T-Squared: The wait is over. Our full program for TribFest23 is here!
We’re bringing people together for talks that will examine education, Texas’ energy future, the 2024 races for U.S. Senate and president, and the state of democracy. Full Story
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![Image promoting The Texas Tribune Festival with a solid yellow background and an illustration of the Texas State Capitol dome opened up with Texas iconography spilling out. Images include western boots and hat, a star, and the Texas flag. With text that reads, "The wait is over. Full program announced!"]()
Credit: Reagan Mcgregor Hicks/Texas Tribune -
Search the newly updated Government Salaries Explorer
The Texas Tribune’s database of Texas state employees’ compensation is updated to represent salaries as of July 1. It includes detailed data for the 113 agencies in state government and positions at each of those agencies. Full Story
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![Government Salaries Explorer]()
Credit: Photo Illustration by Ben Hasson / Texas Tribune -
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo takes leave of absence to treat depression
Hidalgo said she was diagnosed with the condition last month and aims to return to her post in September. More people across the country have been diagnosed with the condition since the COVID-19 pandemic. Full Story
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![Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo speaks on stage at a protest of the NRA Annual Meeting Friday, May 27, 2022, in Houston.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton legal team works to invalidate every article of impeachment before trial
If successful, the flurry of legal filings would halt the suspended attorney general’s September impeachment trial before it truly begins in the Texas Senate. Full Story
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![Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, speaks during a press conference at the Travis County Republican Party suite in Austin on June 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Billions in property tax cuts need Texas voters’ approval before taking effect. Here’s what you need to know.
Legislation passed this month would raise the state’s homestead exemption to $100,000, lower schools’ tax rates and put an appraisal cap on residential and commercial properties, among other measures. But voters must approve a constitutional amendment first. Full Story
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![A house in East Austin in the Windsor Park neighborhood on Nov. 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Eagle Pass residents sour on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star
After initially supporting the governor’s efforts to stem illegal immigration, many residents say Operation Lone Star has gone too far. Full Story
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![Migrants walk along the Rio Grande past the recently installed buoys in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 28, 2023. As there is concertina wire installed along the Urbina’s property, migrants are told to walk to the end of the property, taking them approximately an hour from that point. Many make that walk which can be difficult to do through slippery rocks in the water, the current and the inclined river bank, while some find spots through the concertina wire and manage to get through.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton, lawyers test limits of gag order restricting comments on impeachment trial
Supporters of the suspended attorney general find ways to make known their displeasure about the case — and evidence — ahead of the September trial before the Texas Senate. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gave a speech in the Senate chamber during his swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 10, 2023. This is Paxton's third term in the office.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas AG appeals judge’s order that allows women with complicated pregnancies to get abortions
State District Court Judge Jessica Mangrum on Friday issued a temporary exemption to Texas’ abortion ban. Hours later, the attorney general’s office filed an appeal, which blocked the order. Full Story
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![Amanda Zurawski, Molly Duane and Ashley Brandt look on as Samantha Casiano addresses the press following the first day of testimony for Zurawski v. State of Texas outside the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in Austin on July 19, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas A&M leaders’ text messages show desire to counteract perceived liberal agenda in higher education
Some members of the university system’s board of regents said they wanted to promote conservative causes at the flagship campus and resisted efforts to hire journalism professor Kathleen O. McElroy, who they believed would work counter to those goals. Full Story
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![The Texas A&M University campus in College Station on Nov. 15, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Turmoil at Texas A&M
In this week’s episode, we discuss two cases at Texas A&M University that raised questions of academic freedom — and the fallout that ensued. Full Story
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![Texas A&M University's Academic Plaza on Nov. 15, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Top Texas A&M officials were involved in botched recruiting of journalism professor, who will receive $1 million settlement
A new internal report, conducted by the university system’s office of general counsel, also looked into Texas A&M’s decision to temporarily suspend a respected opioids expert after she was accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a lecture. Full Story
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![The Texas A&M Administration Building in College Station on July 30, 2023.]()
Credit: Meredith Seaver for The Texas Tribune -
Texans in Congress take bipartisan path to boost semiconductors, a crucial industry to the state
Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz and Democrats like Rep. Colin Allred — opponents in the 2024 election — propose streamlining environmental reviews to promote investment and expansion by chipmakers. Full Story
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![Sen. Ted Cruz speaks to Peter McCormack about bitcoin and freedom at the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 18, 2022.]()
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Some child care providers expect to shutter after Texas lawmakers leave $2.3 billion proposal off final budget
Federal pandemic relief to hard-hit day care operators is drying up, forcing some providers to close. Full Story
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![A child plays with Play-Doh at Kid's Castle Family Daycare and Preschool in Pflugerville, on Feb. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
LGBTQ+ advocates sue to block Texas’ new law that could criminalize some drag performances
State officials backing Senate Bill 12 have said they want to protect children from seeing sexually explicit performances. But new legal challenges say the law is so broad and vague that it criminalizes constitutionally protected expression. Full Story
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![Drag artist Brigitte Bandit and other attendees wait to give witness testimony for the Senate’s discussion of SB12 in the Capitol rotunda on Mar. 23, 2023. The bill defines drag shows as sexually oriented performances and would fine businesses who host them in front of children.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Body found stuck in buoys Texas installed in the Rio Grande
Texas authorities believe the person drowned upstream and floated into the buoys near Eagle Pass. Mexico criticized Texas’ placement of the buoys along the river. Full Story
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![A group of migrants walks around a string of buoys which was deployed to prevent migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass on July 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton moves one step closer to trial on long-delayed securities fraud charges
The impeached attorney general appeared in a Houston courtroom, where lawyers from both sides agreed to return in October to set an expected trial date on charges that have been pending since 2015. Full Story
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![Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sits as he makes an appearance during his eight-year-old felony securities fraud case against him at Harris County Courthouse on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023 in Houston.]()
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As Texas sizzles, heat experts say preparation is needed for future extreme weather events
The panelists at a Texas Tribune event emphasized the need for a response to combat the dangerous impacts of extreme events that ensures communities receive support to effectively plan, prepare, and recover. Full Story
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Henry Cuellar, a previous Democratic primary target, touts 2024 support from national party leaders
The moderate Democrat from Laredo announced endorsements from top Democrats in the U.S. House, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Full Story
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![Cuellar walks into his election watch party to celebrate with his supporters on election night, Nov. 8, 2022, in Laredo.]()
Credit: Jessica Rodriguez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas A&M interim president pledges more transparency after accusations of political interference
In his first comments as interim president, Mark A. Welsh IIII cast recent concerns over political interference in Texas A&M’s employment decisions as “communication breakdowns.” Full Story
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![Retired General Mark A. Welsh III, interim president of Texas A&M University, speaks at a press conference in the Flag Room of the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M campus, on Aug. 2, 2023.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Meredith Seaver/The Eagle -
Suspended Texas A&M professor denies saying Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick believes overdose victims “deserve to die”
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham alleged Wednesday that opioids expert Joy Alonzo told students in a guest lecture that “Your Lt. Governor says those kids deserve to die.” Alonzo denied the claims. Full Story
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![State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23, 2017.]()
Credit: Kelly West for The Texas Tribune