Texas must remain part of the US : White House

EL PASO (AP) - Bad news for thousands of people who wanted to see Texas secede: The state is still in the United States (US).

The White House has responded to a petition asking that Texas be allowed to break away from the country, saying the Founding Fathers who created the nation "did not provide a right to walk away from it".

More than 125,000 people signed the petition, which was created a few days after President Barack Obama won re-election. The White House has promised to respond to any petition that gets more than 25,000 signatures within 30 days.

Mr Jon Carson, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, issued a response quoting Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address and a Supreme Court opinion after the Civil War. It said America was created as a "perpetual union", but one that allows people with different beliefs to debate the issues.