Nearly a year after FBI raid, Texas Sen. Carlos Uresti heads to trial to face 11 felony charges
State Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, a two-decade veteran of the Texas Legislature, is heading to trial in a criminal fraud case. Full Story
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![State Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, arrives at the federal courthouse in San Antonio on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2017.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Hey, Texplainer: What would a government shutdown mean for Texas?
A shutdown is poised to take place unless Congress passes a new spending bill and President Donald Trump signs it into law by Jan. 19. That could mean closed parks, furloughed workers and the temporary closure of NASA in Texas. Full Story
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![The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 7, 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Here's how much Texas statewide officials have to spend on their re-election bids
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller appears to be in the most financially competitive statewide primary, with his challenger, former lobbyist Trey Blocker, reporting a higher cash-on-hand number ahead of the March 6 primary. Full Story
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![Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Hey, Texplainer: Could Texans receive a false alarm about a nuclear missile launch?
No, because the state has no warning system like Hawaii does. Full Story
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Credit: Emily Albracht for The Texas Tribune -
Maternal mortality, Texas' special ed crisis (podcast)
On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Marissa, Aliyya and Patrick about the state's abysmal maternal mortality rate, its crisis in special education, and Gov. Greg Abbott's beef with a Houston state legislator. Full Story
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Credit: Emily Albracht / Todd Wiseman -
As U.S. Supreme Court takes up Texas redistricting case, it dismisses partisan gerrymandering appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the efforts of Texas Democrats and other plaintiffs to revive a partisan gerrymandering legal claim in the ongoing litigation over the state's political maps. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Texas attorney general says it's illegal for schools to bus kids to polling places in some cases
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an official, nonbinding opinion Wednesday saying school districts cannot provide transportation to get students to polling places unless the trip serves an educational purpose. Full Story
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![Austin ISD school buses at the terminal near John H. Reagan High School on July 26, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price / The Texas Tribune -
Icy Texas weather leads to new winter record for state power usage
Texas broke a new record for winter power usage on Wednesday. Despite one power company's warning out of San Antonio, state officials said there was no threat of rolling outages. Full Story
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![A look inside the ERCOT control center in 2013.]()
Credit: Justin Dehn/The Texas Tribune -
A shrinking number of rural Texas hospitals still deliver babies. Here's what that means for expecting moms.
Across Texas, rural hospitals are facing a difficult decision: Whether to continue delivering babies as the number of births falls and the cost of providing the service rises. Full Story
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![The nursery at the shuttered labor and delivery unit of Medical Arts Hospital in Lamesa on Dec. 9, 2017. The rocking chair pictured came from the original facility when the staff moved into the current facility in 2009.]()
Credit: Gary Rhodes for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: There's a reason Texas governors keep failing to lower property taxes
Anguish over property taxes is at or near the top of the list of what politicians hear most often from Texans. This is not a complicated part of the civic compact: Voters are peeved. Politicians aim to please. Lowering taxes would make a politician popular with voters. Full Story
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![Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry appeared at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Petra Nova Power Plant in Thompsons on April 13, 2017.]()
Credit: Spike Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Will Hurd announces "narrow and bipartisan" bill to save DACA
Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, on Tuesday said he would file legislation to protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation and beef up border enforcement. The move comes as federal lawmakers face a Friday deadline to pass a measure to keep the federal government functioning. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, speaks at the Border Unity Rally on March 25, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
After special education contract fiasco, Texas official considered for Massachusetts job
Penny Schwinn, who oversees Texas Education Agency policy on special education, is a finalist for Massachusetts education commissioner — a month after a special education contract she spearheaded took a nosedive. Full Story
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![Penny Schwinn is responsible for overseeing the TEA Assessment and Accountability Division, as well as Standards and Programs.]()
Credit: Texas Education Agency -
Going further than prior proposals, Abbott unveils a plan to slow Texas property tax growth
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday unveiled a plan to limit annual local governments' property tax revenue growth to 2.5 percent. To increase revenue beyond that, governments would need approval from two-thirds of voters. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott and appointee Jimmy Blacklock arrive at a press conference at Texas Republican Party headquarters on Nov. 27, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Dangerous deliveries: Are Texas lawmakers doing enough to reduce maternal deaths?
After a months-long investigation, the Tribune found that the state's data on maternal mortality is a moving target, that the number of women dying during or after pregnancy is still rising and that the state has missed opportunities to improve women's health programs. Full Story
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![Chris Zavala mourns the loss of his wife, Michelle Zavala, during her funeral service at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home in Pflugerville on Aug. 5, 2017. Michelle died a week after giving birth to their daughter, Clara.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
In Texas Democratic gubernatorial primary, White raises over $200k, Valdez takes in $46k
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew White raised over $200,000 during the first three weeks of his campaign, while one of his better-known primary opponents, Lupe Valdez, took in a quarter of that over roughly the same period. Full Story
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![Democratic candidates for governor Andrew White and Lupe Valdez.]()
Credit: Facebook campaign pages -
After Cruz raises worries about "propaganda," UT says it won't accept money from Chinese foundation
After months of internal uproar and a letter from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the University of Texas at Austin said Friday its China center will not accept funding from a Hong Kong-based foundation that Cruz said helps spread Chinese government propaganda abroad. Full Story
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![The Tower at the University of Texas at Austin on June 27, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price / The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: It takes more than a “shithole” to scare off a Texas Republican
Candidates run to the things that help them, run away from the things that hurt them and leave the rest alone. Republicans are not running from President Donald Trump, an indication they don't think voters want them to. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump leads a video teleconference monitoring current tropical storm conditions and damage assessments in southeastern Texas on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, from a conference room at Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland.]()
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Political fallout of Hurricane Harvey could begin this year in Houston
In Texas’ largest city and its suburbs, Hurricane Harvey is a key issue for both incumbents and candidates, as they try to convince voters they can best represent a region that continues to reel from last year’s devastating hurricane. Full Story
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Special education caps were the Texas Legislature's idea, educators say
In the wake of a federal report finding Texas was failing its kids with disabilities, educators say the state is to blame and that Texas legislators first suggested cutting back special education services to keep costs low. Full Story
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![Jean Gearhart gives a tearful statement with her husband Troy Gearhart to the panel about her special needs child. U.S. Department of Education officials held a meeting in Edinburg on their tour of Texas to hear community members' experiences with special education.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
Valdez, campaigning for governor, defends record as sheriff
Democrat Lupe Valdez, campaigning for governor in San Antonio, defended her record as Dallas County Sheriff, said Gov. Greg Abbott's 2015 swipe at her on sanctuary cities hadn't changed a thing and said a Democratic rival needs to "make up his mind" on where he stands on abortion rights. Full Story
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![Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez speaks at a law enforcement panel discussion of Senate Bill 4, the so-called Sanctuary Cities Bill, in Austin on Feb. 15, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune