Besides being potential rivals in the 2016 presidential race, Mike Huckabee and Rick Perry have butted heads in past races. But Huckabee heaped praise on Perry on Thursday and blasted the indictment against the Texas governor. Full Story
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More than 38,000 Texas students — about 0.75 percent of the state's overall school-age population — had nonmedical exemptions to school immunization laws in the 2013-14 school year, according to state data. Search our table to see the totals for your district or private school. Full Story
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A week after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said there weren’t enough votes in the Texas Senate to pass legislation allowing the open carrying of handguns, Gov. Greg Abbott said on the radio that he thinks such legislation will pass. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott and Comptroller Glenn Hegar are calling for the Legislature to overhaul controversial taxpayer-funded programs used to lure sporting events to Texas and move them from the comptroller to the governor’s office. Full Story
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Full video of my 2/5 conversation with Adm. William McRaven, the chancellor of the University of Texas System. Full Story
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In an interview Thursday, University of Texas System Chancellor William McRaven said that providing in-state tuition for undocumented students is the "morally right thing to do." Full Story
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Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday will announce that he has recruited more than 80 major donors, including some of the biggest bundlers in Republican politics, to aid his efforts as he prepares for a likely 2016 presidential campaign. Full Story
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After years of political wrangling, Mexico is poised to open up its state-run energy monopoly to private investment, pumping excitement into Texas. But as crude oil prices fall, will investors walk through that door? Full Story
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After a few failed legislative attempts, Republican lawmakers are once again working to make drug testing mandatory for some Texans who receive state welfare benefits. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Edu newsletter: Lawmakers float incentive payments for districts offering full-day pre-K, a new magazine teaches kids financial literacy and an interview with Sarah Powell, a University of Texas assistant professor in the Department of Special Education. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus leaned toward the familiar in filling open spots at the top of the chamber's top-tier committees. Full Story
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At the Senate Health and Human Services Committee's first meeting of the legislative session, Chairman Charles Schwertner shared some tough criticism of the Health and Human Services Commission's Office of Inspector General. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus released his committee assignments Wednesday, including new chairmen for the two high-profile committees that will take the lead on writing the budget and crafting tax cuts. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Senate Transportation Chairman Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, unveiled a plan Wednesday to boost transportation funding by dedicating some of the sales tax already collected on car sales to road work. Full Story
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Reeve, Ross, Neena and Emily discuss the backlash over comments made by a state representative on Texas Muslim Capitol Day, lawmakers' response to a controversial blog post, and the future of the state's economic incentive programs. Full Story
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Donald Keith Newbury, 52, who was part of the "Texas Seven" gang of prison fugitives, was executed Wednesday night for the 2000 murder of an Irving police officer. Full Story
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Government misadventures, like the current contracting scandals in Texas, don't make voters happy. But they don't necessarily hurt the people in office — especially when it's easy to hang the blame on the officeholders they replaced. Full Story
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Twelve years after a major mash-up of state health agencies, the Sunset Commission and several lawmakers say it's time to finish the job and merge the remaining five systems into one. Some veteran Capitol observers say they're feeling déjà vu. Full Story
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Texas doesn't require magistrate judges to tell immigrants how their pleas on misdemeanor charges might affect their immigration status. Legislation that would change that failed two years ago, but the sponsors are back for another try. Full Story
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Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin were rivals on the football field, but the state's two biggest schools come together every two years in the political arena for Orange and Maroon Legislative Day. Full Story
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