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: There's a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Otherwise it's going to be a cloudy and hot day with a high near 99 and heat index values as high as 105.
Rain chances will jump beginning on Thursday and Friday to around 60% to 70%. Daytime highs will drop into the lower 90s to end the week and start the weekend.
SA council to vote on key Project Marvel items
San Antonio City Council may take another step towards a final agreement to build a new downtown arena for the San Antonio Spurs.
The council will vote on a nonbinding proposed term sheet with the Spurs on Thursday. The council will also have a separate vote on whether to pause the process until an independent economic analysis and more public engagement can be conducted.
The nonbinding agreement with the Spurs lays out a detailed framework for how the arena would be paid for, built, and owned, along with how much money will go into a community benefits agreement.
The city’s portion of the payment for the arena would be $489 million or 38% of the total cost, whichever is less, according to a draft document. The Spurs have committed to contributing $500 million towards the arena and to cover any cost overruns for construction.
Mayor Jones pushes for 'strategic pause'
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is pushing for the City Council to adopt a “strategic pause” and wait for an independent economic analysis before making a deal with the Spurs — putting her at odds with some of her council colleagues.
"We have yet to have an independent economic impact study to help us understand even just on the arena, much less the entire downtown effort. So, we still need that," Jones told TPR's The Source on Monday.
Jones said council members need to have conversations with voters before a term sheet is voted on and that voters deserve a thorough investigation.
She said nothing is driving the Aug. 21 deadline to make a decision on moving forward with Project Marvel.
Ten Commandments hearing wraps up
A two-day preliminary hearing in federal court over a state law requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in all Texas public school classrooms wrapped up in San Antonio on Monday.
The law — which is set to take effect Sept. 1 — requires a sign or poster listing the Commandments to be legible from anywhere in the classroom.
Plaintiffs' attorneys argue a similar Supreme Court case in 1980 already bars the Ten Commandments in classrooms and say there's a movement by Christian nationalists to inject religious doctrine into public schools.
An injunction barring a similar Louisiana law was upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this summer. The judge overseeing the case in San Antonio has not issued a ruling.
Quorum break ends in the Texas House
Texas House Democrats returned to Austin on Monday, ending their two-week-long walkout and restoring the chamber's quorum.
With their return, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature is moving quickly to pass a new map of the state’s congressional districts, which could add as many as five additional Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. California has proposed its own new maps that could cancel out any Republican gains Texas sees in Congress.
Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, who chairs the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said the time away allowed Democrats to gain more ammunition in the redistricting fight.
"Before, we were talking about the quorum break as the only way to defeat this. But now, with California providing a considerable margin of safety — that even if we fail in court — that the nation will be protected," Wu said.
Texas Senate advances several bills
The Texas Senate passed several flood-related bills Monday at the start of the second special legislative session.
Senate Bill 3 would establish a grant program to assist cities and municipalities install outdoor warning systems.
Senate Bill 5 would allocate $50 million for sirens and flood gauges in Central Texas — including Bexar and Kerr counties — and $24 million to improve forecasting.
The Senate also gave preliminary approval to several non-flood-related bills, including a bill that would ban a majority of hemp products and the so-called "bathroom bill," which requires people to use restrooms and locker rooms in public schools and government buildings that match their gender listed at birth.
The bills next go to the state House for consideration.
West Texas measles outbreak officially over
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported on Monday that the measles outbreak in Texas has ended.
The outbreak of measles in West Texas reached a ceiling of 762 cases before the state declared the outbreak over.
It originated in a West Texas county and the cases quickly rose since January, but now it has been more than 42 days since a new case was reported.
Two unvaccinated children died in connection to the outbreak, while 99 people were hospitalized. Monitoring for new cases continues
The Texas Newsroom's Blaise Gainey contributed to this report.
