Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Measles update: Maybe we really are slowing to an end

Can’t get much slower than that. Texas health officials reported only one new case of measles on Friday, the smallest increase since the outbreak began four months ago. The latest update from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows … Continue reading

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Measles update: The wastewater still has something to tell us

Very cool. An outbreak detection program found the presence of the measles virus in samples of Houston wastewater in early January 2025, before cases were reported, new findings show. The findings were possible because almost three years earlier, a team … Continue reading

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How can we stand all this winning?

Item 1: More than 1 million people count on Houston-area food pantries, which are staring down empty shelves after losing $11 million in federal funding. Until recently, 100 tractor-trailers full of federally-funded food pulled up each month to the Houston … Continue reading

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Mexico sues Google over Gulf of Mexico renaming

I suppose this was inevitable. Mexico has followed through on its threat to sue Google after the tech giant switched to the name “Gulf of America” on its digital maps, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced at a Friday news conference. Google Maps users in … Continue reading

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Once more with Trump’s approval ratings in Texas

Of interest. President Donald Trump is viewed favorably by 47% of Texas voters and unfavorably by 50%, putting his net favorability at -3. This is a significant decline since November, when Trump’s net favorability was +12 (55% favorable, 43% unfavorable). … Continue reading

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Who cares about weather disasters?

Not the Trump administration. The Trump administration’s steep staff cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) triggered shutdowns of several climate-related programs Thursday. Perhaps most notably, the NOAA announced it would be shuttering the “billion-dollar weather and climate disasters” database … Continue reading

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Harris County claims early victory in lawsuit over mass federal layoffs

First round to the good guys, but there’s a lot more to happen. Harris County was among local governments and others claiming victory Saturday after a judge halted the Trump administration’s efforts to lay off federal employees. The county, local … Continue reading

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Be wary of the Trump mifepristone strategy

Hmmmm. On Monday, Trump’s Justice Department slotted into a long-running, right-wing effort to get the abortion drug mifepristone restricted or yanked from the market altogether. Instead of joining forces with the red states challenging the drug, though, it largely picked … Continue reading

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Measles update: It would help if the people with measles stopped traveling while sick

I don’t know what else to say. An El Paso resident’s two-day visit to Austin has prompted a warning from city public health officials, after the person was confirmed to have measles. The person was in Austin from April 25 … Continue reading

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The tariff effect on chocolate

Chocoholics beware. For weeks, businesses across the U.S. have scrambled to plan for President Donald Trump’s widespread tariffs. That includes two Houston Heights dessert shops. Pudgy’s Fine Cookies and Underground Creamery at 1010 N Shepherd Dr. have been on edge as news about Trump’s “Liberation … Continue reading

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Tanking the economy has its costs

Sorry, Donald. For the first time, President Donald Trump has a negative approval rating in Texas over his handling of the economy, according to a new poll. The University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Politics Project survey, released Wednesday, found … Continue reading

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Measles update: Who needs research?

I’m very sorry to say that we once again have to talk about RFK Jr and his continued quest to make us all sick and stupid. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s motto is “ Make America Healthy Again,” … Continue reading

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There’s a lot of Dems looking at the Senate race

From the inbox, from Thursday’s “Texas take with Jeremy Wallace” newsletter. The more endangered U.S. Sen. John Cornyn looks in early polling against Ken Paxton in the GOP primary, the more Democrats are buzzing. While a Democrat has not won … Continue reading

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Whooping cough is way up in Texas this year

This is what happens when vaccine rates decline. Amid the worst measles outbreak Texas has seen in over 30 years, pertussis cases are spiking as well. Also known as whooping cough, pertussis is surging across Texas and the nation. Already … Continue reading

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Measles update: We can’t escape the main character

No matter how much we might want to. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a visit to Texas on Tuesday that measles deserves less attention than other chronic diseases, while downplaying the number of deaths that have … Continue reading

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Harris County gets in on another lawsuit over federal funding cuts

Keep fighting. Harris County has filed a third lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, challenging its overhaul of the federal government and a slew of federal workforce cuts. The county is suing along with a coalition of other local government … Continue reading

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UnidosUS poll of Latino voters about current events

From the inbox: UnidosUS, Voces Unidas, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Climate Power en Acción released today findings from the 2025 “First 100 Days Bipartisan Poll of the Hispanic Electorate,” the largest national bipartisan poll of … Continue reading

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The tariff effect on your homeowners’ insurance

What can’t tariffs do? President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs could cause homeowners insurance premiums in Texas to rise even faster this year than they otherwise would have, a new study finds. Even without tariffs, average premiums in Texas will rise … Continue reading

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Measles update: The liars keep gaining

It’s hard out there for the facts. While the most serious measles epidemic in a decade has led to the deaths of two children and spread to 27 states with no signs of letting up, beliefs about the safety of … Continue reading

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Two action items

Wanted to pass along a couple of notices of action items for those of you looking for something to do this week. Item #1, from the inbox: On Thursday, May 1, 2025, attorneys, judges, law students, and others committed to … Continue reading

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Harris County sues over public health funding cuts

Keep fighting. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee and officials from three other states sued the Trump administration Thursday over its decision to rescind $11 billion in public health funding for state and local health departments. The decision to pull … Continue reading

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Measles update: Now in Collin County

Sure hope this is an isolated case. A middle school student in Collin County has tested positive for measles, health officials confirmed Wednesday, the first reported case in a child in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this year amid an outbreak … Continue reading

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It’s the Hotze Show again

Oh, my God. For over a decade, Americans with private health insurance have enjoyed free access to dozens of types of preventive health care: cholesterol medication, prenatal care, and many types of cancer screenings, as well as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the “miracle … Continue reading

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Measles update: Hello, Montana

Put another state on the board, Johnny. Montana is the ninth U.S. state to have an active measles outbreak. The U.S. was up to 800 cases of measles nationwide on Friday. Texas is driving the high numbers, with an outbreak centered in West Texas … Continue reading

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On immigration and the 2026 World Cup

Yeah, there are some big issues that we need to talk about. Last month, Dallas officially announced the procurement of the 2026 FIFA World Cup International Broadcast Center. It will turn downtown’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center into a “nerve center” for … Continue reading

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Harris County gets its refugee health grant back

Good. The Trump administration restored funding for a $10.5 million refugee health grant a little over a week after Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee sued the federal government for freezing payments to its Refugee Medical Screening Program, according to … Continue reading

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Measles update: RFK Jr sucks

We’ll get to that in a minute. But first, here’s something else to worry about. As Texas battles against its largest measles outbreak in decades, immunization data obtained by Houston Landing shows that more than 1,000 kindergarten and seventh grade … Continue reading

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Measles update: More on how we’ve done this to ourselves

From the Associated Press: The measles outbreak in West Texas didn’t happen just by chance. The easily preventable disease, declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, ripped through communities sprawling across more than 20 Texas counties in part because health departments were starved of … Continue reading

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It’s not just measles

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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Measles update: Time for another moment of perspective

Here are the Friday numbers. The measles outbreak centered in the South Plains region of Texas grew to 541 cases across the state on Friday, according to health officials. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that 56 have … Continue reading

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Harris County sues over refugee grant funds

Keep on litigating, the reasons to do so aren’t going to run short anytime soon. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee is suing the Trump administration after it froze a more-than-$10 million grant for the county’s Refugee Health Services Program. Menefee … Continue reading

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On weather balloons

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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Paxton officially running against Cornyn

The campaign no one asked for. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday he will challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s midterm elections, setting up a barnburner clash of two Republican titans that is poised to reverberate across … Continue reading

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Measles update: Another needless death

We have to start with some bad news. An 8-year-old girl with measles died Thursday morning, the second known measles-related death in an ongoing outbreak that has infected nearly 500 Texans since January. Her funeral was Sunday at a church … Continue reading

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