Rep. Coleman On Sen. Whitmire Passing the Sandra Bland Act Out of the Senate
Today, May 11, Senator John Whitmire passed SB 1849, the Senate companion to HB 2702, also known as the Sandra Bland Act, out of the Senate. SB 1849 will now head to the House. Chair Coleman released the following statement:
Texas House Backs Bill to Improve Texas Nursing Homes
Bipartisan effort seeks to avoid potential nursing home crisis
Members of the Texas House of Representatives took a huge step Thursday toward addressing years of nursing home underfunding, passing House Bill 2766.
New Orleans Begins Removing Second Confederate Monument
By Madison Park, Keith Allen and Jason Hanna CNN (CNN) -- As police stood between opposing crowds, a crew lifted a statue of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis from its pedestal before dawn Thursday in New Orleans -- the latest in a contentious plan to dismantle four Confederate monuments in the city. The statue, which stood for 106 years, is the second Confederate monument to come down after the New Orleans City Council voted to remove the four landmarks in 2015. After years of heated public debate and legal battles, recent court decisions paved the way for the city to relocate the four monuments. Dozens of people -- a crowd opposed to the monument's removal as well as those backing it -- gathered early Thursday at the Davis statue before the operation began, at times screaming insults and threats at each other. Police separated the sides with barriers. As the statue was lifted shortly after 5 a.m. (6 a.m. ET), those who wanted it removed cheered and sang the chorus from "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye." One person held a sign that read, "Bout Time." The monument's supporters at that point watched mostly in silence, some holding up Confederate banners. Earlier, some monument supporters chanted, "President Davis," and one man saluted the statue. It wasn't immediately clear how long it would take workers to remove the pedestal. The city government kept quiet about the timing of the removal, citing what it said were threats that some had made toward contractors who would do the work. But word about the plans spread Wednesday when the principal of a nearby school told parents in a letter that she'd been told the removal would happen overnight, and that they should know a street would be blocked off in the morning, CNN affiliate WGNO-TV reported. Part of a larger controversy The New Orleans monuments are part of the larger controversy surrounding Confederate symbols, which some say represent slavery and racial injustice. Supporters say they represent history and heritage. The issue became especially prominent after the 2015 massacre of nine black parishioners in a Charleston, South Carolina, church by a self-described white supremacist. "These monuments have stood not as historic or educational markers of our legacy of slavery and segregation, but in celebration of it," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a statement released Thursday morning. "To literally put the Confederacy on a pedestal in some of our most prominent public places is not only an inaccurate reflection of our past, it is an affront to our present, and a bad prescription for our future. We should not be afraid to confront and reconcile our past." Jefferson Davis statue dedicated in 1911 The Davis statue stood on top of a roughly 12-foot column and depicted the Confederate president with his right arm outstretched, towering over the street also named after him. Davis lived in New Orleans after the Civil War and died there in 1889. The statue was dedicated in 1911. In 2004, the words "slave owner" were painted on the base of the monument. How they extracted the statue Police had cordoned off the 6-foot tall bronze statue of Davis with a chain-link fence to keep protesters out. Workers wore helmets as well as what appeared to be tactical vests and face masks. Cardboard and tape covered contractors' names on equipment involved in the controversial operation -- the same methods used during the first Confederate landmark removal April 24. Around 4 a.m., two workers approached the Davis statue in a work lift and wrapped part of it in green plastic. They tied the statue's torso with yellow straps, securing it to a crane. One worker dislodged the statue's base from the column using a long flat tool. Two more statues scheduled for removal Last month, the city dismantled the first of its four monuments scheduled for removal -- an obelisk commemorating the Battle of Liberty Place. The monument marked a deadly fight between members of the Crescent City White League, a group opposed to the city's biracial police force, and state militia after the Civil War. The remaining two monuments -- those of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard -- are also scheduled for relocation. Landrieu's office has not revealed when the two remaining statues will come down. The mayor's office said the city has secured private funding to remove the moments. Landrieu said the statues will be put in storage while the city looks for a suitable place to display them, such as a museum. CNN's Nicole Chavez and Emanuella Grinberg contributed to this report.
5 Things for Thursday, May 11: Comey, North Korea, Betsy DeVos
"Peanuts" is going Canadian. Maybe our neighbors to the north can help Charlie Brown finally grab that football. Here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
Pence: Comey's Firing Wasn't Due To Russia Probe
Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday praised President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey and insisted the decision wasn't due to the ongoing probe into alleged ties between Trump's campaign and Russia.
Harvard To Host Commencement Ceremony Honoring Black Students
Optional ceremony aims to honor the achievements of black students and share their experiences with the community
Patti LuPone Shades Madonna, Calls Her A 'Movie Killer'
The venerable actress had some harsh words for the material girl during her Tuesday night appearance on "Watch What Happens Live."
Day After Comey Firing, Sean Spicer To Miss White House Briefing
But on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer will not conduct the White House press briefing. Instead, that job will fall to deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who conducted her first briefing just last week.
Porsha Williams Breaks Silence On 'RHOA' Drama
Those are (were) the pet names bestowed upon "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast members and formerly close friends Porsha Williams and Phaedra Parks.
What PR Nightmare? United Stock At All-Time High
And the airline is dealing with another PR nightmare -- a giant rabbit died mysteriously in the cargo hold of a United flight a few weeks ago.
Facebook Is Now Cracking Down On Spammy Sites
Facebook will start cracking down on links to these types of "low-quality" web pages, it announced Wednesday. It's part of the company's plan to show people "fewer misleading posts, and more informative posts."
3 Things To Know About Health Savings Accounts
While much of the U.S. health care system is in flux since Republicans passed a new health care bill Thursday, health savings accounts -- or HSAs -- aren't going away. In fact they're likely to get bigger and more popular if the new bill ever becomes law.
Trump Adviser Icahn May Have Broken Trading Laws: Senators
The lawmakers sent a letter on Tuesday to the SEC and two other regulators pointing to "troubling" evidence, including "massive" profits Icahn reportedly reaped in the market for renewable fuel credits.
Chase Is Offering 100,000 Reward Points For New Mortgages
Chase Sapphire, Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred cardholders who also take out a mortgage with the bank can receive 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points.
Prepared Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to Bethune-Cookman University’s 2017 Spring Commencement
Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos delivered her first commencement address as Secretary to Bethune-Cookman University’s class of 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Secretary was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa by B-CU president Dr. Edison O. Jackson.
Texas Is Proposing a Bill That Could Keep Transgender Students Out of High School Sports
Texas is proposing a bill that could keep transgender students out of high school sports.
Yelp Stock Crashes 30% After Earnings
That, in a nutshell, sums up investors' sentiments on Yelp right now. The company's stock fell as much as 30% in after hours trading Tuesday after the company posted disappointing sales results.
ACLU of Texas Comment on House Advancing of HB3859
Today, the Texas House of Representatives voted to advance House Bill 3859 (HB3859), a bill that would allow child welfare caseworkers and state-funded child adoption and foster agencies to impose their personal religious beliefs on children in their care and disqualify LGBT families from the State’s foster and adoption system.
Wall Street Journal Adds 300,000 Subscribers In Last Year
It has not stressed the necessity of its journalism, à la the New York Times and its "Truth is Hard" ad campaign or The Washington Post with its new slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness," nor has it made a big deal about subscriber growth in the wake of Trump's election.
Obamacare No Longer On Death's Door In Tennessee
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee agreed Tuesday to return to the area's Obamacare exchange for 2018 -- if the state agrees to provide flexibility on several rules.
