T-Squared: The Texas Tribune needs you more than ever
Revelatory, deep and empathetic reporting takes time — and money. The support members give now will sustain the Tribune's crucial newsgathering next year. Full Story
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Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar/The Texas Tribune -
8 big Texas stories from 2021 — and what's in store for 2022
An ongoing pandemic. A restrictive and unusual abortion law. A vulnerable power grid. These are the biggest stories from 2021 that will continue to unfold in 2022. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott intervened to put a positive spin on Texas' power grid
He's been heavily involved in positive public messaging about the grid’s winter readiness, but the data aren't rosy — and experts fear the grid could fail if there's another winter storm. Full Story
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![Snow at the Capitol in Austin on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Health agency warns Texas is running out of the only antibody treatment effective against the omicron variant
Five of the department’s regional infusion centers have run out of sotrovimab, the only antibody treatment known to be effective against the new variant. Full Story
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![Isidro Bernardino receives a COVID-19 antibody infusion at Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant on Aug. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
A Laredo plant that sterilizes medical equipment spews cancer-causing pollution on schoolchildren
Nobody told Yaneli Ortiz’s family that the factory they lived near emitted ethylene oxide. Not when the EPA found it causes cancer. Not when she was diagnosed with leukemia. And not when Texas moved to allow polluters to emit more of the chemical. Full Story
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![Yaneli Ortiz closes her eyes as her father helps her get ready before her quinceañera in Laredo Texas. In 2019 Yaneli was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer that’s been linked to ethylene oxide exposure. Her legs and hip are in almost constant pain. Her hip bone had begun to die due to steroids that had diminished the blood supply through her leg and joints. Up to half of children treated for acute lymphocytic leukemia develop some degree of this condition, called avascular necrosis.]()
Credit: Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica/Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Texas storms — actual and political — of 2021
Here are a dozen of my columns from 2021: highlights on the winter storm, redistricting, the state’s finances and on issues that could figure into this next round of elections. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on June 28, 2020.]()
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Sarah Weddington, lawyer in Roe v. Wade case, dies at 76
Weddington was just 26 when she argued the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in her first appearance before the high court. Full Story
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![Attorney Sarah Weddington, who argued the Roe v. Wade case before the U.S. Supreme Court, at a Planned Parenthood event in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 1998.]()
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Frustrated, exhausted, scared: Omicron exacerbates pandemic mental health concerns
The state’s COVID-19 mental health support line has seen a spike in calls since early December as people navigate holidays amid a highly contagious new variant. Full Story
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![Downtown San Antonio's COVID-19 memorial, called "Deep in Our Hearts,” consists of more than 3,400 red hearts to honor the San Antonio residents who died from the virus during the pandemic. Sept. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
2021 Texas politics in photos: An insurrection, legislative battles and emerging campaigns
Texas politics in 2021 were marked by a violent insurrection at the nation’s Capitol and state legislative fights over abortion, voting rights and redistricting. Our photojournalists were there every step of the way. Full Story
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![Democratic members of the Texas House and Texas Senate gather for a joint press event to update Texans on their work in Washington, DC to advocate for federal voting rights protections at Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC on Wednesday, July 14, 2021.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
“Out of sight, out of mind”: Omicron and Christmas collide in Texas
Texans are taking varying levels of precautions as they finish holiday shopping and prepare for Christmas worship services. Full Story
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas board rescinds recommendation for posthumous pardon of George Floyd
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles cited a procedural error for the decision but seemed to leave open the possibility that it would reconsider the issue in the near future. Full Story
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![A person stands at the "Say Their Names" cemetery on the day of the guilty verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 20, 2021.]()
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Texans getting COVID-19 vaccine boosters outpace those getting first shots as omicron bears down
So far this month, at least 1.2 million Texans have gotten booster shots — nearly triple the number of people who received their first doses of the vaccine during the same time. Full Story
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![Syringes sit on a table at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic held in partnership between the Central Texas Food Bank and the University of Texas in Austin on July 21, 2021.]()
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Holidays and at-home tests mean omicron’s spread will be harder to track in Texas
The Texas Department of State Health Services, which tracks the number of coronavirus vaccinations, cases, hospitalizations and deaths across the state, won’t be updating its daily dashboard Friday through Sunday both this week and next over the holidays. Full Story
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott sticks with hands-off approach to COVID-19 as omicron spreads
Abbott’s office says vaccines are the best defense to the pandemic, however, the governor has rarely spoken about vaccines in recent months other than to push back against mandates. He did not respond to a question about whether he got the booster. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott adjusts his mask after giving an update on the categories of medical surge facilities at a press conference at the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
COVID-19 in Texas: U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments over federal vaccine mandates that state officials oppose
Live updates: As infections increase ahead of the holidays — and omicron spreads throughout the state — officials urge people to get vaccines and booster shots. Full Story
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![A person gets vaccinated for COVID-19 at Acres Home Multi-Service Center in Houston, on Oct. 13, 2021.]()
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Texas has the highest share of uninsured residents in the nation. Another COVID-19 wave puts them at risk.
Untreated medical conditions, lack of access to testing and limited paid time off leave uninsured Texans particularly vulnerable to the disease. Full Story
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![Isidro Bernardino receives a COVID-19 antibody infusion at Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant on Aug. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Unhappy holidays: Texas endures another COVID Christmas
After nearly two years of navigating life during a pandemic, many Texans are now scrambling for COVID tests, delaying plans and worrying about relatives who have been exposed to the virus. Full Story
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![Travelers check flight statuses at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Nov. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
At-home COVID-19 tests are in scarce supply in Texas while public testing sites see a rise in demand
Most local officials insist they still have testing capacity at their public testing sites, but Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said demand has outpaced supply. Full Story
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
For Texas hospitals, a new COVID-19 surge looms over a burned-out, depleted workforce
Some hospitals are better prepared than they were early in the pandemic, but administrators say staff morale still stands on shaky ground. Full Story
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![A nurse dons full PPE before entering the room of a COVID-19 patient at Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton on Aug. 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Beto O’Rourke targets Gov. Greg Abbott for vetoing bill to improve internet access in rural Texas
Abbott vetoed legislation in June that would have helped shore up the Universal Service Fund, which supports telecommunications in rural Texas. He said it would have “imposed a new fee on millions of Texans.” Full Story
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![A colonia, unincorporated neighborhoods that lack basic services such as street lights, proper drainage, paved roads or waste management, is seen near Edinburg on March 25, 2020.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune
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