Texas governor to miss GOP convention

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will miss next week's Republican National Convention as he recovers from extensive burns sustained when he came into contact with scalding hot water - meaning his state's large delegation to Cleveland will be without its chosen chairman.
Spokesman Matt Hirsch told the Associated Press on Tuesday  doctors said it would be "irresponsible" for Abbott to travel, including to the gathering celebrating presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Abbott, who took office last year, suffered what his office termed a "minor infection" after sustaining second- and third-degree burns on both legs Thursday, while vacationing with his family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
He spent Monday night at San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center and the following day "underwent a successful skin graft procedure," his office said in a separate statement.
But rather than returning immediately to Austin as planned, Abbott "will extend" his hospitalization to "allow for further healing and to ensure a prompt recovery," it said.
Exactly how Abbott scalded himself remains unclear, and his office has declined to answer questions seeking further details. The governor uses a wheelchair after a tree fell on him while he was out for a jog in 1984, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.