Waco-area news briefs: Oct. 2, 2016

The Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce will host a State of the Nation luncheon featuring Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, at noon Oct. 12 at the Baylor Club in McLane Stadium, 1001 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, R-College Station, and Rob Enstrom, senior vice president and the national political director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will join Cruz for a panel discussion about matters pertinent to Central Texas. Cost is $50 for individual tickets or $500 for tables for 10 people.

Report: Trump losses may mean he didn’t pay taxes for years

Donald Trump's business losses in 1995 were so large that they could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for as many as 18 years, according to records obtained by The New York Times. In a story published online late Saturday, the Times said it anonymously received the first pages of Trump's 1995 state income tax filings in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Q&A with Fort Ord Reuse Authority Executive Director Michael Houlemard

Marina >> Michael Houlemard has been at the helm of the organization tasked with transitioning Fort Ord from an Army base to civilian use for almost 20 years. The Fort Ord Reuse Authority, created by the state Legislature after the installation was closed in 1994, seeks to replace what the military once had with housing, businesses, open space and recreation.

Attorneys general cast doubt on Utah land push

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, left, holds an image he says is misleading and was created by critics of his public lands proposal while speaking during a news conference as Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, center, and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, right, looks on at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City. SALT LAKE CITY - A new legal analysis from a group of Western attorneys general casts doubt on many of the arguments Utah has put forward in its push to gain control of millions of acres of federal land.

Fort Riley bureaucracy frustrated moms who sought care for soldier sons

Tracey Martin remembers boarding a plane in late August and receiving another round of bad news about her son, Stephen. Stephen Martin, a specialist in the Army, had an autoimmune disease that was eating away at his nerve endings, gradually eroding his ability to feel in his limbs.

Medical marijuana, criminal justice changes among new laws

In this March 17, 2015 file photo, former Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, left, walks to a meeting at the state Capitol in Hartford, Conn., with Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, right. Giffords was visiting to push for a gun control measure that would prevent subjects of a court-ordered temporary restraining order from being able to possess firearms or ammunition during the days leading up to their hearing.

NY Times: Now That Trump Is Ahead on Ohio, The Buckeye State Is…

On Thursday, in a story which appeared on the front page of Friday's print edition, Jonathan Martin at the New York Times reported that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is "effectively acknowledging how difficult they think it will be to defeat Donald J. Trump" in Ohio. But it's all good, says Martin, because the Buckeye State, which no victorious presidential candidate has lost since 1960, is now "fading in importance."

Tigerlily Foundation President and Breast Cancer Advocate, Maimah…

Tigerlily Foundation's President and Founder, Maimah Karmo was featured on the September 17th episode of Oprah Winfrey Network's "Were are They Now." The feature highlighted Maimah's and Tigerlily Foundation's progress since her first appearance in 2008.

Our Views: An agitator instead of an attorney general

The principle of what's good for the goose ought to be good for the gander appears lost on Capitol Hill. If the anti-immigrant agitation over so-called "sanctuary cities" for immigrants who are here illegally has any basis in fact, the concern should be grounded in policy, not politics.

Review: Documentary “13th” on scourge of mass incarceration

"Selma" director Ava DuVernay's new documentary traces societal attitudes and laws from era of Jim Crow to today's "prison industrial complex." "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Even politicians love Patti LaBellea s famous pies

Patti LaBelle is running late. But no one here seems to mind. The crowd of staffers, members, Walmart execs and the lucky legislative aide who happened to get "the email," are too busy rubbernecking the passed trays carrying slices of sweet potato pie to notice that the woman of the hour is missing.

Louisiana tries to revive Planned Parenthood funding cut

Attorneys for the state of Louisiana are trying to revive the state's Medicaid funding cut for Planned Parenthood clinics. Earlier this month, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction blocking the cut, which would have kept needy Louisiana women from getting non-abortion services at Planned Parenthood facilities.

Congress Finally Passes Zika Funding Bill; Provides $1.1 Billion

More than eight months after the White House first asked for it, Congress has finally agreed on some funding to help fight the Zika virus and study its effects. President Barack Obama signed stopgap spending bill Thursday.