State Rep. Larry Taylor, at a legislative hearing Thursday concerning the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, used the slur “Jew them down” when making the point that it needs to pay claims on time. He has since apologized.

This interactive shows the dramatic drop in employment at Texas state agencies from the third quarter of fiscal year 2011 to the last quarter, right before $15 billion in cuts to the 2012-2013 biennium budget kicked in Sept. 1.

TxDOT's plan to hire five new executives — each paid up to at least $250,000 annually — has received heavy criticism. How do the salaries compare to those at other public entities? We checked our government salary database to find out.

Despite the disdain of Texas' Republican leadership, the state's component of the Obama administration's Weatherization Assistance Program has been quite successful — surpassing its goal of weatherizing more than 38,000 homes.

More than two years after Texas leaders signed a federal agreement to improve care at the state’s institutions, not even a quarter of its terms have been met and mistreatment is still commonplace.

Texas added 15,400 new jobs last month, according to statistics released today by the Texas Workforce Commission. The Texas unemployment rate, which increased over the last three months, remained steady in September at 8.5 percent.

This interactive table shows how much stimulus funding was awarded to state agencies, how it was received and spent, and the number of jobs created or retained with the money, according to quarterly reports filed by recipients of stimulus funds.

Use our interactive to understand the budget hole federal lawmakers have dug by not updating the Medicare funding formula, Texas physicians’ response to the problem, and the cost of varied proposals to fix it.

If New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie joins the GOP presidential race, how would his politics — sometimes labeled left of center by fellow Republicans — compare to those of Rick Perry and Mitt Romney?

The numbers prove it: State government is shrinking. Many attribute the drop in state jobs to the budget cuts lawmakers passed last legislative session. But agencies had been preparing for the deficit by dropping employees for more than a year.

Anticipating the $15 billion in budget cuts lawmakers passed during the legislative session, state agencies have been dropping employees for more than a year. This table shows employment changes at state agencies from May 2010 to May 2011.

We'll be liveblogging throughout the weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival's health and human services track — which includes panels on the fight over federal health reform, whether Texas can cure cancer and what effect tort reform has had statewide.

Gov. Rick Perry headed into his third Republican presidential debate with a lot to prove. He left with a mixed bag. 

Gov. Rick Perry calls Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” and says people ought to control their own retirement money. But if the social safety net created in 1935 were eliminated what might take its place? In Galveston, a possible answer.

The shining Texas jobs miracle that Gov. Rick Perry is touting on the presidential campaign trail may be dimming, according to statistics released today by the Texas Workforce Commission. Texas lost 1,300 jobs in August, marking the first month of employment decline in Texas in almost a year.