Area News

The celebration begins this week! July 4 is almost here, and communities across the country are getting ready to mark America’s 250th anniversary through celebration, service, gathering, and giving back. From major national moments to neighborhood block parties, this historic milestone will come to life in many different ways — and there is still time…

By Fred Schulte Jun 26, 2026 A major Medicare Advantage company has paid the government more than $342 million to help settle allegations that it overcharged the federal healthcare program for years. Elevance Health, which covers about 2 million people on Medicare, sent the money to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services via wire…

By Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune June 27, 2026 CORPUS CHRISTI — Kendall Scudder will lead the Texas Democratic Party into the critical midterm elections this year after Texas Democrats elected him to a full term as chair at the party’s convention in Corpus Christi. The party’s delegates overwhelmingly chose Scudder to continue on as chair…

By Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune June 27, 2026 CORPUS CHRISTI — Black Democrats caucusing at the Texas Democratic Party convention Friday cheered when state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, said November would bring an end to three decades of one-party statewide rule. But some of the most emphatic applause he received during…

By Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune June 27, 2026 CORPUS CHRISTI — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday closed the Texas Democratic Convention with an anti-oligarchical speech that bookended two days of state Democrats railing against Republican state leadership and corporate interests that they say are making life untenable for working class Texans. The Vermont…

One more week! Chaka Khan and Anthony Ramos have just joined the July 4 Benefit Show at the LA Memorial Coliseum alongside Chris Stapleton, The Smashing Pumpkins, and host Queen Latifah. Together, they’ll headline an unforgettable evening of music and celebration, while launching Giving 4th, a new season of charitable giving. Tickets are still available…

June 26, 2026 AUSTIN – For the past 20 years, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division, along with various organizations throughout Central Texas, have hosted the Groundwater to the Gulf program (G2G) in Austin. G2G is a free, three-to-four-day field-trip based science institute for K-12 science teachers and other informal educators…

Texas A&M breeders, students connect with industry at National Association for Plant Breeding meeting June 25, 2026 – by Kay Ledbetter Plant breeders in all career stages, from job-seeking graduate students to established industry professionals, recently gathered at the National Association for Plant Breeding conference on the Texas A&M University campus. The conference, themed “AI-Driven…

John Whitehead’s Commentary By John & Nisha Whitehead June 24, 2026 “The people are the only legitimate fountain of power.”—James Madison This is a year of strange anniversaries. Two hundred and fifty years ago, a band of revolutionaries declared their independence from a king. America’s founders rejected concentrated power. They denounced standing armies. They distrusted…

AJBA All American Update The countdown is on! We are just days away from the 2026 AJBA All American: “Brahmans Under the Big Top” and we know many of you are making final preparations before heading to Bryan, Texas. With any event of this size come plenty of questions, so we have prepared a few…