Countywide vote centers weren’t used for election day. The ensuing disorder spurred an unresolved legal battle.
Courts
Stay up to date on Texas courts with in-depth coverage of major rulings, judicial elections, criminal justice, and the judges shaping state law from The Texas Tribune.
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2026 Texas Elections
For Texas’ highest courts, two Democratic races decided, one GOP race goes to runoff
Maggie Ellis and Kristen Hawkins win Texas Supreme Court Dem primaries. John Messinger wins his GOP race for Court of Criminal Appeals, while Alison Fox and Thomas Smith head to a runoff.
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Health care
Texas law bans state-licensed mental health providers from giving gender-transitioning care to minors, AG Ken Paxton says
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion that says that a 2023 law that bans gender-transitioning medical care to minors also applies to mental health care.
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Environment
Dow asks Texas to legalize plastic pollution from its Seadrift complex
Facing multiple lawsuits, North America’s largest chemical manufacturer requests an “unprecedented” permit amendment to authorize its discharge of polyethylene pellets into coastal waters.
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Courts
Texas grand jury won’t indict in 2025 fatal shooting of U.S. citizen by ICE agent
The Department of Homeland Security said the 23-year-old, who came from a family of Trump supporters, was shot after intentionally hitting an agent with his vehicle on South Padre Island.
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Health care
Ken Paxton suing California doctor in second lawsuit citing Texas abortion pill law
Paxton’s suit follows another by a Galveston County man against the same doctor. Both cite House Bill 7, passed in September, that allows lawsuits over abortion pill access.
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Hill Country floods
Dan Patrick seeks to block Camp Mystic’s summer reopening pending inquiry into July 4 flood deaths
The lieutenant governor’s request to delay renewing the camp’s license came hours after parents who lost children in the July 4 flood sued the state for its alleged failure to enforce an evacuation plan requirement.
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Courts
Texans shouldn’t expect Supreme Court ruling against tariffs to bring prices down soon, economists say
The order wiped out many of the Trump administration’s tariffs, but Trump promised Friday to find other ways to restore them.
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Environment
Texas sues Dow, claiming “habitual” pollution violations at Gulf Coast chemical plant
Local citizens who are preparing their own lawsuit against the chemical giant say Attorney General Ken Paxton’s suit could shield Dow from bigger penalties.
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2026 Texas Elections
GOP attorney general candidates tout conservative bona fides at only debate in primary to succeed Ken Paxton
All four candidates are vying to prove they are the heir apparent to Paxton, who has solidified the office as a juggernaut in the conservative legal movement.
