Headlines

María Milner with League of Women Voters spoke at the Rally to Restore Voting Rights Protections at City Hall on June 25. The event marks the sixth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Shelby County v. Holder decision, which gutted protections from the Voting Rights Act. League of Women Voters was joined by a handful of organizations to address discriminatory voting laws across the country and right here in Texas. (Photo by John Anderson)

Still Cruel: Despite the reports of neglect and mistreatment at a border facility in Clint, Texas, the federal government has moved more than 100 children back to the center. Attorneys have alleged children were held there without adequate water, food, or proper sanitation. Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection John Sanders is resigning amid the outcry over his agency's treatment of detained migrant children.

ICE Raids: While Trump's mass deportation sweep was put on pause last week, ICE arrested 16 people in Austin and Waco during a 4-day enforcement period that ended Thursday. In total, 52 people in South and Central Texas were arrested as part of the sweep.

Ch-ch-changes at EQTX: Samantha Smoot, the interim executive director of Equality Texas since January 2019, will step down from the post on July 1. Angela Hale, longtime legislative and media consultant to the state's largest LGBTQ rights political advocacy organization, will step in while EQTX searches for a permanent CEO.

Body Camera Incompetence: A report from the city auditor's office found that Austin Police Department supervisors have not been inspecting footage from officers' body cams as regularly as they should. The audit, which looked at a sampling of 151 videos, found that only one had been reviewed.

Annual Crime Report: APD released its crime report for 2018, which saw an 8% decrease in violent crime but a 28% increase in the murder rate compared with 2017 numbers. Overall, indexed crimes in 2018 grew 7% compared to 2017.

Idiocracy at SBOE? The Texas Freedom Network reports that the State Board of Education is appointing four unqualified conservative zealots to a seven-member review panel for its health curriculum. According to TFN President Kathy Miller, the four appointees include abstinence-only advocates, "bathroom bill" supporters, and an Austin anti-abortion OB-GYN who refers to pregnant women as "host organisms."

50 Years of Pride: June 28 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which helped kick-start the fight for LGBTQ equality. Austin Pride doesn't take place until August 10, but there are a dozen commemorative events taking place this weekend. See "Qmmunity," June 28.