Department of Public Safety has found no wrongdoing by troopers stationed on the border as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star.
Reporter Benjamin Wermund writes that the agency's inspector general found that DPS officials did not violate law or agency policy, even as his investigation concluded that most of the incidents raised by the troopers did happen.
The complaints included an email from a DPS medic, Nicholas Wingate, to a superior that described "inhumane" treatment of migrants he witnessed while deployed in Eagle Pass, where the state has strung miles of razor wire and deployed a wall of buoys in the Rio Grande.
The inspector general found there was no "formal order" to deny migrants water under "any circumstance," and that there was no directive to "push" migrants back into the Rio Grande, as Wingate alleged in his email, but rather troopers were told to "verbally instruct" migrants to go back to Mexico or to a port of entry.
But U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, isn't buying any of it.
"Operation Lone Star is a political stunt, and DPS leaders have become little more than spokespeople for Governor Abbott," Castro said on Thursday. "They've lost all credibility, and there is no reason to trust that they can honestly investigate themselves."
Who's up, who's down
Up: Donald Trump.
The four Republican presidential candidates were given several opportunities during their debate Wednesday to criticize former President Donald Trump. But they mostly targeted each other, with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley taking the brunt of the attacks.
Down: George W. Bush.
Despite rare public pleas from the former president to reauthorize his global HIV/AIDS program in Africa that has saved millions of lives, key House Republicans continue to fight it, fearing the Biden administration is using the funding to promote abortions. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Austin, has been leading the negotiations but told Politico that it is not going well. "It's not where I wanted to be."
What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.
What else is going on in Texas
 Photo by: Kate Cox | | Shortly after the decision, Attorney General Ken Paxton warned Cox's medical providers that they could still be liable if they performed the abortion. | |
 Photo by: Todd Yates/AP | | The testimony was part of a three-day hearing in Texas' 12-year-old federal lawsuit over unsafe conditions for foster children. | |
 Photo by: William Luther/Staff | | A series of long-shot lawsuits had threatened to delay billions of dollars in property tax relief and raises for retired teachers. | |
 Photo by: Elizabeth Conley, Staff Photographer | | The lawsuit stems from a spate of election contests from Harris County Republican candidates after the 2022 general election, most of which were dismissed in court. | |
 Photo by: Miriam Alster, AP | | The United States strongly supports Israel in its war against Hamas, but is at odds with ally over future of Gaza Strip. | |
Pick of the day
That's the date of the last letter from Alamo defender David Crockett wrote before setting off for Texas. Reporter Scott Huddleston writes that filmmaker David Zucker, who owns the 188-year-old letter, is loaning it to the Alamo to be displayed for the next six months.
What else I'm reading
Why do truck drivers risk smuggling migrants over the border? Laredo Morning Times reporter Cesar G. Rodriguez writes about how one recently arrested driver said the cartel in Nuevo Laredo threatened to harm his family if he didn't do what they told him.
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