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Three days before world leaders formally unveiled an interim deal in early 2014 to slow the growth of Iran’s nuclear program, two House Democrats quietly met to start discussing how they could sell a final accord — if it ever came to fruition — to a skeptical Congress. It was Jan. 9, 2014, and Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett and North Carolina Rep. David Price knew that without a sustained campaign from allies in Congress, it would be tough for President Barack Obama to persuade lawmakers to support the agreement over the strong objections of pro-Israel groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The San Antonio Missions have been beloved by residents and tourists for years, but thanks to recent upgrades, expansions and a pending World Heritage status, Southside San Antonio is well on it’s way to becoming an iconic and international destination.

The man who often led the city’s César Chávez March for Justice was in the hospital Saturday fighting cancer, and no Hollywood film this year gave the annual event an added boost of participants. […] a big crowd assembled at Guadalupe and South Brazos streets under cloudless skies Saturday morning and marched to the Alamo in honor of Chávez and his legacy of fighting for social change. Some marchers Saturday carried portraits of Chávez or signs and flags with the United Farm Workers logo. “César Chávez had a history of justice for everyone, equality for everyone, and I want to instill in my nephews, my daughter and my grandson that fighting for justice is the right thing to do,” Garza said. More than 80 students from KIPP San Antonio charter schools marched, some carrying signs with a Chávez quote: “You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read.” Some students affiliated with Somos MAS, an organization promoting Mexican-American studies programs, carried signs that read, “Remove the chancellor.”

Federal health officials offered a break Friday to uninsured Texans who could be facing fines for not obtaining health insurance by the Feb. 15 deadline established by the Affordable Care Act. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created a special enrollment period for uninsured people who face fines when they file their income taxes this year so that they do not face higher fines next year. This special enrollment will be only for people in states with federally run marketplaces, like Texas.

Even as Gov. Greg Abbott took public pride Tuesday that his legal handiwork had succeeded in blocking the imminent implementation of President Barack Obama’s executive action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation, the Obama administration said that Abbott’s victory would be short-lived. “We plan to appeal; we expect to prevail,” Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, told reporters on a conference call Tuesday afternoon. “At the end of the day, we expect this to be a successful process.”

AUSTIN — State leaders on Thursday were threatening to sue the federal government over a restriction Congress is placing on $830 million in education funds for Texas. The issue pits all of the state’s major education groups against state legislative leaders and involves Texas’ share of funding for emergency education jobs in a bill expected to get final congressional approval Tuesday. Some Texas educators and education groups do not trust state and legislative leaders because of how they treated the federal stimulus money last year. Because Texas faces a severe budget shortfall next year, some educators are worried federal funds intended for education will again get diverted to fill budget gaps. “We urge you to prevent history from repeating itself and ensure that any funds Texas receives go to help Texas schools, teachers and students,” Texas educators said in a letter to congressional leaders. About 40 Texas school superintendents and seven education groups, including the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas Association of School Administrators, signed the letter.

Perry demands right to gut Texas education funding