Texas’ citrus industry — once an agricultural powerhouse — is on the brink of disaster
A hurricane and winter freeze devastated the South Texas industry. A lack of water is preventing a full recovery.
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Graphics and data reporting
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demographics
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Latest News
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Donald Trump picks Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta as ambassador to Italy
Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and Landry’s restaurant group, hosted a fundraiser for Trump earlier this year. Full Story
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![Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta leaves the court during the fourth quarter of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Toyota Center in Houston on Oct. 15, 2024.]()
Credit: Erik Williams/Imagn Images/USA TODAY Sports via REUTERS -
South Texas coal-fired power plant to switch to clean energy after receiving more than $1 billion in federal money
San Miguel Electric Cooperative's plan to turn into a solar and battery plant will leave only 14 coal-fired power plants in the state. Full Story
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![The San Miguel Electric Cooperative power plant can be seen in the background of a sign for the Peeler Ranch on April 26, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
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Farm Bill gets extension as Congress passes spending package and averts shutdown
The legislation includes financial aid and money for recent natural disasters, but farmers still will be relying on outdated provisions from the 2018 bill. Full Story
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![The U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmaker files bill to reduce “forever chemicals” in sewage-based fertilizer
The bill would require companies to test fertilizer made from sewage sludge for PFAS and meet limits before selling them to Texas farmers and ranchers. Full Story
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![Biosolids are collected at the SAWS’ Steven M. Clouse Water Recycling Center in San Antonio, Texas, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune
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Texas House panel may never hear Robert Roberson’s testimony after new legal move
Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to delay legal proceedings until Jan. 13 — the day before the committee disbands — even as lawmakers vowed to continue fighting to hear from Roberson. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project -
Why were border wall materials put up for auction? Here's what you should know.
Some Texas lawmakers including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick slammed the Biden administration over the auction of wall materials. But the sale was directed by Congress — and Texas has already bought some of it. Full Story
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![Building supplies and construction equipment sit along a section of state border wall Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, outside of Del Rio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Cartels turn to social media to lure Americans into human smuggling as Texas enforces stricter laws
Thousands of people have been arrested under Texas’ human smuggling law. Now they face at least a decade in prison under sentencing guidelines that took effect this year. Full Story
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Attorney General Ken Paxton files motion to block death row inmate Robert Roberson from testifying
The motion escalates a tense standoff between Paxton and a bipartisan Texas House committee, which had subpoenaed Roberson to testify at the Capitol on Friday. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Donald Trump hopes a Republican challenges U.S. Rep. Chip Roy over debt ceiling opposition
President-elect Donald Trump blasted the Austin Republican for opposing his plans to raise the debt ceiling unless there are restrictions on future spending. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, outside the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 2024.]()
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas’ latest effort to deter migrants is a billboard campaign in Mexico, Central America
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the new strategy, which will cost an estimated $100,000, during a press conference in Eagle Pass. Full Story
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![Gov. Abbott speaks at a press conference in Eagle Pass where he unveiled state-sponsored billboards being placed in Central and South America to deter migrants from coming to the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 19, 2024.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune
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Texas regulators shelve an electricity market reform proposal they say does too little to shore up grid
The Public Utility Commission found that the performance credit mechanism, a financial tool the Legislature capped at $1 billion, would only marginally improve reliability of the state power grid. Full Story
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![Public Utilities Commission Chairman Thomas Gleeson speaks during a meeting on Thursday, July 11, 2024.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. House members want answers on Texas’ decision to not review maternal deaths after near-total abortion ban
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas led a letter calling for a briefing on why the state won’t review 2022 and 2023 deaths. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, speaks with Errin Haines, editor at large at The 19th*, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 7, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans want voters to provide proof of citizenship. Arizona’s law holds lessons.
A Votebeat analysis shows how such requirements risk disenfranchising key voter groups, including Native Americans and college students. Full Story
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![DALLAS, TX - SEPTEMBER 20, 2024: ExpressVote voting machines at a public verification test of the voting system at the Dallas County Elections Department building in Dallas, Texas on Friday, September 20, 2024. The test allows participants to validate the voting process by using ballots containing the same races and proportions as the upcoming elections in November. CREDIT: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune
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As landowners resist, Texas’ border wall is fragmented and built in remote areas
At least a third of landowners approached by state officials have refused to let wall be built on their properties. That’s forced the state to largely build on ranchland in remote areas, or erect sections that are full of gaps. Full Story
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Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott announces more than $500 million in public safety grants
The grants will go to private and public sector recipients in Texas for a variety of public safety priorities, including securing the southern border. Full Story
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![Gov. Abbott speaks to DPS Troopers and National Guard troops at a Thanksgiving dinner event in Edinburg on Nov. 26, 2024.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas school districts asked to return $16 million in federal funding for special education services
The request comes after an audit found Texas improperly billed the federal government for reimbursements related to Medicaid-eligible students. Full Story
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![Students backpacks hang off the back of their chairs in an empty classroom at Blanco Vista Elementary School in San Marcos on Monday August, 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for the Texas Tribune
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South Texas groups sue TCEQ for temporarily allowing SpaceX to discharge industrial water without a permit
In the lawsuit, the groups accuse TCEQ of exceeding its authority by allowing the discharges. Full Story
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![SpaceX's Starship lifts off from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight before exploding, near Brownsville on April 20, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Joe Skipper -
Rep. Michael McCaul calls Tulsi Gabbard a “baffling” pick to lead intelligence community
The Austin Republican leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee and predicted Gabbard’s nomination would fail in the Senate. Full Story
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![House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, questions witnesses during a hearing on the generational challenge of the Chinese Communist Party, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas has big goals for college completion. In places like the Coastal Bend, how to get there is still murky.
Many rural Texans in the region say they lack quality information on the skills required to get good jobs and build a lasting career. Full Story
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![A young boy fishes at a popular Padre Island fishing spot on Packery Channel on July 16, 2020 in Corpus Christi.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune - More News