Good evening, Texas. We’re wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know and your weather outlook.
Your Weather Planner
We are still looking at humid and warm conditions with a cloudy mix overhead. There is a slight chance of showers in the forecast but no significant rain until Wednesday. A cold front into the weekend will bring more refreshing, dry air and about a 10-degree drop in temperatures.
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Today’s Big Stories
1. Texas House Democrats fined each over $8K for quorum break
The Texas House Democrats who broke quorum and left the state during last summer’s special session amid Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting push will officially be fined over $8,000 for their actions.
The Texas House Committee on House Administration voted along party lines on Friday to penalize the members who broke quorum $500 for each day missed and $2,354 in expenses for the Texas Department of Public Safety. All total, most of the Democrats face a fine of $8,354. The annual salary for a member of the state House is $7,200.
2. Texas Tech orders phase out of programs ‘centered on’ sexual orientation, gender identity
In a memorandum last week, Texas Tech chancellor and former Republican state Sen. Brandon Creighton ordered campuses to phase out programs “centered on” sexual orientation and gender identity, referring to it as SOGI.
The Texas Tech University System will no longer offer academic credentials in SOGI fields, according to the memo. All currently enrolled students will be able to complete their degrees.
3. Years of drought has major energy port of Corpus Christi, Texas, wrestling with water crisis
In parched southern Texas, a yearslong drought has depleted Corpus Christi’s water reserves so gravely that the city is scrambling to prevent a shortage that could force painful cutbacks for residents and hobble the refineries and petrochemical plants in a major energy port.
Experts said the city didn’t expect such a bad drought, and new sources of reliable water didn’t arrive as expected. Those problems arose as the city increased its water sales to big industrial customers.
Notes for Tomorrow
Tuesday, April 14
House Oversight Committee Dems hold shadow field hearing on Epstein investigation
Vice President Vance speaks at Turning Point USA tour stop in Georgia
In Case You Missed It
Tim Foli, left, and Phil Garner, the middle infield of the 1979 World Championship Pittsburgh Pirates team attend a pre-game ceremony remembering the team’s accomplishment 40 years ago before a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies in Pittsburgh, July 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Former major league infielder Phil Garner, who managed Astros’ first World Series team, dies at 76
Phil Garner, a three-time All-Star infielder who went on to manage the Houston Astros to their first World Series appearance, has died. He was 76.
Garner’s family issued a statement Sunday saying Garner died Saturday after a two-plus-year battle with pancreatic cancer.