WEATHER ALERT
An election about elections: A South Texas town asks itself who should run voting operations
Read full article: An election about elections: A South Texas town asks itself who should run voting operationsThe Rio Grande City mayor and two of his fellow commissioners proposed the changes, claiming the city secretary mishandled their election.
State Rep. Ryan Guillen finds himself in the middle of the action in his first term as a Republican
Read full article: State Rep. Ryan Guillen finds himself in the middle of the action in his first term as a RepublicanThe longtime Rio Grande City representative, who switched parties in 2021, has played a key role in gun and immigration legislation this year.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigation finds multiple failings in the death of 8-year-old girl in federal custody
Read full article: U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigation finds multiple failings in the death of 8-year-old girl in federal custodyAfter discovering that contracted medical staff ignored the mother’s pleas to take the girl to the hospital as her condition declined, the federal agency said it is taking action to ensure an in-custody death “never happens again.”
Brother of former Gulf Cartel leader sentenced to 15 years in prison for distributing more than 400 kilos of cocaine
Read full article: Brother of former Gulf Cartel leader sentenced to 15 years in prison for distributing more than 400 kilos of cocaineA 39-year-old South Texas man was sentenced for his role in a cocaine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
How reproductive rights groups sounded the alarm after a South Texas woman was charged with murder for an abortion
Read full article: How reproductive rights groups sounded the alarm after a South Texas woman was charged with murder for an abortionThe Rio Grande Valley, often seen as a reliable vote against abortion, has a long history of advocacy to increase access to the procedure.
Abbott, O'Rourke lead off election year with visits to border cities
Read full article: Abbott, O'Rourke lead off election year with visits to border citiesThe Republican governor officially announced his reelection campaign Saturday in McAllen, while likely Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke campaigned in El Paso.
GOP expands effort for South Texas dominance to local races
Read full article: GOP expands effort for South Texas dominance to local racesIn the weeks before the December filing deadline to run in the March primary election, Project Red Texas traveled South Texas to recruit candidates to run for county offices. The group ended up helping get 125 candidates on the ballot across 25 counties.
Border mayors, county judges ask feds to pause release of migrants
Read full article: Border mayors, county judges ask feds to pause release of migrantsDemocratic Congressman from Laredo, Henry Cuellar helped lead a meeting between several south Texas community leaders and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Business leaders on Texas-Mexico border say state politicians ignore community needs while calling for a wall
Read full article: Business leaders on Texas-Mexico border say state politicians ignore community needs while calling for a wallMany local officials and business leaders along the border say that the rhetoric is misplaced and that the broader needs of their communities can often get lost.
Texas deploys more help to hard-hit border as COVID-19 deaths mount
Read full article: Texas deploys more help to hard-hit border as COVID-19 deaths mountFILE - In this July 27, 2020, file photo, notes to medical personnel are hung in an area as they prepare to ender a COVID-19 unit at Starr County Memorial Hospital in Rio Grande City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A raging coronavirus outbreak in Laredo, now one of the biggest hotspots in the U.S., is leading to hundreds of new cases a day around the border city as Texas again reported more than 400 new COVID-19 deaths Friday. Overall hospitalizations in Texas continued showing potential signs of stabilizing, but the rising toll of new deaths continued to be the worst since the pandemic began. More than 1,200 new deaths have been reported in the past three days alone as January is already set to go down as the deadliest month of the pandemic in Texas. Abbott said Laredo has received more than 29,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
Daily US virus deaths decline, but trend may reverse in fall
Read full article: Daily US virus deaths decline, but trend may reverse in fallThe U.S. has seen two distinct peaks in daily deaths. Then, over the summer, outbreaks in Texas, California and Florida drove daily deaths to a second peak of 1,138 on Aug. 1. That's down about 25% from two weeks ago but still not low enough to match the early July low of about 500 daily deaths, according to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Two weeks later, the state reached its highest seven-day average in daily reported deaths. She noted that daily deaths are still rising in some metro areas, including Memphis, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Jose.