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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

A teenager who admitted being “addicted to speed” behind the wheel had totaled two other cars in the year before he slammed into a minivan at 112 mph (180 kph) in a Seattle suburb, killing the driver and three of the five children she was transporting for a homeschool co-op.

After sentencing Chase Daniel Jones last month to more than 17 years in prison, the judge tacked on a novel condition should he drive again: His vehicle must be equipped with a device that prevents accelerating far beyond the speed limit.

Virginia this year became the first state to agree to give its judges such a tool to deal with the most dangerous drivers on the road. Washington, D.C., already is using it and similar measures await governors’ signatures in Washington state and Georgia. New York and California also could soon tap the GPS-based technology to help combat a recent national spike in traffic deaths.

“It’s a horror no one should have to experience,” said Amy Cohen, who founded the victims’ advocacy group Families for Safe Streets after her 12-year-old son, Sammy Cohen Eckstein, was killed by a speeding driver in front of their New York home more than a decade ago.
Turning tragedy into activism

Andrea Hudson, 38, the minivan driver who was killed when Jones ran a red light, was building a backyard greenhouse with her husband to help educate several kids who shuttle between homes during the school day, her father, Ted Smith, said.

Also killed in the March 2024 crash near Hudson’s home in Renton, Washington, were Boyd “Buster” Brown and Eloise Wilcoxson, both 12, and Matilda Wilcoxson, 13. Hudson’s two children were sitting on the passenger side and survived, but they spent weeks in a hospital.

“You always hear of these horrific accidents, and it’s always far away, you don’t know anybody. But all of a sudden, that’s my daughter,” Smith said. “This guy did not swerve or brake. And it was just a missile.”

Smith knew Washington state Rep. Mari Leavitt, who reached out to offer condolences and tell him she was sponsoring legislation to mandate intelligent speed assistance devices as a condition for habitual speeders to get back their suspended licenses.

Leavitt predicts it will have an even more powerful impact than revoking driving privileges, citing studies showing around three-quarters of people who lose their licenses get behind a wheel anyway.

Between 2019 and 2024, the state saw a 200% increase in drivers cited for going at least 50 mph (80 kph) over the speed limit, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

“I guess I don’t understand why someone is compelled to want to drive that fast,” Leavitt said. “But if they choose to drive that fast with the speed limiter, they can’t. It’s going to stop them in their tracks.”

The measure, which Washington legislators passed last month and Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson is expected to soon sign, is called the BEAM Act, using the first letters of the names of the four victims: Buster, Eloise, Andrea and Matilda.

Because Jones, 19, didn’t receive a speeding ticket in his two previous crashes, he likely wouldn’t have been required to use the speed-limiter ahead of the fatal one. And because it could be 2029 before the law takes effect, the judge’s requirement at sentencing only applies to his time on probation after being released from prison, Smith said.
Evolution of a safety tool

Competing tech companies that joined forces to lobby for ignition interlock requirements for drunken drivers have been working in unison again the last few years to pitch intelligent speed assistance.

Brandy Nannini, chief government affairs officer at one manufacturer, Grapevine, Texas-based Smart Start, said fleet vehicles including school buses in the nation’s capital have been trying it out for years.

But it took a lot of refinement before the GPS technology could instantly recognize speed limit changes and compel vehicles with the devices installed to adjust accordingly.

“We’ve got a lot more satellites in the sky now,” said Ken Denton, a retired police officer who is the chief compliance officer at Cincinnati-based LifeSafer, part of the coalition of companies.

When court-mandated, the devices would prevent cars from exceeding speed limits or whatever threshold regulators set. An override button allows speeding in emergencies, but states can decide whether to activate it and authorities would be alerted any time the button is pushed.

A more passive version, which beeps to alert drivers when they are going too fast, is required for new cars in the European Union. California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar proposal last year, explaining vehicle safety requirements are set by the federal government and he was concerned a patchwork of state laws could stir confusion.
Parents take up the cause

Before Del. Patrick Hope agreed to sponsor the proposal in the Virginia Legislature, he tried out the device in Nannini’s car, which was calibrated to not go more than 9 mph (14 kph) over the speed limit.

“That was my first question: Is it safe?” Hope said.

Not only did he come away convinced it is, Hope is now pondering whether to install it on the cars of his three children, all of whom are new drivers.

For those mandated by a court, the price could be hefty: $4 per day and a $100 installation fee. The fee would be less for low-income offenders.

Cohen with Families for Safe Streets, which provides support services to the loved ones of crash victims, knows firsthand the kind of impact slowing down speeders can make. A year after her son was struck and killed in front of their New York apartment, another boy was injured in the same spot.

By then, the road’s speed limit had been lowered.

“That boy lived when he was hit, and mine did not,” she said. “When you are going a few miles slower, there’s more time to stop. And when you hit somebody, it’s much less likely to be deadly.”

AUSTIN (AP) — Cinco de Mayo festivities are taking place across the U.S. with music, tacos, tequila and colorful displays of Mexican culture — even if they’re not always the most authentic.

The day falls on a Monday this year, meaning the bulk of the celebrations took place over the weekend. In California, a state with a large Mexican American population, there was a mix of art displays, classic car shows, parades and food truck offerings.

In Austin, Texas, events included an opportunity for children to get their photo taken with characters from the Disney animated musical “Encanto,” which is itself a celebration of Mexican culture. A luncheon with speakers talking about the significance of the Mexican holiday and Mexican Americans in Austin was planned for Monday.

Here’s a look at the celebration and its roots:

What the day celebrates

Cinco de Mayo marks the anniversary of the 1862 victory by Mexican troops over invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla. The triumph over the better-equipped and much larger French troops was an enormous emotional boost for Mexican soldiers led by Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza.

In Mexico, historical reenactments are held annually in the central city of Puebla to commemorate the victory. Participants dress as Mexican and French troops, and as Zacapoaxtlas — the Indigenous and farmer contingent that helped Mexican troops win.

In the United States the date is seen as a celebration of Mexican American culture, stretching back to the 1800s in California. Festivities typically include parades, street food, block parties, mariachi competitions and baile folklórico, or folkloric ballet, with whirling dancers wearing bright, ruffled dresses and their hair tied with shiny ribbons.

Latino activists and scholars say that disconnect in the U.S. is bolstered by the hazy history of Cinco de Mayo, and marketing that plays on stereotypes that include fake, droopy mustaches and gigantic, colorful sombreros. The day often is mistaken for Mexican Independence Day, which is in September.

It’s not all about tequila and tacos

For many Americans with or without Mexican ancestry, the day is an excuse to toss back tequila shots and gorge on tortilla chips, nachos and tacos.

The celebrations in the U.S. started as a way for Mexican Americans to preserve their cultural identity, said Sehila Mota Casper, director of Latinos in Heritage Conservation.

“Since then we’ve seen a shift to more commercialization and commodification and mockery over the years,” Mota Casper said. “I think that has a lot to do with the commercialization of products and especially Latino heritage.”

Mota Casper encourages people to learn about that day in history and its importance in Mexico.

Jacob Troncoza, 49, said he celebrates Cinco de Mayo in his household because he’s proud of his Mexican ancestry.

“I try to make sure that the kids understand what it’s about, which was the revolution, the war, and the battles that our grandfathers fought on,” said Troncoza, who was born in east Los Angeles.

Others, like Andrea Ruiz don’t because her Mexican dad never did. But she noted what she deemed the irony in widespread celebrations.

“I think it’s funny Trump … and all of his supporters want to get Mexicans out, call them criminals, but then on Cinco de Mayo, they want to go and eat tacos and drink tequila,” the 23-year-old Ruiz said.

Political rhetoric

Since returning to the White House, Trump has continued to label Mexican immigrants as criminals and gang members. He’s also sought to end birthright citizenship, renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and ended the federal government’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Trump acknowledged Cinco de Mayo during his first term, posting on X, “Happy #CincoDeMayo!” and “I love Hispanics!” as he sat with a “taco bowl.” In the last presidential election, data showed more young Hispanic men moved to the right and voted for Trump.

It’s unclear if the current administration will acknowledge Cinco de Mayo — designated a holiday in Mexico but not in the United States. The Associated Press sent an email to the White House Press Office late Friday seeking comment.

Trump’s handling of immigration remains a point of strength as he ramps up deportations and targets people living in the U.S. without legal status, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. While Trump’s actions remain divisive, there’s less of a consensus that the Republican president has overstepped on immigration than on other issues, the poll found.