Taylor County wildfire prompts evacuations as dry conditions raise risk in West Texas
Texas A&M Forest Service has responded to nine fires across the state this week, saying they “have the potential to exhaust state and local resources.” Full Story
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![Aerial view of the Mesquite Heat Fire in Taylor Co. on Wednesday, May 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Texas A&M Forest Service -
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn calls Ken Paxton scandals an “embarrassment” when asked about attorney general runoff
Cornyn is the most prominent Texas Republican to criticize the attorney general’s rocky record ahead of the runoff election against George P. Bush. Full Story
Credit: REUTERS/Rod Lamkey - CNP/Sipa USA -
The U.S. census estimates it missed more than a half-million Texans during 2020 count
Immigrants, people living in poverty and non-English speakers were among the most likely to be missed, yet the crucial count received lackluster promotion by Texas state government. Full Story
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![Glenda Joe, center, advises students during a Make Youth Count planning meeting on Saturday, February 15, 2020. The team is made up of graduates and one current senior of Alief Early College and will be in four Aleif high schools hoping to encourage students to help their parents fill out the 2020 census.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Law to crack down on lobbyists ensnares two former Texas House members
The law says a former member of the Legislature cannot engage in activities that require them to register as a lobbyist if they have made a political contribution using campaign funds in the past two years. Full Story
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![From left: Former state Reps. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, and Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville.]()
Credit: Texas Tribune -
Texas A&M board takes next step toward Fort Worth expansion
The board agreed to spend $85 million on a law and education building and another $85 million on a research and innovation center. Full Story
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![John Sharp, Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, speaks during a press conference in between an A&M Board of Regents meeting at the PalmWood event and conference center inside the Frost Tower in downtown Fort Worth, on Thursday, May 19, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans Chip Roy and Louie Gohmert among few to vote against U.S. House bill to help poor mothers access formula
The bill, which passed in the House, would expand the formula brand choices available to mothers on a federal assistance program in an attempt to mitigate a disruptive baby formula shortage around the country. Full Story
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![From left: U.S. Reps. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, and Chip Roy, R-Austin.]()
Credit: Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERS -
T-Squared: John Hernandez is joining The Texas Tribune as our assistant director of audience
He will relentlessly advocate for our existing audience and work to reach the Texans who do not yet know about us. Full Story
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![John Hernandez.]()
Credit: Courtesy John Hernandez -
Texas will resume grading public schools based on students’ STAAR test results
For the first time since the pandemic, Texas schools will again be rated based on standardized tests. But for one year only, schools that receive a D or F will get a “not rated” label. Full Story
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![Students work at laptops on their desks at Chapa Middle School in Kyle on Aug. 24, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Republican Texas House races become high-dollar affairs as Tuesday’s primary runoff nears
The pricey fights illustrate how much of the action in Texas politics has shifted back to the primary after redistricting dramatically reduced the number of competitive seats. Full Story
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![An empty chair on the House floor on Oct. 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is the target of a bar association complaint over his role in undermining the 2020 election results
A group of lawyers says Cruz played an outsized role in the efforts to void the 2020 election results and accuses him of repeatedly making false claims about voter fraud. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz leaves after a press conference with organizers of the People’s Convoy near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on March 10, 2022.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
From staffing shortages to lack of guidance, the pandemic made Texas’ rural health issues worse, providers say
The COVID-19 pandemic also cut down on clinics’ revenue and underscored broadband access disparities in rural Texas, health care providers said in a conversation with The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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A Ken Paxton lawsuit is why some face filters on Facebook and Instagram were temporarily disabled in Texas
The features were suspended two months after the attorney general sued the social media platforms’ parent company, saying that some of its practices violated Texans’ privacy. Users can now reactivate the filters. Full Story
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![A man stands in front of a sign of Meta, the new name for the company formerly known as Facebook, at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Oct. 28, 2021.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria -
T-Squared: We’re making progress toward The Texas Tribune’s staff diversity goals
Our efforts are paying off but we have work to do to ensure that our mission-driven, nonpartisan newsroom is as diverse as it should be. Full Story
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar/The Texas Tribune -
Why Ken Paxton’s supporters in the Texas attorney general race are unbothered by his mounting scandals
Paxton’s backers say they’re looking past the FBI investigation into Paxton and his felony indictment because he’s a a strong conservative advocate fighting the Biden administration. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attends a campaign event during a Bulverde Spring Branch Conservative Republicans meeting on Monday evening in Bulverde. Paxton criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, championed voter fraud in Texas and praised the leaked SCOTUS draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Lucy Tompkins is joining us as a New York Times Headway fellow
A Montana native and a former Fulbright fellow, Lucy will cover housing and homelessness in Texas in the second year of her two-year fellowship. Full Story
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![Lucy Tompkins]()
Credit: Courtesy Lucy Tompkins -
Her daughters are U.S. citizens. A federal health rule won’t let this Guatemalan mother enter the country with them.
After drug cartel members began demanding monthly payments, she took her daughters to the border to seek asylum. They’ve been waiting in a Juárez shelter for more than a year. Full Story
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![Emilsa of Guatemala stands near the showers of a Ciudad Juárez migrant shelter with her daughters, both of whom are U.S. citizens, on Tuesday. The three have been at the shelter for over a year — longer than anyone else currently there.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Seven ways climate change is already hitting Texans
Extreme weather events, water scarcity, risks of illness: Climate change is here, and it’s already affecting Texans. Full Story
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![Residents used boats to evacuate floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey along Tidwell Road in Houston on Aug. 28, 2017.]()
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Help us show how climate change is impacting Texans
Climate change is here. We want to document where its effects are being felt in Texas, how communities are adapting and what government officials should do to help. Full Story
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![A firefighter with Nueces County Fire Rescue surveys the burnt brush on March 31, 2022. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, a wildfire nearly 60,000 acres big, which was named the Borrega wildfire, burned through the King Ranch and surrounding areas.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Personal information of 1.8 million Texans with Department of Insurance claims was exposed for years, audit says
The personal data was accessible to the public because of a glitch in the code of the department’s web application. Full Story
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![The office of the Division of Workers' Compensation and the Offic of Injured Employee Counsel, both of which are housed at the Texas Department of Insurance.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Underdog Jane Hope Hamilton angling for an upset against Jasmine Crockett in Dallas-area congressional primary
Crockett is running on her experience as a legislator, a civil rights attorney and as the incumbent’s hand-picked successor. Hamilton is running on her more than 20 years as a behind-the-scenes congressional staffer and campaign adviser. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, and Jane Hope Hamilton are in a runoff in the 30th Congressional District, long held by outgoing U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas.]()
Credit: Jasmine Crockett: Sophie Park for The Texas Tribune; Jane Hope Hamilton: Social media
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