State of Texas: Deadly bombings in Austin

What Texas is talking about today No Images? [Click here]( [Tex]( [Texas Monthly]( March 12, 2018 QUOTE OF THE DAY “Attaching your seal to a document without a notarial certificate constitutes good cause for the secretary of state to take action against your notary commission ” —Texas Secretary of State official Maria Y. Morales in a letter to Dallas-area notary Erica Jackson on the state's decision to investigate whether Jackson [properly notarized a legal agreement]( in which porn star Stormy Daniels would stay quiet about an alleged affair with President Donald Trump in exchange for $130,000 in hush money. The White House denies any knowledge of such an agreement. THE LATEST [Austin Police Issue Warning After Three Explosive Packages Detonate in Ten Days, Killing Two]( LEIF REIGSTAD Authorities are still investigating a motive, but they haven’t ruled out a potential hate crime because the victims were African American, Hispanic.Read Story]( [Tex]( OUR TOP STORIES [Democrats Argue Victory and Values in Facebook Fight Over White, Valdez]( Bitter argument leads former Texas first lady Linda Gale White to defend her son’s record. [Read Story]( [Texas Takes Over March Madness]( With seven Texas teams in the field of 68 and the Final Four’s location in San Antonio, this March Madness has a certain Texas flavor. [Read Story]( [Bernie Sanders Discussed DACA, Houston Congressional Candidate Laura Moser, and 2020 at SXSW]( The senator earned applause from the audience on gun control and the role of the DCCC. [Read Story]( MEANWHILE, IN TEXAS... Tillerson Out Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a native of Wichita Falls, [has been ousted]( as the nation's chief diplomat, multiple news outlets reported on Tuesday morning. Tillerson will be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and Gina Haspel, currently the deputy CIA director, will become the first woman to head the spy agency. Since assuming his position in February 2017, Tillerson has clashed—sometimes very publicly—with his boss. But the severity of the split between Trump and Tillerson became clear last week when the president accepted an invitation to speak with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un without consulting Tillerson. White House officials said that Trump made the decision to replace the Secretary of State so that a new team would be in place by May, when the U.S. is set to talk with North Korea. Remember that time Rex Tillerson [reportedly called Trump]( a moron? Empowered The conservative Tea Party group Empower Texans, which has used aggressive and sometimes questionable tactics to unseat establishment Republicans that it characterizes as not conservative enough, [filed a lawsuit late Monday]( to stop criminal investigations into the tactics it used against a Fort Worth lawmaker. The suit, filed in a Midland federal court, seeks to prohibit three district attorneys and the Texas attorney general's office from conducting any criminal investigations against Empower Texans. The prosecutors are interested in a strategy the group employed against Republican state Representative Charlie Geren ahead of last week's primary, when Empower Texans sent mailers to voters using the official-sounding name "Texas Ethics Disclosure Board." Critics said the mailer intentionally sought to confuse voters into thinking Geren was under investigation by a government entity. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday. Senior Editor R.G. Ratcliffe says the stunt [seeks to undermine our democracy.]( NYC Tragedy At least two Texans were among the five passengers killed when a sightseeing helicopter [crashed in New York's East River]( on Sunday. Dallas firefighter Brian McDaniel, 26, and his high school friend from Dallas Trevor Cadigan, also 26, were killed in the incident, according to the Associated Press. Cadigan had recently moved to New York. One of the passenger's bags may have hit an emergency fuel shutoff sending the helicopter into the river, the pilot and lone survivor of the crash told investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. The NTSB's [re-considered looking into the 1959 plane crash]( that killed Buddy Holly. Hoops The University of Texas at El Paso has [hired a new head coach]( for its storied basketball program: Fresno State coach Rodney Terry. The native Texan will become the nineteenth head basketball coach in the nearly century-long program at UTEP, the only Texas team to ever win an NCAA championship. "I'm super excited about an unbelievable opportunity at the University of Texas at El Paso," Terry, 49, said in a written statement. "It's a program that has experienced a very high level of success and has a great basketball tradition that I'm looking forward to building upon." UTEP's legacy predecessor, Texas Western College, stunned the country when it upset perennial basketball powerhouse Kentucky to win the national championship in 1966. Texas Western was the first NCAA championship team to start five African American players. Read about the legacy of that championship team and its coach, [Don Haskins.]( FOOD & DRINK [Does a Great Taco Require a Handmade Tortilla?]( JOSÉ R. RALAT Restaurants that make tortillas in-house have to get it right, like the new Dai Due Taqueria, in Austin.. [Read Story]( [Tastemakers: Fredericksburg]( [Tastemakers: Fredericksburg]( [Supported by Kissing Tree]( Discover the best of old and new Fredericksburg with resident Katie Turpin as the blogger behind Sunshine Texas Day and mother of three visits some of her favorite shops, with stops for wine and snacks along the way. [Watch Now]( [Texas Tech University]( MORE FROM TEXAS MONTHLY [Where to Get Your Menil Fix While It’s Closed]( MICHAEL HARDY [Ta-Nehisi Coates Talks Writing, President Trump, and Quitting Twitter For Good]( DOYIN OYENIYI [Where to Stay for a Small-Town Getaway ]( LAUREN SMITH FORD [‘Support the Girls’ Is Ultimately a Film About Caring]( DAN SOLOMON [Subscribe to Texas Monthly and Save!]( Get the best of Texas with Texas Monthly. 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