Sect Hearings Are a Logistical Scramble

Attorney Donna Broom had no idea what to expect when she threw her bags in her green Chevy Tahoe on Wednesday and set off on an eight-hour drive from Houston to San Angelo.

Judge Says FLDS Children Will Stay in Custody, Orders DNA Tests

In a swift end to a trying, emotional hearing, a Texas judge said Friday night that 416 children are better off in state custody than with their parents, who belong to a controversial polygamous sect.

Sect Has Kicked Out Some 2,000 Teen Boys

Forced marriages. Underage sex. Teenage mothers.  That is the portrait emerging of the hundreds of girls who have been removed by the state from a polygamist sect's compound that is at the center of one of the largest child welfare investigations in American history.  But what about the boys who are among the 416 children taken from the YFZ (Yearning For Zion) Ranch?

Houston-Area Sites Prepare to Receive Kids from Polygamist Sect

The state began transporting children removed from a polygamist ranch to foster group homes and emergency shelters around the state today (April 22).

Appeals Court Rules Fort Bend Woman's Suit Against Texas CPS Can Proceed

A Fort Bend County woman, whose 13 children were taken from her over a weekend in February 2000 by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, has won the right to proceed with a lawsuit against the department.

Mothers Are Bused Away from Kids

Dozens of mothers from the Eldorado polygamist ranch were bused away from their children Thursday, their legal efforts to stay united rejected as Texas officials sort out their massive custody case.

Mothers from Polygamous Sect Separated from Young Children

Mothers from a polygamous sect described an emotional, rushed scene when they were forced from the shelter where they had been staying with their young children since the state removed them from their homes.

Mediated Settlement Could Be Best Way to Resolve Controversy

by Arnold H. Loewy

As the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) drama unfolds in San Angelo, many of us are unsure where our sympathies lie. Should we support freedom of religion, the right to be different, and the preservation of families? Or should we stand firmly against child abuse, polygamy, and the insularity that is FLDS? In my view, the truth lies somewhere in between.

House Speaker Craddick Emerges Stronger after Elections

Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick, who only months ago seemed to be hanging on to his powerful job by a thread, has emerged from the latest round of elections considerably strengthened. For now anyway.