Starbase, the SpaceX site, is likely Texas’ next city. What happens next?
City leaders, who will be elected in May, will have just a short window to decide what services to provide, like police or fire, and how to tax residents. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5cc95edbd0dbe01b9307e99a98cc5d2f/121624%20Starbase%20REUTERS%20AP%20TT%2001.jpg)
-
![A row of homes located on SpaceX owned property near Starbase on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
CPS took a Texas newborn for three weeks. Now the family is suing.
The lawsuit says the state investigated the family without a proper hearing and determined it had “reason to believe” that the parents engaged in medical neglect. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6071e97358b3026d938db3b9840fc87b/Texas%20DFPS%20EG%20TT%2014.jpg)
![Heart Galleries, portraits of adoptable children, on display at the Child Protective Services office at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Bill to create dementia research institute approved in House, but could face $3 billion funding hurdle
Some Republicans have bristled at the hefty cost of the bill, and Democrats could reject the funding for it over the school voucher dispute. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3ae20b97fae697fed93835711d444f67/1113%20El%20Faro%20Alzheimers%20BB%2001%20TT.jpg)
![The facilities of El Faro Health and Therapeutics clinical research facility count with an infusion room to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease in Rio Grande City on November 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune. -
Abbott signs first bill of session into law, creating a Texas DOGE
The first bill to reach Abbott’s desk this session creates a regulation-cutting state agency under the purview of the governor. It was passed with bipartisan supermajorities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c94d27e50c9ecdf5cf7e0b4e10704d0e/Abbott%20DOGE%20KCG%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Flanked by House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott signs his first bill into law this session on April 23, 2025. Senate bill 14 establishes a DOGE office in state government. Looking on from behind are the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and its author, state Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Financial hardships shutter East Texas hospital 14 months after reopening
Residents in Trinity County will now have to travel 30 miles to access the closest hospital. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3cf2bb3890d491e93c96392b3cf863e8/Mid%20Coast%20Medical%20Center%20Trinity%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Mid Coast Medical Center - Trinity is scheduled to scheduled to close after just 14 months in operation. The district is working quickly to find someone to take over the hospital, which serves the East Texas town of Trinity, about 90 miles north of Houston.]()
Credit: Mid Coast Medical Center - Trinity website -
Texas may study the impact of immigration again, but focus only on costs
The only time the state conducted such an assessment two decades ago, it found that undocumented Texans contributed more to the state’s economy than they cost the state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/198ee11829104a907ba67c88e5bceb81/0204%20Eagle%20Pass%20KGB%20TT%2013.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott arrives at a press conference with several other states leadership at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass on Feb. 04, 2024.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Amended bill clarifying Texas abortion laws receives Senate panel approval
The revised bill, which seeks to clarify when a doctor can perform medically necessary abortions, aims to address concerns from abortion advocates and conservative groups. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1f80a84e7457edab6d05d02f9e5fe1a0/Alamo%20Clinic%20Roe%20KGB%2015.jpg)
![A patient returns for a follow up appointment to make sure her abortion treatment was successful hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade at the Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services abortion clinic in San Antonio on June 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Get out the popcorn, it’s Paxton vs. Cornyn
The gang welcomes back an old friend, Patrick Svitek, to preview Texas’ biggest political throwdown in years. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/18629d6e8b4af1811b7a9c51b1cfab3e/TribCast%20April%2022.jpg)
![Incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (l.) is being challenged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The two Republicans will face off in the 2026 primaries.]()
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Sipa USA via REUTERS|Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Track the spread of measles in Texas
Eleven of the 17 new cases of measles have been reported in El Paso, according to Tuesday’s update. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/677a8e7528a374b2e3016d867c1d8961/measles-tracker_lede.png)
![An editorial art for the West Texas measles outbreak tracker.]()
Credit: Yuriko Schumacher/The Texas Tribune -
Why Texas Republicans are trying to rein in high home prices and rents
There’s political urgency for Republicans to deal with housing affordability, especially as surveys find most Texans say housing costs are a top concern. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/03beadac1daaddd0dc8136ca29eb6da7/Austin%20Housing%20JJ%20TT%2003%20TT.jpg)
![The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
Early Texas hospital data shows millions spent in care for non-U.S. citizens
A state employee testified Monday that tens of thousands of people in the U.S. unlawfully were treated, but it was unclear how long the data had been collected. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c5663b782d2e7f8612e79b3c616fb499/ATX%20Hospitals%20AG%20TT%2004.jpg)
![An Austin-Travis County EMS vehicle parked outside of an emergency room in Austin on July 7, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Lottery executive director resigns as lawmakers’ scrutiny mounts
The Texas Lottery Commission did not immediately clarify why Ryan Mindell chose to resign, as lawmakers have discussed abolishing the lottery outright. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3b3e6c081dbc4fd8a55eb1dc523b883e/0220%20Winners%20Corner%20LS%20TT%2013.jpg)
![Texas Lottery stand at an Austin convenience store on Feb. 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
With the border quiet, Texas ponders spending another $6.5 billion on border security
Some are questioning whether lawmakers should commit billions more to border security with illegal crossings dwindling and a Trump immigration crackdown. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6241a4a59d29170631063049ac619f37/0207%20Eagle%20Pass%20OLS%20File%20EL%20TT%2011.jpg)
![Shelby Park, until recently occupied by the Texas National Guard and other state agencies, sits aside the Rio Grande on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Eagle Pass.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas hemp farmers fear full THC ban would nip industry in the bud
As lawmakers work to close loopholes that allow minors access to cannabis consumables, hemp farmers warn a total THC ban would strangle a once-hailed crop. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5036a13a4ce7a66a5449e223005060e3/0410%20Hemp%20Farm%20TrT%20TT%2025.jpg)
![bin of proccessed hemp at Bingham Family Venards outside Meadow, TX.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Election officials wary of shift to Texas’ centralized voter-registration system
Some lawmakers say a bill requiring counties to switch to TEAM would make it easier to monitor voter rolls. But the system has had its problems. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/30eae8bdb76fff14184f7973b6dcc146/Asian%20Voters%20MYL%20TT%2018.jpg)
![UT student Alex Pham (center) registers to vote ahead of the midterm elections in Austin on Oct. 11, 2022.]()
Credit: May-Ying Lam for The Texas Tribune -
Bill would stop Texas oil drillers from secretly burying toxic waste on private property
House Bill 4572 would introduce new requirements for pits where drillers bury oil and gas waste. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/229e169b212661986565534f8df4e0a3/0910%20Oil%20Nordheim%20JS%20TT%2029.jpg)
![A home across the street from an entrance to an oilfield waste disposal facility has a sign reading "DON'T DUMP ON NORDHEIM" on Sept. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
East Texans united to stop a water sale to Dallas suburbs — for now
After a deal to pipe water from Lake O’ the Pines to North Texas came to light, residents voiced opposition everywhere they could to block it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b039f87301c60dbe5666bed700356ac7/0409%20Lake%20o%20the%20Pines%20ST%20TT%2039.JPG)
![Mary Spearmon holds two of her grandchildren, Malikyi and Alajiah Elliott, at Hurricane Creek Park on the Lake o’ the Pines, where she would come with her late husband and their growing family to fish and enjoy the water, on April 9, 2025. “What about our future generations, our grandchildren and great grandchildren? What are they going to have if they take the lake?”]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill increasing public school funding and teacher pay gets final House approval
The lower chamber overwhelmingly voted in favor of House Bill 2, a sweeping $8 billion piece of legislation that would also limit schools’ reliance on teachers without formal classroom training. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3e368911cbeea9f14d9775b81ca73a74/0416%20Voucher%20Day%20BD%20TT%2041.jpg)
![State Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, shakes hands with Rep. Brad Buckley R-Salado, House Education chair, after the vote on school finance on April 16, 2025. The bill passed, 144-4.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Anti-vaccine advocates battle over narrative in West Texas, downplaying role of measles in deaths
After Daisy Hildebrand died of measles, her death was made public first by Dr. Robert Malone, a vaccine skeptic who blamed the hospital for fumbling her care. Daisy’s father told The Texas Tribune he never to spoke to Malone. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a5d3cfe047bd4fa895d70a3356924e67/0222%20Robert%20Malone%20REUTERS%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Dr. Robert Malone speaks with Epoch Times editor Jan Jekielek at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held at at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland on Feb. 22, 2025.]()
Credit: Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via REUTERS -
Can Texas retain and train more teachers?
In this week’s episode of the TribCast, Matthew and Eleanor ask the question: Are Texas teachers OK? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4dbed5e62de295e38ab3051e264ad38f/TribCast%20April%2015.jpg)
![Substitute teacher Karie Houchin reads to a second grade classroom at Wanke Elementary School in north San Antonio on March 9, 2012.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune