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Dan Keemahill gathers and analyzes data on health outcomes and access in Texas. A native of Sacramento, Dan is a graduate of Northwestern University and started his journalism career as a contributor to the Tribune's schools and government salaries explorers. He previously covered public education for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative unit and worked with datasets related to immigrant detention centers, elections and the COVID-19 pandemic at USA Today.
Texas law bans the sale of synthetic kratom, but it isn’t enforced. Earlier this year, legislation died in the Texas House to ban the natural plant, too. Full Story
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Experts say poison control data don’t specify which calls are related to hemp versus more dangerous K2, but show that most THC poisonings cause minor side effects. Full Story
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In the last nine years, federal funding for a system has been denied to the county as it contends with a tax base hostile to government overspending. Full Story
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In the deadly summer of 2020, Hispanics in Texas were half of all COVID-19 deaths, spurring many to vaccinate. Today, in a startling flip, Hispanics make up less than a quarter of deaths from the disease. Full Story
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The decision to strip chapters from books that had already won the approval of the state’s Republican-controlled board of education represents an escalation in how local school boards run by ideological conservatives influence what children learn. Full Story
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In six Texas districts that used at-large voting systems, ideologically driven groups successfully helped elect school board members who have moved aggressively to ban or remove educational materials that teach children about diversity. Full Story
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Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold. Full Story
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The Texas Senate has proposed injecting a staggering half a billion dollars into film production, as economists and fiscal hawks question the return on investment. Full Story
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Two of the four cases are in Lubbock, which hasn’t seen a case in more than 20 years. Meanwhile, measles vaccination rates in Texas have fallen over the last four years. Full Story
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Emboldened by Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s nomination and disdain for pandemic-era mandates, skeptics are pushing for bills to make it easier to opt out of vaccines. Full Story
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