Texas
Texas public health departments brace for another $119 million in federal cuts
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Texas officials have notified local public health departments to brace for another $119 million in federal cuts at the end of the month that could impact the state’s disease detection and prevention efforts, including for HIV, diabetes, vaccine outreach and emergency preparedness.
The news comes three months after the federal government notified Texas officials it was prematurely clawing back $700 million in unspent COVID pandemic funding, some of which was used to fight the spread of measles in West Texas.
With the state’s regular biennial legislative session ending less than two weeks ago, the Texas Department of State Health Services has lost its opportunity to ask the state for more money. Lawmakers left Austin increasing state funds to the agency by $86 million over the next two years, but it also expects to lose $685 million in federal funds due largely to the end of the COVID funds.
Imelda Garcia, chief deputy commissioner for the state health agency, made the disclosure on the latest potential cuts at the agency’s committee on public health funding and policy on Wednesday.
“We have staff checking the federal grant solution system every day, multiple times a day. We’ve made phone calls to our federal partners. However, we still don’t have any additional information at this time,” Garcia said.
Expiring at the end of June, the $119 million involves Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants that trickle down to local public health departments. Among the potentially hardest hit would be:
Other programs facing cuts include those to address diabetes, cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis, tobacco use, wastewater testing and some public health-related school funding.
Garcia stressed that while none of the $119 million has been formally cut, Texas health officials have not yet received word that the funding would be renewed.
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“I wanted to put them on your radar in case there are additional delays that we may see in the coming weeks,” she said.
On May 30, Garcia notified health departments to pause HIV prevention and testing spending because the federal government hadn’t notified the state that it will be renewing funding for those services.
Local public health departments were also told this week at the meeting that there could be more cuts by the end of the year. This comes as Texas ranks among the worst in the country for public health funding.
“In a post-covid COVID world, in a world where we’ve got this measles outbreak and … you’re cutting immunizations, I mean, this just does not make any sense,” Dr. Philip Huang, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services and the committee’s vice chair.
He said the cuts ran counter to the messaging from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy who has emphasized the federal agency should be focused on reducing the impact of chronic disease.
“You say your priorities are chronic disease, and you eliminate the whole Office on Smoking and Health and the FDA tobacco control program,” Huang said. “This doesn’t make sense at all.”
When the federal government abruptly cut off $700 million that the state had up until next year to spend, both state and local public health departments laid off employees. In May, the agency offered 63 employees transfers to other divisions and 32 employees were terminated. Of those laid off, 19 were fellows whose tenure ended a week early. Huang noted that he had to lay off more than 20 employees.
Amy Yeager, director of the Bell County Public Health District, noted that the day after she had to temporarily close the district’s health clinic in Temple, the city reported its first measles case involving an unvaccinated man.
Texas has been at the center of a historic measles outbreak that has infected close to 750 people statewide and even more across state and international borders. Two children have died and although the number of new cases have decreased in recent weeks, the state can’t consider the outbreak over until there are 42 days without a new infection.
Huang asked Garcia if the CDC could provide any leeway, perhaps, in light of the fact that Texas has been spending so many resources battling the measles outbreak.
“I think they’re sympathetic, but there’s so much going on,” Garcia said. “CDC doesn’t have a full time director as yet, so they are just having difficulty getting decisions made, is what we have heard.”
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Texas
Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball
Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
Texas
Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says
AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.
The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said.
The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.
In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.
“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”
The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.
The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.
The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030.
The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.
“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”
Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.
“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.
Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.
“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“
The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.
“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”
Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.
“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”
Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.
Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Texas
Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say
A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.
The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.
Car found at Arlington motel
Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work.
Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.
Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side
King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said.
According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car.
Medical examiner review pending
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.
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