Texas made sweeping changes to bail and parole, along with increasing penalties for stolen goods
Texas lawmakers approved a sweeping package to overhaul the state’s bail system, a longtime priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/af4e41df2f3c643e3a6740e09f6dc80f/0131%20Ivan%20Cantu%20MC%20TT%2001.jpg)
-
![An empty visitation window at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Jan. 31, 2024.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Some Texans fear a looming THC ban could return them to opioids, illegal options
Texas hemp users stockpile products and consider moving out of state as ban looms, saying the medical marijuana program is currently an untenable alternative. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ae3d51b8621c9c6f1e8d9811830ebee5/0615%20THC%20BAN%20IMPACT%20IS%20TT%2006.jpg)
![Wesley Barnes, 55, stands for a portrait at his home in Onalaska, Texas on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Barnes, a Gulf War veteran who has long struggled with pain, tried legal opiates and illegal THC over the years before finding affordable and effective relief in legal hemp flower beginning in 2018.]()
Credit: Ishika Samant for the Texas Tribune -
With only 8% built, Texas quietly defunds state border wall program
Texas officials suggested the federal government could pick up construction. However, during President Trump’s first term, his administration built about one-third of what the state was able to put up in the same amount of time. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9fab72db1b4770f2d1b99a0879f4dec5/0923%20Texas%20Border%20Wall%20BL%20TT%20207.jpg)
![A section of state-built border wall under construction near the banks of the Rio Grande south of Laredo in Zapata Co. on Sept. 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The 2025 Texas House, from right to left
Here’s a look at House members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on votes cast during the 2025 regular session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1357a5b42276b2b722b878cabb9bb560/0523%20House%20Gallery%20File%20BD%20TT%2006.jpg)
![The Texas House on May 23, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Two Texas congressmembers named on alleged Minnesota assassin’s hit list
Reps. Veronica Escobar and Joaquin Castro were among the 45 elected officials placed on a hit list by a man accused of killing a former Minnesota House speaker and her husband. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ab8fde4eb011754ea6161ca4e196c30a/0510%20Veronica%20Escobar%20REUTERS%20TT%2001.jpg)
![U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, speaks during Madres de la Frontera: Love Without Borders, a peaceful protest denouncing separation and honoring unity, on Saturday, May 10, 2025.]()
Credit: Gaby Velasquez/El Paso Times/USA TODAY Network via REUTERS -
Texas DPS makes arrest after warning state lawmakers of “credible threats” tied to Capitol protest
The agency said there was no additional active threat, as Austin demonstrators took aim at the Trump administration. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e2b6d2fb358d2c3852b200f22a8a0c0a/DPS%20Texas%20Capitol%20MG%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Texas Department of Public Safety vehicles outside of the state Capitol on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
“They’re taking Shirly”: An Army sergeant in Houston thought his family was safe, then ICE deported his wife
For tens of thousands of U.S. service members with undocumented family members, there’s no guaranteed protection from immigration raids. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/fbb88e8bedcb455bdcc6384c7e538635/War%20Horse%20Deported%20TT%2003.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Photo courtesy of Ayssac Correa/Illustration by Hrisanthi Pickett of The War Horse -
Watch a conversation with retiring Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp
Beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, we’ll discuss the future of higher education and how state politics has changed over four decades Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b1f617ca9c7c30b270b42df5504d65d4/06-17_SharpConvo-Lead-Logo-01-v1.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
South Padre Island officials worried about FEMA’s potential disaster spending cuts
The Trump administration is proposing limits to the recreational facilities — including beaches — that are eligible for federal assistance. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Seal_SouthPadre_05.JPG)
![The beach in the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge on South Padre Island.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
Here are some of the Texas Democrats eyeing statewide runs in 2026
Democrats will need to sort through a pileup of potential candidates who see an opportunity to harness backlash to the Trump administration in next year’s midterms. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/73b3834a8d17a36adb92ede103a950a1/0606%20TDP%20Convention%20JH%20TT%2030.jpg)
![Beto O’Rourke speaks at the Texas Democratic Convention Reception Kick-Off in El Paso, Texas on June 6, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers laid the foundation for a housing boom. Here’s how.
The Legislature passed laws allowing smaller homes on smaller lots and making it harder for neighbors to block new housing. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1b586d184a6284f35f080c3d4bcb5dcd/Housing%20North%20Austin%20AI%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Houses in a North Austin neighborhood on Oct. 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
After El Paso joined Abbott’s border crackdown, the number of dead migrants in the New Mexico desert surged
Since El Paso joined Operation Lone Star in 2022, migrant remains discovered in the desert west of the city have increased every year, even as they have declined in every other border sector. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4a73d0518563f2e20fab7b6d9ec2725c/redo_desktop_01%2020250503%20Migrant%20Remains%20JH%2043.jpg)
![Doña Ana County Sheriff Deputy N. Al-Abayad, left, and Detective Alan Barbosa transport a body bag containing the bones of a migrant, first found by volunteers with Battalion Search and Rescue, on May 3, 2025. The discovery of migrant bodies in the desert has spiked since El Paso joined Texas’ Operation Lone Star.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Photos: “No Kings” protests across Texas
Eight Tribune photographers in eight Texas cities covered Saturday’s “No Kings” protests. Here is some of their work. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/131498d33861db7db09e6852932b15b3/0614%20Austin%20No%20Kings%20Protest%20RB%20TT%2038.jpg)
![A protester hold the Texas Flag in the air after the No Kings protest on Saturday, June 14, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
As Trump celebrates military, Texans protest president’s aggressive immigration enforcement
Demonstrations in McAllen, Midland, Odessa, Austin and elsewhere in Texas were largely peaceful, as some protests went well into the night. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/32475e9b31927057b363863d8a13df59/0614%20Houston%20No%20Kings%20Protest%20AT%20TT%2010.jpg)
![Beth Vaughan, at center, chants as protestors march up Walker Street during a No Kings protest at City Hall, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Houston.]()
Credit: Antranik Tavitian for The Texas Tribune -
What to know about Texas ending in-state tuition for undocumented students
Some implications of the ruling ordering the policy’s end are still unknown. College access experts urged affected students not to withdraw from school while they assess their options. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2c2db04d4a6c61f0dce367c69f9544c4/UTEP%20MAY19%20JAJ%2008%20TT.jpg)
![Students head to classes at the University of Texas at El Paso on May 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Joel Angel Juárez for The Texas Tribune -
Undocumented students rethink their college dreams after Texas cuts their access to cheaper tuition
Thousands of undocumented students who grew up in Texas now face college tuition costs that are more than twice what other state residents pay. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/48972742fc7d38710fbc17cd9cbf69e8/0608%20Undocumented%20Tuition%20SF%20TT%2009.jpg)
![Jorge poses for a portrait on Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Lockhart, TX. Jorge had planned on transferring from Austin Community College to Texas State University but cannot afford the out of state tuition. He is planning to take classes through a Mexican university online. On June 4th a federal judge invalidated the law known as the "Texas Dream Act" which went into law in 2001. The law was largely uncontroversial when it passed with few votes against it but its end is being celebrated by Republican lawmakers in the Texas house and Governor Greg Abbott.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Watch a conversation with North Texas lawmakers on legislative session’s impact
State Reps. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, and Salman Bhojani, D-Euless, discussed the House’s move toward the right. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/539e944f2fc36e08cfc148ff5201480f/06-13_NTSession-Lead-Logo-v1.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Lawmakers passed bills this session to boost the state power grid but failed to limit renewables
With demand expected to soar, the Legislature passed bills aimed at boosting supply and making the grid more reliable. Bills to impose more regulations on renewables died. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0fd7532bd8468dbceb320d39f0fb36a5/021825%20Permian%20Basin%20File%20REUTERS%20EH%20TT%2004.jpg)
![A pump jack operates near a gas turbine power plant in the Permian Basin oil field outside of Odessa, Texas, U.S. February 18, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Eli Hartman -
Top Texas donor slams Speaker Burrows, House members after legislative setbacks
Texans for Lawsuit Reform is threatening to primary House members who helped kill their major legislative priorities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/81c4ecab4075ed88a7c399d400752806/Texans%20for%20Lawsuit%20Reform%20PPTT%20HChron.jpg)
![After coming up empty in the Texas Legislature this year, the state's biggest political donor, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, put out a blistering statement blaming House members for stifling its agenda. The letter blamed a slew of House members, including Houston Speaker Dustin Burrows, top, and freshman Rep. Mitch Little.]()
Credit: Susan Barber, Houston Chronicle -
Texas clarified when abortions are OK and aligned with RFK Jr. on health this legislative session
Amid a quiet legislative session for health, lawmakers’ priority legislation reinforced the U.S. health secretary’s agenda. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3ff5057d8c8ecf14a04e6903e75528b0/0501%20Measles%20HHS%20Lab%20IPL%20TT%2016.jpg)
![An entire floor of the Texas Department of State Health Services Labortory building in Austin, Texas is dedicated to newborn screening. May 1, 2025.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune