Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

A Sacramento judge has affirmed state regulations aimed at protecting consumers in payment disputes between hospitals and insurers, easing the financial burden on patients who get stuck with the cost of emergency care that they assumed would be paid by their medical policies.

Even before the recession became evident, many emergency rooms around the country were already overcrowded, with dangerously long waits for some patients and the frequent need to redirect ambulances to other hospitals.

As the stock market swoons and tuition costs soar, more families are deciding to pay for college in advance through their 529 plans.

Many district are now instructing teachers to use textbooks not as the main source of information, but as “a source” of information that can be used with web, and other resources such as experts in a field that in many cases can only be reached via computer. The old delivery methods are becoming anachronistic, but the state still clings to the idea of traditional methods of delivery.

In response to a fast-changing world, the bureau debuts a different way of releasing demographic information so people won't have to wait 10 years. The once-a-decade head count will continue.

Obama said the massive government spending program he proposes to lift the country out of economic recession will include a renewed effort to make public buildings energy-efficient, rebuild the nation's highways, renovate aging schools and install computers in classrooms, extend high-speed Internet to underserved areas and modernize hospitals by giving them access to electronic medical records.

With his choice of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary, President-elect Barack Obama broke with tradition, putting a longtime public servant in a position that has recently been held by private-sector executives.

Increasingly, bodies show unmistakable signs of torture. Videos of executions are posted on the Internet, as taunts, as warnings. Corpses are dumped on playgrounds, with neatly printed notes beside them. And very often, the heads have been removed.

Mr Obama has dismayed many on the left of his party, but delighted centrists and the foreign-policy establishment, by deciding to keep Robert Gates as secretary of defence. Mr Gates replaced Mr Rumsfeld in 2006, and has overseen a big drop in violence in Iraq since the implementation of the “surge”. He may be a transitional figure until Mr Jones or someone else can step into the job, but the decision to keep him suggests that Mr Obama will not be scrambling to pull out of Iraq with undue haste.

Texas state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh told the AP that taking down the barriers would send "a message of friendship and a message of hope."

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande and the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to re-launch the site, www.elpasojobregister.com, and will help with funding and recruitment. The Web site was originally launched in June 2007 but has been redesigned and will allow military spouses to search for jobs, post resumes and will also include helpful links for related resources and services.

A Sacramento judge has affirmed state regulations aimed at protecting consumers in payment disputes between hospitals and insurers, easing the financial burden on patients who get stuck with the cost of emergency care that they assumed would be paid by their medical policies.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, has filed a bill that would ban the sale of food with trans fats, the "bad" fats in items such as shortening and margarine that have been linked to high cholesterol, heart disease and stroke.

It appears to be the first such step by a major medical center to disclose the industry relationships of individual doctors. And it comes as the nation’s doctors and hospitals are under mounting pressure to address potential financial conflicts of interest that can occur when they work closely with companies to develop and research new drugs and devices.

In Texas today, the American dream is distant. Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured children in the nation. Texas is dead last in the percentage of residents with their high school diploma and near last in SAT scores. Texas now has America’s dirtiest air. If we do not change course, for the first time in our history, the Texas generation of tomorrow will be less prosperous than the generation of today.

After decades of failed efforts to reshape the nation's healthcare system, a consensus appears to be emerging in Washington about how to achieve the elusive goal of providing medical insurance to all Americans. The answer, say leading groups of businesses, hospitals, doctors, labor unions and insurance companies -- as well as senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill and members of the new Obama administration -- is unprecedented government intervention to create a system of universal protection.

Over all, the report found, published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade, and students from lower-income families, on average, get smaller grants from the colleges they attend than students from more affluent families.

Last week was the first opportunity for state representatives to file bills for the upcoming 81st session of the Texas Legislature. Bill filing opened on Nov. 10 and will close on March 13, 2009.

Armed with a recent court ruling allowing a bombardment of campaign advertising, the Midland Republican’s friends are about to start calling and mailing us, pressuring local lawmakers to keep Craddick as speaker when the House convenes Jan. 13.

A Fabens educator with a flair for Shakespeare and an unyielding passion for student progress was named the state's top teacher for 2009 -- earning the region the most consecutive recognitions in Texas.