Texas has billions pledged to expand broadband. Spending it is taking a while.
Despite the efforts of local governments and others, the move to provide internet access to millions of Texans has been slow and faces new challenges. Full Story
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Berenice Garcia is a regional reporter covering the Rio Grande Valley. She works at the Tribune as a corps members with Report for America. She previously covered local government, crime, healthcare and general assignments for The Monitor in McAllen where she was born. Though she's spent the majority of her life in the Valley, she traveled east to attend New York University where she studied journalism and politics. While there, she interned at the New York Daily News, the Daily Beast and NBC News. When she’s not working, she enjoys fighting for her life at the gym. Berenice is based in McAllen.
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![A sign welcoming visitors to Big Lake. Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024.]()
Credit: Mitch Borden for The Texas Tribune -
Texas offers Trump administration more land and support for mass deportations
Two events in the Rio Grande Valley on Tuesday made clear Texas officials will work with the Trump administration on immigration. Full Story
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![Incoming Trump administration appointee Border Czar Tom Homan speaks to DPS Troopers and National Guard troops at a Thanksgiving dinner event in Edinburg on Nov. 26, 2024.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Despite back-to-back deals on water from Mexico, relief for South Texas farmers is far from certain
Texas agreed to take 120,000 acre-feet of water from Mexico this month, only after the U.S. and Mexico agreed to an updated treaty. Full Story
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![The Rio Grande river is seen where it meets with the San Juan River in Rio Grande City, Texas on Dec. 19, 2020.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
Trump’s first Texas visit after historic Rio Grande Valley win spurs mix of excitement, trepidation
The president-elect was in South Texas to witness a test flight at SpaceX, whose founder, Elon Musk, is co-leading Trump’s government efficiency commission. Full Story
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![U.S. President-elect Donald Trump looks on during a viewing of a SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, on Nov. 19, 2024.]()
Credit: Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS -
U.S.-Mexico water agreement might bring relief to parched South Texas
The amendment to a 1944 treaty will help Mexico catch up with its water deliveries to the U.S. and might help Rio Grande Valley farmers devastated by low rainfall. Full Story
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![A resaca near agriculture fields near Los Fresnos, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. The Rio Grande Valley is facing a drought, greatly affecting farmers in the region.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Trump’s near sweep of Texas border counties shows a shift to the right for Latino voters
The former president captured 55% of Latino voters in the state, according to exit polls. He also won 14 out of the 18 counties within 20 miles of the border, a number that doubled his 2020 performance in the Latino-majority region. Full Story
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![Gabriel Garza, left, augmentee with the sheriff’s office, congratulates, Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez, right, after the final vote counts for the night were announced around 10pm at Val Verde County Courthouse on election day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Del Rio, Texas. Martinez was in the lead ahead of his opponent Rogelio “Roger” Hernandez 7,926 votes to 6,033.]()
Credit: Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
Vicente Gonzalez defeats Mayra Flores to hold onto South Texas congressional district
Both major parties poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into winning the seat, a rematch between Mayra Flores and Vicente Gonzalez. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, declares victory over his Republican challenger, Mayra Flores, at a Brownsville watch party on Nov. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
In final days of Senate race, Cruz courts Latino voters along the border and Allred rallies in his hometown
Both candidates are making their closing arguments at the culmination of a heated and expensive race which could decide control of the U.S. Senate. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, and U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas.]()
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An election about elections: A South Texas town asks itself who should run voting operations
The Rio Grande City mayor and two of his fellow commissioners proposed the changes, claiming the city secretary mishandled their election. Full Story
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![Rio Grande City is the county seat of Starr County.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
In South Texas, university students accuse Democratic county officials of suppressing their votes
The county decided to not have an early voting site at a Laredo university because of historic low turnout. It will have one on Election Day. Full Story
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![Voting on the Texas A&M International University campus on Nov. 8, 2024.]()
Credit: Jessica Nicole Rodriguez for The Texas Tribune