Gov. Greg Abbott threatens to veto pared-down school choice bill, warns of special sessions
Abbott says if a school voucher bill isn’t expanded to include more students, a special legislative session will be the result. Full Story
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![Gov. Abbott poses for a photo with Covenant Christian Academy students at the Parent Empowerment Night event hosted by the Parent Empowerment Coalition at in McAllen on April 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to protect against hairstyle discrimination sent to Texas governor
The CROWN Act would ensure protection for Texans who wear their hair in natural styles such as braids, locs, twists or knots. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ron Reynolds urges the passage of the CROWN act during a press conference held by the Texas Legislative Black Caucus in the state capitol on April 13, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas sends more buses with migrants to Washington, D.C., the day before Title 42 is set to end at the border
As the Biden administration prepares to end the Trump policy that quickly expels migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, Gov. Greg Abbott orders two more buses to take migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence. Full Story
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![Union Station, Washington, DC - Activists line up for escort as two buses of migrants arrive near Union Station as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s new plan in response to the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era emergency health order to that allowed immigration authorities at the border to deny entry to migrants in Washington, DC, on Thursday, April 21, 2022.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes sweeping border funding bill, guts proposed policing unit
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle threw their support behind a new requirement that the unit use only commissioned peace officers for enforcement actions. Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety agents arrest an undocumented migrant for trespassing private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
Daniel Perry is sentenced to 25 years for killing an Austin protester. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to pardon him.
Perry’s case has become an explosive political stew of arguments over gun rights, self-defense and racist social media posts. The governor dived in early, saying he would pardon Perry even before a judge handed down the sentence. Full Story
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![Daniel Perry reacts after being sentenced to 25 years for the murder of Garrett Foster, at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.]()
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Thwarting Democratic efforts, House Republicans revive border policing unit in early-morning vote
The proposed unit would let those who are not law officers arrest or detain suspected undocumented immigrants in border-region counties. Full Story
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![A member of the Texas Army National Guard holds a flashlight as migrants crawl over rocks after wading across the Rio Grande into the United States from Mexico, in Roma, on March 4, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Adrees Latif -
Gov. Greg Abbott focuses on border security in first address since Allen and Brownsville tragedies
Abbott announced the deployment of new “Texas Tactical Border Force” units to El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley on Monday and Tuesday. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott greets Texas Army National Guard troops deploying from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Monday May 8, 2023, to secure the Texas-Mexico border in anticipation of the end of Title 42 later this week.]()
Credit: Jay Janner/American-Statesman/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
A former NFL player persuaded politicians that his child ID kits help find missing kids. There’s no evidence they do.
Texas is among at least 11 states that have agreed to distribute fingerprinting kits sold by Kenny Hansmire’s Waco-based National Child Identification Program. Some are spending millions even though similar kits are available for free. Full Story
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Credit: Lauren Crow for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
Gunman in Allen mall shooting may have had right-wing extremist beliefs
The shooter wore a patch that said, “RWDS,” an acronym for Right Wing Death Squad, according to people familiar with the investigation. The phrase is popular among right-wing extremists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists, they said. Full Story
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![People gather on the street across from of the Allen Premium Outlets after the shooting that killed eight people Saturday afternoon and wounded at least seven more on May 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
After Allen shooting, Texas Republican leaders downplay guns, focus on mental health
President Joe Biden confirmed Sunday that the gunman used an AR-15 in the attack. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during the Texas Rally for Life event at the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House may revise anti-diversity legislation to allow some programs to maintain grants, federal funding
A new version of Senate Bill 17 expected to be considered by the House’s Higher Education Committee on Monday would still ban DEI offices and prohibit required diversity training, but it would open the door for university boards of regents to approve such programs in certain circumstances. Full Story
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![Illustrated posters reading “We Belong Here” litter the Capitol’s rotunda floor during Texas Students for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s protest of HB1 Rider No. 186, which would defund DEI initiatives at public universities, on Mar. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Can Texas’ political leaders stop their bickering for the legislative homestretch?
In this week’s episode, we discuss the final three weeks of the Legislature and Colin Allred’s bid for U.S. Senate. Full Story
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![Representatives recite the Pledge of Allegiance on the House floor in Austin on April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Legislature enters homestretch with many of the session’s biggest issues unresolved
The list of potential hurdles includes property tax cuts, school choice, the power grid, the state budget, plus diversity and tenure in higher education. Full Story
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![State Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, talks with Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, during budget discussions on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Poll finds solid majority of Texans, even Republicans, favor raising age for gun purchases
The University of Texas survey also found stronger support for Sen. Ted Cruz, while Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis remain popular among Republicans. Full Story
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![Hundreds of handguns and rifles for sale at McBride’s Gun’s in Central Austin on Wednesday, April 20, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Once again, tension builds after state police are deployed to a major Texas city
A month after the Texas Department of Public Safety began patrolling Austin streets, city officials have both praised a drop in violent crime and condemned the operation’s disparate impact on Latino and Black residents. In 2019, Dallas faced the same challenges. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) graduates a class of 74 new state troopers at the Texas Capitol.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
After backlash, Abbott expresses some regret after labeling all Cleveland shooting victims “illegal immigrants”
The governor’s focus on immigration status, not the loss of life, draws rebukes from across the country. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
“A death sentence”: Trans Texas teen plots his future as proposed ban on hormone therapy progresses
As Texas House members could soon vote to ban transition-related care for minors, many lives are in limbo, and trans kids like 16-year-old Randell are grappling with difficult decisions. Full Story
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![Randell inspects the rose bush outside of his home in Fort Worth, on April 27, 2023. He says it can be difficult for anything, or anyone, to grow in Texas.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
FBI, Texas authorities search for gunman who killed 5 neighbors in San Jacinto County
In the face of mass shootings in Texas, state leaders have made it easier to access guns. Full Story
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![In a still image from video, an aerial view of the wooded area where a search is being conducted for Francisco Oropeza, 38, who police say shot dead five neighbors in Cleveland on Saturday, April 29, 2023. The shooting took place the night before.]()
Credit: ABC affiliate KTRK via REUTERS -
Texas Senate passes bill limiting farmland sales to China, other countries
The amended bill is a dramatically watered-down version of an earlier proposal that sought to ban land and home purchases by citizens of China and three other countries. Full Story
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![Attendees in opposition to SB 147 hold signs during a press conference in opposition to Senate Bill 147 outside of City Hall on Jan. 23, 2023, in downtown Houston.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Biden approves disaster relief for 13 Texas counties with damage from winter ice storms
Gov. Greg Abbott, who requested a federal disaster declaration for 23 counties, called it a critical first step in the recovery. Full Story
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![A technician from the Pedernales Electric Cooperative arrives to check on a power line in northwest Austin, Texas on February 1, 2023. Power outages swept across the region as a result of damage to power lines from ice and fallen tree limbs.]()
Credit: Angela Wang for The Texas Tribune