AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Tribune held interviews Friday with three new members of the Texas Senate: César Blanco, D-El Paso; Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio; and Drew Springer, R-Muenster. Tribune politics reporter Alex Samuels moderated the discussion. The new state senators — all former members of the Texas House — discussed their priorities as they head to the Texas state
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BENTONVILLE, Arkansas — Walmart is rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine in more states as the Biden administration tries to accelerate distribution. The company has been administering vaccines in recent weeks in some of its locations in New Mexico and Arkansas. Now, Walmart, the largest retailer in the nation, will roll out the vaccine to select
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UPDATE: AUSTIN, Texas — Following word that National Guard units from across the nation had been banished to a parking garage near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday night ordered the return of Texas’ Guard troops to the state. I have instructed General Norris to order the return of the
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — A public health doctor in Texas has been charged with stealing a vial of Covid-19 vaccine, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement Thursday that Dr. Hasan Gokal is accused of theft by a public servant, a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — America’s energy policy is getting an extreme makeover. President Joe Biden is wasting no time undoing the Trump administration’s efforts to prop up fossil fuels and deny the existence of a climate crisis. On his first day in the White House, Biden took a series of executive actions that put an exclamation
Continue Reading FORT WORTH, Texas — Another name missing in President Donald Trump’s flurry of pardons is “Tiger King” Joe Exotic. His team was so confident in a pardon that they’d readied a celebratory limousine and a hair and wardrobe team to whisk away the zookeeper-turned-reality-TV-star, who is now serving a 22-year federal prison sentence in Texas. But he
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AUSTIN, Texas — A federal investigation against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton remains in play after his name was absent Wednesday from a last-minute list of pardons in the waning hours of Donald Trump’s presidency. The investigation centers on allegations that Paxton committed bribery, abuse of office and other crimes. Paxton’s top deputies reported him to the FBI
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — Bow Wow has apologized for taking the stage in a packed nightclub in Houston over the weekend. The rapper, who also acts under his legal name Shad Moss, had received backlash on social media after he was seen in footage on stage appearing to perform for a mostly maskless crowd at Cle
Continue Reading NORMAN, Oklahoma — A batch of chocolate milk sold in Texas and Oklahoma has been recalled after it was discovered that some could contain food-grade sanitizers. Hiland Dairy is recalling half-pint, 1% low fat, chocolate milk, sold in small cartons, produced in Oklahoma, the company said in an announcement. Consuming food-grade sanitizers could cause illness.
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HOUSTON, Texas — Texas on Tuesday reported more than 300 new Covid-19 deaths for the fifth time time in the past week as the toll of the pandemic across the U.S. surpassed 400,000 deaths. Health officials also confirmed more than 8,000 new cases as hospitalizations continued to hover around 14,000. Officials in the border city of Laredo
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — A second case of the highly-contagious variant of the coronavirus has now been detected in New Mexico and third case has been found in Texas, health officials confirmed Monday. The New Mexico Health Department said the second known case in that state involves a woman in her 30s who has
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WACO, Texas — A Texas family who lost their sense of smell because they have coronavirus nearly died when a fire engulfed their house and they couldn’t smell the smoke. The only family member who didn’t have the virus was 17-year-old Bianca Rivera. When the teenager smelled smoke in their home in Waco early Friday,
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NEW YORK (AP) — Gonzaga and Baylor maintained their grip on the top two spots in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll Monday. If third-ranked Villanova ever plays a game, perhaps it will make a run a them. The Bulldogs again racked up all but the two first-place votes that went to the Bears, while the Wildcats remained
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WASHINGTON, DC — Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas will both attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration this week, their offices have confirmed. The news of their attendance is perhaps most unexpected for Cruz, who has spread baseless claims attempting to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Biden’s win over President Donald Trump since the November
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FORT HANCOCK, Texas – One person was hospitalized with serious injuries after a crash involving a semi-truck and SUV along Interstate 10 east between Tornillo and Fort Hancock in Hudspeth County. Troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety were investigating the Sunday morning crash, which forced the closure of the highway. The crash happened
Continue Reading The American Petroleum Institute, the nation’s largest and most powerful oil lobby, is losing one of its biggest members over a disagreement about addressing the climate crisis. France’s Total announced Friday it is quitting the API because of the lobby’s stances on regulation and carbon pricing as well as its support for politicians who oppose
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AUSTIN, Texas — A famous Texan is proving that getting vaccinated is “Willie” cool. Willie Nelson is among the many Americans who signed up to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. During his drive-through vaccination this week in Austin, a masked Nelson posed for a series of pictures, offering the camera a thumbs-up as he received his
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — The National Rifle Association announced that it intends to restructure as a nonprofit based in Texas and has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections. “The move will enable long-term, sustainable growth and ensure the NRA’s continued success as the nation’s leading advocate for constitutional freedom — free from the toxic political environment of New York,”
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VAN HORN, Texas — Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company launched a new capsule into space Thursday to test all the astronaut perks before people strap in. Thursday’s flight with a dummy named Mannequin Skywalker lasted 10 minutes and reached 66 miles above Corn Ranch, located near the town of Van Horn. Both the New Shepard
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has become the first in the nation to distribute more than 1 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday as the state ramps up mass vaccination efforts while hospitals grapple with record numbers of patients. Texas, the nation’s second-most populous state with nearly 30 million people, has
Continue Reading DALLAS, Texas — Four miles of roadway in Dallas will now bear the name of Botham Jean, the Black man who was murdered in his apartment by an off-duty police officer in 2018. The Dallas City Council voted on the name change Wednesday after the proposal was put forth by Mayor Pro Tem Adam Medrano,
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AUSTIN, Texas — As Texas shifts its focus to large community vaccination efforts, some frontline health care workers remain unprotected. About 10% of the rural hospitals in Texas have yet to receive a single Covid-19 vaccine dose, according to a group representing rural hospitals in the state. Of the 16 hospitals which have not been
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AUSTIN, Texas — Mac McClung has led 15th-ranked Texas Tech to victory over one of the Red Raiders’ archrivals. McClung scored 22 points, including a long, tie-breaking jumper with three seconds left to give Tech a 79-77 win over fourth-ranked Texas. The 10-2 Longhorns led almost the entire game following a blistering start against one
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday declined to join a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in sending a letter to Acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen condemning the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and stating such actions cannot be allowed to go unchecked. The letter from the National Attorney
Continue Reading HOUSTON (AP) — Disgruntled All-Star guard James Harden is joining the Brooklyn Nets following a four-team deal involving the Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers. A person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity says Harden is leaving the Rockets just a day after saying the team wasn’t good enough to
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HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Alabama’s governor says Huntsville will soon be announced as the location for the U.S. Space Command headquarters. Gov. Kay Ivey says Huntsville’s Redstone Region is set to house the headquarters for the newest U.S. military branch. The governor was informed of the decision Wednesday morning. An official announcement was set for Wednesday
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AUSTIN, Texas — The first day of Texas’ legislative session drew armed pro-Trump protesters to the state Capitol on Tuesday, ABC affiliate KVUE reported. Some of the demonstrators included men carrying long rifles and dressed in combat fatigues, but they were located far beyond the Capitol entrance. The state has not banned guns on Capitol
Continue Reading ALAMO, Texas — President Donald Trump visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Tuesday trumpeting one of the pillars of his presidency: his campaign against illegal immigration and building a wall along the southern border. It was Trump’s first time appearing in public since a violent mob of his supporters sieged the nation’s Capitol last
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) — Some lawmakers say better medical marijuana programs in the state of Texas make sense as a means to help our economy recover from the pandemic. One advocate says what makes this year different is that there are a lot more lawmakers backing this change. Advocates like Sen. Jose Menendez (D) from
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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The Texas Department of State Health Services created a new interactive map which lets users see how many vaccines have been distributed across the state. You can check out the map yourself by clicking here. The blue dots on the map show which locations have vaccines available. The red dots
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