Experts in the News

Peter J. Hotez, fellow in disease and poverty, has been named one of Fortune Magazine's "34 Leaders Who Are Changing Health Care" for his work on deadly infectious diseases around the world. Hotez joins visionaries and advocates such as Bill Gates and former Vice President Joe Biden on the list.

OPEC cut its production again in March in hopes of driving up oil prices, but the move had little global impact as the U.S. and other countries maintained their oil production levels, the Houston Chronicle reports. "OPEC cuts really are a lot more effective when the oil inventories are low and markets are tight," said Jim Krane, Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies. "It's tough to get a big oil market response when markets are flush."

Francisco J. Monaldi, fellow in Latin American energy policy, offers insight into the ongoing political and economic crises in Venezuela in a Q&A with the Baker Institute.

For the second time, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzáles Ramos has ruled that Texas lawmakers "acted with the intent to discriminate against black and Hispanic voters” in passing Texas' voter ID law in 2011. Fellow Mark P. Jones discussed the ruling and its possible ramifications in a segment with Texas Standard.

If Venezuela’s PDVSA defaults on repaying its loan to Russia, Russia’s state-owned oil company Rosneft might take over Houston-based CITGO, which PDVSA owns and used as collateral for the loan. Francisco J. Monaldi, fellow in Latin American energy policy, comments in CNN Money.