The number of people still missing in the July 4 Kerr Coun- ty flood dropped to two after another body was recovered last week, the Austin Ameri - can-Statesman reported.
The two still missing are a child and an adult who were at Camp Mystic, where at least 27 campers and counselors died.
The death toll in Kerr County now totals 108. Statewide, the death toll has reached at least 136. Gov. Greg Abbott has or - dered disaster declarations for 30 Texas counties, making them eligible for both state and federal assistance.
"Texas remains relentless in our efforts to help impacted Tex - ans and communities rebuild," Abbott said.
The counties included in Ab - bott's state-level declaration in - clude Bandera, Bexar, Burnet, Caldwell, Coke, Comal, Concho, Edwards, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hamilton, Kendall, Kerr, Kim - ble, Kinney, Lampasas, Llano, Mason, Maverick, McCulloch, Menard, Real, Reeves, San Saba, Schleicher, Sutton, Tom Green, Travis, Uvalde and Williamson.
Lawmakers blast river authority for not upgrading Lawmakers from both parties ripped into Kerr County's riv -
er authority for choosing to cut property taxes rather than mod - ernizing a flood warning system, the Statesman reported. The hearing last week before 18 Tex - as Senate and House members came during the first week of the special session.
Tara Bushnoe, general man -
ager of the Upper Gua - dalupe Riv - er Authori - ty, testified before the panel. State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R- George - town, called the decision "extremely disturbing." A report published last week by the Houston Chronicle found the river authority was only will - ing to spend about $100,000 to upgrade its flood warning system after a 2016 engineering study found a $1 million overhaul was needed. The authority also turned down an interest-free loan from the Texas Water Develop - ment Board spanning 30 years for the upgrade.
"You had the resources to deploy this system absent any FEMA grant, absent any water development loan, and I guess that's troubling because you had the money but not the will," state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, said. Bushnoe said the authority has funded other critical projects, including gauges used by the Na - tional Weather Service to predict floods.
However, she said, "I agree there's much room for improve - ment and we are working to -
wards that."
Move to ban hemp-derived THC gaining traction Backers of a move to ban syn - thetic hemp-derived THC hope to build support for the state's recently expanded medical mar -
ijuana program, arguing it is a safer and more effective alterna - tive to the unregulated vapes and gummies sold across the state, The Dallas Morning News re - ported.
"Cannabis is what has saved the lives of so many veterans in this country, but this unregulat - ed version of cannabis is dan - gerous," Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, said.
A proposal to outlaw most of the consumable products con - taining THC, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis plants, is gaining speed in the Senate despite a similar measure having been vetoed by Abbott after the regular session. The governor placed regulating hemp products on the special session agenda.
Legislation to impose age lim - its, along with other regulations, is expected to be filed soon in the House. Abbott has said he would support such a plan.
Medical marijuana is provided legally through the Texas Com -
passionate Use Program and has about 116,000 active partici - pants. During the regular session, bills were passed increasing the number of medical marijuana licensees from three to 15 and increasing the number of dispen -
sary and storage sites.
GOP redistricting plans
draw ire of Democrats, others The first hearing of a Republi - can plan to redraw congressional maps drew plenty of criticism at the House redistricting commit - tee's first public meeting, The Texas Tribune reported.
"The effort to change these districts at this time has nothing to do with representing people better," said Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, and vice chair of the House committee in charge of redistricting. "It's the opposite of that. It's a power grab at the ex - pense of Black and brown com -
munities." The attempt to redraw the con -
gressional map at mid-decade comes at the behest of Presi - dent Donald Trump in hopes of increasing the GOP's narrow majority in the U.S. House in the 2026 midterms. The current map, drawn in 2021, has yielded 25 Republican seats and 13 for Democrats.
No proposed revisions of the current map have been released to date.
Paxton claiming three houses as primary residence Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, Angela, are claiming three separate houses as primary residences, allowing them to get lower mortgage in -
terest rates and save on property taxes, the Associated Press re - ported.
Doing so may be a potential violation of both federal and
state laws. Documents reviewed by the AP show the Paxtons hold mortgages on three homes - one in suburban Dallas and two in Austin, with each listed as their primary res -
idence.
The couple is now estranged af - ter Angela Paxton filed for divorce earlier this month. Ken Paxton is running against incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP primary next March. Neither responded to multiple requests to comment before the story was published.
Cornyn quickly criticized his op - ponent, who leads in early polls.
"It's a violation, in all likelihood, of state and federal law," Cornyn said last week.
After the story was published, Ken Paxton posted on X that, "John Cornyn and his establishment Swamp allies pushed this fake news to slander me, and Cornyn even called for the feds to take me down."
5,000-person detention camp to be built in El Paso The federal government has awarded a contract to build an im - migration detention center at Fort Bliss in El Paso, The News reported. The tent camp would be the largest immigration detention facility in the United States.
Acquisition Logistics, a Virgin - ia-based company, was awarded the $232 million contract. The facility would be used to house single immi - grant adults.
Immigrant advocates say using tents for detention is unlikely to meet federal standards.
"All the reasons why you and I live not in tents but in homes are going to inevitably come up in a facility that doesn't offer people walls and floors and insulation," Emma Winger, dep -
uty legal director at the American Immigration Council, said.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin, and Cedar Park. Email:[email protected].
