WEATHER ALERTTags: Sign up for our NewslettersTags: One evening last week, after making one of his most consequential decisions yet in Texas’ response to the coronavirus, Gov. settled in for his pandemic routine: a rapid-fire round of local TV interviews from his campaign’s satellite studio in Austin.In the hours since he’d issued a statewide mask mandate, Abbott had taken a familiar shellacking from both sides of the aisle: the Democrats who had wanted the mask requirement weeks earlier, and some Republicans who had not wanted it at all.An anchor with KIII in Corpus Christi...…WEATHER ALERTTags: Sign up for our NewslettersTags: One evening last week, after making one of his most consequential decisions yet in Texas’ response to the coronavirus, Gov. settled in for his pandemic routine: a rapid-fire round of local TV interviews from his campaign’s satellite studio in Austin.In the hours since he’d issued a statewide mask mandate, Abbott had taken a familiar shellacking from both sides of the aisle: the Democrats who had wanted the mask requirement weeks earlier, and some Republicans who had not wanted it at all.An anchor with KIII in Corpus Christi...WW…

WEATHER ALERTTags: Sign up for our NewslettersTags: A coronavirus patient in Anahuac was flown by helicopter to a hospital in El Campo — 120 miles away — because closer facilities could not take him.Ambulances are waiting up to 10 hours to deliver patients to packed Hidalgo County emergency rooms.And short-staffed hospitals in Midland and Odessa have had to turn away ailing COVID-19 patients from rural West Texas facilities that can’t offer the care they need.As the tally of coronavirus infections climbs higher each day, Texas hospitals are taking extraordinary steps to make space...…WEATHER ALERTTags: Sign up for our NewslettersTags: A coronavirus patient in Anahuac was flown by helicopter to a hospital in El Campo — 120 miles away — because closer facilities could not take him.Ambulances are waiting up to 10 hours to deliver patients to packed Hidalgo County emergency rooms.And short-staffed hospitals in Midland and Odessa have had to turn away ailing COVID-19 patients from rural West Texas facilities that can’t offer the care they need.As the tally of coronavirus infections climbs higher each day, Texas hospitals are taking extraordinary steps to make space...WW…

WEATHER ALERTTags: Sign up for our NewslettersTags:  and proceedings can resume in Texas next week, the Texas Supreme Court has ordered, after the court temporarily put both on hold during the coronavirus pandemic.Eviction hearings as soon as May 19, with orders authorizing evictions allowed starting May 26. That does not apply to certain tenants who are protected through the federal , in homes covered by federally backed mortgages.Similarly, debt collectors with a judgment bank accounts. starting later this month.The state’s highest civil court had put holds as Texans contend...…WEATHER ALERTTags: Sign up for our NewslettersTags:  and proceedings can resume in Texas next week, the Texas Supreme Court has ordered, after the court temporarily put both on hold during the coronavirus pandemic.Eviction hearings as soon as May 19, with orders authorizing evictions allowed starting May 26. That does not apply to certain tenants who are protected through the federal , in homes covered by federally backed mortgages.Similarly, debt collectors with a judgment bank accounts. starting later this month.The state’s highest civil court had put holds as Texans contend...WW…

Need to stay updated on coronavirus news in Texas? Our evening roundup will help you stay on top of the day's latest updates.Faced with the threat that the state might slash its vaccine allocation, Dallas officials on Wednesday reversed course on a plan that would have prioritized doses for people living in the county’s most vulnerable ZIP codes, primarily in communities of color.A divided Dallas County Commissioners Court had to prioritize vaccines at its Fair Park distribution center for individuals in mostly Black and Latino neighborhoods, a reflection of increased vulnerability to the...…Need to stay updated on coronavirus news in Texas? Our evening roundup will help you stay on top of the day's latest updates.Faced with the threat that the state might slash its vaccine allocation, Dallas officials on Wednesday reversed course on a plan that would have prioritized doses for people living in the county’s most vulnerable ZIP codes, primarily in communities of color.A divided Dallas County Commissioners Court had to prioritize vaccines at its Fair Park distribution center for individuals in mostly Black and Latino neighborhoods, a reflection of increased vulnerability to the...WW…

, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.Democrats are headed back to the White House, and Texas Republicans are gearing up to go back on offense.For eight years under President Barack Obama, Texas was a conservative counterweight to a progressive administration, with its Republican leaders campaigning against liberal policies on immigration, the environment and health care and lobbing lawsuit after federal lawsuit challenging scores of Democratic initiatives. When Republicans could not block policies in Congress, they sometimes could in the...…, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.Democrats are headed back to the White House, and Texas Republicans are gearing up to go back on offense.For eight years under President Barack Obama, Texas was a conservative counterweight to a progressive administration, with its Republican leaders campaigning against liberal policies on immigration, the environment and health care and lobbing lawsuit after federal lawsuit challenging scores of Democratic initiatives. When Republicans could not block policies in Congress, they sometimes could in the...WW…

The Texas attorney general’s office is attempting to fight off efforts by four former aides to take depositions and issue subpoenas in their lawsuit claiming they were illegally fired after telling authorities they believed Attorney General was breaking the law.The agency is arguing that Paxton is “not a public employee,” and thus the office cannot be sued under the Texas Whistleblower Act, which aims to protect government workers from retaliation when they report superiors for breaking the law.Four former Paxton aides claim they were fired in retaliation for telling authorities they...…The Texas attorney general’s office is attempting to fight off efforts by four former aides to take depositions and issue subpoenas in their lawsuit claiming they were illegally fired after telling authorities they believed Attorney General was breaking the law.The agency is arguing that Paxton is “not a public employee,” and thus the office cannot be sued under the Texas Whistleblower Act, which aims to protect government workers from retaliation when they report superiors for breaking the law.Four former Paxton aides claim they were fired in retaliation for telling authorities they...WW…

WEATHER ALERTTags: Sign up for our NewslettersTags: , our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.On Wednesday morning, in front of a roaring crowd, reminding a sea of President Donald Trump’s supporters that the president “is a fighter” and his backers must be, too.“We’re here. We will not quit fighting,” he said, slamming Republican officials in Georgia who have stood by Joe Biden’s victory there. “We are Texans, we are Americans, and we’re not quitting.”But by the evening — after members of the crowd he had invited to Washington, D.C....…WEATHER ALERTTags: Sign up for our NewslettersTags: , our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.On Wednesday morning, in front of a roaring crowd, reminding a sea of President Donald Trump’s supporters that the president “is a fighter” and his backers must be, too.“We’re here. We will not quit fighting,” he said, slamming Republican officials in Georgia who have stood by Joe Biden’s victory there. “We are Texans, we are Americans, and we’re not quitting.”But by the evening — after members of the crowd he had invited to Washington, D.C....WW…

Texas looks unlikely to change its controversial partisan election system for judges — even after a commission studying the issue recommended ending the practice.On an 8–7 vote, the 15-member group recommended that the Legislature change the longstanding method in the state, which requires judges to run with a political party, often collecting campaign checks from the very lawyers, businesses and lobbyists whose cases land before their courts. But the group did not overwhelmingly back a replacement system.For decades, critics including former judges have pointed out that the system allows...…Texas looks unlikely to change its controversial partisan election system for judges — even after a commission studying the issue recommended ending the practice.On an 8–7 vote, the 15-member group recommended that the Legislature change the longstanding method in the state, which requires judges to run with a political party, often collecting campaign checks from the very lawyers, businesses and lobbyists whose cases land before their courts. But the group did not overwhelmingly back a replacement system.For decades, critics including former judges have pointed out that the system allows...WW…

Texas Attorney General in May urged the Trump administration to that Harris County planned to use for mail-in ballots, as Republican state leaders and Democratic local officials were sparring over whether and how to expand voting options during the pandemic.In a May 21 letter, Paxton alerted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin of Harris County’s “stated intent to use federal funding in violation of state law,” and asked him to “seek return of any amounts improperly spent on efforts to promote illegal mail-in voting.”“Without implementing adequate protections against unlawful abuse of mail-in...…Texas Attorney General in May urged the Trump administration to that Harris County planned to use for mail-in ballots, as Republican state leaders and Democratic local officials were sparring over whether and how to expand voting options during the pandemic.In a May 21 letter, Paxton alerted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin of Harris County’s “stated intent to use federal funding in violation of state law,” and asked him to “seek return of any amounts improperly spent on efforts to promote illegal mail-in voting.”“Without implementing adequate protections against unlawful abuse of mail-in...WW…