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William Melhado is an Austin-based general assignment reporter. He originally joined the Tribune in 2022 as a Poynter-Koch fellow. He previously worked as a staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter, an alt-weekly newspaper in New Mexico. Before pursuing a career in journalism, William worked as an educator for five years and taught science at a public high school in the Bronx, New York and taught at international schools in Tanzania and Nepal. A native of Boulder, Colorado, William graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and earned a master’s in secondary science education at CUNY Lehman College.
The House approved a bill Monday that would ban doctors from providing transition-related care to children. It now heads back to the Senate, which can accept the changes or ask for a committee to iron out the chambers’ differences. Full Story
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In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas’ law banning sodomy in 2003. It took almost 20 years for Democrats to get a bill to repeal the defunct ban on the House calendar. Full Story
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With six weeks remaining in the legislative session, advocates implored Texans to join the “resistance” against fast-moving efforts to curb health care, drag queens, education, trans athletes and more. Full Story
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Under the legislation, minors currently receiving certain gender-affirming care would have to taper off their treatments. A majority of Texas lawmakers in each chamber has supported previous versions of the legislation. Full Story
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Spurred by a groundswell of far-right support, the Texas Senate has passed all of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority LGBTQ bills — and then some. What the House does next will impact queer Texans’ lives and could determine Speaker Phelan’s future. Full Story
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Llano County commissioners had considered closing the three libraries in response to a ruling from a federal judge who ordered banned books returned to the shelves. Full Story
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House Bill 20 introduced by Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would create a unit whose officers can “arrest, apprehend, or detain persons crossing the Texas-Mexico border unlawfully,” and deter those attempting to cross the border. Full Story
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The governor says he asked the Board of Pardons and Paroles to expedite review, recommend clemency one day after Perry was convicted of murder. Full Story
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Daniel Perry, who was driving for Uber, shot 28-year-old Foster during a protest against police brutality blocks away from the state Capitol in July 2020. Full Story
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Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, in his case over alleged hush money payments made to an adult film star. Many of his fellow Republicans in Texas lambasted the legal development. Full Story
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