U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled Thursday evening that Texas' voter ID law discriminates against minority voters and was enacted with discriminatory intent, violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Furthermore, she ruled that the law creates a poll tax in violation of the 14th and 24th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The state plans an immediate appeal to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who became the first diagnosed U.S. case of infection by the Ebola virus, died Wednesday in Dallas. His death led to renewed questions whether his prognosis would have been better had he been diagnosed earlier. He was sent home with antibiotics the first time he went to the hospital, only to be placed in isolation two days later.

The only debate scheduled in the U.S. Senate contest between incumbent Republican John Cornyn and Democratic challenger David Alameel will be broadcast dubbed into Spanish by Univision a day after the Oct. 24 encounter. Options are being explored to broadcast the debate in English on other outlets or on a secondary audio channel on the Univision feed. But it appeared possible, if not likely, that the debate could end up being broadcast only in Spanish.

Candidates and officeholders submitted their 30-day out campaign finance reports, which detail fundraising and spending from July 1 through Sept. 25. The GOP candidates at the top of the ticket — Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick — raised significantly more than their Democratic rivals. Abbott made further news with his announcement that he still has more than $30 million in his campaign accout, spurring speculation he may keep a healthy reserve to intimidate would-be challengers in 2018.

San Antonio residents asked at a City Council meeting on Wednesday for more time before a decision is made to build a new pipeline intended to bring 16 billion gallons of water to the Alamo City annually. At $3.4 billion, the project would make for some of the most expensive water sold in Texas.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reacted to the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to address lower courts' rulings against bans on same-sex marriage by proposing a constitutional amendment that would prevent a state ban on same-sex marriage from being overturned.

Disclosure: Univision is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.