Express Briefing

The presence of antibodies — proteins in a patient's immune system that fight off infections — tell researchers that those individuals had contracted the coronavirus in recent months. According to a a study from Texas Department of Health Services and UT Health, as many as a quarter of Texas residents have COVID-19 antibodies. In an update to the situation at the Texas-Mexico border, the U.S. government plans to use a Texas convention center to hold up to 3,000 immigrant teenagers as sharply higher numbers of border crossings have severely strained the current capacity to hold youths.

Even though overcast skies and temperatures in the low 70s brought just a trickle of customers to kick off spring break, Texas' tubing outfitters are hopeful that the weeks and months to come will bring a chance to recover from the pandemic's economic devastation. Here's what they told us. At the U.S.-Mexico border, the Biden administration is turning to FEMA for help managing and caring for record numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children who are streaming into the United States by illegally crossing the border.

It's still nearly four months away, but there's reason to hope this year's Fourth of July celebrations will be something like normal. You know, like before COVID-19 hit. President Joe Biden pledged in his first prime-time address Thursday night to make all adults eligible for vaccines by May 1 and raised the prospect of "independence from this virus" by the Fourth of July. Keep an eye on the Express-News Taste team's page today as our 52 Weeks of Food Trucks series continues. If you missed any previous entries, catch up here.

Congress approved a sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Wednesday, authorizing a flurry of new federal spending and a temporary yet dramatic increase in anti-poverty programs to help millions of families still struggling amid the pandemic. Staying in Washington, President Joe Biden directed his administration to order another 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, growing a likely U.S. surplus of doses later this year while much of the rest of the world struggles with deep shortages.

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order rescinding all COVID-related restrictions takes effect today. But the city of Austin is flouting the governor's order and will continue to require residents to wear masks. Texas is a year away from its March primary elections and there is already plenty of chatter that Gov. Greg Abbott could face his first challenge from the right after only token opposition in his past two campaigns. Here are some of the names that keep coming up.

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Bexar County commissioners will get an update on the county's plumbing assistance program, aimed at helping residents affected by last month's winter storm, during an in-person meeting this morning at the County Courthouse. We'll post updates here. We're accepting nominations for our annual Top Workplaces competition. Click here for more information. And we're launching our newest newsletter, The Docket, on Friday. Click here to receive our best crime and courts stories in your inbox every week.

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CPS Energy customers won't see extra charges on their February bills stemming from the winter storm that iced over Texas last month. In less good news, the CDC published a study showing evidence that COVID restrictions — such as the mask requirement that Gov. Greg Abbott rescinded — clearly decrease COVID cases and deaths, while opening up restaurants causes them to spike.

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The countdown is on to April 16, the deadline to nominate your company for our 2021 Top Workplaces competition. Click here to participate or call 210-348-3758. Wednesday in South Texas, Starship SN10 stuck its landing. Then it exploded. Here's a closer look at what happened and why SpaceX fans were encouraged.

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Join Express-News Features Editor Emily Spicer for a timely conversation with vaccine scientist and tropical disease and coronavirus expert, Dr. Peter J. Hotez. Come back to this page at noon today. Our latest episode of the Puro Politics podcast is all about the questions surrounding county commissioner Trish DeBerry, her public relations firm and its $175,000 contract with SAWS. Check out all our podcasts here.

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The state is launching its "Save Our Seniors" initiative in 26 counties this week, setting aside 8,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses for elderly and homebound Texans. Find out more about the program and why Bexar County isn't on the list yet. Now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, Texas is awaiting its first shipment of the third vaccine to be approved since the pandemic began. The state could initially receive more than 200,000 doses.

Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines.

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