The Brief: May 18, 2015
With two weeks left in the legislative session, here are a couple of takes on the state of play on taxes and the budget, the only piece of legislation that must be passed. Full Story
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![Happy Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, watches passage of SB 1 budget bill on a 30-1 vote April 14, 2015. Lone no vote was Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: May 13, 2015
The House's tax writing committee on Tuesday took up the Senate's proposal to cut property taxes by raising homeowners' residential homestead exemption. But what transpired on Tuesday was far from a kumbaya moment. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, celebrates passage of his tax cut measures during the House session April 28, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Trade Deal Backed by Cornyn, Cruz is Blocked in U.S. Senate
Despite the support of nearly every Republican in the U.S. Senate, including both from Texas, economic legislation seen as key to President Obama's legacy was blocked on the U.S. Senate floor Tuesday. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. John Cornyn sits with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and wife Heidi Cruz at the Fort Hood Purple Heart ceremony on April 10, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: May 11, 2015
The news organization Breitbart Texas confirmed that it has received footage of lawmakers shot by a nonprofit tied to conservative causes, but it has no plans to release any of it before the end of the legislative session in three weeks. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on the opening day of the 83rd legislative session, Jan. 8, 2013.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Perry, Cruz Make Their Mark at S.C. Forum for Presidential Contenders
Speaking at a presidential contender forum, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and former Gov. Rick Perry took on issues like foreign policy and religious freedom laws, and they both remembered a certain Alamo commander and South Carolina native. Full Story
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![Former Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz stumping in South Carolina, an early primary state, on May 8 and 9, 2015.]()
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The Brief: May 4, 2015
Texas officials continue to investigate an incident Sunday night in Garland where two men shot a security guard outside a contest featuring cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Police returned fire, killing the two men. Full Story
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![Austin Police Officer Cory Ehrler monitors the entrance to Ridgetop Elementary School after classes start on the Monday following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. As the 83rd legislative session approaches, Texas lawmakers are considering making firearms more available to teachers and other school personnel.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa -
Video: Castro on 2016
At our 5/1 conversation, Julián Castro, the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, talked about the 2016 presidential race — assessing the GOP field and gently deflecting questions about his own veep prospects. Full Story
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The Brief: April 30, 2015
A gathering of Hispanic evangelicals in Houston on Wednesday attracted two Republicans eyeing a run for the White House who repeated positions on immigration that have gotten them in hot water with party conservatives. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Cruz: Obama Has "Inflamed Racial Tensions"
Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday at a U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce event in Washington that President Obama has aggravated racial tensions around the country rather than unifying the nation. Full Story
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![Speaking to Austin's entrepreneur community, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz blasts Washington's attempt to regulate the Internet on Nov. 14, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: April 27, 2015
There was more fallout late last week from the Southern Methodist University-led research study that linked wastewater injection wells to a swarm of earthquakes near Reno and Azle in late 2013 and early 2014. Full Story
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![Texas Railroad Commission lead engineering technician for districts 1 and 2, Michael Polasek, inspects a salt water disposal injection well at a Heckman Water Resources commercial disposal facility on the LAMZA lease near Highway 80, January 22, 2012.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney -
Inside Texas Politics: Breakfast Blowup
On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talk about last week's "breakfast blowup." Full Story
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![Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talks to WFAA "Inside Texas Politics" host Jason Whitely on April 26, 2015.]()
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Cruz, Perry Deliver Fiery Appeals to Jewish Donors
The two White House hopefuls from Texas made fiery appeals Saturday to a well-heeled crowd at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual meeting in Las Vegas. Full Story
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![Former Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz]()
Credit: Cooper Neill -
Pacific Trade Deal Vote Jumbles Texas Delegation
Texans in Congress are trying to balance party loyalties, distrust of the president and the interests of their districts as they decide whether to give President Obama fast-track authority on a Pacific Rim trade deal. Full Story
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Perry, Cruz to Make 2016 Pitch to Jewish Donors — Including a Big One
Former Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz are heading to Las Vegas to make their presidential pitches to a group of major Jewish donors that includes billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Full Story
![Former Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz]()
Credit: Cooper Neill -
The Brief: April 24, 2015
The House and Senate made some gestures of goodwill on Thursday designed to lower the tensions that had developed between the chambers this week. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus (left) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
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Video: Ted Cruz on Gay Marriage
In light of a New York Times report that GOP presidential contender Ted Cruz took a different tone on same-sex marriage at a Monday reception at the home of two gay businessmen, here's a look at his comments on the topic to Tribune reporter Jay Root. Full Story
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The Brief: April 22, 2015
A shift in the public debate over the relationship between oil and gas production and earthquakes happened Tuesday with a new study in Texas and a turnabout by the Oklahoma government on the issue. Full Story
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Analysis: What Happens When Texans' Presidential Primary Votes Matter
A crowded Republican race for the 2016 presidential nomination could bring a nationally competitive contest to a state that does not often get to take part. And that could influence state politics even as the state gets a word into the national debate. Full Story
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![Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, Jeb Bush]()
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The Brief: April 20, 2015
The federal government is putting new pressure on Texas to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, possibly pushing the issue to the front burner of a Legislature entering its final six weeks. Full Story
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Inside Texas Politics: The Finance Primary
On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics with host Shelly Slater, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey, talk turns to presidential hopefuls and fundraising in Texas. Full Story
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![Tribune Executive editor Ross Ramsey on WFAA's "Inside Texas Politics" on April 19, 2015.]()
Credit: WFAA
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