Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

As three Texans die, millions go without power, and flooding threatens multiple parts of the state, Governor Abbott continues a tour of East Asia, playing President: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/abbott-hurricane-beryl-acting-governor-patrick-19561623.php

A Texas oil billionaire family finds itself in the crosshairs of the Federal Trade Commission on anti-trust suspicions as their massive contributions to state regulatory officials come into focus: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01072024/texas-pioneer-natural-resources-political-contributions/

A significant protest of this weekend's event being held at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden by a right wing extremist group by multiple Fort Worth progressive advocacy groups is expected: https://defenseofdemocracy.org/news/

Can abortion restrictions in Texas get even worse than they already are? Hell yes they can: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article289581064.html

Marijuana decriminalization appears headed to the November ballot in Bastrop: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/texas-activists-turn-in-signatures-to-put-marijuana-decriminalization-on-local-ballot-in-bastrop/

Elon Musk's SpaceX company is accused by environmental activists of excessive disruption of the ecosystems around Boca Chica: https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-boca-chica-texas-starbase-bird-habitat-2024-7

Residents of Granbury have been falling ill with a gruesome set of symptoms thought to be connected to noise coming from a nearby Bitcoin mining facility: https://time.com/6982015/bitcoin-mining-texas-health/

Donald Trump still owes El Paso over a half-million dollars for bills related to a rally he held there in 2019: https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/trumps-campaign-still-owes-el-paso-over-500k-for-2019-rally-other-cities-also-unpaid

ALL progressives should learn all they can about Project 2025, in order to resist its becoming actual U.S. policy: https://www.mediamatters.org/heritage-foundation/guide-project-2025-extreme-right-wing-agenda-next-republican-administration

Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work this election year at https://progresstexas.org/.