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Texas Earthquakes Rattling Nerves

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Photo Credit: BreitbartWhen you think “earthquake,” you don’t exactly think of Texas but it continues to be seismic central in Dallas. On Sunday, January 11 at 7:46pm, the Richter scale hit magnitude 2.5. This newest shaker was centered in the City of Irving near the former site of the Texas Stadium, the site of much of the rumbling in North Texas. Although there has been no damage, it has rattled nerves, caused schools to run earthquake drills, and gotten some folks to ask about earthquake insurance policies.

The Dallas Morning News reported that the latest tiny temblor marked the 16th occurance. The most notable of the shakers came on Tuesday, January 6. It was a magnitude 3.5 and it was felt citywide across Dallas. The Sunday night quake was felt from East Dallas to Irving to Northwest Dallas, based on emails and tweets.

Previously, on Thursday, January 8, two mild shockwaves each measuring 1.9 magnitude rolled through the Dallas suburb of Irving at 4:08am and 7:24am, according to NBC-5. Both were centered near the same former site of Texas Stadium where 12 earthquakes already rocked the area to varying degrees. Later that day, a 2.7 magnitude shaker occurred at 2:12, approximately four miles west-northwest of Midlothian in Ellis County.

These are not big quakes by California standards but, relatively speaking, Texans are not used to feeling like they are living on top of the San Andreas Fault, which runs across so much of the state of California. The frequency of the shakers has not calmed any nerves in Dallas either.

In response to all the ground movement, on Friday, January 9, the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) Department of Emergency Management issued an earthquake preparedness information memo outlining procedures. It noted that before 2008, North Texas had no real discernible seismic activity. The memo stated that since that time, over 120 earthquakes have occurred in North Texas, mainly centered in Irving. (Read more about the Texas earthquakes HERE)

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Texas to Become an Open Carry State?

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Credit - AP

Credit – AP

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Long depicted as the rootin’-tootin’ capital of American gun culture, Texas is one of the few states with an outright ban on the open carry of handguns.

That could change in 2015, with the Republican-dominated Legislature and Gov.-elect Greg Abbott expected to push for expanded gun rights.

“If open carry is good enough for Massachusetts, it’s good enough for the state of Texas,” Abbott said the day after his election last month.

And if Texas, which allows concealed handguns, embraces open carry — rolling back a 140-year ban — it would be the largest state to have done so.

Open carry drew wide support in the 2014 statewide election, and at least six bills have already been filed for the upcoming session, which starts in January. Abbott has already pledged to sign one into law if sent to his desk.

Read more from this story HERE.

It's Legal to Say 'Merry Christmas' in This State

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Credit - Getty Images

Credit – Getty Images

Merry Christmas, Texas!

A Texas lawmaker wants to remind students and teachers in the state’s public schools that they may wish others a “Merry Christmas” or a “Happy Hanukkah” without fear of legal ramifications.

State Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, the author of the Merry Christmas Law, held a joint press conference with state Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, on Monday at the state capitol, in order to reiterate to Texans that they are legally protected when they celebrate their religious holidays – even in public schools.

“With Christmas around the corner, our goal is to educate the public on this state law so that our teachers and students are able to celebrate the upcoming holiday season without fear of retribution or punishment,” Bohac told KPRC.

Raymond told KPRC that celebrating religious holidays was already legal, but that the law “is about providing clarity.”

The Merry Christmas Law was passed with bipartisan support by the Texas legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Perry in 2013.

Read more from this story HERE.

3,000 Unaccompanied Minors in Houston Schools

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Photo Credit: Houston Independent School District

Photo Credit: Houston Independent School District

By Bob Price.

A report obtained by Breitbart Texas from the Houston Independent School District (HISD) revealed the influx of unaccompanied minors over the summer from Central America lead to an increased enrollment of 3,000 students. The total student population for HISD is over 215,000 which represents the largest total enrollment for HISD since the 1970’s.

The total immigrant population for HISD currently sits at 8,409 students according to a memo written by HISD’s Government Relations Director Ashlea Graves. The memo was received by Breitbart Texas from a government source wishing to remain anonymous. Graves confirmed the authenticity of the memo in a phone conversation with Breitbart Texas.

Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador lead the list of 43 nations from around the globe with immigrant students enrolled in HISD. This immigrant enrollment includes legal and illegal immigrants and includes the 3,000 unaccompanied minors listed above according to Graves.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Artesia mayor: 95 percent of families of illegals being released

By Stephen Dinan.

Almost all of the illegal immigrant families traveling from Central America to the U.S. are being released from the special facility meant to hold them in New Mexico, according to the mayor of the town where the special facility is located.

Mayor Phillip S. Burch told KSVP radio in Artesia, New Mexico, last week that the releases defy Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson’s own pledge in July to make sure those who ended up at the facility were quickly deported from the U.S.

Instead, of 82 illegal immigrants released in one week earlier this month, 77 were let go into the U.S., and just five were deported, Mr. Burch said, citing numbers from his weekly briefing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials who run the facility.

“That seems like the way the numbers have gone over the past 6 weeks,” the mayor said in the radio interview. “The past six weeks [have seen] a 95 percent release rate.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Texas Governor Elect Greg Abbott Will Sign Open Carry Bill!

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Photo Credit: Twitter

Photo Credit: Twitter

It looks like the long fight for open carry in Texas has a great chance to come to an end under Greg Abbott’s governorship.

Just a day after becoming the governor elect for one of the country’s most powerful states, Abbott has announced that he will sign an open carry bill if it reaches his desk during a post election day press conference.

Read more from this story HERE.

WATCH: Huckabee Calls for Pastors to Flood Houston Mayor With Sermons

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Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee wants the nation’s pastors to send Bibles and copies of all of their sermons to Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who has issued a broad subpoena demanding the city’s pastors hand over copies of their sermons and communications concerning the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.

“I hope she gets thousands and thousands of sermons and Bibles,” said Huckabee, who is an ordained Southern Baptist minister, on his Fox News show Saturday.

“It ought to make you mad that the mayor thinks she can turn in her pastors,” the Republican said. “And so I got an idea. If she wants a sermon, here is my suggestion. I would like to ask every pastor in America, not only the ones in Houston, to send her your sermons and go ahead. Obviously she could use a few. And everybody watching the show ought to send her a Bible.”

Houston’s city attorneys initially issued the subpoenas in September when people who opposed the city’s equal rights ordinance were trying to force a repeal referendum on the ordinance, which grants certain rights to transgendered people, reports the Houston Chronicle.

Read more from this story HERE.

City of Houston Demands Pastors Turn Over Sermons

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Photo Credit: TPNNThe city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court.

“The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both needless and unprecedented,” Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christina Holcomb said in a statement. “The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions.”

ADF, a nationally-known law firm specializing in religious liberty cases, is representing five Houston pastors. They filed a motion in Harris County court to stop the subpoenas arguing they are “overbroad, unduly burdensome, harassing, and vexatious.”

“Political and social commentary is not a crime,” Holcomb said. “It is protected by the First Amendment.”

The subpoenas are just the latest twist in an ongoing saga over the Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The law, among other things, would allow men to use the ladies room and vice versa. The city council approved the law in June.

Read more from this story HERE.

Supreme Blocks Part of Texas Pro-Life Law

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Photo Credit: Breitbart On Tuesday night, the Supreme Court blocked part of H.B. 2, the pro-life law passed last summer in Texas, from going into effect during the legal proceedings regarding the bill’s legality. The law made abortion after 20 weeks illegal, required clinics to reach the same standards as ambulatory surgical units, and mandated that abortionists obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The law has resulted in the closing of most of Texas’ abortion clinics.

Thirteen clinics will now re-open as a result of the Court’s action.

From the Washington Post:

The action will allow 13 abortion clinics that closed after the appeals court decision to reopen, said Nancy Northup, president of the center. “We’re absolutely thrilled.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Alleged Drug Smuggler Tried to Use a U.S. National Guard Bag

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Photo Credit: APA suspected drug smuggler trying to move four kilograms of cocaine from the Texas border to Connecticut drew the suspicion of authorities because he used a bag with the U.S. National Guard logo on it. The value of the seized cocaine ranged from $160,000 near the Texas border to $640,000 at its final destination.

The arrest came when a U.S. Border Patrol agent at the Falfurrias checkpoint got information about an upcoming drug load and stopped a passenger bus that was travelling north, according to court records obtained by Breitbart Texas.

One of the agents went into the bus and asked Hector Samuel Perez, a 26-year-old legal resident from Mexico, where he was headed. Perez said he was headed to Houston to see his sister; the agent’s suspicions had been peaked because he saw that the traveler had a shoulder bag with the National Guard logo on it.

Read more from this story HERE.

Texas Clinics Say Goodbye to Planned Parenthood

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Photo Credit: TownHallPlanned Parenthood continues to lose momentum in the state of Texas. Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County, now named Access Esperanza Clinics, has ended its partnership with Planned Parenthood. Patricio C. Gonzales, CEO of Access Esperanza, explained the significant move:

“Changing our name and affiliation allows our agency to apply for state health programs and make low-cost services more available for thousands of our low-income women, men and teens,” said Patricio C. Gonzales, CEO of Access Esperanza, in a letter posted on the group’s website, where she added that it was “a difficult but practical solution.”

In summary, renouncing its association with Planned Parenthood now gives Access Esperanza the opportunity to receive government funds.

Read more from this story HERE.