Departing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson emerges as a potential candidate for UT System chancellor
Tillerson's exit from the U.S. Department of State was announced less than two weeks ago. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/03/13/Tillerson_REUTERS_TT.jpg)
-
![Former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, whose departure from the Cabinet was announced on March 13, 2018, is shown arriving at a news conference between President Donald Trump and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg at the White House on Jan. 10, 2018.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria -
Months after Sutherland Springs, Sen. John Cornyn and Texas colleagues push improved gun background checks into law
Cornyn, the most powerful Texan in Congress, attached the measure to a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/09/24/Cornyn_close_TT.jpg)
![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, at the 2017 Texas Tribune Festival.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
How Donald Trump's border wall fared in the $1.3 trillion spending bill he just signed
"We funded the initial down payment of $1.6 billion," Trump said of border wall funding Friday. "We’re going to be starting work – literally – on Monday on not only some new wall ... but also fixing existing walls.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/10/26/Border_Wall_prototypes_TT.jpg)
![Ground views of different border wall prototypes as they take shape during the Wall Prototype Construction Project near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry on the U.S./Mexico border south of San Diego, California.]()
Credit: Mani Albrecht/CBP Media Relations -
Trump signs $1.3 trillion spending bill despite veto threat over DACA, border wall funding
President Donald Trump reversed course hours after threatening to veto a must-pass spending bill because it did nothing to address the fate of young undocumented immigrants and did not fully fund his border wall. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/28/Trump_addresses_Congress_2_TT.jpg)
![President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2017.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque -
Congress passes $1.3 trillion spending bill that includes some border wall funding
The massive spending bill Congress passed Thursday includes $1.6 billion allocated for a border wall but fell far short of the Trump administration's demands, and Democrats were able to exact significant restrictions on the wall's construction. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/01/30/Trump_SOTU_2018.jpg)
![President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Jan. 30. 2018.]()
Credit: The White House -
Abilene Christian University bans same-sex relationships for some student employees
After the decision, leaders of the West Texas university affiliated with Churches of Christ said their “first instinct is not exclusion but to love.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/08efe8be7492afe33c23e1fcf5467575/Abilene_Christian_TT.jpg)
![Abilene Christian University's Bible Building and Bell Tower.]()
Credit: Keithimus/Wikimedia Commons -
Analysis: Electioneering is not a crime unless it’s on the taxpayers’ dime
State officials are warning school officials, in effect, not to turn into political organizers. That means educators shouldn't be telling students how to vote, but it sounds like some state officials don't even want educators helping students to become voters. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/08/01/APrice-AustinISDSchoolBus-17.jpg)
![Austin ISD school buses at the terminal near John H. Reagan High School on July 26, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price / The Texas Tribune -
Large portions of West Texas sinking at alarming rate, new report finds
A report released Thursday by geophysicists at Southern Methodist University says a 4,000-square-mile area near the "Wink Sinks" is showing signs of alarming instability. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/07/11/sinkholes-003.JPG)
![A twisted pipeline stretches above Wink Sink No. 1, showing the force of the collapse of tons of dirt.]()
Credit: Rafael Aguilera -
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's gun background check bill added to government funding measure
The bill would hold government agencies accountable for failing to properly document individuals' criminal histories in the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Full Story
![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, at the 2017 Texas Tribune Festival.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
How national politics will impact the 2018 elections, according to two Fort Worth representatives.
We livestreamed our conversation with state Reps. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, and Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth. Watch the full video, or check out our recap. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TTE-CollierKrause_leadart-01.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
1 month after attacking Laura Moser, DCCC spars with another Texas Democrat
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee telegraphed its preferences Thursday in two primary runoffs for U.S. House seats in Texas, one month after its effort to torpedo a Houston Democrat's congressional bid appeared to backfire. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/59092000519af27504ba6fa47df7adea/Allred_Salerno_TT.jpg)
![Colin Allred and Lillian Salerno are in the Democratic runoff in May for Texas' 32nd Congressional District. That seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas.]()
Credit: Facebook campaign pages -
Conservative group planted an intern in state lawmaker's office, former intern testifies
In addition to taking covert videos of Texas lawmakers in 2015, the American Phoenix Foundation allegedly planted an intern in state Rep. James White's office in 2013 in an attempt to catch the Hillister Republican engaging in fraud. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/05/13/IMG_0006.jpg)
![A representative of the American Phoenix Foundation questions state Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, outside the House chamber on May 13, 2015.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Austin residents shared their fears and their info on Nextdoor during bombings
Social networking and surveillance technology played a big role in how Austin residents coped with a frightening few weeks. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2e0841f007e22e0bfb4a6b703bf4c8a2/_97I2823.JPG)
![FBI agents and other authorities gather around the home of bombing suspect Mark Conditt in Pflugerville on Mar. 21, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Census estimates show another year of rapid growth for Texas suburbs
New population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau underscore the extent to which the explosive growth of the state's suburban areas relies on attracting residents from other areas of the state and country. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/03/23/SM_growth_photos-14.jpg)
![Hays County — with its population spread across suburbs like Buda, Wimberley and Dripping Springs — was one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas among those with populations greater than 10,000.]()
Credit: Madelynne Scales -
This Texas school began arming teachers with guns in 2007. More than 170 other districts have followed.
Harrold Independent School District was the first of many Texas districts — mostly in rural or isolated areas — to arm educators and other employees to prevent a potential school shooting. "I don't want to be anybody's victim," the school's superintendent says. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ddfcb71dc70031f6941d6d2681db95b9/Harrold_GUNS_2_MKC_TT.jpg)
![Mock weapons used to train educators in Harrold, Texas. The North Texas school district was the first to allow educators to carry guns on school grounds in 2007.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Police say the suspect in the Austin bombing attacks is dead
Authorities have identified the man as Pflugerville resident Mark A. Conditt. They say he died Wednesday in one of his own bomb blasts as they were trying to arrest him. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ec017392b7ba4149bc9cf6c18ddbc736/Manley_bomber_dies_presser_REUTERS.jpg)
![Austin Police Chief Brian Manley talks to reporters after the suspect in a series of Austin-area bombings detonated a bomb in his car as police approached the vehicle, killing himself on Mar. 21, 2018.]()
Credit: Reuters -
Austin bombings, Ted Cruz and Cambridge Analytica (podcast)
On this week's TribCast, Emily talked to Evan, Patrick, Alex and Democratic congressional candidate M.J. Hegar about Hegar's impending runoff, the Austin bombings and another client of now-notorious Cambridge Analytica, Ted Cruz. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/11/22/TTE-tribcast_leadart.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Emily Albracht / Todd Wiseman -
Judge's ruling would let Texas consumers buy booze from Walmart and Costco
Unlike residents of more than 30 U.S. states and many foreign nations, Texans who want to buy a fifth of vodka or bourbon can't find their favorite spirit on the shelves of their local Walmart or Costco. A landmark ruling issued by a federal court in Austin could soon change that. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/WiggysLiquor.png)
![Wiggy's Liquor, August 2010, in Austin.]()
Credit: Michael Connell -
U.S. Supreme Court orders lower court to reconsider Texas death row inmate's appeal for funds to investigate his case
Carlos Ayestas, 48, said he wants to explore evidence of his mental illness, brain injuries or drug use that wasn't brought up during his trial for the murder of a 67-year-old woman. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/04/03/Carlos_Ayestas_SCOTUS_TT.jpg)
![Carlos Ayestas was sentenced to death for the murder of Santiaga Paneque, who was killed during a robbery in her home in Houston in 1995.]()
Credit: TDCJ/Abby Livingston -
Austin's serial bombings: Here's what we know and what questions remain
The bomb explosions in Austin and Schertz left two people dead and several others injured. Wednesday morning, police say the man they believe is responsible detonated a bomb and killed himself. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0a7dea4e7014221818fa3f0d944966d8/Law_enforcement_at_bomb_scene_4_BD_TT.jpg)
![Law enforcement officials work into the afternoon on Monday, March 19, 2018, following a fourth package bomb explosion Sunday night in southwest Austin that injured two men.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune