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At least four measles cases reported in Texas

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feeds.texastribune.org – By Stephen Simpson, Dan Keemahill and Jayme Lozano Carver – 2025-01-30 14:25:00

Measles cases reported in Texas as vaccine rates against the disease has fallen

Measles cases reported in Texas as vaccine rates against the disease has fallen” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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At least four cases of measles, including two involving school-aged children, have been reported in Texas in less than two weeks, putting state health agencies on alert.

For some communities, this is the first case of measles in more than 20 years.

Laura Anton, spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said the agency sent out an alert to health providers statewide once measles were confirmed to be found in two adult residents in Harris County last week.

The alert stated that both individuals reside in the same household and were unvaccinated against measles. These were the first confirmed cases of measles reported in Texas since 2023, when two were reported.

Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease. General symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and a full-body rash. This disease can cause serious health consequences and even death, especially for young and unvaccinated children.

About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Up to three of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles may die from respiratory and neurologic complications.

Houston Health Department officials say the cases of measles were associated with the pair’s recent international travel and released a list of possible locations and dates where members of the public might have been exposed.

The state health agency also confirmed two measles cases in the South Plains, both involving school-aged children who were not vaccinated. Anton said they were hospitalized and have since been discharged.

Katherine Wells, the Lubbock Health Department’s health director, said the children were treated at a Lubbock health care facility. They were from the area, but not Lubbock residents. Wells said at this time, there are no known sites of exposure outside the health care facility where they were tested. Since Lubbock is the medical hub for the South Plains, they traveled to Lubbock for testing.

“We’re working with the South Plains Public Health District and our medical partners to work and identify where there could have been some community exposures,” Wells said. The state health agency is helping with the disease investigation in Lubbock and the South Plains region.

Wells said the community should be aware of the cases, as well as health care professionals who see rashes or high fevers from their patients.

“We want people to know there were some cases here,” Wells said. “So if they have concerns and are unvaccinated, call your health provider or the health department for more information.”

Wells said that the last measles case in Lubbock County was in 2004.

Austin Public Health has also sent an alert about the potential measles outbreak, urging residents to take proactive measures to protect themselves and their families. The last confirmed measles case in the city of Austin was in December 2019.

“Vaccination is our best defense against measles and other preventable diseases,” said Desmar Walkes, medical director and health authority for Austin/Travis County. “By staying up to date on vaccinations, we not only protect ourselves but also the most vulnerable members of our community.”

The recent upswing in cases statewide comes as the measles vaccination rate among kindergarteners has dropped, from almost 97% in the 2019-2020 school year to 94.3% in 2023-24. Texas is among the majority of states that have seen vaccination declines since the pandemic.

In March 2024, there were already more reported cases of measles than in all of 2023, according to the CDC.

A result of the country’s vaccination program, measles was officially eliminated from the United States in 2000, meaning the disease has not spread continuously for over 12 months.

Experts recommend that children get the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine in two doses: the first between 12 months and 15 months of age and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is about 93% effective at preventing measles infection, and two doses are about 97% effective.

Other diseases considered long-forgotten are also now making a comeback.

Whooping cough is returning to pre-pandemic levels. Polio, another disease thought to be eradicated, was detected in New York State wastewater in 2022.

Vaccine proponents fear statewide disease trends will worsen as Texas lawmakers this legislative session try to weaken vaccine mandates and more families opt out of immunizations.

Since 2018, the requests to the Texas Department of State Health Services for an exemption form have doubled from 45,900 to more than 93,000 in 2024.

Lawmakers have filed more than 20 vaccination-related bills, including a House joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Texas Constitution to preserve Texans’ right to refuse vaccination.

President Donald Trump’s re-election and his selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary has boosted the vaccine choice movement. Kennedy has previously made controversial comments about vaccines, which include linking them to autism in children.

During his confirmation hearing this week, U.S. Senators questioned his trip to Samoa in 2019, months before 83 people, mostly children, died of a measles outbreak there.

Kennedy has recently walked back some of his statements during the hearing, saying he is not “anti-vax” but “pro-safety” when asked to clarify his stance on vaccines.

“I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking anything,” he said.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/30/texas-measles-vaccinations-schools/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

News from the South - Texas News Feed

Paxton sues San Antonio for allocating taxpayer money to fund ‘abortion tourism’ | Texas

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-05 12:22:00

(The Center Square) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued San Antonio officials Friday, alleging the city’s use of taxpayer money to fund transportation for women in Texas to have abortions out of state is unconstitutional.  

“The City of San Antonio is blatantly defying Texas law by using taxpayer dollars to fund abortion tourism,” Paxton said. “Beyond being an egregious misuse of public funds, it’s an attack on the pro-life values of our state. I will not stand by while rogue cities use tax dollars to circumvent state law and take the innocent lives of unborn children.”

The lawsuit was filed in the District Court of Bexar County and names the city of San Antonio, its mayor and city manager as defendants. 

This is the second time the city has been sued for its abortion transportation activity; the first was filed by prolife groups last year. 

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, returning the issue of abortion to the states, Texas’ abortion prohibition laws went into effect. Not only is abortion banned in Texas with some exceptions, but state law prohibits anyone from transporting or funding transportation services for abortions and allows civil suits to be filed against violators.

Undeterred by the threat of legal action, the San Antonio City Council passed a resolution in support of abortion in August 2022 and later received more than $20 million from publicly owned CPS Energy “to fund abortion travel,” The Center Square reported.

In 2023, the city council created the Reproductive Justice Fund (RJF) and a line item in its $3.96 billion 2024 budget to fund it. The city council also allocated $500,000 for the RJF to cover travel costs for residents to have abortions outside of Texas, referred to as “downstream services,” or what Paxton refers to as “abortion tourism.” 

Pro-abortion groups, Jane’s Due Process, AVOW, the Buckle Bunnies Fund, Sueños Sin Fronteras, and the Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity all support the RJF.

Several prolife groups, including the San Antonio Family Association, sued to stop the city “from providing taxpayer money to any organization that pays for abortion travel or that procures elective abortions for Texas residents.” 

A district court ruled against them; they appealed to the Fourth Court of Appeals.

After being sued, city council members next requested another $100,000 for “downstream services.” 

Six months later, Paxton sued, arguing, “Under Texas law, cities have no authority to use public money to assist people in circumventing Texas’s pro-life protections.” 

The lawsuit states that city officials are “using taxpayer money” to “fund an illegal abortion procurement scheme,” appropriating $100,000 to its RJF “specifically to pay for pregnant women to travel for out-of-state abortions.”

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that city officials are violating the Texas Constitution’s gift clause through the scheme and requests the court to issue a temporary and permanent injunction prohibiting the city from spending any taxpayer money on it. It also asks the court to prohibit the city from allocating taxpayer money for abortion-related services in the future.  

The lawsuit is among several Paxton has filed in defense of the state laws banning abortion.

Last fall, he sued Austin officials for similar reasons, arguing that city officials appropriating funding for abortion travel violated the Texas Constitution’s gift clause and represented an ultra vires action, The Center Square reported.

More recently, he sued and secured an injunction against three Houston area abortion providers who illegally performed abortions and claimed to practice medicine and provide so-called medical services without a license, The Center Square reported.

The post Paxton sues San Antonio for allocating taxpayer money to fund ‘abortion tourism’ | Texas appeared first on www.thecentersquare.com

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Rain has ended and it'll be a cool & windy weekend ~ Sarah Spivey

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www.youtube.com – KSAT 12 – 2025-04-05 07:11:12

SUMMARY: Meteorologist Sarah Spivey reports a cool and windy weekend following recent rain. Today’s high in San Antonio will be 69°F with northwest winds at 20 mph, gusting higher. This evening will be chilly, around the low 60s. For those attending the March Madness Music Fest, a jacket is advised. Tomorrow morning temperatures will drop to 42°F in San Antonio and the 30s in the Hill Country, with wind chills feeling like the 30s and 20s due to gusts up to 35 mph. Sunday will see a high of 62°F, and Monday will start in the 30s. Humidity will remain low.

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Rain has ended and it’ll be a cool & windy weekend. DETAILS: https://www.ksat.com/weather/2025/04/05/watch-live-tracking-developing-storms/

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Ken Paxton’s former aides win $6.6M in whistleblower case

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feeds.texastribune.org – By Ayden Runnels and Jasper Scherer – 2025-04-04 22:41:00

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s former aides win $6.6 million in whistleblower case” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.


A Travis County district court judge on Friday awarded $6.6 million to four former senior aides to Attorney General Ken Paxton who said they were improperly fired after reporting Paxton to the FBI.

Judge Catherine Mauzy stated in her judgment that the plaintiffs — Blake Brickman, Mark Penley, David Maxwell and Ryan Vassar — had proven by a “preponderance of the evidence” that Paxton’s office had violated the Texas Whistleblower Act. Each of the four were awarded between $1.1 and $2.1 million for wages lost, compensation for emotional pain, attorney’s fees and various other costs as a result of the trial.

The judgment also said Paxton’s office did not dispute any issue of fact in the case, which stopped the Attorney General’s office from further contesting their liability. Tom Nesbitt, the attorney for Brickman and Maxwell, said in a statement that Paxton “admitted” to breaking the law to avoid being questioned under oath.

“It should shock all Texans that their chief law enforcement officer, Ken Paxton, admitted to violating the law, but that is exactly what happened in this case,” Nesbitt said in the statement.

In a statement to the Tribune from his office, Paxton called the ruling “a ridiculous judgment that is not based on the facts or the law” and pointed blame at former Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, who led the Texas House effort to impeach him in 2023. “We will appeal this bogus ruling as we continue to clean up Dade Phelan’s mess,” Paxton said in the statement.

The judgment also ordered that the plaintiffs are entitled to additional attorney’s fees if they successfully defend or prosecute appeals, including up to $20,000 per plaintiff for various stages of review at the Supreme Court of Texas.

Late Friday, Brickman criticized Paxton’s intent to appeal the judgment in a post on X, calling the attorney general “ lawless and shameless” and claiming the judgment came because Paxton was avoiding a deposition.

“Paxton now wants to appeal? He literally already admitted he broke the law to @SupremeCourt_TX and the Travis County District Court — all to stop his own deposition,” Brickman wrote.

The case was sparked when eight former aides, including the four plaintiffs, reported Paxton to federal authorities in September 2020 over his relations with Nate Paul, a friend and Austin real estate investor. The whistleblowers accused Paxton of abusing his office to do favors for Paul, including by hiring an outside lawyer to investigate claims made by Paul and providing him confidential law enforcement documents.

In the days and weeks after the whistleblowers met with federal agents — a development they reported to Paxton — the attorney general fired them. Four of them sued Paxton in November 2020, alleging their dismissals were illegal under state law.

Paxton disagreed but offered to settle the suit and pay the whistleblowers $3.3 million. But when Paxton asked the Texas House for the money in 2023, lawmakers wanted him to publicly answer questions about why Texas taxpayers should foot the bill. The House’s ethics committee began investigating Paxton, and in May that year, the chamber impeached him on corruption and bribery charges based heavily on the whistleblowers’ testimony.

House investigators claimed that, in return for favors from Paxton, Paul paid for renovations at an Austin home owned by Paxton and his wife and also employed a woman with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair.

After a two-week, high-profile trial, the Texas Senate acquitted Paxton of 16 charges and dismissed the remaining four. That trial cost the state roughly $5.1 million, according to a State Auditor’s Office report released in March that was requested by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Months later, in the still-pending whistleblower case in state court, Paxton said he would no longer contest the facts of the case — despite the fact that the allegations by the whistleblowers were similar to the ones his lawyers had vigorously disputed during the impeachment trial.

In November 2024, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Paxton and three of his top deputies did not have to sit for depositions under oath, because Paxton’s agreement not to contest the lawsuit made the sworn testimony unnecessary.

Paxton also dodged a federal lawsuit, the Associated Press reported Thursday, when the Department of Justice declined to prosecute him in the final days of former President Joe Biden’s administration. Still, Paxton levied culpability on Biden in his statement to the Tribune on Friday night, claiming the House’s impeachment efforts were “in collusion with Joe Biden’s corrupt DOJ.”


Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas’ breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/04/ken-paxton-whistleblower-case-judgment/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

The post Ken Paxton’s former aides win $6.6M in whistleblower case appeared first on feeds.texastribune.org

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