According to a new report, students who try to save money on bachelor's degrees by beginning at community colleges tend to borrow as often and as much as their counterparts who begin at a four-year university. Full Story
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Buoyed by positive economic news, the Legislature rides back into town today, with a daunting list of priorities in tow. Full Story
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The Health and Human Services Commission says the Texas Women’s Health Program has a greater capacity to serve impoverished women than its predecessor, a joint state-federal program that ended after the state excluded clinics affiliated with abortion providers. Full Story
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Your evening reading: Combs delivers improved state budget news; Huffman to lead Senate Republican Caucus; Cornyn calls Hagel "profoundly wrong" on national security issues Full Story
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A new report estimates that the federal government spent $18 billion on immigration enforcement efforts in fiscal year 2012, about 24 percent more than it spent on all major law enforcement agencies combined. Full Story
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Here's a list of the Twitter handles of the 120 state lawmakers who do the communications thing 140 characters at a time. Full Story
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A day before the start of the 2013 legislative session, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs delivered much-improved budget news compared with two years ago. Lawmakers will have $101.4 billion for their next two-year budget. Full Story
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Doctors in the Rio Grande Valley are leading the charge to restore cuts to Medicaid in the last session. They want lawmakers to ensure that Medicare and Medicaid benefits add up to 100 percent of dual-eligible patients' bills. They're expecting a fight. Full Story
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The most observant Trib fans may have already noticed: There are some small-to-the-eye but big-for-the-site changes to how we organize news and information. Full Story
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An upcoming expansion of the Panama Canal will boost Texas exports but not do as much for imports, according to a report commissioned by the Texas Department of Transportation. Full Story
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With the 83rd Texas legislative session beginning Tuesday, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at the priorities and challenges facing legislators as they head into the 140-day lawmaking scramble. Full Story
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The approaching legislative session — now less than a day away — has pushed one politician squarely into the spotlight. Full Story
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A few days after they were sworn into Congress, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, appeared on the Sunday talk shows. Full Story
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With improving fiscal conditions and redistricting in the rearview, lawmakers are approaching 2013 with pressing policy questions, from whether to introduce private school vouchers to whether to implement key provisions of federal health reform. Full Story
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Aaronson with the latest on Texas vs. Planned Parenthood, Aguilar on Mexico's push for sovereignty, Galbraith on water conservation ideas, Grissom on the state's rape kit backlog, Hamilton on UT's plans for a new Valley university, Ramsey on legislating interrupting politicking, Ramshaw on how Texans in Congress voted on the fiscal cliff, the first two parts of Rocha and Dehn's multimedia series on community concerns coming to the Capitol and M. Smith on what the school finance trial means for the 83rd session: The best of our best content from Dec. 31, 2012, to Jan. 4, 2013. Full Story
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Your evening reading: eight Texas Republicans vote against Sandy relief bill; Cornyn open to government shutdown in debt ceiling debate; Joaquin Castro elected president of freshman Democratic class Full Story
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Lawmakers will descend on the state Capitol next week to kick off the 83rd legislative session, and a host of issues related to energy and the environment — from funding a state water plan to reforming regulatory agencies — awaits them. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear a major cross-border water case that pits Tarrant County against Oklahoma. North Texas wants water, but Oklahoma doesn't want to sell. Full Story
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The Texas attorney general's office secured $36 million Friday in a lawsuit settlement with Pfizer Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals, which had been accused of illegally inflating the market prices of certain drugs in reports to the state. Full Story
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State officials are optimistic about the new Texas Women’s Health Program, which launched this week amid a long-running legislative fight. But at least one state lawmaker thinks there’s a problem with the program’s list of providers. Full Story
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