LARRY TAYLOR

President Joe Biden turned up in a mask for the first time in months on Tuesday, a day after his wife tested positive for COVID-19.

President Joe Biden has awarded the Medal of Honor to an Army pilot from the Vietnam War who risked his life to rescue a reconnaissance team that was about to be overrun by the enemy — facing almost certain death.

The White House says President Joe Biden will award the Medal of Honor to a Vietnam War-era Army pilot who risked his life to rescue a reconnaissance team that was about to be overrun by the enemy.

Taylor was a key player in the 2019 school finance overhaul that lawmakers passed.

Taylor, a Friendswood Republican, chairs the Senate Education Committee. Dutton, a Houston Democrat, chairs the House Public Education Committee.

Texas Democrats are starting a second week of holing up in Washington to block new voting laws back home.

House Bill 4509 would mandate that students study documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers. The bill's author added speeches from Black historical figures after criticism at a hearing last month.

Evan Smith, CEO of The Texas Tribune. (Audio unavailable. Click here to listen on texastribune.org.) In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to state Sen. Larry Taylor, chair of the Senate Education Committee, about whether it’s possible to fully fund last session's school finance bill, learning loss, broadband access, the STAAR test and what he really thinks of Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.

In making that decision, school boards have the ability to base their decisions on advice and recommendations by local public health authorities but are not bound by those recommendations, the statement said. TEA has given school districts up to eight weeks after the start of school for a transition period when it can conduct class through remote-learning only. But the local public health officials ability to close schools down has been debated for the past two weeks, amid mixed messages from the TEA and legal opinions from Paxton. Now, TEA says any school that only conducts remote-learning because of a blanket order to close schools would put its funding at risk. Local leaders implement health based protocols, the AG threatens them, and the state capitulates.

Then came what she calls Nashvilles quadruple-whammy: a tornado, coronavirus closures, protests that rocked downtown, then more closures. Bicknese says business has gone from dismal to tolerable, but only because so many drivers have voluntarily stayed home. Bicknese chose to keep driving because she didn't think she could make her car and insurance payments on unemployment. Then what happened is so many drivers filed for unemployment and stopped driving that demand came back," she said. Instead of well-heeled tourists, Bicknese finds herself driving people on unemployment, factory workers and patients travelling to medical appointments.