This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe CEO of a technology company that has been entrusted with state contact tracing efforts for Texans exposed to the coronavirus has claimed a doctorate he never got, according to a Houston-based podcast.Das Nobel, CEO of MTX Group Inc., says in an on LinkedIn that he has a “Doctorate of Management, Organizational Development and Leadership” from Colorado Technical University, and that he attended the school from 2008-2012.MTX was awarded a controversial $295 million contract to help the state track down people exposed to the...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe CEO of a technology company that has been entrusted with state contact tracing efforts for Texans exposed to the coronavirus has claimed a doctorate he never got, according to a Houston-based podcast.Das Nobel, CEO of MTX Group Inc., says in an on LinkedIn that he has a “Doctorate of Management, Organizational Development and Leadership” from Colorado Technical University, and that he attended the school from 2008-2012.MTX was awarded a controversial $295 million contract to help the state track down people exposed to the...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThree weeks after it stood out as the urban exception to the state’s spiking COVID-19 crisis, the Houston region has begun seeing a significant increase in cases and hospitalizations.The upturn, which began two weeks ago and accelerated this week, comes a month after Gov. Greg Abbott began allowing businesses to reopen and a week and a half after the Memorial Day weekend, both of which health officials think led people to let their guard down and come into closer contact with others. The hike followed a roughly month-long plateau...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThree weeks after it stood out as the urban exception to the state’s spiking COVID-19 crisis, the Houston region has begun seeing a significant increase in cases and hospitalizations.The upturn, which began two weeks ago and accelerated this week, comes a month after Gov. Greg Abbott began allowing businesses to reopen and a week and a half after the Memorial Day weekend, both of which health officials think led people to let their guard down and come into closer contact with others. The hike followed a roughly month-long plateau...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateIn Houston, the largest medical campus in the world has exceeded its base intensive care capacity. In the Rio Grande Valley, elected officials pleaded last week for military intervention to avoid a “humanitarian crisis.” And in several major cities, testing sites are overrun, with appointments disappearing in minutes and hundreds waiting in line for hours.Eight weeks ago, the White House lauded Texas as a model for containing the COVID-19 pandemic.Now, Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to reopen the economy has unraveled as the state...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateIn Houston, the largest medical campus in the world has exceeded its base intensive care capacity. In the Rio Grande Valley, elected officials pleaded last week for military intervention to avoid a “humanitarian crisis.” And in several major cities, testing sites are overrun, with appointments disappearing in minutes and hundreds waiting in line for hours.Eight weeks ago, the White House lauded Texas as a model for containing the COVID-19 pandemic.Now, Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to reopen the economy has unraveled as the state...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateTexas lawmakers accused the state’s top utility regulator on Thursday of not doing enough to head off the winter power outages that killed dozens of Texans and left millions more in the dark last week.“I would contend you are choosing not to leverage the authority we have given you,” said Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe. “That is a serious problem.”Speaking on the first day of public hearings on the crisis, DeAnn Walker, chair of the Public Utility Commission, insisted that her agency has little effective power over the group...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateTexas lawmakers accused the state’s top utility regulator on Thursday of not doing enough to head off the winter power outages that killed dozens of Texans and left millions more in the dark last week.“I would contend you are choosing not to leverage the authority we have given you,” said Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe. “That is a serious problem.”Speaking on the first day of public hearings on the crisis, DeAnn Walker, chair of the Public Utility Commission, insisted that her agency has little effective power over the group...WW…

For the first time in Texas history, the state has a method, albeit limited, for voters to register online.The state was forced to set up the online voter registration system by a who ruled last month that Texas officials were violating the National Voter Registration Act by denying residents a chance to register to vote anytime they apply for, renew or update their driver’s licenses. The deadline for the state to set up the online registration portal was Wednesday.While the online voter registration is available only to that particular population, the fact it was created at all is a...…For the first time in Texas history, the state has a method, albeit limited, for voters to register online.The state was forced to set up the online voter registration system by a who ruled last month that Texas officials were violating the National Voter Registration Act by denying residents a chance to register to vote anytime they apply for, renew or update their driver’s licenses. The deadline for the state to set up the online registration portal was Wednesday.While the online voter registration is available only to that particular population, the fact it was created at all is a...WW…

Texas Republicans have been swift to condemn the Biden administration for rescinding early approval of a multibillion dollar Medicaid program that would help fund emergency care for the state’s booming uninsured population through 2030.Gov. Greg Abbott said the federal government was “deliberately betraying Texans.”Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to “use every legal tool available to regain the assistance Texans need.”But the decision could end up being one of the biggest steps yet to extend government health coverage to low-income people in Texas since the Affordable Care Act, according...…Texas Republicans have been swift to condemn the Biden administration for rescinding early approval of a multibillion dollar Medicaid program that would help fund emergency care for the state’s booming uninsured population through 2030.Gov. Greg Abbott said the federal government was “deliberately betraying Texans.”Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to “use every legal tool available to regain the assistance Texans need.”But the decision could end up being one of the biggest steps yet to extend government health coverage to low-income people in Texas since the Affordable Care Act, according...WW…

Gov. Greg Abbott declined on Monday to throw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ opening home game, escalating a public spat with prominent sports and corporate leaders over new Republican-backed voter restrictions in several red states.“It is shameful that America’s pastime is not only being influenced by partisan political politics, but also perpetuating false political narratives,” Abbott, a Republican, wrote in a letter to the team’s chief operating officer.MLB had announced Friday it was moving its annual All-Star game and draft out of Georgia in response to the first major...…Gov. Greg Abbott declined on Monday to throw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ opening home game, escalating a public spat with prominent sports and corporate leaders over new Republican-backed voter restrictions in several red states.“It is shameful that America’s pastime is not only being influenced by partisan political politics, but also perpetuating false political narratives,” Abbott, a Republican, wrote in a letter to the team’s chief operating officer.MLB had announced Friday it was moving its annual All-Star game and draft out of Georgia in response to the first major...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateFour months ago, Gov. Greg Abbott was facing the toughest stretch of his political career. Coronavirus infections were surging across Texas, factions of his political party were openly revolting against his response, and for the first time since taking office, it seemed as though the state’s most popular Republican was suddenly not so popular.But after helping the GOP dominate this month in a slew of contentious state House races, the governor appears to have emerged unscathed, with whispers from fellow Republicans about a run for...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateFour months ago, Gov. Greg Abbott was facing the toughest stretch of his political career. Coronavirus infections were surging across Texas, factions of his political party were openly revolting against his response, and for the first time since taking office, it seemed as though the state’s most popular Republican was suddenly not so popular.But after helping the GOP dominate this month in a slew of contentious state House races, the governor appears to have emerged unscathed, with whispers from fellow Republicans about a run for...WW…

As millions of voters pour into polling stations across the state, a new study has found that Texas has the most restrictive voting process in the country, up from No. 46 in 2016.The findings, from researchers at Northern Illinois University, Jacksonville University and Wuhan University in China, looked at dozens of election laws to rank each state according to the time and effort it takes to vote in a presidential election. It includes both registering to vote and casting a ballot.Texas was rated highest for both the time and cost of voting. In particular, the state does not have...…As millions of voters pour into polling stations across the state, a new study has found that Texas has the most restrictive voting process in the country, up from No. 46 in 2016.The findings, from researchers at Northern Illinois University, Jacksonville University and Wuhan University in China, looked at dozens of election laws to rank each state according to the time and effort it takes to vote in a presidential election. It includes both registering to vote and casting a ballot.Texas was rated highest for both the time and cost of voting. In particular, the state does not have...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThroughout the coronavirus pandemic, state Rep. Gary Gates has worked hard to let constituents in Fort Bend County know he is there for them in a moment of crisis.The freshman lawmaker, a Republican who won a hotly contested runoff election in January and is on the ballot again this fall, began buying up hand sanitizer and protective gear and handing them out at high schools and through home deliveries. To date, he says he’s distributed about 15,000 kits across the district, all of them paid for out of his own pocket.But as the...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThroughout the coronavirus pandemic, state Rep. Gary Gates has worked hard to let constituents in Fort Bend County know he is there for them in a moment of crisis.The freshman lawmaker, a Republican who won a hotly contested runoff election in January and is on the ballot again this fall, began buying up hand sanitizer and protective gear and handing them out at high schools and through home deliveries. To date, he says he’s distributed about 15,000 kits across the district, all of them paid for out of his own pocket.But as the...WW…