September 29, 2019

SpaceX CEO unveils his Texas built 'Starship' with plans to launch humans to the moon and Mars

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk outlined an ambitious plan Saturday night to make Texas one of the focal points of the new commercial Space Race --- testing a prototype rocket in one to two months and potentially sending humans to space next year.

Standing at the foot of a 164-foot chrome steel space vehicle he's dubbed "Starship" a few miles from the South Texas Gulf Coast, Musk said the site in Boca Chica will soon become one of two major manufacturing centers for rocket ships and boosters along with the company's other major site in Florida.

Even more, he outlined his plans for sending humans to the moon and Mars and building permanent bases on each for repeated trips.

"I think we should do our very best to become a multi-planet species and extend our consciousness beyond earth - and we should do it now," Musk said.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2019/09/29/spacex-ceo-unveils-his-texas-built-starship-with-plans-to-launch-humans-to-the-moon-and-mars/

September 29, 2019

Texas Tribune Festival: Nancy Pelosi to President Donald Trump: "You've come into my wheelhouse now"

"Let us be prayerful. Let us be solemn. Let us try not to make it further divisive," Pelosi said at The Texas Tribune Festival. "But we cannot ignore our oath of office do defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic."


by Abby Livingston, Texas Tribune

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi painted herself as a once-reluctant but now fully engaged general amid her party's push for an impeachment inquiry, in an onstage interview at The Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday.

To make her point, she used sweeping, solemn language to underscore her view that what is happening at the U.S. Capitol is an existential moment in American history.

"If this activity, this pattern of behavior were to prevail ... then it's over for the republic," she said. "We will have the equivalent of a monarchy."

"Let us be prayerful. Let us be solemn. Let us try not to make it further divisive," she added. "But we cannot ignore our oath of office do defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic."

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/09/28/nancy-pelosi-discusses-impeachment/

September 29, 2019

'Heartbreaking': Nancy Pelosi talks impeachment inquiry at Texas Tribune Festival in Austin - KXAN

September 29, 2019

Nancy Pelosi in Austin for Texas Tribune Festival KVUE

September 29, 2019

Judges, lawyers say video justice is just adding to the mess within U.S. immigration courts

In Fort Worth, a judge in a black robe sits in a small courtroom with nowhere for the public to watch the proceedings.

Thirty miles to the east in a Dallas courtroom, a government attorney sits before a judge's empty bench.

At a federal lockup hundreds of miles away in Big Spring, detainees in prison garb line up in front of a camera.

In all three places, their images are beamed back-and-forth to one another so that asylum seekers and other immigrants can learn their fate on big flat-screen TVs. This is immigration court, where some attorneys and judges say a rapid expansion in the use of video conferencing — including in numerous new tent courtrooms along the border — is exacerbating difficult conditions in a system plagued by a backlog of more than 1 million cases.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immigration/2019/09/28/judges-lawyers-say-video-justice-is-just-adding-to-the-mess-within-u-s-immigration-courts/

September 29, 2019

O'Rourke, Castro look to home state of Texas to gain traction with voters

AUSTIN — The Texas candidates for president on Saturday sought to energize their campaigns before home-state crowds, both calling for bold action to solve problems including gun violence and immigration.

Beto O’Rourke and Julían Castro were part of a parade of Democratic presidential contenders, all near the bottom of most polls, that made appearances at the Texas Tribune Festival. The Texans joined Pete Buttigieg of Indiana, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Michael Bennet of Colorado in solo appearances this weekend. All five are trying to gain traction in a race so far dominated by Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

O'Rourke also repeated his calls on President Donald Trump to resign in order for the nation to begin the process of healing, as well as implementing bold solutions for problems like curbing gun violence.

“This country is as divided as it’s ever been, is being driven farther apart every day by this president,” O’Rourke told reporters after his appearance. “The single best thing to bring the country together would be Donald Trump’s resignation.”

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/09/28/o-rourke-castro-look-to-home-state-of-texas-to-gain-traction-with-voters/

September 29, 2019

In Dallas visit, Michelle Obama talks about mentoring women, her next 'chill' life chapter, and why

In Dallas visit, Michelle Obama talks about mentoring women, her next 'chill' life chapter, and why we shouldn't complain on Twitter


Michelle Obama returned to Dallas on Thursday and kicked off the next season of the #Hearhere series at the Winspear Opera House, though it’s unclear how the rest of the season will be able to follow her.

From the moment Obama walked onto the stage in a flowy orange jumpsuit, she had the audience wrapped around her finger. She kept the conversation mostly focused on how the world is not yet inclusive enough for young black girls, and she spoke about how she keeps herself above the negativity.

The Winspear crowd was unmistakably diverse. There were people of all races and ages, including a group of girls who came from the second iteration of the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Young Women's Leadership Conference, the same conference where Obama had surprised attendees last year. Next to me, a woman named Pat Johnson said she hoped Obama would talk about the state of the world today. I have a feeling much of the audience was thinking the same.

Leading the conversation with Obama was Matrice Ellis-Kirk, former first lady of Dallas, who managed to balance her questions well and kept it feeling like a casual conversation and not like a talk show, which had been my biggest criticism of previous #Hearhere shows. But to be clear, it was Obama who was doing all the heavy lifting. She answered questions so thoroughly and strongly, peppering in both inspirational and funny zingers. Her presence is more than what you can get from seeing her on television, and she has a way of telling it straight that sounds personal and raw.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/performing-arts/2019/09/27/in-dallas-visit-michelle-obama-talks-about-mentoring-women-her-next-chill-life-chapter-and-why-we-shouldn-t-complain-on-twitter/

September 29, 2019

Michael Bennet isn't ready to call it quits

Yes, Michael Bennet is still running for president.

Although he failed to qualify for the September debate in Houston and has yet to reach polling numbers above 2%, the U.S. senator from Colorado isn’t giving up without a fight.

“We’ve been bumped off the front pages,” Bennet told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Saturday. “What I’m going to do, is communicate with voters in the early states.”

And he has yet to meet the polling and contribution thresholds to participate in the October debate. Candidates are required to meet a 2% polling threshold in four Democratic National Committee-approved polls and have at least 130,000 donors.

“I think the DNC shouldn’t have made the decisions they have,” he said. “Kicking me off the debate stage because I’m not a celebrity politician ... probably isn’t the greatest idea in the world.”

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20190928/michael-bennet-isnt-ready-to-call-it-quits

September 29, 2019

Castro rules out Senate run even if he drops presidential bid

Julián Castro said Saturday at the Texas Tribune Festival that he would not seek the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in 2020 even if he were to drop out of the presidential race.

“No, I’m not going go run for the Senate, that’s never what I intended to do,” Castro said in an interview with MSNBC’s Katy Tur in the penultimate event at the Paramount Theatre, preceding the closing keynote address by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

While Castro is guaranteed a spot on the next Democratic stage in Ohio in October, his chances of qualifying for the November debate are dicey. Castro is at 1.7% in the RealClearPolitics polling average. The raised threshold requires that a candidate earn 3% support in at least four early state or national polls that meet the Democratic National Committee’s methodological requirements — up from 2% for the September and October debates — or at least 5% in two early state polls. The early states are Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

Tur noted that Castro had sent out a note to funders saying if he doesn’t qualify for the November debate, he would drop out of the race.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20190928/castro-rules-out-senate-run-even-if-he-drops-presidential-bid

September 29, 2019

North Carolina detective fired after sending inappropriate messages to alleged sexual assault victim

A North Carolina detective was fired after he was accused of sending inappropriate messages to an alleged victim of sexual assault whose case he had investigated, officials said Wednesday.

Paul G. Matrafailo III, 33, is accused of reaching out to the woman on Instagram in March after he worked on her case eight months before, according to the Fayetteville Police Department in his dismissal letter.

Matrafailo "began a conversation with her which she felt was inappropriate," the letter, which was obtained by ABC News, reads.

He then allegedly made a second attempt to contact her later that month.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/north-carolina-detective-fired-sending-inappropriate-messages-alleged/story?id=65874542