Express Briefing

Today, we'll have a review of a downtown pizzeria that brings dough and bona fides straight from New York City. Federal authorities expressed increased alarm about a long-undetected intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. Here's why they called it a “grave” risk. More than three-quarters of the PPP money — $1.7 billion — went to the North Side, Northwest Side and Northeast Side. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

After months of stalemate, congressional leaders are getting closer to cementing a roughly $900 billion stimulus deal. The Spurs are betting on carryover from last season to push them into playoff contention, but for various reasons that familiarity hasn’t been evident so far. The family of Fernando Macias, the mentally ill 61-year-old man who died in the downtown jail two years ago, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and University Hospital System. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

As San Antonio hit another coronavirus surge milestone — 800 patients in area hospitals — some received the first vaccine shots. Our FAQ aims to answer your questions about the vaccine and the rollout plan in San Antonio.

Bexar County commissioners will meet today to tackle various problems aggravated by the pandemic, including food insecurity, substance abuse and mental health difficulties. We have a preview here. Released Monday, a report identified “significant concerns” that presented “an unacceptable level of risk” at the Lackland Confinement Facility. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

Join the Express-News Editorial Board this morning as they talk with San Antonio Food Bank President and CEO Eric Cooper about the city's extreme need. The San Antonio Spurs billed local elections officials more than $250,000 for using the county-owned AT&T Center as a voting site during the November election, documents show.  Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

Seven recruits graduated from JBSA-Lackland and became the first enlistees assigned to the nation’s newest service branch: the U.S. Space Force. The U.S. moved one step closer to the start of a coronavirus vaccination campaign, as a government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.Organizers behind the Recall CPS campaign see Ed Kelley as part of San Antonio’s insular circle of power brokers and elite businesspeople who often lead city initiatives and hold unelected positions of power.  Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

 The Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states, including Texas, accused Facebook of buying up its rivals to illegally squash competition. Sections of Texas 151 and Loop 410 will be shut down this weekend to allow work on new flyover ramps at the interchange between the highway and the interstate. Wednesday afternoon’s launch of Starship — SpaceX’s silver rocket — lasted only 6 minutes and 42 seconds, but the historic flight from South Texas ushered in a new era of space travel for humanity. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.  

Ken Paxton filed an eleventh-hour suit Tuesday in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The U.K. began vaccinations against COVID-19. For the first recipients, among them older Britons and hundreds of doctors and nurses. Massive swaths of Texas are considered maternity care deserts, where women must drive more than an hour for health care. More than 150 counties — home to more than 2 million Texans — have no OB-GYN. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

Official approval looms for pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna in the next few weeks as they prepare to make COVID-19 vaccines to the public. Here’s what you should know about both vaccines.The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which oversees licensing of the state’s 102,000 police officers and jailers, could be in for a major overhaul. while urban multi-vehicle crashes decreased by about 56 percent, fatal wrecks only decreased by about 15 percent. The proportion of all crashes that were fatal doubled statewide. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

Today, we mark the 79th anniversary of what President Roosevelt called “a day that will live in infamy.” Read more about how the attack on Pearl Harbor sows resolve in the U.S. today Of the 415 miles of border wall completed, only 30 miles are in new areas, according to a Customs and Border Protection report obtained by the Express-News Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

You’re probably wondering if your home office is a tax-deductible business expense. This is why you shouldn't get too excited about a drastic change to your taxes. The Bexar County Military and Veterans Services Center will host a “D-Day Document Day” today to help veterans file federal disability claims. VIA Metropolitan Transit will offer free rides in observance of Rosa Parks Day. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

Former Councilman Greg Brockhouse is gearing up for a second run at Mayor Ron Nirenberg. A Texas mother’s chance of undergoing surgical interventions during childbirth can have less to do with her health – and more to do with the hospital where she gives birth. Keep an eye out for our latest investigation coming today. A father and son who headed a San Antonio-area factoring company were arrested this week in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud investors of at least $800,000. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

Bexar County commissioners will get an update today on allocations of nearly $80 million in federal coronavirus relief funds. Early voting for the two Dec. 12 runoff elections for Alamo Colleges District board seats began yesterday and will continue through Dec. 8. “Quarantine! How I Survived the Diamond Princess Coronavirus Crisis” was published Nov. 10 by Post Hill Press. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

Despite the expected arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in just a few weeks, it could take several months before things get back to something close to normal in the U.S. Three separate complaints about sex discrimination and retaliation are under investigation by the EEOC. Several employees say it's just an example of bigger problems in the Arson Bureau. The families of two children found shot to death almost two years ago, have grown frustrated with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office while waiting to learn who is responsible and what prompted the violence. Express Briefing will be off Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. We'll be back on Monday. Have a wonderful and safe holiday!

You're invited to join the Express-News Editorial Board this morning for a conversation with former Mayor Phil Hardberger. If you choose to host or attend a gathering, there are ways to reduce the risks. A patient who suffered permanent lung damage from COVID-19 is recovering after receiving a double lung transplant at University Hospital. Only a small number of procedures have taken place in Texas. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

Join the Express-News Editorial Board this morning for a conversation with member-elect Tony Gonzales. Social media companies cracked down on misinformation during the election. In late June, Dr. D. Kimberley Molina was appointed chief medical examiner of Bexar County, just two weeks before coronavirus hospitalizations peaked in San Antonio. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

The stalled $450 million Alamo makeover project — already floundering  — is under renewed fire from Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. Free holiday bags will be distributed via drive-thru style in the parking lots of these stores. Randy Diamond explores the ways local hotels are trying new things to keep rooms full. The Alamo City was among six cities on a short list competing to be the new home of U.S. Space Command’s headquarters. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

The coronavirus pandemic is far from over, but a group of Texas health experts is already looking forward. Amazon plans to open a North Side facility to make “last-mile” deliveries to customers in the area. The company’s proposed warehouse would total 141,360 square feet. Some of San Antonio’s health care workers could get vaccinated against COVID-19 in as soon as three weeks. A several thousand dollar ‘donation’  can make your drug charge disappear and why the arrangement might not be legal.   Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.  

Join the Express-News Editorial Board at 9 a.m. for a conversation with CPS Energy President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams. Soon, patients will be able to get checked out for COVID-19 and the flu with just one test. Read more about the combination test that can deliver results within 48 hours.There will be no Tim Duncan available for the Spurs in tonight's draft, but they stand a good chance of adding to their core of young talent. Here's what you need to know about the team’s first lottery pick in more than two decades. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.

Drugmaker Moderna said Monday its coronavirus vaccine provided strong protection in early trial results. Texas surpassed 20,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths Monday, as COVID-19 continues to surge in the United States. Zekee Rayford, 18, has reoccurring nightmares of the evening two weeks ago when he was tackled, kicked, and tased by Schertz police officers. Listen to today's Express Briefing for a full roundup of San Antonio's top headlines. Subscribe to the San Antonio Express-News to support quality local journalism.