Texas lawmakers focus on friendship on legislative session's first day
With pomp and circumstance inside the Capitol and protests and prayer rallies outside it, the Texas Legislature kicked off its 85th session on Tuesday. Full Story
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Matthew Watkins began serving as editor in chief of the Tribune in September 2024. Matthew is a Texas native, born in Houston and raised in Austin. He attended public schools and graduated from Texas A&M University. He’s spent nearly two decades in Texas journalism, and previously worked at The Eagle in Bryan-College Station and The Dallas Morning News. Matthew joined the Tribune in 2015 has held various roles, including higher education reporter, breaking news editor and politics editor. As a managing editor, Matthew has guided the Tribune’s award-winning journalism and other reporting of statewide significance, including coverage of elections and legislative sessions to major breaking news and ambitious storytelling about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Texas-Mexico border, the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, the impeachment of Texas attorney general and battles over public education. He lives in Austin with his wife, Susan, and their two children.
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![A man preaches in the Capitol rotunda before the start of the 85th Texas Legislature on Jan. 10, 2017]()
Credit: Marjorie Cotera for the Texas Tribune -
Hey Texplainer: Is it legal for me to shoot my gun into the air in celebration?
Hey Texplainer: A state lawmaker who was hit in the head by a stray bullet during a New Year’s celebration says he plans to file a bill to stop "celebratory gunfire." Isn't shooting your gun into the air already illegal in Texas? Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court agrees to hear legal fight between regent and chancellor
The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in the long-running legal fight between University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall and Chancellor Bill McRaven. Full Story
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![Outgoing UT System Regent Wallace Hall (l.) and UT System Chancellor Bill McRaven.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Protests, politics and scandal defined 2016 for Texas universities
Colleges in Texas had a tense year, thanks to campus carry, racial incidents and the election. Full Story
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![UT Austin students protested in downtown after Donald Trump's presidential victory, Nov. 9, 2016.]()
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UT System administrators receive about $2 million in bonuses
University of Texas System regents authorized about $2 million worth of bonuses for executives this year. That is actually down from past years. Full Story
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![A look at the sun setting over the University of Texas at Austin Tower in 2011.]()
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New job for Charlie Strong means UT saves millions
Charlie Strong has a new job at the University of South Florida, which means the University of Texas at Austin will save some of the millions of dollars it owes its recently fired coach. Full Story
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![University of Texas at Austin football coach Charlie Strong has two years and more than $10 million left on his contract.]()
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Accreditation woes a distraction for UTRGV students
Students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley are worried after their school was placed on probation this week. The school's president says he is confident he'll get the problems fixed. Full Story
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![A student works on the campus of what was then the University of Texas at Brownsville. The university is now part of the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.]()
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Former football coach Art Briles sues Baylor University
Former Baylor football coach Art Briles is claiming that university regents libeled him and conspired to prevent him from getting a new job by telling journalists he knew about allegations of sexual assault against athletes and didn't report them. Full Story
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![The inside of McLane Stadium at Baylor University]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Tech plans for new veterinary school now "on pause"
Texas Tech University's plans to open a veterinary school in Amarillo have been placed on hold for now, the school's governing system confirmed. Full Story
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At A&M, protests, big crowds and tension over white nationalist's speech
Richard Spencer's speech at Texas A&M drew more than a thousand protesters. As he preached white nationalism, tension was high and police in riot gear tried to maintain calm. Full Story
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![White nationalist Richard Spencer speaks at Texas A&M University in College Station while Preston Wiginton, who privately arranged the event, listens, on December 6, 2016.]()