Jim Malewitz

Coalition Of States Subpoena Drug Makers In Opioid Investigation

Prescription and illegal opioids account for more than 60 percent of overdose deaths in the United States, a toll that has quadrupled over the past two decades

Jim Malewitz
By Jim Malewitz
Opioid epidemic

As communities nationwide grapple with opioid addiction, Texas and a coalition of 40 other states have served investigative subpoenas and other requests to eight companies that manufacture or distribute prescription painkillers, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday. It’s the latest development in an investigation unveiled in June.

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Hurricane Harvey Floods Texas Chemical Plant, Explosions Reported

The development comes a day after Arkema warned that the organic peroxides used in the site’s manufacturing process had begun to heat up after the plant lost its primary source of power and backup power from generators.

Jim Malewitz
By Jim Malewitz
The flooded Arkema chemical plant is seen on Wednesday. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle/AP)

The owner of a flooded-out chemical plant in Crosby said early Thursday it received reports of explosions at the plant. Arkema Inc. said the Harris County Emergency Operations Center notified the company at 2 a.m. Thursday of explosions and black smoke coming from its Crosby plant, which was inundated by Hurricane Harvey's floodwaters. But

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Citing Discrimination, Judge Strikes Down Latest Texas Voter ID Law

A Federal Judge ruled that Senate Bill 5 doesn’t absolve Texas lawmakers from responsibility for discriminating against Latino and black voters when they crafted one of the nation’s strictest voter ID laws in 2011.

Jim Malewitz
By Jim Malewitz
An election official checks a voter's photo identification at an early voting polling site in Austin, Texas. (AP/Eric Gay)

A federal judge has tossed out a new law softening Texas’ strict voter identification requirements. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos on Wednesday ruled that Senate Bill 5, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, doesn’t absolve Texas lawmakers from responsibility for discriminating against Latino and black voters when they crafted one of the

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Texas Backs Wisconsin In Battle To Protect Partisan Gerrymandering

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is backing Wisconsin in a high-profile case asking the U.S. Supreme Court whether lawmakers can go too far when drawing political maps to advantage one party.

Jim Malewitz
By Jim Malewitz
Illustration: (Anneke Paterson/Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is backing Wisconsin in a high-profile case asking the U.S. Supreme Court whether lawmakers can go too far when drawing political maps to advantage one party. Paxton, a Republican, filed an amicus brief seeking to protect the status quo in political gerrymandering — redistricting maneuvers that allow controlling

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Trump Administration: New Texas Voter ID Law Fixes Discrimination

Texas’ new voter identification law fully absolves the state from discriminating against minority voters in 2011, and courts should not take further action in a battle over the state’s old voter ID law, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice argued in a legal filing.

Jim Malewitz
By Jim Malewitz
An election official checks a voter's photo identification at an early voting polling site in Austin, Texas.

Texas’ new voter identification law fully absolves the state from having discriminated against minority voters in 2011, and courts should not take further action in a battle over the state’s old voter ID law, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice argued in a legal filing Wednesday. “Texas’s voter ID law both guarantees to Texas voters

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Why Texas Ag Chief Sid Miller Signed A Deal With Illegal Israeli Settlements

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has opened trade relations with group of Israeli settlements in the West Bank that neither the United States nor the United Nations legally recognizes.

Jim Malewitz
By Jim Malewitz
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller tours the Naama Agricultural Community in Israel's Jordan Valley. (Photo: Sid Miller/ Facebook)

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, the cowboy hat-wearing Republican who often draws attention for posting controversial messages on social media, made a bold geopolitical statement during an international trip he wrapped up Wednesday: He opened up trade relations with a group of Israeli settlements in the West Bank that neither the United

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Texas Counties Trying To Kill Effort To Allow Public Access To Court Records

Texas counties are trying to kill an effort to allow public access to court records from all 254 counties through an online portal, and they’ve found friendly ears in the Legislature.

Jim Malewitz
By Jim Malewitz
Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht presents his State of the Judiciary speech to a joint session of the 85th Texas Legislature. (Photo: Bob Daemmrich/Texas Tribune)

(REPORT) --- Nathan Hecht, chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, has noticed a curious trend in the state’s legal system: Folks are increasingly representing themselves in legal disputes, forgoing lawyers altogether. “They really need legal help, but they don’t feel like they can afford it,” Hecht said. But ditching a lawyer doesn’t make

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