Final approval given to bill that would let prosecutors pursue murder charges in some fentanyl deaths
House Bill 6 has widespread bipartisan support and now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has named the issue a priority. Full Story
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![Seized fentanyl pills during a press conference at the Montgomery Police Department's Criminal Investigations office in Montgomery, Alabama, on Aug. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Jake Crandall/Montgomery Advertiser via REUTERS -
After Title 42’s end, Texas DPS pauses Austin patrols so officers can head to the border
Despite no major influx in border crossings, state troopers will be relocated to border cities. Austin and the Texas Department of Public Safety faced criticism for the racial disparities in state trooper arrests in the capital. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Pubic Safety at the entrance to where hundreds of migrants wait to be processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents inside a makeshift migrant camp about three hours after Title 42 ended at 9:59 p.m. local time, Friday, May 12, 2023, in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Bill striking unconstitutional state law that criminalized homosexuality fails to meet critical deadline in the Texas House
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas’ law banning sodomy in 2003. It took almost 20 years for Democrats to get a bill to repeal the defunct ban on the House calendar. Full Story
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![State Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, speaks with fellow lawmakers on the House floor on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes ban on devices that modify handguns, but averts vote on increasing age to buy semi-automatic rifles
A Texas lawmaker introduced an amendment that would have revived a proposal to raise the minimum age to buy certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 before it was ultimately withdrawn. Full Story
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![Dozens of people hold signs and chant at a rally in the rotunda of the state Capitol to call for a vote on HB 2744, which seeks to raise the age requirement to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, in Austin on May 8, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Daniel Perry is sentenced to 25 years for killing an Austin protester. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to pardon him.
Perry’s case has become an explosive political stew of arguments over gun rights, self-defense and racist social media posts. The governor dived in early, saying he would pardon Perry even before a judge handed down the sentence. Full Story
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![Daniel Perry reacts after being sentenced to 25 years for the murder of Garrett Foster, at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman -
Deaths from firearms keep climbing in Texas, decades after lawmakers began weakening gun regulations
The rate of firearm-related deaths in Texas has reached a level not seen since the 1990s. Texas lawmakers have approved more than 100 bills that loosened gun restrictions since 2000. Full Story
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![An interior view of Oasis Outback, the store where a gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School purchased his weapons, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S., May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Lisa Krantz]()
Credit: REUTERS/Lisa Krantz -
Driver of SUV in Brownsville crash that killed 8 migrants had drugs in his system, police say
George Alvarez, the man charged in the deaths of eight people after his vehicle rammed a crowd in front of a Brownsville migrant shelter, had cocaine, benzodiazepines and marijuana in his system at the time, police said Tuesday. Full Story
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![Flora Zavala prays for the eight people dead at the site where a car ran into pedestrians waiting at a bus stop outside a shelter for migrants in Brownsville, on May 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Raise-the-age gun bill misses crucial deadline, as Uvalde parents protest outside the Texas House
Days after another mass shooting in Texas, the measure to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 to purchase semi-automatic rifles appears to have failed. Full Story
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![A vendor table at the SAXET Gun Show at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown on Feb. 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
“Nothing bad happens here”: Allen residents say shooting has shattered the town’s sense of safety
A mass shooting at this suburb’s community hub — the outlet mall — has punctured the sense of security that drew many to Allen. “That could have been me and my boys,” one local woman said. Full Story
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![People embrace each other as they mourn the eight people who died in the Allen Premium Outlets shooting at a memorial in Allen, TX on May 8, 2023.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Allen mall shooting alarms Asian Texans as authorities search for gunman’s motive
Four of the eight people killed in the North Texas attack were of Asian descent. Law enforcement officials said the gunman held neo-Nazi beliefs. Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety officers block the entrance to the Allen Premium Outlets mall nearby a makeshift memorial for the shooting victims, on May 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas public records loophole lets cities keep suicide reports from families of dead soldiers
Texas law allows officials to withhold police records if no one was convicted in a case. At least one city has used this rule to deny the release of suicide records. A new bill aims to close this loophole. Full Story
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![Photographs of Logan Castello are displayed on a mantle at Patty Troyan’s home, Thursday, May 4, 2023 in Saint Clairsville, Ohio.]()
Credit: Rich-Joseph Facun for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
Allen mall shooting victims include three kids and a couple who leave behind their 6-year-old son
A security guard, an engineer, and a child as young as three were among the eight victims of the shooting at the Allen outlet mall on Saturday. Full Story
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![Erica Espinoza, a community member who knew one of the eight victims of the Allen Premium Outlets mall shooting, kneels beside a makeshift memorial for the victims with her sister on May 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
“Right wing death squad”: What to know about the Allen shooter’s neo-Nazi views
The shooter’s “RWDS” patch offers troubling clues about his ideology — and how it connects to views that are common among white supremacists. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, urges people to pray for the victims of the Allen Premium Outlets mall shooting and commends the efforts of the first responders during a press conference at the Allen City Hall, on May 6, 2023. Earlier that afternoon, a man attacked the mall center, where he shot and killed eight people and injured at least seven others.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
In surprise move days after Allen mall shooting, Texas House panel OKs bill raising age to buy semi-automatic rifles
The legislation would raise the minimum age for purchasing certain firearms but likely wouldn’t have been a hindrance to the Allen gunman obtaining a weapon. The bill still faces an uphill climb in the Legislature. Full Story
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![Family members of the victims of the Uvalde shooting cry and hug each other after the House Safety Committee voted in favor of HB 2744, to raise the age requirement to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, at the state Capitol in Austin on May 8, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Driver charged with manslaughter after running red light and killing eight pedestrians in Brownsville
Police said it’s still not known if the driver intentionally struck the crowd of immigrants waiting at a bus stop. Full Story
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![A law enforcement officer photographs the scene after a deadly incident where a car ran into pedestrians near Ozanam Center, a shelter for migrants and homeless, in Brownsville on May 7, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/John Faulk -
Gov. Greg Abbott focuses on border security in first address since Allen and Brownsville tragedies
Abbott announced the deployment of new “Texas Tactical Border Force” units to El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley on Monday and Tuesday. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott greets Texas Army National Guard troops deploying from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Monday May 8, 2023, to secure the Texas-Mexico border in anticipation of the end of Title 42 later this week.]()
Credit: Jay Janner/American-Statesman/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
Inside 30 years of former NFL player Kenny Hansmire’s troubled businesses
Politicians across the country have allocated millions to the National Child Identification Program. The company stands out as a success amid a decadeslong string of businesses plagued by legal and financial problems. Full Story
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Credit: Lauren Crow for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
A former NFL player persuaded politicians that his child ID kits help find missing kids. There’s no evidence they do.
Texas is among at least 11 states that have agreed to distribute fingerprinting kits sold by Kenny Hansmire’s Waco-based National Child Identification Program. Some are spending millions even though similar kits are available for free. Full Story
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Credit: Lauren Crow for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
“This can’t be happening”: Allen becomes latest U.S. town to grapple with a mass shooting
After mall shooting, residents of the Dallas suburb are experiencing familiar rituals: mourning, anger and despair. Full Story
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![Community members pray during a vigil to mourn the lives of the eight victims of the Allen Premium Outlet mall shooting, at the Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen on May 7, 2023. Hundreds of people attended the vigil to pay their respects, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
The Allen mall shooter used an AR-15-style rifle. Read our March story on the gun’s use in mass shootings.
The gun was also used in the Uvalde shooting, where law enforcement records show police were afraid to confront the gunman because of the weapon’s firepower. Full Story
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![Assault-style weapons are laid on a table at a gun show in San Marcos on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune