‘An understaffed and broken system’: 900,000 Texans have lost Medicaid as others struggle to access SNAP benefits
Texas Democrats in Congress are urging the federal government to audit the state’s Medicaid eligibility system Full Story
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![Yesenia Alvarado holds her daughter, Medicaid patient Melanie Almaraz, 2, while waiting to see Dr. Alberto Vasquez for treatment of a fever at Su Clinica Familiar in Harlingen, Texas on Jul. 9, 2013.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
In the shadow of James Byrd’s murder, city leaders can’t agree how to move this East Texas town forward
Jasper’s second Black mayor wants to help residents pay their bills while a younger city council wants to invest in the city’s culture. Residents call their heated arguments at city council meetings “foolishness” and “embarrassing.” Full Story
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![Jasper, Texas: Mayor Anderson Land reviews notes before a city council meeting at City Hall on June 12, 2023 in Jasper, Texas. Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s former staffer running against him as a Republican
Jose Sanz worked for the Democrat for two years, as his press secretary and then his district director. Sanz said he realized his values didn’t align with the incumbent’s. Full Story
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![Jose Sanz.]()
Credit: Courtesy of campaign -
How the looming government shutdown will affect Texans
A federal shutdown would put thousands of Texans in financial precarity. Congress has less than a week left until the end of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, and a shutdown appears imminent. Full Story
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![The U.S. Capitol, seen in a reflection, on a cloudy evening Jan. 22, 2023 in Washington D.C.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Rep. John Smithee emerges as House hero among Paxton supporters, floated for speaker
On the day the House impeached Ken Paxton, Smithee delivered a 20 minute speech, criticizing the impeachment process as opaque, rushed and unfair to the accused. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, discusses House Bill 214, which would limit health benefit coverage for elective abortions, on Aug. 8, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
A Texas county that borders New Mexico is the latest to consider an abortion travel ban
Cochran County commissioners meet Thursday to discuss the ban. Abortion-rights supporters say the bans are unenforceable and meant to stoke fear. Full Story
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![A highway in West Texas.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Delayed passage of farm bill stirs uncertainty for Texas agriculture
The must-pass package of legislation known as the farm bill, which is renewed every five years, funds critical crop insurance and loans to farmers and food to low-income families. Full Story
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![Farmworkers work fields of dead vegetables at Johnson’s Backyard Garden, east of Austin, on Feb. 22, 2021. The organic farm experienced a near-total loss of their crops after a winter storm ravaged Texas.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
The 2023 Texas Tribune Festival in photos
Here’s a look back at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival through the eyes of Tribune photographers. Full Story
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![Evan Smith meets backstage with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, before the start of the closing keynote at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, TX on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Latino Democrats call on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign after bribery indictment
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar pushed back on the New Jersey Democrat’s defense that he was being targeted for his ethnicity. Full Story
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![Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chair U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Rod Lamkey/CNP/ABACA via REUTERS -
Texas’ ban on certain drag shows is unconstitutional, federal judge says
Senate Bill 12 would have prohibited performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics in front of children. Critics sued the state, saying it violated the First Amendment. Full Story
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![Drag queen Scarlett Kiss performs at Long Play Lounge in East Austin on June 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton’s deputy demands back pay for months the attorney general was suspended
Comptroller Glenn Hegar said he disagreed with Paxton’s interpretation of the law and suggested he seek a ruling from the Texas Supreme Court. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton sits between his attorneys Tony Buzbee, left, and Mitch Little, right, during final prosecutor arguments as both sides have rested in the suspended Attorney General's impeachment trial September 15, 2023 in Austin.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
“We are not going away”: Paxton whistleblowers vow to continue legal fight in court
On Monday, the former state employees argued that Paxton has failed to uphold key parts of the settlement agreement, including a $3.3 million payment and a promise to apologize. Full Story
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![From left: Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley and Blake Brickman, whistleblowers in the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton, speak at a press conference in the state Capitol on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. A fourth whistleblower, David Maxwell, was not present but in agreement with remarks.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
A unique Texas legal rule lets the attorney general’s office supersede some judges’ orders
Lawyers criticize a provision they say erodes the separation of powers between Texas’ executive branch and its courts. It’s been used repeatedly this year as Texans try to block new state laws from going into effect. Full Story
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![Amanda Zurawski, middle, addresses the press following the first day of testimony for Zurawski v. State of Texas outside the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in Austin on July 19, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats hint at disunity ahead of possible October special session
State Rep. John Bryant said Democrats will need to work together to block the “school choice” bill in October. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune managing editor Matthew Watkins moderates a panel with Texas House Democrats Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas, and John Bryant, D-Dallas, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Two Texas Democrats detail how they hope to topple U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who will meet in the 2024 Democratic primary, talked about gun laws, abortion and bipartisanship in separate Texas Tribune Festival panels. Full Story
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![From left: State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, and U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas. The two are running to be the Democratic nominee to face Ted Cruz in the 2024 senatorial race.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune | Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones urges Texans to get organized, learn from history
In an interview for The Texas Tribune Festival, the journalist urged Texans to organize in response to the state’s book bans and restrictions on public school lessons. Full Story
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![UT journalism professor Kathleen McElroy speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones about confronting racial injustice, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texans in U.S. House describe GOP in chaos ahead of likely government shutdown
Texas Democrats decry Republican infighting that has halted attempts to approve annual spending bills and avoid a federal government shutdown. Full Story
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![Sewell Chan (not shown), editor-in-chief for The Texas Tribune, speaks with U.S.representatives Tony Gonzales (left), R-San Antonio, and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Sarah Stogner announces second campaign for the Texas Railroad Commission
After losing in a Republican runoff last year, Stogner said she plans to challenge incumbent Chair Christi Craddick as a member of the Forward Party. Full Story
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![Sarah Stogner of the newly-formed Texas Forward Party speaks during Open Congress at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Paxton prosecutors blame politics for trumping evidence in attorney general’s impeachment trial
Houston attorney Dick DeGuerin said his team was naive in its belief that “principle would win out over politics.” Full Story
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![Texas Tribune politics reporter Patrick Svitek moderates a panel with Harriet O’Neill, Erin Epley, Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin about Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Ted Cruz urges passage of a school choice measure in Texas
The junior U.S. senator from Texas talked with the Tribune’s Patrick Svitek on why he should be reelected to a third term. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune political reporter Patrick Svitek asks U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz why he should be reelected to a third term at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune