Texas House approves ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates by private employers
Violations could bring a $50,000 fine under an amendment adopted Wednesday. The bill’s sponsor said the ban would be the strongest in the nation. Full Story
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![A man carries a sign protesting Houston Methodist Hospital's COVID-19 vaccine mandate outside Houston Methodist Hospital in Baytown on June 7, 2021. Employees who chose not to inoculate themselves by the hospital's Monday deadline faced suspension without pay and job termination, a policy criticized by the protesters as unfair and unauthorized.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Proposition 5 on Texas ballot would create new endowment for ‘emerging’ research universities
If approved, the new fund would provide tens of millions of dollars to the University of Houston, Texas Tech, Texas State University and University of North Texas. Full Story
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![University of Houston students back on campus in Houston Tuesday, September 5, 2017 after the labor day holiday and Tropical Storm Harvey.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Inaccessible private schools or underfunded public schools: Texas’ disabled students have few options with no change in sight
The few private schools that offer special education for disabled students have strict conditions and are clustered in metropolitan areas. Full Story
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![Two window decals are shown on Laurie Sharp's van on Sep. 9, 2023. The stickers reference Logan's wheelchair.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Former oil executive withdraws application to build private dam on South Llano River
The withdrawn proposal would have allowed the dam’s owner to take nearly 4 million gallons from the South Llano River, the main water source for Kimble, Mason and Llano counties. Full Story
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![A golf course borders Cedar Creek, a tributary of the South Llano River, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, in Junction.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Why a Texas Panhandle city hit pause on a proposed abortion “travel ban” — for now
Amarillo's city council said it will continue to study the issue. The city is one of just a few in Texas to reject the policy pushed by anti-abortion activists. Full Story
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![Downtown Amarillo on June 28, 2021.]()
Credit: Madison Walker for The Texas Tribune -
Texas judge’s refusal to marry gay couples goes before state supreme court
Texas Supreme Court justices heard arguments Wednesday in the case of a Waco judge who refused to marry same-sex couples. It is unclear when the high court will issue a ruling. Full Story
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![Judge Dianne Hensley.]()
Credit: Screenshot via KXXV-TV Waco -
Leader of anti-immigration group Texans for Strong Borders also runs anonymous, hate-filled social media accounts
Chris Russo has anonymously aligned himself with Nick Fuentes’ white supremacist movement on various social media platforms under the username “Optics Respecter.” Full Story
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![Nick Fuentes (middle) is seen exiting the offices of Pale Horse strategies with Chris Russo, founder and president of Texans for Strong Borders (right) in Fort Worth on Oct. 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for the Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans unite to elect Mike Johnson as U.S. House Speaker
All Texas Republicans in the U.S. House voted for Louisiana’s Mike Johnson to be speaker, ending a stalemate that has left the chamber leaderless for three weeks. Johnson is a deeply religious conservative who won the support of the party’s disparate factions. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-LA, speaks to reporters after securing the nomination for House speaker from the Republican conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 24, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst -
Gov. Greg Abbott, House at impasse over school voucher bill as special session winds down
Vouchers are the governor’s top legislative priority. But he has signaled opposition to a proposed House compromise that would tie them to increased funding for public schools. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan listens to state Representatives on the House floor during Sine Die, the last day of the 88th Texas Legislative Session, at the Capitol in Austin on May 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas voters split on House, Senate handling of Paxton impeachment, poll finds
Republicans showed a more clear divide, giving the Senate higher marks than the House for how the attorney general’s impeachment was handled. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, talks with his defense attorney Tony Buzbee, left, before starting the ninth day of his impeachment trial in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Sam Owens/Pool via San Antonio Express-News -
As Texas bans diversity and equity offices at public colleges, Rice University’s inclusion efforts march on
DEI efforts have become a lightning rod for debate in American higher education. At the private Houston university, officials admit impact is hard to measure — but they also see progress from their work. Full Story
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![Alexander Byrd, the vice provost for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rice University, poses for a portrait on campus in Houston, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion offices in Texas public colleges and universities starting in 2024.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
Texans Pete Sessions, Roger Williams both out in whirlwind day to pick U.S. speaker
Sessions dropped out of the race after a first round of voting within the Republican conference. Williams entered the race after the apparent front-runner, Tom Emmer of Minnesota, failed to reach the 217-vote threshold, but later on Tuesday evening and the Texas lawmaker was also out. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Waco, and fellow House Republicans depart after a conference meeting where they held a secret ballot vote on whether to drop Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, out of the race for House Speaker, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 20, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst -
Lubbock County becomes latest to approve “abortion travel ban” while Amarillo City Council balks
Lubbock is now the fourth, and largest, county to pass the ordinance which would punish people through civil lawsuits for aiding pregnant women seeking abortions outside of Texas. Full Story
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![Downtown Lubbock on July 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues to stop Border Patrol agents from cutting state’s razor wire at the border
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s latest lawsuit against the federal government claims Border Patrol agents cut through concertina wire purchased and deployed at the border by the state. Full Story
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![A U.S. Border Patrol agent cuts through razor wire to let in a group of asylum seekers who crossed the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S., September 28, 2023.]()
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5,000 Texas GM auto workers join nationwide strike
The factory in North Texas is considered one of General Motors’ most profitable. Full Story
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![The new GM logo on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan on March 16, 2021.]()
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Nick Fuentes is just the latest white supremacist embraced by Defend Texas Liberty
While Fuentes’ unapologetic hate mongering has made him one of the nation’s best-known white supremacists, he was merely the latest in a long line of people who have been embraced by Defend Texas Liberty and its close allies. Full Story
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![Nick Fuentes (middle) is seen exiting the offices of Pale Horse strategies with Chris Russo, founder and president of Texans for Strong Borders (right) in Fort Worth on Oct. 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for the Texas Tribune -
Sheila Jackson Lee expresses regret after audio leaks of her berating, demeaning staffers
Jackson Lee is running for Houston mayor, and the recording of her expletive-laden rant toward an employee was sent from an anonymous email account to multiple news organizations, three days before the start of early voting. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, speaks during an EPA meeting on April 20, 2023 in Houston.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Texas proposition lets voters decide whether to cut property taxes for homeowners and businesses
Proposition 4 could usher in a bevy of property tax changes. That includes using $12.7 billion from a record state budget surplus to lower school district taxes. Full Story
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![The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
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Dan Patrick to use $3 million from Defend Texas Liberty to buy Israeli bonds
More than two weeks after the influential PAC’s leader met with a Hitler admirer, Lt. Gov. Patrick said the GOP must ”root out” antisemitism. Patrick had initially said he’d keep the PAC’s money. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick discusses property tax cuts for homeowners during a media briefing at the state Capitol on June 6, in Austin.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers weigh spending $1.5 billion on more border barriers. Experts say walls alone won’t stop migrants.
The House Appropriations Committee passed House Bill 6 on Monday. If it becomes law, the bill would fund an estimated 50 miles of new barriers at the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border. Full Story
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![Immigrants who illegally crossed the Mexico-U.S. border are apprehended by the U.S. border patrol in the Rio Grande Valley sector, near McAllen, Texas, U.S., April 5, 2018.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Loren Elliott