For some, forgoing masks in public during the coronavirus pandemic has become a political statement
Mask arguments among Texans are occurring everywhere from retail stores to the highest levels of government. Full Story
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![COVID-19 related street art on Sixth Street in downtown Austin on May 6th, 2020.]()
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Texas is locked in a battle over voting by mail. Here's how to do it.
It's unclear whether Texas will expand who is eligible for a mail-in ballot during the pandemic, as other states have. But the people who normally qualify to vote by mail can still do so in July. Full Story
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![Mail-in ballot application.]()
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How Lina Hidalgo is navigating coronavirus and conservative backlash in Texas’ biggest county
Harris County has seen new cases plateau under the county judge. But her orders designed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus have generated outrage among some conservatives. Full Story
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![Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo poses for a portrait outside of her office on May 13, 2020.]()
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Complaint filed over Texas AG Ken Paxton's tactics to limit mail-in voting
In a series of tweets and a public statement, Paxton said eligibility for absentee voting has not been expanded. But a state judge's order says otherwise. Full Story
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![UNITED STATES - JUNE 9: General Ken Paxton walks across the Supreme Court plaza to hold a press conference to discuss the ...]()
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Analysis: The coronavirus hits Texans of color harder. You can see it in public opinion polling.
The coronavirus disproportionately affects people of color. And judging by what voters said in the last University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, it's evident that Texans of color express greater concern about it. Full Story
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![A coronavirus message on a TXDOT sign off of I-35, near Stassney Lane on April 12, 2020.]()
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“I’m over it. I need a haircut.” Eager but nervous Texans venture back into busy salons and barbershops
Barbers reported being booked through the day due to pent-up demand related to the coronavirus. Full Story
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![Stevin Kane, who has owned and operated Kane's Barber Shop since 2006, gives his first haircut of the day to loyal custome...]()
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At a Texas mall reopening, some antsy shoppers wore homemade masks while others called coronavirus a farce
Friday was the first day that shopping malls — along with restaurants, retail outlets and movie theaters — were allowed to reopen in Texas. Under an order from Gov. Greg Abbott, stores can open their doors, but they must limit occupancy to no more than 25% of capacity. Full Story
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![Customers practice social distancing as they wait for the Barton Creek Square Mall in Austin to open on May 1, 2020.]()
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Texas' front-line workers in the pandemic are predominantly women and people of color, analysis finds
Sixty-two percent of front-line workers in the 11 Texas cities with the the largest populations of front-line workers are women, compared with 48% of all workers there, the analysis shows. Full Story
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![A volunteer coordinator prepares boxes of food at the Kelly Memorial Food Pantry in Central El Paso, which serves 700-1000...]()
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Black Texans already face health care disparities. The coronavirus is making it worse.
As the coronavirus spreads, black people are less likely to have access to proper health care and more likely to have health issues that make the virus more dangerous. Full Story
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![Harris County Health Department nurse Harriet Lewis administers a COVID-19 test at Stallworth Stadium in Baytown on March ...]()
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Meatpacking workers in Texas Panhandle have little power to avoid the coronavirus
A workforce of immigrants has long powered the massive JBS meatpacking plant in Cactus, where a cluster of coronavirus cases is under investigation. They're risking their lives each shift in the county with the state's highest known infection rate. Full Story
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![The JBS meat processing plant in Cactus on Jan. 29, 2020.]()
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Impacts of coronavirus on Texans of color clouded by incomplete data
The emerging national picture shows black Americans disproportionately getting sick and dying from COVID-19. The same trend may be playing out in Texas' black and Hispanic communities, but sparse data has been collected. Full Story
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![Harris County Health Department nurse Harriet Lewis administers a test at a coronavirus testing at Stallworth Stadium in B...]()
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Health care workers on the front lines of coronavirus don't get expanded paid sick leave protections
The Labor Department has urged employers to “be judicious” in exempting their workers. Critics say the exemption hurts nurses and doctors, who have already complained about their lack of protective equipment. Full Story
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![Licensed vocational nurse Ahmad Nejat looks over as he meets with the COVID-19 testing team at the Austin Regional Center ...]()
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As coronavirus spreads, some Asian Americans worry their leaders’ language stokes a stigma
“If the virus has already been named by the [World Health Organization] as COVID-19, any renaming is highly politically charged and motivated,” said one researcher. Full Story
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![From left, Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn talk as Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary comm...]()
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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn draws rebuke for blaming coronavirus on China
The Republican Texas senator alluded to a now-debunked myth that the outbreak began after a woman ate bat soup. And he incorrectly cited China as the birthplace of two previous outbreaks. Full Story
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![U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) enters the hearing room before chairing a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to confi...]()
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Staying home slows the coronavirus, but what if you’re homeless?
Local, state and national leaders are recommending people take a range of actions to protect themselves from the new coronavirus. But for those without homes, many of those measures are next to impossible. Full Story
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![Tents found in front of the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) on Oct. 29, 2019. The residents have to make su...]()
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Coronavirus derails ground game for Texas census count
Years of work went into planning neighborhood canvasses and educational efforts to reach out to every Texan, especially those most likely to be missed in the tally. Now those efforts are down for the count. Full Story
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![Crowds listen to speakers as part of the Martin Luther King Day celebrations on the South lawn of the Texas State Capitol ...]()
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Counting in Texas for the U.S. census has begun. Here's what you need to know.
The accuracy of the count in the state will go a long way toward determining its economic, social and political future. Full Story
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With six confirmed cases, panic in Fort Bend County spreading faster than the coronavirus
If there is an epicenter of the new coronavirus in Texas, it’s arguably Fort Bend County, which had the first confirmed case of COVID-19 outside of the federal quarantine site in San Antonio. There are six total cases there now, all stemming from an Egypt cruise trip. Full Story
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![A map shows where the all the confirmed cases of Coronavirus across the world are at a call center for Coronavirus concern...]()
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Texas Democrats sue the state to keep straight-ticket voting in 2020
In a federal lawsuit filed in Laredo, Democrats claim the move to end straight-ticket voting is unconstitutional and intentionally discriminates against Hispanic and black voters. Full Story
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![Voting signs at The University of Texas at Austin campus on Feb. 19, 2020, the second day of early voting for the Texas Pr...]()
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Bernie Sanders supporters in Texas are “pissed off.” But Texas Democrats need them in November.
“There’s been a lot of push against Sanders, and it makes me feel very helpless,” said one supporter. “There’s always going to be a faction of the party trying to stop him.” Full Story
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![From left: Neil Hernandez, Hiram Garcia, Luke Lee, and Dhvani Shukla pose with a cardboard cutout of Bernie Sanders at a S...]()