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Tyler Man Used Fake Business Ties and Stolen Valor to Defraud Investors

Tyler Man Used Fake Business Ties and Stolen Valor to Defraud Investors

Cheer Athletics Coach Connected to Netflix Hit Cheer Is Facing Sexual Abuse Accusations

Cheer Athletics Coach Connected to Netflix Hit Cheer Is Facing Sexual Abuse Accusations

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Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Google Over ‘Misleading’ Endorsements for Pixel4 Smartphone

By Patrick Strickland
Jan 19, 2022

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another lawsuit against Google. On Wednesday, Paxton’s office announced the suit against Google LLC, whom the state’s attorney general accuses of “engaging in false and misleading practices” that violate Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices – Consumer Protection Act. As part of the lawsuit, Paxton’s...
In Plano, Oath Keepers Leader Stewart Rhodes Appears in Federal Court (Alongside His Successor)

By Michael Murney
Jan 15, 2022

A row of defendants sat handcuffed with their backs to the public benches. The courtroom 108 in Plano was jammed. U.S. District Judge Kimberly Johnson had a slate of cases on her docket, but the buzz in the room focused mostly on one defendant. Stewart Rhodes, the leader of a right-wing...
Animal Abuse Cases Are Rising Amid the Pandemic, and Dogs Are Getting Shot All Across Dallas

By Jacob Vaughn
Jan 13, 2022

Several dogs have been shot in the last few months. Some have died. Police are still looking for the people responsible.
Rice University Is Part of Alleged 'Cartel' of Price-Fixing Colleges, Lawsuit Claims

By Michael Murney
Jan 12, 2022

University administrators at a network of elite colleges across the U.S. have worked together to form a “cartel” that, as a group, drove up the cost of admissions and excluded financial aid students since at least 2003, a new lawsuit alleges. Among the schools accused of participating in the alleged...
After a Heroin Overdose Killed a Man in Plano, His Dealer Caught a 25-Year Sentence

By Michael Murney
Jan 11, 2022

It wasn’t the first time Nathaniel Edward Gonzalez had sold heroin to someone who eventually overdosed. Gonzalez, 36, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for drug trafficking last Thursday. But 16 years ago, he was convicted on almost the exact same charges. Back in 2005, Brenden Thayer, a...
Dallas Is Holding Panhandlers' Criminal Trials in the Streets, Literally

By Michael Murney
Jan 10, 2022

Dallas has been wrestling with the best way to deal with panhandling, but the solutions just keep falling short. Now, the city is holding court on the street, literally. In 2018, Dallas police said they would stop enforcing a city ordinance banning people from asking for money on the streets...
Time Is Running Out to Prosecute Dallas Cops for Wrongdoing During Summer 2020 Protests

By Jacob Vaughn
Jan 6, 2022

The statute of limitations for most potential charges stemming from alleged police misconduct during the Summer 2020 protests will expire at the end of May. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot is trying to collect more information about several incidents
Feds Claim Former FBI Agent, Accomplice Defrauded Woman Out of More Than $700,000

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 28, 2021

Two men are facing charges for defrauding a woman out of over $700,000 after convincing her she was on "secret probation."
'Legal Deserts' Leave More Texans of Color and the Poor in Jails and State Prisons

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 27, 2021

Places with few or no lawyers are called “legal deserts," and they exist all over the country.
From Jenna Ryan to Delta-8: The Observer’s Five Most Popular News Stories of 2021

By Patrick Strickland
Dec 25, 2021

In a perfect world, we’d right about now thank the universe that it was a slow news year. Honestly, we’d like to celebrate that Christmas is upon us. We’d like to all be enjoying the company of our relatives. We’d like to hardly feel the need to drink at all...
Dallas First Responders Sue the City Over Pay Dispute

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 22, 2021

The first responders say they didn't get pay adjustments when they were supposed to.
Protest Photographer Is Suing Dallas Police and City Over Injury Caused by 'Less-Lethal' Round

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 21, 2021

The Dallas County District Attorneys office obtained a warrant for Dallas Police officer Melvin Williams who is accused of shooting a protester in the face with a "less lethal" round. The shot fractured the protesters cheek, knocked out several teeth, and left him with only 40% vision in his left eye. Williams' warrant is for misdemeanor assault.
Texas Conspiracy Theorist and InfoWars Owner Alex Jones Sues U.S. Capitol Riot Committee

By Patrick Strickland
Dec 20, 2021

On Monday, Texas conspiracy theorist and owner of InfoWars filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Capitol riot select committee seeking to block lawmakers from accessing his phone records and making him testify at a deposition next month. Instead, he has offered to provide “written answers” to their questions, an offer the...
Federal Appeals Court: Dallas Police in Tony Timpa Case Not Shielded by Qualified Immunity

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 17, 2021

A previous ruling on the qualified immunity defense for officers involved in the death of Tony Timpa was reversed in a successful appeal from the Timpa family.
Dallas Is Launching a 'Panhandling Database,' and Advocates Are Concerned

By Michael Murney
Dec 16, 2021

Late last month, Dallas City Council members rolled out a new plan for curbing panhandling across the city. The Panhandling Deflection Program aims to connect people asking for money on the street to social services that will keep them from panhandling in the future. To access those services, panhandlers will be...
'We Won Again': Texas Supreme Court Leaves Delta-8 Legal For Now, but The Fight's Not Over

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 14, 2021

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) filed a motion with the Texas Supreme Court to have a ban on the products reinstated. That request was denied on Friday.
The U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Texas Abortion Ban – Kinda

By Michael Murney
Dec 13, 2021

On Friday afternoon, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in Texas’ exceptionally harsh abortion ban. Abortion providers will be permitted to challenge the state law effectively banning nearly all abortions after the six-week mark, the court ruled. But abortion providers will only be permitted to sue a narrow group of state...
Dallas Fire Fighters Association President Stands by Paramedic Who Kicked Man in Face

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 10, 2021

Jim McDade, the president of the Dallas Fire Fighters Association, maintains that the paramedic who kicked a mentally ill man repeatedly in 2019 was just defending himself.
Frisco Doctors Sent to Prison for Medicare Fraud Involving Dishing Out Drugs 'Like Candy'

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 9, 2021

Two doctors involved in a Texas-based healthcare fraud scheme were sentenced to over two decades in federal prison and ordered to pay tens-of-millions of dollars in restitution.
State Returns License to Fired Dallas Paramedic Brad Cox, Who Kicked Mentally Ill Man in Face

By Jacob Vaughn
Dec 7, 2021

The Texas Department of State Health Services issued an emergency suspension of Brad Cox's paramedic license last month. Cox, the former Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic who was caught on video kicking a mentally ill man on the ground in 2019, got his license back last week. The state is still investigating the 2019 incident.