After pursuing an indictment, Starr County district attorney drops murder charge over self-induced abortion
Texas law exempts a pregnant person from being charged with murder or any lesser homicide charge for an abortion. Full Story
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![The Starr County Jail in Rio Grande City on Saturday. The District Attorney is dropping the charges against Lizelle Herrera, a woman who was indicted with murder for a "self-induced abortion."]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott’s call for more vehicle inspections at the border is causing delays and supply chain issues, locals say
Trucks delivering products from Mexico are facing hourslong waits at ports of entry. Full Story
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![Commercial vehicles go through the CBP inspection before entering El Paso from Juarez, Mexico at the Bridge of the Americas on April 8, 2022, in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Dan Patrick takes on Disney in latest fight over Texas classrooms
In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Brian and James about Dan Patrick’s push for a Texas version of the Florida law governing the discussion of sexuality in schools and Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest action on the border. Full Story
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![Pride flags, stickers and masks, pronoun buttons and other merch are handed out at the AISD "Pride Out!" Party in the Park event at Eastside Early College High School in Austin on March 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
San Antonio settles lawsuits alleging police violated state’s “sanctuary city” law
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued San Antonio officials over how police handled a 2017 smuggling incident, and the city agreed to pay $300,000 to settle the lawsuits. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at his primary election results watch party in McKinney on March 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Some landlords got a piece of Texas’ $2 billion in rent relief money — and evicted their struggling tenants anyway
It’s unclear whether landlords face any penalties from state agencies for improperly evicting tenants while receiving rent relief dollars intended to help those tenants stay housed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Full Story
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![Cherice Scott McKinney with three of her four children at a park in Houston on March 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Abbott’s border initiative is expensive, ineffective and not as tough as it sounds
The results of the state’s $3 billion border security effort don’t match the up-front promises, and Gov. Greg Abbott is flipping the political script with loud opposition to a change in federal border policy. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw speaks at a presser with Gov. Greg Abbott in Weslaco on April 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas border officials worry that Greg Abbott’s order to increase vehicle inspections will hurt local economies
The governor is pushing for more border security measures, some of which he acknowledges will slow traffic across the Texas-Mexico border. Full Story
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![A line of trucks wait to cross the World Trade Bridge over the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States in Laredo, on Sept. 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz and John Cornyn vote no as Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court
Texas’ U.S. senators have acknowledged the historical nature of Jackson’s nomination but said ahead of their votes that they believe her ideology could be harmful for the court and the country. Full Story
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![Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in to testify at her U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 21, 2022.]()
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Ethics scandal emerges as latest test for rising star Democrat Lina Hidalgo
Hidalgo, the Harris County judge, says a criminal probe into a contract her office awarded is a political hit. But as a potential future statewide candidate, does the episode expose a flaw in her approach to politics? Full Story
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![Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo makes an announcement about the COVID-19 vaccine in Houston on Aug. 17, 2021. Harris County will now give residents $100 if they get vaccinated.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Texas Tribune will host yearlong Scripps Howard Foundation fellows in data visuals and multimedia
Fabiana Chaparro will join the multimedia team, and Caroline Covington will join the data visuals team. Full Story
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![From left: 2022-2023 Scripps Howard Foundation fellows Fabiana Chaparro and Caroline Covington.]()
Credit: Courtesy Fabiana Chaparro and Dan Fassnacht -
Rural Texas was meant to get 10% of state bonds for water projects. It’s getting less than 1%.
Rural Texas communities often don’t have the resources, technical experience, or ability to take on large amounts of debt to pursue state funds for water supply and quality projects. So, many simply don’t apply. Full Story
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![Cactus, Texas on Jan. 29, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans who opposed resolution supporting NATO criticize and question its language
Two of the 11 members who opposed the measure say language calling for a Center for Democratic Resilience was vague and troubling. Full Story
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![Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, departs a meeting after receiving a closed briefing from U.S. Border Patrol personel to discuss challenges in protecting the U.S.-Mexico border at the U.S. Capitol.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to bus migrants to Washington, D.C., will be voluntary
Abbott said he’s responding to the Biden administration announcement that it will lift a pandemic-era emergency health order that allowed immigration authorities to turn away migrants at the border, even those seeking asylum. Full Story
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![Asylum seekers disembark a bus in front of the Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen on Aug. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Watch: Former NATO Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison says U.S. could have better prepared for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The Republican former Texas senator also says America should issue harsher sanctions against Russia. Full Story
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Critics of Texas’ push for a “Don’t Say Gay” bill say acknowledging LGBTQ people isn’t the same as teaching kids about sex
Republicans say they don’t want young kids learning about sex. Educators say that’s already the standard. Full Story
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![AISD employees Melissa and Caitlin Kender cheer on models as they walk past during a fashion show at the AISD "Pride Out!" Party in the Park event at Eastside Early College High School in Austin on Saturday, Mar. 26, 2022. The Kenders have been married for a week. "When we want to establish a family, this is somewhere we want our kids to be a part of," Melissa said. They moved from Dallas to be a part of AISD specifically.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: The Texas Tribune and ProPublica share IRE Award for coverage of 2021 winter storm
“The team’s coverage of a large winter storm was not just hard-hitting accountability journalism, it was public service at its best,” judges for the Investigative Reporters and Editors award wrote. Full Story
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![An eastbound view of East Stassney Lane in south Austin on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
More than 12% of mail-in ballots were rejected in Texas under new GOP voting rules, final tally shows
Figures released by the Texas secretary of state show that more than 24,000 Texas voters had their ballots rejected in the March primary. The rejection rate is a significant increase over previous elections. Full Story
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![People wait outside the Bexar County Elections Department in San Antonio to drop off their mail-in ballots, their voter registration applications or to be trained as poll workers on Oct. 5, 2020.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
“Unwinnable race”: State Sen. Beverly Powell of Burleson ends reelection bid, citing redrawn political map
Powell, a Democrat, had won Senate District 10 by winning over a coalition of diverse voters in Tarrant County. The GOP redrew the district to branch out to counties to the south and west that made it more rural and more white. Full Story
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![State Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, waits for the Senate to gavel in on Aug. 10, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Guard’s border mission needs an additional $531 million to continue past this month, top general says
Texas Military Department leaders say they’ve addressed many of the issues that arose late last year when the mission ramped up to 10,000 service members — but more money is needed to run the mission at its current pace. Full Story
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![National Guard oversee an area where the border wall ends in Del Rio, on Nov. 7, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Texas Legislature’s 2023 session has already started
The next session of the Texas Legislature is months away, but by the time it actually starts, a lot of the work will already be done. Lawmakers are working on early versions of their legislation right now — before some of them have even been elected. Full Story
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune
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