Bret Jaspers

Former Vice President Joe Biden first tantalized Democrats when he tossed out a television ad in Texas in mid-July. The campaign aired versions of the spot in three other states.

At the Republican Party of Texas’ virtual convention this past weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott knew he had to talk about his executive order requiring — in most cases — facemasks in public.

The Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab at Texas A&M University in College Station is two stories of offices and exam rooms filled with sophisticated machines. The lab is one of the largest of its kind in the country. Typical customers are ranchers, dairy farmers, and veterinarians.

The Tyler ISD School Board voted unanimously to change the names of its two high schools, currently named for Confederate leaders Robert E. Lee and John Tyler.

The headlines are pretty clear:

• MJ Hegar got past Dallas state senator Royce West in the Democratic runoff and now sets her sights on U.S. Senator John Cornyn this fall.

Friday is the last day of early voting in the primary runoff election. And while face masks are in wide use at the polls, Gov. Greg Abbott isn’t requiring them. It’s one of the exceptions to his executive order to wear masks in public places. 

Nathaniel Aranda of Fort Worth and his wife made a commitment to vote no matter what, because they want their voices heard. Life is complicated, though. 

Years ago, when his kids were young, Texas Sen. Royce West remembers getting stopped by a cop.

Calling Texas an “important battleground” that he thinks he can win in November, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden spoke to the virtual Texas state Democratic Convention in a recorded speech on Saturday. 

Protests over the police killings of black Americans continued for a second day in Dallas. Saturday's events started peacefully, but police later used tear gas to disperse protesters in downtown, while other demonstrators briefly shut down highways and damaged businesses. 

The City of Dallas’ mobile coronavirus testing service is making house calls, but it saw low numbers over the Memorial Day weekend. 

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country, state and local health officials rush to try to detect and contain outbreaks before they get out of control. A key to that is testing, and despite a slow start, testing has increased around the country.

Texas is moving into a new phase in the coronavirus outbreak: managing transmission while partially reopening non-essential businesses. And still, the rate of testing for the disease remains low. 

Texas is joining other states in letting some businesses shut by COVID-19 reopen to the public – at least partly. 

The luxury retailer Neiman Marcus could soon declare bankruptcy, according to media reports. It has already temporarily closed its stores and furloughed many employees during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

As one former Neiman Marcus executive put it, the epidemic has contributed to the company’s struggles, but is not the cause.