Central Texas faith leaders and politicians rebuke antisemitic incidents after fire outside Austin synagogue
Austin fire officials said they’re investigating a Sunday incident that caused about $25,000 in damage as a potential arson. Full Story
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![Rabbi Neil Blumofe spoke at a press conference at the Dell Jewish Community Center on Nov. 1, 2021, after a fire outside Congregation Beth Israel.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
How today’s near-total abortion ban in Texas was 20 years in the making
Since 2000, Texas lawmakers have reduced the number of abortions in the state by restricting access to the procedure. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Video: South Texans adapt to near-total abortion ban with Plan B pills and trips out of state
In South Texas, poverty and immigration status compound the obstacles facing pregnant people seeking abortions. Full Story
Texas’ Senate Bill 8 is considered the most restrictive ban on abortion in the nation. In South Texas, it has spurred organizations to provide emergency contraception and out-of-state travel assistance. Credit: The Texas Tribune
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Texas sues the Biden administration over federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott have been at war with locals and federal officials over vaccinate mandates. Earlier this month, Abbott expanded an executive order to block the requirement for any entity in Texas, including health care facilities and private businesses. Full Story
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![Joseph Situentes Peña, 13, receives his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic held in partnership between the Central Texas Food Bank and University of Texas in Austin on July 21, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans want to make the state the center of the cryptocurrency universe
Texas Republicans have largely welcomed the blockchain technology industry with open arms. But skeptics are concerned about cryptocurrency mining’s impact on the environment and energy grid. Full Story
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![Computers mine for Bitcoin at Whinstone's Rockdale facility on Oct. 22, 2021. At capacity, the building can support 22,000 computers.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
After Texas and other states passed new voting restrictions, federal bills could expand ballot access. Here’s what you need to know.
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote this week on the Freedom to Vote Act, which would supersede some of Texas’ new elections law. Full Story
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![A polling location in the Performing Arts Center at Texas State University in San Marcos during early voting on Oct. 19, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court considers taking up abortion providers’ challenge to Texas’ near-total ban on the procedure
Providers want the Supreme Court to take the case before an appeals court hears it. The high court gave defendants, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, until Thursday to respond to the providers’ request. Full Story
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![Protestors joined several Democratic lawmakers outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2019, to show their opposition to the recent abortion ban implemented by several states.]()
Credit: Stefani Reynolds/CNP/ABACAPRESS.COM via REUTERS -
Biden administration to ask Supreme Court to stop enforcement of Texas’ near-total abortion ban
Court decisions have gone back and forth on the law’s enforceability over several weeks. Full Story
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![The Supreme Court in Washington on Sept. 21, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
As Texas GOP wages war on COVID-19 mandates, lawmakers OK bill that would make companies requiring the shot vulnerable to lawsuits
Senate Bill 51 would make any entity, including hospitals, vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits if they mandate vaccinations for all employees. Full Story
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![A COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card sits on a table at a vaccine clinic held in partnership between the Central Texas Food Bank and University of Texas in Austin on July 21, 2021.]()
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U.S. to reopen land borders with Mexico to vaccinated travelers starting in November
The borders were closed to nonessential travel in March 2020, which hurt businesses in Texas border cities that rely on Mexican shoppers. Full Story
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![Scenes from downtown near the international bridge on day one of the shelter-in-place order that was put in place by the county judge Oct. 30, 2020, in El Paso. The El Paso mayor and Gov. Abbott are fighting the order in court.]()
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Ted Cruz and John Cornyn opposed a debt-limit increase that will stave off economic catastrophe, but backed previous borrowing hikes
The two Republican senators from Texas have routinely supported more government borrowing when Republicans held the White House. Full Story
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![U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2018.]()
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Texas has all but banned abortion. But a Mississippi law could be what ends Roe v. Wade.
If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, “trigger laws” across 12 states — including Texas — that ban all abortions will go into effect within months. Full Story
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![Abortion rights activists during a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2019.]()
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After minor changes, advocates are confident a bill requiring adequate shelter for dogs can avoid another Gov. Greg Abbott veto
The new proposal, like its predecessor, would amend the health and safety code to make the unlawful restraint of a dog a criminal offense — and more clearly outline proper treatment. Full Story
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![Bloodhounds are held in a pen in Refugio on Aug. 21, 2019. The dogs are trained to use scent in the capture of criminals and migrants that attempt to evade law enforcement.]()
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Texas board recommends George Floyd receive a posthumous pardon for 2004 Houston drug arrest
Gov. Greg Abbott must either approve or reject the parole board’s decision. The 2004 case involved a Houston officer later found to have lied to obtain a search warrant in a 2019 case. Full Story
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![People gather at the mural for George Floyd in the Third Ward in Houston on June 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Two Black Houston members of Congress decry redistricting map that pits them against each other as discriminatory
Despite the objections of U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, the Senate committee voted out the redrawn congressional map Monday without addressing the district overlap. The map heads next to the full Senate for a vote. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks as the House Judiciary Committee meets on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2019.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott calls for stiffer penalty for illegal voting — weeks after he signed a bill lowering it
The punishment for the crime was scheduled to go down in December, due to the passage of a sweeping bill that restricted the state’s voting process and narrowed local control of elections. Full Story
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![Voting signs at Dan Ruiz Branch Library in Austin on Election Day. Nov. 3, 2020.]()
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Ted Cruz's challenge to campaign finance reimbursement law reaches Supreme Court
Under a 2002 federal law, no more than $250,000 in contributions collected after an election may be used to repay a candidate’s loans to their campaign. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing for U.S. Secretary of Transportation nominee Pete Buttigieg in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 2021.]()
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A Republican wants to add exceptions for rape and incest to Texas’ new near-total abortion ban. He faces an uphill climb.
The proposal comes almost two weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott’s comments that the state would “eliminate all rapists.” Full Story
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![Pregnancy and abortion related brochures from The John Paul II Life Center in Austin. June 4, 2021.]()
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U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas is lone Democrat to vote against federal bill protecting abortion rights
The U.S. House is trying to override Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. But Democrats likely lack the support they need in the U.S. Senate. Full Story
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![House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke during a news conference about the House vote on H.R. 3755, the "Women's Health Protection Act" legislation to "establish a federally protected right to abortion access" at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24, 2021.]()
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Texas sued over bill stopping social media companies from banning users for political views
A judge recently blocked a similar bill in Florida after a lawsuit brought forward by NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the same groups that sued Texas. Full Story
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![A 3D-printed Facebook logo on a keyboard in this illustration taken March 25, 2020.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration