New York state Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 16 other attorneys general around the nation in calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into raids by the Texas attorney general’s office that targeted Latino voting rights organizers, candidates and volunteers, her office announced Thursday.

The raids were conducted on Aug. 20 in the San Antonio area and seized personal property of local organizers and candidates for office and ordered by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Volunteers whose homes were searched included an 80-year-old woman who told her associates that agents were at her house for two hours and took medicine, along with her smartphone and watch.

Paxton said a local prosecutor referred to his office “allegations of election fraud and vote harvesting” during the 2022 election but no charges have been filed against any targets of the searches.

James wants the DOJ to investigate if the raids constitute violations of civil rights, including the right to vote.

“The victims were targeted simply because of their work to increase political participation in the Latino community. Trying to intimidate volunteers and candidates from participating in the electoral process is unacceptable,” James said in a statement. “I am proud to lead my fellow attorneys general in urging the DOJ to investigate this incident, because we all stand for the rule of law in our states and throughout the nation. We cannot normalize voter intimidation or abusive government interference in our free and fair elections.”

In a letter to the DOJ, James and the coalition argue the Texas attorney general’s office sought to intimidate voters of color by conducting raids and seizing the property of organizers and Latino candidates.

Joining James are the state AGs of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana as a category 2 storm with sustained winds of 100 mph.

Francine formed into a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, Sept. 9, becoming the sixth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. It became a hurricane on Tuesday, Sept. 10. 

Francine is moving northeast through Louisiana bringing heavy rainfall and hurricane-force winds gusts. 

Tropical Storm Francine is weakening as it moves through Louisina and into Mississippi. it will move inland into the lower Mississippi River Valley Thursday.

This system is bringing heavy rainfall and flooding potential to parts of the Gulf Coast and Deep South through late-week.

The highest rainfall totals look to be around Louisiana and up the Mississippi River Valley, where flooding is possible.

Along with significant flash flooding, winds that could gust up to 75 mph are possible through the early morning Thursday.

Storm surge threats have gone down, but some more minor storm surge flooding could occur. 

Tropical Storm Warnings are still in effect along the Gulf Coast stretching from Louisiana toward Mississippi and Alabama.

Here’s a look at the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season so far.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

Republican New York state Sen. Jake Ashby and a group of other Senate GOP colleagues sent a letter to state Legislature leaders calling for a bipartisan commission to generate recommendations and solutions to security lapses after a former aide to two New York governors was charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.

Linda Sun, who held numerous posts in New York state government, including deputy chief of staff for Gov. Kathy Hochul and deputy diversity officer for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was arrested last week along with her husband at their $4 million home on Long Island.

Prosecutors said Sun, at the request of Chinese officials, blocked representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to the governor’s office and shaped New York governmental messaging to align with the priorities of the Chinese government, among other things. In return, her husband got help for his business activities in China.

“This isn’t just about fact-finding. It’s about making sure this never happens again. It doesn’t get much more consequential than national security,” State Sen. Ashby, of the Capital Region, said in a statement about his proposed commission.

Other lawmakers in the letter outlined recommendations for the panel, which include:

• Identifying and solving the deficiencies in the executive’s hiring process that would allow a Chinese Communist Party spy to infiltrate the highest levels of state government
• Auditing the state’s national security protocols and their resiliency to foreign interference
• Analyzing the chain-of-command processes that allowed the governor’s signature to be affixed to official documents by a foreign agent without appropriate authorization
• Investigating why it took so many years and a federal investigation for the accused’s behavior to attract the notice of any internal watchdogs or flag any security mechanisms

“It is our recommendation that each of you co-chair this commission to dispel the question of political motivation and to draw on the broad, diverse capabilities across the legislature’s full membership,” lawmakers wrote in the letter. “The commission should collaborate with outside experts, including national and cybersecurity professionals, federal law enforcement and intelligence officials, leaders in human resources, and other appropriate personnel. It must possess subpoena power.”

Sun and her husband pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Tuesday in Brooklyn and were released on bond. Sun has been barred from having any contact with the People’s Republic of China’s consulate and mission.