With a new vacancy on the Texas Supreme Court, attention turns to diversity concerns
Gov. Greg Abbott has his third opportunity to appoint a judge to the state's highest civil court. His first two picks were white men. Full Story
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![The Justices of the Texas Supreme Court hear the Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Maurie Levin, et al. case on Jan. 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A small, but ill-timed exodus of Texas Republicans from Congress
Three Texas Republicans have announced they won't seek reelection in 2020, and that will probably turn out to be an incomplete roster of retirees. It couldn't come at a better time for Democrats hoping to have a hand in redistricting the state's congressional delegation in 2021. Full Story
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![From left: Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican candidate for Texas House District 25, Fred Rangel. Jan. 31, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Gunman in El Paso shooting faces death penalty, federal domestic terrorism charges
Police say the gunman legally purchased the weapon he used in the shooting that left 20 people dead and more than two dozen wounded at an El Paso Walmart. Full Story
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![El Paso mass murderer Patrick Crusius' mugshot.]()
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After El Paso shooting, some Texas Republican leaders decry "white" terror
Land Commissioner George P. Bush linked the shooting with "white terrorism," while U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz called it a "heinous act of terrorism and white supremacy." Full Story
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![From left: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Mass murder in El Paso: Images from a day of terror and grief
The world again turned its eyes to Texas after a gunman killed 20 and injured 26 more at an El Paso Walmart. Photographers were on the scene instantly, stayed through the night, and they’re back today. Here is some of their work. Full Story
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![Mourners take part in a vigil near the border fence between Mexico and the U.S after a mass shooting at a WalMart store in El Paso on Saturday night after the shooting.]()
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Analysis: The El Paso shooting horrifies lawmakers. So do the solutions.
Another shooting, this time in a Walmart in El Paso, raises a familiar set of questions for politicians and lawmakers. Full Story
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![A lone policeman outside the WalMart in El Paso where a mass shooting took place on Saturday, August 3, 2019.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
After El Paso shooting, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says video games teach young people "to kill"
Patrick told "Fox & Friends" on Sunday that he believes a lot of factors contributed to the deadly shooting in El Paso, including violence on social media and the video gaming industry. Full Story
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![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at a press conference regarding property taxes on May 1, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Beto O'Rourke says President Trump "had a lot to do" with El Paso shooting
In the wake of the deadly shooting in El Paso that authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime, Beto O'Rourke told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that the question of whether President Trump is a white nationalist "cannot be open for debate." Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, stopped in Gainesville at the historic Santa Fe Depot June 9, 2018 to complete his 254 county journey across the state in his campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.]()
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University of Texas researchers aiding Salvadoran teen were threatened with arrest by Mexican authorities
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin say a high-ranking U.S. border official refused them entry into the U.S. and sent them back to Piedras Negras, Mexico — straight into the arms of Mexican authorities who threatened to arrest them on smuggling charges. Full Story
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![Salvadoran migrant Leonel, 15, waits for a chance to seek asylum in the United States on Friday, Aug. 2 on the bridge between Eagle Pass, Texas and Piedras Negras, Mexico.]()
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Horror in El Paso: 20 dead, 26 wounded in mass shooting at Walmart
Police say the suspect is a white male in his 20s from the Dallas area who was arrested without incident. Police are investigating whether it was a hate crime. Full Story
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Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Beto O'Rourke calls off campaign events, returns home after El Paso shooting
The Democratic presidential candidate was stumping in Nevada when he learned his hometown became the latest site of a mass shooting in America. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke at the El Pasoan of the Year ceremony in El Paso on Feb. 19, 2019.]()
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As El Paso closes emergency migrant shelters, Mexico scrambles to add space on the border
The Mexican government has converted a former factory into a shelter that could potentially house thousands of migrants. But in El Paso, a number of churches have closed their emergency shelters as the number of migrants has dropped. Full Story
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![Aerial view of the new migrant shelter built by the Mexican government in Ciudad Juárez, on Thursday, August 1, 2019.]()
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U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe will not become director of national intelligence
President Donald Trump tweeted the news Friday afternoon. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep John Ratcliffe, R-Heath, questions former Special Counsel Robert Mueller during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on the Office of Special Counsel's investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on July 24, 2019.]()
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House Democrats call for Michael Quinn Sullivan to release secret Dennis Bonnen recording
"Complete transparency is paramount; allowing select political insiders to hear it in private isn’t going to cut it," said state Rep. Chris Turner, chair of the House Democratic Caucus. Full Story
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![State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington, speaks to the press following Gov. Abbott's State of the State address in Austin on Feb. 5, 2019.]()
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Trump’s pick to lead U.S. intelligence claims he arrested 300 undocumented immigrants in a single day. He didn’t.
John Ratcliffe claimed that as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas in 2008, he led an immigration raid on poultry plants. Others involved in the case say he inflated his role and the raid’s scale. Full Story
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![Congressional candidate John Ratcliffe speaks with the Lamar-Delta Teachers & School Employees Association at Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas on March 24, 2014.]()
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Texas tried to incentivize school districts to work with charters. Districts are turning to local nonprofits instead.
Not many school districts are partnering with charter schools, in some cases because they know it wouldn't be politically palatable in their communities. Full Story
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![Erin Pickens, a 4th grade teacher for Buffalo ISD, helps a student in her classroom in Buffalo on March 28, 2019.]()
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Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd to retire from Congress after holding on to a district Democrats are desperate to flip
President Donald Trump's recent racist comments weighed on Hurd, the last black Republican in the U.S. House. He was the only Texas Republican who voted to condemn Trump's tweets about four congresswomen. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-San Antonio, speaks to supporters during a get-out-the-vote rally in San Antonio on November 7, 2016.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmakers dismiss Empower Texans as irrelevant, but the group has the Texas House reeling again
After being ignored for much of this year's legislative session, the hardline conservative group claims to have a recording of House Speaker Dennis Bonnen offering media credentials in exchange for targeting 10 lawmakers in the 2020 elections. Full Story
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![Michael Quinn Sullivan of Empower Texans speaks at a conservative grassroots rally for property tax relief and reform at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, April 16, 2019.]()
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Most Texas House Republicans are staying quiet while Dennis Bonnen faces a growing scandal
Allegations that the House speaker politically targeted 10 GOP members have roiled the lower chamber, but some lawmakers say they need more evidence. “It’s a wait-and-see thing,” said one. Full Story
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![Speaker Dennis Bonnen during the Texas Fallen Heroes ceremony on May 25, 2019]()
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Texas DPS officers told not to arrest in low-level marijuana cases after new hemp law
A memo obtained by The Texas Tribune instructs DPS officers to cite and release suspects in misdemeanor marijuana cases "as appropriate." Officials said the goal is to continue enforcement even though some prosecutors aren't taking new pot cases. Full Story
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![State Troopers stop civilian on Congress Ave. in Austin, TX on Feb. 12, 2016.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune