By , , , and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback — A former Houston police captain was charged Tuesday with running a man off the road and pointing a gun to his head two weeks before the election as part of a baseless voter fraud conspiracy theory, the Harris County district attorney said in a statement.Mark Anthony Aguirre, 63, was paid more than a quarter-million dollars by a Houston-based private citizens group investigating unsubstantiated 2020 election fraud claims, prosecutors said.On October 16, Aguirre asked a lieutenant with the Texas Attorney General’s Office to conduct a...…By , , , and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback — A former Houston police captain was charged Tuesday with running a man off the road and pointing a gun to his head two weeks before the election as part of a baseless voter fraud conspiracy theory, the Harris County district attorney said in a statement.Mark Anthony Aguirre, 63, was paid more than a quarter-million dollars by a Houston-based private citizens group investigating unsubstantiated 2020 election fraud claims, prosecutors said.On October 16, Aguirre asked a lieutenant with the Texas Attorney General’s Office to conduct a...WW…

Washington (CNN)The Houston-area county at the center of a legal fight over drive-thru voting decided late Monday to close nine of the 10 polling places that the county had used as drive-thru voting locations.Earlier in the day, a federal judge had rejected a GOP request to invalidate 127,000 ballots cast in drive-thru early voting but said he would have ruled against allowing such voting on Election Day. The judge had dismissed the petition on technical grounds after finding the Republicans did not have a legal basis to bring the challenge. In announcing the decision to close most of the...…Washington (CNN)The Houston-area county at the center of a legal fight over drive-thru voting decided late Monday to close nine of the 10 polling places that the county had used as drive-thru voting locations.Earlier in the day, a federal judge had rejected a GOP request to invalidate 127,000 ballots cast in drive-thru early voting but said he would have ruled against allowing such voting on Election Day. The judge had dismissed the petition on technical grounds after finding the Republicans did not have a legal basis to bring the challenge. In announcing the decision to close most of the...WW…

By and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback — Following widespread power outages during a series of that left many Texas residents in the dark for days, the head of the organization overseeing the state’s power grid has been fired.Bill Magness, president and CEO of Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), was terminated from his contract by the organization’s board of directors after an emergency meeting Wednesday night.In a statement sent to CNN, ERCOT says the board “directed the Corporate Secretary to exercise the 60 days’ termination notice” to Magness pursuant to the employee...…By and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback — Following widespread power outages during a series of that left many Texas residents in the dark for days, the head of the organization overseeing the state’s power grid has been fired.Bill Magness, president and CEO of Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), was terminated from his contract by the organization’s board of directors after an emergency meeting Wednesday night.In a statement sent to CNN, ERCOT says the board “directed the Corporate Secretary to exercise the 60 days’ termination notice” to Magness pursuant to the employee...WW…

(CNN)A federal judge set a hearing for Monday morning to hear a challenge to drive-thru voting in Harris County, Texas, the largest county in the state. Judge Andrew Hanen, who was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, set a hearing for 10:30 a.m., local time on Monday. A group of Republicans filed a petition Tuesday seeking the halt of drive-thru voting in Harris County, marking another attempt to dismantle drive-thru voting after the Texas Supreme Court ruled last week that it could proceed. The same group of plaintiffs also filed a new petition with the Texas Supreme Court...…(CNN)A federal judge set a hearing for Monday morning to hear a challenge to drive-thru voting in Harris County, Texas, the largest county in the state. Judge Andrew Hanen, who was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, set a hearing for 10:30 a.m., local time on Monday. A group of Republicans filed a petition Tuesday seeking the halt of drive-thru voting in Harris County, marking another attempt to dismantle drive-thru voting after the Texas Supreme Court ruled last week that it could proceed. The same group of plaintiffs also filed a new petition with the Texas Supreme Court...WW…

By and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback — The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of to limit mail-in ballot drop box locations to a decision that largely affects the Houston and Austin areas.The court ruled that Abbott’s order “provides Texas voters more ways to vote in the November 3 election than does the Election Code” and that it doesn’t “disenfranchise anyone.”Opponents of Abbott’s order had argued it exceeded the governor’s authority and also created an unjust burden on voters in larger counties to travel far distances to drop off their ballots. Critics also argued it...…By and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback — The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of to limit mail-in ballot drop box locations to a decision that largely affects the Houston and Austin areas.The court ruled that Abbott’s order “provides Texas voters more ways to vote in the November 3 election than does the Election Code” and that it doesn’t “disenfranchise anyone.”Opponents of Abbott’s order had argued it exceeded the governor’s authority and also created an unjust burden on voters in larger counties to travel far distances to drop off their ballots. Critics also argued it...WW…

Austin, Texas (CNN)It's mid-afternoon, and Shonda Johnson just wrapped up her third hair appointment of the day. Her phone rings, and it's her 13-year-old son calling from home. He wants to know if he can have some snacks."You can have a little bit," she tells him. "OK. Is that all you needed? OK. Bye-bye."Johnson, a single mother and self-employed hair stylist at Anointed Hands Salon, is living like millions of Americans trying to navigate the delicate act of working in a -- while also making sure her son, who has asthma, stays healthy as he does virtual learning from home.Adding to her...…Austin, Texas (CNN)It's mid-afternoon, and Shonda Johnson just wrapped up her third hair appointment of the day. Her phone rings, and it's her 13-year-old son calling from home. He wants to know if he can have some snacks."You can have a little bit," she tells him. "OK. Is that all you needed? OK. Bye-bye."Johnson, a single mother and self-employed hair stylist at Anointed Hands Salon, is living like millions of Americans trying to navigate the delicate act of working in a -- while also making sure her son, who has asthma, stays healthy as he does virtual learning from home.Adding to her...WW…

(CNN)The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday again blocked to more than 2 million possible voters while litigation continues.This has been a running fight between Harris County and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has been trying to stop the ballot applications from going out so broadly, saying they should go only to voters qualified to vote by mail. The ruling concerns only applications to vote by mail, and not ballots.Harris County houses Houston, the state's largest city. Houston is heavily Democratic, and the area around it is a political battleground, with several districts that are...…(CNN)The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday again blocked to more than 2 million possible voters while litigation continues.This has been a running fight between Harris County and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has been trying to stop the ballot applications from going out so broadly, saying they should go only to voters qualified to vote by mail. The ruling concerns only applications to vote by mail, and not ballots.Harris County houses Houston, the state's largest city. Houston is heavily Democratic, and the area around it is a political battleground, with several districts that are...WW…

By and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback — Nine Texas mayors, including those in Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, have urged Gov. Greg Abbott to give them the authority to require masks be worn in public “where physical distancing cannot be practiced.”In a letter to Abbott, the mayors said “many people in many of our cities are still refusing to wear these face coverings even though these coverings are scientifically proven to help prevent the disease from spreading.”A growing number of studies show face masks reduce the spread of the coronavirus, especially because and because...…By and , CNNLink Copied!Ad Feedback — Nine Texas mayors, including those in Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, have urged Gov. Greg Abbott to give them the authority to require masks be worn in public “where physical distancing cannot be practiced.”In a letter to Abbott, the mayors said “many people in many of our cities are still refusing to wear these face coverings even though these coverings are scientifically proven to help prevent the disease from spreading.”A growing number of studies show face masks reduce the spread of the coronavirus, especially because and because...WW…

Video Ad FeedbackTiny Louisiana parish has highest Covid-19 death rate in USBy and , CNNLink Copied! — St. John the Baptist Parish is a swampy, rural swath of Louisiana that straddles the Mississippi River. It’s an unassuming place with one Walmart, a population of about 43,000, and local eateries like BRS Seafood, which had a line out the door on Easter weekend for crawfish. People stood six feet apart.It also sits among a sprawling collection of chemical plants and oil refineries that snake along the river between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Because of the air pollution,...…Video Ad FeedbackTiny Louisiana parish has highest Covid-19 death rate in USBy and , CNNLink Copied! — St. John the Baptist Parish is a swampy, rural swath of Louisiana that straddles the Mississippi River. It’s an unassuming place with one Walmart, a population of about 43,000, and local eateries like BRS Seafood, which had a line out the door on Easter weekend for crawfish. People stood six feet apart.It also sits among a sprawling collection of chemical plants and oil refineries that snake along the river between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Because of the air pollution,...WW…