Eye on Politics: Texas Supreme Court rules against woman seeking abortion
NORTH TEXAS — A Dallas woman seeking an abortion left the state after the Texas Supreme Court blocked her from having the procedure. The filing deadline for candidates in the 2024 primary elections has come and passed. And political reporter Jack Fink speaks one-on-one with Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar about how the state's economy is doing this fiscal cycle and whether our state is headed toward a recession.
We cover these stories and more in this week's edition of Eye on Politics (original air date: Dec. 14).
Every week, CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink breaks down some of the biggest political stories grabbing headlines in North Texas and beyond. Watch the latest episode of Eye on Politics in the video player above and stream new episodes live every Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. on CBS News Texas.
Texas Supreme Court rules against Dallas woman seeking abortion
A Dallas woman left the state after the Texas Supreme Court blocked her from having an abortion.
Kate Cox, a mother of two, had filed a lawsuit last week asking a judge to allow her to have the procedure. She says her fetus was diagnosed with a rare an deadly disorder and that the pregnancy put her life at risk as well.
In Texas all abortions are illegal except to save the mother's life. But critics have continually argued that the law is too vague and that doctors' hands are tied.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled against Cox, but the court's opinion is leading to renewed questions about what's legal and what's not.
Watch the report below for the full story:
Texas filing deadline passes
Monday was the filing deadline 2024 primary candidates in Texas. With the primary races finalized, here's what we know about some of the big elections we're watching:
- In the race for U.S. Senate, there are ten Democratic primary candidates, including current U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez and State Rep. Carl O. Sherman. On the Republican side, incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz is facing two challengers: Holland "Redd" Gibson and R.E. (Rufus) Lopez.
- Running to replace Allred in the 32nd Congressional District, there are ten candidates in the Democratic primary including State Rep. Julie Johnson and Dallas surgeon Brian Williams.
- This week Democratic State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado announced she was challenging Democratic State Sen. Nathan Johnson in District 16, just hours before the filing deadline.
- In Dallas County, the former sheriff wants her job back. Lupe Valdez was elected in 2004, but resigned during her fourth term in 2017 to run for governor. She became the Democratic nominee, but lost the race to incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott. Marian Brown was appointed interim sheriff following Valdez's departure. She went on to be elected twice and has held the office ever since.
One-on-one with Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar
A new CBS News Texas poll shows 22% of Americans feel that we are currently in the most difficult economic time for the U.S.
When asked to put current troubles in context for this poll, Americans say the economic difficulties arising out of the pandemic have been the worst in a couple of generations, more so than the crash and Great Recession of 2008-09 and other recession periods in the 90's and 80's.
But here in Texas, a recession isn't projected.
According to a report by the Texas Comptroller's Office, at the end of this budget cycle, the state is expected to have an $18 billion surplus and nearly $24 billion in the rainy day fund.
Jack spoke with Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar about these projections, the budgetary impact of the constitutional amendments approved by voters in November and his office's efforts to tamp down on organized retail theft. Watch that conversation below.
Also in this episode of Eye on Politics:
- The Dallas Police Department is trying to tackle a rising murder rate.
- Former Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins died this week at 56. He's being remembered as a trailblazer and a visionary.
- What does the future of high-speed rail look like in Texas? Jack goes one-on-one with the program manager of a North Central Texas Council of Governments project planning a line between Dallas and Fort Worth.