Daily Dispatch 11/20/23: Abbott Vows Continued Voucher Push, and More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: As vouchers crashed and burned in the House on Friday, Governor Abbott promises to keep pushing: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2023/11/19/abbotts-next-move-unclear-after-school-choice-defeat-in-texas-house/71585560007/ Abbott hung out with Donald Trump and endorsed his run for President on the border this weekend: https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/19/politics/trump-us-mexico-border-abbott/index.html The Texas State Board of Education followed through on a threat to reject science books including the connection between fossil fuels and climate change: https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/msnbc/texas-science-textbooks-climate-change-rcna125841 ERCOT has scrapped plans to revive old, outdated power plants: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/ercot-cancels-program-to-boost-power-reserves-ahead-of-potentially-precarious-winter/3390785/ ...While summer heat is confirmed to have damaged Texas economically: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2023/11/20/texas-heat-isnt-just-an-inconvenience-its-an-economic-drag-too/ The U.S. Senate's Democratic campaign chairman takes aim at Ted Cruz: https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/19/politics/senate-democratic-campaign-chairman-seeks-to-defy-odds-amid-manchin-retirement-and-sets-sights-on-cruz-and-scott/index.html A journalism series at KXAN TV in Austin focuses on attacks on the LGBTQ+ community by Texas lawmakers in 2023: https://www.kxan.com/state-of-texas/state-of-texas-special-edition-explores-record-lgbtq-legislative-proposals/ A CNN op-ed explores the lasting emotional damage that survivors of mass shootings suffer, including kids who made it through the Uvalde shooting: https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/19/opinions/gun-violence-uvalde-child-survivors-campoamor/index.html The D/FW metroplex exceeds 8 million residents for the first time as our urban centers now contain a full 2/3 of Texas' population overall: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2023/11/20/with-8-million-residents-d-fw-is-largest-texas-metro-texas-demographic-center-estimates/ Thanks for listening - and we'd love to meet you in person at one of our two upcoming holiday parties! Details and tickets at https://progresstexas.org/.