In a Dallas news conference Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced several legislative proposals that would stiffen penalties for people participating in riots.Abbott invoked protests that turned violent in Dallas and elsewhere in Texas over the summer, and a move last month by the Austin City Council to reduce police funding, although unlike other recent proposals unveiled by Abbott, his ideas Thursday did not address the funding issue.The anti-rioting proposals are:Felony charges and mandatory jail time for causing injury or destroying property in a riot.A felony and mandatory minimum...… In a Dallas news conference Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced several legislative proposals that would stiffen penalties for people participating in riots.Abbott invoked protests that turned violent in Dallas and elsewhere in Texas over the summer, and a move last month by the Austin City Council to reduce police funding, although unlike other recent proposals unveiled by Abbott, his ideas Thursday did not address the funding issue.The anti-rioting proposals are:Felony charges and mandatory jail time for causing injury or destroying property in a riot.A felony and mandatory minimum...WW…

Chuck LindellView CommentsGov. Greg Abbott issued an order Thursday requiring counties to close multiple locations where voters can drop off completed mail-in ballots.As an election security measure, counties will be limited to one dropoff site where poll watchers — designated by political parties and candidates — must be allowed to observe ballot deliveries by voters, Abbott said.The new order takes effect Oct. 2 and modifies Abbott’s July 27 order that acknowledged the pandemic’s danger by adding six days of early voting and waiving a state law that limits mail-in ballot dropoff to...…Chuck LindellView CommentsGov. Greg Abbott issued an order Thursday requiring counties to close multiple locations where voters can drop off completed mail-in ballots.As an election security measure, counties will be limited to one dropoff site where poll watchers — designated by political parties and candidates — must be allowed to observe ballot deliveries by voters, Abbott said.The new order takes effect Oct. 2 and modifies Abbott’s July 27 order that acknowledged the pandemic’s danger by adding six days of early voting and waiving a state law that limits mail-in ballot dropoff to...WW…

 Texas state Sen. Kel Seliger tested positive for the coronavirus, he confirmed in a tweet Wednesday evening.Seliger, a 67-year-old Republican from Amarillo, represents Senate District 31, which stretches from the Panhandle to the Permian Basin."I have tested positive for COVID-19," Seliger tweeted. "I began to exhibit symptoms last night. I appreciate the well wishes while I diligently comply with isolation and contact tracing guidelines as put out by the Governor and CDC."I have tested positive for COVID-19. I began to exhibit symptoms last night. I appreciate the well wishes while I...… Texas state Sen. Kel Seliger tested positive for the coronavirus, he confirmed in a tweet Wednesday evening.Seliger, a 67-year-old Republican from Amarillo, represents Senate District 31, which stretches from the Panhandle to the Permian Basin."I have tested positive for COVID-19," Seliger tweeted. "I began to exhibit symptoms last night. I appreciate the well wishes while I diligently comply with isolation and contact tracing guidelines as put out by the Governor and CDC."I have tested positive for COVID-19. I began to exhibit symptoms last night. I appreciate the well wishes while I...WW…

 The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending an additional 14 refrigerated mortuary trucks to Texas as the state grapples with a rising number of coronavirus-related deaths, with state health officials reporting a record 174 new fatalities Friday.Seth Christensen, a Texas Division of Emergency Management spokesman, said the trucks aren’t immediately needed, but the agency wanted to be prepared in case COVID-19 deaths continue to surge."The 14 on their way are purely for planning purposes," Christensen told the American-Statesman on Friday, adding that the state requested...… The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending an additional 14 refrigerated mortuary trucks to Texas as the state grapples with a rising number of coronavirus-related deaths, with state health officials reporting a record 174 new fatalities Friday.Seth Christensen, a Texas Division of Emergency Management spokesman, said the trucks aren’t immediately needed, but the agency wanted to be prepared in case COVID-19 deaths continue to surge."The 14 on their way are purely for planning purposes," Christensen told the American-Statesman on Friday, adding that the state requested...WW…

 The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending an additional 14 refrigerated mortuary trucks to Texas as the state grapples with a rising number of coronavirus-related deaths, with state health officials reporting a record 174 new fatalities Friday.Seth Christensen, a Texas Division of Emergency Management spokesman, said the trucks aren’t immediately needed, but the agency wanted to be prepared in case COVID-19 deaths continue to surge."The 14 on their way are purely for planning purposes," Christensen told the American-Statesman on Friday, adding that the state requested...… The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending an additional 14 refrigerated mortuary trucks to Texas as the state grapples with a rising number of coronavirus-related deaths, with state health officials reporting a record 174 new fatalities Friday.Seth Christensen, a Texas Division of Emergency Management spokesman, said the trucks aren’t immediately needed, but the agency wanted to be prepared in case COVID-19 deaths continue to surge."The 14 on their way are purely for planning purposes," Christensen told the American-Statesman on Friday, adding that the state requested...WW…

Nicole Cobler, and Nicole VillalpandoView CommentsAs Texas saw its eighth consecutive day of record COVID-19 hospitalizations Friday, Austin-area officials began preparing for the possibility — considered remote but growing — that a field hospital might be needed to handle overflow patients.The Austin Convention Center would be converted into an alternative care site if hospitals become overwhelmed, said former Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, a key decision maker in local efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus,“Here’s hoping we never need an alternative care site, but if we do,...…Nicole Cobler, and Nicole VillalpandoView CommentsAs Texas saw its eighth consecutive day of record COVID-19 hospitalizations Friday, Austin-area officials began preparing for the possibility — considered remote but growing — that a field hospital might be needed to handle overflow patients.The Austin Convention Center would be converted into an alternative care site if hospitals become overwhelmed, said former Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, a key decision maker in local efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus,“Here’s hoping we never need an alternative care site, but if we do,...WW…

Nicole Coblerncobler@statesman.comView CommentsGov. Greg Abbott scolded Texans in their 20s for letting their guard down, saying they’ve refused to wear face masks or practice social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19.“What we’re seeing there is that people of that age group, they’re not following these appropriate best health and safety practices,” he said in an interview Monday with Lubbock’s KLBK-TV. “They’re not wearing face masks, they’re not sanitizing their hands, they’re not maintaining the safe distancing practices. And as a result, they are contracting COVID-19 at a record...…Nicole Coblerncobler@statesman.comView CommentsGov. Greg Abbott scolded Texans in their 20s for letting their guard down, saying they’ve refused to wear face masks or practice social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19.“What we’re seeing there is that people of that age group, they’re not following these appropriate best health and safety practices,” he said in an interview Monday with Lubbock’s KLBK-TV. “They’re not wearing face masks, they’re not sanitizing their hands, they’re not maintaining the safe distancing practices. And as a result, they are contracting COVID-19 at a record...WW…

Nicole Cobler / ncobler@statesman.comView CommentsOne day after an Austin man sued U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in federal court for banning him from Cornyn’s Twitter feed, the Texas Republican unblocked him Friday.Tod Beardsley, the director of research at Massachusetts-based cybersecurity firm Rapid7, argued that Cornyn engaged in “viewpoint-based discrimination and censorship” on a public forum.But after the American-Statesman contacted Cornyn’s office for comment, a spokesman for the senator said Beardsley was “inadvertently” blocked. By Friday afternoon, Beardsley was able to access Cornyn’s...…Nicole Cobler / ncobler@statesman.comView CommentsOne day after an Austin man sued U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in federal court for banning him from Cornyn’s Twitter feed, the Texas Republican unblocked him Friday.Tod Beardsley, the director of research at Massachusetts-based cybersecurity firm Rapid7, argued that Cornyn engaged in “viewpoint-based discrimination and censorship” on a public forum.But after the American-Statesman contacted Cornyn’s office for comment, a spokesman for the senator said Beardsley was “inadvertently” blocked. By Friday afternoon, Beardsley was able to access Cornyn’s...WW…

Nicole Cobler, ncobler@statesman.comView CommentsState health officials reported 58 new deaths related to the coronavirus and 1,448 new cases Thursday, the highest single-day increase for both numbers.The record number of fatalities brings the statewide death toll from the coronavirus to 1,216, according to the latest data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The previous high was 50 new deaths on April 30.The new cases Thursday marked the seventh day in a row that Texas saw more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day, bringing the total number of known cases to 43,851....…Nicole Cobler, ncobler@statesman.comView CommentsState health officials reported 58 new deaths related to the coronavirus and 1,448 new cases Thursday, the highest single-day increase for both numbers.The record number of fatalities brings the statewide death toll from the coronavirus to 1,216, according to the latest data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The previous high was 50 new deaths on April 30.The new cases Thursday marked the seventh day in a row that Texas saw more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day, bringing the total number of known cases to 43,851....WW…

Nicole Cobler, ncobler@statesman.comView CommentsPete Buttigieg, the former Democratic presidential candidate, endorsed MJ Hegar in her bid for U.S. Senate on Monday.In a fundraising email to Hegar supporters, Buttigieg said there is “so much at stake this November” as Democrats aim to retake the Senate.“Texas is the biggest battleground state in this election, and MJ Hegar can win it,“ he said in the fundraising email.“A lot of career politicians like Sen. Cornyn treat service as just another word for politics as usual, one partisan press release or Capitol Hill meeting at a time,” he...…Nicole Cobler, ncobler@statesman.comView CommentsPete Buttigieg, the former Democratic presidential candidate, endorsed MJ Hegar in her bid for U.S. Senate on Monday.In a fundraising email to Hegar supporters, Buttigieg said there is “so much at stake this November” as Democrats aim to retake the Senate.“Texas is the biggest battleground state in this election, and MJ Hegar can win it,“ he said in the fundraising email.“A lot of career politicians like Sen. Cornyn treat service as just another word for politics as usual, one partisan press release or Capitol Hill meeting at a time,” he...WW…