With just over 15,000 fans in a stadium that holds more than 100,000, the University of Texas kicked off the football season after requiring mandatory COVID-19 tests for students who attended the game.
Sami Sparber
Sami Sparber was a reporting fellow at The Texas Tribune from 2020 to 2021. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, she has been a political unit intern at NBC News and a reporting intern at the Houston Chronicle. She has also worked as managing editor and projects editor at The Daily Texan.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas college football returns with thousands of fans in the stadiums as campus cases grow
The University of Texas at Austin will face off against The University of Texas at El Paso on Saturday with thousands of fans in the stadium and new safety precautions.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Student athletes get COVID-19 tests three times a week, while experts say testing for other university students is lagging
Public health experts say colleges need to dramatically ramp up testing in order to catch “silent spread” fueled by students who are infected but don’t have symptoms.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Texas Supreme Court rejects Republicans’ attempt to remove 44 Libertarians from the November ballot
The GOP sued because the Libertarians didn’t pay their filing fees. But the state Supreme Court said Republicans missed the deadline to kick them off the ballot.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Coronavirus cases postpone TCU-SMU game, the season’s first college football matchup involving a Texas Big 12 team
The game had been scheduled for Sept. 11.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas colleges expect larger online summer classes as students lose jobs, internships
School officials, still reeling financially from shutting down their campuses mid-semester, are unclear what the summer surge signals for their fall enrollment.
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Politics
Former U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, a Vietnam War veteran, has died
Johnson, R-Richardson, was first elected to Congress in 1991 and gained a reputation as a strong conservative voice in the Texas delegation. He was a prisoner of war for nearly seven years.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas will test all residents and staff in state-run homes for people with disabilities
The test kits for residents of state supported living centers have been ordered and are on their way. The agency is “working on a broader plan to get the test kits for staff,” a state official said.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas is testing everyone in nursing homes for coronavirus, but not state-run homes for people with disabilities
The facilities are still only testing residents and patients who are symptomatic or were potentially exposed to the virus, despite concerns raised by employees and family members about outbreaks.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas A&M researchers hope tuberculosis vaccine might prevent coronavirus deaths
Health care workers are being recruited for trials to test whether a decades-old TB vaccine might help people fight off the coronavirus. It’s not a cure, but it could be a crucial treatment.
