{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-calls-for-renewed-efforts-to-secure-release-of-austin-tice/", "Cornyn Calls for Renewed Efforts to Secure Release of Austin Tice", "2026-08-14", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "TX", "John Cornyn", "C001056", "www.cornyn.senate.gov", "cornyn", "https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "AUSTIN \u2013 U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today released a statement urging President Donald J. Trump and his administration to prioritize efforts to secure the return of Austin Tice, an American journalist, Houston native, and Marine veteran, as we mark the somber milestone of Tice being held captive in Syria for 14 years on Aug. 14. Sen. Cornyn has been drawing focus to Tice\u2019s case for more than a decade, including after the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.\n\n\u201cFourteen years ago, Austin Tice, a Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was detained at a checkpoint in Syria while working as a freelance journalist,\u201d said Sen. Cornyn. \u201cAustin and other Americans in captivity around the world deserve the full and active support of our government to secure their release, and as we mark the grim anniversary of Austin\u2019s captivity today, I urge the Trump administration to redouble their efforts to bring him home.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nWhile covering the Syrian Civil War as a journalist in 2012, Austin Tice was abducted in Syria by the Assad regime.\n\nSen. Cornyn has met with the Tice family several times since Austin\u2019s capture and has discussed Austin Tice\u2019s case with President Trump on multiple occasions. In the first Trump administration, he regularly communicated about the case with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor Robert O\u2019Brien, and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Ambassador Roger Carstens.", 1, "2026-08-15T05:23:20Z", "2026-08-15T05:24:50Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-calls-for-renewed-efforts-to-secure-release-of-austin-tice/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9969919919967651, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}