Texas Abortion Ban, Fertility Fraud, Fate of Gun Rights Bill and Disgraced Former Dallas Council Member

Good morning!Here are the top political headlines from Austin, Washington, the campaign trail and Dallas.Points from Austin1. In heart-wrenching testimony Monday, a mother pleaded with lawmakers to pass bills that would prevent explosions like the one that killed her 12-year-old daughter last year. Saying she felt powerless after her daughter's death, Maria Rogers, the mother of Linda "Michellita" Rogers, who died last February after the third explosion in as many days in a working-class northwest Dallas neighborhood, urged the lawmakers to take action."What I wish the most is that you all support these bills so that no other family experiences what my family has experienced," Maria Rogers said through tears.2. Champions of a legally improbable comprehensive ban on abortion in Texas held a hearing on the bill late Monday.But abortion opponents took issue with Plano Republican Rep. Jeff Leach, the chairman of the bill's assigned committee. Leach said he'd allow a hearing in the spirit of creating a "culture of life," but he wouldn't let the committee advance the bill toward the full House.  Continue reading...