Tag Archives: Texas

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas lawmakers are considering following President Donald Trump’s lead and renaming the body of water that touches 367 miles of the state’s coast to the Gulf of America. If approved, the bill would require the name to be changed in every official reference made by a state agency, resolution, rule or publication. The Sunset Advisory Committee …

ABC News reports: The measles outbreak in western Texas has now reached 624 cases, with 27 new infections confirmed over the last five days. Nearly all of the cases are among unvaccinated individuals or among those whose vaccination status is unknown, according to new data published by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) on Tuesday. The increase in …

Amarillo’s ABC affiliate reports: A former Amarillo and Canyon teacher, accused of child sex crimes, was arrested for a sixth time. Patrick Kenneth Farmer, 57, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of indecency with a child sexual contact. According to the criminal complaint, Farmer touched the genitals of a girl under the age of 17. Farmer was arrested September 11, …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas House gave initial approval early Thursday to a bill that would create a $1 billion private school voucher program, crossing a historic milestone and bringing Gov. Greg Abbott’s top legislative priority closer than ever to reaching his desk. The lower chamber signed off on its voucher proposal, Senate Bill 2, on an 85-63 vote. …

The Texas Tribune reports: When Daisy Hildebrand became the second Texas child to die of measles on April 3, her physicians reported – per the state health code – the 8-year-old’s death to local officials in Lubbock where she died and in tiny Gaines County where the girl lived. In deference to the girl’s family, who planned to bury her …

NBC News reports: Dr. David Sugerman, a senior scientist leading the CDC’s measles response, said Tuesday at a meeting of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee that more than 90% of the cases are “related to the Southwest outbreak, driven by transmission in close-knit, undervaccinated communities.” “We do believe that there’s quite a large amount of cases that are not reported …

The Associated Press reports: Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas on Tuesday launched a bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar in 2026, followed by her campaign announcing just hours later on social media that she had been hospitalized with no further details. Flores was the first Mexican-born congresswoman in the U.S. House after winning a 2022 special …

The Texas Tribune reports: President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday terminated a federal grant to help fund a long-sought high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston — saying that if the embattled project moves forward, it will have to do so without federal help at this stage. The U.S. Department of Transportation nixed a $63.9 million planning grant for the …

CBS News reports: A lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could end federal protections for special needs students. More than 400,000 students in Texas benefit from Section 504 plans in school, according to the Texas Education Agency. These are federal accommodations for students who have disabilities, but do not require special education services. Disabilities include ADHD, dyslexia, visual …

The Texas Tribune reports: Former U.S. Attorney and Elon Musk lawyer John Bash is the first to throw his hat in the ring to replace Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is making a bid for a U.S. Senate seat. Bash previously worked as a federal prosecutor for the Western District of Texas until 2020, and served as a special assistant …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas senators could vote this week on a bill that would drastically limit how the state’s public universities teach their students about history, race and inequality. Senate Bill 37 would also create a way to file complaints about universities that higher ed experts say could threaten their funding and create a profound chilling effect. If the …

“During his first term John Cornyn voted with President Trump more than 95% of current Senators, securing the votes for his biggest accomplishments as his Whip. Democrats are trying to destroy President Trump, and he and Texas need a battle-tested conservative who knows how to protect his agenda in the Senate and won’t be outsmarted by Chuck Schumer. “Ken Paxton …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday he will challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s midterm elections, setting up a barnburner clash of two Republican titans that is poised to reverberate across state and national politics. Appearing on Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s show, Paxton said it was “time for a change in Texas” …

NBC News reports: Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday said he had selected Nov. 4 as the date for the special election to fill the House seat that had been occupied by the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, who died unexpectedly in March. The decision means the deep-blue, Houston-based congressional seat will be vacant for roughly eight months. House …

The Texas Tribune reports: A Travis County district court judge on Friday awarded $6.6 million to four former senior aides to Attorney General Ken Paxton who said they were improperly fired after reporting Paxton to the FBI. Judge Catherine Mauzy stated in her judgment that the plaintiffs — Blake Brickman, Mark Penley, David Maxwell and Ryan Vassar — had proven …

Courthouse News reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the city of San Antonio on Friday, accusing the municipality of undermining Texas law through a fund that could help people travel out of state to get abortions. “The city of San Antonio is blatantly defying Texas law by using taxpayer dollars to fund abortion tourism,” Paxton said …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas lawmakers could imperil the future of public transportation in two of the state’s largest urban areas, transit officials and advocates warn. Republican legislators are entertaining proposals to sap hundreds of millions of dollars from Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the state’s largest public transit system, and thwart the voter-approved expansion of public transportation in Austin known …

The New York Times reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, attended the funeral on Sunday of an 8-year-old girl who died of measles amid an outbreak that has burned through the region and called into question his ability to handle a public-health crisis. The child’s death, in a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, early Thursday morning, is the …

NBC News reports: Another child with measles in Texas has died, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed late Saturday night, though the exact cause of death is under investigation. This would be the second pediatric death amid a fast-growing outbreak that’s infected nearly 500 people in Texas alone since January. An adult in New Mexico is also suspected …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: When asked why he has not called for a special election to fill the vacant seat left by the passing of former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Governor Greg Abbott said Harris County will need “adequate time” to conduct the election after “repeated failures” in the past. But Democratic lawmakers at the state and federal level say …