News Roundup: John Cornyn Addresses Food Insecurity At HEB Thanksgiving Event

Our daily look at Texas headlines.

By Becky FogelNovember 21, 2018 12:59 pm

The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.

Texas lawmakers say there are many ways to combat hunger, especially as people look to give back during the holidays.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Austin Mayor Steve Adler volunteered Tuesday at HEB’s Feast of Sharing in the capital city. They donned red aprons and passed out Thanksgiving meals as the upbeat music of a live band echoed throughout the building.


Cornyn, a Republican, says there’s a number of ways to address food insecurity in Texas, including through federal legislation like the farm bill.

“But there’s individuals who donate money. There’s retail outlets like HEB that has food that’s met its normal shelf life, or there’s produce they can’t sell on the market but it’s still edible and nourishing. So, there’s a role for everybody to play,” Cornyn says.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2015 through 2017, Texas has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country. In fact, it’s one of 11 states that ranks higher than the national average, at roughly 14 percent of the population facing food insecurity.

In 2017, 11.8 percent of U.S. households were food-insecure, meaning these households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet their needs.


Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he’s not surprised by reports the Trump administration will soon withdraw U.S. troops who were deployed to the southern border. Fox News asked Paxton about soldiers being pulled back before a so-called caravan of migrants from Central America is expected to arrive at the U.S. border – President Donald Trump had stated that the caravan was the reason for the troop deployment.

“It doesn’t surprise me because they were never brought there to detain or be a part of stopping people from crossing illegally. That’s Border Patrol,” Paxton said.

Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan told Politico earlier this week that the end date for the deployment is Dec. 15. But the U.S. Army has since said there’s no specific timeline for removing the troops.




A Texas baseball great is hanging up his cleats. Adrián Beltré announced his retirement Tuesday after eight years of playing third base for the Texas Rangers. KERA’s Rick Holter looks back at his all-star legacy:

In his 21 seasons, Adrián Beltré only played in one World Series. Boy, did he play.: “Breaking ball is hammered deep into left, and game five is tied!”

That’s Fox’s Joe Buck calling a home run that Beltré hit from one knee in the 2011 World Series. The Texas Rangers lost that series in six games, and they’ve still never won one.

Beltré started out a Los Angeles Dodger. He had stops in Seattle and Boston, and found his home in Texas where he spent eight seasons winning hearts and minds with his heart and his playful personality.

And then there are the statistics: four All-Star games, five Gold Gloves, 477 home runs, and he’s the only player from the Dominican Republic ever to top the 3,000 career-hit mark.

It’s not the numbers that defined this 39-year-old, though; it’s the diving stops at third base, the goofing around with shortstop Elvis Andrus, the dancing to avoid an inside pitch. And there’s the description that his old compadre Michael Young tweeted out: “Above all, a perfect teammate.”