This is TPR's roundup of the latest headlines and news developments. It provides a succinct and clear summary of the stories TPR is following.
Today's weather: Expect a high today of 92 and a low of 68. Highs in the 80s are coming by the middle of next week.
The tropics: The National Hurricane Center continues to monitor a growing system in the Gulf of Mexico that may strengthen later this week. The Atlantic hurricane season ends on Nov. 30.
Election 2024: The deadline to register to vote in the November elections is Monday, Oct. 7. Voter registration forms are available at all San Antonio Public Library branches, and people can also print a form online from the Texas Secretary of State website. For more information on how to register to vote, visit VoteTexas.gov.
Conviction of former Bexar County constable overturned
A Texas Court of Appeals overturned on Thursday the conviction of former Bexar County Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela.
Vela was convicted last year in connection with an investigation into accusations she shook down Easter weekend park goers in 2018 for security fees.
She was sentenced last year to 90 days in the county jail and five years' probation on two felony counts of tampering with evidence.
KSAT-12 reported the chief justice of the appeals court said there was not enough evidence to justify the conviction.
Paxton sues TikTok over child safety
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing TikTok, claiming the social media platform is putting the online safety and privacy of Texas children at risk.
He accused Tik Tok of violating a new state law that requires social media companies to take steps to protect kids online and requires them to provide parents with tools to do the same.
The SCOPE Act prohibits digital service providers from sharing, disclosing, or selling a minor’s personal identifying information without permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian.
It also requires companies to provide parents with tools to manage and control the privacy and account settings on their child’s account.
Paxton seeks civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation and injunctive relief to prevent future violations of the SCOPE Act by TikTok.
Regional officials ask Justice Department for election monitoring in Texas
Sixty two elected officials in Texas have requested that the U.S. Justice Department monitor the November election in the state's five most populous counties.
The lawmakers asked the DOJ in a letter to provide emergency protections for elections in Bexar, Travis, Harris, Dallas, and Tarrant counties from the early voting period through the general election.
Lawmakers said recent actions by Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have increased the urgency for federal election monitors.
They alleged Paxton threatened voter registration efforts and sought to intimidate or suppress candidates running for public office.
San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro and Bexar County Commissioners Justin Rodriguez and Tommy Calvert were among those who signed the letter.
A&M sends special team of dogs to help search for hurricane victims
Texas A&M University has sent a special team to help search efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Texas A&M deployed its Veterinary Emergency Team to storm ravaged areas, including North Carolina, where Helene is now the deadliest storm in the state’s history.
The team was sent to ensure that highly trained search and rescue dogs remain in healthy, working condition as they search in areas with hazardous debris, rough terrain and flood waters.
A statement also explained that they will utilize the most advanced decontamination methods for the working dogs, which is an important part of keeping both the dogs and their handlers safe while working in areas affected by natural disasters.
The deployment was coordinated with the Texas Division of Emergency management at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Biden administration approves new border bridge in Laredo
President Joe Biden officially approved on Thursday presidential permits for the construction of another international bridge in Laredo.
The vehicular and pedestrian border crossing will be the fifth international bridge for Webb County.
A group of bipartisan, bicameral lawmakers in Texas successfully pushed for reform to the bridge permitting process following delays in four international bridges across the Texas-Mexico border.
Biden approved other bridge projects in Eagle Pass and Brownsville earlier this year.
Mexican soldiers kill migrants
During Claudia Sheinbaum's inauguration as Mexico's first female president early this week, military personnel in Chiapas, Mexico, killed six migrants.
Sheinbaum said in her morning conference on Thursday that the two soldiers responsible were turned over to the Attorney General's Office for investigation.
Members of the military engaged in a chase with a speeding pickup truck on a highway north of Tapachula, Chiapas. The truck, along with two flatbed vehicles, tried to evade the authorities. Allegedly hearing gunfire, two soldiers fired their weapons, causing one of the flatbeds to stop.
When the military approached, they discovered 33 migrants, many from Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Four migrants were dead, 12 injured, and two more died later from their injuries.
The National Migration Institute is now responsible for the survivors.
Brackenridge Park celebrates monarch butterflies
The monarch butterfly is known for its extraordinary migration journey spanning thousands of miles, from Canada to Mexico. And San Antonio is right in the middle of that journey.
On Saturday, Brackenridge Park will host a special event that will honor and celebrate San Antonio's role as a champion city for the monarch butterfly.
Ashley Bird is the acting director of the Monarch Butterly & Pollinator Festival, in its ninth year. She told TPR's The Source that attendees should expect to see a lot of people dressed as pollinators.
"As soon as people walk through the gates, we have an activation called 'The People as Pollinators Experiment' where we provide people with a little headband, the opportunity for them to paint their faces, and then become a pollinator for the day so they can have that empathy driven experience to really see what it's like to be a pollinator."
Bird added that more than 3,500 people were expected to attend the festival and more than 30 educational partners will provide hands-on nature-based experiences for children and adults.
The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at Brackenridge Park. It's free and open to the public.
