In the wake of Hurricane Beryl, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has announced the creation of a Senate Special Committee on Hurricane and Tropical Storm Preparedness, Recovery, and Electricity.

On Tuesday, March 23, 2021, federal safety officials said tougher regulations are needed for air tour operators and hot-air balloon rides. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)Federal safety officials are making another push for stricter oversight of air tour operators and hot-air balloon rides after several deadly crashes in recent years. Safety board members said some of the operators exploit loopholes in FAA regulations to avoid stricter oversight. NTSB members said, however, those steps aren't enough and that some tour operators evade closer monitoring by how they describe their flights. The NTSB blamed poor decision-making by the pilot as the probable cause of the balloon crash, the worst U.S. aviation accident since 2009.

Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, during a Senate Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on June 23, 2020. Rod Lamkey/CNP via REUTERSU.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has $14.5 million saved up for his reelection bid after raising $3.5 million in the second quarter of 2020, his campaign announced Monday. The figures come a day before a Democratic primary runoff will settle who faces Cornyn in November: MJ Hegar, the Air Force veteran backed by national Democrats, or Royce West, the longtime state senator from Dallas. Cornyn has regularly stayed ahead of his Democratic challengers in the money race as they have had to focus on their protracted nominating process. On their pre-runoff campaign finance reports covering all but the last several days of the second quarter Hegar reported raising $1.6 million and having $1.6 million cash on hand, while West said he took in $430,000 and had $160,000 in reserves.