Over the past four days, three Texas children have died after officials say they were left unattended in hot vehicles. On Tuesday, a 9-year-old girl died after she was left inside a vehicle in the parking lot of an industrial complex in Galena Park outside of Houston. According to KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Houston, the child was left unattended in the hot vehicle by her mother while she went to work for the day and was left with only water and the windows partially rolled down. Houston police said the mother’s shift started at 6 a.m. and officers were called to the parking lot at 2:18 p.m. The victim’s mother was detained at the scene, according to KPRC. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Tuesday it is unclear whether access to childcare played a role in the incident. “This obviously wasn’t safe … there’s never an excuse, whether you’re running inside a store or don’t have a sitter in place,“ Gonzalez said. Harris County Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives said this is an active investigation and will await the autopsy results on the child before any charges are filed. “This case appears unique. Most of the time, cases like…

Adults fighting kids for clean water, despondent toddlers and a child with swollen feet denied a medical exam — these first-hand accounts from immigrant families at detention centers included in a motion filed by advocates Friday night are offering a glimpse of conditions at Texas facilities. Families shared their testimonies with immigrant advocates filing a lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from terminating the Flores Settlement Agreement, a ’90s-era policy that requires immigrant children detained in federal custody be held in safe and sanitary conditions. The agreement could challenge President Donald Trump’s family detention provisions in his “big, beautiful” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, which also seeks to make the detention time indefinite and comes as the administration ramps up arrests. “At a time when Congress is considering funding the indefinite detention of children and families, defending the Flores Settlement is more urgent than ever,” Mishan Wroe, a senior immigration attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, said in a statement Friday. Advocates with the center, as well as the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, RAICES and Children’s Rights contacted or visited children and their families held in two Texas family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes, which…

Two years ago, Fort Hood in Central Texas was changed to Fort Cavazos in honor of Gen. Richard Cavazos, the Army’s first Hispanic four-star general, who served in the Korean War and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The Department of Defense is changing the name of the Army base back to its original name, Fort Hood, but is honoring a different person this time instead of the Confederate general. The new honoree, Robert B. Hood, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism during World War I when he directed artillery fire in France. Fort Cavazos isn’t the only base going back to its old name. The name changes are occurring at seven Army bases whose names were changed in 2023 because they honored Confederate leaders. Now, they are all reverting back to their original names, but with different honorees. The announcement on the name changes came just hours after President Donald Trump previewed the decision, telling troops at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, that he was changing the names back. Fort Bragg, which was changed to Fort Liberty by the Biden administration, was the first to have its original name restored after the Army found another person…

A teacher from Galveston will be among the six-person crew in Blue Origin’s next trip to space, the company announced Wednesday. The mission, named NS-32, is the New Shepard program’s 12th human and 32nd overall flight. The flight’s date has not yet been announced. Blue Origin released the crew’s names and qualifications, and said a livestream will be available on its website 30 minutes before takeoff. Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge Jorge, a high school and middle school STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, secured her spot on the NS-32 mission after receiving a sponsored seat from Farmacias Similares, a pharmaceutical chain in Mexico. Blue Origin said Jorge has led more than 60 space experiments among her students, including developing and flying biometric sensors with her students, and performing in-flight 3D printing. Blue Origin said Jorge is the 2013 recipient of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Challenger Center Trailblazing STEM Educator Award. Born in Puerto Rico, Blue Origin said Jorge’s mission is to boost Hispanic representation in STEM fields and push for greater inclusion in science for underrepresented communities. Dr. Gretchen Green Dr. Green is a radiologist specializing in women’s imaging…

The Texas Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would more than double the amount of money the state spends to lure film and television production to Texas. Senate Bill 22, filed by Houston Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, would direct the comptroller to deposit $500 million into a new Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Fund every two years until 2035. That figure is more than state lawmakers have ever allocated for media production since they first started funding a film incentive grant in 2007. The bill received heavy praise from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and passed with a 23-8 vote. Those who opposed the bill raised concerns about how the governor’s office will determine which productions to fund. The bill gives the governor’s office complete discretion over which projects receive grant funding. The bill now moves to the House for consideration. Since 2007, lawmakers have funded the film incentive program at varying levels, with $50 million during one legislative session followed by $45 million the next. A then-historic $200 million came during the most recent session. The variability has left producers tentative to film in Texas for fear that the money might vanish at the whims of lawmakers….

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has officially launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate, setting up a high-profile primary battle against fellow Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Paxton, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, made the announcement during an interview Tuesday night on Fox News. His decision opens what is expected to be one of the most closely watched and contentious GOP primaries of the 2026 election cycle. “I believe it’s time we had a strong conservative representing Texas in the Senate,” Paxton said during the appearance. “I’m running for U.S. Senate to fight for President Trump’s agenda and take a sledgehammer to the D.C. establishment,” Paxton said in a post on X. “Together, let’s send John Cornyn packing.” Paxton has long been a polarizing figure in Texas politics. In 2023, he survived an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate after the House voted to impeach him on charges including bribery and abuse of public trust. He also recently resolved a nearly decade-long legal battle involving securities fraud charges by agreeing to pay restitution. His campaign is likely to draw strong support from the party’s right flank. Over the past year, Paxton has garnered national attention by pushing aggressive…

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that he has launched an investigation into one of the state’s Medicaid insurance providers after allegations that the company illegally spied on Texans. The state is investigating Superior HealthPlan, an insurance company that provides Medicaid coverage to adults and children and coverage for the Children’s Health Insurance Program in Texas, for allegedly using private investigators to perform surveillance and gather potentially confidential information on lawmakers, journalists and other Texans. “The allegations concerning Superior’s actions, such as actions that were characterized as potentially blackmailing lawmakers to secure state contracts and surveilling private citizens to avoid paying legitimate claims, are deeply troubling,” Paxton said in a statement. Superior HealthPlan CEO Mark Sanders was questioned Wednesday by members of the Texas House Committee on the Delivery of Government Efficiency about his company’s use of private investigators. The topic surfaced as lawmakers questioned company representatives about potential fraud and waste of taxpayer funds connected to its Medicaid contracts, and Sanders told the committee members that the company used private investigators in the past, but hasn’t done so for the past few years. On Thursday, Superior fired Sanders, the Dallas Morning News reported. At Wednesday’s hearing, Sanders defended…

Measles outbreaks in West Texas and New Mexico are now up to nearly 320 cases, and two unvaccinated people have died from measles-related causes. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. As of Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its count of confirmed measles cases in the U.S. surpassed 2024. Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S. How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico? Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 20 new cases of measles since last week, bringing the total to 279 across 11 counties — most in West Texas. Two more people were hospitalized, for a total of 36. New Mexico health officials announced three new cases Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 38. Most of the cases are in Lea County, where two people have been hospitalized, and the other cases are in Eddy County. Oklahoma’s state health department reported two probable cases of measles last week, saying they are “associated” with the West Texas and…

Conservative Republicans Christi Craddick and Don Huffines announced their candidacies for Texas Comptroller on Friday after the state’s current comptroller, Glenn Hegar, was named sole finalist for chancellor of the Texas A&M System. Craddick is the current chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas and Huffines is a former state senator who ran for governor in 2022. Christi Craddick Craddick won her third six-year term on the three-member Railroad Commission of Texas last November. She was first elected to the state’s oldest regulatory agency in 2012 and won reelection in 2018 and 2024. “Serving for more than a decade as Railroad Commissioner has uniquely prepared me to help Texas build upon its momentum as the economic engine of the United States,” Craddick said. “Throughout my tenure at the Commission, we have managed our work with efficiency, transparency, and common sense, reflecting the bedrock principles the Texas economy has been built upon, and our commitment to the principles of a free market has helped our economy thrive. At the heart of all good government, good business and fiscal responsibility is one simple fact: Don’t spend money you don’t have.” Craddick of Midland said public service is in her blood and that…

Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent who leaped onto the back of President John F. Kennedy’s limousine after the president was shot, then was forced to retire early because he remained haunted by memories of the assassination, died Friday. He was 93. Hill died at home in Belvedere, California, his publisher said. A cause of death was not given. Although few may recognize his name, the footage of Hill, captured on Abraham Zapruder’s chilling home movie of the assassination, provided some of the most indelible images of Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. Hill received Secret Service awards and was promoted for his actions that day, but for decades blamed himself for Kennedy’s death, saying he didn’t react quickly enough and would gladly have given his life to save the president. “If I had reacted just a little bit quicker. And I could have, I guess,” a weeping Hill told Mike Wallace on CBS’ 60 Minutes in 1975, shortly after he retired at age 43 at the urging of his doctors. “And I’ll live with that to my grave.” It was only in recent years that Hill said he was able to finally start putting the assassination behind…