Texas sues Shell over Houston-area chemical fire in May
The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages, claiming the three-day blaze at Shell’s Deer Park facility caused air and water pollution that violated state law. Full Story
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![Deer Park, Texas: An overhead view of an explosion at a Shell USA Inc. facility on May 5, 2023 in Deer Park, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Matt Schaefer will not seek reelection
The deeply conservative leader said he is looking forward to spending time with his family, church and business — but added that a return to politics is possible if a Texas Senate seat opens up. Full Story
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![State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, with his family on the House floor on opening day of the 88th Texas Legislature at the Texas Capitol on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Motivated by grieving parents, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has made fentanyl crisis a priority
The Republican from Texas has combined attention to border issues with efforts to address deadly overdoses, including ideas that are opposed by some in his party, such as decriminalizing test strips. Full Story
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Gen Z influencers, quietly recruited by a company with deep GOP ties, rally to impeached Ken Paxton’s aid
After a June gathering in Fort Worth sponsored by a new company, Influenceable, social media leaders began backing the suspended Texas attorney general and a controversial human trafficking film. Those who favor transparency in political advocacy are concerned. Full Story
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![Trump supporters greeted campaign surrogates — former campaign manager Brad Parscale, senior adviser Katrina Pierson and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — during a bus tour stop on Sept. 3, 2020 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Christopher Lee for The Texas Tribune -
“We’d lose one after the next”: Texas bats face a pandemic of their own
Weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic swept into Texas, a biologist found a dead bat covered in a white fungus — the state’s first official case of white-nose syndrome. Now, scientists are on a mission to understand how many bats have been lost. Full Story
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![Lee Mackenzie, co-founder of the Austin Bat Refuge, holds a Mexican free-tailed bat in his hands inside their flight cage in Austin on July 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Department of Education reaffirms Baylor’s religious exemption in response to sexual harassment complaints
The university had asked the federal agency to dismiss sexual harassment complaints by LGBTQ+ students, arguing that the claims infringed on the school’s religious tenets. Full Story
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![The Old Main building behind the Burleson Quadrangle at Baylor University in Waco on Dec. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Sheriff says U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson cursed at officers, threatened his job in rodeo altercation
The Amarillo Republican was briefly detained in the incident as he was trying to help a teenager suffering from a seizure. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo, listens to speakers during a press conference on border security with other House Republicans, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 24, 2023.]()
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas House committee report outlines possible path forward for school vouchers
The House blocked school vouchers during this year’s regular lawmaking session, but a report released Friday shows some members might be willing to approve a scaled-back version of the program that doesn’t compete with public schools for funds. Full Story
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![Cactus Elementary School in Cactus on Jan. 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
A prison guard says she was forced to stay at her post during labor pains. Texas is fighting compensation for her stillbirth.
The seven-months-pregnant officer reported contraction-like pains at work, but said she wasn’t allowed to leave for hours. The anti-abortion state is fighting her lawsuit, in part by saying her fetus didn’t clearly have rights. Full Story
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![Prisoners work outdoors at the Dr. Lane Murray Unit, a women's prison that's part of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Ousted Rep. Bryan Slaton’s tarnished legacy looms over special election to replace him
Candidates are promising to restore integrity to the district, including one Republican who has welcomed endorsements from some of Slaton’s leading supporters. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, waits to ask a question on the House floor during session at the state Capitol in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Federal grand jury reportedly calls witnesses related to Ken Paxton
The Austin American-Statesman reported that the grand jury has been convened in San Antonio. The identities of the witnesses and the focus of the inquiry remain unclear. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attends a campaign event during a Bulverde Spring Branch Conservative Republicans meeting in Bulverde on May 16, 2022. 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 -
New forecast predicts more hurricanes because of record-warm sea surface temperatures
Texas meteorologists remind residents to make sure they have a plan in the event of a tropical storm Full Story
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![Highway 225 in Deer Park along the Houston Ship channel during a heavy downpour from Hurricane Harvey on Saturday Aug. 26, 2017. Deer Park is in U.S. Congressional District 36.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
After property-tax deal, Speaker Dade Phelan weighs in on leadership relations, next special session, reelection
Rapport among the state’s top three Republicans has greatly improved, the House leader said, but another relationship-testing special session awaits on contentious education issues. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan gavels in the session on May 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Dallas developer starts construction at former Fairfield Lake State Park despite threat of land seizure
Todd Interests, which plans to turn the former park into a high-end subdivision, has a week left to respond to the state’s final offer for the property. Full Story
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Credit: Courtesy of Foxfield Agency -
Texas state troopers are routinely stopping motorists of color in Austin, data shows
More than 8 in 10 people charged by state troopers since they began helping Austin police have been people of color. In Southeast Austin, a neighborhood president calls it “outright racial profiling.” Full Story
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![DPS troopers make a traffic stop in southeast Austin on Aug. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texans do not need a license to carry, but some gun owners still want one
Since the permitless carry law passed in 2021, Texans have not needed a license to carry a gun. But gun instructors and some gun owners still see the benefits in taking the classes necessary to obtain a license. Full Story
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![Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works, trains and instructs a group of people during a license-to-carry class at the Lone Star Gun Range in Lockhart on Aug. 5, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
In federal trial, Galveston County challenged on efforts to undo Black and Latino voting power
The coastal county faces a drawn-out trial over claims of intentional discrimination in its 2021 redistricting of commissioners court precincts. The only district in which Black and Latino voters could meaningfully influence elections was dismantled. Full Story
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![A statue of a returning Confederate soldier on Thursday, April 21, 2022 in Galveston, TX. Known as The “Dignified Resignation,” the monument has stood in front of the Galveston County Courthouse since 1911. Commissioner Stephen Holmes made a motion to have the statue removed in 2020 but it was not supported by any other commissioners.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas is preparing for more wildfires without a break from heat in forecast
The number of acres burned this year is dramatically lower compared to 2022. But a rash of new fires have put state and local officials on edge. Full Story
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![Bastrop County Sheriffs Department evacuated businesses and residences as multiple first responders including Bastrop Fire, Round Rock Fire, Austin Fire Department and Travis County ESD join together to fight a powder Keg Pine Fire in Bastrop on Tuesday Aug. 1, 2023.]()
Credit: USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Co -
High Plains farmers are experimenting with novel techniques to protect Texas’ future soil
A minority of farmers in the Texas High Plains region are looking to organic and regenerative techniques to keep their soil healthy year round, despite a dry climate. Full Story
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![A field of corn in the Panhandle near Dumas in June, 2013.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for the Texas Tribune -
Democrats Colin Allred, Roland Gutierrez draw distinctions on key issues as they target Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024
Heading into the primary, the U.S. House member and state senator answer questions on guns, the border, abortion and other parts of their platforms. Full Story
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![From left: State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, and U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas. The two are running to be the Democratic nominee to face Ted Cruz in the 2024 senatorial race.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune | Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERS
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