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HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle says that about 1,600 patients covered by Medicare Advantage plans are expected to lose insurance coverage at MD Anderson Cancer Center by the end of this week, officials at the cancer hospital said Wednesday. The patients have been covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, which previously announced that its Medicare Advantage members would no longer receive “in-network” access to the hospital as of Nov. 1. That means those patients could not receive care at heavily discounted rates. The number of impacted patients has not been previously reported. “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas made the difficult but necessary decision to remove The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston from our” Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans, the insurer said in a statement last week.

The decision affects “fewer than five” Medicaid patients, according to an MD Anderson spokesperson. The hospital has arranged to continue treating roughly 600 Medicare patients after the deadline and “is working to determine best options for others,” the spokesperson said. The separation will not impact Medicare Advantage plans for retirees and retiree dependents who have health insurance through the University of Texas System and the Texas A&M University System, the hospital previously said. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurance companies and, like original Medicare, cover people over the age of 65 or people with certain disabilities.

HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports that Marathon Oil will lay off more than 500 people as result of its $22.5 billion merger with oil giant ConocoPhillips, the company said in a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission this week. Marathon did not detail how many employees would be affected by the layoff, nor the types of positions that would be cut. However, the energy firm estimated that there would be “more than 500 employees at the company’s facility located at 990 Town and Country Blvd” — the address of Marathon’s headquarters in CityCentre. The layoffs would occur within a year after the merger is finalized in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the letter. “While these employees will be notified of specific employment end dates within a month of close, many will be retained for transition roles. Transition role scope and duration are currently being finalized and more than 50% of these transition roles are expected to extend beyond six months,” said Jill Ramshaw, senior vice president of human resources, in the letter to the state. Ramshaw said the Town and Country Boulevard office would remain open, despite the layoffs.

TEXAS (AP) – Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred are making their final pitches to Texas voters in a frenzied burst of travel across the state near the end of one of the nation’s most expensive and closely watched Senate races. Cruz, who finds himself in another competitive contest after narrowly winning a second term in 2018, is leaning into conservative pledges for tougher border measures and attacks on policies that support transgender people, including at a bus tour rally outside of San Antonio on Tuesday. Allred, who would become Texas’ first Black senator, spent a day criss-crossing Houston, the state’s biggest city and a crucial Democratic stronghold for the underdog congressman, who needs a big showing from loyal Democrats to unseat the incumbent.

At a rally at Texas Southern University, a historically Black college, the three-term congressman emphasized his support for abortion rights and blamed Cruz for limiting women’s access to reproductive healthcare. Statewide races in Texas have been out of reach for Democrats for decades, but recent signs that the race might be tightening have led some to think 2024 might finally be the year. It’s an ambitious target but one of the few pickup opportunities for Democrats in a year when they are defending twice as many Senate seats as Republicans nationally.A surprise win in Texas would dramatically boost their chances of maintaining their narrow Senate majority. Both candidates combined have raised more than $160 million in the race. Last week, Democrats backing Allred announced a $5 million ad campaign on reproductive freedom for women. At one of his stops in Houston, Allred asked voters to turn the page on divisive politics and look to leaders who can accomplish something. “I don’t spend my time throwing bombs,” he said. “I work hard not because bipartisanship is the end goal, because that’s how you get things done.” Some 250 miles to the west, at a rally in the rural South Texas town of Jourdanton, Cruz cast himself as the reasonable candidate.

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports that over 35,000 maintenance technicians, fleet service and cargo workers at American Airlines ratified a new 27-month contract extension this week. The contract extension will bring immediate pay rate increases ranging from 12% to 15%, according to Transport Workers Union of America, the union representing aircraft maintenance, material logistics specialists and fleet service workers at American. Some 68% of members voted and the contract extension passed with 90% approval, according to the union. “We set goals, and we achieved them,” John Samuelsen, TWU international president said in a release. “When the International and TWU locals work hand-in-hand, we win.” The new contract goes into effect Jan. 1 and includes two additional annual raises of 3% on Jan. 1, 2026, and Jan. 1, 2027.

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports that north Texas is getting another new corporate hub — and it’s one that’s helping clients around the world see and hear better with thoughtful designs and technology. Diversified, which specializes in audiovisual and media services, has moved its global headquarters to Plano, according to a statement. The company, which touts $1 billion-plus in annual revenue, formerly housed its main office in New Jersey, a spokesperson said. The new headquarters provides easy access to DFW International Airport and the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area, the company said. The “central location” helps Diversified attract top talent from the region while providing accessibility for clients and partners, including globally. Diversified designs and builds what it calls “experiential environments” at spaces that include media organizations, retailers, sports venues and corporate sites. For example, earlier this year, it announced the build out of a sound system at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. It also worked on digital signage for Lululemon and Armani Exchange. Other clients include the National Football League and Microsoft.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Railroad Administration has announced more than $2.4 billion in railroad grants to help pay for 122 projects nationwide in 41 states and Washington D.C. A large part of the money comes from the 2021 infrastructure law that President Joe Biden pushed for. Last year, the administration handed out $1.4 billion in these rail grants.

Most of the money will go to track and bridge upgrades. But some of the grants will be used to bolster training and explore cleaner-burning alternatives to the diesel railroads have long relied on. Some small railroads will also get help upgrading to more efficient locomotives.

Roughly $1.3 billion of the money will go to 81 projects at smaller short line railroads that often have a harder time investing in major projects. Chuck Baker, president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association trade group, said some of these grants will be transformational for the short line railroads that receive them.

Some of the grants will also help address rail safety concerns that have become prevalent since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023 and spilled a cocktail of hazardous chemicals that caught fire. Regulators have urged railroads to improve safety and the industry has undertaken a number of initiatives on its own. But bigger changes that lawmakers proposed after the disastrous derailment have stalled in Congress and little progress has been made in the current election year.

Nearly $1.1 billion of the money will be invested in rural areas.

Projects designed to reduce trespassing will receive $32.79 million. Workforce Development projects are worth $53.59 million. New Intercity Passenger Rail projects will receive $218,581,494. The rest of the money will go to an assortment of project improvements.

JOURDANTON, Texas (AP) — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred are making their final pitches to Texas voters in a frenzied burst of travel across the state near the end of one of the nation’s most expensive and closely watched Senate races.

Cruz, who finds himself in another competitive contest after narrowly winning a second term in 2018, is leaning into conservative pledges for tougher border measures and attacks on policies that support transgender people, including at a bus tour rally outside of San Antonio on Tuesday.

Allred, who would become Texas’ first Black senator, spent a day criss-crossing Houston, the state’s biggest city and a crucial Democratic stronghold for the underdog congressman, who needs a big showing from loyal Democrats to unseat the incumbent. At a rally at Texas Southern University, a historically Black college, the three-term congressman emphasized his support for abortion rights and blamed Cruz for limiting women’s access to reproductive healthcare.

Statewide races in Texas have been out of reach for Democrats for decades, but recent signs that the race might be tightening have led some to think 2024 might finally be the year. It’s an ambitious target but one of the few pickup opportunities for Democrats in a year when they are defending twice as many Senate seats as Republicans nationally.

A surprise win in Texas would dramatically boost their chances of maintaining their narrow Senate majority.

Both candidates combined have raised more than $160 million in the race.

Last week, Democrats backing Allred announced a $5 million ad campaign on reproductive freedom for women.

At one of his stops in Houston, Allred asked voters to turn the page on divisive politics and look to leaders who can accomplish something.

“I don’t spend my time throwing bombs,” he said. “I work hard not because bipartisanship is the end goal, because that’s how you get things done.”

Some 250 miles (402 kilometers) to the west, at a rally in the rural South Texas town of Jourdanton, Cruz cast himself as the reasonable candidate.

“This is no longer a battle between Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “This is a battle between sane and crazy.”

Dust swirled in and around a warehouse in Jourdanton on a warm October afternoon as supporters for Cruz donned “Make America Great Again” hats and waved signs bearing Cruz’s “Keep Texas, Texas” slogan. Cruz stood on the bed of a pickup truck and gave a nearly 40-minute speech, casting the race as a battle between tradition and change.

The Senate race has drawn the most attention and money in Texas, as Allred, a three-term congressman from Dallas, seeks to unseat Cruz and do what no Democrat has done in 30 years: win a statewide election in the nation’s second-most populous state. Cruz has looked to tie Allred to Vice President Kamala Harris on immigration, LGBTQ+ issues and the economy.

In a state with some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation, Cruz has largely avoided the subject.

Cruz narrowly defeated Beto O’Rourke in 2018 in his last reelection campaign and Democrats view the Senate race as an opportunity to take advantage of Texas’ shifting demographics and a relatively unpopular incumbent.

Sarah Brietzke, a retired teacher from nearby La Vernia, said she doesn’t expect Cruz to lose. “I would be surprised,” she said.

“I have nothing against the guy,” Scott Smith said about Allred. Still, Smith said he believes Cruz has stronger economic and immigration policies.

Allred has attempted to capture moderate voters by running a lower-profile campaign focused on reproductive care, a winning issue for Democrats where the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to strip federal protections for abortion remains unpopular with most Americans.

On Tuesday night in Houston, Allred repeatedly attacked Cruz for his 2021 trip to Mexico during a deadly winter storm that left millions without power. The swing through Texas’ largest city came just days after Allred joined Harris and Beyoncé at a rally Friday night, the vice president’s first and only stop in Texas. For most of his race, the former NFL linebacker and civil rights attorney has kept Harris at arm’s length, saying he’s focused on his own campaign.

He spoke to a half-full auditorium of about 300 people where he worked to shore up support among Black voters, a historically strong voting bloc for Democrats. Allred hasn’t emphasized big rallies in his campaign, which frustrated some Democrats early on in his race, although he has increased his travel down the stretch.

“Everything is bigger in Texas except for our senator. He’s too small for our state. His vision for us is too small,” Allred said.

Allred was joined at Tuesday’s rally by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who told the crowd that Allred would continue fighting for student debt relief and for women’s reproductive rights. Allred said he would be a senator for all Texans and continue his efforts to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans.

Kamerin Joseph, 27, said he is voting for Allred because of the congressman’s support of women’s reproductive rights.

“That is a very big one for me,” he said. “I mean, you hear about those stories of women having to watch their children die and women having to go through complications themselves.”

Joseph, who works for Protest, Organize, Participate, a Houston-based nonprofit that engages young people in politics, said that after knocking on doors and talking to people, he thinks many are aware of the Senate race and the potential for change.

“I really feel like we’re going to turn Texas blue this year. I genuinely feel that,” Joseph said. “I feel like your average, everyday Texan wants Colin Allred. You know, they’re ready for Cruz to go.”

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Lozano reported from Houston. ___

Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.