Trump officials cut planning grant for Texas high-speed rail between Dallas and Houston
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said if the private sector wants the rail line, it should cover planning costs. Full Story
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![Railroad tracks near a proposed bullet train terminus on the outskirts of downtown Dallas, on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House gives first approval to bill that would allow universities to pay student athletes
Already able to collect from private entities, athletes for the first time would be able to receive direct payments from universities under the proposal. Full Story
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![Houston Cougars guard Jamal Shead (right) works on TCU Horned Frogs guard Jameer Nelson Jr. in the Big 12 Championship Tournament at T-Mobile center in Kansas City, Missouri on March 14, 2024.]()
Credit: Jon Robichaud/Cal Sport Media/Sipa via REUTERS -
The Texas Legislature is having big battles over gender and sexuality. Track them here.
The Senate voted Wednesday to give initial approval to a bill that would require buildings, including public schools and universities, among others to segregate private facilities, like bathrooms, by sex. Full Story
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![Attendees wave a trans flag while marching with over 300 activists and supporters from the Bexar County Courthouse to Crockett Park in “March for Us,” San Antonio's third annual celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility, on Saturday, March 29, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.]()
Credit: Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announces he’s running for fourth term
President Donald Trump offered an endorsement of Patrick on Truth Social. Full Story
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![Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick during a Texas Senate meeting on March 25, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Five news organizations join Texas Tribune and ProPublica investigative initiative
El Paso Matters, Fort Worth Report, Houston Chronicle, The Texas Newsroom and WFAA will join us to support accountability journalism in Texas. Full Story
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Texas Republican lawmakers unwilling to change abortion laws to address doomed pregnancies
For the first time since Texas outlawed nearly all abortions, lawmakers are clarifying the “life of mother” exception. But they don’t plan to address cases where the fetus won’t survive. Full Story
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![Taylor Edwards poses for a portrait in the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2025. In 2023 (?), Edwards had to travel out of the state to receive an abortion after learning the child she was carrying would not survive the pregnancy.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
To avoid a water crisis, Texas may bet big on desalination. Here’s how it works in El Paso.
Desalination can create millions of gallons of fresh water a day. But it is expensive and there are many environmental concerns. Full Story
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![An illustration of a glass of water, superimposed over reverse osmosis filters from El Paso's Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant.]()
Credit: Carla Astudillo/The Texas Tribune -
$337 billion, two-year budget gets Texas House approval
The lower chamber’s plan largely aligns with the Senate’s proposal and puts billions toward teacher pay, border security and property tax cuts. Full Story
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![House Parliamentarian Sharon Carter, left, listens as state Reps: Cody Vasut, Richard Hayes, Tom Oliverson and Trey Martinez Fischer, negotiate in the Texas House on April 10, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Former U.S. Attorney John Bash first to announce run to replace Attorney General Ken Paxton
Bash served as special assistant to President Trump during his first term and is Elon Musk’s lawyer. Full Story
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![John F. Bash, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas resigned from his position.]()
Credit: Mark Lambie/El Paso Times via REUTERS -
Texas plans to spend $51 billion on property tax cuts. It may not be sustainable.
State budget watchers — and some Republicans — worry Texas is spending too much on property tax cuts. Full Story
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![A row of high-density townhomes in Austin on March 23, 2025.]()
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Toilet to tap: El Paso is about to embark on a whole new way to save its limited water supply
El Paso’s dry climate — it rains just 9 inches annually — is one of the reasons the city has taken water management so seriously. Full Story
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![Contractors work on expanding the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant in El Paso on March 5, 2025. By 2028, the utility expects treated wastewater from the plant to be further purified at the new Pure Water Center next door to produce up to 10 million gallons of drinking water.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. House passes SAVE Act, led by Rep. Chip Roy, to require proof of citizenship to vote
Democrats argue that the bill places unnecessary hurdles on voting and could cause issues for people who have changed their name — like millions of married women. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during a press conference on legislation that would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship to vote, Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2024.]()
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Budget day in the House: Texas lawmakers approve $337 billion spending plan
Among the hundreds of amendments were ones that focused on school vouchers, the attorney general’s office and the Texas Lottery. Full Story
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![Texas House of Representatives Members convene in the House Chamber in Austin on April 10, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves bill that could reshape how history and race are taught in state universities
An overhauled version of Senate Bill 37 would also allow anyone to file complaints that could lead schools to lose funds. Full Story
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![Students walk through the University of Texas at Austin on Nov. 29, 2021.]()
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More than 250 international students’ immigration statuses revoked across Texas universities
The people affected include a University of Houston professor from Korea who was teaching upper level math under a type of student visa that allows graduates to work in their field of study. Full Story
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![University of North Texas students walk past the eagle statue on Feb. 13, 2024. The Soaring Eagle Statue was comissioned in celebration of UNT's centennial in 1990.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Verifying hand-counted ballots in Texas elections may be easier under GOP bill
The proposal would require counties who opt for hand counts to use ballots that can be scanned and tabulated by a voting machine. Full Story
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![Election workers count ballots by hand inside of The Edge in Fredericksburg on Mar. 5, 2024. Early voting ballots for the Republican primaries were hand counted on Election Day at this location.]()
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Push for Texas to weaken vaccine mandates persists as measles surge
Much of the outbreak is concentrated in the districts of Texas House leaders, including Speaker Dustin Burrows. The crisis appears to have done little to change support for “vaccine choice.” Full Story
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![Signage in English, Spanish and German inform people of measles prevention in the Gaines County Court House in Seminole on April 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas AG Ken Paxton officially joins U.S. Senate race challenging John Cornyn
The attorney general positions himself as a disruptor against the Republican establishment embodied in the longtime Senate fixture. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference outside the Supreme Court building in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025.]()
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TribCast: Covering Texas’ new abortion fights
TribCast digs into clarifying bills, crackdowns on pills, lawsuits, arrests and everything else abortion-related. Full Story
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![An examination room in Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio on June 14, 2022.]()
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Renewable energy companies face little regulation in Texas. A state lawmaker wants to change that.
The legislation would put new requirements on wind and solar companies that oil and gas companies in Texas do not face. Full Story
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![Landon Terry unloads feed from his ranger for the sheep he tends to at the Enel solar farm in Haskell County on Oct. 20, 2023.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune