EL PASO, Texas — Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has ordered a leadership shake-up at the Ambrosio Guillen Texas State Veterans Home in northeast El Paso, hours after an El Paso Matters report raised questions about the Covid-19 death of a World War II veteran at the nursing home. “Over the past several months, we
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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Two of the Republican Party’s rising stars, both people of color, offered an optimistic view of President Donald Trump’s leadership on Monday night, closing the opening night of the GOP’s scaled-back convention with a positive message at odds with the dark warnings that dominated much of the night. While other Republicans
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EL PASO, Texas — The former chair of the Republican Party in El Paso will represent the Sun City at the Republican National Convention this week. “It is outstanding for the city of El Paso to have a representative at the national convention to nominate our existing president,” said Adolpho Telles, who is on the
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WASHINGTON, DC — Former Vice President Joe Biden said in an exclusive interview with ABC News on Friday that as president, he would shut the country down to stop the spread of Covid-19 if the move was recommended to him by scientists. “I would shut it down; I would listen to the scientists,” Biden said Friday, sitting alongside
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WILMINGTON, Delaware — Joe Biden vowed to unite an America torn by crisis and contempt Thursday night, accepting the Democratic presidential nomination and achieving a pinnacle in an unfinished quest that has spanned three decades and been marred by personal tragedy, political stumbles and more dynamic rivals. The past hurdles fell away as Biden addressed
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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas on Thursday joined the growing list of states that will pursue President Donald Trump’s plan to offer a stripped-down boost in unemployment benefits to millions of Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Greg Abbott announced that Texas will apply for federal grants allowing the state to increase unemployment checks by $300. An Associated
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MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Kamala Harris made history Wednesday night as the first Black woman to accept a spot on a major party’s presidential ticket. In her highly anticipated address capping the third night of the virtual Democratic National Convention, Harris mixed her polish as a former prosecutor with deeply personal tales of her upbringing to
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – Steve Pearce is a former two-term representative to New Mexico who is now State Chairman of the Republican Party. Wednesday, I spoke with Pearce about next week’s Republican National Convention and other topics during a live interview on ABC-7 at Four. I started by asking him what message the Republican
Continue Reading MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee Tuesday night, as party officials and activists from across the nation gave the former vice president their overwhelming support during his party’s all-virtual national convention. The moment marked a political high point for Biden, who had sought the presidency twice before. At
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday proposed punishing cities that cut police funding by freezing property tax revenue, the main funding source for local government services including schools, roads and law enforcement. Other top Texas Republicans joined Abbott in announcing what they promised would be a priority during the 2021 legislative session.
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EL PASO, Texas — Texas Democrats, and more specifically El Paso Democrats, are playing roles in the 2020 Democratic National Convention. But one says he’s frustrated with the lack of representation on the national stage. Former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke made an appearance Monday on night one in a video showcasing the large group
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AUSTIN, Texas — In response to a letter by Democratic state senators urging the removal of Confederate monuments and symbols at the Texas Capitol, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick this week blamed Democrats for past discrimination in the state and said the party is not committed to a “sincere” or “serious conversation” about the future of the monuments.
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WASHINGTON, DC — Embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy reversed course Tuesday, saying that all changes being made to the Postal Service would be suspended until after the November 3 election, just as 20 states – including New Mexico – announced plans to file federal lawsuits. DeJoy said that some of the deferred decisions mean that
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MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Democrats opened their mostly virtual convention in Milwaukee Monday evening under the theme of unity, with speakers who represented both the party’s progressive and traditional platforms. RELATED STORY: Opening night convention summaryUsually, political conventions are painstakingly choreographed live productions that are planned years in advance. But the coronavirus pandemic has reduced the
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — The U.S. Census deadline has been cut from Oct. 31 to Sept. 30 as the Census Bureau looks to accelerate the completion of data collection by the statutory deadline of Dec. 31. “I can’t stress enough how important the census is to fill out, this isn’t even a political issue this
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WASHINGTON, DC — A welcome reception for Sen. Kamala Harris and rising enthusiasm for Joe Biden mark President Donald Trump’s challenges in the 2020 election, as do two realities on the ground: just 14% of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say the coronavirus pandemic is under control, and two-thirds say the economy is
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — More Americans approve than disapprove of Joe Biden’s choice of U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris for the 2020 Democratic ticket by a 25-point margin, 54-29%, in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday. Approval of the pick ranges from 86-8% among Democrats to 25-55% among Republicans — notable that one in four Republicans approves.
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — The New Mexico Civil Rights Commission is now fully staffed following announcements this week from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Legislative Council that they had named the members of the nine-member group. The Legislative Council appointed six members including attorney Gerald Byers, Dona Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart and lawyer Denise Torres, all
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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — Democratic U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small and Republican challenger Yvette Herrell have agreed to at least two televised debates in a closely watched race in southern New Mexico. Torres Small and Herrell said this week they agreed to participate in debates sponsored by KOB-TV and KOAT-TV, both in Albuquerque. Both say they’d
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli were named to their current roles in violation of the Vacancies Reform Act, according to a finding by the Government Accountability Office – which is the investigative arm of Congress. Wolf’s predecessor, former acting DHS Secretary Kevin
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EL PASO, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott visited the Borderland Thursday to meet with local leaders to discuss the coronavirus situation after Texas surpassed 9,000 deaths and El Paso reported its deadliest day of the pandemic. Afterwards, the governor briefly visited the Grand Candela memorial to honor the 23 victims of the Cielo Vista Walmart
Continue Reading SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico is saying yes to President Donald Trump’s offer to extend a weekly federal supplement to unemployment benefits — without increasing the state’s standard payout as suggested. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham confirmed on Thursday that the state has submitted an application to the U.S. government that would provide an
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her cabinet on Thursday unveiled new criteria to be met before more re-openings of the economy can be considered. The target is a seven-day average of 168 new Covid-19 daily cases or less. Dr. David Scrase, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department, said the
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BEAUMONT, Texas — Texas surpassed 500,000 confirmed coronavirus cases Tuesday as Gov. Greg Abbott suggested family and neighborhood gatherings are behind a sharp rise in the rate of positive tests, which has climbed to record levels just as schools are beginning to reopen across the state. Abbott, during a visit to two southeast Texas communities,
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EL PASO, Texas — While El Paso Mayor Dee Margo recently gave evaluations to the city’s two highest paid administrators that qualify them for more than $20,000 in combined raises, he said Tuesday that he’s urged the pair not to accept those payments come September. “Upon completion of evaluations for the City Manager and City
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WASHINGTON, DC — Former Vice President Joe Biden named his former campaign trail rival, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as his running mate on Tuesday. She will appear with Biden for the first time as his running mate at an event Wednesday near his home in Wilmington, Delaware. In announcing the pick, Biden called Harris a “fearless fighter for the
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UPDATE: Action on this item has now been delayed until a future meeting. No presentation or discussion will take place Tuesday, the item has been withdrawn from the agenda. ORIGINAL REPORT: EL PASO, Texas — El Paso Independent School District trustees will meet Tuesday to consider placing on the November ballot a new bond measure
Continue Reading AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is advising that local Texas governments’ attempts to delay evictions for renters grappling with the Covid-19 recession amounted to rewriting state law — something they can’t do, he said in non-binding legal guidance. “While local officials do possess certain emergency powers … statewide eviction procedures far exceed the requirement that
Continue Reading History professor Allan Lichtman is used to being right. He has correctly predicted the winner of each presidential race since Ronald Reagan’s reelection victory in 1984 using his “13 keys” system. (It’s worth mentioning that in 2000, Lichtman predicted that Al Gore would win the election. Although Gore won the popular vote, he ultimately lost
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WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. intelligence officials believe that Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ahead of the November election and that individuals linked to the Kremlin are boosting President Donald Trump’s reelection bid. That’s according to a rare public statement Friday from the country’s counterintelligence chief, William
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