Whistleblowers say Ken Paxton is misleading Texans about his bribery and abuse-of-office allegations
The whistleblowers made their first statement about Paxton’s decision to fire them since filing a lawsuit against the attorney general. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton at a border security briefing at the Texas DPS airport hangar in Edinburg on Jan. 28, 2022. The four whistleblowers who sued Paxton after he fired them for accusing him of bribery and abuse of office are speaking out against him publicly for the first time since filing their lawsuit.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas land commissioner candidates compete to oversee Alamo and disaster relief funds
Land Commissioner George P. Bush is stepping down to run for attorney general. Four Democrats and eight Republicans are seeking their parties’ nominations for the office. Full Story
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![Visitors crossed the street away from the Alamo in San Antonio on Jan. 7, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar for The Texas Tribune -
Austin police officers charged with aggravated assault for force used in 2020 protests
Defense attorneys for eight of 19 indicted APD officers say they were following orders when they used force against 2020 protesters. So far, there are 14 lawsuits against the city for injuries suffered during those confrontations. Full Story
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![Austin police officers gathered on Interstate 35 to remove protesters from the highway. May 31, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell defends faculty tenure after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposes to end it at all public universities
Patrick’s suggestion to end tenure at public universities received swift criticism from faculty and higher education experts who said it would negatively impact the reputation of Texas’ colleges and universities. Full Story
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![The University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell gives the state of the university address on Sept. 24, 2021.]()
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Analysis: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the power of Us vs. Them
A week into early voting in the Texas party primaries, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick launched his latest culture-war volley, an attack on college professors whose teachings about race don’t match his notions about what they should be teaching. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at a press conference concerning the recently passed Election & Ballot Security Bill, also known as Senate Bill 7, at the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2021. "Senate Bill 7 is about voter security, not about voter suppression, and I'm tired of the lies and the nest of liars who continue to repeat them," said Patrick.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas tops the nation in teens who give birth multiple times
More than 1 in 6 teenagers who gave birth in Texas in 2020 already had a child. Texas does not require sex education and has the strictest abortion law in the nation. Full Story
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![Junior Iryanna Rodríguez, 18, is with her nine-month-old daughter Ariyanna Juliett Fuentes at Lincoln Park School in Brownsville on Feb. 16, 2022. The school for students that are pregnant or have had a baby currently has 69 students enrolled.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
An Austin cop has been charged with police misconduct. That might actually help his Texas House campaign.
Justin Berry is among 19 Austin law enforcement officers indicted and accused of using excessive force on anti-police brutality protesters in 2020. Full Story
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![Former Austin Police officer Justin Berry holds a weapon with non-lethal rounds during a protest in front of Austin City Hall on May 31, 2020. The protestors had gathered in response to the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Dan Patrick’s eventful week
On this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with James and Alexa about Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s political power and problems with mail-in ballot applications. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks to reporters at a press conference on Feb. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Feds seek to protect rare Texas plant in the path of border wall construction
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a rule earlier this week to list the prostrate milkweed, which lives along the Texas-Mexico border, as an endangered species. The rare plant is threatened in part by border security activities, scientists say. Full Story
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![The view of the Rio Grande River from Gerardo Vargas' property on June 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Jessica Nicole Rodriguez for The Texas Tribune -
An end to the omicron surge is in sight, but relief comes slowly in hard-hit Laredo
COVID-19 numbers are plummeting statewide, but on Texas’ southern border with Mexico, Laredo is still battling its fourth surge. Full Story
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![Families and friends watch the IBC Youth Parade Under the Stars in Laredo on Feb. 17, 2022.]()
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Watch: Lawmakers, community members and experts discuss the impact of the February 2021 storm
More than dozen guests discuss Texas’ power grid, how climate change affects the state’s weather and what another winter blackout could mean for Texans in a Texas Tribune symposium on the storm’s anniversary. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposes ending university tenure to combat critical race theory teachings
Patrick’s declarations come days after the UT-Austin Faculty Council approved a measure reaffirming instructors’ right to teach about racial justice and critical race theory in the classroom. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks to reporters at a press conference at the state Capitol on Feb. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
19 Austin police officers accused of excessive force during 2020 protests are indicted
Austin officials also agreed to a $10 million settlement with two men who were injured by police with beanbag rounds during the protests. Full Story
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![An Austin Police officer fires his weapon into a crowd of protestors from Interstate 35, near the Austin Police headquarters on May 31, 2020.]()
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Trump’s man in Texas, has quietly amassed influence — to the detriment of fellow Republicans
Patrick urged former Gov. Rick Perry to mount a challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a third term. He’s taken the already considerable power concentrated in the state’s No. 2 job to another level, forcing opponents from races and tightening his grip on the Senate. Full Story
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Texas House candidate Justin Berry is among Austin officers indicted on excessive force charges, union president says
The Austin police officer is one of four Republicans seeking their party’s nomination for Texas House District 19, west of Austin. Full Story
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![Justin Berry is a candidate for Texas House District 19.]()
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Historically Black college has a new twist on admissions: You can bring your family, too
Paul Quinn College hopes the new practice will better combat intergenerational poverty and remove the pressure on first-generation college students to financially lift up their entire families. Full Story
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![Paul Quinn College President Michael Sorrell teaches a class on problem-solving on Nov. 10, 2019. Students are challenged to find a problem on campus, solve it, and present their solutions.]()
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Texas now requires new charter schools to ensure they won’t teach critical race theory
The new requirement applies to charter schools set to open in August. The agency did not elaborate why this one law needed a separate assurance. Full Story
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![Fifth-grade Hebrew teacher Hagit Lifshitz leads a class in reading a book in Hebrew at Eleanor Kolitz Hebrew Language Academy in San Antonio, on Oct. 14, 2013.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
Partisan tactic by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s campaign delays thousands of requests for mail-in ballots from Texas voters
Patrick’s mass mailing urging voters to apply for mail-in ballots included return envelopes addressed to the Texas secretary of state’s office. The applications are supposed to be sent to local offices, but Patrick’s campaign says voters don’t trust election officials in Democratic counties. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gives remarks during the Texas Fallen Heroes ceremony on May 25, 2019]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
“It looked like the end of the world”: Listen to the stories of Texans who lived through 2021’s historic winter storm
One year later, dozens of Texans from around the state shared their memories about an unforgettable storm. 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 -
Texas voters will decide whether to lower some property tax bills in May election
If two propositions pass, the state will increase school funding to make up for revenues lost from a decrease in property taxes. Full Story
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![A student takes notes in Norman Gomez's third-grade class at Linder Elementary School in Austin on Jan. 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Miranda Lipton for The Texas Tribune
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