Daily Dispatch 1/4/24: COVID and Flu Spike Concerns In North Texas, and More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Health officials in the D/FW area are watching a spike in both COVID and flu-related hospitalizations - a good time to be sure vaccinations are up to date: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/flu-and-covid-19-cases-continue-to-increase-across-texas/3424962/ The Biden Department of Justice has sued the state of Texas over SB-4: https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-justice-dept-sues-texas-over-immigration-law-2024-01-03/ ...While U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson leads a congressional field trip cosplay at Eagle Pass: https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-ukraine-migrants-texas-mexico-909cfb700eafef95196f97906dc16ae1 ...And the New York Times checks the facts: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/us/politics/republicans-immigration-border-fact-check.html ...And that El Paso family violently targeted by DPS recently gives an interview to NPR: https://www.npr.org/2024/01/03/1222600892/u-s-citizens-have-been-accidentally-caught-up-in-the-texas-crackdown-on-migrants Lawmakers in Washington detail pre-emptive legislation designed to resist Texas' overreach in regard to transgender patient records: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/seattle-hospital-sues-ag-paxton-re-trans-healthcare-cites-shield-law-18236553 A shameful caving to conservative threats over a New Year's Eve drag show by a Grapevine restaurant: https://www.chron.com/food/article/texas-drag-show-cancelled-18584958.php A Washington Post op-ed on the current abortion rights fight highlights the importance of the 2024 election: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/03/abortion-texas-5th-circuit-emergency/ Texas is dead last among U.S. states in personal freedom - except for campaign finance freedom, where we're #1: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2024/01/03/states-freedom-texas-tax-marijuana-school-choice-incarceration-abortion-laws/71936221007/ Thanks for listening! Please consider making a contribution to help Progress Texas continue our important work at https://progresstexas.org/.