Tag Archives: Texas

The San Angelo Standard-Times reports: The battle between public health and personal freedom is a familiar one in Tom Green County, of which San Angelo resident Caleb Wallace took an active role. On July 4, 2020, Caleb helped organize “The Freedom Rally.” A flyer for the event called it a peaceful protest by people “sick of the government being in …

McClatchy News reports: The Texas Poison Center Network has received dozens of calls this month about people exposed to ivermectin, an animal dewormer some are using for COVID-19 treatment. But the drug, which is flying off the shelves in many parts of the United States, is not a suitable treatment and health organizations are warning against its improper use. “Patients …

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: A Texas man stripped during a contentious school board meeting to make a point about wearing masks, causing a stir in the small town of Dripping Springs. When James Akers first approached the microphone for his allotted 90 seconds to speak before the board and the socially-distanced audience gathered in the auditorium, he was fully …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced an executive order banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates regardless of a vaccine’s approval status with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He also said he was adding the issue to the agenda for the current special session of the Texas Legislature. The order comes two days after the FDA granted full …

The Christian Post reports: A former Texas pastor has been sentenced to 30 years of federal prison after he pleaded guilty to using hidden cameras to record sexually explicit material of underage children at church and other locations. David Pettigrew, ex-pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Denison, Texas, was sentenced to 360 months in prison by U.S. District …

Click2Houston reports: The National Rifle Association announced Tuesday that it has canceled its annual meeting, which was set to be held in Houston next weekend, due to COVID-19 concerns. “Due to concern over the safety of our NRA family and community, we regret to inform you that we have decided to cancel the 2021 Annual Meeting and exhibits. The cancellation …

The Houston Chronicle reports: Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Monday jumped into the middle of the debate over mask mandates in public schools by trying to sell state officials on a product from a company in which he has a financial interest. The Republican led a nearly hour-long press conference a the Texas Capitol on Monday that sounded more …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he has now tested negative for COVID-19, four days after testing positive for the virus. “I am told that my infection was brief and mild because of the vaccination I received,” Abbott said in a video he posted on Twitter Saturday afternoon. “So, I encourage others who have not yet received …

Dallas’s NBC News affiliate reports: The wife of Republican Texas gubernatorial candidate Allen West was arrested Friday night on suspicion of driving while intoxicated while her grandson was in the car. Angela West was booked into the Dallas County jail on a charge of driving while intoxicated with a child under 15 years of age, according to a police report. …

The Dallas Morning News reports: A Texas soldier has been charged in federal court in Fort Worth with selling bogus COVID-19 vaccination cards on Instagram, federal court records show. Even as airlines, gyms, restaurants and other businesses refuse to accept unvaccinated customers, some remain reluctant to get the shot. That has fueled a growing black market for bogus COVID-19 vaccination …

Politico reports: Enforcement in the state’s public school systems of Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates has been dropped, for now, the Texas Education Agency said late Thursday. In a public health guidance letter, the TEA said enforcement was being dropped because of ongoing court challenges to the ban. The letter said the new guidance is effective immediately and …

“The COVID is spreading, particularly — most of the numbers are with the unvaccinated. And the Democrats like to blame Republicans for that. Well, the biggest group in most states are African Americans who have not been vaccinated. Last time I checked, more than 90% of them vote for Democrats in their major cities and major counties.” – Texas Lt. …

The Guardian reports: After a 38-day walkout,  the Texas House now has the required two-thirds of members necessary for a quorum to conduct legislative business, and Republicans have already scheduled a hearing on the voting bill for Saturday. The standoff reached a tipping point last week after Republicans authorized law enforcement to find and arrest their missing Democratic colleagues and …

The San Antonio Current reports: As legal battles intensify between Gov. Greg Abbott and municipalities who push back against his order banning local mask mandates, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking Texans to rat out local officials. In a Thursday tweet, Paxton’s office urged residents to email a dedicated account to let staff there know “if your local entity …

The Texas Tribune reports: The all-Republican court sided with Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan — and ordered a Travis County district judge to revoke his temporary restraining order blocking the civil arrest of Democratic lawmakers whose absences have denied the chamber the number of present members needed to move any legislation. “The legal question before this Court …

Via press release from Abbott spokesman Mark Miner: Governor Greg Abbott today tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The Governor has been testing daily, and today was the first positive test result. Governor Abbott is in constant communication with his staff, agency heads, and government officials to ensure that state government continues to operate smoothly and efficiently. The Governor will …

The Washington Post reports: Texas health officials have requested five mortuary trailers from the federal government in anticipation of a possible spike in deaths brought about by surging coronavirus numbers in the state. The Texas Department of State Health Services made a request through the Texas Division of Emergency Management to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for five mortuary trailers, …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Supreme Court will decide whether the mask mandates school districts have imposed, in defiance of Gov. Greg Abbott, can move forward. Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a tweet that he has taken the mask mandate fight to the state Supreme Court, and Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee tweeted Saturday that the court …

From the Dallas Morning News editorial board: Babies hooked to ventilators. Overflow tents pitched outside of hospitals. Parents fretting that sending their kids to school might become an intolerable risk. A plateau in vaccination rates and the more contagious delta variant were just the recipe to send cases skyrocketing again. The Dallas-Fort Worth region has swung from a low of …

Religion News Service reports: A Texas death-row inmate has sued state prison officials to allow his pastor to lay hands on him as he dies from a lethal injection. John Henry Ramirez, 37, is scheduled to be put to death in the Texas death chamber on Sept. 8, but his attorneys said in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Corpus …