Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Almost a week into the month, November SNAP funding remains unpaid, leaving millions of Texans, including 1.7 million kids, in a state of food insecurity - for the first time since LBJ: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/05/texas-snap-food-stamp-families-hunger/

...Even when November's payment arrives, Donald Trump's USDA says it will be half the usual amount: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/snap-benefit-release-november-21140402.php

While the record-long federal shutdown continues, the Texas comptroller's office has shut down a decades-long program to support historically underutilized, primarily minority-owned small businesses: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas-freeze-program-supporting-minority-owned-businesses/285-7a6f3dd5-41a8-423a-aead-cbbb4a28fe17

Democrat Taylor Rehmet's close call with an outright victory in Tuesday's election in Tarrant County is seen as a positive harbinger for progressives moving into the midterm election season: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/05/texas-senate-special-election-democrats-tarrant-county/

...Three progressive wins on the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD board are also seen as a loss of MAGA influence: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/progressives-pick-up-all-3-cy-fair-isd-trustee-seats/

...Governor Abbott has apparently been sent into a panic by the Zohran Mamdani win in NYC - while he's still not set a date for the Texas runoff election: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-zohran-mamdani-21141018.php

...The massive win for Prop 50 in California will negate - if not surpass - any gains for Donald Trump that may come from our mid-decade redistricting: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-news/california-redistricting-will-erase-gop-gains-from-texas-redrawing-its-political-maps/

Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, who bankrolled Governor Abbott's final push for private school vouchers, has sunk $100 million into the new MAGA private college University of Austin: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/05/university-austin-jeff-yass-donation-free-tuition/

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