In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Shellfish face threat in acidification of Texas bays, a new report says sprinklers are used too much and an interview with Wenwei Xu, a professor and corn breeder based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock. Full Story
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Texas Republicans have long used the Affordable Care Act as a political punching bag, but that hasn’t stopped state budget writers from taking $102 million from the president's signature health care law to pay some bills. Full Story
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How many people die at oil refineries each year? Longstanding federal record-keeping practices make it incredibly tough to answer that simple question. Review the deaths at refineries in the 10 years before and after the infamous Texas City explosion. Full Story
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GOP budget writers had help closing the books on the Medicaid program for the current fiscal year with help from an unlikely source — the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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The Texas Ethics Commission can't do its job if compliance is "wholly voluntary," says one member who thinks the commission should stop all enforcement activities in response to a judge's recent dismissal of its ruling against conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan. Full Story
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Legislation that would remove Texas judges from the straight-ticket voting process garnered a mostly cool reception Tuesday at a hearing, as both Democrats and Republicans said that tinkering with the ballot turns off voters. Full Story
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The final piece of a high-profile border security package got moving Tuesday when a House committee heard House Bill 12 by state Rep. Oscar Longoria, which would elevate the state's Border Prosecution Unit into an official statutory being. Full Story
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Likely 2016 presidential candidate Scott Walker is headed to the Texas-Mexico border on Friday, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will be there to show him the ropes. Full Story
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A Senate committee has advanced legislation to limit local control over oil and gas activities across Texas. The proposal is among nearly a dozen filed in response to a North Texas town's vote to ban hydraulic fracturing. Full Story
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The House Public Health Committee on Tuesday discussed five bills that would extend current restrictions on tobacco products to vapor products like e-cigarettes. The Senate passed similar legislation last week. Full Story
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On his second official day as a presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz sat down with the Tribune's Jay Root for a wide-ranging, one-on-one interview that touched on global warming, marijuana legalization and his use of email. Full Story
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Check out Texas Tribune political reporter Jay Root's one-on-one interview in New York City with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas' junior senator and the nation's first declared 2016 presidential candidate. Full Story
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The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday backed a $209.8 billion two-year budget that would leave $8.4 billion on the table, along with billions more in the state’s savings account. The budget plan now goes to the full House. Full Story
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Five state lawmakers — all former college athletes — gathered at the University of Texas at Austin to talk about the parallels between athletics and governing and the lessons they learned from high school and college sports. Full Story
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The full Senate is set to vote this week on a package of tax cut bills Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has championed, yet the measures have drawn opposition from some big business groups who argue that senators are cutting the wrong taxes. Full Story
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Looking for a home base to learn about U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas' junior senator and the first declared presidential candidate of the 2016 cycle? We've got you covered. Check out our Tedpedia page for news, photos, videos and more. Full Story
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Even Texans with the greenest of lawns are watering them too much, experts say. And if everyone would turn on the sprinklers only twice a week — still probably more than necessary — the water savings would be significant, according to a report released Tuesday. Full Story
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Ten years after the 2005 Texas City refinery explosion, hear from two workers who survived it — but lost many of their friends. These videos and vignettes are part of a collaboration between The Texas Tribune and the Houston Chronicle. Full Story
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So what's next for Ted Cruz after his splashy announcement Monday that he's an official candidate for the White House in 2016? The answer is pretty straightforward: It's now nose-to-the-grindstone time. Full Story
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After Denton voters decided to ban fracking in their town, it seemed likely this Legislature will do something to rein in cities that try to regulate oil and gas production. But one likely approach by Rep. Drew Darby is stoking local fears. Full Story
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