Headlines

His Brand Is Chaos! Immediately after being directly accused of bribery by impeachment witnesses on Capitol Hill, President Trump took to the skies to head our way – making good on his promised tour of Apple's manufacturing plant in Austin (not China!) with CEO Tim Cook, Javanka, Steve Mnuchin, and other extras. As the Chronicle goes to press, we're monitoring the highways and Twitterverse for explosions, dumpster fires, and people being thrown under the bus.

Insufficient Bigotry "I'm headed to Bill Miller's tonight," tweeted Gov. Greg Abbott, denouncing Chick-fil-A after the chain announced they'll no longer donate to organizations with a history of discriminating against the LGBTQ community (see "Qmmunity: Less Hateful Chicken."). Abbott likes his food sprinkled with bigotry: Bill Miller Bar-B-Q owner Balous Miller is a Trump donor. In response, the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus reminded Abbott that "discrimination hurts Texans and Texas."

About Those Raises Austinites observed "Latina Equal Pay Day" on Nov. 20. Typically, Latinas earn 54 cents for every dollar earned by white men, so the statistical day represents when a Latina earning a median salary has finally earned the same income that a white man reached by the end of 2018. "The Latina pay gap is not an abstract concept," said Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza. "Families in Southeast Austin are living it every single day."

Media Merger In the completion of a deal that may change the journalism landscape nationally and locally, New Media Investment Group (owners of GateHouse Media) and Gannett Co. closed on their merger Tuesday to form what is now the largest print newspaper chain – some 260 newspapers, including the Austin American-Statesman. New "Gannett" management claimed it would strengthen local journalism while expanding digital services, but promised cuts of $300 million or more caused the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America to warn of damage to "the communities those media organizations serve."

Speaking of Media Moves The Texas Tribune announced Tuesday that Editor-in-Chief Emily Ramshaw and Chief Audience Officer Amanda Zamora will depart the magazine at year's end to launch a national nonprofit news organization. In a tweet, Ramshaw said the new venture will work to give "women – all women – the facts, tools and information they need to be equal participants in democracy and civic life."