Court reverses rebuke against state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt for wearing “pussyhat,” mocking Gov. Greg Abbott’s disability
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct had admonished Eckhardt in 2020 for her actions as Travis County judge. Full Story
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![State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, questions one of her colleagues during a floor debate on April 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Who’s required to get vaccinated in Texas? Here’s what you should know
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s mandate that requires federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Department of Justice is appealing the decision. Full Story
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Analysis: Texas politicians can change their minds. But it helps if the public goes first.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s openness to marijuana decriminalization shows that the state, while conservative, isn’t immune to larger trends. Full Story
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![A recently harvested marijuana flower hangs up to dry at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Medical Marijuana facility in South Austin on April 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says critics are "playing politics" over Texas National Guard suicides
Abbott said the suicides are being investigated and thinks it will come out that not all “actually occurred during Operation Lone Star.” Full Story
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![Members of the Texas National Guard set up a shade structure while they guard a gate along the border wall in Del Rio on September 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Watch: The Abbott vs. O’Rourke battle begins
The two-term Republican governor likely faces off against a Democratic challenger. Watch as we go behind the scenes. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke are major contenders for the upcoming governor race in Texas.]()
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Abbott, O'Rourke lead off election year with visits to border cities
The Republican governor officially announced his reelection campaign Saturday in McAllen, while likely Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke campaigned in El Paso. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Shelley Luther, anti-lockdown activist and GOP candidate, said Chinese students should be banned from Texas universities
Luther became nationally known at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 when she refused to shut down her Dallas salon in defiance of emergency orders. She was sentenced to a week in jail but was released after only a few days. Full Story
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![Dallas hair salon owner, Shelly Luther expresses the need for business to open up in Texas. She reassures everyone that her salon takes proper precautions at all times.]()
Credit: Jessica Nicole Rodriguez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers deplore mistreatment of National Guardsmen sent to border duty
Legislative leaders overseeing the Texas Military Department say they are looking into reports of suicides, habitual pay problems and poor working conditions on Gov. Greg Abbott's highly touted border mission. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas National Guard, seen here on Dec. 8, work 12- to 13-hour shifts guarding the Texas border wall, construction crews and materials near Del Rio. Thousands of National Guard troops were deployed to Del Rio after an increase in migration at the southern border.]()
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Analysis: Texas candidates run for the border
Texas candidates are talking all kinds of things right now, but one set of issues floats to the top, as it has in state elections for decades: border security and immigration. Full Story
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![A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle along the border fence between El Paso and Juarez on Feb. 10, 2019, in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Allen West blasts Gov. Greg Abbott over suicides, pay problems among National Guardsmen at the border
Abbott’s political challenger said guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star are facing late pay, being exposed to COVID-19, experiencing supply shortages and dealing with added stress that has led to multiple suicides tied to the mission. Full Story
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![A National Guard soldier leads a group of asylum seekers who have just crossed the border to be apprehended by Customs and Border Protection officers in Roma on Aug. 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott sues Biden administration over vaccine mandate for National Guard
The state has already challenged the federal government’s vaccine orders for big businesses, health care workers and federal contractors. Full Story
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![Texas National Guard troops at the state Capitol during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Austin on June 19, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Beto O’Rourke’s blunt support of marijuana legalization gives advocates hope for policy change
While the Texas Legislature has been hesitant to embrace policy change, advocates hope the O’Rourke campaign’s attention to marijuana legalization will give the issue a political boost. Full Story
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![Singer Willie Nelson, his son Lukas Nelson and U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke sing at the “Turn out for Texas Rally with Willie & Beto” event in Austin on September 29, 2018.]()
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Texas puts final estimate of winter storm death toll at 246
Officials added 36 to the estimate of lives lost in the disaster, which knocked out power in much of the state. Some experts place the toll even higher. Full Story
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![An ice and snow covered alley in South Austin after a freezing rain storm rolled through the area on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott calls on Biden administration to open more COVID-19 testing sites, send more monoclonal antibody treatments
The governor asked the federal government for help opening test sites in Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo and Tarrant counties. Full Story
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First part of Texas’ 2020 election audit reveals few issues, echoes findings from review processes already in place
An initial review of four counties’ election results — launched after pressure from former President Donald Trump and touted by GOP leaders — showed few discrepancies between electronic and hand counts of ballots in a sample of voting precincts. Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots at Audelia Road Branch Library on the first day of early voting in Dallas on Oct. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Statewide elections, a redder South Texas and Beto-mania: the biggest Texas political stories to watch for in 2022
Next year, every state official and every member of the Texas Legislature and Congress are up for election. That makes for a big year in Texas politics. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott intervened to put a positive spin on Texas' power grid
He's been heavily involved in positive public messaging about the grid’s winter readiness, but the data aren't rosy — and experts fear the grid could fail if there's another winter storm. Full Story
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![Snow at the Capitol in Austin on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
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Texas board rescinds recommendation for posthumous pardon of George Floyd
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles cited a procedural error for the decision but seemed to leave open the possibility that it would reconsider the issue in the near future. Full Story
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![A person stands at the "Say Their Names" cemetery on the day of the guilty verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 20, 2021.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott sticks with hands-off approach to COVID-19 as omicron spreads
Abbott’s office says vaccines are the best defense to the pandemic, however, the governor has rarely spoken about vaccines in recent months other than to push back against mandates. He did not respond to a question about whether he got the booster. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott adjusts his mask after giving an update on the categories of medical surge facilities at a press conference at the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Unhappy holidays: Texas endures another COVID Christmas
After nearly two years of navigating life during a pandemic, many Texans are now scrambling for COVID tests, delaying plans and worrying about relatives who have been exposed to the virus. Full Story
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![Travelers check flight statuses at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Nov. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune
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