Doug Emhoff to lead San Antonio rally for Texas Democrats
The second gentleman’s visit will focus on voting rights. Full Story
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![Doug Emhoff, second gentleman of the United States, walks on stage to speak with supporters for his wife, Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in The Villages, Florida, on Sept. 13, 2024.]()
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Even as state mental health spending rises, private psychiatric hospitals struggle to stay open
Texas hasn’t increased Medicaid rates for inpatient health care at private hospitals in 16 years, falling behind other states. Full Story
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![The Nix Health behavioral health center in San Antonio closed in 2019.]()
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Maternal deaths surged in Texas in 2020, 2021
Even excluding deaths related to COVID, Texas’ maternal mortality rate spiked, reversing two years of improvement. Full Story
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![A woman gets a sonogram in an Austin clinic.]()
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Texas education commissioner calls for student cellphone ban in schools
Mike Morath made the recommendation as concerns rise that phones are harmful to students’ mental health and distract them from learning. Full Story
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![High school students walk to their next class after the bell rings at Elsik Ninth Grade Center in Houston on March 28, 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Republicans pour money into attacking Texas Democrats on LGBTQ+ issues ahead of Election Day
In his largest ad buy to date, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz attacks U.S. Rep. Colin Allred for his support of the Equality Act. It would have prohibited gender discrimination in public places. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Texas Unconstitutional Abortion Ban and the Role of the Shadow Docket", in Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on Sept. 29, 2021.]()
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What you need to know about the Venezuelan gang that Texas is targeting
Gov. Greg Abbott has declared the Venezuelan gang a foreign terrorist organization and asked the Department of Public Safety to create a strike team targeting them. Full Story
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![Members of the Chilean Armed Forces participate in a security operation against suspects with links to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, on May 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Patricio Cortés B./Ulan/POOL via REUTERS -
Dozens of Texas school districts press state to suspend new student data reporting system
The superintendents said they haven’t received enough support from the state or time to fix errors the system generated. Full Story
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![TEA Commissioner Mike Morath addresses the State Board of Education on June 26, 2024, at the William B. Travis Building in Austin.]()
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Travis County sues top Texas officials, accusing them of violating National Voter Registration Act
Attorney General Ken Paxton and Secretary of State Jane Nelson are targeted in the new suit, escalating a pre-election war over voter registration efforts. Full Story
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![Travis County Judge Andy Brown speaks during a press conference and reviews the details related to accidental drug overdoses, in Austin, on June 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
Democrats hope anti-voucher campaign will help win back South Texas House seat
The first-term Republican defending her seat said a private school voucher program will help her community, especially students from low-income families. Full Story
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![From left: Democrat Jonathan Gracia is challenging Republican incumbent Janie Lopez in state House District 37, which covers part of the Rio Grande Valley, which includes Harlingen and part of Brownsville.]()
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Judge tosses Ken Paxton’s lawsuit targeting Bexar County’s voter registration effort
The county told a state district court judge that the applications were already mailed out and any ruling would be moot. Full Story
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![People wait outside the Bexar County Elections Department in San Antonio to drop off their mail-in ballots, their voter registration applications or to be trained as poll workers on Oct. 5, 2020.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
UT-Austin tightens automatic admission threshold to 5% of Texas’ top high schoolers
The current threshold is 6%. The change comes after the university received a record-breaking 73,000 undergraduate applications for this fall. Full Story
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![The University of Texas at Austin tower on July 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP investing in South Texas races as some Republicans worry about party's performance in November
Several local party officials have signed an open letter warning that “grave and deteriorating” fundraising and voter outreach efforts could leave some candidates vulnerable. Full Story
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![Newly elected Republican Party of Texas Vice-Chair D’rinda Randall, left, and Chair Abraham George and speak during the Texas GOP Convention Saturday, May 25, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott announces crackdown on Venezuelan gang
Abbott signed a proclamation declaring Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization and directed Texas DPS to create strike teams targeting the gang. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott arrives at a press conference with several other states leadership at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass on Feb. 04, 2024.]()
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Texas lawmakers question agency's ability to oversee $5 billion energy loan program after initial glitch
Lawmakers tasked the Public Utility Commission with overseeing the Texas Energy Fund, though the agency has no experience running a loan program. Full Story
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![Public Utilities Commission Chairman Thomas Gleeson speaks during a meeting on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Leaders of various energy companies spoke to the committee about the status of their companies in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. (Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Democratic Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos joins crowded Texas House speaker race
Rodríguez Ramos faces an uphill battle, as Democrats are the minority party with 64 seats in the 150-member Texas House. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ana-Maria Rodríguez Ramos, D-Richardson, speaks at a Texas House Progressive Caucus press conference at the Capitol on Sept. 20, 2021.]()
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Amarillo Republican John Smithee joins Texas House speaker race
After Attorney General Ken Paxton’s failed impeachment trial, his allies touted Smithee, one of the House’s most senior members, as a speaker candidate. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, speaks on the House floor in 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton withdrew an opinion on gun bans weeks after suing Texas state fair for a similar restriction
Paxton sued Dallas and state fair officials last month, arguing the fair’s private organizer had violated state law by banning firearms on the fairgrounds. Full Story
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![The State Fair of Texas in 2016.]()
Credit: Allison V. Smith for The Texas Tribune -
At this West Texas church, “the Lord’s work” is helping the poor, not rewriting state law
Led by co-pastors Joe and Dawn Weaks, Connection Christian Church, a 118-year-old congregation in Odessa, has transformed while keeping true to its legacy of helping the community. Full Story
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![Pastor Dawn Weaks leads her congregation in prayer during a blessing of the backpacks ceremony for the start of the new school year at Connection Christian Church Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Odessa.]()
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Texas’ battle against deer disease threatens breeding industry
Texas has seen a record number of chronic wasting disease cases this year. The state is looking for new ways to contain the spread without driving deer breeders out of business. Full Story
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![Does at John True's breeding facility in Terrell, Texas on Sept. 9, 2024.]()
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GOP bid to remove polling sites from Tarrant County college campuses fails
County Judge Tim O’Hare said he proposed the cuts to save costs. Critics accused Republican leaders of suppressing the vote of young people who back Democrats. Full Story
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![ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 10, 2024: Makayla Ortega, 19, a student at University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), registers to vote at the UTA campus in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. CREDIT: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune