This is TPR's roundup of the latest headlines and news developments. It provides a succinct and clear summary of the stories TPR is following.
Today's weather: Expect a high today of 78 and a low of 47. Expect similar temperatures over the next several days. A cold front early next week may bring some rain.
The tropics: The National Hurricane Center is monitoring the progress of Tropical Depression 19. It was expected to strengthen into a tropical storm as it moves northeast from the western Caribbean, across the Yucatan, and into the Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday. It may threaten the Texas Gulf Coast. The Atlantic hurricane season ends on Nov. 30.
Bexar County wants legislature to target vehicle congestion problems
Bexar County commissioners approved some local agenda items this week that they would like to see pushed through the upcoming state legislative session.
The top legislation the majority of commissioners would like to see pushed through the session includes a bill ultimately designed to fight local traffic congestion.
Melissa Shannon, the county's director of government affairs, told commissioners an increase in the local vehicle registration fee could be used by the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (RMA) to address traffic congestion. The RMA looks for innovative funding methods to address traffic concerns now, instead of waiting years for outside funding, according to its website.
The 89th state legislative session begins on Jan. 14 at the State Capitol Building in Austin.
Labor board rules captive audience meetings are illegal
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled this week that captive audience meetings are unlawful.
Captive audience meetings are meetings that employers require their workers to attend where the employer shares anti-union information with employees.
The NLRB ruled that these meetings are unlawful because they often interfere with and coerce employees in their exercise of organizing rights.
The board said similar meetings are allowed if employees are informed their attendance is voluntary, no records of attendance will be kept, and no discipline will be imposed for not attending.
Abbott won't support tuition increases
Gov. Greg Abbott said he will not support any tuition increases in public higher education in the upcoming biennium.
He signed a law last year that prohibited increasing undergraduate tuition and fees for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.
Abbott wrote in a letter to public Texas colleges and universities that the tuition freeze will continue to be enforced for another two academic years.
Birth control sales soar after Trump victory
Telehealth companies said sales for morning-after pills and birth control have spiked following Donald Trump’s win last week. The increase is prominent in states with abortion bans, like Texas.
Wisp, a sexual and reproductive telehealth company, reported that from Nov. 5-6th orders for pills used in medication abortion were up 600%. Emergency contraception sales were up almost 1000%. Birth control sales were also up 50%.
Wisp also said that new patient purchases in states with abortion bans, including Texas saw a 930% increase.
Another telehealth company, Winx Health, reported an increase of 500% in the morning after pills in states with abortion bans.
Commission says prison system threatens public safety
The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission said the state prison system posed a threat to public safety as it struggles to maintain enough staff to stay afloat.
Some prisons operate with more than half their guard positions vacant.
The Sunset Commission will discuss its recommendations for the agency today.
It will review several other agencies this year to ensure they are still needed, including the Ethics Commission, the Lottery, and the Department of Information Resources, among others.
Exit polls of Latino voters in Election 2024 challenged
A coalition of left-leaning groups challenged some exit polls they said didn’t accurately represent the Latino vote.
They pointed to a poll from Unidos US of more than 3,700 voters that showed 62% voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
"What the data shows is that actually, while there was a significant increase in support for Trump, the majority still landed in the Harris column," said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, vice president of the Latino Vote Initiative.
The coalition argued that traditional exit polls are less reliable because they were never designed for communities of color.
"Many of us who have been working to increase Latino voter participation at times were joking that it felt like Latino voters were being more talked about than talked to," she said.
The Texas Standard's Laura Rice contributed to this report.
