As Texas prepares to argue a school finance appeal before the state Supreme Court, districts still are grappling with staffing cuts, swelling class sizes and flat test scores exacerbated by the 2011 budget cuts.

After a setback in court Thursday, can the federal government enforce its controversial "Waters of the U.S." rule in Texas? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says yes. Texas says no.

State lawmakers inflicted deep cuts on the incentive program Texas uses to lure film, television and video game productions to the state. Now, industry advocates say Texas-based productions — like the critically acclaimed Friday Night Lights — will be scarcer. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series.

Renewing his vow to sue if the answer is no, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday officially asked the Environmental Protection Agency to halt a sweeping plan designed to combat climate change while existing legal challenges from other states play out.

Pope Francis has called on people of faith and science to come together and address the perils of climate change, and President Obama has finalized his ambitious carbon-cutting Clean Power Plan. But Texas Republicans aren't signing on, Catholic or not.

President Obama on Monday unveiled the final version of his state-by-state effort to combat climate change by reshaping the nation’s energy sector – a plan that has roiled Republican leaders in Texas.

After President Obama unveils the nitty-gritty of his sweeping, state-by-state plan to fight climate change, no one doubts Texas will sue. But some who will bear the brunt of complying with the new regulations are calling that knee-jerk reaction shortsighted.

Texas’ Republican leaders and environmentalists are both claiming victory Tuesday following an appeals court ruling that requires the federal government to ease limits on certain emissions for Texas and a dozen other states.

A sharp increase in heat-related deaths and storm-related losses. A decrease in worker productivity and crop yields. A new climate change study paints a bleak picture for Texas over the coming decades — if nothing is done to address the much-debated warming trend.

Like many Texas lockups, the Waller County Jail staff had not been sufficiently trained in safeguarding suicidal or mentally ill inmates. Part of the problem is underfunding and understaffing at the state agency overseeing the network of 244 local and private jails.

UPDATED: From transmission pipelines to desalination plants, the Texas Water Development Board approved funding on Thursday for dozens of water supply projects from Marfa to Houston, including a handful to promote conservation.

For the first time in more than five years, Texas no longer is in a drought. While less than 3 percent of the state remains “abnormally dry,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, drought has disappeared from every other part of Texas.

Despite the record dry stretch, most Texans are still far from running out of water. But the drought's economic impact is beginning to extend beyond agriculture and into tourism, real estate and other staples of urban economies.