Texas Senate approves bill to stop social media companies from banning Texans for political views
Some experts have raised doubts whether the bill will hold up in court. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b46299514b9b2d78ae1ff6ce8c4a03a2/Big%20Tech%20Social%20Media%20Icons%20IS%20TT.jpg)
-
![Social media icons on an iPhone screen.]()
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto -
Bills restricting abortion, including one that bans procedure as early as six weeks, gets Texas Senate OK
The slate of bills must still go to the House for approval. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/060aa40ba7e1d64c063fc39545b31547/Womens%20Health%20SS%20TT%2001.jpg)
![A women’s health clinic in Texas.]()
Credit: Stephen Spillman for The Texas Tribune -
Sweeping legislation to overhaul state’s electricity market in response to winter storm heads to Texas House after Senate's unanimous approval
Senate Bill 3 would require all power generators, transmission lines, natural gas facilities and pipelines to make upgrades for extreme weather. Its prospects are uncertain in the House, which is scheduled to take up a series of related, standalone bills on Tuesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/632aefdfaa590166eb4fd8eb523a961d/ATX%20Winter%20Storm%20SF%20TT%2051.jpg)
![Electrical workers repair a power line in Austin on Feb. 18, 2021. Many Texas residents are still without power, and many don't have clean drinking water or working water at all.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas prisons stopped in-person visits and limited mail. Drugs got in anyway.
Agency data shows officers are finding just as many drugs — and writing up even more prisoners for having them — despite the restrictions. Contraband is most often brought in by staff, according to prisoners and employees. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8acfbded6bf2cf5379f4a9629a100148/Marshall%20Texas%20Contraband%20TT.jpg)
![According to prisoners and employees, contraband is most often brought into prisons by staff.]()
Credit: Illustration by Molly Magnell for The Marshall Project and The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The fight over local control turns to representation — and lobbyists
The latest fight over local control in the Texas Legislature is a rerun: Conservative lawmakers want to bar local governments from hiring lobbyists to represent them in Austin. And their effort has more support than before. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3ff28e7996ac930d0484559c22ee4b06/%20Rural%20File%20Pearsall%20JV%20TT%2004.jpg)
![Downtown Pearsall in Frio Co. on Sept. 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Restrictions on Texas voting could tighten under Republican bill advanced by Senate committee
Senate Bill 7 would make sweeping changes to Texas voting by limiting extended early voting hours, prohibiting drive-thru voting and requiring Texans to provide proof of disability to qualify for mail-in voting. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1213306294e6b34ae0f8750f09eb6cb8/Houston%20Drive%20Thru%20Voting%20AM%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Voters line up to utilize drive-through voting at NRG Stadium in Houston during the first day of early voting on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Warren Buffett’s power play puts a price on electric reliability in Texas
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy wants to build 10 electric plants in Texas, for use when demand peaks or other plants falter. And it’s the first time a price tag has been attached to a remedy since last month’s deadly storm. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/34d7e55a9a68eab2e654100018f460c2/Warren%20Buffet%20REUTERS%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett at an annual Berkshire meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 2, 2015.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Rick Wilking -
Texas' George Floyd Act seeks to reform violent police behavior. But a sticking point centers on protecting officers from lawsuits.
A provision that would remove police officers' legal shield against civil lawsuits has been pegged by multiple lawmakers as a sticking point in the Republican-led Legislature. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/288cd065ea6cb703b609a2514f35ba13/George%20Floyd%20ACT%20Captiol%20CH%20TT%2014.jpg)
![Activist and author Cluren Williams leads a chant at a rally to support the Texas George Floyd Act outside the Texas Capitol in Austin on March 25, 2021.]()
Credit: Charlie L. Harper III for The Texas Tribune -
At least 111 people died in Texas during winter storm, most from hypothermia
The newly revised number is nearly twice the 57 that state health officials estimated last week and will likely continue to grow. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/584ae4697ae29e0a395a6bc9ceb3b4cc/San%20Marcos%20Winter%20Storm%20JV%20TT%2006.jpg)
![The Blanco Vista neighborhood of San Marcos is blanketed with several inches of snow as a massive winter weather system causes power outages across Texas on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas' natural gas and power generators would have to prepare for extreme temperatures under bill Senate committee approved
The wide-ranging proposal includes a number of reforms that have been floating around the state Capitol since last month’s deadly winter storm left millions without electricity during freezing temperatures. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/27f2bc4893b9f60afd194c1f224460d6/RBJ%20Center%20Storm%20MM%20TT%2022.jpg)
![Executive director and Vice President of DMA Properties Sergio Amaya clears the walkways outside of the Rebekah Baines Johnson Center in Austin on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton refuses to release messages about attendance at pro-Trump rally before Jan. 6 insurrection
The Texas Tribune joined several other news organizations in an effort to obtain copies of emails and text messages that the Texas attorney general sent or received while in Washington for the rally. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1f6a48f514a569b17340e914a063835f/Ken%20Paxton%20CPAC%20REUTERS%20TT.jpg)
![Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 27, 2021.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Joe Skipper -
After Atlanta and Colorado mass shootings, Texas GOP leaders double down on protecting gun owners
Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday there is an even greater urgency this legislative session to pass laws expanding gun rights because of Joe Biden’s presidency. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f1358a98a282a684559f78f8d0ecdcd5/Guns%20Gun%20Store%20CR%20TT.jpg)
![Guns at McBride's Guns in Austin on March 26, 2013.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Alcohol to go from restaurants gets closer to becoming permanent as Texas House gives approval
The chamber signed off on House Bill 1024 to permanently allow beer, wine and mixed drinks to be included in pickup and delivery food orders. The measure still requires approval from the Senate. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3cc845b7f95dd3e88a843034375ef7cf/The%20Barn%20Door%20SATX%20CL%20TT%2020.jpg)
![The Barn Door restaurant during dinner service in San Antonio on May 18, 2020.]()
Credit: Christopher Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Not all emergencies are priorities in the Texas Capitol
Texas has seen more mass shootings in the last two years than proven incidents of voter fraud, but legislators are more focused on election law than on gun violence. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8f0586a59c858d9b899360816df30791/02%20WalMart%20scene%20IPA%20TT.jpg)
![A police unit at the back entrance to a Walmart where a gunman opened fire on back-to-school shoppers on Aug. 3, 2019, in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Point of Order: Former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus explains why he voted for Joe Biden last year
In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to former speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus about life as a civilian, what he’d do about repricing electricity, the conservative case for expanding Medicaid, why he didn’t vote for Donald Trump — twice — and whether he’ll run for something again. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ee3b23c67609fb74b29eb60f2b7d02d0/TT-PointofOrder-podcast-launch-art.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Widows of the pandemic: Three South Texas women lost their husbands but found solace in one another
Ricardo Ramos, Ramon Fuentes III and Andres Arguelles were all 45. Loving husbands. Strangers who died with the coronavirus in neighboring South Texas cities. They left behind young widows who found each other in Facebook groups and bonded over the similarities in their stories. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/72296cbf53e4ec7e82cea1c7cc906141/COVID%20Widows%20Group%20JG%20TT%2007.jpg)
![From Left, Delia Ramos, Betty Fuentes, and Ana Flores embrace in prayer in Harlingen on March 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: When elected problem-solvers become part of the problem
Fixing immigration and ending hate crimes was hard enough without elected policymakers in Austin and Washington D.C., stoking nativist and racial fears. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2725ed1052d4e9af3fc45bffe6a25574/Abbott%20Border%20Presser%20JG%20TT%2007.jpg)
![Governor Greg Abbott addresses the media about border security at a press conference at Anzalduas Park in Mission on March 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ decentralized, internet-reliant system for vaccine appointments leaves many eligible people unable to access a shot
Texans face challenges trying to book a vaccine appointment through a time-consuming process that inherently favors people who have easy access to internet and transportation. The situation is contributing to inequitable access for many people in the state. Full Story
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Experts fear reversing electricity prices from winter storm could make things worse
It is unclear who would be helped or hurt — and by how much — if lawmakers try to revise electricity market prices charged during the winter storm. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/013aaca3f8b4cc2b217bafbed730cda0/ERCOT%20Command%20Center%20REUTERS%20TT%2002.jpg)
![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Julia Robinson -
California cities banned natural gas in new buildings. Texas wants to outlaw those bans.
A bill to stop cities from banning natural gas as a fuel source for heating homes and other buildings is being advanced as priority storm-response legislation following the February power outages. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9da292d99d6303a87f76144d4f26a69b/ATX%20Construction%20AG%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Construction workers work on an office building on the corner or Metric and Parmer in Austin on June 18, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e4469da901b3f540e1ade51c3eda60ec/Delco%20Vaccination%20Site%20SF%20TT%2005)