121-421: Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Rafael Edward Cruz ( / k r uː z / ; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of
242-495: A Tea Party candidate in the 2012 Republican primary, and The Washington Post called his victory "the biggest upset of 2012 ... a true grassroots victory against very long odds". On January 19, 2011, after U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said she would not seek reelection, Cruz launched his campaign via a blogger conference call. In the Republican primary, he ran against sitting Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst . Cruz
363-483: A naturalized United States citizen in 2005. At the time of his birth, Ted Cruz's parents had lived in Calgary for three years and were working in the oil business as owners of a seismic-data processing firm for oil drilling . Cruz has said that he is the son of "two mathematicians/computer programmers". In 1974, Cruz's father left the family and moved to Texas. Later that year, Cruz's parents reconciled and relocated
484-586: A Houston-based group known at the time as the Free Market Education Foundation, a program that taught high school students the philosophies of economists such as Milton Friedman and Frédéric Bastiat . After high school, Cruz studied public policy at Princeton University . While at Princeton, he competed for the American Whig-Cliosophic Society 's Debate Panel and won the top speaker award at both
605-572: A city with zoning that flooded." On May 16, 2024, a strong derecho caused widespread damage across the city and surrounding metropolitan area. Houston is 165 miles (266 km) east of Austin , 88 miles (142 km) west of the Louisiana border, and 250 miles (400 km) south of Dallas . The city has a total area of 637.4 square miles (1,651 km ); this comprises over 599.59 square miles (1,552.9 km ) of land and 22.3 square miles (58 km ) covered by water. Most of Houston
726-473: A close race in 2018 against Democratic nominee Beto O'Rourke and decisively won a third term in 2024 against Congressman Colin Allred . In 2016 , Cruz sought the Republican presidential nomination, emerging as a serious competitor to front-runner Donald Trump in a primary marked by intense, often personal, exchanges. Cruz initially withheld his endorsement after Trump secured the nomination, but became
847-553: A commercial center, forming a symbiosis with its Gulf Coast port, Galveston. Landlocked farmers brought their produce to Houston, using Buffalo Bayou to gain access to Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico. Houston merchants profited from selling staples to farmers and shipping the farmers' produce to Galveston. The great majority of enslaved people in Texas came with their owners from the older slave states. Sizable numbers, however, came through
968-649: A day of groundwater. Houston has four major bayous passing through the city that accept water from the extensive drainage system. Buffalo Bayou runs through Downtown and the Houston Ship Channel , and has three tributaries: White Oak Bayou, which runs through the Houston Heights community northwest of Downtown and then towards Downtown; Brays Bayou , which runs along the Texas Medical Center; and Sims Bayou , which runs through
1089-515: A floodplain, a flowing flood-water stream termed a floodway runs through the development area, a most dangerous place to encounter during any future flooding event. Harris County , like other more rural counties, cannot direct developers where to build or not build via land use controls such as a zoning ordinance by Texas law, and instead can only impose general floodplain regulations for enforcement during subdivision approvals and building permit approvals. The 2020 U.S. census determined Houston had
1210-611: A large and growing international community. Houston is the most diverse metropolitan area in Texas and has been described as the most racially and ethnically diverse major city in the U.S. It is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits, such as the Houston Museum District and the Houston Theater District . Present-day Houston sits on land that was once occupied by the Karankawa and
1331-441: A mortgage were $ 1,646, and $ 536 without a mortgage. Houston's median gross rent from 2015 to 2019 was $ 1,041. The median household income in 2019 was $ 52,338 and 20.1% of Houstonians lived at or below the poverty line . Houston is a majority-minority city. The Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research, a think tank , has described Greater Houston as "one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse metropolitan areas in
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#17327797783451452-454: A population of 2,304,580. In 2017, the census-estimated population was 2,312,717, and in 2018 it was 2,325,502. An estimated 600,000 undocumented immigrants resided in the Houston area in 2017, comprising nearly 9% of the city's metropolitan population. At the 2010 United States census , Houston had a population of 2,100,263 residents, up from the city's 2,396 at the 1850 census . Per
1573-595: A population of 2,314,157 in 2023, Houston is the fourth-most populous city in the United States after New York City , Los Angeles , and Chicago , and the sixth-most populous city in North America . Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle . Comprising a land area of 640.4 square miles (1,659 km ), Houston is the ninth-most expansive city in
1694-489: A second term in 2018. The primary elections for both parties were held on March 6, 2018, and he easily won the Republican nomination with over 80% of the vote. Cruz faced the Democratic nominee, U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke , in the general election. The contest was unusually competitive for an election in Texas, with most polls showing Cruz only slightly ahead. The race received significant media attention and became
1815-406: A senator who has served for 12 years is more senior than one who has served for 10 years. Because several new senators usually join at the beginning of a new Congress, seniority is determined by prior federal or state government service and, if necessary, the amount of time spent in the tiebreaking office. These tiebreakers in order are: When more than one senator had such office, its length of time
1936-482: A shelter to more than 150,000 people from New Orleans, who evacuated from Hurricane Katrina . One month later, about 2.5 million Houston-area residents evacuated when Hurricane Rita approached the Gulf Coast , leaving little damage to the Houston area. This was the largest urban evacuation in the history of the United States. In May 2015, seven people died after 12 inches of rain fell in 10 hours during what
2057-439: A special election. The seniority date for an appointed senator is usually the date of the appointment, although the actual term does not begin until they take the oath of office. An incoming senator who holds another office, including membership in the U.S. House of Representatives , must resign from that office before becoming a senator. A senator's seniority is primarily determined by length of continuous service; for example,
2178-646: A strong supporter during Trump's first term . In 2021, Cruz objected to the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election . Rafael Edward Cruz was born on December 22, 1970, at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary , Alberta , Canada, to Eleanor Elizabeth ( née Darragh ) Wilson and Rafael Cruz . Cruz's mother was born in Wilmington, Delaware . She is of three-quarters Irish and one-quarter Italian descent, and earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Rice University in
2299-487: A vision of strict constructionism ". As Texas solicitor general, Cruz argued before the U.S. Supreme Court nine times, winning five cases and losing four. He authored 70 U.S. Supreme Court briefs and presented 34 appellate oral arguments. His nine appearances before the Supreme Court are the most by any practicing lawyer in Texas or current member of Congress. Cruz has said, "We ended up year after year arguing some of
2420-682: A wide range of policy and legal matters, including civil justice, criminal justice, constitutional law, immigration, and government reform. During the 2000 Florida presidential recounts , he assisted in assembling the Bush legal team, devising strategy, and drafting pleadings for filing with the Supreme Court of Florida and U.S. Supreme Court in the case Bush v. Gore . Cruz recruited future Chief Justice John Roberts and noted attorney Mike Carvin to Bush's legal team. After Bush took office, Cruz served as an associate deputy attorney general in
2541-593: Is also home to buildings designed by noted architects I. M. Pei , César Pelli , and Philip Johnson. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a mini-boom of midrise and highrise residential tower construction occurred, with several over 30 stories tall. Since 2000 over 30 skyscrapers have been developed in Houston; all told, 72 high-rises tower over the city, which adds up to about 8,300 units. In 2002, Uptown had more than 23 million square feet (2,100,000 m ) of office space with 16 million square feet (1,500,000 m ) of class A office space . Houston's climate
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#17327797783452662-628: Is classified as humid subtropical ( Cfa in the Köppen climate classification system ), typical of the Southern United States . While not in Tornado Alley , like much of Northern Texas , spring supercell thunderstorms sometimes bring tornadoes to the area. Prevailing winds are from the south and southeast during most of the year, which bring heat and tropical moisture from the nearby Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay. During
2783-568: Is known as the Memorial Day Flood. Eight people died in April 2016 during a storm that dropped 17 inches of rain. The worst came in late August 2017, when Hurricane Harvey stalled over southeastern Texas, much like Tropical Storm Allison did sixteen years earlier, causing severe flooding in the Houston area, with some areas receiving over 50 inches (1,300 mm) of rain. The rainfall exceeded 50 inches in several areas locally, breaking
2904-507: Is on the gulf coastal plain , and its vegetation is classified as Western Gulf coastal grasslands while further north, it transitions into a subtropical jungle, the Big Thicket . Much of the city was built on forested land, marshes, or swamps, and all are still visible in surrounding areas. Flat terrain and extensive greenfield development have combined to worsen flooding. Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above sea level, and
3025-606: Is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States . Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico , it is the seat of Harris County ; as well as the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth . With
3146-533: Is the 64-floor, 901-foot (275 m)-tall, Philip Johnson and John Burgee designed landmark Williams Tower (known as the Transco Tower until 1999). At the time of construction, it was believed to be the world's tallest skyscraper outside a central business district. The new 20-story Skanska building and BBVA Compass Plaza are the newest office buildings built in Uptown after 30 years. The Uptown District
3267-488: Is the largest city in the United States without formal zoning regulations, it has developed similarly to other Sun Belt cities because the city's land use regulations and legal covenants have played a similar role. Regulations include mandatory lot size for single-family houses and requirements that parking be available to tenants and customers. In 1998, Houston relaxed its mandatory lot sizes from 5,000 square feet to 3,500 square feet, which spurred housing construction in
3388-631: Is the only metropolitan area with less than ten million citizens where such a CO 2 dome can be detected by satellites. Because of Houston's wet season and proximity to the Gulf Coast , the city is prone to flooding from heavy rains; the most notable flooding events include Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017, along with most recent Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019 and Tropical Storm Beta in 2020. In response to Hurricane Harvey, Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston initiated plans to require developers to build homes that will be less susceptible to flooding by raising them two feet above
3509-418: Is the tallest structure in Texas, 19th tallest building in the United States, and was previously 85th-tallest skyscraper in the world, based on highest architectural feature. In 1983, the 71-floor, 992-foot (302 m)-tall Wells Fargo Plaza (formerly Allied Bank Plaza) was completed, becoming the second-tallest building in Houston and Texas. Based on highest architectural feature, it is the 21st-tallest in
3630-515: Is ubiquitous in Houston; in 1981, annual spending on electricity for interior cooling exceeded $ 600 million (equivalent to $ 2.01 billion in 2023), and by the late 1990s, approximately 90% of Houston homes featured air conditioning systems. The record highest temperature recorded in Houston is 109 °F (43 °C) at Bush Intercontinental Airport, on four occasions: September 4, 2000; August 27, 2011; and August 24 and August 27, 2023. Houston has mild winters, with occasional cold spells. In January,
3751-501: Is used to break the tie. For instance, Jerry Moran , John Boozman , John Hoeven , Marco Rubio , Ron Johnson , Rand Paul , Richard Blumenthal , and Mike Lee took office on January 3, 2011. The first two senators mentioned had served in the House of Representatives: Moran had served for 14 years and Boozman for nine. As a former governor, Hoeven is ranked immediately after the former House members. The rest are ranked by population as of
Ted Cruz - Misplaced Pages Continue
3872-547: The Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy , and a founding editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review . Referring to Cruz's time as a student at Harvard Law, professor Alan Dershowitz said that Cruz was "off-the-charts brilliant." Cruz graduated from Harvard Law in 1995 with a Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude . After law school, Cruz served as a law clerk for Judge J. Michael Luttig of
3993-410: The 2000 census . These ranked from 36th to 43rd in seniority when the 118th United States Congress convened. If two senators are tied on all criteria, the one whose surname comes first alphabetically is considered the senior senator. This happened with Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock , both of Georgia, who were sworn in on January 20, 2021. Because they were both newly elected senators from
4114-405: The 500-year floodplain . Hurricane Harvey damaged hundreds of thousands of homes and dumped trillions of gallons of water into the city. In places this led to feet of standing water that blocked streets and flooded homes. The Houston City Council passed this regulation in 2018 with a vote of 9–7. Had these floodplain development rules had been in place all along, it is estimated that 84% of homes in
4235-479: The American Lung Association rating the metropolitan area's ozone level twelfth on the "Most Polluted Cities by Ozone" in 2017, after major cities such as Los Angeles , Phoenix , New York City , and Denver . The industries along the ship channel are a major cause of the city's air pollution. The rankings are in terms of peak-based standards, focusing strictly on the worst days of the year;
4356-701: The Atakapa indigenous peoples for at least 2,000 years before the first known settlers arrived. These tribes are almost nonexistent today; this was most likely caused by foreign disease, and competition with various settler groups in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the land then remained largely uninhabited from the late 1700s until settlement in the 1830s. The Allen brothers— Augustus Chapman and John Kirby —explored town sites on Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay . According to historian David McComb, "[T]he brothers, on August 26, 1836, bought from Elizabeth E. Parrott, wife of T.F.L. Parrott and widow of John Austin,
4477-545: The Battle of Galveston . After the Civil War, Houston businessmen initiated efforts to widen the city's extensive system of bayous so the city could accept more commerce between Downtown and the nearby port of Galveston. By 1890, Houston was the railroad center of Texas. In 1900, after Galveston was struck by a devastating hurricane , efforts to make Houston into a viable deep-water port were accelerated. The following year,
4598-564: The Houston Dynamo soccer team was formed. In 2017 , the Houston Astros won their first World Series . Flooding has been a recurring problem in the Houston area. In June 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dumped up to 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain on parts of Houston, causing what was then the worst flooding in the city's history and billions of dollars in damage, and killed 20 people in Texas. In August 2005, Houston became
4719-726: The Houston Ship Channel , and the Texas oil boom . In the mid-20th century, Houston's economy diversified, as it became home to the Texas Medical Center —the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA 's Johnson Space Center , home to the Mission Control Center . Since the late 19th century, Houston's economy has had a broad industrial base in energy , manufacturing , aeronautics, and transportation . Leading in healthcare sectors and building oilfield equipment, Houston has
4840-538: The Interstate 610 loop . The "Inner Loop" encompasses a 97-square-mile (250 km ) area which includes Downtown, pre–World War II residential neighborhoods and streetcar suburbs , and newer high-density apartment and townhouse developments. Outside the loop, the city's typology is more suburban , though many major business districts—such as Uptown , Westchase , and the Energy Corridor —lie well outside
4961-508: The Pledge of Allegiance (including the words "under God", legally a part of the Pledge since 1954), Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow . He wrote a brief on behalf of all 50 states that argued that the plaintiff, a non-custodial parent, did not have standing to file suit on his daughter's behalf. The Supreme Court upheld the position of Cruz's brief. Cruz served as lead counsel for
Ted Cruz - Misplaced Pages Continue
5082-523: The Republican Party , Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 to 2008. After graduating from Princeton University and Harvard Law School , Cruz pursued a career in politics, eventually serving as a policy advisor in the George W. Bush administration. In 2003, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott appointed Cruz to serve as Solicitor General , a position he held through 2008. Cruz
5203-605: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1995 to 1996, and then for Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1996 to 1997. After his Supreme Court clerkship, Cruz worked in private practice as an associate at the law firm Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal (now Cooper & Kirk, PLLC ) from 1997 to 1998. At the firm, Cruz worked on matters relating to the National Rifle Association and helped prepare testimony for
5324-574: The United States Department of Justice and as the director of policy planning at the Federal Trade Commission . In 2003, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott appointed Cruz to be the solicitor general of Texas. The office was established in 1999 to handle appeals involving the Texas state government, but Abbott hired Cruz with the idea that Cruz would take a "leadership role in the United States in articulating
5445-482: The capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston grew steadily into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century. The 20th century brought a convergence of economic factors that fueled rapid growth in Houston, including a burgeoning port and railroad industry, the decline of Galveston as Texas's primary port following a devastating 1900 hurricane , the subsequent construction of
5566-450: The impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton . In 1998, Cruz was briefly one of the attorneys who represented Representative John Boehner during his litigation against Representative Jim McDermott over the alleged leak of an illegal recording of a phone conversation whose participants included Boehner. Cruz joined the George W. Bush presidential campaign in 1999 as a domestic policy adviser, advising then-Governor Bush on
5687-604: The 100-year and 500-year floodplains would have been spared damage. In a recent case testing these regulations, near the Brickhouse Gulley, an old golf course that long served as a floodplain and reservoir for floodwaters, announced a change of heart toward intensifying development. A nationwide developer, Meritage Homes , bought the land and planned to develop the 500-year floodplain into 900 new residential homes. Their plan would bring in $ 360 million in revenue and boost city population and tax revenue. In order to meet
5808-627: The 1950s. Cruz's father, Rafael, was born and raised in Cuba, the son of a Canary Islander who immigrated to Cuba as a child. As a teenager in the 1950s, Rafael Cruz was beaten by agents of Fulgencio Batista for opposing the Batista regime. He left Cuba in 1957 to attend the University of Texas at Austin and obtained political asylum in the United States after his four-year student visa expired. He earned Canadian citizenship in 1973 and became
5929-507: The 1960s, Downtown Houston consisted of a collection of mid-rise office structures. Downtown was on the threshold of an energy industry–led boom in 1970. A succession of skyscrapers was built throughout the 1970s—many by real estate developer Gerald D. Hines —culminating with Houston's tallest skyscraper, the 75-floor, 1,002-foot (305 m)-tall JPMorgan Chase Tower (formerly the Texas Commerce Tower), completed in 1982. It
6050-654: The 1992 U.S. National Debating Championship and the 1992 North American Debating Championship . In 1992, he was named U.S. National Speaker of the Year and, with his debate partner David Panton, Team of the Year by the American Parliamentary Debate Association . Cruz and Panton later represented Harvard Law School at the 1995 World Debating Championship, losing in the semifinals to a team from Australia. Princeton's debate team named their annual novice championship after Cruz. At Princeton, Cruz
6171-505: The 2012 campaign, he said his failure to disclose the connection was inadvertent. In January 2016, The New York Times reported that Cruz and his wife had taken out nearly $ 1 million in low-interest loans from Goldman Sachs (where she worked) and Citibank, and failed to report them on Federal Election Commission disclosure statements as required by law. Cruz disclosed the loans on his Senate financial disclosure forms in July 2012, but not on
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#17327797783456292-447: The 2019 American Community Survey , Houston's age distribution was 482,402 under 15; 144,196 aged 15 to 19; 594,477 aged 20 to 34; 591,561 aged 35 to 54; 402,804 aged 55 to 74; and 101,357 aged 75 and older. The median age of the city was 33.4. At the 2014-2018 census estimates, Houston's age distribution was 486,083 under 15; 147,710 aged 15 to 19; 603,586 aged 20 to 34; 726,877 aged 35 to 59; and 357,834 aged 60 and older. The median age
6413-703: The 21st century. In 2000, the Houston Astros opened their new baseball stadium, Daikin Park , in downtown adjacent to the old Union Station . The Houston Texans were formed in 2002 as an NFL expansion team, replacing the Houston Oilers , which had left the city in 1996. NRG Stadium opened the same year. In 2003, the Toyota Center opened as the home for the Houston Rockets . In 2005,
6534-717: The 50 Best Litigators under 45 in America, and The National Law Journal named him one of the 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America. In 2010 Texas Lawyer named him one of the 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century. After leaving the Solicitor General position in 2008, Cruz joined the Houston office of the Philadelphia -based law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius , often representing corporate clients. At Morgan Lewis, he led
6655-711: The District of Columbia Circuit . Cruz successfully defended the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds before the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, winning 5–4 in Van Orden v. Perry . In 2004, Cruz was involved in the high-profile case surrounding a challenge to the constitutionality of public schools' requiring students to recite
6776-462: The FEC form. There is no indication that Cruz's wife had any role in providing any of the loans, or that the banks did anything wrong. The loans were largely repaid by later campaign fundraising. A spokesperson for Cruz said his failure to report the loans to the FEC was "inadvertent" and that he would file supplementary paperwork. But Cruz intentionally missed the deadline for repayment in order to challenge
6897-410: The Houston area. In 2001, Enron Corporation , a Houston company with $ 100 billion in revenue, became engulfed in an accounting scandal which bankrupted the company in 2001. Healthcare has emerged as a major industry in Houston. The Texas Medical Center is now the largest medical complex in the world and employs over 120,000 people. Three new sports stadiums opened downtown in the first decade of
7018-569: The Mexican consulate, the United States had breached its obligations under the convention. Texas won the case in a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court holding that ICJ decisions were not binding in domestic law and that the President had no power to enforce them. Michael Wayne Haley was arrested for stealing a calculator from Walmart in 1997. Because of Haley's previous criminal convictions, he was sentenced to 16 + 1 ⁄ 2 years in prison under
7139-507: The North ; this resulted in an economic boom and produced a key shift in the city's economy toward the energy sector. The increased production of the expanded shipbuilding industry during World War II spurred Houston's growth, as did the establishment in 1961 of NASA's "Manned Spacecraft Center" (renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1973). This was the stimulus for the development of
7260-479: The Texas Supreme Court in a statute of limitations case, where a judge wanted to investigate Toyota for contempt after a former Toyota in-house lawyer accused Toyota of unlawfully withholding documents in a product liability case. Cruz unsuccessfully argued the judge's jurisdiction expired 30 days after the case was dismissed following an out-of-court settlement, but later won a second appeal using
7381-494: The Texas habitual offender law. After Haley had exhausted his appeals, it became known that Haley's robbery offense occurred three days before one of his other convictions was finalized; this raised a question about the applicability of the habitual offender statute in his case. As Solicitor General, Cruz declined to vacate Haley's sentence, saying, "I think justice is being done because he had a full and fair trial and an opportunity to raise his errors." The Supreme Court later remanded
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#17327797783457502-475: The United States (including consolidated city-counties ). It is the largest city in the United States by total area whose government is not consolidated with a county, parish, or borough. Though primarily in Harris County, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, bordering other principal communities of Greater Houston such as Sugar Land and The Woodlands . Houston
7623-606: The United States Senate United States senators are conventionally ranked by the length of their tenure in the Senate. The senator in each U.S. state with the longer time in office is known as the senior senator ; the other is the junior senator . This convention has no official standing, though seniority confers several benefits, including preference in the choice of committee assignments and physical offices. When senators have been in office for
7744-695: The United States and on death row. With the support of the George W. Bush administration, the petitioners argued that the United States had violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by failing to notify the convicted nationals of their opportunity to receive legal aid from the Mexican consulate. They based their case on a decision of the International Court of Justice in the Avena case , which ruled that by failing to allow access to
7865-401: The United States. The majority of rainfall occurs between April and October (the wet season of Southeast Texas), when the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico evaporates extensively over the city. Houston has excessive ozone levels and is routinely ranked among the most ozone-polluted cities in the United States. Ground-level ozone, or smog, is Houston's predominant air pollution problem, with
7986-498: The United States. In 2007, Downtown had over 43 million square feet (4,000,000 m ) of office space. Centered on Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road, the Uptown District boomed during the 1970s and early 1980s when a collection of midrise office buildings, hotels, and retail developments appeared along I-610 West. Uptown became one of the most prominent instances of an edge city . The tallest building in Uptown
8107-441: The average ozone levels in Houston are lower than what is seen in most other areas of the country, as dominant winds ensure clean, marine air from the Gulf. Excessive man-made emissions in the Houston area led to a persistent increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide over the city. Such an increase, often regarded as "CO 2 urban dome", is driven by a combination of strong emissions and stagnant atmospheric conditions. Moreover, Houston
8228-542: The biggest cases in the country. There was a degree of serendipity in that, but there was also a concerted effort to seek out and lead conservative fights." In 2003, while Cruz was Texas Solicitor General, the Texas Attorney General's office declined to defend Texas's sodomy law in Lawrence v. Texas , in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws banning homosexual sex were unconstitutional. In
8349-414: The case of senators elected in a run-off election occurring after the commencement of a new term, or a special election, their seniority date will be the date they are sworn in and not the first day of that Congress. A senator may be simultaneously elected to fill a term in a special election and elected to the six-year term which begins on the upcoming January 3. Their seniority is that of someone chosen in
8470-456: The case to lower courts based on Haley's ineffective assistance of counsel claim. During oral argument, Cruz conceded that Haley had a very strong argument for ineffective assistance of counsel since Haley's attorney failed to recognize the sentencing error and that he would not move to have Haley re-incarcerated during the appeal process. After remand, Haley was re-sentenced to "time served". In 2008 American Lawyer magazine named Cruz one of
8591-403: The city dramatically. Such restrictions have had mixed results. Though some have blamed the city's low density, urban sprawl , and lack of pedestrian-friendliness on these policies, others have credited the city's land use patterns with providing significant affordable housing, sparing Houston the worst effects of the 2008 real estate crisis . The city issued 42,697 building permits in 2008 and
8712-435: The city have a high risk of localized flooding due to flat topography, ubiquitous low- permeability clay-silt prairie soils, and inadequate infrastructure. During the mid-2010s, Greater Houston experienced consecutive major flood events in 2015 ( "Memorial Day" ), 2016 ( "Tax Day" ), and 2017 ( Hurricane Harvey ). Overall, there have been more casualties and property loss from floods in Houston than in any other locality in
8833-608: The city in addition to Downtown , which include Uptown, the Texas Medical Center , Midtown , Greenway Plaza , Memorial City , the Energy Corridor, Westchase , and Greenspoint . Houston had the fifth-tallest skyline in North America (after New York City, Chicago , Toronto and Miami ) and 36th-tallest in the world in 2015. A seven-mile (11 km) system of tunnels and skywalks links Downtown buildings containing shops and restaurants, enabling pedestrians to avoid summer heat and rain while walking between buildings. In
8954-584: The city's aerospace industry. The Astrodome , nicknamed the " Eighth Wonder of the World ", opened in 1965 as the world's first indoor domed sports stadium. During the late 1970s, Houston had a population boom as people from the Rust Belt states moved to Texas in large numbers. The new residents came for numerous employment opportunities in the petroleum industry, created as a result of the Arab oil embargo . With
9075-419: The city. Land in some areas southeast of Houston is sinking because water has been pumped out of the ground for many years. It may be associated with slip along the faults; however, the slippage is slow and not considered an earthquake, where stationary faults must slip suddenly enough to create seismic waves. These faults also tend to move at a smooth rate in what is termed " fault creep ", which further reduces
9196-399: The company was found guilty of wrongfully discharging a former employee. Cruz asserted that she had failed to prove that B. Braun had directed her to violate the law and that she had not presented sufficient evidence that her refusal to violate the law was why she had been fired. The appeals court rejected Cruz's argument and affirmed the $ 880,000 award. Cruz represented Toyota in an appeal to
9317-553: The discovery of oil at the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont prompted the development of the Texas petroleum industry. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt approved a $ 1 million improvement project for the Houston Ship Channel. By 1910, the city's population had reached 78,800, almost doubling from a decade before. African Americans formed a large part of the city's population, numbering 23,929 people, which
9438-584: The domestic slave trade. New Orleans was the center of this trade in the Deep South, but slave dealers were in Houston. Thousands of enslaved black people lived near the city before the American Civil War . Many of them near the city worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while most of those in the city limits had domestic and artisan jobs. In 1840, the community established a chamber of commerce, in part to promote shipping and navigation at
9559-725: The drafters of the Constitution intended to protect their constituents' rights, and that the last two items in the Bill of Rights offer an explicit stop against an all-powerful state. Cruz graduated from Princeton in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts cum laude . Cruz then attended Harvard Law School , where he was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics . He was a primary editor of the Harvard Law Review , an executive editor of
9680-537: The erosion of the Rocky Mountains . These sediments consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic marine matter, that over time, transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath the layers of sediment is a water-deposited layer of halite , a rock salt. The porous layers were compressed over time and forced upward. As it pushed upward, the salt dragged surrounding sediments into salt dome formations, often trapping oil and gas that seeped from
9801-596: The family to Houston . They divorced in 1997. Cruz has two older half-sisters, Miriam Ceferina Cruz and Roxana Lourdes Cruz, from his father's first marriage. Miriam died in 2011 from a drug overdose. Cruz began going by Ted at age 13. For junior high school, Cruz went to Awty International School in Houston . Cruz attended two private high schools: Faith West Academy , near Katy, Texas ; and Second Baptist High School in Houston , from which he graduated as valedictorian in 1988. During high school, Cruz participated in
9922-434: The firm's U.S. Supreme Court and national appellate litigation practice. In 2010, he abandoned a bid for state attorney general when incumbent Attorney General Greg Abbott, who hired Cruz as solicitor general, decided to run for reelection. At Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Cruz represented Pfizer in a lawsuit brought by a group of public hospitals and community health centers, who accused Pfizer of overcharging. Linglong Tire
10043-499: The first time that May. The Republic of Texas granted Houston incorporation on June 5, 1837, as James S. Holman became its first mayor. In the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County (now Harris County). In 1839, the Republic of Texas relocated its capital to Austin . The town suffered another setback that year when a yellow fever epidemic claimed about one life for every eight residents, yet it persisted as
10164-461: The following: The beginning of an appointment does not necessarily coincide with the date the Senate convenes or when the new senator is sworn in. In the case of senators first elected in a general election for the upcoming Congress, their terms begin on the first day of the new Congress. For most of American history this was March 4 of odd-numbered years, but effective from 1935 the 20th Amendment moved this to January 3 of odd-numbered years. In
10285-436: The highest point in far northwest Houston is about 150 feet (46 m) in elevation. The city once relied on groundwater for its needs, but land subsidence forced the city to turn to ground-level water sources such as Lake Houston , Lake Conroe , and Lake Livingston . The city owns surface water rights for 1.20 billion U.S. gallons (4.5 Gl) of water a day in addition to 150 million U.S. gallons (570 Ml)
10406-616: The increase in professional jobs, Houston has become a destination for many college-educated persons, most recently including African Americans in a reverse Great Migration from northern areas. In 1997, Houstonians elected Lee P. Brown as the city's first African American mayor. Houston has continued to grow into the 21st century, with the population increasing 15.7% from 2000 to 2022. Oil and gas have continued to fuel Houston's economic growth, with major oil companies including Phillips 66 , ConocoPhillips , Occidental Petroleum , Halliburton , and ExxonMobil having their headquarters in
10527-601: The landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller , Cruz drafted the amicus brief signed by the attorneys general of 31 states arguing that the Washington, D.C. handgun ban should be struck down as infringing upon the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms . He also presented oral argument for the amici states in the companion case to Heller before the United States Court of Appeals for
10648-464: The law that only $ 250,000 in personal loans can be repaid with money raised after an election. In May 2022, the Supreme Court in FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate sided with Cruz, allowing him to ask donors to help repay $ 555,000 he loaned to his campaigns: $ 545,000 he loaned to his 2012 campaign, plus $ 10,000 he loaned to his 2018 campaign that was over the existing limit of $ 250,000 . Cruz ran for reelection to
10769-570: The metro area, and an event on December 7, 2017, which precipitated 0.7 inches (2 cm) of snowfall. Snowfalls of at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) on both December 10, 2008, and December 4, 2009, marked the first time measurable snowfall had occurred in two consecutive years in the city's recorded history. Overall, Houston has seen measurable snowfall 38 times between 1895 and 2018. On February 14 and 15, 1895, Houston received 20 inches (51 cm) of snow, its largest snowfall from one storm on record. The coldest temperature officially recorded in Houston
10890-434: The most expensive U.S. Senate election in history up to that point (until the 2020–21 Georgia special election between incumbent Kelly Loeffler and Raphael Warnock ). On November 6, 2018, Cruz defeated O'Rourke by a slim margin, 50.9% to 48.3%. Cruz ran for a third Senate term. On November 5, he defeated Democratic nominee Colin Allred , a former NFL player and U.S. representative, 53.1% to 44.5%. Seniority in
11011-611: The national record for rainfall. The damage for the Houston area was estimated at up to $ 125 billion U.S. dollars , and was considered to be one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States , with the death toll exceeding 70 people. Houston's lack of zoning laws allowed unregulated building of residential homes and other structures in flood-prone areas. However, it also resulted in more concentrated development in already urban areas than in wetlands and suburbs. Mayor Sylvester Turner tweeted of Hurricane Harvey that "zoning wouldn't have changed anything. We would have been
11132-461: The new floodplain regulations, the developers needed to elevate the lowest floors two feet above the 500-year floodplain, equivalent to five or six feet above the 100-year base flood elevation, and build a channel to direct stormwater runoff toward detention basins. Before Hurricane Harvey, the city had bought $ 10.7 million in houses in this area specifically to take them out of danger. In addition to developing new streets and single-family housing within
11253-491: The newly created port on Buffalo Bayou. By 1860, Houston had emerged as a commercial and railroad hub for the export of cotton. Railroad spurs from the Texas inland converged in Houston, where they met rail lines to the ports of Galveston and Beaumont . During the American Civil War, Houston served as a headquarters for Confederate Major General John B. Magruder , who used the city as an organization point for
11374-423: The normal mean temperature at George Bush Intercontinental Airport is 53 °F (12 °C), with an average of 13 days per year with a low at or below 32 °F (0 °C), occurring on average between December 3 and February 20, allowing for a growing season of 286 days. Twenty-first century snow events in Houston include a storm on December 24, 2004 , which saw 1 inch (3 cm) of snow accumulate in parts of
11495-544: The notional town in honor of Sam Houston, who would become President later that year. They successfully lobbied the Republic of Texas Congress to designate Houston as the temporary capital, agreeing to provide the new government with a state capitol building. About a dozen persons resided in the town at the beginning of 1837, but that number grew to about 1,500 by the time the Texas Congress convened in Houston for
11616-485: The port decreased and shipping activities were suspended; however, the war did provide economic benefits for the city. Petrochemical refineries and manufacturing plants were constructed along the ship channel because of the demand for petroleum and synthetic rubber products by the defense industry during the war. Ellington Field , initially built during World War I , was revitalized as an advanced training center for bombardiers and navigators. The Brown Shipbuilding Company
11737-448: The postwar years. In 1945, the M.D. Anderson Foundation formed the Texas Medical Center . After the war, Houston's economy reverted to being primarily port-driven. In 1948, the city annexed several unincorporated areas, more than doubling its size. Houston proper began to spread across the region. In 1950, the availability of air conditioning provided impetus for many companies to relocate to Houston, where wages were lower than those in
11858-486: The remaining 3% of the vote. According to a poll by Cruz's pollster Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research, Cruz received 40% of the Hispanic vote, outperforming Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney among Hispanics in Texas. After Time magazine reported that Cruz might have violated ethics rules by failing to publicly disclose his financial relationship with Caribbean Equity Partners Investment Holdings during
11979-505: The risk of an earthquake. The city of Houston was incorporated in 1837 and adopted a ward system of representation shortly afterward, in 1840. The six original wards of Houston are the progenitors of the 11 modern-day geographically oriented Houston City Council districts, though the city abandoned the ward system in 1905 in favor of a commission government , and, later, the existing mayor–council government . Locations in Houston are generally classified as either being inside or outside
12100-607: The runoff for the Republican nomination by a 14-point margin over Dewhurst, support for Dewhurst having plummeted while Cruz's vote total dramatically increased from the first round. Cruz won despite being outspent by Dewhurst, who held a statewide elected office, $ 19 million to $ 7 million. In the November 6 general election, Cruz faced Democratic nominee Paul Sadler , an attorney and a former state representative from Henderson, Texas . Cruz won with 4.5 million votes (56.4%) to Sadler's 3.2 million (40.6%). Two minor candidates garnered
12221-507: The same argument. Cruz defended two record-setting $ 54-million personal injury awards in New Mexico at the appellate level, including one that a lower court had thrown out. He represented a mentally disabled man who was allegedly raped by an employee of the facility where he lived, and the family of a 78-year-old resident of an Albuquerque nursing home who died of internal bleeding. The settlements were sealed in both cases. Cruz ran as
12342-630: The same length of time, a number of tiebreakers, including previous offices held, are used to determine seniority. By tradition, the longest serving senator of the majority party is named president pro tempore of the Senate , the second-highest office in the Senate and the third in the line of succession to the presidency of the United States . The United States Constitution does not mandate differences in rights or power, but Senate rules give more power to senators with more seniority. Generally, senior senators will have more power, especially within their own caucuses . There are several benefits, including
12463-471: The same state, with no prior government service, no other tie-breaking criteria could be used. The Senate's official records, as well as the Democratic Caucus, thus consider Ossoff, whose name comes first alphabetically and elected to a full six-year term, as the senior senator. Only relevant factors are listed below. For senators whose seniority is based on their state's respective population,
12584-481: The second-most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U.S. municipality within its city limits. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. Nicknamed the "Bayou City", "Space City", "H-Town", and "the 713 ", Houston has become a global city , with strengths in culture, medicine, and research. The city's population comprises various ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as
12705-515: The south half of the lower league [2,214-acre (896 ha) tract] granted to her by her late husband. They paid $ 5,000 total, but only $ 1,000 of this in cash; notes made up the remainder." This was financed by assets inherited by Augustus's wife, Charlotte Baldwin Allen . The Allen brothers ran their first advertisement for Houston just four days later in the Telegraph and Texas Register , naming
12826-475: The south of Houston and Downtown Houston. The ship channel continues past Galveston and then into the Gulf of Mexico. Houston is a flat, marshy area where an extensive drainage system has been built. The adjoining prairie land drains into the city, which is prone to flooding. Underpinning Houston's land surface are unconsolidated clays, clay shales, and poorly cemented sands up to several miles deep. The region's geology developed from river deposits formed from
12947-570: The state and successfully defended the multiple litigation challenges to the 2003 Texas congressional redistricting plan in state and federal district courts and before the U.S. Supreme Court, which was decided 5–4 in his favor in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry . In Medellín v. Texas , Cruz successfully defended Texas against an attempt to reopen the cases of 51 Mexican nationals, all of whom were convicted of murder in
13068-2055: The state population ranking is given as determined by the relevant United States census current at the time that they began service. Republican (49) Democratic (47) Independent (4) 1 (1789) 2 (1791) 3 (1793) 4 (1795) 5 (1797) 6 (1799) 7 (1801) 8 (1803) 9 (1805) 10 (1807) 11 (1809) 12 (1811) 13 (1813) 14 (1815) 15 (1817) 16 (1819) 17 (1821) 18 (1823) 19 (1825) 20 (1827) 21 (1829) 22 (1831) 23 (1833) 24 (1835) 25 (1837) 26 (1839) 27 (1841) 28 (1843) 29 (1845) 30 (1847) 31 (1849) 32 (1851) 33 (1853) 34 (1855) 35 (1857) 36 (1859) 37 (1861) 38 (1863) 39 (1865) 40 (1867) 41 (1869) 42 (1871) 43 (1873) 44 (1875) 45 (1877) 46 (1879) 47 (1881) 48 (1883) 49 (1885) 50 (1887) 51 (1889) 52 (1891) 53 (1893) 54 (1895) 55 (1897) 56 (1899) 57 (1901) 58 (1903) 59 (1905) 60 (1907) 61 (1909) 62 (1911) 63 (1913) 64 (1915) 65 (1917) 66 (1919) 67 (1921) 68 (1923) 69 (1925) 70 (1927) 71 (1929) 72 (1931) 73 (1933) 74 (1935) 75 (1937) 76 (1939) 77 (1941) 78 (1943) 79 (1945) 80 (1947) 81 (1949) 82 (1951) 83 (1953) 84 (1955) 85 (1957) 86 (1959) 87 (1961) 88 (1963) 89 (1965) 90 (1967) 91 (1969) 92 (1971) 93 (1973) 94 (1975) 95 (1977) 96 (1979) 97 (1981) 98 (1983) 99 (1985) 100 (1987) 101 (1989) 102 (1991) 103 (1993) 104 (1995) 105 (1997) 106 (1999) 107 (2001) 108 (2003) 109 (2005) 110 (2007) 111 (2009) 112 (2011) 113 (2013) 114 (2015) 115 (2017) 116 (2019) 117 (2021) 118 (2023) Houston Houston ( / ˈ h juː s t ən / HEW -stən )
13189-421: The summer, temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 106.5 days per year, including a majority of days from June to September. Additionally, an average of 4.6 days per year reach or exceed 100 °F (37.8 °C). Houston's characteristic subtropical humidity often results in a higher apparent temperature , and summer mornings average over 90% relative humidity . Air conditioning
13310-466: The surrounding porous sands. The thick, rich, sometimes black, surface soil is suitable for rice farming in suburban outskirts where the city continues to grow. The Houston area has over 150 active faults (estimated to be 300 active faults ) with an aggregate length of up to 310 miles (500 km), including the Long Point–Eureka Heights fault system which runs through the center of
13431-599: The urban core. In addition to Interstate 610, two additional loop highways encircle the city: Beltway 8 , with a radius of approximately 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown, and State Highway 99 (the Grand Parkway), with a radius of 25 miles (40 km). Approximately 470,000 people lived within the Interstate 610 loop, while 1.65 million lived between Interstate 610 and Beltway 8 and 2.25 million lived within Harris County outside Beltway 8 in 2015. Though Houston
13552-481: Was 33.1, up from 32.9 in 2017 and down from 33.5 in 2014; the city's youthfulness has been attributed to an influx of an African American New Great Migration , Hispanic and Latino American, and Asian immigrants into Texas. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. There were 987,158 housing units in 2019 and 876,504 households. An estimated 42.3% of Houstonians owned housing units, with an average of 2.65 people per household. The median monthly owner costs with
13673-484: Was 5 °F (−15 °C) on January 18, 1930. The last time Houston saw single digit temperatures was on December 23, 1989. The temperature dropped to 7 °F (−14 °C) at Bush Airport, marking the coldest temperature ever recorded there. 1.7 inches of snow fell at George Bush Intercontinental Airport the previous day. Houston generally receives ample rainfall, averaging about 49.8 in (1,260 mm) annually based on records between 1981 and 2010. Many parts of
13794-729: Was a member of Colonial Club . His 115-page senior thesis at Princeton investigated the separation of powers; its title, Clipping the Wings of Angels: The History and Theory Behind the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the United States Constitution , was inspired by a passage attributed to James Madison from the 51st essay of the Federalist Papers : "If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary." Cruz argued that
13915-478: Was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012 , becoming the first Hispanic American to serve as a U.S. senator from Texas. In the Senate, he has taken consistently conservative positions on economic and social policy. He played a leading role in the 2013 United States federal government shutdown , seeking to force Congress and President Barack Obama to defund the Affordable Care Act . Cruz was reelected in
14036-719: Was endorsed first by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and then by the Club for Growth , a fiscally conservative political action committee; the FreedomWorks for America super PAC ; nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin ; Tea Party Express ; Young Conservatives of Texas ; and U.S. Senators Tom Coburn , Jim DeMint , Mike Lee , Rand Paul and Pat Toomey . He was also endorsed by former Texas Congressman Ron Paul , George P. Bush , and former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum . Former Attorney General Ed Meese served as national chairman of Cruz's campaign. Cruz won
14157-593: Was found guilty of marketing versions of tires that were based on blueprints stolen by a former employee of a Florida businessman and ordered to pay $ 26 million to the Floridian. Cruz worked on the Chinese company's appellant brief. The appeals court denied the appeal and affirmed the jury's award. Cruz represented drug manufacturer B. Braun before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit after
14278-446: Was founded by land investors on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou (a point now known as Allen's Landing ) and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. The city is named after former General Sam Houston , who was president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas's independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of Allen's Landing. After briefly serving as
14399-582: Was founded in 1942 to build ships for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Due to the boom in defense jobs, thousands of new workers migrated to the city, both black, and white people competing for the higher-paying jobs. President Roosevelt had established a policy of nondiscrimination for defense contractors, and black people gained some opportunities, especially in shipbuilding, although not without resistance from white people and increasing social tensions that erupted into occasional violence. Economic gains of black people who entered defense industries continued in
14520-400: Was nearly one-third of Houston's residents. President Woodrow Wilson opened the deep-water Port of Houston in 1914, seven years after digging began. By 1930, Houston had become Texas's most populous city and Harris County the most populous county. In 1940, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Houston's population as 77.5% White and 22.4% black. When World War II started, tonnage levels at
14641-417: Was ranked first in the list of healthiest housing markets for 2009. In 2019, home sales reached a new record of $ 30 billion. In referendums in 1948, 1962, and 1993, voters rejected efforts to establish separate residential and commercial land-use districts. Consequently, rather than a single central business district as the center of the city's employment, multiple districts and skylines have grown throughout
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