In the Texas Legislature, bills filed on marijuana, daylight saving are all fair game
Watch the first episode of our mini-documentary series, “Under the Dome,” chronicling the cast of characters passing laws in the Texas State Capitol. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Mike Collier lost, but outdid Beto O'Rourke in most Texas counties
Beto O'Rourke, the Texas Democrat who got most of the attention in this year's general election, got more votes than any other Democrat on the statewide ticket. But one of them out-performed O'Rourke in 171 counties. Full Story
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![Mike Collier, then-Democratic nominee for Texas comptroller, at the state Democratic convention in Dallas on June 27, 2014. Collier is running for lieutenant governor in 2018.]()
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In the Rio Grande Valley, plans for a border wall ignite fight between church and state
The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville is resisting the government's efforts to take over the historic chapel that gave Mission its name. And a man known as the "cowboy priest" finds himself at the center of a national debate with local implications. Full Story
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What's the point of Texas' rainy day fund?
Texas' Economic Stabilization Fund holds more than $11 billion and is the largest in the country. There's a lot of disagreement over how and when to spend the money. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
Cornyn's push for federal prison reform helps First Step Act clear U.S. Senate
The bill, which calls for an overhaul in how prisoners are treated and prepared for release, has wide bipartisan backing. It is expected to pass the U.S. House and garner President Trump's signature. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, at the 2017 Texas Tribune Festival.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. House Democrats call for congressional investigation into Guatemalan child's death
Lawmakers said they had more questions than answers after touring Border Patrol facilities in New Mexico where a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl was held before her death. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, and other current and incoming members of Congress toured the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station in Lordsburg, N.M. on Dec. 18, 2018 to learn more about the in-custody death of a 7-year-old immigrant girl.]()
Credit: Jesus Rosales for The Texas Tribune -
UT-Austin says evidence "does not support a finding" that Charles Schwertner violated Title IX by sending lewd texts
Lawyers for Schwertner say the messages were sent by a third party. Full Story
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![Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, leading debate on urban ride-sharing rules in the Texas Senate on May 17, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas has failed to close educational gaps for kids of color. In Edgewood ISD, the fallout has lasted generations.
Edgewood ISD has faced consistent problems in preparing its students for college and the workforce. The district's struggles shine a light on Texas’ long record of neglecting schools that educate mostly students of color. Full Story
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![Carlos Lopez is a freshman at The University of Texas studying Biochemistry, while also holding down a part time job at HEB. He graduated high school from John F. Kennedy, a small school on the west side of San Antonio and feels unprepared for what he has experienced at UT. He studies at the Student Academic Center on campus, December 7, 2018. Although he feels his public education underprepared him for UT and an advisor suggested changing his major, he does not want to give up.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
In Texas, "a perception that tuberculosis no longer exists" raises alarm for legislative attention
Tuberculosis is a rare disease, but public health experts are urging Texas legislators to invest in expensive medication, nurses who can help patients and supporting local health departments to test and treat people who may have been exposed. Full Story
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![Nurse Paul Chege prepares to deliver meals to patients at the Texas Center for Infectious Disease in San Antonio on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
A Texas school contractor says she lost her job because she won't promise not to boycott Israel. Now she's suing.
The school severed its contract with the speech pathologist because of state law banning Texas government contracts with companies that boycott Israel. Full Story
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![The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announces the filing of a lawsuit against Texas' "No Boycott of Israel" law, on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 in Austin. Speaking is plaintiff Bahia Amawi, a teacher in the Pflugerville Independent School District who was forced to sign a pledge against her beliefs in order to get paid. She later quit her job as a speech therapist in the district. In the back are attorney Gadier Abbas and CAIR director Mira Sheikh.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott selects deputy chief of staff as new secretary of state
David Whitley was named Texas' top election official on Monday, years after he started working for Abbott when the governor served as the state's attorney general. Full Story
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![David Whitley was appointed as Secretary of State of Texas.]()
Credit: Image via Governor Greg Abbott's -
Texas secession was a key theme in Russian disinformation campaign during 2016 elections, report says
The Russian-based Internet Research Agency used two social media accounts in particular – "Heart of Texas" on Facebook and @rebeltexas on Instagram – to spread falsehoods and exert divisions during the 2016 elections, according to a new report. Full Story
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![Screenshots released by federal lawmakers of Russian-linked Facebook pages promoting anti-Muslim and pro-Muslim rallies on the same day in 2016 in Houston.]()
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Analysis: You can't fix Texas school finance until you agree on the meaning of "fix"
Changing the way public schools are funded is hard even when everyone agrees on the problem. But Texas lawmakers will first have to figure out if they're aiming to lower property taxes, increase spending on public education — or just change how the money is distributed. Full Story
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![Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister, chairman of the Texas Commission on Public School Finance, listens to a commission member at the panel's second meeting on Feb. 8, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas still hasn't expanded Medicaid. That's leaving a gap in coverage for hundreds of thousands.
More and more states have decided to expand Medicaid, but Texas has not budged. With more than a half million Texans in the so-called health coverage gap, will the politics of the issue shift in next year's legislative session? Full Story
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![Tanya Walker, who now lives in Wichita, Kansas, said it was difficult to manage her diabetes without having health coverage.]()
Credit: Jason Massingill for The Texas Tribune -
Family of 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in federal custody speak out, call for "objective and thorough investigation"
“Premature and inaccurate statements undermine the integrity of the investigation,” attorneys for the family of Jakelin Caal Maquin said in a statement Saturday. Full Story
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State Rep. Joe Pickett to resign from Texas House after nearly 24 years in office
Citing health issues, the El Paso Democrat announced Saturday that he would step down from his post effective Jan. 4, four days before the start of the next legislative session. Full Story
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![House Transportation Commitee chair Rep. Joe Pickett, D-EL Paso, leads an interim hearing August 30, 2016, at the Texas Capitol. The committee grilled TxDOT director James M. Bass and listened to a Texas Transportation Institute study on ride-hailing companies.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Beto O'Rourke and other Democrats urge public to keep Tornillo migrant facility in spotlight
The population at the detention center for migrant children has quietly swelled from a few hundred to about 2,800 in about six months. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, flanked by U.S. Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota (left), and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, speaks to the press after touring the tent city that holds thousands of immigrant children, in Tornillo on Dec. 15, 2018.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional, handing Texas an early win
Fort Worth U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled that the individual mandate — a critical component of Obamacare — is unconstitutional, rendering the rest of the law invalid as well. Full Story
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![Dr. Javier Saenz, who has a medical practice in the Rio Grande Valley town of La Joya, prepared his clinic’s X-ray machine in 2012.]()
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Beto O'Rourke says Julián Castro's likely 2020 presidential bid won't affect his own plans
O'Rourke also wouldn't rule out challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in 2020. Full Story
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![Democratic Senate Beto O'Rourke at a townhall meeting with MSNBC host Chris Mathews in Houston, Tuesday Oct, 30, 2018 on the Univerity of Houston Campus.(Photo by Michael Stravato)]()
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Joaquin Castro says twin brother Julián Castro is running for president
The San Antonio congressman erased any lingering doubt during a joint interview that aired Thursday night on CBS's "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Full Story
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![Former U.S. housing secretary and San Antonio mayor Julián Castro talks to reporters about his potential run for president in 2020. Castro held the press conference in his home in San Antonio on Dec. 12, 2018.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune