Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:
Joshua Orta - the passenger in the car of Ruben Ray Martinez when he was allegedly shot by a federal border officer last March and the key witness in the case - himself died in a car crash in San Antonio last weekend: https://apnews.com/article/texas-ice-shooting-martinez-orta-death-eef234709ecea98a9fabaafefb656c07
Texts asking for "sexy pics" and suggesting sexual acts sent by Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales to staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, who later committed suicide, have been revealed - and members of his own party are now demanding his resignation: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/texas-congressman-faces-new-calls-to-resign-after-texts-revealed-258164805519
...We featured four Democrats seeking nomination in Gonzales' CD 23 recently: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/special-live-pod-the-democrats-running-for-cd-23/id1552998795?i=1000749334936
Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has introduced "The Payback Act", which would compel the Secretary of the Treasury to refund American consumers who have been overcharged as a result of illegal Trump tariffs: https://crockett.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-crockett-introduces-payback-act-refund-americans-trumps-illegal-tariff
...Perhaps some intrepid reporter will ask Donald Trump about Rep. Crockett's proposal when he appears in Corpus Christi on Friday: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/donald-trump-texas-visit-primary-election-21937687.php
Dr. Peter Attia, who lives in Austin, has stepped down from a contributor role at CBS News as a result of his extensive implication in the Epstein files: https://www.statesman.com/news/article/cbs-peter-attia-epstein-files-21904396.php
A Bastrop county commissioner who had proposed renaming a local highway for Charlie Kirk has withdrawn his idea, which was met with fierce public opposition: https://www.statesman.com/news/local/article/bastrop-fm969-charlie-kirk-name-debate-21516197.php
Early voting in the March primary is underway! Research your ballot here: https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-march-2026-primary-ballot/?_bhlid=7d8eca3d2a16adc7c9b44185414443fa32be6d84
All about voting in Texas can be found at GoVoteTexas.org.
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