Small steps aim to lessen exploitation of Texas construction workers
In Houston and Austin, some builders are voluntarily trying to ensure that construction workers are paid well and their safety is protected. Full Story
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![Nelson Kirkham, Bellows project supervisor, at a construction site for Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Planned Parenthood, cupcakes at Trump Tower (podcast)
On this week's TribCast — the last of 2016 — Emily talks to Evan, Patrick and Aman about Texas kicking Planned Parenthood out of the Medicaid program and Donald Trump's consideration of two Texas ag commissioners (one current, one former) as agriculture secretary. Full Story
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Credit: Emily Albracht / Todd Wiseman -
Lawsuit proceeds against Gov. Greg Abbott over mock nativity display
A lawsuit is moving forward against Gov. Greg Abbott over his order to remove a satirical nativity scene from the Texas Capitol last year. Full Story
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![Winter Solstice scene on display in the Capitol. It was ordered removed after Gov. Greg Abbott objected to it.]()
Credit: Courtesy State Rep. Charlie Geren -
Abandoned Texas oil wells seen as "ticking time bombs" of contamination
Texas is among several states grappling with a surge of abandoned drilling sites and dwindling funds to clean them up. Full Story
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![Ty Edwards, assistant general manager of the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District, points to brackish water flowing from one of several flowing abandoned wells— originally drilled for oil, but later used for irrigation — that no state agency plans to plug.]()
Credit: Rafael Aguilera for The Texas Tribune -
Texans Susan Combs, Sid Miller at center of Trump ag secretary speculation
The race to be President-elect Donald Trump's agriculture secretary is heating up, and two Texans appear to be at the center of it. Full Story
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![Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, left, and former Texas Comptroller Susan Combs.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich / Laura Skelding -
New in TribTalk: Protecting foster kids
Texans recognize that the problems at Child Protective Services are not with the hardworking people in the agency but are the natural result of legacy thinking, which trusts the state to institutionalize, engineer and manage families, writes Brandon J. Logan of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Full Story
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The Brief: Texas moves to end Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood
In a move that could affect thousands of low-income women, state health officials on Tuesday delivered a final legal notice to defund Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program through which it provides family planning and women’s health services to the poor. Full Story
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Credit: John Jordan -
Trump, women's health, child welfare top Texas news in 2016
Here’s a look at the top health and human services storylines The Texas Tribune tracked this year. Full Story
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![Jill Ramirez, the director of outreach for the Latino Healthcare Forum, passes out flyers and explains components of the Affordable Care Act on Oct. 5, 2013. With Donald Trump's election to the White House, the health law faces an uncertain future.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
In Corpus Christi, the latest water emergency was different
Corpus Christi has been struggling with water problems since last summer. But this latest incident — and its root cause — are different. Full Story
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![The shelves in the bottled water section of a Walmart in Corpus Christi were nearly empty on the morning of Dec. 15, 2016. Nearly two years after the city's water ban, the area's water now has a clean bill of health.]()
Credit: Courtesy, Shalonn Simmons -
Texas officially kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid
Texas health officials on Tuesday delivered a final legal notice to nix the funding Planned Parenthood receives through the Medicaid program. Full Story
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Credit: Tamir Kalifa -
Former Texas Comptroller Susan Combs to meet with Trump team
A new name from Texas is surfacing as President-elect Donald Trump works to fill his administration: former state Comptroller Susan Combs. Full Story
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![Former Texas Comptroller Susan Combs on November 16, 2016. Combs has started a project to help women called HERdacity and written a book, Texas Tenacity: A Call for Women to Direct Their Destiny. The project is an online community aimed at empowering women and the book will be released in early 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
New in Trib+Health: What to watch for in 2017
In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: The CDC identifies top health threats for the coming year, tech helps doctors have more face time with patients and an interview with Robert Lapus of McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. Full Story
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The Brief: Texas electors make Trump's victory official
Thirty-six of Texas' 38 electors voted for Donald Trump at a Monday afternoon meeting at the Capitol, enough to put the real estate mogul over the 270-vote tipping point to be confirmed as the next president of the United States. Full Story
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![An elector casts his vote for President of the United States during the Electoral College meeting at the Texas Capitol on Dec. 19, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Adult crime, adult time: How Texas fast-tracked kids to life in prison
Before he could vote, before he could drive, before he made it into high school, Miguel Navarro was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Now he’s fighting for a second chance to be seen – in the eyes of the court – as a child. Full Story
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![Miguel Navarro was certified to be tried by Texas courts as an adult at age 16, after stabbing two young men at a party.]()
Credit: Hannah McBride/Texas Standard -
Law lets local governments, businesses support ports of entry
A cross-border trade bill designed to beef up staffing at the ports of entry on Texas' southern border has been signed by the president. Full Story
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Texans in Congress offer scant support for full border wall
None of the 38 Texans in Congress offered a full-throated endorsement of a complete border wall, a position popular with President-elect Donald Trump's supporters, a Texas Tribune delegation-wide survey found. Full Story
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Trump's sons behind Texas nonprofit selling access to president-elect
A new Texas nonprofit led by President-elect Donald Trump’s grown sons is offering access to Trump in exchange for million-dollar donations to unnamed “conservation” charities, according to interviews and documents reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity. Full Story
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![Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks to the crowd during a rally in Austin on Aug. 23, 2016.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Obama signs bill that may boost Texas hurricane protection study
President Obama signed into law a bill that may help expedite the long process of constructing a hurricane protection system for the Texas coast. Full Story
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![U.S. Air Force member conducted search and rescue operations on Galveston Island after Hurricane Ike on Sept. 13, 2008.]()
Credit: Staff Sgt. James L. Harper Jr. -
Texas electors cast 36 votes for Trump, 1 for Kasich and 1 for Ron Paul
All but two of Texas' 38 electors voted Monday to officially put Donald Trump in the White House, with one elector casting a ballot for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and another voting for a fellow Texan, former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul. Full Story
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![Elector Christopher Suprun, who said he will vote for Ohio Gov. John Kasich instead of Donald Trump, is sworn in at the Texas Capitol as a member of the Electoral College on December 19, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Knight Foundation will match your gifts to the Trib
In typically generous fashion, the Miami-based supporters of public-spirited nonprofit journalism will match up to $25,000 in small-dollar gifts ($1,000 or below) pledged to the Trib between now and Jan. 19. Full Story
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