The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
Experts say it costs about $500 to train a school employee under Texas' school marshal program. But school leaders say their worries go beyond the cost. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ddfcb71dc70031f6941d6d2681db95b9/Harrold_GUNS_2_MKC_TT.jpg)
On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Jolie and the New York Times Magazine and ProPublica's Pamela Colloff on Pam's two-part "Blood Will Tell" series on blood spatter analysis and the state's consideration of intellectual disabilities in death row cases. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0cc137cbaf4de2c90539d390c365293a/TribCast_6_13_18.jpg)
Launched in March, the party bills itself as a movement aimed at toppling the two-party system controlling state politics, but it's a for-profit company that got millions in start-up dollars from investors. Will its founder-turned-candidate get enough signatures to get on the ballot with Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/24bd0d5d2a5f416ed5902e54a953d87a/Jonathan_Jenkins_TT.jpg)
Maria Vandelice de Bastos hasn't seen her grandson for 10 months, since they crossed into New Mexico at a port of entry seeking asylum, according to her attorney. Her grandson has severe epilepsy and autism. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bd6f587496dddd80b6e0cd5259dbb576/Border_Immigration_3_REUTERS_LE_TT.jpg)
Republican State Board of Education member David Bradley proposed the new course title in April, saying he found "hyphenated Americanism to be divisive.” On Tuesday, another board member, Democrat Ruben Cortez, called Bradley “the most mean-spirited” person on the board. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1bcae8bbcc68495f28e0f1b6e8bccb75/SBOE_hearing_MKC_TT.jpg)
At a Senate hearing Monday, members of a select committee discussed mental health training and security cameras. But they failed to reach consensus on school architecture and metal detectors. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e118cf30a3c8da93a75499cba7908f3b/West_Schwertner_Creighton_RZ_TT.jpg)
“The mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes — such as domestic violence or gang violence ... cannot itself establish an asylum claim,” U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ruled Monday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/10/20/Sessions_ATX_3_BD_TT.jpg)
Thousands will gather at the state GOP convention in San Antonio this week. Texas Democrats will meet in Fort Worth for their biennial meeting the following weekend. School shootings and the #MeToo movement are among the issues that could loom large at one or both events. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/06/20/DemsGOP-Agree.jpg)
With lots of female candidates in Texas trying to win spots in the state's male-dominated congressional and legislative delegations, a series of workshops on Sunday helped Democratic women navigate the challenges of running their first political campaigns. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/123a8d09e2671ce57bd4e6f505dac2f0/Kim_Olson_LBS_TT.jpg)
Beto O'Rourke's grassroots campaign in 254 counties represents a major deviation from the political playbook employed by the majority of Texas Democrats over the last 20 years. Most campaigns concentrate on the state's major population centers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7923ed7ecfef8b8ea68e516f2c24be7a/Beto_in_Cooke_Co_1_LBS_TT.jpg)
The U.S. Justice Department said late Friday it agrees the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program should be terminated. That court filing came after Texas and six other states filed a lawsuit last month to end the 2012 program. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/09/05/DACA_protest_AG_JA_TT.jpg)
Nearly a month after a Texas high school shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott has launched a digital technology to make it easier for Texans to report unusual activity in schools and communities within minutes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f0fd77c0b7349149e995bac275fc2592/iWatch_Texas_app.jpg)
The money collected will go to a “dedicated testing evidence account” controlled by the state comptroller. The Governor's Criminal Justice Division will then distribute the funds to qualifying crime labs and agencies on an application basis. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RapeKit.jpg)
The lawsuit filed against the Santa Fe shooting suspect's parents aims to hold gun owners responsible for the way they store their firearms around their troubled children. Experts say it fits into a nationwide pattern of gun liability cases that aspire to keep gun owners and manufacturers accountable through fear of high-cost lawsuits. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ca644b1da72845f2c9bb9a6ac29ad836/Clint_McGuire_Santa_Fe_MS_TT.jpg)
As the U.S. Supreme Court ponders a Texas redistricting case, a coalition of voting and civil rights groups is pushing to establish an independent commission in which citizens, rather than lawmakers, would draw the state’s political maps. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/24/115thCongressionalDistrictMaps.png)
The number of family units who were apprehended or turned themselves in to border agents on the southwest border during the current fiscal year dipped slightly. But the number of families caught entering the country illegally at the southwest border last month increased sixfold compared with the same month in 2017. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/17/2_Border_Patrol_agent_RJ_TT.jpg)
In this edition of the TribCast, Texas Tribune reporter Patrick Svitek sits down with CEO Evan Smith, executive editor Ross Ramsey and reporter Emma Platoff. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c44093a67b878d8751d55c5e17e3e72b/TribCast_6_6_18.jpg)
Castro said he plans to file legislation after U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley on Sunday was denied access to a Brownsville facility that is housing unaccompanied immigrant children. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/31/UP9A0008.jpg)
Justices made the decision months after the teenager, who was in federal custody in Brownsville, terminated her pregnancy. Federal officials argued they didn't have time to appeal a lower court's ruling that cleared the way for the procedure. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/06/26/6F6A7717.jpg)
The state law that defines residency requirements is hard to enforce. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/08/16/APrice-EmptyChambers-3.jpg)