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.
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.
Posted in
Texas Abortion Restrictions
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.
Posted in
Texas Abortion Restrictions
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.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
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.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
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.
Posted in
Politics
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.
Posted in
Texas Abortion Restrictions
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.
Posted inPolitics
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
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.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas
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.
