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WASHINGTON – The San Antonio Express-News reports U.S. Rep. Chip Roy is ramping up pressure on House Republicans to make the larger cuts to Medicaid that many within his party oppose. In a letter to members on Thursday, Roy and 19 other House Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Keith Self and Michael Cloud of Texas, called for pulling back on the expansion of Medicaid benefits to low-income working adults that Congress passed during the Obama administration and that have been adopted in nearly every state. “If the House budget reconciliation package does not include structural Medicaid reform… we will be setting up massive tax increases and benefit cuts in the future,” they wrote. Medicaid expansion covers adults who make up to 138% of the federal poverty rate, or about $21,600 in 2025. States that opt into the program contribute a small percentage of the costs, with the federal government picking up the rest.

Roy’s push to return Medicaid to a program solely for low-income children, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities comes as Republicans are searching for ways to slash $1.5 trillion from the federal budget. House GOP members are divided over Medicaid expansion and other benefits for low-income families. U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, the San Antonio Republican whose district includes much of the border, who leads the GOP’s Congressional Hispanic Conference, has warned members that they face political fallout in cutting programs that are “helping hard working Americans.” Gonzales did not respond to a request for comment Friday. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, has already delayed a hearing on the $780 billion in spending cuts they have been directed to come up with by House Leadership. Ending the federal match for Medicaid expansion would save the government $626 billion over the next decade, according to analysis by the health research non-profit KFF. And unless states decided to make up the loss, an estimated 20 millions Americans would lose their healthcare coverage. Texas is one of ten states that chose not to expand Medicaid to low-income Americans. But for Republicans representing states that did expand coverage, cutting federal funding has so far proven a difficult sell.

AUSTIN – The Houston Chronicle reports that in response to the state’s growing home insurance crisis, Texas lawmakers are considering proposals that would require insurers to get approval for rate hikes over a certain threshold. “Texans spoke very clearly of their concerns about rising property and casualty rates,” said state Sen. Charles Schwertner, a Georgetown Republican who authored a Senate bill that would require the state to approve rate hikes that exceed 10%. He said the threshold offered some leniency for insurers, which don’t currently need pre-approval for any increases, without providing them “complete carte blanche.” Consumer advocates have warned that insurers could game the system Schwertner is envisioning. Many providers already file multiple rate changes per year, which they could continue to do under the proposed legislation — even if cumulatively those rates exceed 10%.

And prior to 2023 — when rates spiked by 21% statewide, as insurers responded to skyrocketing losses driven by extreme weather — few rate increases exceeded 10%, according to a Hearst analysis of major insurer’s rate filings. Douglas Heller, the director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America, a national nonprofit, called Schwertner’s proposal a “Pyrrhic victory,” saying 10% was too high. “It’s a fix that doesn’t fix,” he said. Schwertner’s proposal is one of several to have gained traction this session after lawmakers vowed to respond to rising premiums and worsening storms. Communities along the Gulf Coast have been especially hard hit, but the costs are being borne far inland too. Last week, the full House supported a proposal by state Rep. Tom Oliverson, a Republican, to create a statewide grant program to help homeowners fortify their homes against natural disasters.

TEXAS – The nation’s average price of gasoline has risen for the first time in nearly a month, climbing 2.0 cents compared to a week ago and stands at $3.12 per gallon, according to GasBuddy® data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is down 12.0 cents from a month ago and is 49.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has increased 0.2 cents in the last week and stands at $3.501 per gallon.

“Last week was another mixed bag at the pump for many Americans, but there may be some promising short-term news from OPEC+, which has agreed to increase oil production starting in June,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Here in the U.S., slightly more than half of the states saw gas prices rise, while many others saw modest declines. We continued to see price cycling in states prone to such movements, including much of the Great Lakes region, as well as in Maryland, Florida, and parts of Texas. However, the most notable development is OPEC+’s decision to raise production next month, as oil prices hover near their lowest levels since the pandemic. While gasoline inventories have been tightening due to ongoing refinery maintenance — which has limited how much gas prices have fallen in response to lower oil — refinery output is expected to rise soon. As maintenance wraps up, we could see an increase in gasoline supply and a national average that may soon dip below $3 per gallon.”

WEST TEXAS (AP) – One-fifth of states have active measles outbreaks as confirmed cases nationwide keep ticking up, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC’s confirmed measles case count is 935, more than triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The three-month outbreak in Texas accounts for the vast majority of cases, with 683 confirmed as of Friday. The outbreak has also spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.

Other states with active outbreaks — defined as three or more cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

North America has two other ongoing outbreaks. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,243 cases from mid-October through Tuesday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 844 measles cases and one death as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry. Health officials in Mexico and the U.S. say all three outbreaks are of the same measles strain.

Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.

As the virus takes hold in U.S. communities with low vaccination rates, health experts fear that spread could stretch on for a year. Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.

How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico?

Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 20 new cases of measles since Tuesday, bringing the total to 683 across 29 counties — most of them in West Texas. Three counties recorded their first cases: Hardeman has one, Eastland has two and Upshur has five. The state also added two hospitalizations to its count Friday, for a total of 89 throughout the outbreak.

State health officials estimated about 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious.

Sixty percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 396 cases since late January — just over 1.5% of the county’s residents.

The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials in Texas said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February — Kennedy said age 6.

New Mexico added one case Friday for 67 total cases. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state’s cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Don?a Ana County and one in Chaves County.

How many cases are there in Indiana?

Indiana confirmed two more cases April 21 in an outbreak that has sickened eight in Allen County in the northeast part of the state — five are unvaccinated minors and three are adults whose vaccination status is unknown.

The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health has said.

How many cases are there in Kansas?

Kansas added nine cases Wednesday for a total of 46 across eight counties in the southwest part of the state. Gray County is up to 15 cases. The state also reported its first hospitalization.

Kansas’ health department didn’t elaborate Wednesday about a discrepancy in the number of new cases at the state and county levels beyond noting that case counts are “fluid as the outbreak progresses.”

The state’s first reported case is linked to the Texas outbreak based on genetic testing.

How many cases are there in Michigan?

Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, has an outbreak of four cases that state health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak. The state had nine confirmed measles cases as of Friday, but the remaining five are not part of the Montcalm County outbreak.

How many cases are there in Montana?

Montana state health officials announced five cases April 17 in unvaccinated children and adults who had traveled out of state, and later confirmed it was an outbreak. All five are isolating at home in Gallatin County in the southwest part of the state.

They were Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn’t say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America.

How many cases are there in Ohio?

The state has two outbreaks. Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases. And Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors.

The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 33 measles cases and one hospitalization. That count includes only Ohio residents. Defiance County in the northwestern part of the state has logged its first case.

Allen and Holmes counties have had one case each.

How many cases are there in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma had 13 confirmed and three probable cases as of Friday. The first two probable cases were “associated” with the West Texas and New Mexico outbreaks, the state health department said. The department is not releasing which counties have cases, but Cleveland, Custer, Oklahoma and Sequoyah counties have had public exposures in the past couple of months.

How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?

There are eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania, officials said Friday. The county declared an outbreak in mid-April. The state has said it has 13 cases overall in 2025, including international travel-related cases in Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia.

How many cases are there in Tennessee?

Tennessee had six measles cases as of last week. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee’s outbreak started.

The state health department announced the first measles case March 21, three more on April 1 and the last two on April 17, but none of the news releases declared an outbreak. However, Tennessee was on a list of outbreak states in a CDC report April 17.

Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?

North Dakota health officials on Friday announced that state’s first measles case since 2011. Cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.

What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?

The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.

Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.

People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have “presumptive immunity.”

In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.”

But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60.

What are the symptoms of measles?

Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.

The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.

Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

How can you treat measles?

There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable