AUSTIN, Texas — DeAnn Walker, the chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates the state’s electric, telecommunication, and water and sewer utilities, resigned Monday, according to a resignation letter provided to the Texas Tribune. The Gov. Greg Abbott-appointed commission came under public criticism in the aftermath of Texas’ power crisis that
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas’ attorney general said Monday he’s suing electricity provider Griddy for passing along massive bills to its customers during last month’s winter storm. The lawsuit comes days after Texas’ power grid manager effectively shut down Griddy by revoking its access to the state’s electricity market. Griddy charges $10 a month to give
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ORLANDO, Florida — Taking the stage for the first time since leaving office, former President Donald Trump on Sunday called for Republican Party unity, even as he exacerbated intra-party divisions and trumpeted lies about the election in a speech that made clear he intends to remain a dominant political force. Speaking at the Conservative Political
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — Efforts to legalize marijuana in New Mexico took center stage Saturday as a state Senate panel considered creating a taxed and regulated market for recreational sales amid significant support among lawmakers. The Senate consideration came after a legalization measure passed the state House on Friday night with a 39-31 vote.
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EL PASO, Texas — On Saturday, El Paso County Commissioners Court held a public hearing to clarify confusion surrounding a proposed national historic district in downtown. This whole process has been going on since 2016, officials said. The county gave a presentation to break down the timeline and explain what it means for property owners
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EL PASO, Texas — El Paso has suddenly lost one of its most respected jurists. U.S. District Judge Philip Martinez, who presided over several major cases, died suddenly Friday night, friends and associates said. He was 63. Martinez grew up in El Paso and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at El
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — President Joe Biden heard firsthand from Texans clobbered by this month’s brutal winter weather on Friday and pledged to stick with them “for the long haul” as he made his first trip to a major disaster area since he took office. Biden was briefed by emergency officials and thanked workers for doing
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — A federal judge in Texas on Thursday ruled that the federal moratorium on evictions is unconstitutional, according to court documents. US District Judge John Barker, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump to the court in the Eastern District of Texas, stopped short of issuing a preliminary injunction, but said he expected
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state officials said at a briefing Thursday that they have a plan to boost Covid-19 vaccinations among older people and other vulnerable populations. Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins indicated the plan calls for increasing shots among seniors by 10% over the next two weeks. The
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AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that Texas is looking at when it will be able to lift all statewide orders related to the coronavirus pandemic and that an announcement is forthcoming. Abbott made the comments at a Corpus Christi news conference where he was asked when the statewide mask mandate would end
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AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott, speaking Wednesday evening in a rare statewide televised address, sought to reassure Texans that the state was moving aggressively to get to the bottom of the power grid failure that left millions of them in the cold and dark last week. “Tragic does not even begin to describe” the suffering
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima delivered his annual State of the City Address on Wednesday afternoon. The speech highlighted Las Cruces’ accomplishments during the past year and will touch on the goals of city government for the coming year. Below’s a transcript of the mayor’s remarks… “Good afternoon everyone. Bienvenidos todos. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.As always, I
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — A federal judge has indefinitely banned President Joe Biden’s administration from enforcing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations. U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton has issued a preliminary injunction sought by Texas, which argued the moratorium violated federal law and risked imposing additional costs on the state. Biden proposed the 100-day pause on deportations
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Five board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas — the entity that manages and operates the electricity grid that covers much of Texas — will resign on Wednesday, according to a notice to the Public Utility Commission. A sixth has withdrawn his application to the board. All six live outside
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, left Texas and traveled to Utah last week while the state was being rocked by severe winter storms. Paxton’s campaign spokesperson, Ian Prior, would not tell CNN when the couple had departed or returned but said the attorney general “did
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HOUSTON, Texas — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Houston on Friday as the state of Texas works to recover from major winter storms and power outages. “The President will meet with local leaders to discuss the winter storm, relief efforts, progress toward recovery and the incredible resilience shown by
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — The Kemp Smith law office has drafted a letter to downtown El Paso property owners, who are located in a proposed historic district, accusing El Paso County of not being transparent with the public in their efforts to create the historic district. The letter states, “the County, or some of its
Continue Reading SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that the Texas Public Utilities Commission is ordering a moratorium for energy companies to ban electricity disconnections due to non-payment as many Texans face high electricity bills after a week of sub-freezing temperatures. Abbott made the announcement during a briefing at Port San Antonio on
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — Texas GOP Rep. Michael McCaul on Sunday delivered a pointed rebuke of Sen. Ted Cruz following his much-criticized trip to Cancun, Mexico, as a winter disaster rocked Texas last week. “Look, when a crisis hits my state, I’m there. I’m not going to go on some vacation,” McCaul, the top Republican on
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had amassed $4.7 million in her fundraising efforts to help Texans hard hit by last week’s winter storm as of Sunday evening, her press secretary Ivet Contreras confirmed to CNN. The New York Democrat launched her fundraiser Thursday after extreme cold weather, ice and snow caused the power
Continue Reading Federal emergency funds meant to help Texans recover from a deep freeze will also be used to help some residents pay exorbitantly high energy bills they were charged as a result of the recent snow storm, a Republican congressman from the state said Sunday. “Yes, that’s the current plan with the federal assistance — be
Continue Reading In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Bill Gates said deaths during Texas’ winter freeze were preventable, caused by the state’s decision not to weatherize its energy. Gates pushed back on Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s claim that frozen wind turbines were to blame for the massive power failure. Gates said America’s dependence on renewable energy
Continue Reading “Saturday Night Live” felt like a lot of people needed to apologize this week, so on Saturday’s episode that’s what happened. The NBC variety show opened with Britney Spears, played by Chloe Fineman, hosting a show called “Oops… You Did It Again,” which provided people a platform to apologize for things they did wrong. This
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says she regrets discretionary spending of taxpayer money that included $6,500 on groceries and alcohol. Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, over a six-month period in 2020 spent almost $13,500 from a taxpayer-funded expense account is appropriated by the state Legislature for the governor to spend on functions,
Continue Reading DALLAS, Texas — Dallas resident DeAndre Upshaw said it was “very shocking” when he opened his latest electricity bill. “While I’m trying to get gas and groceries and make sure that my pipes don’t explode, the last thing I’m thinking about is a $7,000 bill from my utility company,” Upshaw told CNN via Skype Saturday.
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AUSTIN, Texas — Warmer temperatures spread across the southern United States on Saturday, bringing some relief to a winter weary region that faces a challenging clean-up and expensive repairs from days of extreme cold and widespread power outages. In hard-hit Texas, where millions were warned to boil tap water before drinking it, the warm-up was
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WASHINGTON, DC — The extreme winter weather that left residents of Texas and other Southern states shivering through an unseasonal cold spell is testing President Joe Biden’s disaster management skills. The White House announced Saturday that Biden had declared a major disaster in Texas, and he’s asked federal agencies to identify additional resources to address the
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — The Texas Legislature is considering two bills related to transgender medical and healthcare that propose potential bans. House Bill 1399 discourages doctors by prohibiting professional liability insurance from covering transition related care. While House Bill 68 proposes that any medical or mental health professional that performs transition related health care would
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — A Democrat-led Legislature in New Mexico pushed forward Friday to ensure future access to abortions by voting to repeal a dormant ban on most abortion procedures, marking a defiant counterpoint to efforts in some conservative states. House legislators voted to approve the repeal of the 1969 statute that has gone
Continue Reading HOUSTON, Texas — While Sen. Ted Cruz was dealing with the fallout from his trip to Cancun, two of his Democratic political nemeses — Beto O’Rourke and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — raised money and offered resources to Texans hit hard by this week’s winter storm. Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic congresswoman from New York who has frequently
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