In the News
EL PASO, Texas — When Rep. Veronica Escobar thinks of her hometown, what comes to mind is the more than 100-year-old dairy farm that generations of Escobars have owned and worked.
Escobar, who grew up in this border city on Texas' westernmost tip, thinks of her father delivering milk even while working as the El Paso County engineer. She thinks of fun nights in high school in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just a short walk across a bridge spanning the Rio Grande.
And she thinks of the many international gateways between the U.S. and Mexico, what she calls "arteries" for family, commerce, economy and the future.
Voters in Houston are choosing Tuesday between two Democrats in the special election runoff to replace former Democratic state Rep. Carol Alvarado, now a state senator.
The race has come down to Christina Morales, the president of her family's well-established funeral home in Houston's East End, and Melissa Noriega, a former Houston City Council member who temporarily held the House seat years ago. Alvarado vacated the seat last year after winning a promotion to the Texas Senate.
Morales and Noriega were the top two finishers in the initial Jan. 29 contest for House District 145, which included four other Democrats, a Republican and a Libertarian. Morales received 36 percent of the vote, and Noriega got 31 percent.
HOUSTON — Democrat Christina Morales has handily won the special election runoff to fill the former Texas House seat of state Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston.
With all precincts reporting Tuesday night, Morales had 61 percent of the vote to 39 percent for fellow Democrat Melissa Noriega, according to unofficial returns. Morales is the president of her family's funeral home in Houston's East End, while Noriega is a former Houston City Council member who temporarily held the House seat over a decade ago.
Alvarado gave up the seat in House District 145 when she won a promotion to the upper chamber in December.
Some attendees watch in awe as the cowboys ride past on their horses and high school bands march the streets of downtown in the Rodeo Parade.
For others, the annual event is old hat. Bernice Gregory, 58, has been attending the parade for as long as she can remember, going with her parents since she was a toddler. Her father worked on a farm and used to say coming to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was like coming e. Gregory has marched in the parade and even participated in an attempt to break a world record once.
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Devani González fue invitada al evento por la congresista Silvia García. La joven asegura que para ella fue un orgullo participar en el discurso, pues su intención era demostrarle al presidente Trump que los inmigrantes no son unos criminales.
One was invited by a Democrat. The other, a Republican.
Two Houstonians – Devani Gonzalez and Brij Agrawal – got the chance to witness the President Trump deliver his State of the Union address to Congress in person.
They both are immigrants: Agrawal was born in India, and is a Subway franchisee, and Gonzalez a Mexican-born teacher dreaming of becoming a Houston cop.
Pete Olson, a Sugar Land Republican, invited Agrawal to show an example of how some "legal" immigrants can succeed in the United States, his office said.
Gonzalez was invited by Houston's newly minted Democrat congresswoman, Sylvia Garcia, hoping to highlight the real-life consequences of being an undocumented immigrant in the United States.
One of the newest members of Houston's delegation to Congress will have a front-row seat when and if Democrats consider trying to impeach President Donald Trump.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat and former judge, has won a position on the highly sought after House Judiciary Committee, a panel that would have primary oversight over any impeachment proceedings. Some Democrats are already calling for them to be initiateaid.
But Garcia said that is not a high priority right now for the committee and insists there are other more pressing issues for the committee.
"If we're going to look at those issues, it's going to be down the road," said Garcia, who in November was elected to represent the 29th Congressional District, replacing former Rep. Gene Green, who did not seek re-election.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Texas Congressional Democrats, celebrated by the national party for breakthrough victories in November that sent the first two Latinas in Texas history to Congress as well as helped secure a Democratic majority in the U.S. House, were rewarded this week with influential committee assignments.
On Friday's Houston Matters: Houston community members have harsh words for Gov. Greg Abbott after he advocated for a state takeover of the HISD board. We hear some reactions.