This is TPR's roundup of the latest headlines and news developments. It provides a summary of the stories TPR is following.
Today's weather: Forecast calls for a slight chance of showers in the morning, otherwise it will be cloudy with a high near 57 and a low around 40 later on tonight.
San Antonio keeps an eye on legislative items
The 89th Legislative Session kicked off on Tuesday, and San Antonio’s Government Affairs Department briefed city council members about ongoing legislative items they are tracking.
Sally Basurto, the department's director, said one item she's watching is House Bill 167.
The bill would prohibit governmental entities from maintaining diversity, equity and inclusion offices, unless required by state or federal law.
Basurto said the city would like to see action on bills that enhance penalties for owners of dangerous dogs and that tackle food insecurity.
Dustin Burrows elected House Speaker
Selecting a new Speaker of the House was the most high-profile item on the docket for lawmakers in the Texas House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Eighty-five of the 150-member chamber voted for Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock to take over as the chamber’s new speaker.
Speaker Burrows will now begin assigning members to committees and choosing who will hold influential committee leadership roles.
SpaceX attempts 7th launch of Starship tomorrow
SpaceX is expected to launch its first Starship flight test of the year from its South Texas site tomorrow afternoon. The launch had been scheduled for today, but due to inclement weather has now been postponed until Thursday.
The 7th launch will feature significant upgrades including an attempt at the massive spacecraft's first payload deployment test.
SpaceX hopes to deploy 10 Starlink simulators while in space and fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards catch-and-reuse. It will again attempt to catch the massive booster at the launch tower with its so-called "chopstick" arms.
The launch window will open at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
Due to weather, we're now targeting Thursday, January 16 for Starship's seventh flight test. The 60-minute launch window opens at 4 p.m. CT. → https://t.co/QNCSPTewLA pic.twitter.com/ZV08pXeqbf
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 15, 2025
Fort Cavazos soldier acquitted of murder charges
The non-commissioned officer was found not guilty of murder following an altercation outside a restaurant that left one person dead.
Jurors found he acted in self-defense, according to a report from Stars and Stripes.
His case was prosecuted by the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel — a requirement from a new system resulting from the I Am Vanessa Guillen Act that takes certain crimes, like murder, out of the hands of the chain of command.
The Fort Cavazos soldier will walk away following the verdict. He had faced the possibility of life in prison.
TPWD offers tips to stop the spread of bird flu
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is making several recommendations as bird flu continues to spread in birds across Central Texas.
This includes removing backyard bird feeders or bird baths, not feeding ducks and other waterfowl that flock to area parks and refraining from handling any sick or dead wildlife.
Disease experts have found that bird flu is circulating among wild birds in Texas as waterbirds and waterfowl visit their wintering grounds.
Bird flu has been confirmed by preliminary test results in northwest Austin, Galveston, El Paso, and Potter and Harris counties.
San Antonio gears up for annual MLK March
The 38th annual march on Jan. 20 is considered the largest march in the nation, with over 300,000 people participating one year.
Dwayne Robinson chairs the MLK Commission, which oversees the event. He says the city's open-mindedness has made the march what it is today.
"We're able to really celebrate other cultures, and that makes us pretty different," he said.
The march begins at the Martin Luther King Jr. Academy on the East Side and will continue for over 2 miles to Pittman-Sullivan Park.
