AUSTIN, Texas, April 9 -- The Austin Community College District issued the following news: Austin Community College (ACC) will move all summer classes online for the summer 2020 semester to help contain the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the health and safety of students and employees. "We are in uncharted territories that require extraordinary teamwork to navigate. Our hope is to bring back in-class instruction as soon as possible, but our primary concern is the health and safety of our stude  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 7 -- The Baylor College of Medicine issued the following news release: Sudden episodes of confusion and seizures often are the first signs of a malignant brain tumor. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have identified a bioelectric phenomenon that contributes to these early neurological events but until now had not been directly associated. Understanding how tumor cells alter the excitability of brain circuits is crucial to finding comprehensive cures. "Since seizu  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 8 -- The Baylor College of Medicine issued the following news release: Sudden episodes of confusion and seizures often are the first signs of a malignant brain tumor. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have identified a bioelectric phenomenon that contributes to these early neurological events but until now had not been directly associated. Understanding how tumor cells alter the excitability of brain circuits is crucial to finding comprehensive cures. "Since seizu  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 10 -- The Baylor College of Medicine issued the following news release: When putting out a brushfire, you have to be mindful of residual embers that can rekindle the fire. An infectious diseases expert at Baylor College of Medicine said that the same can be said for COVID-19, and we need to do everything that we can to prevent a rekindling of the disease. "We don't know what it will look like after this initial wave," said Dr. Robert Atmar, professor of infectious disease  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 11 -- The Baylor College of Medicine issued the following news release: When putting out a brushfire, you have to be mindful of residual embers that can rekindle the fire. An infectious diseases expert at Baylor College of Medicine said that the same can be said for COVID-19, and we need to do everything that we can to prevent a rekindling of the disease. "We don't know what it will look like after this initial wave," said Dr. Robert Atmar, professor of infectious disease  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 7 -- The Baylor College of Medicine issued the following news release: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. While most children respond well to chemotherapy, some experience resistant or relapsed disease. Building on an immunotherapy treatment called CAR T cell therapy, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, working with colleagues from multiple institutions, were able to engineer a new fighter T cell that more effectively targeted le  more

WACO, Texas, April 6 -- Baylor University issued the following news: * * * - Event will focus on the need for stronger coordination among disaster managers and health workers during pandemics such as COVID-19 * * * Benjamin Ryan, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of environmental science at Baylor University, will be a keynote speaker at a global webinar presented by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Health Organization at 8 a.m. Tuesday, April 7.   more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 9 -- The Baylor College of Medicine issued the following news release: Baylor College of Medicine and the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center have teamed up to procure COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma from appropriate donors and provide it to the most critically ill patients with COVID-19 infection as part of a transfusion study. The process involves blood plasma transfusion from recovered coronavirus patients to those who are struggling to survive the disease. To be eligible to  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 10 -- The Baylor College of Medicine issued the following news release: The National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital, co-led by Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi and Dr. Peter Hotez, are drawing on years of experience developing vaccines for neglected tropical diseases and emerging infectious diseases to develop a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifical  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 11 -- The Baylor College of Medicine issued the following news release: The National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital, co-led by Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi and Dr. Peter Hotez, are drawing on years of experience developing vaccines for neglected tropical diseases and emerging infectious diseases to develop a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifical  more

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, April 10 -- Louisiana State University issued the following news release: Hurricanes and flooding are an inevitable part of living in the South, but what if there were a way to speed up the reconnaissance time after a natural disaster? LSU Civil & Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor Navid Jafari and LSU Department of Environmental Sciences Professor Nina Lam are working with Texas A&M (TAMU) faculty to find a way to quickly gather data after a disaster using t  more

LEWISVILLE, Texas, April 9 -- ResponsiveEd issued the following news release, dated April 6: ResponsiveEd was awarded a $41 million grant from The United States Department of Education, to expand Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses at Premier High School campuses across Texas and Arkansas. Over the next five years, funds will be used to expand 12 existing schools, open 14 new campuses, and give students an opportunity to learn the skills and earn the certifications they need to succeed  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 10 -- Rice University issued the following news release: Rice University chemist Laszlo Kurti and his lab have received a prestigious Maximizing Investigators' Research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to speed up drug design by simplifying the synthesis of essential precursors. The five-year grant worth $1.87 million, administered by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, will support the lab's continuing research into amines and their deri  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 10 -- Rice University issued the following news release: The proposed $10,000 cap repeal for state and local tax (SALT) deductions as part of a new round of economic stimulus measures to dampen the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic would almost exclusively benefit the highest income households, according to experts at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. Jorge Barro and John Diamond, fellows in public finance at the Baker Institute, are available to discu  more

COLUMBIA, South Carolina, April 10 -- South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson issued the following news release: South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 39 states and the District of Columbia, led by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in defending the rights of South Carolinians and all Americans to hold companies accountable for defective products in their home-state courts. In an   more

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 11 -- The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio issued the following news release: Following the tradition of World War II's Rosie the Riveter, compassionate scientists at UT Health San Antonio and The University of Texas at San Antonio are backfilling the front-lines pandemic effort by making hand sanitizer for UT Health care providers. "This started with our senior director of clinical operations, who asked if we could augment our supply of hand s  more

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 7 -- Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary issued the following statement: The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary provided the following statement on April 1 to Christianity in response to questions concerning the status of the seminary's Dead Sea Scrolls fragments and the seminary's archaeology program. "The Dead Sea Scrolls fragments were acquisitions of the prior administration. Because we have had very little confidence in their authenticity, the fragmen  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 9 -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued the following opinion (No. KP-0298): To: The Honorable Ana Markowski Smith, Val Verde County Attorney, 207 East Losoya Street, Del Rio, Texas 78840; Matthew S. Weingardt, CPA Val Verde County Auditor, 901 Bedell Avenue, Suite A Del Rio, Texas 78840 Re: Whether section 74.104 of the Government Code limits the commissioners court in setting salaries of the court coordinator and assistant court coordinator for a district court (RQ  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 7 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott announced that Care.com is increasing in-home child care access for frontline workers responding to the COVID-19 emergency. As part of this initiative, Care.com is offering 90 days of free, premium access to their services, along with specific portals for frontline workers and caregivers in Texas. Frontline workers looking for child care as well as prospective caregivers can both enroll  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 9 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott announced that his Public Safety Office (PSO) will provide a one-time emergency waiver of the federally required cash or in-kind match contribution required for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and STOP Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant funds. This waiver follows an unprecedented match waiver process recently initiated for states by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for Victim  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 7 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott held a press conference to provide an update on personal protective equipment (PPE) distribution throughout the state of Texas. The Governor also announced that Texas received 2.5 million masks in the past 24 hours, and will receive an additional 3 million masks by April 11th. Governor Abbott provided a region-by-region breakdown of supplies that have been distributed over the past week  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 9 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott held a press conference where he provided an update on the production and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Texas. The Governor announced a new partnership between the Texas Military Department (TMD) and Prestige Ameritech to increase the production of face masks for health care workers. Prestige Ameritech's 24-hour operation at their headquarters near Fort Worth wil  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 7 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Marguerite "Margo" McClinton Stoglin, Ph.D. to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors for a term set to expire on September 26, 2025. The board licenses qualified engineers and land surveyors and regulates the practice of professional engineering and professional land surveying. Marguerite "Margo" McClinton Stoglin, Ph.D. of Grand Prairie is the CEO  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 6 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott held a call with Dr. Anthony Fauci of the White House Coronavirus Task Force to discuss Texas' efforts to combat COVID-19 and the state's ongoing collaboration with the federal government to protect public health. A readout of the call can be found below: The Governor and Dr. Fauci discussed the importance of adhering to federal guidelines to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The Govern  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 7 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Conrad Bodden, Mo Mattocks, and George Moussa and reappointed Dan Winston to the Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee for terms set to expire on September 1, 2023. Additionally, the Governor named Aimee Burnett chair of the committee. The committee assists in the state's economic development efforts to recruit and retain aerospace and aviation jobs and investments in T  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 7 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Larry Long to the Finance Commission of Texas for a term set to expire on February 1, 2026. Additionally, the Governor named Phillip A. Holt as chair of the commission. The commission is the governing body of the state banking, savings and loan, and consumer credit agencies. Larry Long of Dallas is owner and managing member of L2JL Capital, LLC and has a real estate licens  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 11 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott held a press conference where he provided an update on the state's response to COVID-19. The Governor discussed numbers related to COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and fatalities in Texas counties highly impacted by the virus. Governor Abbott also detailed the progress that Texas has made in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and announced that more than 1,300 people have recovered from CO  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 8 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has temporarily waived certain regulatory requirements to increase the job capacities of pharmacy technicians and pharmacy interns. Under the Governor's waiver, pharmacy technicians can now accept prescription drug orders over the phone -- a responsibility typically reserved for pharmacists. The Governor's waiver also allows pharmacy technicians to transfer or receive a transfer of ori  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 6 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has temporarily waived certain regulations to expand the health care workforce to assist with Texas' COVID-19 response. Under this waiver, Physician Assistants (PA), Medical Physicists, Perfusionists, and Respiratory Care candidates for licensure who have completed all other requirements may enter the workforce under an emergency license working under supervision prior to taking the fina  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 10 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott has temporarily waived a series of regulations to lift certain telehealth restrictions and expand telehealth options as Texas responds to COVID-19. These waivers will allow a smart phone or any audio-visual, real-time, or two-way interactive communication system to qualify as a telecommunications technology that can be used to provide certain telehealth services. These waivers apply t  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 9 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: * * * - Over $168 million in emergency benefits for all SNAP recipients in Texas. * * * Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) will provide more than $168 million in emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits to help Texans during the COVID-19 response. HHS received federal approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide the maxi  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 8 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has adopted an emergency rule to allow end stage renal disease (ESRD) facilities to treat patients more effectively during the COVID-19 response. This emergency rule provides increased flexibility to providers to serve dialysis patients. This will be helpful in providing appropriate social distancing and/or provide loca  more

AUSTIN, Texas, April 10 -- Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, issued the following news release: Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has adopted an emergency rule to temporarily allow more nurse aides to serve residents in long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 response. The emergency rule temporarily allows nursing facilities to hire people to provide nurse aide services without having to complete a full certification program in their first  more

ARLINGTON, Texas, April 11 [TNSgrants] -- The University of Texas Arlington campus issued the following news release: When China recently stopped importing much of the United States' recycling materials, it created a glut of recyclables, including plastics, with no place to go. Enter Sahadat Hossain and Warda Ashraf. The University of Texas at Arlington researchers are combining their two areas of expertise--recycling and asphalt/concrete, respectively--to lead a two-year, $342,588 feasibilit  more

RICHARDSON, Texas, April 11 [TNSgrants] -- The University of Texas Dallas campus issued the following news release: Dr. Qing Gu, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas, recently received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award to expand her work on novel lasers. The grant will provide $500,000 over five years. Gu's research in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science focuses on de  more

GALVESTON, Texas, April 7 -- The University of Texas Medical Branch issued the following news release: A multidisciplinary team at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston working to combat the COVID-19 virus has a system that will unlock researchers' ability to more quickly develop and evaluate developing vaccines, diagnose infected patients and explore whether or how the virus has evolved. The scientists, led by Pei-Yong Shi, developed the system by engineering a reverse genetic s  more