Daily Dispatch 10/25/23: Texas U.S. Congressmen Wash Out Of Speaker Race, and More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Both Republican U.S. Reps Pete Sessions and Roger Williams have seen their aspirations to become Speaker of the House dashed: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/24/pete-sessions-us-speaker-race-texas/ Ken Paxton sues the Biden administration, this time for removing deadly razor wire from the border: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/24/politics/texas-paxton-biden-administration-border-razor-wire-lawsuit/index.html Houston U.S. Representative and mayoral candidate Sheila Jackson Lee apologizes for a profanity-laden recording in which she berates her staff: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/24/sheila-jackson-lee-houston-mayor-audio-leak-staffer/ 5,000 workers at Arlington's GM assembly plant join the national UAW strike: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/24/arlington-texas-gm-auto-workers-strike/ Rice University finds that not only is it hard to recruit faculty into Texas, a large number of existing Texas faculty are planning to leave the state: https://www.ricethresher.org/article/2023/10/texas-politics-pose-challenge-to-hiring-faculty-desroches-says ...While Rice stands out from other Texas universities by doubling down on DEI efforts: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/25/texas-dei-ban-rice-university/ A story that five Texas Longhorns football players lost scholarships for kneeling during the National Anthem, popular among right-wing online trolls, appears to be false: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/texas-anthem-kneeling-scholarships/ Essential reading on how white supremacist conspiracy theories are now intersecting with Texas Republican lawmaking: https://www.justsecurity.org/89704/white-supremacist-conspiracy-theory-is-fueling-extreme-border-policy-in-texas/ Many Texas retired teachers are spending their entire pensions on rent alone - vote YES on Prop 9: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/vote/texas-proposition-9-retired-teachers-pension/269-1b5dc2cc-24bc-4d5a-a250-5cf5ecb30ff2 A Texas toddler has become the youngest American to visit all 63 national parks - vote YES on Prop 14: https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/texas-toddler-becomes-youngest-person-to-visit-all-63-national-parks-196336709522 And we encourage positive thoughts and energy for Acapulco, Mexico, who overnight bore the brunt of a Category 5 hurricane: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/25/world/hurricane-otis-acapulco Thanks for listening! Please grab our handy voter guide, and consider helping us continue our important work, at https://progresstexas.org/.