Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Centerpoint Energy predicts that hundreds of thousands of Southeast Texans still without power will remain that way into next week: https://apnews.com/article/houston-beryl-hurricane-power-outages-7f624c7e14f41284449009295e69ac12

...The utility is actually outpacing itself compared to prior weather-related outages: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/11/centerpoint-power-restore-texas-houston-when-why-timeline/

...Dan Patrick continues clinging to the idea that he had to personally assess the disaster area before requesting federal help - which is simply not true: https://www.chron.com/news/article/dan-patrick-beryl-biden-19567475.php

Today marks the start of an event being held by the extremist group True Texas Project at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, who were forced by city officials to host it - protests are expected: https://fortworthreport.org/2024/07/10/fort-worth-event-on-christian-nationalism-spurs-concerns-over-safety-free-speech/

...While a TCU seminary head notes that white supremacy and Christian Nationalism are fundamentally at odds with the teachings of Christ: https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/other-voices/article289902849.html

Progress Texas highlights the perspectives and goals of younger voters in Texas, dovetailing with our recent podcast discussion: https://progresstexas.org/blog/gen-z-and-millennials-heroes-our-democracy-needs

A new profile on oil billionaire and Christian Nationalist crusader Tim Dunn outlines his federal aspirations: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/jul/11/tim-dunn-texas-oil-billionaire-trump

Amidst ever hotter summers and against national trends, the cities of Lubbock and Longview have both closed down all of their public swimming pools, leaving kids of limited funds high and dry: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/11/texas-public-pools-lubbock-longview/

President Joe Biden will speak on Monday July 15 from the LBJ Presidential Library at UT Austin, marking the 60th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act - here's a link to watch: https://www.youtube.com/live/9x5xcS2aXTY?si=8sbMn1VT6D_voDPv

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/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Over 1 million Houston area Centerpoint and Entergy power customers remain without power or AC amidst sweltering heat this morning: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricanes/article/hurricane-beryl-power-updates-houston-heat-19563819.php

...Centerpoint's outage map shows that as of now, about half of the affected area has not yet seen actual repair work begin: https://abc13.com/post/centerpoint-energy-outage-map-when-will-power-come-back-beryl-houston/15048348/

...Entergy, which serves the non-ERCOT sections of the area, predicts restoration to be largely compete by the end of this weekend: https://www.khou.com/article/weather/hurricane/beryl/entergy-texas-beryl-power-restoration-effort-update/285-2e4add87-21d5-4402-ac81-0a924d125fbe

...Houston city leaders are up in arms with Centerpoint: https://apnews.com/article/houston-power-outages-beryl-ceb5fdc1db4d89d2376abb22bfd45d99

...NRG Stadium is now holding discharged hospital patients who can't return to their sweltering homes: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/10/texas-hospitals-beryl-power-outages/

...The state's response to Beryl, in particular its requests for federal help, came much more slowly than in prior hurricane situations: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/hurricanes/article/greg-abbott-hurricane-beryl-19565079.php

Ken Paxton predicts that the Texas House General Investigating Committee is planning to recommend impeaching him a second time: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/10/ken-paxton-texas-attorney-general-impeach/

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Millions of Texans are beginning their third day without power - or AC - amidst a summer Texas heat wave: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/09/beryl-texas-houston-power-outages/

...Massive infrastructure failures after significant weather events has become a highly unfortunate routine reality in Texas: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-07-09/hurricane-beryl-makes-a-mockery-of-texas-climate-deniers

...This time, we can add a massive, debilitating internet outage to the list of infrastructure vulnerabilities: https://cw39.com/news/texas/spectrum-reports-power-outages-across-texas/

...And right away, Republicans in charge are wild-eyed with deflections of blame towards President Biden: https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/09/politics/biden-abbott-patrick-texas-hurricane-beryl-aid/index.html

Tens of millions of Texas taxpayer dollars are being funneled into shady "crisis pregnancy centers" with little oversight: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/09/texas-crisis-pregnancy-centers-abortion/

Disgraced Gateway Church pastor and child molester Robert Morris' lawyer once tried to paint his victim Cindy Clemishire, who was 12 at the time, of having made the initial sexual advance on Morris: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/robert-morris-gateway-church-lawyer-letters-cindy-clemishire-rcna160661

Momentum is ramping up for a protest by multiple Tarrant County progressive activist groups of this weekend's True Texas Project event, forced upon the Fort Worth Botanic Garden by the city officials: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article289854404.html

...The True Texas Project, identified as an extremist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center, espouses a full range of hateful and lunatic positions: https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/bud-kennedy/article289261520.html

President Joe Biden will speak on Monday July 15 from the LBJ Presidential Library at UT Austin, marking the 60th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act - here's a link to watch: https://www.youtube.com/live/9x5xcS2aXTY?si=8sbMn1VT6D_voDPv

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/.

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/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall at Matagorda and is currently slamming the Houston metro area: https://www.khou.com/article/weather/weather-impact/hurricane-beryl-texas-gulf-coast-landfall/285-c5815723-a9d2-440b-9b15-93341665e0c0

...While Governor Abbott is out of the country on an economic excursion to Taiwan: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-lt-governor-dan-patrick-is-acting-governor-where-is-greg-abbott/287-76ddfe70-4c04-4453-a0ec-95654dc0207b

...California Congressman Eric Swalwell has noticed: https://x.com/RepSwalwell/status/1810137695009542498?t=qdMmC4qhbRGiAlNUR6pSzQ&s=03

Austin Congressman Lloyd Doggett is catching hell from Texas progressives for recommending that President Biden abandon his race for re-election: https://www.statesman.com/story/opinion/letters/2024/07/04/lloyd-doggett-joe-biden-withdraw-stunt-act-of-disloyalty-letters/74293475007/

...But, others are praising the move: https://www.statesman.com/story/opinion/letters/2024/07/06/lloyd-doggett-deserves-praise-openly-calling-president-biden-to-quit-presidential-race/74310790007/

...While Doggett affirms that he'll support the President, or whomever the Democratic nominee is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uXL_OPO4_A

...President Biden will speak at UT Austin's LBJ Presidential Library next Monday: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/07/texas-joe-biden-lbj-library/

Media Matters finds that mainstream national media essentially ignored the massive infant mortality spike in Texas related to our near-complete ban on abortion: https://www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-networks/national-news-media-barely-covered-infant-mortality-spike-followed-texas-anti

Lavish gifts to Supreme Court justices like Clarence Thomas are paying off big time for billionaires like Texas' Harlan Crow: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/tomlinson/article/chevron-supreme-court-texas-crow-thomas-19549205.php

The City of Fort Worth has intervened and is forcing the Fort Worth Botanic Garden to host a hateful conference being held by the extremist True Texas Project next weekend: https://fortworthreport.org/2024/07/04/fort-worths-ban-on-discriminatory-events-on-city-property-very-likely-to-be-removed/

Former USC and NFL QB Matt Leinart is the target of online backlash over a smiling photo he posted on July 4 with Ted Cruz: https://thespun.com/nfl/heisman-trophy-winner-is-getting-crushed-for-photo-with-ted-cruz

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/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

A new poll (from a conservative think tank, mind you) shows only a three point advantage for Ted Cruz over Colin Allred, with women and independents far in Allred's favor: https://www.newsweek.com/ted-cruz-polls-texas-senate-allred-narrow-lead-1921176

A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked a new Federal Trade Commission ban on non-compete agreements: https://www.axios.com/2024/07/03/ftc-non-compete-agreement-ban-workers

Prisoners inside Texas' uncooled prisons plead for mercy as summer heat builds: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/texas-inmates-in-uncooled-prisons-plead-for-relief-in-another-hot-summer/

A former Republican Congressman writes on Christian Nationalism, which is more closely connected to the cultural fears of older white Texans than to their religious piety: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/2024/07/06/make-america-christian-again/

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

Stories we're following here at Progress Texas:

Austin U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett has become the first House Democrat to publicly call for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/us/who-is-lloyd-doggett-biden.html

...Dallas U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett disagrees strongly: https://x.com/JasmineForUS/status/1808295266992128154?t=5YH20SnNuChhoWaGrzrgIw&s=03

...As does Houston U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: https://x.com/SJacksonLee/status/1808243082108063829?t=DQ_VZQ0ZX7_lkEd9dqdDMw&s=03

...Doggett uses President Lyndon Johnson's withdrawal from the 1968 race as an example - that ended in Richard Nixon handily defeating Hubert Humphrey: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/02/lloyd-doggett-joe-biden-withdraw-election/

The Biden Administration has issued a rule allowing emergency medical providers to conduct abortions in situations where the mother's life is at risk: https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/biden-admin-directive-on-abortion-could-protect-texas-doctors-from-political-prosecution

The Biden Administration has also proposed new rules protecting workers from excessive heat, following the lead of Austin U.S. Rep. Greg Casar: https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2024/07/02/biden-administration-proposes-rule-to-protect-workers-from-extreme-heat/

Ken Paxton has lost that legal battle he picked with longstanding immigrant shelter non-profit Annunciation House: https://www.chron.com/culture/religion/article/ken-paxton-annunication-house-texas-catholics-19551657.php

Amarillo voters will have a direct say in that city's proposed abortion ban, marking the closest Texas has seen to a direct referendum on reproductive rights: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/02/amarillo-texas-abortion-travel-ban/

Residents of Sutherland Springs are resisting plans for the 100 year old church that was the site of the 2017 mass shooting that took 26 lives and has been since been converted into a memorial: https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/sutherland-springs-church-raze-sanctuary-mass-19551486.php

"Texas Is In Danger Of Becoming A Theocracy": https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/opinions/columns/article/texas-school-vouchers-19524200.php

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's granting of broad immunity to the President are only beginning to develop: https://apnews.com/article/trump-immunity-supreme-court-capitol-riot-trial-72ec35de776315183e1db561257cb108

...Basically, if the President wants you dead, you're dead: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/trump-immunity-supreme-court/

...Not easy, but the Trump call is the worst of the year for SCOTUS: https://progresstexas.org/blog/supreme-injustices-corrupt-high-court

Texas gun enthusiasts are also fixated on how the law might protect them should they decide to open fire: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-stand-your-ground-true-texas-project/

Houston multi-millionare mega-pastor Joel Osteen is mercilessly roasted for an out-of-touch tweet about "the simple things in life": https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13590173/Millionaire-televangelist-Joel-Osteen-roasted-tweet-followers-simple-things-life.html

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Friday's SCOTUS move to overturn Chevron v NRDC represents a massive power grab by MAGA courts: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/06/elena-kagan-dissent-supreme-court-john-roberts-chevron-disaster.html

...SCOTUS also backs the right to criminalize homelessness: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/06/28/supreme-court-texas-homelessness-camping-bans/

...While the Texas Supreme Court defends a Waco-area judge's right to refuse to marry same-sex couples: https://www.tpr.org/news/2024-06-29/waco-judge-can-sue-over-reprimand-for-not-marrying-gay-couples-texas-supreme-court-rules

...And a Sherman-based, Trump-appointed federal judge blocks a Biden administrative rule that would have required employers to fairly compensate salaried workers when they put in over 40 hours in a week: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-overtime-pay-ruling/269-236181d7-509f-41bd-a76a-c59c54db2748

A history professor who has correctly predicted 9 of the 10 last Presidential elections advises that replacing President Biden on the Democratic ticket would be "foolhardy nonsense": https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/30/lichtman-dems-replace-biden/74260967007/

Disgraced Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris once offered to pay off his child sex abuse accuser: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/28/robert-morris-gateway-child-abuse-transcript

...While four of Gateway's "elders" are taking a leave of absence while a legal review takes place: https://www.chron.com/culture/religion/article/robert-morris-sexual-abuse-elders-19546307.php

Dallas stands to become the largest Texas city to decriminalize small-time marijuana possession: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/inside-politics/texas-politics/dallas-largest-texas-city-to-decriminalize-marijuana/287-0d9cf889-dc1f-4b54-9084-5410a701a907

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people dates far, far back before the horrific events of October 7, 2023 - this is a generational conflict that is seen by some, especially considering recent events, as a truly unbridgeable divide. That's not the view of Atidna, a student-led and Texas-based organization that has dedicated itself to fostering positive connections between the two sides, partly in educating both on the many common aspects of their respective histories, and attempting to teach the potential rewards of peace over endless war - inspiring and critical efforts that have drawn the attention of national media and high-level elected officials.

Learn more about Atidna at https://www.atidnainternational.com/.

Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how to support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.