Voting sites expected to open in Panhandle on Tuesday, despite wildfires
Candidates continued their campaigns at a subdued pace, as they focused on getting resources for fire victims. Full Story
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Karen Brooks Harper
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Karen Brooks Harper reported on the state budget and health and human services from 2020 to 2024. An alumna of the Missouri School of Journalism, Karen arrived in Texas in 1995 to join the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, spent several years in Laredo and Mexico covering immigration and the drug war for Knight-Ridder newspapers, and has covered Texas politics for more than two decades for news organizations including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Dallas Morning News and Reuters.
Past Contributions
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![While some homes in the Fritch area were spared from the Windy Deuce Fire, others were completely destroyed.]()
Credit: Neil Starkey for the Amarillo Globe-News/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
Abbott vowed to campaign against anti-voucher GOP House members. Why did these six candidates get spared?
With the March 5 election just a few days away, six anti-voucher House GOP incumbents managed to sidestep Abbott’s revenge warpath. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott during a property tax cut bill signing ceremony in New Caney, on Aug. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott, Tim Dunn spend millions in Texas GOP primary fights over vouchers, impeachment
Texans For Lawsuit Reform and pro-voucher groups are also spending millions. Full Story
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![Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signs a bill banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates at the Governor's Mansion in Austin on Nov. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Rep. Victoria Neave Criado launched a surprise bid against fellow Democrat Sen. Nathan Johnson. Here’s why she did it.
In a district composed mostly of communities of color, Neave Criado hopes to topple Johnson with her stances on immigration, domestic violence and women’s issues. Full Story
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![State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, and State Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune and Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune. -
Child welfare officials move to reduce Texas judge’s oversight of embattled foster system
The request to remove several court orders marks the first time the state has made any major attempt to get out from under an injunction issued in the 13-year-old case. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services offices in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Frustration boils as Gov. Greg Abbott, AG Ken Paxton target GOP incumbents
Big spending and anger surround reelection bids for state House members like Glenn Rogers, who’s facing heat for votes on vouchers and Ken Paxton’s impeachment. Full Story
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![State Rep. Glenn Rogers, R-Graford, walks to his desk on the House floor prior the gaveling in of the second special session of 2021 on Saturday, August 7.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House candidate Kyle Biedermann blasts expulsion of Bryan Slaton, removed for having sex with a drunk intern
In a statement, Biedermann said the point he was trying to make was that leaders “selectively punish impropriety.” Full Story
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![Former state Reps. Bryan Slaton, Kyle Biedermann on the House floor at the state Capitol in Austin on April 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton could face public trial in whistleblower lawsuit after judge’s ruling
A Travis County judge denied the attorney general’s attempt to decide the case without a jury. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton sits between his attorneys Tony Buzbee, left, and Mitch Little, right, during final prosecutor arguments as both sides have rested in the suspended Attorney General's impeachment trial September 15, 2023 in Austin.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
More Texans than ever before enrolled in ACA health plans in 2024, feds say
The final enrollment numbers, released Wednesday, touched off discussions over whether Texas should create its own marketplace exchange. Full Story
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![Medical assistant Alesia Bolden checks Nereyda Penaloza's vital signs during a visit to Women's Services at CommUnityCare, a federally qualified health center, Feb. 25, 2013, in Austin.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa/The Texas Tribune -
Facing pressure from judge, Texas reassigns workers to care for foster kids in unlicensed homes
The move is designed to reduce some of the rotating overtime shifts expected of agency caseworkers at group homes and motels, which have been criticized as dangerous for the children who live there. Full Story
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![Photo of a the Department of Family and Protective Services children without placement (CWOP) home in Belton visited by court-appointed monitors checking on the living conditions of children in the care of the state.]()
Credit: Court-appointed foster care monitors