Deer Park terminal fire extinguished after three days of burning
A fire that broke out Sunday morning at a petrochemical storage facility in the industrial Houston suburb stopped burning overnight. Full Story
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![A thick layer of smoke hangs in the air from a fire burning at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, east of Houston, Texas, U.S., March 18, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Loren Elliott -
Trump's emergency declaration could mean Texas' military installations lose millions for future projects
Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Bliss, Fort Hood and the naval reserve center in Galveston could all lose funding for construction projects if the president's plan to divert money from the military to a border wall succeeds. Full Story
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![Soldiers on a shooting range at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX.]()
Credit: Adam Theo for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House panel advances school finance bill but removes merit pay provision
The $9 billion bill has more than 100 co-sponsors in the House but will need to be reconciled with Senate proposals. Full Story
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![Chairman of the House Public Education Committee and State Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, hears public testimonies during the House Public Education Committee meeting on March 12, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Medical cannabis expansion has high support in the Texas Legislature. But Dan Patrick might stand in the way.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's wariness of proposals to expand the state's narrow medical cannabis program may block any such bills from reaching the governor's desk this session. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Senate Parliamentarian Karina Davis on on the Senate floor on Jan. 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers are prioritizing mental health for school safety. But advocates worry about stigma.
The newfound push this session around school safety and preventing mass shootings is reinvigorating ideas about mental health care for Texas children. But advocates often cringe when legislators make the argument that mental health care is the key to preventing mass shootings. Full Story
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![Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flowermound, introduces SB 3 on the Senate Floor on Mar. 4, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
State regulators: No 'immediate health concerns' from Deer Park terminal fire
In a statement Monday afternoon, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said air quality monitoring "had not detected any immediate health concerns at ground level" amid a multi-tank fire at a petrochemical storage facility near Houston. Full Story
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![Smoke rises from a fire burning at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, east of Houston on March 18, 2019.]()
Credit: Jaimie Meldrum/Handout via REUTERS -
Texas House committee backs budget plan with extra $9 billion for school finance, property tax reform
After passing through the House Appropriations Committee, House Bill 1 now goes to the full Texas House. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, and State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, discuss the budget at a Texas Tribune event on Nov. 29, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Beto O'Rourke raises $6.1 million in first 24 hours — beating Bernie Sanders and all other 2020 contenders
The Texas Democrat says he raked in over $6.1 million for his presidential bid in the first 24 hours of his campaign — an eye-popping number that beats every other Democrat who has disclosed first-day figures so far. Full Story
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![Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks with supporters during a three-day road trip across Iowa, in Waterloo, Iowa on March 16, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Ben Brewer -
Gov. Greg Abbott's influence has shifted Texas bail reform efforts toward a bill that would give him more control
There are now two sets of bail reform bills named after a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who was murdered while the suspect was out of jail on a $15,500 bond after allegedly assaulting a sheriff’s deputy. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott. joined by DPS Director Steve McCraw (seated, left) and Kasey Allen, widow of Damon Allen, speaks at a press conference in Waco on August 7, 2018. Abbott announced a proposal to reform the bail system in Texas. The proposal is in honor of State Trooper Damon Allen, who was killed while on duty in 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
What the “wave of women” elected in 2018 looks like in the 2019 Texas Legislature
This freshman class of female legislators is young, diverse and — thanks to the women who came before them — treated as equals in the traditionally male-dominated chambers. Full Story
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Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Bigger stages demand better contestants — in politics, as in everything else
Julián Castro and Beto O'Rourke, the Texans in the scrum of Democrats seeking that party's presidential nomination, have been on big stages before. But not this big. Full Story
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![U.S. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro speaks during a campaign stop at The Livery Deli, in Boone, Iowa on Feb. 23, 2019.]()
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With major policy differences emerging, state leaders continue to project unity
Halfway through the legislative session, lawmakers say they're getting along. But they have a long way to go to achieve their goals this year. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen hold a joint press conference on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion on Jan. 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
As number of imprisoned Texas women grows, lawmakers hope to add "dignity" to their time behind bars
Multiple bills filed this session aim to address deficiencies in women's prisons. Full Story
![Emily Fulbright at the Women's [In]Justice Day rally on the south steps of the capitol on Mar. 8, 2019.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/MCvqYC_kzwU_DLsyzq81SRirgKo=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/596cb4f29ebd0a0fc275e0cf4811f00d/05_Women_Prisons_March_MG.jpg)
![Emily Fulbright at the Women's [In]Justice Day rally on the south steps of the capitol on Mar. 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
In Iowa, Beto O'Rourke works to find his footing on health care
O'Rourke has long said he wants health care to be affordable, high quality and universal — a goal that brought questions from voters during his first few days as a presidential candidate. Full Story
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![Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, 46, runs a St. Patrick's Day 5K race during a three-day road trip across Iowa, in North Liberty, Iowa on March 16, 2019.]()
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Beto O'Rourke gets crash course in presidential scrutiny over two days in Iowa
By the second day of his Iowa debut, O'Rourke was fully submerged in the buzzsaw that is a presidential campaign. Full Story
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![Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, 46, speaks with supporters during a three day road trip across Iowa, in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, U.S., March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Ben Brewer]()
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Beto O’Rourke acknowledges involvement with hacking group as a teen, expresses regret for writings
O’Rourke called the writings he produced while part of the group "really hateful, really bad stuff" and said he was "mortified to read it now." 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.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Texas counties removed 14 voters from the rolls in citizenship review
The voters flagged by the state as "possible non-U.S. citizens" have since been reinstated amid ongoing litigation that halted the review effort. Full Story
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![Long lines for the start of early voting snaked around the parking at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center near downtown Houston on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Joaquin Castro appears likely to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn
A source close to Castro said the four-term congressman will very likely soon announce a bid for U.S. Senate. Full Story
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![US Congressman Joaquin Castro listens to a speaker during a "Where Are The Children?" rally Thursday night highlighting the over 600 children that were separated from their parents while trying to immigrate to the United States. The rally took place on Gualdalupe Plaza in San Antonio on May 31, 2018.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz fined $35,000 for not properly disclosing campaign loans from Goldman Sachs, Citibank
The resolution comes three years after the complaint against Cruz was first filed and seven years after his U.S. Senate campaign. Full Story
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![Ted Cruz speaks at the annual School Choice Week rally held on the South Steps of the Texas State Capitol on Jan. 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
After new admissions scandal, former Regent Wallace Hall says University of Texas' rules are a "joke"
Hall led a heated battle to reform the school's admissions procedures, which led to reforms in 2015. But after a UT tennis coach was accused of taking a bribe to help a student gain admission, Hall says more needs to be done. Full Story
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![UT Regent Wallace Hall on April 28, 2014. Lawmakers admonished and censured Hall, who was waging a personal investigation into lawmaker influence in the UT-Austin admissions process.]()
Credit: Charlie Pearce for The Texas Tribune