A bill before a Texas Senate committee is bringing into focus the simmering debate over local control in the state. It's a charge that has been backed by Gov. Greg Abbott and state legislators who see cities overstepping their authority. Full Story
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Speaking to a firefighters group on Tuesday gave U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz a chance to show how he might expand his following beyond a passionate conservative base in a general election. The reception he got was chilly. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which is nearly out of its current lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, has stockpiled the sedative midazolam. That drug could be part of a backup execution method in Texas, but it is at the center of a legal challenge. Full Story
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More than a decade after Cameron Todd Willingham was executed for the arson murder of his three young daughters, new evidence indicates that a key witness testified in return for a promise to have his own sentence reduced. Full Story
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A high-profile new employee in the Texas comptroller's office won't focus on revenue estimates or tax collection. Robert Gulley will, however, be looking at monarch butterfly migration patterns and the decline of freshwater mussels. Full Story
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The Texas A&M Health Science Center is asking state lawmakers for $2 million to start a first-of-its-kind degree program that would train forensic nurses in treating patients and gathering evidence in suspected sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and other cases. Full Story
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Safe running water remains out of reach for the residents of Las Pampas. The residents of this remote West Texas colonia are forced to haul water from miles away. This is part of our five-story Undrinkable series on border communities that lack reliable, clean water. Full Story
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Legislation intended to stop some government officials from collecting retirement benefits before leaving office appears to have a better prognosis the second time around. Full Story
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Efforts to ban longtime politicians from double-dipping their salaries and their pensions — as former Gov. Rick Perry started doing in 2011 — went nowhere two years ago. But this year the idea is picking up steam. Full Story
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With prices stumbling and crude oil backing up in refineries and tank farms across the state, Texas lawmakers are raising a cry for repeal of the 40-year-old ban on most crude oil exports. Full Story
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Two of the three candidates on the short list to be president of the University of Texas at Austin remain in the hunt, sources say. The front-runner comes with a very good pedigree — and a very large price tag. Full Story
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Use our Texas Legislative Guide to stay updated on the issues that lawmakers are debating this legislative session. This week, our featured section is Environment. Full Story
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Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is stepping up to help raise money for a super PAC supporting his dad's likely 2016 presidential campaign. Full Story
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A controversial immigration proposal scheduled for a public hearing Monday was postponed after a border Democrat argued that Republicans did not give the public sufficient notice about the meeting. Full Story
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We're partnering with Reveal — the Center for Investigative Reporting's innovative public radio program and podcast — to hire a long-form radio reporter. And it's someone Trib readers know well. Full Story
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Texas film heavyweights are asking lawmakers to create a separate funding strategy for video game incentives instead of continuing shared funding with film and television incentives. The video game lobby isn't ready for a split. Full Story
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Researchers have found that the water supply in Vinton is making people sick, but local politics have gotten in the way of a solution to connect to nearby El Paso's utilities. This is part two of our five-story Undrinkable series on border communities that lack reliable, clean water. Full Story
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This weekend, the Tribune launched a five-part series exploring the difficulties of people along the Texas-Mexico border in maintaining access to regular sources of drinking water. Full Story
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If you listen to the early speculation about the 2016 presidential race, you won't hear Rick Perry's name mentioned much among national analysts. But Perry is taking on a strategy in Iowa that has proved successful in recent Republican contests. Full Story
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On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics with host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey, talk turns to spending caps and constitutional amendments. Full Story
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