Good morning, Texas. Here’s what you need to know today.
Your Weather Planner
A cold start leads to a cool, mostly sunny afternoon across the state. Highs today will climb into the 50s and low 60s before another cold start to Wednesday. However, warmer and above-normal temperatures return by Wednesday afternoon and last into the new year.
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Around Texas
1. Texas affordable housing push drives movement to transform vacant church properties
As advocates work across Texas to address the affordable housing shortage, a national movement to put vacant faith-based properties to use is taking shape across the state.
The YIGBY, or “Yes in God’s Backyard,” movement aims to remove restrictive zoning laws to turn faith-based properties into affordable homes.
2. New website offers services for crime victims
Texas is hoping that with the introduction of a new victim services website, more people will step forward and seek help after having been affected by crime this year.
The Crime Victims’ Services website is open to victims, advocates and service providers. It provides 20 different pages with resources and forms you can submit on the website.
3. How tax write-off rules for charitable donations are changing in 2026
With 2026 just a few days away, charities are engaged in the usual end-of-year push to get Americans to support their favorite causes.
From food banks to pet rescues to disaster recovery organizations, charitable groups report giving is up this year and is likely to climb in the final days before new Internal Revenue Service rules kick in and change the incentives for taxpayers.
The Internal Revenue Service 1040 tax form for 2022 is seen on April 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
Around The Nation
1. Trump says U.S. ‘hit’ facility where he alleged drug boats ‘load up’
2. U.S. offers Ukraine 15-year security guarantee as part of peace plan, Zelenskyy says
3. China stages military drills around Taiwan to warn ‘external forces’ after U.S., Japan tensions
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Juanita Moore, who is best known for her role as a maid in the 1959 tearjerker movie Imitation of Life, is the subject of a documentary written as part of a campaign to land her a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Freestyle Digital Media)
‘A Star Without a Star’: A Texas native’s 19-year journey to honor a legendary Black actress
Juanita Moore was the third Black person to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, receiving the nod for her role in the late 1950s movie “Imitation of Life.” However, efforts to land Moore a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame failed for decades.
Actor and filmmaker Kirk Kelleykahn spearheaded an effort through the documentary “A Star Without a Star: The Untold Juanita Moore Story.”