Gov. Greg Abbott sets Sept. 29 special election to replace state Sen. Pat Fallon
Minutes after Abbott's announcement, state Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, announced his campaign for the seat. Full Story
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![State Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, at his desk on the Senate floor in 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declares state of disaster in 23 counties ahead of Hurricane Marco, Tropical Storm Laura
With two storms gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico, Abbott on Sunday declared a state of disaster in coastal counties and warned Texans to remember coronavirus health guidelines. Full Story
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![From left, current forecast models show Tropical Storm Marco making landfall near Texas and Louisiana as a hurricane on Monday afternoon, followed by Tropical Storm Laura also arriving in the area as a hurricane early Thursday.]()
Credit: National Hurricane Center -
U.S. Reps. Will Hurd, Michael McCaul break from Republicans and vote for USPS rescue bill
Driven by Democrats worried about mail-in voting being jeopardized this November, members returned to the U.S. Capitol amid summer recess to vote on the legislation. Full Story
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![From left. U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, and U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes.]()
Credit: Texas Tribune -
Shelley Luther, Dallas salon owner who pressured Texas to reopen salons, says she’s running for state Senate
Luther is running to replace state Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, in a yet-to-be-called special election now that he is poised for a promotion to Congress. Full Story
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![Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther speaks to a crowd at the 'Texas Bar Owners Fight Back' protest at the state capitol in June .]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
For this working mom, the risk of her son contracting coronavirus outweighs the need for him to be in class
Amy Mason says there are just too many unknowns for her to feel comfortable sending her 4-year-old to school at this point. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![Amy Mason and her son, Clark outside their home in Fort Worth.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Amy Mason -
After recount, Tony Gonzales is still winner of GOP runoff for U.S. Rep. Will Hurd's seat
Gonzales' runoff opponent, Raul Reyes, announced Friday evening that he was abandoning his recount effort. Full Story
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![Tony Gonzales announces in San Antonio's Orsinger Park that he is running for the Texas Congressional district 23 seat that is being vacated by Will Hurd.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Judge won't be removed from criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
Paxton's team had asked that the judge, Jason Luong, be recused from the case because the Texas attorney general's office is representing him — along with about 20 other Houston-area judges — in an unrelated lawsuit. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton at the inauguration ceremony of Judge Michelle Slaughter at the state capitol. Jan. 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Bucking local health warnings, two private religious schools are set to reopen in hard-hit Rio Grande Valley
Desperate to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Cameron County has ordered all schools to keep classrooms closed until late September. But state officials say local health orders don't apply to private religious schools. Full Story
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![School supplies are individually bagged in each cubbie in a classroom at Ott Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Two hurricanes could form in the Gulf of Mexico next week, and one storm is heading toward Texas
Tropical Depression 14 is forecasted to intensify briefly into a hurricane and then weaken before making landfall early Tuesday. It could hit somewhere near the Texas-Louisiana border. Full Story
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![Tropical Depression 14 and Tropical Storm Laura are expected to impact the southern U.S. coast.]()
Credit: National Hurricane Center -
Out-of-work Texans could start seeing extra $300 in unemployment payments next week
On Friday, federal officials gave Texas the green light to provide the additional payments. States can contribute another $100, but Texas does not plan to do so. Full Story
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![Volunteers load boxes of food into a car during a drive-thru food distribution hosted by the Central Texas Food Bank at the Travis County Expo Center on June 30, 2020 in Austin.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Nonprofit that financed a private border wall is now the focus of a corruption case
Investigators say fundraisers for nonprofit We Build the Wall, including Steve Bannon and founder Brian Kolfage, lied to donors and pocketed funds. Trump has tried to distance himself from the group but Kolfage has bragged about their ties. Full Story
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![From left, We Build the Wall founder Brian Kolfage and Donald Trump Jr. during the Symposium at the Wall: Cartels, Trafficking and Asylum event in Sunland Park, New Mexico in 2019.]()
Credit: Mark Lambie/El Paso Times via REUTERS -
The Democrats' national convention shone a spotlight on Texas' emerging bench — beyond the Castros and O'Rourke
During their party's national convention this week, Democrats got a glimpse of their roster of up-and-coming leaders. Among them were at least four Texans who aren't the usual suspects. Full Story
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![Clockwise from top left, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, and State Rep. Victoria Neave, D-Dallas.]()
Credit: Texas Tribune -
Texas put hundreds of hours into finding and arresting police brutality protesters. Lawyers call it a “witch hunt."
Two days of unruly protests at the Texas Capitol in May left graffiti on the historic building and cuts and bruises on state police officers. Since then, the Texas Department of Public Safety has spent the summer naming and arresting suspects, the majority of whom are accused of misdemeanors. Full Story
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![A crowd of protestors gather at the south gate of the capitol on May 31, 2020]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
A South Texas chaplain prayed with his hospice patients. Then the coronavirus came for him.
The hospital where he had previously ministered to terminally ill patients was full when Adolfo Alvarado Jr. neared death in his Mission home. He was finally admitted, and his daughter watched on her laptop as he died. Full Story
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![The family members of Adolfo “Fito” Alvarado Jr. at their home in Mission.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Texas' July unemployment rate drops slightly to 8%
With more than 10,000 Texans dead from COVID-19, economists have warned that until the state gets a handle on the pandemic, the economic recession will not improve. Full Story
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![A Rooms to Go in Frisco, open to customers.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
With no end to the shutdown in sight, Texas bar owners and employees are on the brink of losing everything
Some bar owners are planning to reopen in defiance of the moratorium, a desperate attempt to generate income — and draw Gov. Greg Abbott’s attention. Full Story
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![Elizabeth McNiel, the owner of Ironwood Saloon and an ASL teacher, and her husband Ryan front of their RV that is parked behind their empty bar, the only one in Sabinal. They shut it down because of COVID-19 mandates. Aug. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Christopher Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: With elections coming, Texas Republican leaders join the thin blue line
Freezing local taxes in Texas cities that cut police funding sounds better than it works. But the political angle taken by the state's top leaders gives them something other than pandemic and recession to talk about this election season. Full Story
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![Austin police officers stand guard as the Austin Fire Department puts out a car that was set on fire by protesters in downtown Austin on May 30, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
San Antonio postal union leader describes mass delays, says Postal Service hid backlogged mail from congressman
The union leader said tens of thousands of pieces of mail were carted away ahead of U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro’s visit. The office's delays have been exacerbated by employees missing because of COVID-19 concerns. Full Story
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![U.S. Postal Service trucks at an Austin office location on Aug. 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
In shift, Texas begins publishing some data on coronavirus cases at child care centers
Without numbers on how many children or staff are in Texas child care facilities — which the state does not report — it’s hard to gauge the magnitude of infections. Full Story
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![A flurry of colors and activity, building time started the day for preschoolers at Greater Cornerstone Academy in North Dallas Oct. 9, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
As the Texas restaurant industry struggles, so do farmers, truckers and others in the food supply chain
Economic experts say a slow recovery in the industry means problems will persist for the restaurant sector — and businesses in the supply chain on which it relies. Full Story
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![Owner Eric Silverstein takes food from the Bar Peached kitchen to one of his customers on Aug. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune