Perry Issues Disaster Declaration for Texas

Hedging on the side of caution after the first U.S. swine flu death in Houston, Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration for Texas on Wednesday to free up more doses of antiviral medication and other federal help as 10 Texas school districts canceled classes and the entire state rescheduled spring competitions. More

Federal Officials Pressured to Tighten Border Crossings Amid Swine Flu Outbreak

Pressure mounted on federal officials Wednesday to tighten health screening or even close border crossings with Mexico to stem the spread of a new strain of influenza. More

92 Percent of Dallas County Homes to Get Lower, Flat Appraisals for 2009

For Dallas County commissioners, the news Tuesday about this year's tax roll was bleak but not unexpected: Home foreclosures, declining building permits and high office vacancy rates will combine to send property values downward for the first time in years. More

Voter ID Compromise Gets Cool Reception

A proposed compromise offered Wednesday on the politically charged voter ID proposal in the Legislature would delay the mandate until 2013, a wrinkle opposed by nearly every House Republican. Rep. Todd Smith, the GOP chairman of the House Committee on Elections, said his version of Senate Bill 362 reaches for the middle ground that is needed to move a plan through the narrowly divided House, which has 76 Republicans and 74 Democrats, to compromise talks with the GOP-dominated Senate. More

Tax Breaks Started This Month

If that paycheck seems just a little bigger, it's not - you just get to keep a little more of it. Employers were expected to start reducing the amount withheld for federal income taxes this month as part of the massive $787 billion federal economic stimulus plan. More

Texas' Sales Tax Deductibility Made Permanent by Congress

Congress finally made a tax break permanent Wednesday that helps residents of states without an income tax - including Texas, Florida, Washington, Nevada and Tennessee - by enabling them to deduct state and local sales taxes on federal returns. More

Exxon 1Q Profit Fell 58 Percent

Exxon Mobil says its first-quarter profit fell 58 percent as the world's biggest publicly traded oil company, like smaller rivals, encountered far lower year-over-year oil and gas prices. Exxon Mobil Corp., based in Irving, Texas, said Thursday that earnings for the first three months of the year came to $4.6 billion, or 92 cents a share, down from $10.9 billion, or $2.02 a share, a year ago. More

Kay Bailey Hutchison's Bid to Let Texas Keep Gas Tax Funds Faces Long Odds

Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican who plans to run for governor, proposed legislation to allow Texas and other donor states to "opt out" of the highway trust fund, a revenue-sharing program that sends more per-capita highway dollars to low-population states. More

New Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Drop to 631K

The number of newly laid-off workers signing up for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, but the number of people continuing to draw jobless aid rose to nearly 6.3 million, setting a record high for the 13th straight week. More