Hill Country News

Protesters storm the U.S. Capitol on the second day of pro-Trump events fueled by then-President Donald Trump's continued claims of election fraud in an to overturn the results before Congress finalizes them in a joint session of the 117th Congress on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Leander man charged with threatening Georgia election officials

The Justice Department on Friday arrested a Leander man and charged him with threatening election and other government officials in Georgia, according to court documents and media reports. This is … more

Matt Zapotosky | The Washington Post | 1/21/22

Sailors drill at the Naval Station Great Lakes on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 in Great Lakes, Illinois. Naval Station Great Lakes is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

Navy extending basic training to 10 weeks so sailors can work with mentors

The Navy is adding two weeks to boot camp, extending basic military training to 10 weeks. The change gives new sailors time to work with mentors to talk about situations … more

Dave Ress, Daily Press (TNS) | 1/21/22

How often can you reuse KN95 or N95 masks — and how do you safely do it? What to know

Health experts have recommended switching to N95 or KN95 face masks as the omicron coronavirus variant — which transmits and evades COVID-19 vaccines more easily than past strains — … more

Bailey Aldridge, McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS) | 1/20/22

Lisa Leon, a patient service coordinator, draws up a syringe full of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Esperanza Health Centers vaccination clinic on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

Fully vaccinated and just got COVID? Here’s how long you should wait to get a booster

The surge of COVID-19 cases across the nation is proving an unsettling yet well-known fact: you can still get infected with the coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated, even more so with the … more

Katie Camero, McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS) | 1/19/22

Medical workers prepare COVID-19 tests at a testing site inside the Times Square subway station on Dec. 27, 2021, in New York City. (Scott Heins/Getty Images/TNS)

COVID-19 tests: Different types and when to use them

There are various types of COVID-19 tests that people may choose from to find out if they are infected with the virus. Dr. Matthew Binnicker and the team at Mayo Clinic Laboratories help … more

Deb Balzer, Mayo Clinic News Network (TNS) | 1/19/22

Luxiano Gonzalez, 8, of El Monte, receives a child's dose of the Pfizer vaccination from LVN Jacqueline Valdez at Eugene A. Obregon Park on Nov. 3, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Most states are wary of mandating COVID shots for kids

Every state requires children to receive an array of vaccinations before they enroll in school. Typically, those inoculations are for protection against polio, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, … more

Michael Ollove, Stateline.org (TNS) | 1/18/22

An Atlanta restaurant employee received a letter from the Georgia Department of Labor accusing her of unemployment fraud. It was her employer's fault. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Days before Christmas, a letter: Repay your unemployment benefits

Not long before Christmas, Haven Whiteman got a letter from the Georgia Department of Labor. It shook the 28-year-old Atlantan, a former restaurant server assistant who had seen her regular pay and … more

Matt Kempner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS) | 1/18/22

A support worker, second from left, directs Los Angeles Unified School District students and staff who wait in line for a COVID-19 test at a walk-up site at the El Sereno Middle School in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 4, 2022. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Omicron can make you contagious before you test positive, allowing for rapid spread

Ahead of Christmas, health experts suggested undergoing a rapid coronavirus test just before any gatherings. But some health experts are now warning that you can test negative … more

Rong-Gong Lin II and Luke Money, Los Angeles Times (TNS) | 1/17/22

A person receives a COVID-19 vaccination dose, during a free distribution of COVID-19 rapid test kits for those who received vaccination shots or booster shots, at Union Station on Jan. 7, 2022, in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images/TNS)

Mayo Clinic experts debunk COVID-19 vaccine myths

COVID-19 vaccines protect you from getting sick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots are … more

Jason Howland, Mayo Clinic News Network (TNS) | 1/15/22

James and Jennifer Crumbley face charges in connection with the Nov. 30 shooting deaths of four students at Michigan's Oxford High School after the couple's son brought a pistol to his high school and opened fire on classmates, police say. But it is unclear whether 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley had open access to the weapon at home. (Oakland County Sheriff's Office/TNS)

How often do unsecured guns kill kids? Michigan report has one answer

The deadly shooting at Oxford High School placed a spotlight on a simple measure experts say could stop children from getting access to a weapon: locking them up. That could have … more

Carol Thompson, The Detroit News (TNS) | 1/14/22

Former Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, answers questions about a proposed bill during a House Civil Justice Subcommittee meeting in Tallahassee in 2015. (Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Wire/TNS)

Dark-money group tied to ‘ghost’ scandal seeks to shield bank records that could reveal donors

An organization that gave more than $1 million in 2020 to the dark-money nonprofit at the center of Florida’s “ghost” candidate scandal is seeking to block the … more

Annie Martin, Orlando Sentinel (TNS) | 1/13/22

The Karnes County Residential Center is viewed on July 31, 2014, in Karnes City, Texas. (Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images/TNS)

COVID cases jump 340% among ICE detainees in 1 week

An estimated 1,254 people currently held in U.S. immigration detention centers have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the most recent federal data, more than four times the number recorded a … more

Ella Ceron, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 1/12/22

Residents receive COVID test kits at the City of Boca Raton Administration Complex on Jan. 7, 2022. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS)

Up to 1 million rapid test kits sat unused in Florida warehouse

Up to 1 million COVID-19 test kits were left to expire inside a Florida warehouse amid a nationwide shortage triggered by a winter surge of coronavirus cases. At a news conference held by Gov. Ron … more

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News (TNS) | 1/12/22

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday that the Biden administration wants to keep children in school despite the surge in COVID-19 cases. (Susan Walsh/Pool/CNP/Zuma Press/TNS)

Kids should stay in school during COVID spike, Cardona says

The Biden administration wants to keep children in school, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on Sunday, adding that “they’ve suffered enough” in the pandemic. Cardona … more

Shant Shahrigian, New York Daily News (TNS) | 1/12/22

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vows to keep restaurants open during COVID-19 at a news conference on December 15, 2020, at Okeechobee Steakhouse in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS)

DeSantis calls Florida ‘the freest state,’ attacks federal government in address

Gov. Ron DeSantis called Florida “the freest state in the United States” in his 2022 State of the State address Thursday, making his opposition to COVID restrictions … more

Steven Lemongello, Orlando Sentinel (TNS) | 1/12/22

U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, right, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2021. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)

White House to ask for more pandemic relief funds, Hoyer says

The Biden administration is preparing to ask Congress for “substantial” funding to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic domestically and abroad, according to House … more

Jennifer Shutt, CQ-Roll Call (TNS) | 1/12/22

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at her weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on Dec. 8, 2021, in Washington, D.C. On Sunday, she said there's an "opportunity" for more federal coronavirus relief. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Pelosi opens door to virus aid in spending plan as omicron rages

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there’s an “opportunity” to add federal coronavirus relief aid to a package of legislation funding the government as a February deadline … more

Daniel Flatley, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 1/12/22

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, left, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks to Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine the federal response to COVID-19 and new emerging variants on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Greg Nash/Pool/ABACAPRESS.COM/TNS)

As feud continues, Fauci says Rand Paul attacks him to raise campaign money

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sen. Rand Paul’s attacks on his response to the coronavirus pandemic were meant to raise money for the Kentuckian’s reelection campaign, as the … more

David Catanese, McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS) | 1/11/22

Groups of people line up to get tested for COVID-19 in Times Square on Dec. 5, 2021, in New York City. With the newly discovered omicron strain of Covid, health officials are urging people to get a vaccination or a booster and get tested. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/TNS)

COVID-19 test makers struggle to cope with whiplash from omicron

As the omicron variant sends U.S. COVID-19 case numbers soaring to new records and drugstores and walk-in clinics clamor for test kits, suppliers have been struggling with their own mounting … more

Kristen V Brown, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 1/11/22

Thomas Paul Conover inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Department of Justice/TNS)

Texas man who stormed US Capitol with beer pleads guilty

He posted online that he doesn’t always storm the Capitol but that when he does, he prefers Coors Light. Now Thomas Paul Conover, 53, from Keller is facing up to six months in … more

Kevin Krause, The Dallas Morning News (TNS) | 1/11/22

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