For the 14th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the mayor of Dallas on the challenges of leading the state's third-largest city, why he endorsed Rick Perry despite being a nonpartisan elected official, what he thinks of federal health care reform and whether he'll run for the Senate in 2012. Full Story
Texas Democrats today called Gov. Rick Perry's ad featuring a Houston widow an underhanded attempt to promote Arizona-style immigration laws. Perry's camp says Democrats are confused. Full Story
Each year, billions of dollars are smuggled into Mexico through Texas ports by drug cartels for the purpose of bribing government officials, hiring assassins and purchasing arms. For now, at least, there's not much that the U.S. or Mexican governments can do about it. Full Story
The economy, unemployment and jobs are the most important issues facing the country, according to the new UT/Texas Tribune poll, while immigration and border security top the list of the biggest problems facing the state. Full Story
M. Smith on the frailties of electronic voting machines, Hu on the big bump in early voter turnout, Chang talks to the national coordinator of Health Information Technology, Hamilton on why the nondiscrimination policies of state university systems don't include sexual orientation, Aguilar on the prospect of high school football referees on strike, Stiles updates our government employee salary app to include 20 more public agencies, Philpott on where the candidates in HD-52 stand on fast growth, Galbraith on damage to Texas roads caused by heavy truck traffic, Grissom interviews the first Hispanic sheriff of Harris County and my one-hour sit-downs with Rick Perry and Bill White: The best of our best from October 18 to 22, 2010. Full Story
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and six other Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee say the dismissals of cases against aliens is a result of a directive from ICE Director John T. Morton to staff attorneys ordering them to review and dismiss cases that do not involve Level 1 offenses—aggravated felonies or two or more felonies. Full Story
The first Hispanic sheriff in Harris County history on growing up as a child of legal immigrants, how his mom helped change his liberal views about illegal immigration and whether Houston is a sanctuary city. Full Story
The first Hispanic sheriff in Harris County history in 2008 on growing up as a child of legal immigrants, how his mom helped change his liberal views about illegal immigration and whether Houston is a sanctuary city. Full Story
On Friday, Gov. Rick Perry sat down with me for an interview co-presented by the Tribune and Austin's public broadcasting stations, KUT and KLRU. We talked about the controversy over the Emerging Technology Fund, the calendar he makes public and the one he doesn't, how he'd cut the shortfall, which federal stimulus money he likes, whether Texas is a sanctuary state, the limits of abstinence education and more. Full Story
On Friday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White sat down with me for an interview co-presented by the Tribune and Austin's public broadcasting stations, KUT and KLRU. We talked about whether the big bucks he's raised from appointees qualifies as "government for sale," how he'd cut the shortfall, how he feels about Barack Obama, the health care reform he'd prefer, those lawsuits against the feds and more. Full Story
In the absence of a real debate between Gov. Rick Perry and his Democratic challenger, Bill White, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has created the next best thing: a mash-up of their answers to questions asked Friday by the Tribune's Evan Smith during one-hour interviews of the candidates sponsored by the Trib, KUT and Austin public television station KLRU. Full Story
Watch highlights from Gov. Rick Perry's interview with Evan Smith on Friday. In the clips, Perry discusses whether Texas is a sanctuary state, and the effectiveness of abstinence education. Full Story
The president of Mexico, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, played a little soccer this week in Ciudad Juárez, but his real game was creating hope in a place where none exists. Full Story
“The scourge of drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, robbery and violence has dismantled our economy, has eroded our tranquility and has stained our social structures with blood,” said Ciudad Juárez's new mayor, Héctor “Teto” Murguía, at his inauguration Sunday. “This economic and social disaster deserves a desperate cry for help and solidarity.” Full Story
A year after Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced it would reform immigration detention, advocacy groups say the agency has fallen short on a few key counts: addressing alleged human rights violations and expanding alternatives to incarceration. Full Story
The office of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has offered to help Mexican authorities in the search for a U.S. man officials say was shot and killed on Falcon Lake in South Texas. Full Story
When the state's concealed handgun statute was approved 15 years ago, lawmakers argued it would help citizens defend themselves — but residents of low-income, largely Democratic nieghborhoods aren't applying for gun permits as often as those in wealthier, more-conservative areas, according to a Texas Tribune/San Antonio Express-News analysis. Full Story
Credit:
Edward A. Ornelas\The San Antonio Express-News