The Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Hidalgo Co. in South Texas.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
<p>The&nbsp;Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in&nbsp;Hidalgo Co. in South Texas.</p>

First border wall segment to go up sooner than expected

  • by Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune, and T. Christian Miller, ProPublica
  • 74Comments

Federal officials plan to start construction this fall on 3 miles of border barrier through a South Texas wildlife refuge. A local nonprofit said it learned about the November start date during a briefing by a federal official.

 
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry speaks to the press after touring the Daikin Texas Technology Park in Waller, Texas, on July 28, 2017.
Austin Price / The Texas Tribune
<p>U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry speaks to the press after touring the Daikin Texas Technology Park in Waller, Texas, on July 28, 2017.</p>

Rick Perry: "I totally support" Trump's ban on transgender troops

"The idea that the American people need to be paying for these types of operations to change your sex is not very wise from a standpoint of economics," U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said during a stop in Waller, Texas, on Friday.

Rick Perry: "I totally support" Trump's ban on transgender troops

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry speaks to the press after touring the Daikin Texas Technology Park in Waller, Texas, on July 28, 2017.
Austin Price / The Texas Tribune
<p>U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry speaks to the press after touring the Daikin Texas Technology Park in Waller, Texas, on July 28, 2017.</p>

"The idea that the American people need to be paying for these types of operations to change your sex is not very wise from a standpoint of economics," U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said during a stop in Waller, Texas, on Friday.

 

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Texas House approves bill requiring more reporting on abortion complications

State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, debates an amendment to House Bill 13 on July 27, 2017, as Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, looks on. The bill would refine reporting requirements for abortion providers.&nbsp;
<p>State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, debates an amendment to House Bill 13 on July 27, 2017, as Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, looks on. The bill would refine reporting requirements for abortion providers.&nbsp;</p>

The Texas House has given early approval to a bill that would require physicians and health care facilities to report more details on abortions complications to the state — and would fine those that do not comply.

The Brief: Special session week two wraps up today

State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, debates an amendment to House Bill 13 on July 27, 2017, as Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, looks on. The bill would refine reporting requirements for abortion providers.&nbsp;
<p>State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, debates an amendment to House Bill 13 on July 27, 2017, as Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, looks on. The bill would refine reporting requirements for abortion providers.&nbsp;</p>

The House approved a few pieces of legislation dealing with trees and other matters on Thursday while the Senate took a break for the day, but both chambers are back in business today to finish off week two of the special legislative session.

Texans with disabilities say bathroom bill could further complicate their lives

Octavio Armendariz, 8, smiles as he watches cartoons on his iPad in his living room at his home in El Paso, Texas. Octavio has moderate-to-severe autism and severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
<p>Octavio Armendariz, 8, smiles as he watches cartoons on his iPad in his living room at his home in El Paso, Texas. Octavio has moderate-to-severe autism and severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).</p>

When it comes to this summer's "bathroom bill," Texans with disabilities say they — like many transgender men and women — believe the Legislature is further complicating something that’s already difficult to navigate.

 

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Radio made Dan Patrick powerful in Texas. And it's helping him stay that way.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's voice has largely left the airwaves of KSEV-700 AM. But he still owns&nbsp;the radio station that launched his political profile, and it's helping him maintain power.
<p>Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's voice has largely left the airwaves of KSEV-700 AM. But he still owns&nbsp;the radio station that launched his political profile, and it's helping him maintain power.</p>

As a political outsider, radio launched Dan Patrick's career. But now that he's mostly off the airwaves and in the lieutenant governor's seat, Patrick's station continues to push his conservative agenda.

Miller on transgender ban: Military no place for "social experimentation"

Sid Miller, who was elected agriculture commissioner in November 2014, is shown at Day 3 of the Texas Republican Convention in Fort Worth on June 7, 2014.
Sid Miller, who was elected agriculture commissioner in November 2014, is shown at Day 3 of the Texas Republican Convention in Fort Worth on June 7, 2014.

A tweet by President Donald Trump asserting that transgender people would no longer be able to serve in the U.S. military garnered the support of at least one Texas official: Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.