As migrant apprehensions rise, Abbott slams Biden immigration policies in border appearance
Apprehensions of migrants have increased substantially at the U.S.-Mexico border since October. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the media about border security at a press conference at Anzalduas Park in Mission on March 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Legislation backed by casino giant would allow casinos, sports gambling in Texas
Las Vegas Sands is pushing to create the opportunity for casinos at "destination resorts" in the state's four largest metropolitan areas. Full Story
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![Gene Koonce plays on a craps table fitted with protective plexiglass panels during the reopening of Bellagio hotel-casino, closed since March because of COVID-19. Las Vegas, Nevada on June 4, 2020.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Steve Marcus -
Another Texas GOP lawmaker is attempting to make abortion punishable by the death penalty
Similar bills filed in the Texas Legislature in previous years have failed. Full Story
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![An ultrasound machine at women’s health clinic in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
UT-Austin report links “The Eyes of Texas” to minstrel shows but not Robert E. Lee, says song is “not overtly racist”
In recent months, the song has divided the university community. Over the summer, students protested and petitioned the university to rid the campus of the song, which has ties to minstrel shows. Full Story
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![The University of Texas at Austin's Class of 2023 attends the university's annual Gone to Texas on Aug. 27, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Daily Texan -
Texas lifts yearlong ban on prison visitation beginning March 15
State prisons shut down visitation last March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Full Story
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![The exterior of Huntsville Unit, a prison in Huntsville, on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texans don’t have to prove they’re eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, and some are jumping the line. Here’s why.
Providers are not allowed, under state health guidelines, to require vaccine recipients to prove a medical condition that would qualify them because it could create barriers at a time when Texas is trying to vaccinate most of its 29 million residents. Full Story
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![Maria Diaz receives her vaccine against COVID-19 at a 24-hour vaccination event at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex on March 6, 2021, in Austin. Family Hospital Systems hosted the drive-thru vaccine event with an 80s theme and equipped to vaccinate 7,000 people.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texans recovering from COVID-19 relied on machines to help them breathe. Then the power went out.
After COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked, the number of Texans dependent on home oxygen equipment was at “an all-time high” when a winter storm overwhelmed the state’s power grid in February, leaving many struggling for air. Full Story
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![RICHMOND, TX - MARCH 3: Mauricio Marin poses for a portrait at his home in Richmond, TX, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
Mauricio Marin thought his worst days were behind him after his month-long stay in a Covid ICU late last year. Doctors sent the 44-year-old home to his wife and kids in Fort Bend County with oxygen tanks, a CPAP machine and strict instructions to avoid cold weather and the flu. But after four days mostly without power, no heat and inadequate oxygen that left him gasping for air, he told his wife, “Honey, at least I’m going to die with you and my kids and not alone at the hospital.’”
Marin survived the ordeal, only thanks to a neighbor who showed up at the last moment with a backup oxygen tank, but his doctors say days spent shivering in a cold house without supplemental oxygen have vastly set back his already tenuous recovery.]()
Credit: Brandon Thibodeaux for NBC News -
Point of Order: Unmasked
In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo about Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to end coronavirus restrictions — including the mask mandate — as well other points of conflict and tension between cities, counties and the state. Full Story
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Twitter sues Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, asks court to halt his investigation of the social media company
Beleaguered Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who attended the pro-Donald Trump rally that preceded the U.S. Capitol siege, issued civil investigative demands to Twitter after the company banned the former president from its platform. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Bill Clark -
Just one Public Utility Commission member remains after another resignation in aftermath of winter storm
Shelly Botkin's departure comes a week after the commission's chair, DeAnn Walker, also stepped down. Full Story
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![Power lines along a row of homes in South Austin. Many residents experienced power outages due to the winter storm that rolled through Texas. Feb. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
A Texas lender sued thousands of low-income Latinos during the pandemic. Now the feds are investigating.
Oportun Inc., a small-dollar loan company, disclosed to investors that it is the subject of a probe by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau following reporting by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica. Full Story
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Millions of Texans still don’t have broadband access. Some lawmakers are trying to change that.
Although much of the attention is focused in the lack of infrastructure in rural areas, large numbers of urban residents also don't have broadband subscriptions. Full Story
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Cat Parks paves own path as Texas GOP vice chair under bombastic Allen West
Parks has risen quickly in Texas GOP politics since being tapped to run a small county party a few years ago. Full Story
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![Cat Parks, Republican Party of Texas Vice-Chair, stands for the pledge of allegiance before speaking to The Woodlands Republican Women’s Club at Landry’s Seafood in The Woodlands on Feb. 10, 2021.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: After the blackouts, a whiff of the 2022 elections in Texas
A proposed remodeling of the state’s electricity grid from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller might be more than it seems. It reads like a campaign’s position paper. Full Story
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![Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller addressed delegates at the Texas Republican Convention. June 16, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
A Mexican restaurant in Houston is keeping its mask rule. People threatened to call ICE on the staff.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to lift the statewide mask mandate has not come easily for many businesses that are navigating enforcement of mask rules while facing backlash. “It was just horrific,” said Monica Richards, co-owner of Picos. Full Story
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![A sign outside of a store in Downtown Austin asking customers to wear a mask inside the business on March 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas businesses must decide whether to require face masks. Some worry they could lose customers either way.
A day after Gov. Greg Abbott announced plans to fully reopen businesses and end the state’s mask mandate, small business owners across Texas found themselves struggling to decide what to do next. Full Story
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![Server Ashleigh Roessler dons a new pair of gloves as part of safety measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. Aug. 13, 2020 at Bar Peached in Austin.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott rejects aid from Biden administration in dispute over coronavirus testing for migrants
Abbott said it is the federal government’s responsibility to test the migrants. Full Story
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![Migrants in MPP cross the Paso del Norte International Bridge from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso on Feb. 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Senate passes Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill
The Senate approved the relief plan on Saturday after roughly 24 hours of debate. The bill includes $1,400 stimulus checks for millions of Americans, as well as an additional $300-per-week in unemployment payments until early September. Full Story
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![The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on April 20, 2020.]()
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A year into the pandemic, many Texans still struggling financially and emotionally
Monica Jimenez is still weathering the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic that started with her husband losing his oil field job. But the Brownfield native says she’s managed to find a few bright spots along the way. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![Pump jacks at sunset in West Texas.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott backs bill to stop social media companies from banning Texans for political views
Senate Bill 12 would prohibit social media companies — including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — from blocking, banning, demonetizing or otherwise discriminating against a user based on their viewpoint or their location within Texas. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott at a press conference in Austin on Dec. 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune
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