Category Archives: National news

A brief history of shield laws

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a long and detailed story about abortion shield laws and the significant effect they’ve had on abortion access post-Dobbs. You should read the whole thing but I wanted to focus on this bit from Texas that I had not … Continue reading →

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First attempt to regulate prediction markets

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but it has had some effect and is worth keeping an eye on. After two United States senators introduced a bipartisan bill on Monday aimed at banning sports futures on prediction markets, Kalshi and … Continue reading →

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The Home Team Act

Posted on March 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I’m listening. Progressives on Capitol Hill want to make it harder for professional sports teams to jump to a new city, citing “billionaire” team owners who they say leverage relocation threats for big public subsidies. The so-called Home Team Act, … Continue reading →

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Colorado takes up the mid-decade redistricting challenge

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This one’s a little different, but the concept is the same. A new Democratic-backed group unexpectedly announced on Wednesday that it would seek to place a measure on the November ballot asking voters to temporarily adopt a new congressional map in response to … Continue reading →

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South Carolina is the new measles champ

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They took the crown from Texas. Great job, everybody! The record-breaking measles outbreak in South Carolina continues to grow with 89 new cases reported since the last update on Friday. This brings the total number of cases in the outbreak … Continue reading →

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South Carolina is where the measles action is now

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I wish I didn’t feel the need to keep following these stories, but unfortunately I do. South Carolina on Friday reported 124 new measles cases in the last three days, bringing the total number to 558 in the state’s fast-growing … Continue reading →

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Hope you’ve had your flu shot

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not too late to get it now. Flu season is off to a rough start this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the virus arrived as expected, cases are rising faster, compared with previous … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS rejects Texas National Guard deployment to Chicago

Posted on December 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This was an early Christmas present. The Supreme Court upheld a block on the National Guard’s deployment to Chicago Tuesday, dealing the Trump administration a significant blow and embracing an interpretation of the laws that govern the Guard’s activation that … Continue reading →

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Drink that THC while you still can

Posted on November 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The clock is ticking. Houston saw a boom in drinks infused with THC over the past several years, with bars and restaurants seizing on the products as an alternative for people who don’t drink alcohol. Now that trend might be … Continue reading →

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Protection racket deadline passes

Posted on November 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Still no word from UT. Last month, the Trump administration gave the University of Texas at Austin and a handful of other universities until Nov. 21 to decide whether they would agree to a series of policy changes in exchange … Continue reading →

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UT hasn’t decided on that protection racket yet

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Choose wisely. And quickly. The University of Texas at Austin hasn’t said whether it will sign an agreement with the Trump administration that would tie preferential access to federal funding to a series of campus policy changes, even as other … Continue reading →

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Texas National Guard coming home from Chicago

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully in time for Thanksgiving. Texas National Guard troops are expected to soon return from Illinois amid legal challenges that halt their deployment to the Chicago area, several media outlets reported this weekend. In early October, Gov. Greg Abbott authorized the federal … Continue reading →

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The last penny has been minted

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

A moment of silence, please. The U.S. ended production of the penny Wednesday, abandoning the 1-cent coins that were embedded in American culture for more than 230 years but became nearly worthless. When it was introduced in 1793, a penny could buy … Continue reading →

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So now what for the hemp business?

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I can think of one thing they should do. As part of the spending deal to end the government shutdown, federal lawmakers approved a provision cracking down on hemp products containing THC, restoring a ban Texas Republicans sought to impose … Continue reading →

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A backdoor THC ban

Posted on November 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Or maybe this was the plan all along. The Texas hemp industry, fresh from fending off an all-out ban by the state Legislature, is facing another extinction-level event — this time from Congress. The U.S. Senate on Monday night … Continue reading →

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IPAWS

Posted on October 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an informative story about an underutilized tool in the emergency response arsenal. In the fall of 2016, as wind-stoked wildfires raced across parched forest and threatened lives around Gatlinburg, Tennessee, state and local officials went back and forth about … Continue reading →

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Measles isn’t done with us yet

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas outbreak may be over, but there are other outbreaks out there. One of the largest measles outbreaks in the U.S. is now centered in bordering areas of southwestern Utah and Arizona. In Southwest Utah, all but one of … Continue reading →

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UT considers accepting a protection racket

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Choose very carefully, y’all. The Trump administration has asked the University of Texas at Austin to agree to a “set of operating principles” — which reportedly include adopting a stricter definition of gender, a five-year tuition freeze and a cap … Continue reading →

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The National Weather Service is basically broken

Posted on September 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s being held together by duct tape and twist ties, and it’s all the fault of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, all those Project 2025 assholes, and every cowardly Republican in Congress. Some National Weather Service staffers are working double shifts … Continue reading →

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More kids are not getting vaccinated

Posted on September 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is so bad. For more than a half-century, vaccines have had remarkable success eradicating the most lethal and devastating childhood infectious diseases, saving millions of lives and ushering in a relative golden era of global public health. But now, … Continue reading →

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Still more on Elon’s flood tunnels

Posted on September 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I once again call your attention to an episode of CityCast Houston, in which host Raheel Ramzanali chats with the host of the CityCast Las Vegas podcast about the experience they’ve had with Elon Musk and the Boring Company and … Continue reading →

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By the way, COVID is still out there

Posted on August 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just FYI. Covid cases are climbing again this summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s forecasting model estimates that infections are growing, or likely growing, in most states. While the agency is reporting low levels of the virus in wastewater nationally, some … Continue reading →

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No Kings

Posted on June 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. Thousands of demonstrators crowded into streets, parks and plazas across the U.S. on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump, marching through downtowns and blaring anti-authoritarian chants mixed with support for protecting democracy and immigrant rights. Governors across the U.S. … Continue reading →

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The case against rooting for Tesla to fail

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From Inside Climate News. While some people may be pleased to see Tesla and Musk struggle, and most of the damage was self-inflicted, Tesla’s swoon is probably bad for the U.S. EV market. It helps to have a sense of … Continue reading →

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Yes, the penny is done for

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

So long, old friend. The Trump administration says making cents doesn’t make sense anymore. The U.S. Mint has made its final order of penny blanks and plans to stop producing the coin when those run out, a Treasury Department official confirmed Thursday. … Continue reading →

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Of course cuts to Medicaid would hurt Texas

Posted on May 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They will hurt millions of people around the country, and hospitals and more as well. Texas hospitals are facing a freeze in billions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding under a budget proposal introduced by House Republican leaders Sunday night. … Continue reading →

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Just another reminder that abortion bans kill women

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

In case you needed it. Pregnant people living in states with abortion bans are almost twice as likely to die during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, a report released Wednesday found. The risk is greatest for Black women in … Continue reading →

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It’s not just measles

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome back, whooping cough. We didn’t miss you, but here you are again. In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as whooping cough. Washington state recently announced its first confirmed … Continue reading →

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On weather balloons

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Another possibly bad omen for the hurricane season. Due to staffing constraints, as a result of recent budget cuts and retirements, the National Weather Service has announced a series of suspensions involving weather balloon launches in recent weeks. On February … Continue reading →

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Smaller number of federal buildings on the chopping block

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Progress? I dunno. Less than two weeks after posting – and abruptly pulling down – a list of federally owned office buildings to be sold, the U.S. General Services Administration has released a much shorter list that includes one property in Houston. A … Continue reading →

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Make America hungry again

Posted on March 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They’re working on it. The San Antonio Food Bank expects to lose $3 million due to federal funding cuts, leaving officials at the nonprofit saying they’re not sure how they’ll make up for that shortfall and that they are worried … Continue reading →

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The federal buildings that may or may not get sold

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Who can even tell with these incompetent wannabe evildoers? The General Services Administration, landlord for federal government, said Tuesday it planned to sell more than 440 buildings across the U.S., including three in Houston and 21 others in Texas. The … Continue reading →

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You reap what you sow

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have one thing to say to this. In early February, the Texas Farm Bureau defended President Donald Trump as he moved to enact tariffs on foreign goods coming into the United States, saying they trusted him to “protect the … Continue reading →

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“A bigger threat to U.S. federal government information systems than China”

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Brian Krebs assesses the DOGE madness from a cybersecurity perspective. The Trump administration has fired at least 130 employees at the federal government’s foremost cybersecurity body  — the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Those dismissals reportedly included CISA staff dedicated to securing U.S. elections, … Continue reading →

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