AUSTIN, Texas, March 25 -- The Austin Community College District issued the following news: Austin Community College (ACC) is assembling Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to support regional healthcare workers and first responders during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. "This is a difficult time for everyone in our community. There are a lot of unknowns and a lot of fears. Now, more than ever, is the time for us to come together," says Dr. Richard Rhodes, ACC president/CEO. "We have  more

DALLAS, Texas, March 26 -- BakerHostetler, a law firm, issued the following news release: BakerHostetler confirmed that it has opened a full-service office in Dallas, expanding the firm's presence in Texas. With 16 highly accomplished and prominent lawyers, the new Dallas office includes experienced practitioners across a wide range of practices, including M&A and business transactions, complex litigation, white collar and tax. It is the firm's 16th office and its second in Texas, following the  more

WACO, Texas, March 27 -- Baylor University issued the following news: The spread of coronavirus has interrupted many traditional institutions of working life, with perhaps the most drastic change to the professional environment coming from the rapid transition to work-from-home offices. With many segments of the workforce ordered to shelter in place and work remotely, employees have scrambled to transform guest bedrooms and kitchen tables to home offices, exchanging conference room roundtable d  more

WACO, Texas, March 25 [TNSbiologyresearch] -- Baylor University issued the following news: * * * - Fish-eating pterosaurs with wingspans of up to 13 feet soared and snatched prey, Baylor University researcher says * * * Three new species of toothed pterosaurs -- flying reptiles of the Cretaceous period, some 100 million years ago -- have been identified in Africa by an international team of scientists led by Baylor University. The pterosaurs, which soared above a world dominated by predator  more

WACO, Texas, March 27 -- Baylor University issued the following news: * * * - Baylor expert on grief shares ways people can speak with and minister to those who are unemployed due to COVID-19 * * * For the week ending March 21, a record 3.28 million workers applied for unemployment benefits, a result of the sweeping economic consequences of COVID-19, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor. In the proverbial "blink of an eye," many find their neighbors, friends, family - and  more

WACO, Texas, March 25 -- Baylor University issued the following news: * * * - But research shows a strong spiritual life can help people remain resilient and deal with stress, says Baylor epidemiologist * * * Public health crises such as COVID-19 -- in which people may feel powerless and receive conflicting information -- can lead to a flare-up of unsafe religious sentiments, says Baylor University epidemiologist Jeff Levin, Ph.D., who cites past persecution of religious and ethnic minoritie  more

DALLAS, Texas, March 26 -- Haynes and Boone, a law firm, issued the following news release: People Newspapers has named Haynes and Boone, LLP Associate Jennifer Kreick to its 2020 "20 Under 40" list of young professionals. Kreick is profiled in a special section of People Newspapers, an affiliate of D Magazine. The publication highlights young professionals in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow who are making a name for themselves and making a difference in their community. The 20 Under 40 lis  more

HOUGHTON, Michigan, March 25 -- Michigan Technological University issued the following news: Three professors from Michigan Technological University and Texas A&M University are investigating a method to store power generated by alternative power sources by making use of unused and abandoned underground mining sites in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. If proven successful, the project could deliver a blueprint for providing continuous power from intermittent and zero-emission sources. To meet the   more

IRVING, Texas, March 26 -- Nexstar Media Group, a television broadcasting company, issued the following news release: Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST), announced that it has promoted Scot Chastain to Vice President and General Manager of its broadcast and digital operations in Sacramento, CA (DMA #20), overseeing KTXL-TV (FOX), FOX40.com, and their related social media channels. Mr. Chastain will assume his new responsibilities im  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 27 -- The Public Utility Commission of Texas issued the following news release on March 26: * * * - Issues guidance on disconnects for non-payment during state of emergency and establishes relief fund * * * In today's open meeting, the Public Utility Commission of Texas responded to Governor Abbott's declaration of emergency with a series of measures intended to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 hardships on power, water and sewer customers across the state. "As our state  more

HOUSTON, Texas, March 24 [TNSmedicalresearch] -- Rice University issued the following news release: New research from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine shows analyzing the brains of stroke victims just days after the stroke allows researchers to link various speech functions to different parts of the brain, an important breakthrough that may lead to better treatment and recovery. The study, "Dissociation between frontal and temporal-parietal contributions to connected speech in ac  more

HOUSTON, Texas, March 27 [TNSscientificresearch] -- Rice University issued the following news release: * * * - Rice, Georgia Tech study in Science reveals Pacific temperatures over a millennium * * * There is no longer a need to guess what ocean temperatures were like in the remote tropical Pacific hundreds of years ago. The ancient coral that lived there know all. A study in Science (https://science.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aax2000) led by Rice University and Georgia Tech   more

HOUSTON, Texas, March 25 [TNSsociologyresearch] -- Rice University issued the following news release: Barack Obama's election to the nation's highest office in 2008 improved the mental health of black men, according to new research from Rice University. "'Yes We Can!' The Mental Health Significance for U.S. Black Adults of Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Election" is available online and will appear in an upcoming volume of the journal Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. Lead researcher Tony Br  more

HOUSTON, Texas, March 24 -- Rice University issued the following news release: President Trump's decision to utilize the Small Business Administration's grant and loan programs as means of stabilizing local economies amid the shock of the coronavirus pandemic is motivated by their ability to pump money into local economies quickly -- and their popularity in Congress -- according to an expert at Rice University. Robert Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science at Rice and fello  more

HOUSTON, Texas, March 27 -- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston issued the following news release: Led by Eric Boerwinkle, PhD, and Momiao Xiong, PhD, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) modeled the potential spread of COVID-19 based on whether the Greater Houston area began stringent interventions immediately or waited one week or two weeks. That data was presented Monday to city and county officials. They estimated that if strict intervent  more

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, March 26 [TNSgrants] -- Texas A&M University Corpus Christi campus issued the following news: In 2020, the Center for Water Supply Studies (CWSS) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi received a two-year $863,921 grant from the Texas General Land Program (GLO), Coastal Management Program (CMP) as part of a Special Merit Project to study the nonpoint source pollution - , or pollution coming from many different sources rather than one central one - loading to Baffin Bay.   more

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, March 27 -- Texas A&M University Corpus Christi campus issued the following news: On Monday, March 23, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi implemented its transition of the lecture portion of classes to fully online for each of its six academic colleges, minimizing if not fully eliminating face-to-face contact between students and faculty. This, after an extended spring break period so faculty, staff, and administrators could best prepare to take courses online. In this   more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 26 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott released a statement thanking President Trump for issuing a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Texas. This announcement comes after the Governor requested the declaration--citing the need for additional federal assistance to save lives, to protect property, public health, and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of COVID-19. "Texas is aggressively pursuing and implement  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 25 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas has received $36.9 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the state's initial allotment of funding from the first emergency coronavirus bill passed by Congress. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) will distribute $19.5 million to 43 local health departments to aid in their COVID-19 response. This includes $1.75  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 26 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas has received a $16.2 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Community Living (ACL) to help communities provide meals for older adults. The grant was part of a $250 million dollar outlay authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed into law by President Trump on March 18, 2020. Originally created  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 27 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has submitted a Section 1135 Medicaid Waiver to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). If approved, this would grant Texas flexibility in administering Medicaid while the state continues to respond to COVID-19. "The flexibilities we are requesting will help ensure Texans on Medicaid continue to have their routin  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 25 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott held a press conference to provide an update on incoming supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other resources to aid Texas' response to COVID-19. The Governor announced that the newly established Supply Chain Strike Force has already secured more than $83 million of purchase orders for essential supplies. Additionally, the Governor announced that the Texas Division of Eme  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 25 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to issue guidance allowing restaurants to sell bulk retail products from restaurant supply chain distributors directly to consumers provided that such foods are in their original condition, packaging, or presented as received by the restaurant. Under this guidance, restaurants will be able to sell items like packaged meat  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 23 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott signed an Executive Order to expand hospital bed capacity as the state responds to the COVID-19 virus. These actions will reinforce Texas' health care capabilities and provide additional space for hospitals to provide care to COVID-19 patients. Under this order, the Governor directed all licensed health care professionals and facilities to postpone all surgeries and procedures that are   more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 27 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott held a press conference at the State Capitol where he issued an Executive Order mandating a self-quarantine of 14 days for individuals traveling to Texas as their final destination through an airport from the Tri-State Area of New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut as well as the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. This Executive Order is consistent with the guidance of Dr. Anthony Fauci and   more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 21 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following statement: Governor Greg Abbott issued the following statement after the Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order suspending residential eviction proceedings through April 19, 2020, unless there is a threat of physical harm or criminal activity: "This decision by the Texas Supreme Court offers a lifeline to many Texans who are beginning to feel the economic impact of COVID-19," said Governor Abbott. "Temporarily   more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 25 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter to President Trump requesting a presidential declaration of a major disaster in Texas based on the continued impact of COVID-19. This action follows on the heels of a series of proactive measures, including declaring a state of disaster for all 254 Texas counties on March 13, 2020. Filed in accordance with the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the req  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 27 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott announced his request for access to interest-free federal loans (known as Title XII funds) to pay unemployment claims and the accelerated release of funds from the Texas account of the federal Unemployment Trust Fund. Title XII is a federal process that allows states to receives advances (loans) from the federal government to continue to cover Unemployment Benefit payments without disru  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 23 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has waived several regulations to help meet Texas' growing need for nurses as the state responds to the COVID-19 virus. The Governor's actions will expand Texas' active nursing workforce by doing the following: * Allowing temporary permit extensions to practice for graduate nurses and graduate vocational nurses who have yet to take the licensing exam. * Allowing students in their fina  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 26 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has temporarily waived certain hospital licensing rules and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has adopted an emergency rule to meet Texas' need for additional hospital capacity while the state responds to COVID-19. These actions allow for certain facilities that have pending licenses or facilities that have been closed for no more than 36 months to come online under   more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 26 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has waived certain regulations from the Texas Board of Nursing regarding licensing renewal and subsequent fees for nurses in Texas. The Governor's waiver authorizes a six-month grace period for nurses with expired licenses. This grace period will allow nurses who are otherwise in good standing to continue practicing and will give them additional time to renew their license without add  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 27 -- The University of Texas issued the following news release on March 26: Since 2012 a pandemic-planning tool developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has helped public health officials plan for the consequences of a deadly and virulent virus. Now the pandemic modeler who developed the toolkit is studying COVID-19 and has built a new model to project the spread of COVID-19 across the U.S. She has teamed up with Dell Medical School to assess the poten  more

HOUSTON, Texas, March 27 [TNSmedicalresearch] -- The University of Texas's MD Anderson Cancer Center issued the following news release: * * * - Interleukin-21 plus panobinostat re-program effector cells to a more persistent type of T cell * * * Treating T cells harvested from a patient with a combination of an epigenetic drug and a cytokine while expanding the cells in the lab re-programs them into a stronger T cell type that persists longer than its comrades, researchers at The University o  more

HOUSTON, Texas, March 24 [TNSmedicalresearch] -- The University of Texas's MD Anderson Cancer Center issued the following news release: * * * - Researchers find lipids responsible for neural function are highly active and not inert as traditionally believed * * * Medical experts have always known myelin, the protective coating of nerve cells, to be metabolically inert. A study led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has found that myelin is surprisingly dynamic, a discovery   more

GALVESTON, Texas, March 27 -- The University of Texas Medical Branch issued the following news release: Researchers at The University of Texas Medical Branch are collaborating with the clinical trial laboratory services organization Q2 Solutions to make a new assay test available that will streamline the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. Once UTMB completes the testing kit, Q2 Solutions labs will produce it for use in clinical trials so that researchers can more quickly and accurately judge h  more

BROWNSVILLE, Texas, March 24 -- The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley issued the following news release on March 23: COVID-19 (coronavirus) has created an environment of unprecedented uncertainty for all of us. But we at UTRGV believe earning your degree should never be an uncertainty - which is why we are formally announcing today a bold increase to our already-historic Tuition Advantage program. Beginning Fall 2020, UTRGV will cover the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for qualified s  more

AUSTIN, Texas, March 26 -- The University of Texas issued the following news release: The White House this week enlisted some of the world's most powerful supercomputers in the battle against COVID-19, including the Frontera supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin. COVID-19 researchers have already started using Frontera, and this new designation highlights the supercomputer as a key resource within the new High Performance Computing (H  more

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, March 24 -- The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio issued the following news release: Although the American Dental Association has recommended that dentists postpone elective dental procedures during the COVID-19 outbreak, some patients with serious dental conditions or pain must still be seen. Endodontists, specialists that make up 3% of dentists, will likely provide care for many of the most serious cases, including dental infection, pain and trauma.  more

HOUSTON, Texas, March 27 -- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston issued the following news release: Pregnancy can be an exciting time. However, being pregnant during a pandemic is understandably a little concerning. Experts say the information regarding pregnancy and COVID-19 is minimal, but that doesn't mean there is a major cause for concern. "We do not have robust data regarding the effects of coronavirus infection during pregnancy; but available scientific information s  more

IRVING, Texas, March 25 -- Nexstar Media Group, a television broadcasting company, issued the following news release: ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC) and Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST), announced a multi-year agreement to renew nine CBS network affiliations for Nexstar stations, reaching approximately 3.5% of the U.S. audience and nearly four million television households. The deal extends CBS/Nexstar affiliations that were set to expire later this year and covers two top-50 market af  more

CANYON, Texas, March 26 -- West Texas A&M University issued the following news: West Texas A&M University student nurses can join the battle against COVID-19 sooner thanks to the waiving of a state regulation. On March 21, Texas Governor Greg Abbott waived several regulations to help meet the state's growing need for more nurses. One regulation will make it easier for impending graduates to enter the workforce by allowing temporary permit extensions. "When they graduate and we send off their   more