Texas state senators pass governor's agenda while state House is stalled
CBSN
The Texas Legislature's special session remains stymied by the departure of several state House Democrats to Washington, D.C., whose absence left Republicans without a quorum. But while the House's work has been frozen, the GOP-controlled Senate has been working away, passing legislation during Texas Governor Greg Abbott's special session.
Nine Senate Democrats initially joined their House colleagues in Washington, but four others stayed in Austin, which meant enough members were present to form a quorum and vote on legislation. Since the session began, lawmakers have tackled key conservative issues, such as elections, bail reform, transgender sports and critical race theory. "Our folks have put in two weeks of work in about one week, so our members are standing down," Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who also serves as president of the Senate, told reporters on Wednesday. "They're on five-hour notice to be at the Capitol, should the Democrats come back."Rodeo star Spencer Wright and his wife are making end-of-life preparations for their 3-year-old son after he was found unconscious in a creek, a close family friend said in updates posted on social media and confirmed to CBS affiliate KUTV. The boy had been playing on his tractor before he ended up in the water and a mile downstream.
The launch of Boeing's star-crossed Starliner spacecraft on its first piloted test flight is slipping to at least June 1 to give engineers more time to assess a small-but-persistent helium leak in the capsule's propulsion system, and its potential impact across all phases of flight, NASA announced Wednesday.
Washington — As former President Donald Trump's "hush money" criminal trial in New York proceeds to closing arguments next week, the legal focus is moving south. His attorneys and longtime aide Walt Nauta appeared before Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, where they sparred with prosecutors during two contentious, day-long hearings on Wednesday.