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Jessica Priest covers higher education, working in partnership with Open Campus. She joined the Tribune in 2022 as an engagement reporter in the ProPublica/Texas Tribune joint investigative unit, contributing to a series that was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in the explanatory reporting category. Prior to the Tribune, Jessica worked for the Fort Worth Report, USA Today, the Victoria Advocate and the Temple Daily Telegram, reporting on topics that included criminal justice, the environment and local government. Her work has often made an impact. The state’s highest criminal court granted a death row inmate a new trial after she detailed a prosecutor’s conflicts of interest. After she exposed questionable hirings and payments at a port and later a water district in another part of the state, both public entities underwent reforms. Jessica was born in Houston and graduated from Sam Houston State University.
A federal judge blocked a new National Institutes of Health policy from going into effect in 22 states that sued the agency, but Texas wasn’t part of the suit. Full Story
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Students at the university created their own news organization — The Retrograde — after they reached an impasse with administrators regarding oversight and the firing of the campus newspaper’s editor-in-chief. Full Story
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Legislators are expected to take up a $360 million proposal that would change the landscape of financial aid in the state. Full Story
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Texas cities, counties, higher education institutions and nonprofits clambered Tuesday to gauge the potential fallout from the suspension, later blocked temporarily by a federal judge. Full Story
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Abbott's comments came after A&M invited staffers and students to attend a conference that a conservative activist said broke the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Full Story
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In recent years university presidents have been facing growing political pressures, student and faculty pushback and an increasingly demanding job. Full Story
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Hartzell leaves UT-Austin after four years of tense political battles and legislative efforts to implement a more conservative vision of public higher ed. Full Story
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State leaders have shown a decadeslong antipathy toward the health insurance program. If Trump makes severe reductions, it’s unlikely leaders would have the political will to make up any lost federal funds with state money, experts say. Full Story
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Tell us about any trouble you have trying to vote, so we can continue to report on potential challenges Texans may face at the ballot box. Full Story
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Two years later, the donation highlights a gap in government oversight at a time when state and local officials are increasingly blurring the lines between church and state. Full Story
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