State Rep. Abel Herrero announces he will not seek a 10th term
The moderate Democrat from Robstown chairs the Corrections Committee. Full Story
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![State Rep. Abel Herrero with his family on the House floor on the first day of the 2017 Texas legislative session, on Jan. 10, 2017.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas National Guard soldier won’t face civilian charges in border shooting of migrant
The soldier, serving as part of Operation Lone Star, said he accidentally fired his weapon, wounding the migrant in January. Full Story
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![Asylum-seeking migrants walk as they are escorted by National Guard officers, after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico, at Eagle Pass on July 26, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Go Nakamura -
Gunman in 2019 El Paso mass shooting receives 90 life sentences
Patrick Crusius pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday in federal court. He still faces state charges, and the local district attorney says he intends to seek the death penalty. Full Story
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![From left: Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Hanna, defendant Patrick Crusius, defense attorney Joe Spencer, and U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, during the sentencing hearing of David Crusius in El Paso, on July 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Nacho Garcia Jr./Special to El Paso Times -
TribCast: Extreme heat and the toll of climate change on Texas
In this week’s episode, we speak with The Texas Tribune’s climate reporter Erin Douglas about why it’s been so hot in Texas and examine the long-term implications as climate change shifts the entire range of Texas heat upward. Full Story
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![Jackson Maniradukunda, 20, runs sprints while working out in the early morning at Yellow Jacked Stadium at Eastside Early College High School in Austin on June 28, 2023.]()
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1.4 million Texans’ student debts won’t be canceled. But a new loan repayment plan could bring savings.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ended President Joe Biden’s debt cancellation program, advocates for lowering student loan debt say the federal SAVE plan, an updated loan repayment program, could save Texans and other borrowers a lot of money in interest. Full Story
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![Students walk the University of North Texas campus in Denton, TX on February 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
With new federal food stamp limits coming, advocates mobilize to inform Texas recipients
A requirement to work 80 hours a month, starting in September, could affect 44,000 Texans over age 49. Meanwhile, attention in Congress shifts to the farm bill’s significant impact on food stamp policy. Full Story
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![The fresh produce section of a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Buffalo on June 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Deer Park chemical fire in 2019 could have been prevented, federal investigation finds
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found that the ITC tank farm lacked crucial equipment to warn workers about the failure that led to the three-day fire. Full Story
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![Firefighters struggle to extinguish the towering flames pouring out of ITC’s tank 80-8 on the afternoon of March 17, 2019. The fire would blow through the entire “2nd 80’s” section of the facility.]()
Credit: Courtesy of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -
“I want them to haunt you”: Man who killed 23 at El Paso Walmart hears from victims’ families
During the gunman’s sentencing, relatives of those killed nearly four years ago are telling him how he upended their lives. Full Story
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![As U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama listens, Francisco Javier Rodriguez, father of Javier Amir Rodriguez, testifies at the sentencing hearing of David Crusius, who killed 23 people and wounded 22 others at an El Paso Walmart on Aug. 3, 2019.]()
Credit: Nacho Garcia Jr./Special to El Paso Times -
Texas gets $60 million in federal funds to strengthen power grid against extreme weather
The Texas Division of Emergency Management will decide how to use the money. Full Story
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![The main switchyard at Vistra Corp.’s Midlothian Power Plant on October 15, 2021. This is where the power produced at this plant is transformed into usable energy.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
As Texas lawmakers tussle over property tax relief, it’s unclear whether renters will benefit
Texas’ top Republicans are fighting over how to split property tax cuts between businesses and homeowners. Democrats want renters to see relief, too. Full Story
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![An aerial view of the Kelly Village housing complex in Houston on Sept. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
National GOP recruiting Mayra Flores, ousted from her South Texas seat, to run again for Congress
The Los Indios Republican won a special election in 2022 but lost to U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez five months later in the general election. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Los Indios, speaks at a rally in Brownsville on Nov. 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas courts struggle to resolve criminal appeals that got lost in Harris County for decades
Overlooked in the churn of one of the country’s busiest courthouses, the forgotten appeals included two death penalty cases, and one from a man who’s already finished his 20-year sentence. Full Story
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![The Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Nov. 16, 2016.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raises $6.2 million in first 2 months of Senate race
Allred also transferred $2.4 million from his House campaign account, giving him $8.6 million in total receipts through the end of June. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas speaks to media with members of the Congressional Black Caucus during a press conference on voting rights legislation and reforming the filibuster at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022.]()
Credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
As veteran disability claims soar, unaccredited coaches profit off frustration with VA system
Austin-based VA Claims Insider says it has helped hundreds of thousands of clients. It has also touched off complaints and investigations. Full Story
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![Jim Peckey, a former U.S. Navy Yeoman, holds a plaque gifted to him from his time in the service, in Abilene on Feb. 13, 2023.]()
Credit: Ronald W. Erdrich for The Texas Tribune -
Infant girl among four found dead in Rio Grande
All four of the deceased were found within 48 hours in the Rio Grande, a common but dangerous crossing point into the United States from Mexico. Full Story
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![A row of shipping containers and razor wire placed on the banks of the Rio Grande River by Gov. Greg Abbott to form a makeshift border wall in Eagle Pass on Nov. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton will not testify at impeachment trial, defense attorney says
The Texas Senate could compel the suspended attorney general to testify, but members of his defense team say they will fight those efforts. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement to the press May 26, 2023, a day before the impeachment vote in the Texas House.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
An unlikely provocateur, Miss Texas, takes on the state’s GOP leaders
Averie Bishop, whose reign ended Saturday, was the first Asian American to win the contest in its 85 years. She spent her year with the crown as an outspoken avatar for a rapidly diversifying Texas. Full Story
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![Miss Texas, Averie Bishop, blows kisses as she rides in a parade on June 12 in Fairfield. Bishop, the first Asian Miss Texas, made a three-day trip to visit local businesses and emcee a local pageant.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores/for The Washington Post -
As race-neutral college admissions begin, Texas counselors work to convince students of color they still belong
Black and Latino students make up about two-thirds of Texas’ public schools. But they are vastly underrepresented at its top universities, and Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling will shake up an already complicated application process. Full Story
Credit: Jack Myer for The Texas Tribune -
Emergency room visits surge, Texans die amid dangerous heat wave
After weeks of extreme heat, health officials have reported numerous deaths, while emergency departments across the state are seeing record numbers of people seeking treatment for heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Full Story
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![Firefighter EMT William Dorsey lifts a migrant woman suffering from heat exhaustion onto a stretcher in the border community of Eagle Pass, Texas on June 26, 2023.]()
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Nearly 1.4 million Texans could be impacted by U.S. Supreme Court decision blocking student loan forgiveness
The court ruled in favor of the six GOP-led states that alleged President Joe Biden overstepped his authority with his loan forgiveness plan. Full Story
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![A student sits by the Littlefield Fountain at the University of Texas on May 30, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune
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