A computer science professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Brownsville responded to the nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment early in the COVID-19 pandemic by launching America Care, which is manufacturing disposable face masks in Brownsville. Hansheng Lei did so with the help of the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, which helped …

It is important for students, especially elementary students, to be taught in classrooms, a local licensed professional counselor said. There are components of the learning environment schools provide that don’t translate into online lessons, Edward Acosta of Piña & Acosta Psychological Associates said Monday. The transition to virtual learning due to the coronavirus pandemic puts a hold on the critical social lessons students pick up from being at school. “Many of us learned our social skills from our teachers,” Acosta said. “We had learned social regulation from our school, not just from our parents but from our teachers. If you recall, we probably spent more time with our teachers than we did with our parents, and they were our models of prosocial behavior, of how to interact with people.”  Read more at TheMonitor.com.

Janie Ruiz, 44, from Harlingen, was impacted tremendously by the pandemic. Ruiz’s uncle passed away within two days from her father passing from COVID-19. “My brother was positive and had left to Harlingen Medical. My parents were in quarantine and then showed up to get tested in San Benito and came out negative, a week …

By ACACIA CORONADO Report for America/ Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Congress will launch an investigation into sexual assault, disappearances, deaths and the leadership’s response at Fort Hood after 28 soldiers stationed at the U.S. Army base in Texas died this year, two subcommittee leaders announced Tuesday. Democratic Reps. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts and …

HARLINGEN — Attempts to salvage the iconic Luby’s restaurants founded in Texas in 1947 have apparently been abandoned, and it appears the chain will close for good unless a buyer can be found. Financially troubled Luby’s Inc., which operates 77 of the cafeteria-style restaurants along with the Fuddruckers, Koo Koo Roo and Cheeseburger in Paradise …

HARLINGEN — Gov. Greg Abbott announced over the weekend that his request for an Economic Injury Disaster Declaration for six counties hit by Hurricane Hanna has been approved. The decision opens the gate for local non-farm small business owners, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters in Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy, Starr, Brooks and Kenedy counties to apply …

On the far corner of the parking lot at Cross Church in Laguna Vista sits a bright blue, kidney-shaped skate bowl that appears slightly out of step with its surroundings. Constructed in 2006 by local skaters with permission from what was then Christ’s Harbor Church and the congregation’s pastor, the Gwen Bowl means the world …

A coronavirus vaccine is coming, just not right away, according to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The two medical experts discussed progress toward a vaccine in a Sept. 3 teleconference with several congressional caucus members, including …

McALLEN — Alamo muralist Alexandro Gonzalez loves to see a boring wall. He’ll drive by and think about what he could do with the space, what sort of portrait would fit and what colors he would use for the background. He knows where all the best walls in the Rio Grande Valley are — the …

There’s a new team in Texas, and they’re here to light up the gridiron and the grill. Today, Whataburger was named the “Official burger of the Dallas Cowboys.” This is the first season Whataburger has been named the official burger of any NFL team, officials announced in a press released. “Whataburger and the Cowboys have …