Economy

The Texas economy relies heavily on temporary work visas, like H-1Bs, to hire highly trained, highly skilled employees from abroad. But H-1Bs have been subject to tougher scrutiny, with denial rates on the uptick.

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The move comes after fatal shootings in two of its stores, including the deaths of 22 people in El Paso. The retailer will also no longer allow customers to openly carry in stores.

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A year after the Texas Supreme Court dealt a death blow to municipal bans on plastic bags, legislative efforts to revive them have fallen flat, and ranchers, city leaders and environmental groups say plastic bag litter is as big a problem as ever.

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Two new laws will free up alcohol access in Texas starting Sept. 1. Certain breweries will now be allowed to sell their suds to go, and more restaurants will be able to deliver beer and wine to customers.

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The city attempted to charge him $470,417.05 for services related to his February rally and tacked on late fees after he didn’t pay.

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The ordinance was supposed to go into effect Aug. 1 but now will be delayed until Dec. 1. It requires businesses with more than 15 employees to allow workers to accrue 64 hours of paid sick leave per year.

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The lawsuit is likely to delay the ordinance's Aug. 1 effective date.

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Although the view on the streets might tell a different story, Houston decreased its homeless population by 54% since 2011, according to an annual census. In Dallas, the trend is the opposite — and housing affordability might make the problem even worse.

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Although the president delayed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation targeting families with deportation orders, anxiety remains among the undocumented community of Houston.

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The state's unemployment rate for May dropped to 3.5%, an all-time low. That breaks the record low of 3.7% reached in April.

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Immigration and border security are at or near the top of voters' concerns about the U.S. and Texas, and political corruption is also near the top of their U.S. list, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

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The Houston Democrat's bill calls for a commission to “study and develop reparation proposals for African-Americans,” and consider a national apology by the government.

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The governor cited Texas' continued recovery from Hurricane Harvey as a reason why he was issuing an executive order to continue the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, which was on track to shut down.

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The deal expands a controversial program requiring some migrants seeking asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico for their immigration hearings. Texas officials worried about the economic impact of tariffs cheered the agreement Friday.

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The president's threat to impose tariffs unless Mexico stops the flow of migrants into the U.S. has put Texas Republicans in a tough spot — choosing between their loyalty to Donald Trump and their worries about tariff's effects on the Texas economy.

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Mexico is the biggest trade partner for Texas and the U.S., and tariffs on Mexican imports would quickly be felt on the border before impacting the rest of the U.S. economy, trade experts say.

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The Trump administration wants Mexico to combat the surge of Central American migrants traveling through the country on their way to seek asylum in the United States. More than 1,000 Central Americans crossed into the El Paso area Wednesday to surrender to authorities.

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Completing negotiations that have taken place over the last few months, Texas House and Senate lawmakers accepted a compromise on a state spending plan for 2020-21.

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The upper chamber added those changes to a broader bill that must pass for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to continue functioning. The House has already signaled it would let breweries sell beer to go.

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In their effort to make a future state income tax all but impossible, Texas lawmakers used terminology that experts believe could inadvertently gut the state’s franchise tax.

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