ABBOTT

"We're sorry to every family we've let down," wrote CEO Robert Ford. The shuttered plant at the heart of the shortage will reopen in June, but it may take months before production is back to normal.

Lawyers representing families under investigation said they heard from the agency Thursday about continuing the investigations that had previously been halted by a statewide injunction.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Food and Drug Administration told lawmakers Thursday that a shuttered baby formula factory could be up and running as soon as next week, though he sidestepped questio[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The Abbott manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan, on May 13, 2022. President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to increase baby formula manufacturing to ease a nationwide shortage caused by the closure of a key plant in Michigan. Biden is requiring suppliers of ingredients used in baby formula to direct those goods to key manufacturers before any other customers. The president has also directed the Health and Human Services Department and Department of Agriculture to use aircraft from the Defense Department to pick up infant formula from overseas that meets U.S. health and safety standards. Please check back for updates.

Many questions remain about the shuttered Abbott baby formula plant at the center of a nationwide shortage.

The House is expected to take up the emergency spending measure later this week.

Abbott, one of the largest formula-makers in the U.S., has reached an agreement with the government to bring a closed factory back on line. And the FDA is easing some restrictions on imported formula.

Abbott came under scrutiny after the FDA began investigating four bacterial infections among infants who consumed the plant's powdered formula.

The plant could reopen within two weeks once the consent decree is approved. Product would be on the shelves in six to eight weeks after.

America’s current crisis has been in the works for decades.

The state’s poorest mothers are paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket when they find baby formula because they say they can’t risk waiting for the exact brand and size container covered by Texas’ Women, Infant and Children program.

States have been asked to increase accessibility of baby formula for recipients of the low-income program. And the Food and Drug Administration is looking at ways to make it easier to import formula.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden stepped up his administration's response to a nationwide baby formula shortage Thursday that has forced frenzied parents into online groups to swap and sell to ea[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The president isn't invoking the Defense Production Act, at least for now.

Bacteria, a virus, a trade policy—and a lesson

WASHINGTON (AP) — Parents across the U.S.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Parents across the U.S. are scrambling to find baby formula because of supply disruptions and a massive safety recall by manufacturer Abbott.

The president plans to address inflation, one of his biggest liabilities, during remarks from the Oval Office. Meanwhile, Nebraska and West Virginia are holding primary elections.

Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a news conference with the Chihuahua, Mexico, Gov. María Eugenia Campos Galván after meeting Thursday in Austin. They will discuss the latest developments on the border.

Jen Psaki on Wednesday said it is “nice” of the state of Texas to bus illegal immigrants from the border to Washington, D.C., hours after the first bus out of Texas arrived.

The traffic stop seemed legitimate at first, but the woman quickly grew suspicious.

"This sheds a little more light on what went wrong, but we still don't have all the answers," said one public health advocate.

Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer will take over as the military department’s new leader. He replaces Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, who was criticized for her handling of Operation Lone Star, as adjutant general of the Texas Military Department.

Ever since Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state’s child welfare agency to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children, LGBTQ-affirming family lawyers statewide have been deluged with calls.

Here’s what to know about “safety folders,” and how they relate to the latest directive in Texas to investigate gender-affirming care for trans youths as “child abuse.”

Biden said Abbott's actions “callously threaten to harm children and their families just to score political points.”

The plant that made all four brands of recalled formula has a history of FDA-documented safety problems.

Parents are encouraged to check their formula.

Texas' S.B.1 is a newly implemented sweeping election integrity law passed by the Republican-majority state legislature and signed by Gov. Abbott.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has directed state agencies to investigate the application of certain gender-affirming treatments as "child abuse."

Officials say bacterial contamination has been detected in certain lots of Similac, Alimentum and EleCare.

U.S. health officials warned parents not to use infant formulas manufactured at an Abbott plant that they've linked to bacterial contamination.

The powder formulas were distributed across the country, and possibly exported to other countries, the FDA said.

The powder formulas were distributed across the country, and possibly exported to other countries, the FDA said.

Texas faces a new winter storm a year after a deadly freeze left millions without power. Here’s the latest.

Abbott management, known for under promising and over delivering, will do better than Wall Street thinks.

Governor Greg Abbott came to speak in front of an energetic crowd in San Antonio as part of his Celebration of Texas tour, meanwhile, Beto O'Rourke spoke with reporters in Austin Friday.

Senator Ed Markey said Americans need to be able to afford the at-home tests so they can "protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities from the spread of COVID-19."

It’s unclear whether the local mandate, which requires businesses to post signs outlining their safety guidelines, is in conflict with Gov. Greg Abbott’s previous pandemic orders.

Walgreens said the "unprecedented increase in demand" for rapid at-home Covid tests started after Thanksgiving and have continued through the week of Christmas.

Mark Abbott is raising money for a charity that helped him when he was homeless 15 years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions more home tests for COVID-19 are hitting store shelves, but will there be enough for Americans hoping to screen themselves before holiday gatherings?Gone are last year's lon[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Holiday season could strain COVID-19 home test supplies as more Americans try to screen themselves before Thanksgiving and other family gatherings.

The price of a gallon of gasoline tops $3 across much of the state, which is up more than $1.20 from a year ago, according to AAA.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The question we need to ask is how many women in Texas will die having to resort to back-alley abortions. I’ve heard horror stories from my aunts and their friends of young girls they knew who had back-alley abortions. They would tell of having a hanger used on them to have the abortion done. They also would go on to say that three of their friends bled to death after having one of these illegal abortions.

John Scott will oversee Texas elections, including Abbott’s reelection race for governor.

Fauci also criticized bans on vaccine mandates.

Before ending the special session Tuesday, Texas lawmakers reached a deal to allocate roughly $3.3 billion to higher education institutions for capital projects. The price tag went up from the Senate's original proposal.

As someone who grew up with a family of artists and advocates of the arts, Kristi Abbott quickly discovered what her passion is.

The Romans knew with their 2,000 years of experience that the governing racket isn’t complicated.

The borders were closed to nonessential travel in March 2020, which hurt businesses in Texas border cities that rely on Mexican shoppers.

Texas businesses face risk and uncertainty as the state and federal government spar over Covid-19 vaccine mandates for employees.

Federal requirements for vaccine mandates supersede state orders against mandates. Besides, the airlines care about health and safety.

Texas businesses face risk and uncertainty as the state and federal government spar over Covid-19 vaccine mandates for employees. Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order Oct. 11 outlawing such requirements in the second-largest U.S. state. That immediately set up a clash with President Joe Biden, who issued an executive order Sept. 9 calling for employers with more than 100 workers to require Covid vaccines or weekly testing once the federal workplace health and safety regulator creates f

The Romans knew with their 2,000 years of experience that the governing racket isn’t complicated. All you’ve got to do is to suppress the unwashed people out of the political decisions by keeping their NFL and NBA going and the price of gasoline swallowable, and with plenty of Doritos. And the big guys will take care of the real game.

Chants of “bans off our bodies” and “vote out Abbott” could be heard from hundreds of people who attended a women’s rights march at Milam Park on Saturday.

Abbott has faced pressure from his right to prioritize property tax relief. One of his challengers in the Republican primary has slammed him for not including it earlier in the agenda, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called it his top priority this session.

The Republican blamed the Biden administration for creating “chaos” in the Del Rio area and vowed to beef up border security.

Mexico has begun busing and flying Haitian migrants camped on its U.S. border

Three out of San Antonio's four abortion facilities have temporarily stopped offering the procedure in the wake of Texas' new abortion law, one of the...

On top of redistricting, Abbott wants lawmakers to take up bills on restrictions for transgender student athletes and the allocation of billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds.

This is not possible.

The Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District says it is being forced to end a face mask mandate that was implemented this week.

Two-thirds of top talent said the law would discourage them from working in Texas. Elon Musk said he would "prefer to stay out of politics."

After two months, the donations had petered out around $1 million. But the effort saw a major boost in August.

Planned Parenthood clinics in San Antonio ceased performing abortion procedures Wednesday as a strict new anti-abortion law took effect.

Opinion: What to do in a state with increasingly lax gun laws? Teach your children: Be careful and walk away from confrontation.

The bill would nearly triple border security funding from the last biennium. The legislation needs one more vote of approval from the House before moving to the Senate.

The state’s high court rebuffed the efforts of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who hoped to block temporary restraining orders issued by a Travis County judge.

Biden said he will use the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights enforcement authority to deter states from blocking mask mandates in classrooms.

The barrier in Eagle Pass is the first glimpse into how much a state-funded border wall could cost. But Abbott’s office says it’s a “concrete barrier” that is separate from his border wall push.

Reynolds is among the Texas House Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C., last month to block a state voting restrictions bill.

From multiple infrastructure projects in the works, to an uptick in COVID-19 cases locally, there is a lot happening in and around San Antonio.

Monday is the first day of school for kids at Castle Hills Elementary and it happened to fall on the same day the American Academy of Pediatrics announced new recommendations for the 2021-2022 school year.

The governor said Texas needs to build a border wall to reduce migrant apprehensions and fentanyl seizures. But immigration and drug treatment experts say Abbott's oversimplifying the issue.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat from San Antonio, on Friday will speak about “his own plan for a Texas wall” in response to the governor’s latest push for the barrier.

Two bills that will bring some financial relief to those with diabetes that use insulin are headed to the governor’s desk for a signature. If enacted, the bills would lower the cost of prescription insulin starting in September.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced to the U.S. Department of Labor on Monday that the state will be opting out of further federal unemployment compensation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, effective June 26, 2021.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff called Governor Greg Abbott’s allegations of sexual abuse at the Freeman Coliseum migrant facility “completely false” on Monday.

SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s note: This story is a look back at some of the biggest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Here’s a look back at some of the dramatic changes that occurred from March 11 to March 18 in San Antonio as COVID-19 officially became a crisis. March 11, 2020The San Antonio Spurs’ 2019-2020 season was cut short when the NBA decided to suspend the season until further notice. Universities and colleges across San Antonio announced an extension to spring break. Some of the malls in San Antonio and many of the retailers began to close or limit hours.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)State agencies are teaming up to provide guidance to Texas employers on Wednesday in a virtual town hall as state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions on businesses are removed. Watch the one-hour virtual town hall livestream above, which starts at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 10. The town hall was organized by the Texas Worfkorce Commission and the Office of the Governor. “Texas Employers: Join us for a virtual town hall to discuss Governor Abbott’s new Executive Order, which includes opening Texas businesses 100%. Entrepreneurs and business owners will be hoping Wednesday’s town hall will help them navigate a difficult issue moving forward.

Ad“Abbott’s callous new orders throw our public schools, students, and teachers into chaos, because it leaves open the question of whether masks will be required in all schools. But the teachers’ unions say the mask reversal leaves school safety protocols unclear. Read the full statements issued Tuesday from the teachers unions below:Full statement from Texas State Teacher’s Association President, Ovidia Molina:Like Gov. The Texas State Teachers Association urges the governor to keep his mask mandate in place, especially in our public schools, and see that it is enforced. Recent findings by the CDC that noted low transmission rates of COVID-19 in public schools have been touted to encourage in-person learning in Texas schools.

Ruth Flavelle wears a mask and gloves as she enters an H-E-B grocery after waiting in line with more than 150 people Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)Though Texas’ mask mandate will soon be lifted, H-E-B will urge its customers to continue wearing masks until more Texans are vaccinated. Until those numbers improve, H-E-B will require workers to continue wearing their masks and asked customers to help keep them safe by wearing their masks too. “As an essential service provider during the pandemic, H-E-B is focused on the health and safety of our Partners and customers. The governor also said Texans now know how to prevent the spread of the virus, making the state mandates unnecessary.

(FEB 16 2021 FILE PHOTO Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2021 file photo, Morgan Handley, left, helps move people to a warming shelter at Travis Park Methodist Church to help escape sub-freezing temperatures, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)Bexar County homeowners and residents in 77 other designated counties that were affected by this week’s devastating winter storm can now apply for federal assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Abbott’s request for major disaster declarationAccording to officials, If you have insurance and are applying for disaster assistance, you must also file a claim with your insurance company as soon as possible. If insurance does not cover all of your damages, you may be eligible to receive federal assistance.

FILE - In this May 27, 2020, file photo, visitors to the River Walk pass a restaurant that has reopened in San Antonio. Abbott’s order, some Bexar County businesses are now able to increase their occupancy to 75% after coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have continued to decrease over the last week. Mayor Ron Nirenberg announced in Friday’s coronavirus briefing that area hospitals have dropped under 15% of total COVID-19 hospitalization rates for seven consecutive days. The city of San Antonio has 8% of available beds and 61% of available ventilators. Abbott’s order, as San Antonio and Bexar County “is no longer considered an area with high hospitalizations.”For more information, visit the city’s website at covid19.sanantonio.gov.

AUSTIN – Update:Governor Greg Abbott announced Sunday that the White House has granted a Federal Emergency Declaration for Texas in response to the severe winter weather throughout the state. “This disaster declaration provides Texas with additional resources and assistance that will help our communities respond to this winter weather.”This comes after Gov. Abbott held a press briefing Saturday, saying he was filing a request for the federal aid just one day before the winter weather set in Central and South Texas. Greg Abbott is asking for a federal emergency declaration from the federal government as the state begins to combat severe winter weather that has set in this weekend across Texas. The declaration will provide more resources and assistance at the federal level for the state during the expected deep freeze.

Health care worker Mary Carreon administers a COVID-19 vaccine to an elderly patient in Laredo on Feb. 1. During an emergency city council meeting last week, Laredo officials passed a motion to request that the federal government send National Guard troops to help distribute vaccines. Treviño, the Laredo health authority, has repeatedly argued against stricter measures because of the economic damage they can cause. Martinez, the city council member, said many residents live paycheck-to-paycheck and don’t have savings to help them survive a city lockdown. “The little carnita asadas, the barbecues — as a result, we have high numbers of infections, and so one begets the other.”Richard Chamberlain, the city’s health director, said the best way out of the city’s COVID-19 crisis is through vaccinations.

Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference where he provided an update to Texas' response to COVID-19, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)AUSTIN – Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he aims to make Texas a “Second Amendment Sanctuary State,” to ensure that no government officials can take guns away from owners in the Lone Star State. Abbott discussed his reasoning during a keynote presentation hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation on Jan. 17. Abbott said that he believed it was essential to secure the core liberties for state residents expressed in The U.S. Constitution. Greg Abbott pledges to make it ‘fiscally impossible’ to defund police

SAN ANTONIO – As the year’s end inches closer, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg confirmed 975 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday night. In Bexar County, there are now 114,362 total COVID-19 cases and 1,521 total deaths in Bexar County, an increase of 43 new cases as of Tuesday. Eleven new deaths tied to COVID-19 were reported on Tuesday. Bexar County bars must close; restaurants, businesses decrease to 50% capacity per Gov. In the past day, Bexar County hospitals had 157 new admissions related to COVID-19, Nirenberg said.

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff updated the community about the local response to COVID-19 in their daily briefing Monday night. Nirenberg reported 112,261 total COVID-19 cases and 1,510 total deaths in Bexar County, an increase of 43 new cases as of Monday. Abbott’s executive orderThe mayor said many cities, including San Antonio, could not download COVID-19 case data from the state on Sunday, which contributed to the lower number of cases. Nirenberg said the positivity rate increased to 19.2%, up from 14.4% last week. The county’s COVID-19 risk level is “severe.”COVID-19 Risk Level: Week of 12/28/20 (COSA/Bexar County)

SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County officials announced Monday that the county’s businesses now operating at 75% capacity will have to cut back to 50% capacity and all bars must close due to a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region. County officials said that threshold was met on Sunday. Bexar County is located in Trauma Service Area P.The order states that 50% occupancy limits are now in effect for most businesses. Earlier on Monday, Comal County officials announced the same restrictions there. The following counties are in Trauma Service Area P and are affected by this order:AtascosaBanderaBexarComalDimmitEdwardsFrioGillespieGonzalesGuadalupeKarnesKendallMore on KSAT:

COMAL COUNTY, Texas – Comal County officials announced Monday that the county’s businesses now operating at 75% capacity will have to cut back to 50% capacity and all bars must close due to COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region. County officials said that threshold was met on Sunday. Comal County is located in Trauma Service Area P, along with Bexar County. Bexar County officials are expected to announce the new restrictions during the daily 6 p.m. briefing. The following counties are in Trauma Service Area P and are affected by this order:AtascosaBanderaBexarComalDimmitEdwardsFrioGillespieGonzalesGuadalupeKarnesKendallMore on KSAT:

Nearly a quarter-million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine arrived at hospitals and health care facilities around Texas this week. Questions remain about who will be first in line for the vaccine once healthcare workers and long-term care residents have had their chance to be inoculated. Decisions on how vaccines are allocated are made by a state panel of advisers — composed of lawmakers, local and state health officials, and medical experts and researchers — and finalized by Hellerstedt. Texas is participating in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, a federal program to vaccinate residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Vaccine doses will be distributed free to those facilities, which are set to receive them starting on Monday, Abbott’s office said last week.

Voters wait in line at a polling site at Austin Oaks Church during early voting. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneAfter the conclusion of three weeks of early voting, 9.7 million Texans have cast ballots, crushing previous early voting totals in the state and setting Texas on a course for record turnout in this Tuesday's general election. Early voting, which Gov. Texas has added 1.8 million registered voters since the 2016 election. Among large counties, Collin County outside of Dallas has the highest early voting turnout with 69%.

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – The doors to the Old Ice House, a decades-old neighborhood spot in New Braunfels, welcomed it’s first customers in roughly seven months Wednesday afternoon. “It’s been tough, especially with adjusting to making way less money,” said Jennifer Hitchens, a bartender at the Old Ice House. During the shutdown, many bar owners applied for restaurant licenses to be able to operate at limited capacity. But Jack Alves, who has been manager at Old Ice House for 30 years, said that wasn’t an option for them because they don’t have a kitchen. Bexar County initially decided not to reopen, but County Judge Nelson Wolff on Wednesday night approved the reopening as early as next week.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals has been falling, to 4,203 on Aug. 31 from a peak of more than 10,000 a few weeks ago. Abbott pointed at those three things schools, the holiday and hurricanes as areas of concern as he and other government officials decide whats next. School is a place for regular meals and a haven from turbulent homes, as well as a place for learning. Texas Christian University in Fort Worth reported 429 cases on campus Tuesday, and university officials suggested last week that parties and large gatherings were a cause. Disclosure: Baylor University and Texas Christian University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.

SAN ANTONIO San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said Gov. Greg Abbotts proposal to freeze property tax revenue for cities that de-fund their police departments wont limit what changes the city considers for its own department. Any city that de-funds police departments will have its property tax revenue frozen at the current level. They will never be able to increase property tax revenue again if they de-fund police, Abbott said Tuesday. Local activists have made clear their frustration with the current budget proposal, which includes a raise for police officers.

AUSTIN, Texas Texas reported fewer than 7,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients for the first time in six weeks Thursday, but that encouraging sign was clouded by questions over testing as schools reopen and college football teams push ahead with playing this fall. Demand has curtailed to the point that in Austin and Dallas, health officials have expanded eligibility for testing, including those who are asymptomatic. Were not having enough people step forward to be tested as we did before.Numbers from Texas health officials this week, however, offered a hazy picture of how much testing has fallen. On Wednesday, the seven-day infection rate average in Texas hit a record 24%, suggesting that roughly one in every four coronavirus tests in Texas was coming back positive. Falling testing demand is also a factor, said Lara Anton, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The legislation, spearheaded by members of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, is named after Floyd, a Black man killed in Minneapolis police custody. Floyd died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes until and after he lost consciousness. Abbott has previously said he is committed to working with Floyds family on legislation, and has even floated the possibility of a George Floyd Act at the Legislature. The caucus George Floyd Act would limit the use of force by officers, requiring them to attempt to de-escalate the situation and banning lethal force if another lesser level of force could have worked, said state Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston. Rodney Floyd, the youngest brother of George Floyd, applauded lawmakers Thursday for the proposal, thanking Thompson during the news conference and saying the legislation has so many great things [that are] way overdue way overdue.Jolie McCullough contributed reporting.

Hundreds of Texas bars and restaurants are scrambling to change how they operate, maneuvering through loopholes that will allow them to reopen after being closed by Gov. It allows bars and restaurants to use projected sales numbers instead of requiring past sales to determine if alcohol sales exceed food sales. The Texas restaurant industry is already struggling, with Knight projecting that up to 30% of restaurants in the state could go out of business. Kaufman estimates that the entire process, from hiring new chefs to deal with increased food sales to applying for the permits cost him around $10,000. However, the TABC later released a clarification saying that businesses with more than 51% alcohol sales were not eligible.