Gov. Greg Abbott sets Jan. 23 special election to fill Drew Springer's Texas House seat
Springer is joining the state Senate after a hard-fought special election runoff earlier this month. Full Story
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![State Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, spoke during a Texas Tribune panel in 2019.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
Trump signs stimulus bill granting most Americans $600 in pandemic aid
The president's decision to back down and sign the measure released $900 billion in stimulus funds into the economy that had been held up for nearly a week. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks after signing executive orders for economic relief during a news conference amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey Aug. 8, 2020.]()
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Donald Trump pardons former Border Patrol agent Gary Brugman, who was convicted of violating a man’s civil rights
Brugman’s case drew national attention among conservative figures who hailed him for working to secure the U.S. border. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the Minden-Tahoe Airport in Nevada in September.]()
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Hungry and homeless Texans are waiting anxiously for Congress to act. The day after Christmas, pandemic jobless aid expires.
President Donald Trump has suggested he will veto COVID-19 aid legislation, creating uncertainty about when assistance may reach Americans. Meanwhile, Texans are living in cars and the state is sitting on unspent relief money. Full Story
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![Workers boarded up bars on Sixth Street in Austin after Gov. Greg Abbott closed bars in Texas for the second time in three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic on June 26, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Looking ahead to the 2021 legislative session
In this week's TribCast, Matthew talks to Cassi and Patrick about a heated state Senate special election and the 2021 legislative session. Full Story
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Trump commutes remaining prison term of former Texas GOP congressman Steve Stockman, who was convicted of misusing charitable funds
President Donald Trump also pardoned former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were convicted of shooting an unarmed drug smuggler and covering it up in 2006. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, right, leaves the United States District Courthouse in Houston on Monday, April 9, 2018, after closing arguments in his federal corruption trial.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Attorney General Ken Paxton asked Trump administration to take back some of Harris County’s COVID-19 relief money
The county, which is home to the state’s biggest city and is a critical Democratic stronghold, had planned to spend some of the federal dollars on expanding voting options, including printing absentee ballots. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton walked across the Supreme Court plaza to hold a press conference in 2016.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott allows only limited COVID-19 restrictions for Texas' worst hot spots. Local leaders say it's not enough.
A Texas Tribune analysis of state data shows that in regions with the worst outbreaks, including El Paso, Amarillo and Lubbock, the restrictions have done little to ease an overburdened health care system. Full Story
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![Guests dance at Billy Bob’s Texas, a honky-tonk in Fort Worth. Billy Bobís has been operating since August 13 under food and beverage guidelines after previously being classified as a bar. Bars that did not already get the food and beverage license were allowed to reopen October 14 at 50% capacity, and must stop selling alcohol by 11 pm.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Reversing Trump’s immigration policies will "take time," Biden team says
Several members of President-elect Joe Biden's transition team said the incoming administration would “need time” to undo “damage” to the U.S. immigration system and border enforcement policies that have severely limited the ability of asylum seekers to qualify for humanitarian protection. Full Story
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![A group of migrants walk across International Bridge Two into Mexico from the United States. The group requested asylum in the United States, but were returned to Mexico to await their court proceedings. July 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott receives COVID-19 vaccine, saying he wants to serve as an example to Texans
"I will never ask a Texan to do something I'm not willing to do myself," Abbott said moments before getting vaccinated at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin. Full Story
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![Registered Nurse April Burgeons administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at Ascension Seton Medical Center on Dec. 22, 2020, in Austin. Commissioner Dr. John William Hellerstedt of the Texas Department of State Health Services far left and Registered Nurse Toby Hatton look on.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/POOL via American-Statesman -
Watch: Here’s what you should know heading into the 2021 Texas legislative session
We surveyed some of The Texas Tribune’s reporters and editors about what they’d be watching come Jan. 12, when state lawmakers are scheduled to gavel in the new session. Full Story
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![Exterior of the Texas State Capitol on Nov. 19, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
Those $600 relief checks could soon be on their way to many Americans
The relief bill, passed Monday night, will reinstate supplemental unemployment benefits of $300 per week and extend eviction protections through the end of January. The legislation also allocates another $284 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program. Full Story
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![Pedestrians walk along the East Front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. on Dec. 4, 2020.]()
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The pandemic, protests and the polls: Texas' 2020 in photos
Photojournalists captured the unforgettable images that defined an epic year in Texas as people grappled with the pandemic, protested police brutality and made their voices heard at the polls. Full Story
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![Crystal Aitaegbebhunu and her dance partners rqn through their choreography for a Juneteenth black empowerment video at Emancipation Park in Houston on June 15, 2020.]()
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State Rep. Drew Springer trumps Shelley Luther in Texas Senate runoff
The Muenster Republican prevailed over the Dallas salon owner who made headlines for refusing to shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. Full Story
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![State Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, spoke during a Texas Tribune panel in 2019.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Feds join political fight over police funding in Austin, even though it doesn’t have Texas’ worst crime increase
A newly appointed U.S. attorney announced a new joint law enforcement operation in Austin, blaming the city's crime on its police budget cuts. But homicides and aggravated assaults began rising in many major cities before budget discussions in the state's capital. Full Story
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![Austin police officers stand guard outside of their headquarters during a protest over the death of George Floyd. Floyd died during an attempted arrest by Minneapolis police.]()
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Harris County elections were fair and secure, task force finds
The Election Security Task Force for Harris County said in a report released Friday that it "found no proof of any election tampering, ballot harvesting, voter suppression, intimidation or any other type of foul play that might have impacted the legitimate cast or count of a ballot." Full Story
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![Voters at the polling place inside the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott campaigns hard for Drew Springer in Texas Senate runoff with Shelley Luther
Ahead of the 2021 legislative session — and the 2022 primary season — Abbott is determined to make an example out of Luther, who has become an avatar of his intraparty detractors. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott announced a strike force in charge of laying steps to re-open the Texas economy at a press conference in the capitol on April 17, 2020.]()
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Beth Van Duyne could be the GOP’s antidote to high-profile progressives when she joins Congress
The former Housing and Urban Development official will be part of the largest group of House Republican women ever elected to Congress in the same year. Van Duyne’s supporters expect she’ll bring her brand of outspoken conservative fire with her to the Capitol. Full Story
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![Ben Wear, transportation reporter for the Austin American-Statesman, moderated the “Tyranny of the Commute” panel featuring John-Michael V. Cortez, Beth Van Duyne, Celia Israel and Philip Kingston at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23, 2017.]()
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$1.7M for George Strait, six-figure bonuses: Months later, a lawsuit forced Texas to release details on inaugural spending
For months, Gov. Greg Abbott and the 2019 Texas Inaugural Committee fought to avoid disclosing how they spent a record-setting $5.3 million. The Texas Tribune sued and obtained the documents in an out-of-court settlement. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses attendees at the Oath of Office Ceremony on the state Capitol grounds on Jan. 15, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: The COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Texas
In this week's podcast, Matthew speaks with Karen, Ross and Alex about the coronavirus vaccine and the Electoral College vote in Texas. Full Story
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![Holly Ainsworth, a nursing intern at the University of Texas, administered a COVID-19 vaccine to Nurse Stephanie Vasquez on Dec 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune