Texas Tech University also says it’s planning for a return to campus for the upcoming school year.
Stories by Texas Tribune fellows
The Texas Tribune welcomes a group of student fellows into our newsroom each spring, summer and fall. Here is a sampling of their work. Learn more about the fellowship program here.
Texas relaxes guidelines to allow unemployment benefits for workers who don’t or can’t return to work during pandemic
The expanded qualifications now include people who don’t have access to child care because schools and day cares are closed to everyone but the children of essential workers.
As unemployment roils the state, some Texans have given up on trying to get help
254,199 Texans filed for unemployment last week — bringing the total number of claims to over 1.5 million in six weeks.
“This ain’t the time to follow rules”: Texas A&M wants to run human coronavirus tests in its animal labs
A&M officials say they have the largest public lab capacity in the state, but the federal government won’t let them use it for humans.
As businesses prepare to reopen, workers weigh COVID-19 risk against the need for a paycheck
If a business reopens and an employee chooses not to return to work, they become ineligible for unemployment, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
Gov. Greg Abbott says Harris County can’t impose fine over face mask order
County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s order, which carries a penalty of up to $1,000, drew harsh criticism from GOP officials and members of law enforcement.
Calls spiked — then dropped. Domestic abuse survivors, at home with abusers during the pandemic, may be unable to get help.
Advocates worry that survivors are struggling to seek help because they’re stuck with their abusers at home due to stay-at-home orders.
At Huston-Tillotson University, a stepping stone from poverty gets steeper
The historically black school in Austin moved online as coronavirus shut down college campuses. The loss of community is difficult for a school with a hands-on tradition of boosting students, many poor and the first in their families to attend college.
280,000 more Texans filed for unemployment last week as oil collapse and coronavirus precautions wallop state’s economy
The total number of out-of-work Texans is 1.3 million since mid-March as the state’s economy continues roiling from business closures, a troubled energy sector and corporate layoffs.
Texas will not release information about coronavirus clusters at state-run homes for Texans with disabilities
Residents’ families, restricted from visiting in an effort to stop the spread, are pleading for information. Even they aren’t being told how severe the outbreaks are where their loved ones live.

