Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

WASHINGTON — Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced Tuesday that she would oppose confirmation for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send the jurist's nomination to the full Senate for confirmation next week.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, throwing down cards that she has held close to her vest for months, said Friday that Gov. Rick Perry was wrong to reject federal stimulus dollars for expanded unemployment benefits this year.

Under Texas law, in-state college tuition rates aren't only for longtime legal residents.

A new California program is accepting applications from low-income homeowners interested in harnessing the power of the sun.

The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine hopes to one day develop into a force in international research with its investigation of conditions important to El Pasoans

Defying skeptics in her party, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed Sunday to overcome lingering obstacles and pass health-care reform in the House, restoring momentum to President Obama's top domestic priority and order to her own unruly Democratic caucus.

It's a chilling thought. In the coming year, 130,000 people worldwide will suffer spinal-cord injuries—in a car crash, perhaps, or a fall. More than 90 percent of them will endure at least partial paralysis. There is no cure. But after a decade of hype and controversy over research on embryonic stem cells—cells that could, among other things, potentially repair injured spinal cords—the world's first clinical trial is about to begin. As early as this month, the first of 10 newly injured Americans, paralyzed from the waist down, will become participants in a study to assess the safety of a conservative, low-dose treatment. If all goes well, researchers will have taken a promising step toward a goal that once would have been considered a miracle—to help the lame walk.

New home sales rose last month at the fastest clip in more than eight years as buyers eagerly took advantage of bargain prices - a clear sign, economists said, that the real estate market may finally be bouncing back.

My friend Don recently wrote about his experiences in his visit to China and shared pictures of his six month stay. That article inspired me to write about my own experiences. I want to share what it’s like to work in the deadliest city in Mexico, and one of the deadliest in the world.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced on the Senate floor Friday that he intends to vote against the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for U.S. Supreme Court.

Forty three members of Congress have sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano voicing concern over the “mounting” environmental and societal impact of the border wall and other security barriers.

Bonnie Dominguez, the owner of Moe's restaurant, says she plans to raise menu prices rather than lay off employees as she contends with a minimum-wage increase for the third year in a row.

Betty Tercero has lived in El Paso nearly her whole life.

Home buyers in newly annexed areas of El Paso could be forced to pay additional taxes that would finance the construction of roads, fire stations and other essentials. Until now, those services had been subsidized by existing city taxpayers.

When a 16-year-old boy was kidnapped from this fundamentalist Mormon community in early May, ransom was set at $1 million. The town chose not to pay.

A robot that can open doors and find electrical outlets to recharge itself. Computer viruses that no one can stop. Predator drones, which, though still controlled remotely by humans, come close to a machine that can kill autonomously.

An outspoken group of border-security advocates called Gov. Rick Perry's Internet surveillance program ineffective Tuesday, and urged him to order the Texas National Guard to the border.

The effort to insure tens of millions of uncovered Americans will almost certainly involve a sweeping expansion of Medicaid – with Texas probably feeling the impact more than any other state.

UTEP professor Ben Flores, Ph.D., was one of 22 honorees named recently by President Barack Obama for their efforts to mentor minorities who are studying science and engineering.

July 23, 2009 –Roy Ortega will join the El Paso Media Group as a columnist for Newspaper Tree.
Ortega will pen weekly columns on the state of media in our market. Readers can look forward to Ortega’s insight and perspective on Thursdays on www.newspapertree.com.
“Ortega will add valuable content to our thriving online projects and we’re very excited to bring someone on his caliber on board,” said Keith Mahar, publisher and president of El Paso Media Group.