WEEKLY REPORT
January 7, 2012
Change in Texas’ Medicaid policy may affect some patients’ co-pays
A new state Medicaid policy could leave some elderly and low-income Texans without access to certain treatments, including crucial cancer medications, critics say.
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What Will 2012 Hold for Texas Politics, Policy
Texans will close out 2011 with more questions than answers: How will Gov. Rick Perry’s presidential bid play out? How will lawmakers’ multibillion-dollar budget cuts affect education, Medicaid and health care? Will the courts ever decide on new state House, Senate and congressional districts so Texas can hold elections?
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Could Donald Trump Get a Third-Party Win in Texas?
Late last week, supporters of business tycoon and Apprentice star Donald Trump filed paperwork in Texas to establish the Make America Great Again Party so that “The Donald” still might be able to run for president here in the Lone Star state.
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School funding lawsuit looms large for Texas
The bitter redistricting battle has been the biggest Texas legislative story this year, but a bigger legal fight seems to be looming in 2012.
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How Congress quietly killed health reform’s Consumer Assistance Program
It was a first for Texas: a state office devoted to consumers struggling to find affordable health insurance coverage. With funds from the federal health reform law, the Texas Consumer Health Assistance Program was launched last January.
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Texas’ latest natural disaster – drought – has severe economic effects
One of the worst natural disasters to hit Texas in more than a century didn’t happen all at once, yet it has caused as much physical destruction as a raging storm — if not more — and is likely to severely harm the state’s economy for many years. The drought of 2011 was the worst one-year drought on record in Texas, according to data from the National Weather Service and Texas A&M University.
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BLOG: Perry voices support for Dewhurst’s Senate bid
Gov. Rick Perry, campaigning this evening in Perry, Iowa, voiced support for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s campaign to fill the U.S. Senate seat now held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is retiring when her term is up at year’s end.
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Texas Primaries Await U.S. Supreme Court Ruling
If Texas is going to hold primary elections on April 3, the federal courts will have to pick up the pace.
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Court to Review Ruling on Texas Abortion Law
A federal judge abused his discretion when he blocked the state of Texas from enforcing a law requiring doctors to show sonograms to patients and describe the images before an abortion, a lawyer for the state told an appeals court Wednesday.
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Texas Payday Lenders Face New Rules, Scrutiny
New laws aimed at curbing predatory lending take effect this week, meaning payday and auto title loan businesses will have to be licensed by the state and post a schedule of fees in a visible place, similar to the overhead menus seen in fast food restaurants.
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Minor earthquake reported in Northwest Dallas
Experts said a minor earthquake rattled a section of Dallas near Love Field shortly after midnight Friday.
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BLOG: Young conservatives choose Cruz
The Young Conservatives of Texas have endorsed Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate campaign for the open seat of retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
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County officials hold off on new voter cards during redistricting fight
Even if you’ve registered to vote in Texas, you won’t be getting a new voter registration certificate until February. Although the latest blue cards expired at the end of the year, counties are waiting to mail out new ones until a long legal battle over the state’s redistricting maps — which has already pushed back the primary elections — has concluded.
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Wentworth sparks a residency battle in state Senate race
When she filed last month to run for the state Senate, Texas Railroad Commission Chairwoman Elizabeth Ames Jones swore she was a resident of San Antonio.
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U.S. Economy Gains Steam as 200,000 Jobs Are Added
The United States added 200,000 new jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, a robust number that came on the heels of a flurry of heartening economic news. Consumer confidence has lifted, factories have stepped up production and small businesses are showing signs of life. The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, its lowest level in nearly two years.
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