Una jueza de distrito otorgó el viernes más de 6 millones de dólares en total a cuatro denunciantes en su demanda contra el fiscal general de Texas, Ken Paxton, quienes fueron despedidos poco después de que lo reportaran al FBI.
“Por una preponderancia de la evidencia”, dice la jueza del condado de Travis, Catherine Mauzy, en su fallo, los demandantes probaron responsabilidad, daños y honorarios de abogados en su queja contra la oficina del fiscal general.
“Debido a que la fiscalía violó la Ley de Denunciantes de Texas al despedir y de otra manera tomar represalias contra el demandante por reportar de buena fe violaciones de la ley por parte de Ken Paxton y la OAG, el tribunal por la presente dicta sentencia a favor de los demandantes”, afirma Mauzy.
El tribunal determinó que los cuatro asistentes de Paxton fueron despedidos en represalia por reportar acusaciones de que él estaba usando su oficina para aceptar sobornos de un desarrollador inmobiliario de Austin que empleaba a una mujer con la que tenía una aventura extramatrimonial. Paxton ha negado aceptar sobornos o usar indebidamente su oficina para ayudar a Nate Paul, el desarrollador inmobiliario.
El fallo también declaró que los empleados hicieron sus reportes a las fuerzas del orden “de buena fe” y que la oficina de Paxton no disputó ninguna reclamación o daño en la demanda.
“Debería sorprender a todos los tejanos que su principal oficial de cumplimiento de la ley, Ken Paxton, admitiera violar la ley, pero eso es exactamente lo que sucedió en este caso”, dijeron Tom Nesbitt, abogado de Blake Brickman, y TJ Turner, abogado de David Maxwell, en una declaración conjunta el viernes por la noche.
En una declaración a los medios esa noche, Paxton calificó el fallo de “ridículo” y “no basado en los hechos o la ley”. También dijo que su oficina tiene la intención de apelar el fallo.
Paxton estuvo en el centro de una investigación federal después de que ocho empleados reportaran su oficina al FBI en 2020 por acusaciones de soborno. Aceptó resolver la demanda por 3,3 millones de dólares que serían pagados por la Legislatura. Sin embargo, la Cámara rechazó su solicitud y llevó a cabo su propia investigación e impugnó a Paxton en 2023. Posteriormente fue absuelto en el Senado.
En noviembre, la Corte Suprema de Texas revocó un fallo de un tribunal inferior que ordenaba a Paxton testificar en la demanda.
El Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos decidió no continuar con su investigación sobre Paxton en las últimas semanas del gobierno de Biden, según dos personas familiarizadas con el asunto que hablaron con The Associated Press bajo condición de anonimato para discutir deliberaciones internas.
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Los periodistas de The Associated Press Alanna Durkin Richer y Eric Tucker contribuyeron a este informe desde Washington.
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Nadia Lathan es miembro del cuerpo de The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America es un programa nacional de servicio sin fines de lucro que coloca periodistas en redacciones locales para informar sobre temas poco cubiertos.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
This story had been out there for several days. The U.S. Naval Academy has taken
nearly 400 books off the shelves in the Nimitz Library at the Annapolis, MD campus because they violate the new Trump Administration policy against DEI materials in the classroom. Initially, Trump issued an executive order in January that banned DEI materials in kindergarten through 12th grade education. On March 28th, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth informed the Naval Academy that the order would apply to it as well though the Academy is a college.
The materials being banned are of course anything deemed to be about diversity, equity, and inclusion. The banned titles cover topics like the history of racism in America, studies on the KKK, the Holocaust, and sex and gender. It appears, though, that the book banning isn’t about DEI at all. It is about teaching a view of America devoid of all criticism.
In the original January 29 press release
announcing the executive order banning material in K-12 class rooms, the Administration stated that “Parents trust American schools to provide their students with a rigorous education and to instill a patriotic admiration for our incredible nation and the values for which we stand.” In other words, saying true things about America’s past that suggest a less-than-perfect history is not to be allowed.
I can’t believe this has to be said, but every nation has done things for which it has latter been ashamed. Learning about history is in great part learning why these events happened so similar occurrences don’t happen again. Depriving K-12 students of these lessons is unfortunate. Depriving future military leaders of a thorough understanding of these lessons is a tragedy precisely because so much of the worst of any nation’s past has happened at the point of a gun.
President Jackson’s policy of displacing Native Americans, the so-called “trail of tears,” the enforcement of Jim Crow in the South, the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, the murder of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai are just a few of the events in American history that should be taught. But if the goal of education in Trump’s America is exclusively to instill patriotic admiration for “our incredible nation,” it would seem these events and others will somehow be lumped together as DEI topics and forgotten. The results will be catastrophic.
Trump is destroying so much in America, it is almost easy to ignore what he is trying to do to education. We shouldn’t let him.
Erez Reuveni is the latest in a series of career officials who have faced punitive action after refusing to comply with a directive they deemed illegal or unethical.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli troops deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza, the military announced Saturday, as pressure on the Hamas fighter group increased weeks into the renewed war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced the new Morag Corridor and suggested it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel had ordered evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.
A military statement said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed. It was not immediately clear how many, or where exactly the new corridor was located. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu had suggested it would run between the cities.
Maps published by Israeli media showed the corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.
Netanyahu had said it would be “a second Philadelphi corridor,” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt farther south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.
Last month, Israel shattered a ceasefire in Gaza with a surprise bombardment after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the truce that had taken hold in January. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed.
Israel quickly reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the strip. The Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said Wednesday. His defense minister has said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones.
Saturday’s announcement came shortly after a White House official confirmed that Netanyahu on Monday would again meet with President Donald Trump, their second meeting at the White House since Trump took office in January. The U.S. has been a mediator in ceasefire talks, along with Egypt and Qatar, but also supported Israel’s resumption of fighting.
Following his previous meeting with Netanyahu, Trump made the surprise proposal that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the territory and he suggested that the United States take “ownership” in redeveloping the area. Palestinians, Arab nations and rights groups sharply criticized the idea.
Israel has pledged to escalate the fighting with Hamas until the fighter group returns the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, disarms and leaves the territory.
Israel last month again halted all supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza in another application of pressure on the fighter group and the territory’s over 2 million Palestinians. Rights groups say the tactic is a war crime. Gaza relies largely on humanitarian aid, and its residents cannot easily leave.
Hamas says it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory.
The Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Some 251 hostages were taken, most of them released in ceasefire agreements and other deals.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It doesn’t say whether they are civilians or combatants but says the majority have been women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
Among Gaza’s dead are 15 Palestinian medics killed last month by Israeli forces, who then bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave.
The war is the deadliest and most destructive fighting ever between Israel and Hamas. It has left much of Gaza devastated and most of its residents displaced, often multiple times.
Families of hostages at their weekly rally again pleaded for a ceasefire deal to bring everyone home from Gaza, alive or dead.
“Netanyahu is working hard to ensure our hostages die, rather than working hard to save their lives,” said Efrat Machikawa, niece of hostage Gadi Moses.
Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed.
Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) record-breaking Senate speech this week is putting him squarely in the political spotlight as Democrats wonder whether he could be a presidential contender in 2028.
Booker’s 25-hour speech aimed at combating President Trump’s moves in the White House gave Democrats a boost, especially as the party did better than expected in two Florida House races and saw a liberal candidate easily win a Wisconsin Supreme Court contest
.
At a time when Democrats have been down in the dumps after losing the White House and Senate majority to Republicans — and as the party has been divided over how best to battle Trump — Booker’s speech provided a spark of enthusiasm for rank-and-file party members and his own colleagues.
“He’s a leader. He knows he’s a leader. What he did … puts him in a position to be an even more impactful voice, and that is really, really good for our party,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who stayed up with Booker during the overnight portion of his address.
Booker already ran for president in 2020 and is widely seen as having ambitions for higher office. He joined the Democratic leadership team late last year.
Murphy, who is seen as a prospective Democratic candidate for the White House himself, said Booker has a unique ability to make Democrats see hope, even as the New Jersey senator highlights the risks, as he sees it, of the Trump administration.
“Cory’s voice is inherently a positive voice, and you have to find a way at this moment to both convey the seriousness of what Trump is doing, which involves feeding anxieties in the public, while also giving them a positive vision,” Murphy said.
“At a moment like this, we need people like Cory to be at the top of their game because we need to both convey the threat to people, but we also need to give them hope.”
Booker, now the No. 4 member of Senate Democratic leadership, has seen his stock grow, particularly within the Senate Democratic caucus as he has taken a more hands-on role with messaging.
His marathon speech came at a critical time, just weeks after many Democrats were outraged that their top Senate leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), voted to advance a GOP funding bill to prevent a shutdown.
Schumer has defended the decision, arguing a worse situation would have been created with a shutdown. But he’s faced stark criticism from liberals in his party, and the decision contributed to a sense that Democratic leaders are not in touch with the demands of their base voters.
To many Democrats, Booker’s speech was aimed at the party’s voting base with a simple message: We’re listening.
“We’ve all been hearing the same drumbeat: Do something,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said. “He did something for all of us.”
The big question for Booker is whether he can use the attention he won this week to launch himself forward.
When he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, his candidacy did not even make it to the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses.
His standing isn’t much different now. According to a Morning Consult poll
taken in mid-March, Booker pulled 3 percent in a hypothetical 2028 Democratic primary survey.
Multiple Democratic senators indicated to The Hill that they don’t believe Booker’s speech was motivated by a desire to run for president. The speech broke the record that had been held by Sen. Strom Thurmond (S.C.), a segregationist who was filibustering against civil rights legislation when he held the floor nearly 70 years ago.
“My experience with Cory Booker is he does all kinds of things that clearly don’t help presidential ambitions, and in many ways, would diminish them. I don’t think he makes his decisions that way,” said Hickenlooper, who also ran for the 2020 Democratic nod. “He wants to go around and be a raging vegan. … That’s not typically part of the assortment of values that a presidential ambition takes you in that direction.”
“He hasn’t cleaned himself up [or] tried to manicure his qualities or his personality to something that’s going to be more accessible to the people in the middle of the country. He hasn’t done that,” he continued. “It suggests to me that he did this because he believed in it — which is the right reason.”
Whether the moment is just a moment or something people look back on during a Booker White House will depend on the next several years.
“The question is whether the moment becomes momentum,” one Democratic senator said. “It’s too early to know if there’s long-term momentum here, but clearly it was a good moment. It was a good moment for the caucus at a time when people have been clamoring for action.”
One thing is clear.
The fight to be the Democratic nominee in 2028 is wide open.
“There’s not really a cap on anybody’s voice or profile right now inside the party,” Murphy said before turning back to Booker. “People love him. He’s got special individual relationships with everybody in the caucus.”
Yet in a body where many people think they could be the next president, Murphy argued few will by cynical when it comes to Booker.
“I’m not going to lie, there can be resentments when … a moment like that happens,” he added. “There’s zero resentments with Cory because people know that he’s sincere.”
Sean Morrison announced Saturday that he will resign April 14 as Cook County Republican chairman after nine years, saying it was time to infuse “new energy” into the GOP leadership in a county dominated by Democrats.
Morrison, a Cook County Board member from Palos Park, said his decision to step down from the GOP post was “not a new decision” but had been planned in consultation with family and friends to take place after the November general election and last week’s local elections.
In a letter to members of the Cook County GOP, Morrison said serving as chairman “has been one of the great honors of my life” and that he was “grateful for the support, dedication, and perseverance shown by so many along the way.”
“But now, it’s time for new energy,” he said in the letter, dated Friday. “The future of our party depends on fresh, motivated, and hardworking members to step up and carry the baton forward. I am confident that the next generation of Republican leaders is ready to answer the call.”
Morrison said he was retaining his party roles as chairman of the Palos Township Republican organization and as one of 17 members of the Illinois GOP State Central Committee.
“To those watching from the sidelines — I encourage you to step out from the shadows, gather your courage, raise your voice, and help lead this party with integrity and conviction. Our communities need you,” he said.
Morrison also wrote that “I remain committed to working diligently to elect common sense, pragmatic Republicans well into the future.”
Morrison was an ally of Keith Pekau, who was defeated Tuesday
in a bid for a third term as Orland Park mayor by Jim Dodge
, a former village clerk and trustee. Morrison bemoaned Pekau’s defeat, saying Pekau had “demonstrated a deep commitment to responsible governance” and that the election was “marred by a level of nastiness and vitriol that has no place in public service.”
Still, Morrison said he was “committed to working collaboratively with the new administration to advance the interests of all Orland Park residents.”
Morrison set April 22 for an election among county GOP leaders to select his replacement for completing the final year of his term. Aaron Del Mar, the head of the Palatine Township Republicans and a Morrison predecessor as county GOP chairman, is considered the favorite to reassume the post.
As July turned to August in 2021, Ian Happ’s long-term future with the Chicago Cubs was in on shaky ground as a terrible first half saw his playing time reduced to coming off the bench for stretches. A torrid second half in 2021 set up an All-Star season the following year, paving the way for a three-year contract extension in April 2023
that keeps the left fielder a Cub through next year.
Happ’s journey brought him to his 1,000th game in a Cubs uniform Saturday at Wrigley Field. He became the 32nd player in franchise history and just the ninth since 1969 to achieve the milestone. He’s in elite company, being part of the divisional-era group to hit that mark with Anthony Rizzo (2018), Aramis Ramírez (2011), Sammy Sosa (1999), Mark Grace (1994), Shawon Dunston (1994), Ryne Sandberg (1988), Don Kessinger (1971) and Glenn Beckert (1971).
“I’m so proud to have been here for as long as I have and to be a part of the organization, been here for a while so you get to be a part of some of those lists and with some of those guys that are greats of the franchise — anytime you’re on one of those lists, it’s pretty cool,” Happ told the Tribune.
“Being able to bounce back from that 2021 and what I’ve been able to do for the last three years, there’s different points in my career where I’ve had great success and different points where I’ve struggled, and to be able to persevere through that and feel like I’ve been able to be productive in the game, I think those are the things that I’m most proud of.”
Happ also became the sixth active player to appear in at least 1,000 games with one team, according to Elias Sports Bureau, joining the Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve, Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez, Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout, Cleveland Guardians’ José Ramírez and New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who reached the mark Friday.
Justin Turner knows how hard it can be to record that milestone, let alone accomplishing the feat with only one team in a career. Turner, 40, appeared in 1,075 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, though, as he pointed out, they were his third of seven big-league teams.
“Just the composure, the flat line of the heartbeat never gets too up, never gets too down, the same guy every single day walks through these doors,” Turner said of Happ. “I think one of the one of the best compliments that anyone can receive is you know exactly what you’re going to get every single day, and that’s a good thing. So it’s pretty cool, and I’m happy that I’m going to be here to be a part of that and help celebrate with him.”
Happ has not let the low points define his career, even when they cast uncertainty on his future from being optioned to Triple A
at the start of the 2019 season to his 2021 struggles. Second baseman Nico Hoerner is in his seventh season playing alongside Happ, witnessing firsthand what it has taken for the 30-year-old to reach this mark.
“There’s a lot of persistence in that (1,000 games), and I think it’s cool that we think of him as such a steady, everyday left fielder now, but it took better part of four years to reach a place of earning that consistency here, partly due to having great players here when he was young,” Hoerner told the Tribune. “There are so many factors along the way that get lost, and especially for guys that have just seen him now in this role that he’s earned and is so steady in, but just his ability to continue improving, regardless of the situation that he’s in, is really, really impressive.”
The consistency of Happ’s routine and preparation has stood out to those behind the scenes. Hoerner noted the discipline it takes for a player not to do too many reps in a day while always staying on top of what Happ knows he needs to be ready.
Cubs left fielder Ian Happ singles in the fifth inning against the Padres on April 4, 2025, at Wrigley Field. Happ went 2-for-4 with two runs in the Cubs’ 3-1 win. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)Cubs left fielder Ian Happ (8) has a laugh at third base in the fifth inning of the home opener against the Padres on April 4, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
“Players feel the pressure to perform all the time and oftentimes can work themselves into the ground in a way that isn’t helpful for themselves or the group, and I think especially for younger players and the things that I still feel of needing to always be doing something, it actually takes more confidence to build a routine that’s efficient and is enough for what you need,” Hoerner said. “And he’s got that pretty down to a T. He’s always working on new things and looking to improve but not running around chasing things. He’s always dictating the day himself.”
Since earning an All-Star nod in 2022, Happ as a switch hitter has averaged 21 home runs, 37 doubles, 81 RBIs and a 118 OPS+ per season to accompany three Gold Glove awards, figures that can be overlooked with a steady-but-not-flashy style of play. Staying healthy and being available every day has played a key role in his success, physical and mental resiliency that isn’t necessarily reflected in a box score.
Hoerner declared that any team would happily sign up for Happ’s level of consistency, while Turner called him a very underrated player.
“His preparation and his process is really designed like to be consistent, it’s how he’s wired, it’s his nature to be able to execute that day after day after day, and it puts him in the best position to go out and have success on the field — it’s a way harder thing to do than we give that credit for,” manager Craig Counsell said. “‘Oh, that takes no talent to do that,’ I think that’s what people tend to say. It takes actually a lot of talent to do that, it really does.
“Results make you emotional, emotions make you abandon your processes. And Ian never does. And that’s a real kind of mental strength that Ian has.”
Happ remains the bridge between the most successful stretch of Cubs baseball in the modern era and this next iteration that is looking to return to the postseason and reassert its dominance in the division. When Happ debuted in 2017 with the organization coming off its first World Series title in 108 years, it “wouldn’t have been something I thought was possible” that nine years later he is now the longest-tenured player on the Cubs, given who else was on the team at the time.
Whether it’s Happ’s link to the 2016 championship team
or his career upswing coinciding with the Cubs turning things around, his love for the franchise does not go unnoticed. It’s what sticks out the most to Counsell, who said Happ is “so proud to be a Cub.”
Happ embodies and contextualizes that for his teammates too.
“It’s important to have players around that appreciate the history of the organization that we’re in and appreciate Chicago and Wrigley and all of it, and that should forever be a standard with the Cubs, long after we’re gone here of just knowing that we’re in a really special place with the unique opportunities and to be grateful for everything that’s come before us,” Hoerner said. “He does a really nice job of reminding the group of that and just by prioritizing it himself it becomes a standard.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the acting director of FEMA to undergo a polygraph examination last month as part of an aggressive internal investigation into leaks within the agency.
According to a Friday report
from Politico, DHS confirmed that FEMA Acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton took the lie detector test on March 27 — just two days after a private meeting with Noem
and Trump confidante Corey Lewandowski.
The meeting, which was held on March 25, focused on dramatically downsizing or potentially eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency altogether.
Details of the meeting were soon leaked, prompting a response from Noem.
Hamilton
, a former Navy SEAL appointed by President Donald Trump to lead FEMA on an interim basis, agreed to the polygraph to determine whether he was behind the leak.
According to Politico, Hamilton passed the examination.
In a statement to the outlet, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said:
Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is unapologetic about its efforts to root out leakers that undermine national security. We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant — we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.
The meeting with Hamilton came on the heels of Noem’s public comments the day before, where she reportedly caught FEMA officials off guard by stating she wanted to “eliminate” the agency.
During a televised Trump administration meeting that same day, March 25, Noem stated her desire to shut FEMA down permanently. Trump responded approvingly.
Hamilton continues to serve as acting FEMA chief, but the agency’s future remains uncertain as the White House presumably continues discussions about shuttering it and allocating disaster funds directly to the states.
Trump has not nominated a permanent administrator and has not announced an intention to do so.
