Stories by Texas Tribune fellows

O’Connor, the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice, died Friday. She is more commonly known as an Arizonan, but she graduated high school in Texas and multiple schools here now bear her name. Full Story 

Inflation, stagnant federal funding for food programs and high housing costs mean that demand at food banks still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels. Full Story 

The announcement comes after the university spent more than $75 million to fire former football coach Jimbo Fisher. A&M did not immediately say how much it will pay Elko. Full Story 

The Pew Research Center analyzed unauthorized immigrant data from 2021 finding that there’s been a significant shift in migrants’ country of origin and where they choose to live in the U.S. Full Story 

The debate, scheduled for Sept. 16, 2024, will be the first of four for the general election. The San Marcos school would be the first Texas university to hold a presidential debate, Texas State officials said. Full Story 

Abbott made the presidential endorsement after he and Trump served meals to service members deployed for Operation Lone Star, Abbott’s sprawling border security mission. Full Story 

The Sherman school board also temporarily ended the superintendent oversight of its fine arts programs pending the results of the investigation. Full Story 

The Republican-controlled Texas State Board of Education this week rejected most of the proposed textbooks that include climate science for eighth grade students. Five of 12 were approved. Full Story 

Last year, Texas joined more than 30 other states in banning TikTok on government-issued cell phones and computers. A nationwide coalition of professors are suing the state over the ban, arguing it has limited their ability to teach and research the social media app. Full Story 

Bishop Strickland, a Pope Benedict XVI appointee, has been a fiercely vocal critic of Pope Francis’ efforts to reform the Catholic Church. Full Story 

After Max Hightower scored a role in the seminal American musical, administrators changed their policy on performers’ gender. After backlash, the school board directed the school to produce the original version “Oklahoma!” — not a youth version that cut Hightower’s solo. Full Story 

The two new measure could bring $1.3 billion more to schools to pay for security systems, fencing and personnel training. Full Story 

The uptick comes after community colleges saw enrollment drop by about 80,000 students between 2019 and 2021. Full Story 

House Bill 1, which stagnated during the previous special session, finally received a hearing in the lower chamber, a crucial step that will decide whether the proposal gets a full vote. Full Story 

The neighboring regions are projected to collectively grow from 5.2 million to 8.3 million people by 2050. But the state still lacks an overarching plan to address critical housing and transportation issues, experts said. Full Story 

In an interview about his upcoming book “Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America,” Cruz talks about 2024, antisemitism and “woke” politics. Full Story 

The revised bill promises a significant funding increase for public schools and academic accountability measures for students participating in the proposed voucher program, two of the biggest requests from voucher opponents. Full Story 

If approved by voters on Nov. 7, the proposal would allocate $3.3 billion to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, increasing pensions between 2% and 6%. Full Story 

Supporters of the amendment say it will protect farmers as the state’s largest cities continue to grow. Opponents suggest the amendment is too broad and ambiguous. Full Story 

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it needs more money to comply with new regulations, hire more employees and fight legal challenges. It said the budget increase will cost power customers less than 20 cents per month. Full Story