U.S. Sen. John Cornyn accepts Paxton impeachment acquittal, notes pending legal issues
With the attorney general mentioned as a possible primary opponent, the senator says of his fellow Republican: “I don’t think the story is over yet.” Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in November of 2020.]()
Credit: Walsh Susan/Pool via REUTERS -
Texas A&M student president impeached, removed from office
The 35-15 vote by the student senate was based on accusations that Hudson Kraus changed a job description so his brother could qualify for a cabinet post. Full Story
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![The Texas A&M Student Senate meets in College Station on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023.]()
Credit: Courtesy Kyle Heise/The Battalion -
Convicted murderer Scott Panetti isn’t sane enough to be executed, federal judge rules
Panetti murdered his in-laws in 1992. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2007 set new court precedent with his case, raising the bar on the constitutional restriction against executing the insane. Full Story
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![Interior of Death Chamber in Texas.]()
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‘An understaffed and broken system’: 900,000 Texans have lost Medicaid as others struggle to access SNAP benefits
Texas Democrats in Congress are urging the federal government to audit the state’s Medicaid eligibility system Full Story
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![Yesenia Alvarado holds her daughter, Medicaid patient Melanie Almaraz, 2, while waiting to see Dr. Alberto Vasquez for treatment of a fever at Su Clinica Familiar in Harlingen, Texas on Jul. 9, 2013.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
In the shadow of James Byrd’s murder, city leaders can’t agree how to move this East Texas town forward
Jasper’s second Black mayor wants to help residents pay their bills while a younger city council wants to invest in the city’s culture. Residents call their heated arguments at city council meetings “foolishness” and “embarrassing.” Full Story
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![Jasper, Texas: Mayor Anderson Land reviews notes before a city council meeting at City Hall on June 12, 2023 in Jasper, Texas. Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
First defendant in San Antonio tractor-trailer tragedy pleads guilty to smuggling charges
Fifty-three migrants died in what remains the nation’s deadliest human smuggling event. Eight children and one pregnant woman were among the victims discovered in the sweltering trailer parked next to an isolated road in 2022. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officers work at the scene where people were found dead inside a trailer truck in San Antonio on June 27, 2022.]()
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A Texas county that borders New Mexico is the latest to consider an abortion travel ban
Cochran County commissioners meet Thursday to discuss the ban. Abortion-rights supporters say the bans are unenforceable and meant to stoke fear. Full Story
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![A highway in West Texas.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s former staffer running against him as a Republican
Jose Sanz worked for the Democrat for two years, as his press secretary and then his district director. Sanz said he realized his values didn’t align with the incumbent’s. Full Story
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![Jose Sanz.]()
Credit: Courtesy of campaign -
How the looming government shutdown will affect Texans
A federal shutdown would put thousands of Texans in financial precarity. Congress has less than a week left until the end of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, and a shutdown appears imminent. Full Story
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![The U.S. Capitol, seen in a reflection, on a cloudy evening Jan. 22, 2023 in Washington D.C.]()
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Rep. John Smithee emerges as House hero among Paxton supporters, floated for speaker
On the day the House impeached Ken Paxton, Smithee delivered a 20 minute speech, criticizing the impeachment process as opaque, rushed and unfair to the accused. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, discusses House Bill 214, which would limit health benefit coverage for elective abortions, on Aug. 8, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Nonprofit drug treatment center for low-income Texas teens shutters amid opioid crisis
Phoenix House is the latest casualty in an escalating funding crisis for Texas treatment centers as the state struggles with startling increases in overdose deaths, particularly among young people. Full Story
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![The Phoenix House in Dallas.]()
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Texas’ ban on certain drag shows is unconstitutional, federal judge says
Senate Bill 12 would have prohibited performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics in front of children. Critics sued the state, saying it violated the First Amendment. Full Story
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![Drag queen Scarlett Kiss performs at Long Play Lounge in East Austin on June 12, 2021.]()
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Delayed passage of farm bill stirs uncertainty for Texas agriculture
The must-pass package of legislation known as the farm bill, which is renewed every five years, funds critical crop insurance and loans to farmers and food to low-income families. Full Story
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![Farmworkers work fields of dead vegetables at Johnson’s Backyard Garden, east of Austin, on Feb. 22, 2021. The organic farm experienced a near-total loss of their crops after a winter storm ravaged Texas.]()
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The 2023 Texas Tribune Festival in photos
Here’s a look back at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival through the eyes of Tribune photographers. Full Story
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![Evan Smith meets backstage with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, before the start of the closing keynote at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, TX on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
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Ken Paxton’s deputy demands back pay for months the attorney general was suspended
Comptroller Glenn Hegar said he disagreed with Paxton’s interpretation of the law and suggested he seek a ruling from the Texas Supreme Court. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton sits between his attorneys Tony Buzbee, left, and Mitch Little, right, during final prosecutor arguments as both sides have rested in the suspended Attorney General's impeachment trial September 15, 2023 in Austin.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Latino Democrats call on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign after bribery indictment
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar pushed back on the New Jersey Democrat’s defense that he was being targeted for his ethnicity. Full Story
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![Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chair U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14, 2023.]()
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Dallas selected as one of three national hubs for new medical innovation federal agency
The city joins Cambridge, Mass. and the Washington, D.C. area as epicenters of the new agency. A Biden administration initiative, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health will work toward medical breakthroughs in treating diseases like cancer, Alzheimer and diabetes. Full Story
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![An aerial view of Dallas.]()
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Texas job growth likely to slow in late 2023, Dallas Fed economist says
The state will likely see the two years of post-pandemic growth start to decelerate, according to Roberto Coronado, senior vice president and senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Coronado also cited lowering inflation rates as a top priority for the Dallas Fed. Full Story
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One-third of Texas foster care caseworkers left their jobs last year as the agency continued putting kids in hotels
The Department of Family and Protective Services has increasingly relied on housing foster kids in hotels when it can’t find them a home. In the 2022 fiscal year, after record staff turnover, more than 1 in 4 caseworkers had less than one year of experience. Full Story
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![A former DFPS employee's badge on April 6, 2022.]()
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“We are not going away”: Paxton whistleblowers vow to continue legal fight in court
On Monday, the former state employees argued that Paxton has failed to uphold key parts of the settlement agreement, including a $3.3 million payment and a promise to apologize. Full Story
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![From left: Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley and Blake Brickman, whistleblowers in the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton, speak at a press conference in the state Capitol on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. A fourth whistleblower, David Maxwell, was not present but in agreement with remarks.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune