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FRIDAY || 1/31/25

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• TOP NEWS

“Abbott expected to promote vouchers and other highlights of his 2025 agenda in Sunday speech,” Texas Tribune's James Barragán — “Gov. Greg Abbott will lay out his legislative priorities Sunday night during his biennial State of the State address giving lawmakers marching orders on what topics he wants them to fast-track this session.

Two years ago, Abbott was able to push through bills to reduce the property taxes of millions of Texans after promising the “largest property tax cuts in state history” during his 2022 reelection campaign. But he was foiled in perhaps his biggest priority: passing a school voucher-like program that would allow the use of public dollars to go toward private education.

Passing that legislation, which the governor’s office refers to as “school choice” or education savings accounts, will likely be among Abbott’s top priorities this session, following his heavy involvement in last year’s Republican primaries in which he campaigned against House GOP lawmakers who opposed his proposal. Eleven of those Republicans were replaced by new lawmakers who said they support Abbott’s plans for passing a school voucher program. The governor said in November that the elections had left him with a net of 79 “hardcore” voucher supporters in the House — more than the simple majority of 76 needed to pass a bill.

While Abbott has telegraphed his desire to pass school voucher legislation, his address will give insight into his other top issues. The three-term governor who is in his sixth legislative session as the state’s chief executive could lay out his most ambitious agenda yet – ahead of a reelection campaign in 2026 and a potential presidential bid in 2028.

With President Donald Trump, a Republican ally back in the White House, Texas’ relationship with the federal government will be a key thing to watch. During Abbott’s 10-year tenure as governor, Texas has spent billions of state dollars on immigration enforcement – spending that could be freed up if a Trump administration crack down on immigration reduces the amount state leaders think that Texas needs to spend.

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Abbott has gained a national reputation for his efforts to stop people from crossing the Texas border without documents, including a state-funded border wall, a deployment of Texas National Guard to the border and the shuttling of migrants from Texas to Democrat-led cities in other states. Trump recently praised Abbott’s efforts, calling him the “leader of the pack” in a public speech.

The State of the State is delivered early every legislative session and is traditionally when the governor announces his legislative priorities. By declaring those priorities as “emergency items,” the governor allows lawmakers to circumvent the constitutional ban on passing legislation in the first 60 days of a session. Otherwise, the House and Senate would need at least 80% of the chamber to take up an item before that time.

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Two years ago, the governor laid out seven emergency items. The session before that, he set out five.

Abbott’s choices for emergency items could have a major impact on this year’s session.

Speaking at an event for The Texan news outlet this week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the Senate would pass school vouchers next Wednesday if Abbott designates it an emergency item, which is widely expected. The upper chamber repeatedly passed school voucher legislation last session and a senate committee approved this year’s version of the school voucher bill this week.

That would put pressure on the House, which has been resistant to school voucher legislation in recent sessions, to move its own bill forward quickly. But the lower chamber, which has a new leader who is more open to school vouchers in Lubbock Republican Dustin Burrows, is still in the process of setting up its committees after a prolonged speaker’s race that was finally settled on the first day of the session earlier this month.

The fight over school vouchers also hints at intraparty feuding among Texas Republicans with some in the GOP pushing for infusing more religion and prayer into schools, restricting the rights of LGBTQ Texans and clamping down on programs in schools and businesses focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. In his speech, Abbott could signal whether he wants to throw his weight behind these types of bills.

Patrick, a hardline conservative who leads the Senate, included among his priorities bills to place the Ten Commandments in schools, allow prayer in schools and ban libraries from organizing story time events hosted by people in drag.

In a nod to these culture war proposals, Abbott on Thursday sent a letter urging state agencies to “reject woke gender ideologies.” Aligning with a federal executive order issued by Trump, Abbott said “the state of Texas recognizes only two sexes - male and female.”

Abbott’s speech could also give insight into how the governor wants the Legislature to spend its $24 billion surplus for this year’s budget. Last session, lawmakers used $13.3 billion of a historic $32.7 billion surplus to cut property taxes for Texas homeowners.

Still, the cost of property taxes remains a concern for many Texans. In the Senate, Patrick has set an ambitious goal of increasing the property tax exemption for Texans’ primary residences from $100,000 to $140,000. The House has also proposed spending $6.5 billion on property tax relief, but the two chambers must agree on how exactly to achieve that." Texas Tribune

“Two cases of measles confirmed in West Texas children,” Houston Chronicle's Evan MacDonald — “Two cases of measles have been confirmed in school-aged children in West Texas less than two weeks after the highly contagious respiratory illness was also reported in a pair of Houston residents.

The children are residents of Gaines County who have not received the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a news release. Both children were hospitalized in Lubbock but have since been discharged.

The cases come on the heels of the Houston Health Department reporting another pair of infections earlier this month. Those cases, found in unvaccinated adults who recently traveled internationally, were the first in Texas since 2023 and the first in Houston since 2018.

The Houston cases prompted DSHS officials to release a health alert to advise the public of symptoms to look out for and steps they can take prevent infection. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles, and will also protect against serious health complications caused by the disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness, which can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who is not protected against the virus," DSHS officials said in Thursday's news release about the West Texas cases.

Measles is highly contagious and spreads through coughing, sneezing or just being near someone who is infected. The virus can also remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area, the DSHS said in the news release.

Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and red and watery eyes. Several days later a rash will appear as flat, red spots on the face before spreading down the body, according to the news release.

It can also lead to serious health complications. One in five unvaccinated people who are infected will need to be hospitalized, and one in 20 children will develop pneumonia, according to the CDC. In rare cases it can cause encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain that can lead to convulsions that could cause deafness or an intellectual disability.

Anyone who is infected with measles is contagious for about four days before the rash appears and about four days after it fades, so they should stay home during that period, according to the news release.

They should also contact a health care provider, who should then report any suspected cases of measles to local health officials." Houston Chronicle ($)

• #TXLEGE

“Online bots attacked Dustin Burrows in Texas House speaker's race,” Houston Chronicle's Edward McKinley — “An army of automated bots mobilized late last year to attack state Rep. Dustin Burrows on social media as the Lubbock Republican campaigned in a hotly contested race to become the next speaker of the Texas House, according to a data analysis prepared by a Republican social media marketing company and shared with Hearst Newspapers.

The accounts on X blasted Burrows, who went on to win the race, as a “RINO,” “traitor,” and “Democrat shill,” and they promised GOP primary attacks against his supporters.

His main competitor was state Rep. David Cook, a Mansfield Republican who ran as a hardline conservative and promised to sideline Democrats from the policymaking process. Cook was backed by the state party, most of the chamber’s far-right members and some of the party’s most prolific donors.

The findings by Switchgrass Social offer a new view of the race, in which Burrows was cast by opponents as a member of the Texas House establishment rejected by the grassroots. The bots, as identified by the firm, gave the impression that Republican voters were coming out in droves to protest his candidacy. But instead of committed party activists, the accounts may have simply been lines of code paid for by an outside actor.

Kelly Pietropaoli, the president of Switchgrass Social, said she noticed a large spike in negative comments on Burrows’ X posts and had her company’s data analysts check it out.

From thousands of online accounts, the firm drew a sample of about 900 and analyzed their posts. The marketing firm, which was founded in 2023 and has operated in 17 states, found evidence of widespread “single-use” behavior where accounts were made and used only to post similar attacks against Burrows, using the same words and phrases over and over in short time frames. Other indicators, Pietropaoli said, included relatively new accounts with huge volumes of posts or accounts based outside Texas that used harsh attack language and then disappeared from the discourse.

“There was indication of a seed farm or a bot farm that was trying to fabricate and manipulate conversation around this particular race,” she said.

Online marketing firms, in the U.S. and abroad, can be hired to organize bot attacks to promote political or commercial messages on social media, but it’s nearly impossible to triangulate who is behind the activity, she said.

People and groups that pay for election-related communications in Texas are required to publicly disclose their activity to the state ethics commission. But the online attacks against Burrows could fall into a grey area because they don’t “expressly advocate” for his election or defeat as speaker — a loophole that allows outside actors in Texas elections to avoid disclosure.

Before Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in the state Senate, the Texas Tribune and Texas Monthly reported a conservative digital strategy firm was offering $50 for pro-Paxton social media posts. That firm, the outlets reported, was Influenceable LLC, which is run by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale and has been allied with Tim Dunn, a West Texas oil billionaire who was a strong financial supporter of both Paxton and Cook.

Switchgrass has not been hired by Burrows or Cook, Pietropaoli said and campaign finance reports show. Neither lawmaker responded to a request for comment on the findings, and no one has been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Burrows won the speaker’s race 85 to 55 with support from a coalition of House Democrats and Republicans.

Different researchers have provided different estimates of how common bots are in political discourse, but one study from Washington University in St. Louis found that bots made up between 25% and 68% of X users, far higher than the social media site’s own estimates.

Research does show that the use of bots to promote political messages heats up around election times, and with the widespread availability of artificial intelligence chatbot technology, the methods are growing ever more sophisticated, said Soumendra Lahiri, the WashU mathematics professor who conducted the research.

“Now it is a much bigger problem,” Lahiri said. “It’s always a cat-and-mouse game. If you identify a pattern, next time you look at similar accounts they have already taken care of it. They are always evolving.”" Houston Chronicle ($)

• STATE GOVERNMENT

“Abbott hopes to whittle down $2.9 billion border security request,” Dallas Morning News' Karen Brooks Harper — “How Texas Gov. Greg Abbott might spend $2.9 billion in proposed state border security funds depends largely on how President Donald Trump plans to address challenges at the U.S.-Mexico border, Abbott’s office told Senate budget writers Thursday.

The Republican governor said he hopes to have more information in the coming weeks about Trump’s plans, including whether the state can turn some expenses over to the federal government or be reimbursed for about $11 billion the state has spent on Operation Lone Star, the governor’s 4-year-old border security mission.

“I don’t have any clear-cut answers or timelines for you today,” Abbott’s chief of staff, Robert Black, told members of the Senate Finance Committee in a budget hearing at the Texas Capitol. “We are less than three weeks into a new administration in Washington, D.C., and I think, if you just turn on your TV or social media channels, you can see there’s a lot of activity by the administration regarding security in this country.”

Next week, Black said, Abbott will travel to Washington to speak with congressional leaders about his reimbursement request. He has already spoken on the request with the Trump administration several times, as well as U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Texas Republicans in Congress, Black said.

Those talks have been “very positive,” he said.

“I would probably have better luck predicting the weather next month than predicting what Congress is actually going to do,” Black said to chuckles from committee members. “But I can assure you that the governor is putting forth every effort possible to get those funds back to Texas regarding the border security efforts.”

Abbott has become a national figure in the political fight over border security, blaming Democratic President Joe Biden for record-breaking numbers of illegal border crossings. Abbott instituted programs busing migrants to Democratic-run cities and ordered razor wire barriers erected along the Rio Grande, among other actions.

Since taking office Jan. 20, Trump has declared a state of emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border, suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and sent soldiers to border cities in Texas. Trump has also been a vocal supporter of Abbott’s border initiatives, and state leaders expressed hope in this week’s budget hearings that having an ally in the White House could mean more federal help for Texas.

It’s time for Texas and Washington to cooperate over securing the border, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said during a Tuesday hearing on the budget for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is seeking $1.2 billion for border-related expenses, including replacing 500 troopers who have been sent to the border.

“We have to use this friend that we have in office, this friend of Texas, to put us in a position to succeed,” Creighton said. “Because, at the end of the day, we may find ourselves alone again after four years.”

With Trump as a potentially powerful partner, Abbott has ramped up action along the border, including having more migrant-deterring buoys placed in the Rio Grande and sending 400 National Guard soldiers to the border.

The governor will keep it up unless there’s a reason to change course, Black told Senate budget writers.

“Texas remains an active participant and partner in those ongoing security efforts, and it is the governor’s intent right now to maintain and continue our current border security posture while we continue working with the administration in partnership as they ramp up their border security efforts,” Black said.

Senate Finance Chair Joan Huffman, whose early budget draft has $6.5 billion earmarked for all state border security spending, suggested the state could save $200 million per month — $1.1 billion per year — by turning over command of the National Guard’s border mission, and about 4,500 soldiers, to the federal government.

“I’m supportive, I love what you do,” Huffman told Texas National Guard Maj. General Thomas M. Suelzer in a hearing. “But moving forward, I would like to figure out a way to get the state off the hook for that much money and let you concentrate on some of your other functions.”

The Texas Military Department is asking for $2.3 billion for border security for the next two years, similar to its current budget.

“It’s too early to tell how the border will evolve, but I can tell you right now, under the leadership of the governor, we have our foot fully on the gas and we’re not letting it up,” Suelzer said. “We’re going to continue securing this border until he tells us otherwise, and that’s not going to change.”

Huffman said the state should proceed “prudently” and prioritize worthwhile expenses — such as taking the lead on cases in which undocumented immigrants have committed state offenses.

“Those things are really good state support, I think, to help the feds in their mission, and we want to invest in their mission. I think we have a role in that,” Huffman said." DMN ($)

• LOCAL GOVERNMENT

“City Council says yes to bike plan that could cost billions,” San Antonio Express-News' Richard Webner — "The city of San Antonio has adopted a plan to build a network of bike routes spanning 1,890 miles over the next quarter-century, largely within the existing street grid, at an estimated cost of $3 billion to $8 billion.

On Thursday, the City Council voted 10-0, with District 10 Councilman Mark Whyte abstaining, to adopt what the city calls its Bike Network Plan. The plan recommends that bike lanes be added to some of the city’s busiest thoroughfares – ranging from McCullough Avenue to Military Drive to Vance Jackson Road – possibly at the cost of narrowing or eliminating vehicle lanes.

The plan also proposes that some street intersections be redesigned with cyclists in mind, and offers a set of policy changes – such as a reduction of default speed limits citywide – designed to make San Antonio more bike-friendly.

In voting to approve the plan, which city staff and outside consultants have been working on since 2022, the council did not commit to any specific policy changes or infrastructure projects. The plan will function as a guide for the city to follow on its journey to become a city where people can safely bike to school, buy groceries or visit a doctor.

Catherine Hernandez, director of the city’s transportation department, described to the council how the city would likely add bike routes in a piecemeal fashion when opportunities become available, such as when other road infrastructure is being repaired.

Even cyclists admit that implementing the plan will be a long, uncertain and sometimes painful journey.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg – who was pictured in the 104-page plan happily riding his bike – expressed hope that “future iterations of this council” would remain committed to the plan.

“Whether you walk, whether you bike, whether you take public transportation or your own car, you should feel safe and you should have efficient, quality streets," Nirenberg said after the vote.

In explaining his abstention, Whyte said there was a lot that he liked about the plan but that he was concerned over its lack of detail, including for which roads would lose vehicle lanes. He also expressed concern about the plan’s suggestion that certain taxes might be raised to pay for the new infrastructure.

“I worry about losing lanes on some of District 10’s major thoroughfares, that it’s going to add to traffic and things like that,” he said. “So much of this is good… but a lot of it is a little too broad for me.”

The Bike Network Plan calls for 1,035 projects which would comprise 1,890 miles of bike routes – a distance equal to about two-thirds the length of the continental U.S. The routes could range from lanes and stand-alone paths to low-speed streets shared in their entirety by vehicles and cyclists, known as “bike boulevards.”

If fully built, the network would enable more than half of local residents to cycle comfortably to a grocery store and more than two-thirds to a school, according to the plan. ...

Another of the uncertainties surrounding the plan is how the city would pay for it.

The plan suggests that the network would mostly be funded by the federal government — $5.8 billion of the $8 billion maximum, according to a proposed cost breakdown — with the city supplying an estimated $540 million to $1.4 billion.

The administration of former President Joe Biden made significant amounts of funding available for bicycle and other non-vehicular transportation projects, including through its 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. But it’s uncertain whether the Trump administration share that priority.

A project the council approved last month, to build a nearly mile-long bike route on Market and Commerce streets downtown, could serve as an example of how the city might use federal dollars. The route will be built with $15.8 million in federal funds distributed by the Texas Department of Transportation through its Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program, which is funded in part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Whyte alluded to the possible difficulties in securing the needed federal funding on Thursday, noting that “it’s going to be extremely important that we have a good relationship with our federal government.”

The plan lays out other possible sources of funding, including the state of Texas, Bexar County and city’s five-year bond program." SAEN ($)

“Longest serving judge in Bexar County retires after 35 years,” San Antonio Express-News' Gabriella Ybarra — "Every morning, Bexar County Magistrate Judge Andrew Carruthers, Bexar County's longest serving judge, walks through the doors of the Bexar County Courthouse at 8:58 a.m. sharp.

He dips into his office and emerges wearing his black robe.

He's ready to take the bench at 9 a.m.

"Let's get it done," he says.

After 35 years of public service, Carruthers, 79, retires this week.

He's the first criminal law magistrate and the first Black magistrate in Bexar County. During his historic tenure, he's presided over half a million cases.

In 1989 when he was appointed as the first Bexar County criminal law magistrate, he had worked as a defense attorney and assistant district attorney. But he had never given thought about becoming a judge, Carruthers told the San Antonio Express-News.

But the opportunity came when the Texas legislature passed a bill authorizing a number of criminal magistrates and created the position. Texas judges who were dealing with heavy case loads and requested assistance.

"I threw my hat in the ring and wound up getting the job," Carruthers said. "I'm just glad I did."

Carruthers was chosen out of nine applicants. He was tasked to "hear pretrial motions in contested felony cases, accept felony pleas of guilty and be available for general magistrate duties," according to a San Antonio Express-News article published on Nov. 29, 1989.

Sid Harle, 4th administrative judicial region judge, was one of seven district court judges who voted to appoint Carruthers. When speaking about Carruthers at a portrait unveiling of him earlier this month, he said he knew Carruthers was right for the job.

"There was no question in my mind, and I gladly and proudly voted for him, and he has proven that each and every day that he indeed was the right man for the job," Harle said.

No one questions Carruthers' work ethic. For 20 years, he's heard 80-100 cases per week.

He's become an expert on competency and sanity issues. He's also worked as an assistant professor at Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

"The work has evolved over the years," Carruthers said. "Eventually, the mental health docket became probably 80% of what we've done for the last two decades."

He's also known for being innovative in making improvements to the justice system." SAEN ($)

• TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

“Poll: 60% of Texans support increased deportation efforts,” Dallas Morning News' Aarón Torres — "A majority of Texans support deporting most of the undocumented immigrants living in the United States, according to a poll that found sharp differences between the state’s Republicans and Democrats.

The poll, released Thursday by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, showed 60% of Texans support increased immigration enforcement. Republicans were overwhelmingly more supportive — 83% of those surveyed — vs. 34% of Democrats.

Support for deportation rose significantly — 87% — for undocumented migrants with criminal convictions, including 95% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats.

For migrants whose asylum claims are denied, 72% of those surveyed support deportation. In addition, 73% support limiting the number of migrants who can be granted asylum.

However, 73% of Texans support allowing “Dreamers” — undocumented individuals who were brought to the country as children — to legally stay and work in the United States. That includes 91% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans.

The poll, conducted online Jan. 13-21 in English and Spanish, had 1,200 respondents. Its margin of error was plus or minus 2.83%.

President Donald Trump campaigned heavily on launching the nation’s largest mass deportation program in history, saying the crackdown would begin his first day in office.

Within hours of being sworn in Jan. 20, Trump signed a series of executive orders reversing a number of Joe Biden’s immigration policies, including ending the CBP One mobile app used to set appointments for about 1,450 migrants daily at eight border crossings. About 1 million people had entered the country legally with eligibility to work using the app.

Immigration enforcement and deportations have ramped up during Trump’s first 10 days in office.

In the past week, Gov. Greg Abbott has announced a number of border security actions meant to assist the Trump administration’s efforts.

Abbott’s recent orders include sending 400 National Guard soldiers to the Rio Grande Valley, directing state troopers to help with federal efforts to arrest undocumented migrants and ordering state agencies to assist the Trump administration’s deportation operations." DMN ($)

“Trump administration freezes millions in migrant aid funds to Texas,” Houston Chronicle' Benjamin Wermund — "The Trump administration is freezing hundreds of millions in migrant aid funding, nearly a quarter of which goes to nonprofits and cities in Texas.

Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem signed an order this week halting federal grants for municipalities and nonprofits that provide food, shelter, clothing and more for asylum-seekers. The order cited concerns that the grants are funding “illegal activities, such as encouraging or inducing illegal immigration…or illegal harboring of illegal aliens.” It calls for a 7-day review of the program.

Her order comes as Republicans have been increasingly critical of the groups receiving the funding. Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022 asked Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate non-governmental organizations on the border, and Paxton has spent the last several months trying to shut a handful of them down, including Catholic Charities, alleging that they are illegally encouraging border crossers and harboring those in the country without authorization.

"When somebody said NGO to me, I thought that [was] a nonprofit telling somebody about Jesus or spreading faith and salvation," Noem said in an interview on Fox News. "Then I realized over the years, it's been perverted into this shadow government."

The funding has been a lifeline to groups that helped shoulder the massive influx of migration over the last several years. Texas received $62.4 million in those grants last year, 23% of the national funding. The largest grants went to Catholic Charities in San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley, as well as El Paso County and the city of San Antonio.

"Without this money, I don't know if any of us could do this," Antonio Fernandez, president and CEO of Catholic Charities, said in 2023. The organization helped care for more than 100,000 migrants at San Antonio's migrant resource center. "If we close that site, we'll have a lot of people who may be in the streets of San Antonio."

The funding pause is “quite significant” because much of the federal funding has been delayed, with some organizations still waiting for reimbursements from years past, said Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.

The migrants receiving care from the organizations have all been vetted and released by federal immigration officials, Putzel-Kavanaugh said.

Federal immigration authorities “have come to rely on these NGOs that do this work so they aren’t releasing people onto the streets,” she said. “These organizations played a very critical role in decreasing chaos in border communities.”" Houston Chronicle ($)

“Former Ted Cruz staffer named U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Texas,” Houston Landing's Eileen Grench — "Former prosecutor Nicholas J. Ganjei was sworn in as the newest U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Texas on Wednesday, filling the open seat previously held by former President Joe Biden appointee Alamdar Hamdani.

Ganjei will oversee 43 counties and a justice system for nine million people that spans more than 44,000 square miles, according to the district’s website. The district encompasses courts in Houston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo, but is headquartered in Houston, where the new U.S. Attorney resides.

Ganjei accepted the new job after leaving his role as chief counsel for Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), a position he’s held since 2023. He was also counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution. Previously, from 2020 to 2021, he was Acting U.S. Attorney and First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, according to a release by the Justice Department on Wednesday.

He replaced Jennifer Lowery, who had been acting U.S. attorney since Hamdani, the first Asian American to hold the job, stepped down from his post on Jan. 19, 2025.

“This opportunity to once again serve the American people is both a tremendous responsibility and a great privilege,” said Ganjei in a written statement to the press on Wednesday. “This office will play a critical role in ensuring our border is secure and the American people are kept safe.”

Wednesday’s appointment was announced by the U.S. Department of Justice just nine days after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who was expected to name a new head of the office. Hamdani said the turnover of federal prosecutors is typical when the White House changes hands to a new political party.

“We serve at the pleasure of the president,” Hamdani told the Houston Landing in an interview early this month.

So far, Ganjei has not explicitly stated how his priorities in office will differ from those of his predecessor. Before his resignation on Jan. 19, Hamdani had touted his efforts to combat violent crime and gang activity, claiming a part in the 20% drop in Houston’s murder rate in the year following his appointment." Houston Landing

• TEXANS IN DC

“Ted Cruz set to play key role in plane crash investigation,” Dallas Morning News' Joseph Morton — "Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Thursday cautioned against jumping to conclusions about what caused a tragic midair collision between an Army helicopter and a passenger jet landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport.

“We should wait for the investigation to demonstrate what actually caused the accident, rather than speculating,” Cruz said. “We know it was tragic, and there are families of 67 men and women grieving right now.”

Cruz has a key role in congressional oversight of the Wednesday night accident as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over aviation safety.

His comments to reporters came after he left a briefing with representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board. He said the officials were confident the black boxes containing flight information from both aircraft would be recovered.

Cruz said the investigation will examine the precise paths of the aircraft and discussions between the pilots and air traffic controllers who were switching the plane to a new runway and advising the Army’s Black Hawk helicopter.

He said the Black Hawk pilot confirmed seeing the plane but it’s not clear whether that referred to a different plane than the one involved in the collision.

“Another obvious question that I expect will be asked is whether it is a sound policy idea to have as many helicopter flights in close proximity to a busy commercial airport as we do, and that may be a decision that should be revisited,” Cruz said.

He did not respond to a question about whether he agreed with President Donald Trump’s suggestion that standards for air traffic controllers might have played a role in the crash. ...

Cruz has served for years on the Commerce Committee and became chair this session after Republicans recaptured the Senate majority.

He has focused on aviation as a senior member of the committee, saying much more is needed to modernize the country’s air traffic system and pledging last month that improving the system would be among his top priorities as chairman.

A Southwest Airlines and FedEx jet came within 100 feet of colliding in Austin in 2023. Cruz later displayed a video re-creation of the event during a committee hearing examining a technology failure that shut down U.S. air systems.

As chairman, he has the power to hold hearings probing the causes of the crash and highlighting lessons to prevent similar accidents." DMN ($)

“Sen. John Cornyn's social media account briefly hacked,” Dallas Morning News' Joseph Morton — "Those following the X account of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, were scratching their heads Wednesday night over an all-caps post depicting a photo of him standing next to President Donald Trump.

“WE’RE READY TO MAKE $USA GREAT AGAIN,” read the post, which included what users said was a cryptocurrency pitch.

The post was later deleted and Cornyn’s office clarified the account had been hacked.

Cornyn offered an apology for the incident Thursday morning." DMN ($)

• BUSINESS NEWS

“CenterPoint Energy settles rate case, will lower power costs for customers,” Texas Tribune's Pavan Acharya — “More than six months after CenterPoint Energy came under fire for its response to Hurricane Beryl — and its proposal to raise its rates — Houston’s main electricity company announced Wednesday that it reached a settlement that will lower customers’ bills.

Instead of the proposed rate increase that the company had requested shortly before Beryl made landfall, most CenterPoint Energy customers will have their average bill reduced by about $1 per month moving forward — pending approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Centerpoint withdrew its rate increase proposal on Aug. 1 amid the Beryl backlash.

“Following customer feedback and constructive discussions with intervening parties over the last several months, this plan keeps our customers at the forefront and supports CenterPoint's ultimate goal of building the most resilient coastal grid in the country," Jason Ryan, CenterPoint’s executive vice president of regulatory services and government affairs, said in a Wednesday statement.

CenterPoint faced public outrage and sharp criticism from Texas lawmakers after more than 2 million households and businesses lost power after Beryl struck the city, prompting a public apology from the company’s CEO. At least 23 people in Texas died from the storm and associated power outages. Beryl also caused about $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in damages to CenterPoint’s electrical infrastructure.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott criticized the utility for its response to Beryl, which left hundreds of thousands of customers in Houston without power nearly a week after the hurricane struck. In July, he said the state may have to reconsider how much territory CenterPoint could serve if the company didn’t “fix its ongoing problems.” CenterPoint serves more than 2.6 million customers across the greater Houston area and coastal communities like Galveston.

In addition to calling on CenterPoint to create a detailed plan about how it would restore power, the governor also asked the PUC to investigate the utility’s response. The PUC presented their findings in a November report that said customers had trouble getting reliable information during Beryl and recommended that lawmakers pass legislation requiring utility companies to provide information about power restoration during outages.

The same investigation also recommended more than a dozen improvements to CenterPoint’s emergency plans, communications and vegetation management. The PUC announced in November that it would also hire an outside company to audit CenterPoint, with results expected in April.

In August, Attorney General Ken Paxton also opened a criminal investigation into CenterPoint to examine allegations of fraud, waste and improper use of taxpayer funds.

After Beryl hit, CenterPoint President and CEO Jason Wells vowed to improve the company’s communications and the electrical system’s resiliency. In early August, CenterPoint launched a new outage tracker. The previous tracker had been offline for several months before Beryl struck.

During its Beryl response, CenterPoint also faced criticism for not utilizing massive generators designed to help during extended power outages. The PUC had allowed CenterPoint to charge its customers to help pay for the $800 million needed to lease the generators and make a profit.

In Wednesday’s statement, CenterPoint said it “would make no revenue or profit off of the temporary emergency generator proposal,” suggesting that customers would no longer be on the hook to help pay for the generators. The change comes after lawmakers, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, called on the PUC to block CenterPoint from passing that cost onto its customers.

CenterPoint is also proposing moving the emergency generators to the San Antonio area for two years starting this spring to help the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state power grid, address any potential energy shortfalls this summer. The proposed change is subject to approval from ERCOT." Texas Tribune

“Exxon Mobil's strong fourth quarter fueled by rising production in the Permian, Guyana,” AP's Michelle Chapman — “Exxon Mobil posted strong fourth quarter profits as the oil and gas company increased production in the Permian basin at home, and in Guyana.

The Texas company earned $7.61 billion, or $1.72 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. It earned $7.63 billion, or $1.91 per share, in the prior-year period.

Removing one time costs and charges, earnings were $1.67 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations, though Exxon does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset sales. Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research anticipated earnings of $1.55 per share.

Exxon Mobil said Friday that excluding one-time charges and benefits, earnings rose $1.6 billion due to growth on record production in Guyana, in South America, and in America’s Permian basin, as well as structural cost savings.

Revenue totaled $83.43 billion, missing Wall Street’s estimate of $87.12 billion.

Exxon’s net production hit 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day during the quarter, an increase of 20,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day compared with the previous quarter.

Kathy Mikells, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said in prepared remarks that more than 50% of production in 2024 came from the Permian basin, Guyana, and from liquid natural gas.

The company anticipates that more than 60% of its volumes will be generated from its assets in the Permian, Guyana, and liquid natural gas by 2030, she added.

In December OPEC+ delayed increasing oil production as it faces weaker than expected demand and competing production from non-allied countries. The alliance decided at an online meeting to postpone production increases that had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The plan had been to start gradually restoring 2.2 million barrels per day over the course of 2025.

That process will now be pushed back to April 1, 2025 and production increases will gradually take place over 18 months until October 2026.

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp., based in Spring, Texas, were essentially flat before the opening bell Friday." AP

• NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

> TX TRIB: "Trump’s tariffs loom and even his supporters in Texas are nervous" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Legal rights groups urge school leaders not to adopt Texas’ Bible-infused curriculum" TX TRIB
> AP: "Judge extends court-monitoring agreement for children in Customs and Border Protection custody" AP
> TX TRIB: "An East Texas town debates where to place EV charging stations as Trump threatens subsidies" TX TRIB
> AP: "Air Force deportation flight skirts Mexican airspace to Guatemala as military’s border role grows" AP
> TX MONTHLY: "The World’s Second-Longest Conveyor Belt Will Soon Start Rolling in West Texas" TX MONTHLY
> DMN: "Texas officials identify 2 measles cases in unvaccinated school-age children" DMN
> TX MONTHLY: "When the Catholic Church Ran a Public School in Small-Town Texas" TX MONTHLY
> FWST: "DFW airspace is crowded and busy. What is being done to avoid aircraft collisions?" FWST
> TX TRIB: "“How do we protect our poultry flocks?” Texas dairy, poultry producers grapple with bird flu" TX TRIB
> DMN: "American Airlines CEO: ‘We don’t know why' Army helicopter crossed plane path" DMN
> FWST: "4.5-magnitude quake jolts two major Texas cities, USGS says. ‘Felt my apartment shake’" FWST
> DMN: "How Klyde Warren Park brought Dallas together" DMN
> HOU CHRON: "Texas sheriffs already assist deportations. Here's how far they can go for Trump" HOU CHRON
> TX TRIB: "CenterPoint Energy settles rate case, will lower power costs for customers" TX TRIB
> DMN: "Dallas police address fears around immigration, deportation" DMN
> DMN: "Universal Kids Resort comes to Frisco: Here’s the latest in its progress" DMN
> DMN: "Dallas breakfast spot Crossroads Diner reopened in new suburban location" DMN
> FWST: "Baby abandoned on sidewalk with umbilical cord attached, Texas cops say. Mom arrested" FWST
> FWST: "Dallas’ Sixth Floor Museum acquires rare footage of JFK assassination aftermath" FWST
> FWST: "Dive team pulls man’s body from water after car crashes in pond at River Crest Country Club" FWST
> FWST: "Study shows revenue projections for Keller ISD split; audit finds problems with budget" FWST
> FWST: "This North Texas suburb is the second-best in the country, according to new study" FWST
> FWST: "Man heats knife on stove and tries to ‘brand’ woman on Valentine’s Day, MT officials say" FWST
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Texas budget writers prioritize border security, education funding in initial drafts" COMMUNITY IMPACT

• EXTRA POINTS

Last night's Texas sports score:
> NCAAM: Louisiana 70, Texas State 61
> NCAAM: UT-Arlington 70, Southern Utah 68
> NCAAM: W. Kentucky 78, UTEP 74
> NCAAM: Tarleton State 61, Utah Tech 54

This weekend's Texas sports schedule:
Fri
> 6pm: NBA: Dallas at Detroit
> 6pm: NBA: Milwaukee at San Antonio
> 7pm: NHL: Vancouver at Dallas (ESPN+)
Sat
> 2pm: NCAAM: UTEP at Middle Tennessee State (ESPN+)
> 2pm: NCAAM: Lamar at Stephen F. Austin (ESPN+)
> 2pm: NCAAM: Utah Tech at UT-Arlington (ESPN+)
> 2pm: NCAAM: Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern (HBCU)
> 2:15pm: NCAAM: Northwestern State at East Texas A&M (ESPN+)
> 3pm: NCAAM: #11 Kansas at Baylor (ESPN)
> 3pm: NCAAM: Sam Houston State at Louisiana Tech (ESPNU)
> 4pm: NCAAM: Arkansas State at Texas State (ESPN+)
> 4:30pm: NCAAM: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at UT-RGV (ESPN+)
> 5pm: NCAAM: #22 Texas Tech at #6 Houston (ESPN+)
> 5pm: NCAAM: Texas at LSU (SEC Network)
> 5pm: NCAAM: UTSA at North Texas (ESPN+)
> 5pm: NCAAM: Stanford at SMU (ACC Network)
> 5pm: NCAAM: Houston Christian at Incarnate Word (ESPN+)
> 7pm: NBA: Brooklyn at Houston
> 7pm: NCAAM: Southern Utah at Tarleton State (ESPN+)
> 7pm: NCAAM: #13 Texas A&M at South Carolina (SEC Network)
> 7:30pm: NBA: Miami at San Antonio
Sun
> 2:30pm: NBA: Dallas at Cleveland
> 3pm: NCAAM: Colorado at TCU (ESPN+)
> 5pm: NHL: Columbus at Dallas (ESPN+)

DALLAS COWBOYS: Sherrington: "Cowboys have lost their buzz. Here's one way Dallas can bring it back" DMN ($)

HOUSTON TEXANS: "Texans' OC candidates: Grant Udinski, Brian Johnson among candidates" Houston Chronicle ($)

DALLAS MAVERICKS: "Mavs' Kyrie Irving misses out on NBA All-Star team" DMN ($)

DALLAS MAVERICKS: "NBA trade deadline 2025: Which Dallas Mavericks could be on the move?" DMN ($)

HOUSTON ROCKETS: "Bane scores 24 points, Jackson hits go-ahead free throws as Grizzlies beat Rockets 120-119" AP

HOUSTON ROCKETS: "Houston Rockets: Alperen Şengün named to 2025 NBA All-Star team" Houston Chronicle ($)

SAN ANTONIO SPURS: "Spurs' Victor Wembanyama named to first NBA All-Star Game" SAEN ($)

TEXAS MEN'S BASKETBALL: "Four more wins is all Texas basketball needs to go dancing" AAS ($)

TEXAS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: "Jones and Booker lead No.5 Texas past Missouri 70-61 for Longhorns' 18th straight home win" AP