News from The Texas Tribune: Recent Episodes
Texas Tribune
The former child care investigations director said there are agency-wide communication issues that led to a breakdown in relaying key information, but two of his staff members are the ones who suffered the consequences.
UTRGV’s decision to offer free tuition to more students comes after more students’ families lost jobs during the pandemic.
In a tweet, Patrick said he supported Abbott calling lawmakers back to Austin to increase the penalty for illegal voting and approve a “forensic audit bill.”
In their latest push to lift state-level voting restrictions, Senate Democrats failed to secure the 60 votes required to break a filibuster on the Freedom to Vote Act.
For 19 months, business owners along the Texas-Mexico border have seen a drastic drop in customers because of COVID-19 travel restrictions. With land borders scheduled to reopen Nov. 8, they are banking on a return to pre-pandemic sales.
With partisan fervor, Republicans drew new maps for Congress and the Legislature that dilute the power of voters of color. Now the lawsuits begin, as groups that feel marginalized battle for representation in the halls of power.
Providers want the Supreme Court to take the case before an appeals court hears it. The high court gave defendants, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, until Thursday to respond to the providers’ request.
Lawmakers approved new political maps and decided how to spend COVID-19 relief money. But they didn’t pass bills about vaccine mandates or the criminal penalty for illegal voting.
Two proposed amendments — one regarding religious services and another related to nursing home visitors — stem from restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early voting begins Oct. 18.
Republican lawmakers have faced pressure to provide some form of property tax relief this year. Critics of a new proposal say it’s politically timed.
The halt comes after Gov. Greg Abbott expanded his ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates — which previously applied to cities, counties and school districts — to private employers.
Huffines has been the most vocal fellow Republican taking on Abbott, pressuring him over his COVID-19 response, the border and other hot-button issues.
The borders were closed to nonessential travel in March 2020, which hurt businesses in Texas border cities that rely on Mexican shoppers.
Members considered more than 50 amendments to the proposed map during debate that began Tuesday and ended early Wednesday. Some of the biggest changes focused on Dallas and Harris counties.
The department says it’s looking into whether the Texas Juvenile Justice Department provides “reasonable protection from physical and sexual abuse by staff and other residents, excessive use of chemical restraints and excessive use of isolation.”
Democratic state senators want the webpage reinstated. The resources were removed after Don Huffines, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, criticized their inclusion on a state website.
American Airlines and Southwest Airlines say they will continue requiring employee vaccinations despite Abbott's new order, which has left federal government contractors, nursing homes and other companies caught between conflicting rules from the Biden administration and the state.
Abbott also called on the Legislature to pass a law expanding the ban on vaccine mandates.
West, the former chair of the state Republican party, tweeted that his oxygen levels are low and he will likely be hospitalized, but says his condition is "not serious."
Because of the way the law is written, it appears that clinics and doctors who performed abortions outlawed by the statute even while the block was in effect would now be vulnerable to lawsuits.
Since 2008, the number of Texas students learning English as a second language who take longer than five years to become proficient is growing.
A House committee approved the bill despite emotional testimony from parents of transgender Texas children. This is the fourth legislative session this year in which lawmakers targeted LGBTQ kids.
The ruling late Wednesday from a U.S. District Judge doesn’t protect providers who perform abortions while the Texas law makes its way through the courts.
After high-profile clashes with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a fellow Republican, Seliger suspects members of his own party are trying to oust him.
It wasn't immediately clear how the order may affect access to abortions in the state. The law is constructed in a way that people who violate it could be liable to litigation if enforcement is reinstated.
Months after Austin voters reinstated the city’s public camping ban, authorities are clearing many of the largest encampments. Their former residents are going “anywhere it’s safe and out of sight, out of mind,” one man said.
The bills reflect GOP efforts to further tighten voting laws, and pressure from former President Donald Trump on Texas Republicans to help advance his baseless election fraud claims. They are not expected to go far in the House.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Border Patrol insist the 11 men, arrested under Gov. Greg Abbott's border initiative, weren't set up for trespassing charges. But a county attorney decided the case was too muddled to prosecute.
If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, “trigger laws” across 12 states — including Texas — that ban all abortions will go into effect within months.
The new proposal, like its predecessor, would amend the health and safety code to make the unlawful restraint of a dog a criminal offense — and more clearly outline proper treatment.
Despite the objections of U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, a Senate committee voted out a redrawn congressional map Monday without addressing the overlap in their Houston districts. The map heads next to the full Senate for a vote.
About 40% of Texas nursing home workers are unvaccinated and could face dismissal or quit their jobs under a federal vaccination requirement for the industry.
Plaintiffs say the governor’s order denies children with disabilities, who are at a high risk of illness and death from the coronavirus, access to public education.
Two months into this school year, districts have reported 172,275 cases in students. But state data on school cases is incomplete and likely an undercount.
The political battle in one Texas county where Trump got 81% of the vote offers a rare view into the virulent distrust and unyielding pressure facing elections administrators.
Since Sept. 9, 30,000 Haitians have arrived in Del Rio — migrants said they chose the small border city because they heard it was safer than other routes — and at one point as many as 15,000 were forced to camp beneath the international bridge when their numbers overwhelmed immigration officials.
The Texas Legislature is in the midst of its third special session, which is dedicated to redrawing political maps based on the latest census data that showed people of color fueled 95% of Texas’ population growth over the past decade.
The U.S. sued Texas after the Biden administration vowed to oppose Texas' new near-total abortion ban. The lawsuit joins several legal challenges already in progress.
There has been no evidence of widespread election fraud in Texas, where Trump defeated President Joe Biden by 6 percentage points. After the November election, a secretary of state official said Texas’ election was “smooth and secure."
Adam Foltz, now on the Texas payroll, played a key role in Wisconsin's redistricting last decade. A federal court threw out some of the maps and called the effort Foltz was involved in "an all but shameful attempt to hide the redistricting process from public scrutiny."
The state and its political subdivisions could get up to $1.5 billion from the settlement. But some local governments are considering pursuing their own lawsuits against drug makers and distributors.
Dowd said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has focused on “culture war” issues to divide and hurt Texans.
The men were arrested by state troopers and held for weeks without facing formal charges, a violation of state law. It’s the latest misfire in Abbott’s hastily assembled effort to involve Texas in patrolling the border.
With the Legislature’s third special session underway, parents are enduring another round of visits and demonstrations as legislators again debate a top Republican legislative priority: restricting transgender youth from playing on sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity.
The proposed congressional map also increases the number of districts where Trump had a majority of voters over Biden in 2020 and protects Republican incumbents who might have been vulnerable by packing their districts with more Trump voters.
Defense attorneys have started asking courts to set migrants free because local justice systems, overwhelmed by arrests under Gov. Greg Abbott's border security push, are routinely violating state law and constitutional due process rights.
Officials in some counties targeted by audits accuse Republican Texas leaders of pandering to conspiracy theorists and undermining faith in elections. They also say the secretary of state’s office hasn’t provided details on what the audits entail.
The new law narrows the window in which physicians are allowed to give abortion-inducing medication to patients from 10 weeks to seven weeks after conception, bucking FDA guidelines.
Tax relief for property owners joins a packed to-do list for Texas lawmakers — which includes redistricting, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and a spending plan for $16 billion in federal stimulus dollars.
There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and the Texas secretary of state who oversaw the 2020 election and was appointed by the Republican governor declared the election “smooth and secure.”
The Supreme Court had previously declined to block the law but didn't rule on its constitutionality.
A judge recently blocked a similar bill in Florida after a lawsuit brought forward by NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the same groups that sued Texas.
Paxton’s attorneys argued to a panel of Texas 3rd Court of Appeals justices on Wednesday that a lawsuit from former deputies should be thrown out. The ex-employees claim they were fired after reporting Paxton to law enforcement.
Gov. Greg Abbott says the line of law enforcement and military vehicles is stopping migrants from crossing the Rio Grande into Del Rio, where the number of migrants camped under a bridge keeps dropping.
More than 175,000 barrels of oil per day in production will shift from one major company to another.
The U.S. Department of Education announced the inquiry days after the Texas Education Agency quietly updated its guidance to say school districts can’t require masks.
The Republican-dominated, 15-member board determines what millions of public school students in the state are taught in classrooms.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned would-be migrants that “your journey will not succeed” and promised to investigate the actions of mounted agents at the Rio Grande.
The lawsuit comes after Dr. Alan Braid said he performed an abortion prohibited by the law earlier this month. Braid said he was motivated by a “duty of care.”
A San Antonio OB/GYN, says he had performed an abortion that is illegal under the state’s restrictive new law to force a test of its legality.
The situation in Del Rio spiraled this week as more than 15,000 migrants, many of them from Haiti, arrived at the border in recent days, settling in a makeshift camp as they waited for CBP agents to process their petitions to stay in the U.S.
Lawmakers must redraw the state's political maps to account for a decade's worth of growth, but the process leaves enough room for political manipulation. Here's how it'll work.
The bill would require social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to produce regular reports of removed content and disclose their content regulations procedures.
State and local party chairs could file requests to launch audits, but Republicans say the legislation won’t spawn a debacle akin to the controversial review underway in Arizona. It’s unclear if the House will pass the bill before the session ends.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the Supreme Court's decision not to halt the law "an injustice" and Vice President Kamala Harris promised the administration would defend abortion rights.
West had insisted his wife had not been drinking the night she was arrested, calling the arrest “insidious.” Dallas police said they stand by the officer’s decision to arrest Graham-West based on the information available at the time.
Proponents of House Bill 9 denounced the Biden administration’s approach to border security, saying the state had no choice but to step in to ramp up enforcement.
President Joe Biden denounced the implementation of SB 8 saying his “administration is deeply committed to the constitutional right established in Roe v. Wade.”
One abortion provider said it was “engulfed” in treating more than 100 patients at one clinic before the law goes into effect Wednesday.
The bill would pay for virtual learning until September 2023, but won't fund it for students who have failed their STAAR exams.
Senate Bill 1 rewrites Texas election laws to further restrict the voting-by-mail process and outlaw local voting initiatives meant to widen access, namely those pushed by Harris County that were disproportionately used by voters of color.
The new laws will affect abortion access, social studies curriculum and cities that trim the budgets of law enforcement.
Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday, was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday, but officials warned that flooding from storm surge will continue to affect parts of the state throughout the morning.
The law, which is one of the most restrictive in the country, will take effect Wednesday.
The bill would nearly triple border security funding from the last biennium. The legislation needs one more vote of approval from the House before moving to the Senate.
The bill, which would provide funding through September 2023, needs final approval from the House before it heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
The measure would allow for a one-time payment of up to $2,400 for retired teachers, counselors and other school staff.
Democrats used every tool they had, fleeing the state en masse and forcing two special sessions, but a Republican bill to rewrite state election laws won initial approval in the House Thursday. Once the House and Senate work out some differences, it appears headed to the governor's desk.
The Texas Attorney General was specifically named in a request for materials by the U.S. select committee.
Looking relieved but exhausted, 1,200 Afghan refugees arrived this week at El Paso’s Fort Bliss. Meanwhile, Texans remain on the ground in an increasingly dangerous Afghanistan.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins can require masks in public schools, colleges and businesses, a state district judge ruled Wednesday — siding against Gov. Greg Abbott.
The “remain in Mexico” policy known as Migrant Protection Protocols requires many asylum-seekers to wait outside the United States for their cases to be decided.
The order comes two days after the FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine. That raised questions about the fate of a previous Abbott order that prohibited vaccine mandates, but only for vaccines with emergency authorization.
A Texas House committee on Tuesday advanced a funding bill that would appropriate nearly $2 billion to beef up Gov. Greg Abbott’s crackdown on immigration at the Texas-Mexico border.
Attorneys for former employees who were fired after accusing Paxton of abuse of office say report is "full of half-truths, outright lies, and glaring omissions." Meanwhile, the FBI is also reportedly investigating.
Navigating the quorum break, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan said he was especially mindful of not doing “un-repairable harm” to the chamber, indicating that could have happened if members were physically detained and brought to the chamber.
Conservative lawmakers denounce critical race theory and say it facilitates racism. Some teachers say it actually informs their efforts to counter racism in the curriculum and classroom, even though they don't teach it directly to students.
An affidavit obtained by The Texas Tribune shows Angela Graham-West showed signs of intoxication in some — but not all — portions of a field sobriety test. Her lawyer attributes some issues to a previous brain aneurysm Graham-West suffered behind her right eye.
With the U.S. Food and Drug administration’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, Texas is in uncharted territory when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations.
Amid the heated rhetoric around an increase in migrants in the state, people on the Texas-Mexico border see the problems — and solutions — differently.
The governor credited his vaccination for keeping his infection "brief and mild" and encouraged others to consider getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Texas public universities forbidden from mandating vaccines are trying to entice students and faculty to get the shot. Those moves come as more people ages 18 to 29 years old in Texas are being hospitalized with the virus.
The small districts aren’t fighting Gov. Greg Abbott’s mask rules, but fears for staff, students and local medical facilities are driving them to fight COVID-19 with temporary closures.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott wanted the high court to disallow mask mandates in Texas school districts. Justices dismissed their request on a technicality, without issuing a ruling on their legal arguments.
As of Wednesday, there were no known cases of absent Democrats being arrested, and the chamber was still shy of the 100 members it needs for a quorum to conduct official business. That is despite its Aug. 10 vote to proceed with the arrests.
El Paso County residents must wear masks in many indoor spaces like schools and businesses under a new countywide mandate.
Biden said he will use the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights enforcement authority to deter states from blocking mask mandates in classrooms.
One of the Republican authors of the so-called critical race theory bill said the district is misinterpreting the new law’s ban on political activism. A school official called the language “vague.”
“It’s going to be close,” one health official said as a record number of Texas hospitals run out of intensive care beds and warn that they may soon have more COVID-19 patients than they can handle.
The governor spoke Monday night at a GOP event in Collin County, later tweeting photos of him addressing a maskless crowd.
The Taliban has taken control of Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city, which led to a crush of civilians at the Kabul airport desperate to leave the country on Monday.
Back-and-forth legal rulings have left some school districts with the choice of flouting Abbott and mandating masks — or waiting for the dust to settle.
Starting Sept. 1, most Texans will be able to carry handguns in public without going through training or having to get permits. Law enforcement officers worry that could make their jobs more dangerous.
Dallas and Bexar counties had approved mask orders despite Abbott's order banning such local mandates.
Senate Bill 968, signed into law in June, allows the TABC and other agencies to revoke businesses' state licenses if they make vaccine proof a requirement of getting service.
The Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for absent House Democrats’ civil arrests after it temporarily blocked Harris County judges’ orders protecting them from such a move.
The state’s Hispanic population is now nearly as large as the non-Hispanic white population, with Texas gaining nearly 11 Hispanic residents for every additional white resident since 2010. Those trends set up a pitched battle for political control when state lawmakers redraw legislative districts.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz blocked a last Democratic attempt to pass federal voting rights legislation this summer. The Senate left town but is expected to pick up the issue again in the fall.
Medical experts said gender-affirming care for transgender children rarely, if ever, includes use of the surgeries. Most care for transgender kids involves social transitioning and puberty blockers.
COVID-19 is surging again in Texas. Hospitalizations are increasing faster than at any other time. Local officials and school leaders are pushing back against Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on mask mandates.
Dallas ISD and Austin ISD announced Monday they will require masking, while Houston ISD will vote on a mandate this week. A nonprofit group has also sued to block Abbott’s order.
Abbott vetoed a section of the state budget that funds the Legislature — including salaries and benefits of 2,100 employees — as punishment for House Democrats' May walkout to prevent passage of a controversial voting bill.
Abbott's request was one of several steps to address rising coronavirus case numbers and hospitalizations. He did not back down from his refusal to allow local mask mandates.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending vaccinated people mask up again in indoor public spaces in “areas with substantial and high transmission,” which includes most of Texas.
Both chambers convened at noon Saturday for a second overtime round ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott. The first 30-day stretch ended in an impasse after House Democrats left the state to block a controversial GOP elections bill.
Many public university officials say they are moving forward with reopening plans as faculty and students worry about rising COVID-19 cases across the state.
The lack of available nurses has driven up salaries and created a heated, competitive job market as thousands of positions remain open throughout Texas.
The governor said Thursday the second special session will get underway at noon Saturday, with a 17-item agenda.
Their vacation does not affect the lack of quorum that the House has in Austin that prevents the chamber from passing an elections bill. But it is at odds with Democrats’ insistence that they would use their time away to advocate for federal voting rights legislation in the nation’s capital.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is the most recent official to defy the governor’s order. He announced Monday that the city’s nearly 22,000 city employees will be required to mask up inside city buildings where social distancing is not doable.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced earlier this summer that he’s planning to take action that would restrict transition-related medical care for transgender minors in Texas
For some energy experts, the increase in donations for the officials at the close of the session looks like a reward for not passing more stringent regulations and raises questions about whether lawmakers let the oil, gas and the broader energy industry off easy for its massive failures.
There are two main groups within Texas’ unvaccinated population: white conservatives in rural areas, and Hispanic and Black people in big cities.
Educators who spoke to The Texas Tribune overwhelmingly denounced the new social studies law going into effect Sept. 1. These are the provisions they say could cause problems for them — and Texas students.
Republicans believe they have already compromised enough on the legislation, while Democrats are distrustful of both the policy driving the bill and of their GOP colleagues after seeing how they have managed the process around the proposal so far.
Public health experts and medical professionals are sounding the alarm over the highly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19. The governor has stood firm on his ban against masking mandates in schools.
One day after Abbott told state troopers to pull over vehicles with migrants suspected of having COVID-19, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the governor's order violated federal law.
Hospital officials worry that “staggering and frightening” hospitalization rates will push facilities to capacity at a time when staffing is short and workers are exhausted.
As the safety net for Texas tenants behind on rent begins to disappear, a 19-year-old Houston organizer helps Hispanic residents apply for emergency financial assistance.
The marchers will travel south from Georgetown to Austin over four days, hoping to build pressure on Congress to act on federal legislation to boost or safeguard access to voting. They will end with a Saturday morning rally at the Capitol.
Ellzey, a state representative, beat fellow Republican Susan Wright, who was backed by former President Donald Trump. Ellzey will finish the term of Ron Wright, who died earlier this year after contracting COVID-19.
In a letter to the major general of the Texas National Guard, Abbott said “more manpower is needed” at the border.
Texas Republican state leaders held their ground against allowing local schools and governments to require masks. The CDC guidelines are not mandates and have no weight of law.
The move is largely symbolic as the legislative session has been ground to a halt by the quorum-busting Democrats who fled Texas 11 days ago. Even if the Democrats returned, Abbott would have to add the item to his special session agenda for it to have a chance at passing.
The warrant to apprehend state Rep. Philip Cortez is the first one signed by the speaker since more than 50 House Democrats left the state to block Republicans from having the quorum needed to pass legislation during the special legislative session.
Seven of the state’s nine veterans homes had a fatality rate of 25% or more, far higher than the statewide average of 11% for nursing homes. Bush has vowed to not renew the operators’ contracts.
Officials in Dallas, Harris and Travis counties want residents to take stronger precautions as the delta variant drives an increase in coronavirus infections across Texas.
Despite promises from Abbott that transparency in the crowdfunding process for the border wall would be paramount, donor information released to The Texas Tribune for the first week of collections was bereft of any way to verify the identities of the majority of the donors.
Members left Texas about 10 days ago and have said they plan to stay out of state until after the special session ends Aug. 6.
The state’s electricity regulators said they’re taking steps to assure a skeptical public that the power won’t go out again if Texas experiences extreme weather this summer.
Border-crossing immigrants are being arrested by Texas troopers on state charges like trespassing, and they’re starting to trickle into a prison emptied to house them.
Preliminary data shows 99.5% of COVID-related deaths in Texas were among unvaccinated people, according to the Department of State Health Services.
Abbott reiterated Tuesday that Texas schoolchildren will not face mask requirements as they return to school later this summer.
Beckley unveiled her plans in a video filmed inside a hotel room in the nation’s capital, where state House Democrats fled earlier this month to break quorum in protest of Republicans’ priority elections bill.
The Texas House Democratic Caucus, which has said it plans to not identify lawmakers who test positive, has started additional precautionary measures, such as providing daily rapid tests.
Houston state Rep. Garnet Coleman has been at the forefront of voting and social justice battles for decades and helped lead the 2003 flight of Democratic legislators to Oklahoma. Not being with his colleagues who went to Washington, D.C., has been agonizing, he says.
The move comes after bills to do so were unsuccessful during the regular legislative session — and after Abbott did not include them on his agenda for the ongoing special session.
All three lawmakers, whom the Texas House Democratic Caucus did not identify, are fully vaccinated, which helps protect against severe illness.
State officials and virologists say the highly contagious delta variant is causing the rise — and is particularly impacting unvaccinated people.
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to build Trump's wall at the Texas-Mexico border. But he will have to overcome hurdles previous officials couldn't.
Moody, one of House Speaker Dade Phelan's closest Democratic allies, is the first Democrat to suffer political backlash after the quorum break.
The plane will be on standby at Dulles International Airport, and Dade Phelan’s team said his political campaign, not taxpayers, will pay for the flight.
The lawsuit says the president had no legal right to put a stop to wall construction on the Texas-Mexico border because Congress had already appropriated the funds.
Transgender students would be prevented from joining public school and university sports teams that correspond to their gender.
Whose voices will be heard in Texas halls of power? That question beats at the heart of the Democratic quorum break that has brought the Legislature to a halt and focused national attention on GOP efforts to make voting in Texas harder.
Democratic Texas lawmakers made the rounds again on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, in their bid to push Congress toward passing new federal voting legislation after they fled Austin to block passage of voting restrictions legislation in the state Legislature.
The procedural move carries little apparent weight since the Democrats who fled the state to break quorum are beyond the jurisdiction of Texas law enforcement.
A number of House Republicans indicated that they would support what’s known as a call of the House, a procedural move that would allow law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled the chamber.
Two of the state’s top Republican leaders are panning House Democrats over their move to leave the state in an attempt to block passage of a controversial election bill.
A majority of Democrats in the Texas House arrived in Washington, D.C., Monday evening in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 26 days left in a special legislative session called largely for that purpose.
The State Republican Executive Committee met Sunday to pick a successor for Allen West, the chairman who resigned last month after a drama-filled tenure and is now running for governor.
Legislators in the House and Senate filed matching bills to change state bail practices earlier this week, echoing legislation that failed to pass in the regular session. On Saturday, committees in both chambers approved the bills.
Authors of voting legislation in the House and Senate are moving to ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting options, enhance access for partisan poll watchers and prohibit local election officials from proactively distributing applications to request mail-in ballots. Both bills also include language to further restrict the state’s voting-by-mail rules, including new ID requirements for absentee voters.
The decision to openly consider recognizing an LGBTQ group while simultaneously affirming the university's belief that marriage is between a man and a woman raised concerns among supporters and opponents who say Baylor is trying to "have its cake and eat it, too."
The lower chamber, led by House Speaker Dade Phelan, is trying to start off on a new foot with a controversial election bill that blew up during the regular session.
Federal Judge Xavier Rodriguez said the U.S. Air Force's failure to report the shooter's domestic violence conviction to the FBI allowed him to purchase the gun used in Texas' deadliest mass shooting.
While many Texas prisons are understaffed, some dangerously so, the emptied-out Briscoe Unit in Dilley is in "maintenance mode" as officials scramble to implement the governor's plan to increase the state's role in border enforcement.
Abbott also put border security and restoring funding to the Legislative branch — which he vetoed last month — on the special session agenda.
The latest, most transmissible strain of COVID-19 is spreading rampantly in countries with low vaccination rates, and health experts are bracing for impact in Texas.
Local health officials are trying to boost vaccinations in this Panhandle city and its surrounding counties, which rank near the bottom of the state’s population centers in the percentage of residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The governor did not include many specifics about how regulators should carry out his requests to improve the state's main power grid.
In a new court filing, the attorney general's office said the governor properly used his veto power when he nixed funding for the Legislature in response to House Democrats’ walkout over a Republican priority bill on elections.
The legislative branch budget includes funding for House and Senate lawmakers, their staffers and those working in nonpartisan legislative agencies. In total, more than $410 million was allocated in the 2022-23 fiscal budget.
Still outnumbered and virtually powerless to stop the inevitable, Democrats in the Texas Legislature say they are keeping their options open as they prepare for a special session that is expected to revive the GOP elections bill they killed last month.
Some landowners who sued the Trump administration say they aren't "just going to roll over and give up" now that Abbott has taken on a border wall project. Others say a wall is needed to protect people and property on the border.
The former president appeared at the border Wednesday with Abbott, who has promised to build a state-funded border wall.
The former president will tour the border with Abbott, who has promised to build a state-funded border wall
In the June poll, 47% of voters said they were coming and going as they were before the pandemic, while 39% said they were leaving the house but exercising caution.
Their Texas swing is part of a larger effort by senior administration officials who are fanning out across the country this week to encourage vaccinations ahead of the administration’s self-imposed goal of hitting a 70% countrywide vaccination rate by July 4.
Immigration and border security continue to top Texas voters' list of most important problems facing the state. It is a particular concern of Republican voters.
Immigration and border security continue to top Texas voters' list of most important problems facing the state. It is a particular concern of Republican voters.
Most of the money will be used to help Texas colleges and universities expand or add new programs in areas with employment shortages and provide additional aid to students.
The gunman should not have been able to purchase an assault style rifle, but the store conducted the required federal background check, which didn't reveal his past assault conviction, the court said.
Harris toured Border Patrol facilities in El Paso and met with local groups that aid migrants, but Republicans continued to attack her for not visiting the Rio Grande Valley, where a large number of border apprehensions are happening.
The governor vetoed funding for legislative operations, including staff salaries, in retaliation to House Democrats fleeing the Capitol in late May to block passage of a controversial elections bill.
While a majority of the Democratic-controlled Senate backed the bill, enough Republicans banded together to use the filibuster to block the bill from receiving an up-or-down vote.
Abbott’s office did not specify what legislative priorities will be included on the special session agenda and said in an advisory that such items “will be announced prior to the convening of the special session.”
Miller was seen as a potential challenger to Abbott because of his vocal criticism of the governor's restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 last year.
The bill would let counties and cities apply to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for funds that were declined by their states.
Abbott vetoed 13 bills authored by Democrats and seven by Republicans. Twelve of the vetoes targeted bills that originated in the House, and eight were from the Senate.
The operator had urged electricity conservation earlier this week as several power generators unexpectedly went offline as temperatures rose this week.
The governor’s move comes after Democrats walked out of the House in the final days of the regular legislative session to block passage of Senate Bill 7, Abbott’s priority elections bill that would have overhauled voting rights in the state.
At any given time, thousands of Texas prisoners have been approved for parole but not yet released. At least 42 of those people died in the 12 months after the coronavirus first swept the state.
The 7-2 ruling said the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to sue over the law. The court’s ruling did not include an official opinion on whether the law, commonly known as Obamacare, was constitutional.
Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other Republicans who were initially noncommittal about the bill were under immense political pressure this session from conservatives and gun rights advocates, who have long lobbied the Texas Legislature for permitless carry.
A number of power plants were inexplicably offline at the same time that Texas was experiencing record June demand for electricity. ERCOT officials are still working to determine why.
The governor did not specify how long the wall would be or where it would be built. He directed the Texas Facilities Commission to hire a program manager to begin that research.
The legislation — which required voter approval — would have brought a monumental expansion of gambling to Texas, which has some of the most restrictive gaming laws in the country.
State Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat from El Paso, said a special legislative session already planned for later this year should also address gun violence.
Abbott made national headlines with his announcement Thursday in Del Rio that Texas would build its own wall at the Mexico border, though he provided no further details and said he would lay out the plan this week.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas says a large number of power plants are offline, but could not provide details as to what may be causing the "very concerning" number of outages. At the same time, the state is experiencing near record June demand for electricity.
The possibility that the vaccine won’t work — or that, as some worry, it could even hurt them — is a devastating blow after a year of sacrifice, isolation and waiting for protection against the virus.
Critics have denounced Abbott's proposal as "political theater" that won't pass legal muster. But the two-term Republican governor says it's time to secure the border.
The state's unemployment agency is ending that exemption June 26, when out-of-work Texans will also stop receiving an extra $300 in federal jobless benefits.
The governor suggested more details would be released next week. The announcement Thursday of several initiatives is the latest in an ongoing conflict between Abbott, a Republican, and Democratic President Joe Biden's administration.
Two former congressional candidates, Julie Oliver and Mike Siegel, are hoping to help Democrats learn the lessons of 2020 with a new group called Ground Game Texas.
The project is essentially an advisory committee designed to promote the state’s history to Texas residents, largely through pamphlets given to people receiving driver’s licenses.
A federal attorney claims an order from Gov. Greg Abbott violates the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and said legal action could follow if the state carries through with plans to pull licenses from the federally contracted facilities.
Senate Bills 2 and 3 are aimed at overhauling the state’s power grid after the devastating winter storm in February and the widespread power outages that followed.
Critics say the fast-growing Alternatives to Abortion program is secretive and a “waste” of money. But the program has strong supporters in the Republican-controlled Legislature who say it helps those who decide to “choose life in difficult circumstances.”
Phelan has touted a list of conservative wins in his first session as House leader, such as passing legislation to let Texans carry handguns without a license and approving some of the strictest restrictions on abortion in the country.
Abbott's signature means that businesses that require so-called vaccine passports can't get state contracts and could lose state licenses or operating permits.
The news of her decision comes two days after the current land commissioner, George P. Bush, announced he was running for attorney general next year, challenging fellow Republican Ken Paxton.
West declined to say whether he was eyeing any particular statewide office, though he told a radio host earlier Friday morning that the host was "safe" to assume West was mulling a gubernatorial run.
Higher education officials are hoping to get a slice of the $16 billion in federal stimulus funding state lawmakers are expected to dole out later this year during a special legislative session.
Lawmakers didn’t succeed in curtailing the governor's power during a disaster, but they did pass bills that prohibit so-called vaccine passports and ban the mandatory closure of churches and gun stores.
Texas GOP Chairman Allen West, Republican U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller each delivered remarks at the event. Marketing for the event included a logo featuring a cowboy hat with the letters “WWG1WGA” around its band, a QAnon motto.
Bush made his challenge official Wednesday evening during an event at a downtown Austin bar.
The endorsement comes as Abbott faces a primary challenge from former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas and as other fellow Republicans eye the race.
The bills are in response to widespread protests and calls to “defund the police” last year.
All they could get was a temporary win. But the lawmakers said taking the extraordinary measure of breaking quorum was justified by the harm they felt their mostly Black and Hispanic constituents would face under the GOP's voting bill.
Members celebrated the end of the session, but also acknowledged that they'll be back sometime soon for at least one special session.
The Texas House and Senate both approved negotiated versions of Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3, the two sweeping bills to change the state’s power grid and the people who oversee it.
Senate Bill 7, a Republican priority voting bill, would limit early voting hours, curtail local voting options and further clamp down on mail-in voting, among several other provisions.
In a last ditch attempt to block a sweeping GOP voting bill, all Democrats walked off the House floor Sunday night, trying to prevent a vote on the legislation before a fatal deadline.
Abbott said the increase in fentanyl seizures correlates with President Joe Biden taking office in January and implementing new border policies.
Democratic lawmakers wanted to replace a defunded agency by creating a new office that would look at health inequities across the state. But after Republicans pulled it into ongoing debates about transgender rights and critical race theory, the bill died in the Senate.
Tensions between the two chambers are peaking, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is putting pressure on Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session for unfinished business on conservative priorities
Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged “groups of Texans who wish to get vaccinated as a business, family unit, friend group, or more” to schedule an event.
Gov. Greg Abbott responded, "Some are trying to end the game before the time clock has run out. There’s still time remaining for the House and Senate to work together to get important conservative legislation to my desk."
HillCo lobbyist Rick Dennis did not slip GHB into the drinks of two legislative staffers, an investigation found. But a history of complaints against him for inappropriate behavior raises questions about how seriously the Legislature takes misconduct.
Texas educators say they’re concerned they won’t be able to have open, far-reaching conversations, often prompted by inquisitive students, if the Texas Legislature approves a bill that restricts how teachers can discuss current events in the classroom and teach about America’s historical treatment of people of color.
The federal government blocked an attempt to rename these places 30 years ago when Texas passed a law to eliminate the term. Now, lawmakers are once again pushing for the change.
The Democrats delayed and deflected as they tried to run out the clock on bills they oppose. Republicans strategized to push through bills they'd worked on all session
Jobless Texans say Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to end federal unemployment benefits will worsen their already dire situations
Abbott already planned to call a special session later in the year for the Legislature to do its decennial redrawing of Texas political maps.
House lawmakers expressed frustration Thursday that some of their priority legislation had not moved in the upper chamber, including a package of health care and criminal justice reform bills.
The bill creating the commission, which would have subpoena power, passed 252-175. Republican U.S. Reps. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio and Van Taylor of Plano were the only two GOP Texans to support the measure.
Relatives of Jones and his victim pleaded for the state to spare his life, but the Texas parole board declined. His lawyer argued that was because Jones was Black, since a white man in a similar situation was spared.
The signing of the bill opens a new frontier in the battle over abortion restrictions as first-of-its-kind legal provisions intended to make the law harder to challenge are poised to be tested in the courts.
Relatives of Jones and his victim have pleaded for the state to spare his life, but the Texas parole board declined. His lawyer argues that’s because Jones is Black, since a white man in a similar situation was spared.
While 30% of Texans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the vast majority of children are unvaccinated. The Pfizer vaccine was authorized last week for children as young as 12.
Days after the House failed to pass their own ban against gender confirmation medical care, the Senate pushed their own attempt forward.
The unemployment rate in Texas was 6.9% in March, which is more than double the record low of 3.4% in May 2019. The extra $300 federal benefit will end June 26 for jobless Texans.
The bill approved by the House aims to cool all of Texas’ prisons before 2029. But even if it is signed into law, the lockups will only be air conditioned if lawmakers provide funds for installation.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit, filed Friday, argues that the Trump-era extension of the federal 1115 Medicaid funding waiver was lawful and that overturning it was a political move.
Bush has a unique history with Trump as the only prominent member of his famous political family to back the former president. Meanwhile, Paxton has tightly aligned himself with Trump in recent months.
Parental consent is required for vaccinating children in this age group, either orally or in writing, though the guardian does not necessarily need to be present for the shot itself.
House Bill 4509 would mandate that students study documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers. The bill’s author added speeches from Black historical figures after criticism at a hearing last month.
House Bill 1024 allows beer, wine and mixed drinks to be included in pickup and delivery food orders, securing a revenue stream made available to restaurants during the pandemic when their dining areas were forced to close.
The Austin Republican has expressed skepticism about installing Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as the new GOP conference chair, suggesting she's not conservative enough.
House Bill 1927 would nix the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun.
The federal government also announced undocumented and international students can now receive those emergency funds too, rolling back a Trump administration rule that only allowed schools to distribute grants to students who qualified for federal financial aid.
A key deadline passed Monday without action in the Texas House on casino legislation backed by the gaming empire Las Vegas Sands. A measure to allow sports gambling looks similarly doomed.
The judge found the NRA was trying to use its move to Texas to avoid a lawsuit by the New York attorney general that accused the gun rights group of financial abuses
The researchers said the additional cases they tracked after students began returning to schools represented 12% of the state’s total cases during the eight weeks after reopening and 17% of deaths.
The wide-ranging legislation would affirm the governor’s ability to suspend state laws during a pandemic and allow for overriding local orders issued by county judges or mayors if they’re inconsistent with state orders.
The bill previously lacked the votes to advance out of House committee. After House Democrats spiked one of his bills, Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, revived it.
Nothing is truly dead until the session ends. But committee chairs in both chambers have blocked bills from getting hearings, and supporters have dim hopes that Republican leaders will revive it in time.
The runoff pits Susan Wright against fellow Republican Jake Ellzey after Democrats failed to advance a candidate in the Saturday special election.
The legislation must still get another vote in the lower chamber before it’s sent to the governor’s office to be signed into law. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has signaled that he is looking forward to signing the bill.
House Bill 1927 would nix the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun.
Gov. Greg Abbott has called for expanding the state's civic education curriculum, but the House and Senate are quickly advancing bills that would restrict the discussion of current events and public policy in the classroom and prohibit critical race theory in public schools.
Dozens of big companies, local businesses and chambers of commerce issued a statement reflecting the biggest pushback yet by the business community against Texas Republican efforts to further tighten the state's restrictive voting rules.
Texas voters have a strong preference for politicians from their own parties, but overall, the president is as popular here as the governor or either of the state's U.S. senators.
With the clock on the Legislative session ticking down, the Texas House moved to help fund power plant upgrades for extreme weather.
On some of the major issues facing the Texas Legislature — police behavior or allowing unlicensed carry of handguns — voters and lawmakers aren't always in sync.
A runoff date has yet to be scheduled in the race, which drew 23 candidates vying to replace U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington.
The outcome could prompt a lawsuit over what opponents say is an unconstitutional ban on abortion. The vote comes less than a year after Planned Parenthood opened a clinic in the West Texas city.
Proposition B on that city’s ballot will also criminalize panhandling at certain places and during certain times.
The lieutenant governor said Thursday he still does not have the votes to bring the proposal to the floor of the upper chamber, but he believes that will change by next week.
The chamber quickly gave preliminary approval to three police reform measures that are part of a sweeping set of legislation following the in-custody murder of George Floyd last year.
They used their car to stay warm when a winter storm brought down the Texas power grid. In a state that doesn't require carbon monoxide alarms in homes, they had no warning they were poisoning themselves.
The newly released funds come after educators and state Democrats urged the governor to unlock the pandemic relief money as schools plan their budgets for the next school year
The governor broke his silence Tuesday on the legislation that has been building momentum at the Texas Capitol.
The former president is set to appear on a tele-town hall Thursday to get out the vote for Wright in Saturday's contest.
The president on Tuesday also said he'll nominate former Texas congressional candidate Gina Ortiz Jones to serve as under secretary of the Air Force.
While proponents of the proposed ordinance view abortion as an “inconceivably wicked action,” detractors say it would be immediately challenged in court and that battles over abortion access are best fought at the state and federal levels.
If the legislation is approved and signed by the governor, cities could lose state grant money for failing to enforce a new statewide encampment ban.
Texas will have 38 congressional seats as a result of the latest U.S. census. The state’s political heft has been growing steadily for decades, gaining at least two seats after every census since 1980.
State lawmakers, staffers and other Capitol observers have denounced the alleged incident, with several House members declaring on social media that they were banning from their offices any lobbyist or lobby firm associated with the accusation.
The news comes a day after state health officials said that a Texas woman who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been hospitalized with blood clots and whose condition was being investigated by the CDC as potentially connected to the vaccine. No other details were released.
The Texas House voted overwhelmingly in favor of an amendment to the state budget that would bar state dollars from being used on school voucher programs, which let parents use public money for private school education.
House members adopted an amendment to the budget that would defund the Texas Enterprise Fund and shift those $100 million dollars to the property tax relief fund.
House members this afternoon adopted an amendment that would cap what the Texas attorney general’s office can spend on outside legal counsel to $500 per hour.
One of the most anticipated amendments in the budget debate — an expansion of state and federal health care coverage for uninsured Texans — was defeated Thursday afternoon on a vote of 80-68.
Texas Muslims view a recently introduced bill offering government employees days off for Islamic holidays as a step toward inclusivity.
Equality Texas CEO Ricardo Martinez said Texas has filed more anti-LGBTQ bills this session than any other state legislature.
The lower chamber gave initial approval Monday to a series of bill responding to this year’s catastrophic power outages during a deadly winter storm.
Texas Competes, which is made up of more than 1,450 Texas employers, chambers of commerce, tourism bureaus and industry associations, is advocating the “economic case for equality.”
The push to steel Texas against new federal rules comes amid several recent incidents of gun violence nationwide — including shootings in Bryan and Austin. Democrats are calling for an assault weapons ban and stronger background checks, among other changes.
As lawmakers advance bills targeting renewable energy sources, experts call the efforts “discriminatory” and “politically motivated.”
Senate Bill 21 would require cash bail for people who have ever been convicted of a violent crime.
House Bill 1927 would nix the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun. Texans under current state law must generally be licensed to carry handguns, either openly or concealed.
The state's grid operator included extreme weather scenarios in its early summer assessment and found that a combination of a severe drought, heat wave and low winds could lead to more power outages. Experts warn this summer could be hot and dry, enhanced by climate change.
In an academic year scrambled by the pandemic and a deadly winter storm, Texas school students face makeup work and rounds of standardized testing. Many parents and teachers say it's unnecessary.
The proposal would prohibit students from participating in a sport “that is designated for the biological sex opposite to the student’s biological sex as determined at the student’s birth.”
Daily new cases and the positivity rate have leveled off over the past month, while deaths and hospitalization have gone down substantially.
MLB’s anti-trust exemption reduces the possibility of a competing league from emerging and threatening its status as the preeminent professional baseball league.
The policy required asylum seekers who passed through Mexico on their way to the U.S. to stay in Mexico while their claims were processed. Many were forced to live in sometimes dangerous and unsanitary migrant camps.
At the state's three FEMA vaccination sites in Dallas, Arlington and Houston, officials said that vaccine efforts would continue but that officials would not be administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Though seven of the sheriff’s officers have been fired after initially being put on administrative leave and another resigned while under investigation, the family and protesters say they don’t plan to stop until the officers have been charged with a crime.
Supporters say Senate Bill 14 will make it easier for businesses to operate in multiple cities. Opponents call it an "existential threat to Texas workers.”
Texas lawmakers have filed six bills that target transgender students’ sports participation — and two of those bills would affect colleges and university sports in addition to K-12.
Nearly two dozen lawsuits allege that failures by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the operator of the state's main power grid, led to the wrongful death of a family member.
Texas is beating the national rate in terms of seniors fully vaccinated, but unique challenges make it harder to move up in the rankings in other areas, officials and experts say.
An outraged Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick castigated those implying that GOP efforts to restrict Texas voting are racist. But the state has a history of marginalizing voters of color, and many business leaders, voting rights advocates and Democrats see the proposals as taking another step down that path.
The support from 11 Democrats for Senate Bill 4 shocked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who backs the bill. He called the 28-2 vote “one of the more surprising votes” in his career.
The shootings began at Kent Moore Cabinets, and one Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who was later shot is in serious, but stable condition. The shooting occurred the same day that President Joe Biden released a list of executive orders to address gun violence.
The number of reported maternal deaths has increased nationwide in recent decades. Health experts and advocates say giving low-income moms Medicaid coverage for a year after delivery, rather than two months, could save lives.
Three federal stimulus packages passed during the pandemic included more than $19 billion for Texas public schools, but state leaders have yet to distribute the money. Local districts say they need it to cover pandemic-related costs.
The governor did not know the identities of those who alleged assault, nor did he provide many details. He said he was concerned more than one child may have been assaulted.
Texas courts have long been criticized for keeping people in jail pending trial who can't afford to post bond. Two priority bills this session would change the bail system, but they're primarily aimed at keeping potentially dangerous defendants behind bars.
This comes as vaccine credentials, often referred to as vaccine passports, are being developed around the world as a way to quickly prove someone’s vaccination status, particularly with private companies.
Texas officials mandated that students take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness in person this year at monitored test sites, although millions of students are still learning remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Abbott also said Monday he was declining to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Texas Rangers' home opening game.
The effort comes as Abbott and some Texas legislators are pushing a proposal to punish social media companies for “canceling conservative speech.”
The momentum follows a shake-up in House leadership and comes as the practice is gaining traction in statehouses across the country. Meanwhile, gun control advocates are sounding the alarm about making it easier to carry guns after recent mass shootings.
Members of the Texas Railroad Commission were quick to blame renewable energy for power outages across the state.
“Nothing’s changed and nothing I said would preclude me from considering a run in the future,” he told the Tribune.
Two of Sery Kim's biggest backers — the first Korean American Republicans to serve in Congress — withdrew their endorsements Friday after she said she doesn't want Chinese immigrants to come to America.
Senate Bill 7 is at the forefront of Texas Republicans’ crusade to further restrict voting in the state after last year’s election.
The new emails reveal more powerful donors and alumni than were previously known who mobilized on the issue in June right after the student athletes went public with their demands to get rid of the song.
The state is still directing providers to prioritize older and vulnerable Texans, and cities are continuing their efforts to reach Texans who have trouble accessing vaccine doses.
Some say lawmakers should go further to ensure power plants can withstand increased weather due to climate change. And they worry that much of the legislation advancing will be up to the Public Utility Commission to enforce.
Many parents rely on summer camps — which were largely shuttered last year — for child care while school is out.
At least four conferences were canceled in Austin because of the lack of a statewide mask mandate. The cancellations have caused the Hilton Austin hotel to lose out on $350,000 of revenue, according to Austin Convention Enterprises.
Members of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus said they are "unequivocal" about their opposition to UT-Austin's alma mater and have asked the university to reconsider getting rid of the song.
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.
The Texas Tribune joined several other news organizations in an effort to obtain copies of emails and text messages that Paxton sent or received while in Washington for the rally.
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.
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.
Some students this summer called for a statue of the founder to be removed from campus and for the university itself to be renamed.
For many residents, birthday parties and holiday celebrations took place largely through windows and over video calls.
The Texas Department of State Health Services is asking providers to prioritize appointments for people 80 and older, and to prioritize walk-ins from anyone in that age group who shows up without an appointment.
Images released by a Democratic U.S. representative show settings similar to those that Democrats hammered former President Donald Trump over two years ago, when that administration encountered an increase of migrant apprehensions
The provisions are packaged in one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority measures, dubbed the “heartbeat bill.” Senate Bill 8 would ban abortions as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.
Last week's shootings in Atlanta left six Asian women dead. Asian Texans say they’re being targeted, too.
Hearings are set to begin today on the first major bill in a push by Republican lawmakers to further tighten the state's already restrictive voting rules and raise new barriers for some voters.
Housing advocates say they appreciate the measure, but want to see more legislative action to overcome racial inequalities in the housing market.
Hundreds of asylum seekers have been flown to El Paso and sent to Ciudad Juárez this week.
The governor asked the federal government to let Texas law enforcement interview migrant children in FEMA shelters to investigate human trafficking.
The actor hasn't voted in a primary since at least 2012 and has never donated to a Texas or federal campaign.
Abortion-related measures dominated a Senate State Affairs committee hearing Monday, and lawmakers advanced all of the proposals.
The deaths occurred in at least 25 counties. And 25 of the fatalities occurred in Harris County. Some Texas deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning and medical equipment failure.
Acevedo is the latest major Texas police chief to leave following a year of protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Acevedo says he's timing his leave to the end of Mayor Sylvester Turner's final term in office.
Texas has some of the strictest voting rules, but Republican lawmakers are now hoping to outlaw efforts by local officials in places like Harris County intended to widen access for voters, including drive-thru voting and extended early voting hours.
Senate Bill 2142 had not even been filed when the day started Monday, but lawmakers suspended their rules to hastily push it through the Senate.
Austin and Travis County residents will be required to keep their masks on after a district judge delayed action on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to end the mandates immediately.
Experts say testing is still a crucial step as Texas continues to deal with the pandemic, but the public messaging has shifted away from testing and toward vaccinations.
The new category — labeled 1C — means that vaccine availability is ramping up across the state.
The city of Lubbock made plans to join ERCOT in 2015. After last month's winter storm, some feel anxious about the move.
Texas' mask mandate was lifted this week, and Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered that "no jurisdiction" can implement a local one if coronavirus hospitalizations don't meet a certain metric.
A newly "open" state will likely look very different in rural towns and suburban neighborhoods compared to more populous areas and coronavirus hot spots, residents and business owners say.
The bill, which also includes billions in aid for state and local governments, now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.
Before the Wednesday announcement, between 10 million and 13 million people — more than one-third of Texas’ population — were eligible, according to state health officials.
Las Vegas Sands is pushing to create the opportunity for casinos at "destination resorts" in the state's four largest metropolitan areas.
In recent months, the song has divided the university community. Over the summer, students protested and petitioned the university to rid the campus of the song, which has ties to minstrel shows.
Texas’ statewide mask mandate has ended as of March 10. Businesses are also now allowed to operate at full capacity as long as the hospitals in their region haven’t been treating a large share of patients for COVID-19. Here’s a look at what the loosened restrictions mean for Texans.
Providers are not allowed, under state health guidelines, to require vaccine recipients to prove a medical condition that would qualify them because it could create barriers at a time when Texas is trying to vaccinate most of its 29 million residents.
In recent months, the song has divided the university community. Over the summer, students protested and petitioned the university to rid the campus of the song, which has ties to minstrel shows.
After COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked, the number of Texans dependent on home oxygen equipment was at “an all-time high” when a winter storm overwhelmed the state’s power grid in February, leaving many struggling for air.
Senate Bill 12 would prohibit social media companies — including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — from blocking, banning, demonetizing or otherwise discriminating against a user based on their viewpoint or their location within Texas.
An independent market monitor for the Public Utility Commission of Texas wrote in a letter that the power grid operator kept market prices too high for nearly two days after widespread outages ended.
A day after Gov. Greg Abbott announced plans to fully reopen businesses and end the state’s mask mandate, small business owners across Texas found themselves struggling to decide what to do next.
One woman whose husband died said Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to end the mask mandate makes the convenience of not wearing a mask seem more important than loss of life. Abbott's spokesperson says he “joins all Texans in mourning every single life lost.”
The football players said the athletics officials, in a meeting with the players after the Oklahoma game, referenced emails from donors who said the protests could impact their job prospects after graduating.
The president's comments came the day after Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was ending the statewide mask requirement and letting businesses reopen at 100% capacity.
The change in eligibility comes the day after the Biden administration urged all states to prioritize teachers.
Some superintendents say they will continue requiring students and staff to wear masks as they await further guidance from the Texas Education Agency.
Some variants of COVID-19 are more contagious and researchers believe they can reinfect people who already have gotten the virus. Doctors and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommend wearing masks
The change, which comes as the seven-day average of new coronavirus deaths remains above 200, will go into effect March 10.
Texas voters put families and small businesses and employers at the top of their lists of who needs the most help from the Texas Legislature to recover from the pandemic, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
Emails obtained by The Texas Tribune show alumni and donors threatened to stop supporting the university financially and demanded that the university president take a stronger stance supporting "The Eyes of Texas."
On Monday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for PUC Chair DeAnn Walker and Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Bill Magness to resign.
Texas voters give President Joe Biden good marks on COVID-19 response, but they're split on his overall job performance, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
Texas voters give President Joe Biden good marks on COVID-19 response, but they're split on his overall job performance, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday approved the vaccine, the first that requires one dose instead of two.
Lawmakers and analysts say it is too soon for an exact estimate, but the financial damage from the storm has left state lawmakers scrambling to account for the storm in the middle of the 2021 legislative session.
Catastrophic Texas power outages prompt finger pointing and blame shifting at legislative hearings.
While these plans are allowed under state law, the Texas Public Utility Commission said that “an influx of complaints into our Customer Protection Division has caused concerns that questionable business practices might be exacerbating the situation.”
Oil refineries, chemical plants and other industrial operators emitted 3.5 million pounds of excess pollution during the winter storm and power crisis in Texas, according to an analysis of company notices provided to state regulators.
The historic winter storm wiped out most of South Texas' citrus crop and halted dairy processing in the Panhandle for days. Consumers will likely continue seeing short-term shortages, producers say.
A Chambers County resident filed a class-action lawsuit against electricity retailer Griddy on Monday, accusing the provider of price gouging customers during last week’s freeze. She is seeking $1 billion in relief for affected customers.
Five board members, including the chair, who do not live in Texas will resign. A candidate for another position on the board has withdrawn his application. The vacancies will not immediately be filled.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Biden would “meet with local leaders to discuss the winter storm, relief efforts, progress toward recovery and the incredible resilience shown by the people of Houston and Texas.”
Texas sustained between $45 and $50 billion in damage and economic loss from the storm, according to AccuWeather. So far, people in more than 100 counties can begin applying for federal assistance.
A Conroe family is suing ERCOT and Entergy Texas for a total of $100 million after their son died inside his bed from suspected hypothermia.
Electric bills are likely to rise for everyone, experts and consumer advocates say, but some Texans on variable rate contracts have been hit with immediate, massive price spikes. Lawmakers and the governor have promised to help, but haven't said how.
Saturday's meeting came after numerous reports of Texans receiving exorbitant electric bills despite not having power during the storm
Texans of color have not only been more devastated by death and unemployment during the last year, but also tend to live in disinvested neighborhoods, with older homes and less food options to withstand the cold temperatures and outages.
We’re tracking the fallout from the massive winter storm in Texas, which has brought widespread power outages and transportation problems.
Abbott said he hasn’t been told which parts of Texas should expect power to return. Nearly 12 million Texans are also living under boil-water notices — and that number is expected to increase.
ERCOT's CEO and president told reporters Wednesday he's optimistic that the state's grid will start to see some of the power it has lost return as temperatures warm up.
A massive winter storm in Texas has brought widespread power outages and transportation problems.
Multiple federal courts have found Texas' cash bail practices discriminatory against poor people. The governor has said his priority bill will instead focus on keeping "dangerous criminals" in jail before they're convicted.
While COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are trending downward, the numbers are higher than when Abbott initially announced restrictions on businesses.
A court filing documents what Paxton’s whistleblowers believe led to an alleged “bizarre, obsessive use of power.”
A hazardous waste disposal company in Andrews County wants to handle more dangerous levels of nuclear waste. Federal agencies are pondering new rules that could allow more of it to come to Texas.
The NBA said the team would resume playing the song at home games, a day after it was reported that the national anthem had not been played at any Mavericks home games this season.
Combined, the three sites are expected to administer more than 10,000 shots per day, with doses supplied by FEMA.
The lieutenant governor is not starting the biennial legislative session in his characteristically outspoken style, particularly when it comes to making clear his policy priorities.
U.S. District Judge Janis Jack says she will give state officials until May to make progress on her orders to overhaul the state's foster care system, or face hefty fines.
Judge Drew Tipton originally issued a 14-day suspension of Biden’s moratorium on Jan. 26. The pause in deportations was part of Biden’s attempted day one overhaul of several of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Now praised as heroes of the pandemic, nurses and other front-line medical workers have been routinely scratched, bitten or verbally abused by patients. Well over half of Texas' nurses reported being subject to workplace violence in their career, according to a 2016 state study.
A global push toward a cleaner climate and safer environment — from the free market and not just the White House — has not kept Texas lawmakers from criticizing the new president.
Wright, a Republican from Arlington, had been living with cancer for years. He was hospitalized for COVID-19 about two weeks ago.
Their plea comes just days after a state district judge temporarily stopped the state from excluding Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, a government health insurance program for the poor. A hearing is scheduled for later this month.
While vaccinations are reaching more people every day, health care experts warn that this doesn’t mean Texas is out of the woods.
Home health workers, most of whom are women of color, could start losing their jobs if they aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19. Many are more afraid of the vaccine than the virus, but health experts and public officials widely agree that the vaccine is safe.
The U.S. House voted 230-199 to remove Greene from the House Budget and Labor and Education committees. Eleven House Republicans joined with Democrats in the vote, but no Texas GOP members crossed party lines.
Despite changes to the regular count of people experiencing homelessness, support organizations are hoping they’ll still be able to capture a clear picture of who is unhoused in Texas as the pandemic continues.
With assignments out, legislation that has been filed can begin getting referred to committees for potential hearings. The committees overseeing public education, budget writing and redistricting are among those with new chairs.
After the Department of State Health Services neglected to include front-line essential workers in the latest phase of the vaccine rollout, grocery store workers juggle stressful work while waiting for the vaccine.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has been allocated nearly 9,000 doses. The agency vaccinated prison health care workers, then correctional staff in infected areas.
At one point in January, half of the city’s hospital patients were admitted because of COVID-19 — the highest percentage in the nation. That's caused intense debate about what the city can, and should, do next.
Lawmakers and advocates are pushing for statutory changes and budget allocations to combat sexual assault in Texas. These include expanding the definition of sexual assault and processing a backlog of rape kits.
The Texas Opportunity Coalition includes chambers of commerce, other economic development groups and institutions of higher learning.
The executive orders will also include a review of Donald Trump’s restrictions on legal migration and the “remain in Mexico” program.
With the GOP in control of state government and “a favorable backstop from the courts, it’s going to be a no-holds-barred approach for Republicans on abortion,” one political science professor said.
Administrators, school staff and uncredentialed stand-ins are being sent into classrooms to cover for teachers who fall ill or have to isolate. But even those improvisations aren't keeping classrooms fully staffed.
Gov. Greg Abbott designated five emergency items, which are matters the Legislature can vote on within the first 60 days of the session that began Jan. 12.
Lawmakers have filed legislation that would ban transgender girls and women who attend public K-12 schools, colleges and universities from playing on single-sex sports teams designated for girls and women.
As the state continues struggling with an uneven vaccine rollout, some Texans in far-flung areas are traversing the state to get immunized.
Medical experts say the state will struggle to immunize enough Texans to halt the chain of transmission through vaccination. But they hope to soon see evidence that vaccination efforts are helping to take pressure off the health care system.
An updated EPA rule requires drinking water in elementary schools be tested for lead and copper — a mandate that emerged from the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.
Abbott on Thursday signed an executive order that he said would "direct every state agency to use all lawful powers and tools to challenge any federal action that threatens the" energy sector in Texas.
The Harris County sheriff has pleaded for help from a federal judge to make room at the “bursting” jail in Houston, where six inmates and two employees have died from COVID-19.
A year and a half after Austin lifted a local ban on camping in public, some city officials are pushing to turn hotels into housing for people experiencing homelessness. Meanwhile, a state-sanctioned encampment in the city is full and can't accept new residents.
National Guard teams will visit DeWitt, Marion, Real, Sherman and Starr counties as part of a newly created State Mobile Vaccine Pilot Program.
Senators tabled the measure to declare Trump's second impeachment unconstitutional, but the exercise served as a possible litmus test of where senators stand on the question of whether the former president should be convicted in the Senate of inciting a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol earlier this month.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, unsuccessfully pushed for similar federal legislation. Abbott's support comes as Texas intensive care units are filling up with coronavirus patients.
The deportation moratorium was part of a package of immigration-reform measures the new administration proposed on Inauguration Day.
At least four Texas House members have tested positive for the coronavirus since the legislative session began this month.
The two Texans in the U.S. Senate have called the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump "vindictive."
The violent storming of the U.S. Capitol prompted some states to reconsider allowing firearms in their statehouses. Not Texas.
Sherman did not say how he thought he contracted the virus. The House, which gaveled in for start of the 2021 legislative session last week, adjourned Jan. 14 and is not set to convene again until Tuesday.
David Spiller advances along with second-place finisher Craig Carter in the race to replace outgoing state Rep. Drew Springer, who was elected to the Texas Senate.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order calling for a 100-day moratorium on some deportations as part of a sweeping review and reset of immigration and enforcement policies.
Wright, who was hospitalized in September while undergoing cancer treatment, said in a statement that he’s been in quarantine since Friday.
Touting his public safety priorities for the legislative session, the governor continued to assail Austin for redirecting part of its police budget. He backed changes in police training, but said little else about reforming policing or accountability.
The new weekly test requirement is possible with the help of a new multimillion-dollar, on-campus lab that produces test results in less than 24 hours.
President Donald Trump's efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional representation are out with his administration. But Texas lawmakers still face delays in receiving census results needed to redraw the state's political maps.
Some Texas Republicans in Congress called for bipartisanship, but many others criticized Biden's early policy moves.
The incoming president also plans to send a comprehensive immigration reform plan to Congress after he takes office.
For the past four years, Texas Republicans have had an ally in the White House. Now they’re reading for the familiar role of conservative counterweight.
A federal affidavit filed by a special agent Tuesday identified the Houston Police officer who participated in the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol as 18-year veteran Tam Pham.
Some 78% of the 1.7 million coronavirus doses already shipped to providers have been used, including second doses, Gov. Greg Abbott said. Texas is set to receive another 333,650 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Austin-based group founded by anti-vaccine activist Del Bigtree regularly posts information questioning the safety of the coronavirus vaccines. Doctors and scientists say both the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines are safe and effective.
The state's health commission gave Planned Parenthood's Medicaid patients until Feb. 3 to find new doctors. Experts say there are limited places low-income patients can go, in part because Texas already has a shortage of doctors who accept Medicaid, due to the state’s low payment rates.
The National Rifle Association filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and may reincorporate in Texas. Experts say it’s fleeing a fraud case in New York.
On Tuesday, some Texans will take a paid day off for a state holiday honoring Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and other leaders of the Confederate army.
Hospitals in the Abilene, Bryan-College Station and Laredo areas have run out of intensive care unit beds. State health officials are “greatly concerned” about high numbers of hospitalized people throughout Texas.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo announced Thursday that the 18-year veteran of the department had resigned.
The rules, which passed unanimously Thursday, will help govern the House during the Legislature’s 2021 session.
In a lawsuit, four former Paxton aides claim they were wrongfully terminated for reporting alleged criminal behavior on his part. Paxton’s agency wants a judge to quash subpoenas and depositions, saying that as an elected official Paxton is exempt from state whistleblower protection laws.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals took the rare step Wednesday in the landmark case of Roy Oliver, who was convicted of murder in the death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.
Reports of depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide among Texas students are rising as the pandemic drags on. Here is a resource guide for those seeking help.
Texas Democrats have been unanimous in their support for impeachment. Many Republicans from the state have been opposed.
The historic vote underscores the scale of anger at President Donald Trump for his role in last week's deadly insurrection at the United States Capitol.
President Trump on Tuesday visited the Rio Grande Valley in what's likely his last Texas appearance as commander-in-chief.
Lawmakers gathered for the start of the 140-day session Tuesday as the coronavirus continues to rage in Texas.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar estimated that lawmakers have $113 billion to spend when they write the next two-year budget.
Twenty-eight coronavirus vaccination hubs will receive most of the state's next shipment of COVID-19 vaccines this week, with 158,825 doses shipping to providers able to manage large-scale efforts as more doses arrive in the state.
Much about the session — including how it will be conducted during a pandemic — remains uncertain.
The flagship university in Austin is urging students to space out their return to campus for spring semester to reduce the spread of COVID-19 as cases in Travis County reach record highs.
The president's visit comes a week after Department of Homeland Security officials touted the “historic” completion of 450 miles of border fencing during his administration.
State health officials said Sunday that 28 hubs will be getting 158,825 doses this week.
It does not cause a more severe disease, and vaccines “are expected to be effective against it,” the health services department said of the strain.
At a low point in his rollercoaster political career, Paxton is betting on the Trump base to bring him back up the hill, lending the legitimacy of office to debunked claims that have motivated violence.
Wednesday’s chaos led to calls for Cruz’s resignation from Texas Democrats. But Cruz says he “ain’t going anywhere.”
“The Capitol and Capitol Complex are closed to the public effective immediately,” said Freeman Martin, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s deputy director of homeland security.
The chaos began shortly after some GOP lawmakers, led by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, launched a dispute to the certification of Arizona’s electoral votes.
As U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and others began challenging the Electoral College votes that made Joe Biden the president-elect, pro-Trump rioters swarmed the U.S. Capitol and forced Congress to evacuate.
The groups are suing the EPA, saying it failed to address concerns that air permits issued to big industrial facilities didn’t meet federal standards.
A string of explosions involving little-regulated petroleum and chemical storage tanks have lawmakers and regulators talking about new rules as the Legislature prepares to convene this month.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Texas are at record levels, while just under half of the vaccine doses shipped to Texans have been given out, according to state numbers.
Granger tested positive for the respiratory disease after arriving in Washington, D.C. and is “asymptomatic and feeling great,” her office said in a statement.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered that all procedures not immediately medically necessary be postponed in March to contend with the coronavirus. In April, the number of abortions performed in Texas dropped 38% compared to the previous year.
There are 3,519 Texans registered with the state to use medical marijuana, though advocates say 2 million people are eligible based on current law.
Joining several other U.S. senators, Cruz is calling for an emergency audit of election results in “disputed states,” despite no evidence of widespread election fraud.
Several members of President-elect Joe Biden's transition team said the incoming administration would “need time” to undo “damage” to the U.S. immigration system and border enforcement policies that have severely limited the ability of asylum seekers to qualify for humanitarian protection.
The vaccine, which arrived in Texas on Dec. 14, has been available so far only to front-line health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities.
The move comes after Congress passed a stimulus bill Monday extending the federal moratorium on evictions through the end of January. The moratorium order was set to expire at the end of the year.
Abbott has stressed that the vaccine will not be required for Texans, and on Monday, he specifically said it will not be mandatory for the state's school children.
The bill will reinstate supplemental unemployment benefits of $300 per week, and extend eviction protections through the end of January. The legislation also allocates another $284 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program.
The Muenster Republican prevailed over the Dallas salon owner who made headlines for refusing to shut down during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Election Security Task Force for Harris County said in a report released Friday that it "found no proof of any election tampering, ballot harvesting, voter suppression, intimidation or any other type of foul play that might have impacted the legitimate cast or count of a ballot."
By the end of the month, the state expects to distribute 1.4 million vaccine doses to hospitals, long-term care facilities and a host of other locations.
For months, Gov. Greg Abbott and the 2019 Texas Inaugural Committee fought to avoid disclosing how they spent a record-setting $5.3 million. The Texas Tribune sued and obtained the documents in an out-of-court settlement.
Gov. Greg Abbott said he has not yet gotten the vaccine but will “at the appropriate time."
Mark Aguirre is accused of running a man off the road and threatening him at gunpoint. The ex-cop was hired as a private investigator by a group whose CEO is GOP activist Steven Hotze.
The deadline to use the funds is Dec. 30. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller asked the governor to support rural hospitals and food banks.
Universities across Texas and nationwide are seeing an increase in online cheating since the start of the pandemic, as students take more virtual courses and test remotely with less supervision.
The House will limit attendance for what is typically a crowded day at the Capitol when family and friends attend the opening ceremonies.
Enrollment has fallen as schools and families grapple with pandemic closures and health concerns. Next semester, the declines could start hitting district budgets.
Electors across the country affirmed Biden’s victory, but the Texas electors refused to admit Trump’s defeat.
Electors across the country affirmed Biden’s victory, but the Texas electors refused to admit Trump’s defeat.
Four former aides sued the agency last month, claiming they were wrongfully terminated after they told law enforcement they believed their boss, Ken Paxton, had broken the law.
Four Texas sites received a total of 19,500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, the first phase of a rollout that will put a quarter-million doses into 109 Texas facilities this week — with more on the way next week.
Rules preventing large gatherings and the loss of work in a COVID-19-battered economy has forced many El Pasoans to surrender traditional funeral rites as the pandemic claims more victims in their city.
From the Rio Grande Valley to the Texas Panhandle and from the Gulf Coast to West Texas, some 109 medical facilities are slated to receive the first allocation of 1.4 million doses earmarked for Texas.
The lawsuit challenged election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. The high court said Texas did not have standing to bring the case.
Miller said he will quarantine at his ranch. He's the second Texas statewide elected official to confirm testing positive for the virus.
Adelson's Las Vegas Sands has built a stable of high-powered lobbyists for the session, which starts in January, and the company acknowledged Tuesday that it is serious about bringing casinos to Texas.
Donald Trump's legal team filed to intervene in the Texas lawsuit contesting the election results on Wednesday. The president asked U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to argue the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, if it agrees to hear it.
The legislation is named in honor of retiring U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, who is the top Republican of the House Armed Services Committee.
Texas Tech and UT-El Paso ended up on opposite ends of the spectrum in how they approached the fall semester, facing the unprecedented educational and safety challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both universities are planning more of the same in the spring.
One of the board members said the state needs to be more cautious about getting back to normal — especially with a new legislative session set to begin next month.
President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next month will mark a change in border policies, but the litigation over Donald Trump’s border wall could continue, wall opponents say.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block the battleground states from casting "unlawful and constitutionally tainted votes" in the Electoral College. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, experts say.
The shake-ups come in response to an independent review of the Texas base’s command climate and are an effort to correct a yearslong culture of sexual assault and a pattern of violence there.
Despite details released from the Paycheck Protection Program this week, a full snapshot of the program remains unclear.
More than 2.5 million households in Texas didn't always have enough food to eat in November, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About two-thirds of those households were either Hispanic or Black.
Immigrant rights groups cheered the ruling, which could reopen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants in Texas.
Patrick and Republican state Rep. Dade Phelan, the likely next House speaker, “hope to be able to make an announcement regarding the Session shortly," a senior adviser to Patrick said Saturday.
Residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, among others, were added to the priority list that already included hospital staff working with COVID-19 patients.
Texas is expected to get enough vaccine doses for about 1.4 million people in mid-December. Healthcare workers who directly interact with patients will be the first eligible for vaccination.
The governor said a vaccine could start arriving by mid-December. The state has said health care workers will be the first to receive voluntary vaccinations.
Mayor Steve Adler said he did not violate his own order or orders by Gov. Greg Abbott and took multiple steps to ensure the safety of his guests, including rapid COVID-19 testing.
Three units across the state will be at least temporarily closed this month, according to the Texas prison system. The agency hopes it will help with dangerously low staffing levels.
Springer and Luther, who has been a vocal opponent of Abbott's pandemic management, are in a Dec. 19 special election runoff.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also called for the Supreme Court to hear one of Donald Trump's election lawsuits.
Nearly a dozen pieces of legislation, all of them filed by Republicans, target mail-in balloting, illegal voting and misbehaving elections officials — inspired by events and talking points from the previous election cycle.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar didn't provide details as he told lawmakers Monday that the financial forecast isn't as dire as earlier feared. But he said revenues are still down "significantly" compared with last year.
Among the task force’s recommendations: Officials in Texas should significantly reduce capacity in indoor spaces, including those that are privately owned.
The McAllen Central Processing Center will reopen in 2022 after a major renovation, Customs and Border Protection officials said.
Keith Nielsen won the job in March, but as he prepared to take office this summer, he faced widespread condemnation for posting a Facebook graphic juxtaposing a Martin Luther King Jr. quote with a banana
Ryan Vassar, who had served as the deputy attorney general for legal counsel, was one of eight senior aides who told authorities they believed Paxton was breaking the law — a report that has sparked an FBI investigation.
More than 50 election-related bills have been filed in the House and Senate in the three weeks since the election. About half of them are aimed at increasing voter access, which lawmakers said became a more urgent issue during the pandemic.
Texas is the only state that does not let publicly traded companies, like Walmart, sell liquor.
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday sided with state officials. Planned Parenthood said it will continue to serve patients for now, since the order has not yet taken effect.
In exchange for the guilty plea, two charges related to the incident — abuse of official capacity and official oppression — are being dropped.
Two questions could share Texas politics in the coming years: Who will challenge Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022? And will Abbott — and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz — run for president in 2024?
Hospital-based nurses, doctors and custodians are among the state's "first tier" of vaccine recipients once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves one or more for the public.
Granger is a prominent member of the Texas congressional delegation who received an endorsement from Trump in a heated 2020 primary.
The Texas Education Agency declined to take action, saying it's up to local enforcement. A county official tried to intervene but said it should be up to TEA to enforce.
Most Republicans voted against proposals to teach middle and high school students about consent, sexual orientation or gender identity. The board will take a final vote Friday.
Abbott's news conference came the same day that Texas reported more daily new cases than ever before — 12,293 — easily surpassing the previous record of 10,823 two days earlier.
El Paso is one of several Texas cities facing budget shortfalls because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected the border area. The president’s team still owes the city a 2-year-old debt of more than half a million dollars.
President-elect Joe Biden has promised to ban new oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters. The Trump administration held its last Gulf of Mexico auction Wednesday.
The bureau is probing allegations that Paxton broke the law by using the attorney general's office to serve the interests of a political donor, two unnamed sources told the Associated Press.
The last time case numbers were this high, the governor closed bars and urged Texans to avoid summer holiday gatherings. This time, he's staying the course, relying on a 2-month-old blueprint to claw back reopenings regionally based on hospitalizations.
The salary is still pending final approval by the UT System Board of Regents, who meet this week.
The U.S. State Department has sent letters to Americans rescued abroad during the pandemic asking for repayment for the repatriation flights and threatening to withhold tax refunds or social security payments if the debt goes unpaid for months.
West has protested outside the Governor's Mansion and called the likely next speaker of the Texas House a "political traitor." The upcoming legislative session will put his influence within the party to the test.
In a letter to the Japanese prime minister, Gov. Greg Abbott said that the company had all the permits needed, but later he had to backtrack. Legislators are expected to file bills to regulate high-speed rail projects during their next session.
The inmates working in the morgue will earn $2 an hour. They are low-level offenders who are part of the detention facility's trustee program.
Few Texas universities — some of which have been identified as coronavirus hot spots — have explicitly encouraged students to quarantine for 14 days before Thanksgiving or required exit testing, despite staggering rises in case counts across the state and country.
Texas joins California, which has 10 million more residents than Texas, as the nation’s leaders in coronavirus cases.
The extension comes despite the Texas attorney general’s office’s ongoing efforts to have the county order rejected by state courts. A decision is expected later in the week.
Multiple Texas universities are planning in-person graduation ceremonies this December, despite the fact that the state’s daily COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations are higher today than they were in May when most universities first scrambled to cancel the celebratory events.
State lawmakers argue that the tax revenue and jobs created by a retail market for cannabis could help the state devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas A&M confirmed the new cases as football programs across the country continue to face postponements and cancellations while trying to finish the season during a pandemic.
Paxton has spent much of his time in public life haunted by accusations of illegal or unethical behavior, causing quiet discomfort among some Republican colleagues. He’s always held on. Will this time be different?
Although Democrats didn't flip any congressional seats, experts said that demographic growth is still fueling a change in counties like Fort Bend, Collin and Williamson.
Texas is closing in on 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases, according to state data, and the pandemic has claimed more than 18,700 lives in the state.
Biden can unwind many Trump policies the same way they were created, via executive order, but bigger immigration reforms will depend on how much Congress is willing to take on, experts say.
Texas argues the entire law must fall after Congress zeroed out one critical provision. Several justices seemed unconvinced.
Allen West, party chair, does not get to vote on the next speaker since he is not a House member.
Thousands of bills are expected to be filed during the legislative session, when lawmakers will tackle issues including the next state budget and redrawing the state's political maps.
Local restaurants, joined by the Texas attorney general's office, had asked a judge to halt the El Paso county judge's order closing nonessential businesses for two weeks during a new COVID-19 spike.
Bush, who also served as Texas governor, called Biden "a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country."
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan earlier Wednesday ordered the agency to conduct two sweeps of processing facilities in the state for returned mail-in ballots that were postmarked by Tuesday.
Democrats once again won a large number of counties along or near the Texas-Mexico border, but by narrower margins than in recent elections. That showing played a big role in disappointing results for the state’s Democrats.
Phelan, a Republican from Beaumont, made the announcement the morning after the GOP maintained its control of the lower chamber in the 2020 elections.
Texas’ top Republican congressional leaders are mostly staying silent after President Donald Trump prematurely and falsely declared victory early Wednesday morning as votes continue to be counted in multiple battleground states.
Texas is playing host to a series of high-stakes contests up and down the ballot, from a presidential race that could be the state's closest in a generation to the fight for the Texas House majority.
Phelan joins fellow Republicans Trent Ashby, Chris Paddie and Geanie Morrison in the race for speaker. He’s the seventh candidate for the position.
It's been an election season like no other. Brace yourself for a results process that lasts longer than in recent elections.
The highway skirmish came as Democrats close ground in a state that is polling competitively in the race for president. Recent polls indicate the presidential race in Texas between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden is tight, with some national prognosticators calling it a “toss-up.”
A handful of GOP activists and candidates had asked the state's highest civil court to rule Harris County's drive-thru voting locations illegal, and invalidate votes that have already been cast. The challenge has also been filed in federal court.
The New York billionaire donated to Chrysta Castañeda in her bid to flip a seat on the all-GOP commission that regulates Texas' oil and gas industry.
The announcement from the state representative from San Antonio comes after state Rep. Senfronia Thompson filed to run for the post Friday. Democrats are hoping to gain control of the House this November.
Joe Biden is not faring as well among Latino voters in the polls as Hillary Clinton did in 2016. But Democrats in Texas are working to shore up Latino support.
Harris will be the highest-profile representative from the Biden campaign to visit Texas in person during the general election.
Thompson would be the first woman elected speaker. She filed less than two weeks before an election in which Democrats hope to gain control of the chamber.
The state program will help families pay for services like tutoring, therapy and digital resources. It is not a replacement for services students get through their school as part of their individualized education plan.
The Longhorn Band will not play the “The Eyes of Texas” at this Saturday’s football game between the University of Texas at Austin and Baylor University after a survey of members revealed several students are refusing to play the traditional alma mater song, according to The Daily Texan.
Texas' two senators were among the 12 Republicans who participated in the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Barrett. A vote by the full Senate is scheduled for Monday.
At least two counties – Hidalgo and El Paso – have banned door-to-door trick-or-treating. Others are discouraging participation while promoting safer alternatives such as carving pumpkins or having a candy hunt at home.
As the numbers of people infected and hospitalized by the coronavirus tick back up across the state, dozens of Texas school districts eliminated the option for remote learning and forced students, faculty and staff to return to the classroom, with few exceptions.
The request is the latest chapter in a scandal-plagued recent history for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, which has experienced high turnover rates among staff and leadership.
The Migrant Protection Protocols program has been criticized for sending thousands of vulnerable asylum seekers to Mexican border states that have seen sustained violence.
Attorney General Ken Paxton said the multi-billion dollar company engaged in anti-competitive and exclusionary practices that eliminate competition for internet searches and search advertising.
Several school districts are trying to accommodate teachers with health conditions who want to work from home, but many are being called back in as more students return to classrooms.
The census does not include an option for people to identify as Middle Eastern or North African Americans. That leaves Arab Texans to identify as white or “other” on the all-important national count.
Under the state’s vaccine distribution plan, vulnerable people, including health care workers, older people and people with underlying medical conditions, would likely be the first to get the vaccine in the early months that it’s available.
Experts say Texas is more prepared to handle another wave. But they fear that if the state fails to control the outbreak, it could quickly spiral out of control.
After a summer of declining unemployment rates following Gov. Greg Abbott's widespread business reopenings during the pandemic, the state's unemployment rate jumped to 8.3% in September.
s of Friday, 27% of registered voters in Denton County had cast their ballots in the 2020 election — surpassing the county’s 2016 turnout of 18% on the fourth day.
Abbott said Friday that the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Division of Emergency Management sent surge resources to the Panhandle and South Plains areas.
The week ending Oct. 10, a total of 43,435 Texans filed initial applications for unemployment relief.
Trump’s executive order, signed on Sept. 22, requires federal contractors and agencies that receive federal grants to discontinue training that contains “any form of race or sex stereotyping” and other “divisive concepts,” which could include discussions of the existence of white supremacy.
In addition to greater capacity limits for nonessential businesses, visits to nursing homes and elderly care facilities will be put on hold.
With some political campaigns embracing law enforcement in Texas, the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll found two things to be true: Most voters don't want to decrease funding for police, and almost all voters feel safe where they live.
A professional organization of social workers called the change "incredibly disheartening," while Gov. Greg Abbott's office said it was necessary to conform with existing state law.
Voters in Harris County shattered the record for in-person ballots cast on the first day of early voting, with more than 128,000 people voting, according to the county elections office.
Amid the apprehension that Texans expressed about the spread of infections, there are partisan differences about how serious a problem the coronavirus is, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
Civil rights groups and voting advocates had argued the restriction would disproportionately impact low-income voters, voters with disabilities, older voters and voters of color in Democratic counties.
A noisy election year from the presidential race at the top of the ballot to the congressional and legislative races attracting money from partisans all over the U.S. has reached the decision point. In-person early voting in Texas starts today.
Only a minority of Texas voters from both parties say they're ready to trust the results of the 2020 election for president, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
The 2-1 decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes as $3.6 billion was slated for construction of about a dozen projects, including two projects in the Laredo and El Paso areas.
Aides in the attorney general’s office have said their boss used the power of the agency to serve the financial interests of Nate Paul, an Austin investor and donor. Paul’s attorney said his client has been the victim of agency “dysfunction.”
While Denton County is moving forward, Dallas and Harris counties officials almost immediately declined the offer to allow bars to reopen. Many others are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Cornyn, the Republican incumbent, leads Hegar 50%-42% in his bid for a fourth term, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
As the pandemic has dragged on in Texas, the distance between Abbott's approval and disapproval ratings from voters has narrowed, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
As more students return to school in person, some school districts are having to trim back programs that deployed buses as hot spots in neighborhoods for students with little or no internet access
“It is time to open them up,” Abbott said in a Facebook video announcing the move. “If we continue to contain COVID, then these openings, just like other businesses, should be able to expand in the near future.”
The president leads the former vice president 50%-45% in Texas, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
The order temporarily blocks a lower court’s ruling that would have gone into effect Oct. 14 and forced Texas to provide more protective measures against the coronavirus at a geriatric prison.
State officials are asking doctors, nurses and pharmacists to identify “critical populations” as they predict an initial shortage of coronavirus vaccine doses.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled against several GOP officials who pushed to keep early voting to a two-week period during the pandemic.
The Biden ad buy as comes as The Lincoln Project, the group led by former Republican strategists working to defeat Trump, launched a $1 million digital ad campaign in the state.
Abbott shut down bars for a second time in June, when the proportion of coronavirus tests with positive results was more than 18%. That number has dropped to just over 6%. Experts worry that opening bars will contribute to another surge.
The Texas Rangers’ preliminary investigation found that Wolfe City police officer Shaun Lucas’ use of deadly force against Price was not “objectively reasonable.”
On the losing end of the 371-18 vote were U.S. Reps. Jodey Arrington of Lubbock, Brian Babin of Woodville, Michael Burgess of Lewsiville and Bill Flores of Bryan.
Halfway through the semester, schools are reporting participation rates far below their goals, prompting at least one school to go so far as to offer prizes to students who volunteer to get a coronavirus test.
"For the good of the people of Texas and the extraordinary public servants who serve at the Office of the Attorney General, Attorney General Ken Paxton must resign," Roy said in a statement.
Experts say the extension could help the historically undercounted state regain lost ground. Texans are already responding to the census at a substantially lower rate than the national average.
In two separate federal lawsuits filed on behalf of older voters, groups including the Texas and National Leagues of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters of Texas and the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans asked that the federal courts overturn the governor’s order, which forced Travis and Harris counties — two of the state’s most important Democratic strongholds — to shutter a number of drop-off sites they had already opened this week.
Seven senior officials said in a letter obtained by the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE that they have reason to believe Paxton should be investigated for "abuse of office, bribery and other potential criminal offenses."
"The COVID-19 pandemic and low price of crude oil continue to weigh on the Texas economy and sales tax revenue," Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.
A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a 2017 state law ending the popular one-punch option — and admonished a lower court judge for trying to bring the practice back so soon before early voting starts Oct. 13.
Texas is among the states that has accepted the most refugees within its borders since 2002. But those numbers have dropped under the Trump administration.
Much of the drama in the rapid-fire race had centered on Luther, a Dallas salon owner, and Springer, a state representative.
Texas has had more inmate deaths related to the coronavirus than any other prison system in the nation. Its death toll of at least 162 inmates outranks every other state as well as the federal prison system.
Conservative activist Steve Hotze and a number of Republican candidates and officials are asking the Texas Supreme Court to shorten the early voting period and limit drop-off locations for absentee ballots in the state’s largest Democratic county.
The state is partnering with the Texas State University System to add roughly 200 new staffers to its stable of more than 3,500 contact tracers.
Local leaders say the federal government’s decision to extend a ban on nonessential travel across the U.S.-Mexico border is crippling their budgets and local businesses.
Last year, Williamson County sheriff's deputies held Ambler down and stunned him four times with a Taser before his body went limp. It was filmed for a police reality TV show.
Native American tribe members say mistrust of the government and a history of erasure of indigenous people contribute to a lack of voter participation.
The new program will provide rental assistance and legal aid for tenants who are behind on rent. Details on how Texans could apply or qualify weren't immediately released.
No House members have declared their candidacy for speaker. Many say they have their sights set on November first as Democrats aim to flip the lower chamber.
Similar cases are popping up elsewhere in the state. Over the summer, two Texas teachers faced disciplinary action from their schools, one for wearing a mask and the other for displaying a Black Lives Matter sign, among others, in her virtual classroom.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office has filed a motion to stop the judge’s order and will file an appeal of the district court’s ruling.
Both of Texas' Republican U.S. senators have indicated they support moving forward with the Supreme Court confirmation process less than two months before the election.
Health experts worry about testing shortages and crowded hospitals as flu season approaches in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Much of the overtime cuts were reallocated for other purposes in the department, including more than $3.8 million to hire nearly 100 civilian workers. Other new spending will go toward addressing root causes of crime and improving street lighting.
The limited move, ordered by a federal judge, marks the first time Texans have been able to register to vote online.
The junior Texas senator objected to language his Democratic counterparts added noting that late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dying wish was that a successor not be chosen until after the presidential inauguration.
The board approved an annual salary of $795,000 for Hartzell as interim president in June.
State party chairman Allen West, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and members of the Texas Legislature were among those who filed the suit against Abbott.
Shortly after Oracle — a California-based tech company with an Austin campus — emerged as a potential buyer last week, Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that he had spoken to the president about Texas housing the possible new TikTok headquarters.
Groups on both sides of the aisle say it's harder to register voters when you can't go door to door and big public events are canceled. Registration was down 24% in the first seven months of this year, compared with the same period in 2016.
In counties where four-year college students make up at least 10% of the population, cases have grown 34% since Aug. 19, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. That’s compared with 23% in counties with a smaller proportion of students.
The railroad plans to connect Texas' two biggest cities within 90 minutes. Construction could begin in the first half of next year.
Working at polls is going to look different this year. Find out what poll workers do, who qualifies to be one and how to become one yourself.
Just days after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republicans and Democrats are already engaged in an expensive and divisive fight over the future of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Luther, the Dallas salon owner who was jailed earlier this year over her refusal to close her business due to coronavirus restrictions, is running to replace state Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper.
While restaurants are allowed to expand to 75% capacity, those in the bar industry worry prolonged shutdowns could lead to 30% of its businesses closing within six months.
If the U.S. Senate confirms a nominee of President Donald Trump, it could secure a conservative influence on the high court for a generation.
Groups on both sides of the aisle say it's harder to register voters when you can't go door to door and big public events are canceled. Registration was down 24% in the first seven months of this year, compared with the same period in 2016.
Public health experts say discrepancies in key metrics, such as the positivity rate, made it difficult for officials to make informed policy decisions.
Restaurants, retail stores and office buildings will now be able to operate at 75% capacity, Abbott said. Three regions — the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and Victoria — were excluded from the loosening of restrictions, however.
Democrats successfully sued last month to remove from the ballot the Green Party nominees for U.S. Senate, Railroad Commission and the 21st Congressional District.
The changes to the budget proposal come after lawmakers and advocates protested the previous plan would hurt vulnerable Texans.
Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department inspectors general are investigating allegations that ICE guards assaulted detainees in camera blind spots.
Last week, President Donald Trump named Cruz and another Texan to a list of potential picks for the U.S. Supreme Court if he gets a second term.
The Trump administration wants to end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of people from a number of countries who received protection because of armed conflicts and natural disasters.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said it will now rely on a calculation that takes into account the date on which a coronavirus test was administered, rather than when it was reported.
One key COVID-19 metric is trending downward, but experts worry that Labor Day gatherings and school reopenings could cause cases to spike again.
Many families with students learning at home can't access the free breakfasts and lunches they depended on when their children were attending school in person.
A bipartisan group of 88 state lawmakers said in a letter that a statewide broadband plan is well overdue.
With just over 15,000 fans in a stadium that holds more than 100,000, the University of Texas kicked off the football season after requiring mandatory COVID-19 tests for students who attended the game.
State district judge R.K. Sandill rejected the state's request for a temporary injunction to bar Harris County from pursuing its mailing plan.
After marathon meetings over three days, the Republican-dominated board also rejected efforts to teach students about consent. It is expected to take a final vote in November.
Two civil rights groups and two Texas voters had asked a federal judge to require substantial changes to polling place procedures, including an across-the-board mask mandate and expanded curbside voting.
James Ho, a Texan who serves on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is also on the list of 20 potential justices.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency notified state officials Wednesday that the payments for out-of-work Texans have ended, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, which handles unemployment claims.
The Texas Academy of Family Physicians is also asking legislators to expand Medicaid insurance coverage to low-income adults and restore funding for a program that studied racial health disparities.
Hall implied that "inquiries about future career opportunities" were a reason for leaving the Dallas Police Department. In 2017, she became the first woman to head the force.
The pledge is the governor's latest political move in an election season consumed by debates on policing reforms and funding.
The GOP sued because the Libertarians didn't pay their filing fees. But the state Supreme Court said Republicans missed the deadline to kick them off the ballot.
The Republican-dominated State Board of Education is taking up the first revision of sex ed curriculum in more than 20 years. LGBTQ students say they're being excluded again.
Public health experts say colleges need to dramatically ramp up testing in order to catch “silent spread” fueled by students who are infected but don’t have symptoms.
Young will continue as a faculty member for the Bush School of Government and Public Service and the Texas A&M School of Law, and take on a new role as the director of the Institute for Religious Liberties and International Affairs.
The state collected 5.6% less in sales tax revenue last month than in August 2019. The expiration of some federal relief aid could mean more decreases in coming months.
The coronavirus pandemic has steered the economy into a recession. In Texas, the state’s unemployment rate remains more than double what it was at the start of the year, and nearly 3.4 million people have filed for unemployment relief since mid-March.
A previous federal order, which only protected renters in federally backed housing, expired in July.
The report, set to be filed in federal court this week, confirms reporting from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune that found portions of the wall were in danger of overturning if not fixed due to extensive erosion just months after it was built.
Coronavirus cases are inevitable as Texas schools reopen. The challenge for administrators will be preventing large-scale outbreaks.
The temporary closure of businesses and high levels of unemployment due to the pandemic have caused sales tax revenues — which make up a significant portion of cities' budgets — to plummet.
After a late July peak, the number of statewide coronavirus hospitalizations has fallen from about 11,000 per day to about 4,500. Children who are infected are less likely to be hospitalized.
One Central Texas superintendent estimated that up to 7,000 students in his district struggled to access virtual learning, and new iPads are not likely to arrive before October. In South Texas, students share computers, phones and spotty internet with siblings.
Springer, a state representative, and Luther, a Dallas salon owner who was jailed over her refusal to close her business due to the coronavirus pandemic, had previously announced their campaigns.
The secretary of state's office threatened legal action against Harris County if it goes ahead with a plan to send applications for mail-in ballots to more than 2 million registered voters.
A U.S. district judge found Texas is “legally obligated” to allow voters to simultaneously register to vote with every driver's license renewal or change-of-address application, and ordered the state to set up a “fully operable” online system by Sept. 23.
The Texas Senate Hispanic Caucus reupped its request on Friday for a congressional investigation into Fort Hood, the Killeen military base.
A budget document shows funding for the anti-abortion program would be maintained, but reduced for doctors and clinics that provide reduced-cost contraception and health screenings.
Nearly 350,000 Texans don't qualify for the extra payment because they either earned too little from the work they lost or didn't indicate on paperwork that they lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
The storm is now a Category 4 hurricane whose dangerous winds and storm surge could cause damage along a large swath of the Gulf Coast and Southeast Texas.
Not all of Harris County’s registered voters will ultimately qualify. Texas is among a handful of states with strict eligibility requirements to vote by mail.
From Galveston to the Louisiana border, Texas communities are telling residents to seek shelter away from the coast as Laura is projected to intensify into a Category 3 hurricane.
Texans receiving less than $100 in weekly unemployment benefits do not qualify for the extra $300 weekly payments the Trump administration is distributing to Texas and other states.
Paxton's team had asked that the judge, Jason Luong, be recused from the case because the Texas attorney general's office is representing him — along with about 20 other Houston-area judges — in an unrelated lawsuit.
With two storms gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico, Abbott on Sunday declared a state of disaster in coastal counties and warned Texans to remember coronavirus health guidelines.
Students grappling with financial upsets and a hurting economy say tuition should be lowered at their Texas universities. But some colleges are adding new fees related to an increase in distance learning.
The slogan — "We are the storm" — uses language commonly used by QAnon adherents. State GOP Chair Allen West says it's taken from a favorite quote.
Luther is running to replace state Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, in a yet-to-be-called special election now that he is poised for a promotion to Congress.
Some bar owners are planning to reopen in defiance of the moratorium, a desperate attempt to generate income — and draw Gov. Greg Abbott’s attention.
Democrats won legal rulings Wednesday blocking Green Party nominees for U.S. Senate, railroad commissioner and the 21st Congressional District from appearing on the November ballot.
At least 10 other states have already applied and been approved for the additional unemployment benefits.
In Texas' major counties, almost 99% of mail-in ballots were counted during the July primary runoff election, a Tribune analysis shows. But election officials say postal service disarray and a record number of requests mean people should ask for their absentee ballots well before November's Election Day.
The decision comes a month after the Barbers Hill Independent School District board of trustees voted to keep the dress code policy, which advocates have deemed racist.
After the Trump administration announced an abrupt change to the census deadline, the largest county in Texas is among those suing to keep the count going until October.
The school allowed up to 675 students into its indoor Johnson Coliseum to watch comedian Tiffany Haddish on the first day of classes.
Some party leaders have pushed for convention organizers to give more prominent slots to Texans in the convention lineup, eager to show it is a battleground in November.
Both sides in the race are launching TV ads Tuesday, auguring an expensive, action-packed sprint to November.
In announcing their legislative plans, the state's three top elected leaders fiercely criticized Austin officials, who cut one-third of their police department's budget last week.
Texas' low number of tests and large percentage of positive results suggest inadequacies in the state's public health surveillance effort at a time when school reopenings are certain to increase viral spread, health experts said.
Economists said canceling football would be devastating to local businesses that rely on the huge influxes of cash from home games. Meanwhile, athletics officials weigh whether they can risk the health and welfare of student athletes.
The order could face legal challenges, and Texas might have to chip in a quarter of the cost. State leaders have not said how they'll respond.
Without approval from the Texas Legislature, Texas A&M University leaders cannot remove the Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue on campus, Paxton said Friday. If they decide to relocate it, it must be in a "prominent" location, he added.
Hospitality businesses that make most of their money through alcohol sales were closed down by Abbott's latest shutdown order, leaving them to maneuver through loopholes to reopen.
Fallon moves on to a November challenge with a Democratic opponent in the solidly red district. The vacancy was created when Ratcliffe was confirmed as U.S. director of national intelligence.
Paxton was indicted for felony securities fraud in July 2015 but has yet to go to trial as attorneys duke out side battles over venue and prosecutor pay.
The nonbinding opinion comes as housing experts and advocates fear that the COVID-19 recession will prompt a surge in evictions across the state.
The NCAA released guidelines intended to protect collegiate athletes, while expressing “serious concerns about the continuing high levels of COVID-19 infection in many parts of the nation.”
“The Texas Constitution requires a separation of powers, and that separation leaves policy-making decisions with the Texas Legislature,” argues a lawsuit from five of the Legislature’s most conservative members.
The university plans to test all of its campus residence hall students by the beginning of September. It will continue to conduct random testing and identify individuals or groups on campus strategically to test those at a higher risk of disease spread.
Abbott said the state will provide schools with personal protective equipment to prepare for the new year.
Dependent on tuition money, private schools are eager to get children back into their classrooms. But they know inadequate safety measures could make them vulnerable to lawsuits.
The Census Bureau on Monday lopped a month off the time people have to respond to the 2020 count. Texas is already lagging behind the country in response rates, with low-income and Hispanic Texans at high risk of being missed.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced it "will make a seven-figure coordinated investment for the general election in Texas." It's the first time it has made such an investment in a Texas race.
It’s hard to collect good numbers on an unknown virus, and Texas health officials have made errors. But experts say the state’s coronavirus data is useful as long as users understand its limitations.
Thousands of migrant children have been expelled by the Trump administration since March. Some have been held in hotels without access to lawyers or family. Advocates say many are now “virtually impossible” to find.
Nielsen said earlier this summer that he would forfeit the job amid condemnation for sharing a graphic on Facebook that juxtaposed a Martin Luther King Jr. quote with a banana.
The announcement comes as polls continue to show a close race in Texas between the presumptive Democratic nominee and President Donald Trump.
Texas collected $2.98 billion in sales tax revenue in July — 4.3% more than in July 2019. Comptroller Glenn Hegar said the number was "better than expected."
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will instead chair the Texas delegation to the pared-down convention later this month in North Carolina.
The city's first program, launched in May, received overwhelming demand and ran out of funds in 90 minutes.
Saturday marked another night of demonstrations against police brutality in Austin, but tensions were heightened because of last week's shooting death of Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old protester, by a man who has not been charged.
University officials had previously said they were considering a limit of 50% to comply with social distancing guidelines.
Texas schools employ almost as many support staff members as they do teachers, often in hourly or part-time jobs with low pay. The state has offered limited guidance on how to protect them on the job.
Officials are unsure of the motive behind the unsolicited packets but suspect that they are part of an online scam.
The university is mailing testing kits to its 18,000 students and requiring a negative test result before allowing them back on campus.
Texas' emergency response teams have worn personal protective equipment and distributed it to residents across South Texas in responding to Hurricane Hanna, another challenge for the state as it prepares for hurricane season during the pandemic.
Gohmert, 66, said in a televised interview that he wonders if he may have caught the virus from wearing his mask. Medical experts, however, overwhelmingly recommend masks as a means of preventing the virus.
The release of the video comes two days after armed protester Garrett Foster was shot and killed by an unnamed, armed driver while protesting police brutality in Austin.
After Paxton's guidance, the Texas Education Agency reversed course and announced that the state won't fund schools that remain closed under a local public health mandate.
Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that Texas students must take the state standardized test next spring, but fifth and eighth graders can graduate without passing it.
More than 5,000 people in Texas have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to state health data released Sunday.
Rodriguez said he would focus his efforts on helping gain a Democratic majority in the House.
A new study from the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University warns that droughts in the latter part of this century could be the worst on record.
Thousands of parole-approved prisoners remain locked up during the public health crisis. The coronavirus has delayed pre-release programs and kept people set to go home inside infected prisons.
A section of the Texas coast already reeling from thousands of coronavirus cases will continue to feel the effects of the storm, which was the first hurricane of the season.
District Attorney Margaret Moore was originally slated to present both cases to a special grand jury in August.
The CARES Act's $600 weekly unemployment benefit expires in Texas on Saturday, leaving out-of-work Texans in a period of uncertainty as Congress debates what to put in new federal relief legislation.
With the safe reopening of schools this fall in doubt, parents with the resources are setting up "learning pods" or seeking other options. But the do-it-yourself approach to education threatens to leave behind students of color and poorer families.
Previous attempts to overturn UT-Austin's admissions policies have proven unsuccessful, including a 2018 lawsuit by the same group that was dropped earlier this month and a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court case that sided with the university.
The first sign of the American order came when a Houston TV station aired video showing people in the courtyard of the consulate apparently burning documents on Tuesday night.
Without money to pay rent, facing pressures from landlords and afraid of courts, people without legal immigration status have limited options.
Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez issued a new shelter-at-home order Monday night, but it “has no enforcement mechanism” according to Abbott’s office.
On Tuesday, Tarrant County joined the list of other officials including those in Dallas who are mandating delayed school reopening.
City leaders are asking for more spending flexibility to address the financial shortfalls caused by the pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices are driving down projected general revenue in the state's current budget by more than $11 billion.
West defeated Dickey, who was running for a second full term, early Monday morning at a tumultuous virtual state convention.
Early pandemic hot spots have been eclipsed by new regions in crisis. Now that so much of Texas is battling major coronavirus outbreaks, some severely ill patients have to travel long distances to receive the care they need.
Texas must continue to reopen safely and the U.S. Department of State and the Centers for Disease Control must lower their global health advisories before hearings resume.
Nueces County Medical Examiner Adel Shaker told The Texas Tribune last week that a baby boy, younger than 6 months old, tested positive for COVID-19 and died.
Doctors and nurses at local hospitals across South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley have been working a number of extra shifts as their hospitals near capacity.
Distillery, winery and some restaurant owners say their businesses are different from traditional bars, which Abbott closed after COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations began to climb in June.
Conflicting mandates pingponging between state and local officials are frustrating many parents, students and teachers trying to plan for a fall semester during a raging pandemic.
Republican leaders had rallied against Morrow, who is known for his jester's hat and his history of racist and sexist comments.
Most in-person voting Tuesday ran smoothly, but thousands of voters who sought to vote by mail may not be heard. And returns from the secretary of state's office were balky.
Tuesday's election comes after nationwide calls to defund police departments have gained traction in Texas as Americans demand reforms in how law enforcement officers do their jobs.
The repeal follows outspoken criticism from universities, legal experts and higher education advocates, who deemed the rules unfairly punitive for foreign students.
Many Texas hospitals are no longer accepting transfer patients in order to maintain space for a surge that’s expected to come. In some parts of the state, it’s already here.
Last month, student athletes at the University of Texas at Austin said they would forgo recruiting and donor events if campus and athletic leaders failed to implement their demands, which were aimed at supporting students of color.
The incoming chair, Keith Nielsen, had faced calls to give up the position last month after sharing a Facebook post juxtaposing a Martin Luther King Jr. quote with a banana.
President Donald Trump now claims this privately funded border wall in the Rio Grande Valley — touted as the "Lamborghini" of fences — was built to "make me look bad," even though the project's builder and funders are all Trump supporters.
Universities often hire professors and researchers using H-1B visas. Experts say limiting them only makes U.S. universities less competitive internationally.
Many Texas Education Agency employees are working from home, but the agency is requiring schools to open five days a week for in-person instruction this fall. Teachers say that mandate has grave implications for their health.
The claims — an increase of 21.4% compared to the week before — come as coronavirus infections in the state continue surging and after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered bars to close and limited restaurant operations.
In a letter to Austin's mayor, Abbott said the city's consideration of new enforcement measures "to ensure compliance with my Executive Orders is an important step toward reducing the spread" of the coronavirus.
State health officials are providing little detailed information on the spread of coronavirus in Texas child care facilities, and experts aren't sure to what extent children spread the virus.
The mask requirement doesn't apply to students younger than 10. The Texas Education Agency guidelines also require schools to post coronavirus prevention plans and encourage hand-washing.
Thousands of international students across the state stand to be affected by the latest ruling from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which stipulates that students on certain visas must have some in-person instruction to be able to return to the country.
The Republican Party of Texas' in-person convention was scheduled to happen in Houston next week.
More than 2.5 million people attended the fair last year. This is the event's first cancellation since World War II.
The in-person event is scheduled for next week, even as the coronavirus continues to spread through Houston.
The Texas Workforce Commission said that incorrect filings and fraud can lead to overpayments, but the money must be paid back even if it was the state's mistake.
Guillén, a 20-year-old Army specialist, went missing in April from the Central Texas Army post. Remains found last week were confirmed to be hers, her family said. Her disappearance sparked protests against the military for its handling of sexual harassment allegations.
Universities are moving forward with reopening plans for the fall semester, anxious to bring students back. But faced with online classes and an altered campus, students are questioning if college is still worth what they're paying.
As local officials express concerns that their hospitals could be overloaded with coronavirus patients, some are urging Gov. Greg Abbott to empower local governments to issue stay-at-home orders.
The developments came two days after Abbott announced an executive order requiring Texans to wear masks in most public places.
"We are now at the point of grave concern," said the CEO of one hospital system in deep South Texas as local hospitals began diverting patients away from their emergency rooms amid a crush of COVID-19 infections.
Hotze, a staunch critic of Abbott's coronavirus response, left a voicemail with the governor's chief of staff in early June with the incendiary instruction.
President Donald Trump would beat former Vice President Joe Biden in Texas by 4 percentage points if the election were held today, according to a new poll from the University of Texas and the Texas Politics Project.
As coronavirus caseloads soar across Texas, hospitals are seeing a surge of new patients. But getting information on which hospitals are hardest hit is nearly impossible.
Nationwide, coronavirus transmission rates among children have appeared to be low, which has informed the push to reopen schools. But Texas day cares are seeing cases increase quickly.
n 2018, the festival contributed $264.6 million to the city's economy and created or sustained at least 1,500 jobs across bars and restaurants, hotels and transportation, according to the Austin-American Statesman.
The agency will use the same self-administered, oral tests used to conduct mass testing in Texas' adult prison facilities.
One day after The Texas Tribune reported that the Texas Medical Association was a sponsor for the indoor Republican convention that is expected to draw 6,000 people, the doctors' group announced it was calling on organizers to cancel.
Austin won't give tests to people who are asymptomatic. Dallas and Houston officials said their facilities reached capacity in the middle of the day.
Abbott has said the actions of his executive order "are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health."
Delayed primary runoffs mark the state's first test of voting during the pandemic and a high-stakes dry run for November. “We're saying our prayers,” one elections administrator says.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law Monday that would have curtailed access to abortions in the state. It was nearly identical to a measure the court overturned in Texas in 2016.
At the beginning of the pandemic, local officials across the state implemented stay-at-home orders for their regions. But now, with cases across Texas' metros surging, those leaders say Abbott has stripped them of the authority to reinstate the same measures.
Gov. Greg Abbott is allowing limits on outdoor crowds — but not indoor gatherings. His party's convention — with an expected attendance of 6,000 — so far will not require attendees to wear face masks.
Months into the pandemic, demand for coronavirus tests in Texas is soaring. Residents across the state report problems with almost every facet of the process, starting with glitchy websites and unanswered phone lines to long delays in receiving test results.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, limits on cross-border commerce and a downturn in the energy sector have hit the Rio Grande Valley's economy especially hard.
In early May, Gov. Greg Abbott pointed to the positivity rate — a ratio of positive COVID-19 tests to all tests — and said anything over 10% was cause for alarm. As of Wednesday, Texas exceeded that mark for the first time since April.
Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin are the latest schools to announce a temporary suspension of test requirements. Others already had doubts about how well standardized tests predict student performance, and the pandemic has them rethinking their admissions approach.
Enforcement methods will largely focus on persuasion, but schools say they may discipline students or professors who don't comply.
The governor also moved to allow the tightening of two kinds of restrictions that had been eased under his reopening plan.
Runoffs to set party tickets for November were postponed in May as coronavirus took hold. Early voting now starts June 29, and voters are being largely left on their own to balance their voting rights with the health risks of going to a polling place.
As cases surge in Texas and the pandemic rages on, the representatives said ICE should release all detainees who are not a safety risk and who are more vulnerable to contracting the virus.
During an interview with The Texas Tribune, Escobar, D-El Paso, said the state's leadership missed an opportunity to implement robust testing when an emergency was declared.
Thousands more Texans tested positive for the new coronavirus over the weekend, and the state has reported 11 consecutive days of record-high hospitalizations.
When Gov. Greg Abbott let businesses start reopening, he pointed to two metrics as encouraging signs: the hospitalization rate and the infection rate, or the ratio of positive cases to tests conducted. Both of those metrics are on the rise in Texas.
During a Houston policing roundtable organized by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, several local leaders emphasized the need for social services funding.
More than 4,400 positive cases were reported Saturday. The state also set its ninth consecutive record for hospitalizations, but officials say hospital capacity isn't a concern.
State Rep. Tan Parker also said that he will file a bill in the upcoming legislative session to extend to-go alcohol sales past the coronavirus pandemic.
Across the state, other universities have also reported student athletes testing positive for COVID-19 as workouts for sports have resumed.
President Donald Trump had tried to end the program, but the court ruled Thursday that the administration had not followed the proper procedure to do so.
As employees test positive, some bars and restaurants are closing even though Texas allows them to operate. Many owners are balancing feedback from their staffs, their patrons, state guidelines and local officials.
The true death toll is certainly higher than the state's official count. It is now routine to add two or three dozen deaths to the tally every afternoon. And each day, more Texans are catching the virus that might kill them.
A new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court makes clear that firing an employee on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation is a violation of federal law. Now Texas lawmakers want to guarantee similar protections for LGBTQ Texans in housing, health care and other spheres.
Major higher education institutions across Texas have largely condemned racial injustice in the past few weeks, but students are protesting what they view as symbols of racism at their schools.
The state reported Tuesday that the number of people hospitalized who are confirmed to have the coronavirus has reached a new peak of 2,518.
Athletes say they will forego participating in recruiting and donor-related events if campus and athletic leadership fails to implement their demands, which are aimed at supporting students of color.
Some Texas cities are eyeing cuts to police department budgets to fund social services like housing assistance, mental health services and job training.
Texas has no laws on the books explicitly protecting people from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but the Supreme Court's ruling on Monday now gives federal protections.
Williamson County Sheriff deputies held down Ambler and Tased him four times before his body went limp. He died at a hospital about an hour after he was last Tased.
Chancellor John Sharp said the goal is for the demographics of the system's students to reflect the demographics of Texas.
Breaking from prominent members of his family, the Texas land commissioner plans to vote for Trump in November and formally endorse him for reelection.
Abbott also has praised Texas’ “legacy of success” on criminal justice reforms. In recent years, many police reform efforts have repeatedly failed at the Texas Capitol.
The figures come a little more than a month since Gov. Greg Abbott's stay-at-home order expired and about two weeks after Memorial Day.
Mourners from across the nation gathered in Houston for a public viewing to celebrate George Floyd, a friend, father and martyr to many in attendance, but also a victim of police brutality and racial injustice.
Mental health services have always been scarce in Texas' vast rural stretches. But the pandemic has caused the state to lift restrictions on providing care online or by phone.
The lawmakers said they are acting in response to the death of Houston native George Floyd.
Without offering specifics, Abbott said he is committed to working with lawmakers and Floyd's family to prevent police brutality.
The university also announced it will be testing asymptomatic people on campus in the fall.
The Wynne Unit in Huntsville has had at least 10 deaths connected to the new coronavirus. In letters, inmates said conditions were unsanitary and disorganized, and sick men often went untested.
Texas Police Department is facing public scrutiny for their use of force, tear gas and rubber pellets on protestors demonstrating against law enforcement brutality.
Five GOP county chairs were facing backlash for sharing racist social media posts. The Texas Tribune identified seven other GOP county chairs across the state who shared similar posts.
Former President George W. Bush — and some other prominent Republicans — won't be voting to reelect Donald Trump, The New York Times reports.
Last week, another 106,821 Texans filed for unemployment. Already, the agency has processed more than four typical years' worth of unemployment claims since mid-March.
Speaking to Fox News, Patrick acknowledged that “we have racism in this country,” adding that, “We need a culture change to address this racism, [and] you cannot change the culture of the country until you change the character of mankind.”
The North Texas city is among several that RNC officials are looking at after the president's announcement that Charlotte, North Carolina, won't work out.
The state triggered an extended benefits period, adding an additional 13 weeks of unemployment starting in July. It is the second benefits extension this year.
An officer temporarily assigned to The Texas Capitol to provide extra security during protests over police violence has tested positive for the new coronavirus.
Members of Congress and staff worry that the country's political dysfunction has rendered the federal government incapable of addressing police violence legislatively before the November elections.
Actor Matthew McConaughey and his wife, Camila, mailed thousands of surgical masks to University Medical Center in El Paso as part of the Oscar-winning actor’s efforts to supply front-line medical workers with protective gear.
Austin police shot an unidentified 20-year-old black man with a "less-lethal" weapon Sunday, and he is in critical condition in an Austin hospital, police Chief Brian Manley said.
Gov. Greg Abbott gave El Paso an extra week to implement the latest phase of reopening. The county judge says El Paso still isn't ready to take the next step, but the governor isn't giving the city an extension.
"Significant declines in sales tax receipts were evident in all major economic sectors, with the exception of telecommunications services," Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in a statement.
The president is set to attend a high-dollar fundraiser June 11 in the North Texas city.
The body of George Floyd, a black man who was killed Monday in Minneapolis police custody, will return to Houston for burial, according to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. Floyd was a longtime resident of Houston’s Third Ward.
Floyd, who was raised in Houston's Third Ward, was killed in Minneapolis by police. Officer Derek Chauvin has been fired, and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Rallies and protests are happening all over the nation, including in several Texas cities.
Democratic congressional leaders expressed alarm at the sudden acceleration and requested the government “cease this practice immediately.”
Starting Friday, most Texas counties will be able to host in-person spectators for outdoor sporting events in venues. But occupancy will be limited to 25%.
The secretary of state suggested that voters "may want to consider" voting curbside if they have symptoms of COVID-19, including a fever, cough or sore throat, when they arrive at a polling place.
In four out of six of the largest cities in Texas, testing sites for the coronavirus are disproportionately located in whiter neighborhoods.
The Texas Panhandle, where a workforce of Hispanics and immigrants powers several meatpacking plants, is home to the highest rates of infection in the state.
The final version of the bill is expected to require cities, counties and emergency service districts to hold an election before raising 3.5% more property tax revenue than the previous year. Community colleges and hospital districts would need to do so at 8%.
A child care subsidy program for essential workers will stop taking applications after Wednesday, and on June 1, low-income parents will stop getting an extra subsidy they have been receiving to help during the pandemic.
Our staff is closely tracking developments on the new coronavirus in Texas. Check here for live updates.
A child care subsidy program for essential workers will stop taking applications after Wednesday, and on June 1, low-income parents will stop getting an extra subsidy they have been receiving to help during the pandemic.
Most of the money is expected to go directly to local districts to help vulnerable students during the coronavirus pandemic. But advocates are trying to steer some into controversial policies like expanding virtual schools.
Child care opens immediately, bars can open Friday and sports will be allowed to return at the end of the month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday.
The facilities are still only testing residents and patients who are symptomatic or were potentially exposed to the virus, despite concerns raised by employees and family members about outbreaks.
Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Houston resumed limited Masses three weeks ago, according to the Chronicle, and the church said in a statement that two of the five leaders who tested positive are priests who were active in those services.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton said the seven-day jail sentence was excessive. Paxton called for her immediate release.
Seven employees at the STX Beef Co. plant in Corpus Christi have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and three are hospitalized.
Houston oil field service giant Halliburton has laid off 1,000 employees at its headquarters as record low crude prices continue to take their toll on demand for the company's products and services.
In a letter to the president, Cruz said the temporary freeze was necessary to protect American workers.
Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick told The Texas Tribune in a live interview that a global price war and the coronavirus pandemic will continue hampering the state's economy and budget.
Austin city officials said their approach is to emphasize behaviors such as social distancing and wearing masks, and to increase testing and contact tracing.
For the past several weeks, the comptroller has been referring to the state of the economy as a recession. The latest sales tax figures give the first glimpse of how much the economic downturn will hurt the state budget.
Texas A&M and University of Texas systems expect to reopen in the fall, and A&M says it will play football
They also plan to address other issues at the hearing, including late-opening voting sites and insufficient voting equipment at polling places.
Rigoberto Avila Jr. was sentenced to death in 2001 in the death of his girlfriend's 19-month-old son. In 2018, an El Paso judge recommended he get a new trial because of outdated science used at his trial.
Officials said the patient attended a Feb. 28 barbecue at the popular Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, though it's unclear if he had symptoms at the time.
Morrow faces Lani Popp, a Northside ISD speech language pathologist, in the May 26 runoff for an open seat on the board.
The accuracy of the count in the state will go a long way toward determining its economic, social and political future.
In a petition filed late Friday in state district court, the county is now seeking to perform a recount of backup paper ballots.
The former vice president bested Bernie Sanders in Texas on the strength of election day ballots that heavily favored him in the state's most populous counties.
Students studying overseas are being brought home, and handshakes are discouraged as colleges and universities try to curtail coronavirus risks. No cases have been reported so far.
As the governor latches on to violent incidents to criticize Austin city leaders, people experiencing homelessness say he's painting them with too broad of a brush.
President Austin Lane was suspended in mid-January from the top post at the historically black school in Houston with little explanation. Now regents have voted to terminate him over allegations of admissions irregularities and other contract violations.
A pro-Hegar group, VoteVets, is launching a $3.3 million TV ad buy backing her as she tries to make it to an all-but-guaranteed runoff.
The contributions mark the first notable movement from Bonnen's PAC since he announced in October he wasn't seeking reelection.
The university confirmed three gunshot victims at a residence hall on campus. There are two confirmed deaths. A toddler at the scene was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Raising warnings of out-of-control illegal immigration and soaring crime by immigrants — including debunked claims about El Paso's crime — the president tried to pressure Congress to end a stalemate over border wall funding and avert another government shutdown.
After the federal government required TPC Group to install air monitors at its Port Neches plant, the company detected a significant increase in the number and size of butadiene emissions in the months leading up to multiple blasts at the plant on Nov. 27.
Experts say that as more high-income Texans rent, prices on existing homes are driven up. Meanwhile, the number of expensive units in the state is increasing as more affordable homes disappear.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a public health emergency. But officials say the flu is still a bigger threat in Texas.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a public health emergency. But officials say the flu is still a bigger threat in Texas.
A letter from the attorney general's office threatened to sue the city of Galveston if the regulations on gun stores weren't repealed.
In the podcast, Cruz reacts to what he's seen in the trial and makes the case for defending the president.
Texas has seen two mass shootings in churches in three years, which has some churchgoers exploring training programs to take down an attacker.
"Resettlement funding cannot simply be reallocated to other problem areas such as homelessness," said the CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
The Heath Republican was an outspoken defender of President Donald Trump during impeachment hearings in the U.S. House last year.
Bloomberg is skipping the early states and hoping his big staff and big spending in states like Texas can launch him to victory.
Much of the sudden spike in popularity is thanks to a Texas law last year that legalized hemp, the plant from which CBD is derived.
The Massachusetts U.S. senator's latest endorsements come from four state lawmakers who represent O’Rourke’s native El Paso and previously supported him or Castro.
John Sharp sent Harvard’s president an open letter calling for an investigation into Harvard scientists whose actions he said “are false and harmful to Texas A&M University and its faculty.”
According to an Austin media report, state officials are investigating a potential third case. This week, a student at Texas A&M became the first person in Texas suspected of contracting coronavirus.
Texas Southern University President Austin Lane told a local news station he did nothing wrong and expects to be fully reinstated or else paid out for the remainder of his contract.
The focus is on the early states, but candidates are also paying attention to Texas. Early voting starts here before the Nevada and South Carolina primaries wrap up.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated that she leaned on Garcia for her judicial background.
The numbers give Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, by far the biggest formal operation in Texas ahead of the state’s March 3 primary.
An Austin man posted blueprints for the world's first fully 3D-printed gun online in 2013. They've been blocked from the internet twice.
It’s not the first time Abbott has disagreed with the religious groups over state policy. He was also criticized after he made 2017's Senate Bill 4, an omnibus, state-based immigration enforcement bill, a legislative priority.
Big Spring, Colorado City and Rusk are the three latest towns to vote in favor of such ordinances, which are of contested legality and enforceability.
The White House called the initial decision to block on the use of military funds for the border wall "illegitimate" and hailed the appeals court decision as a victory.
The state's Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the "JAIL 45" plate after someone complained it was offensive.
Texas will not be able to seize power of Houston ISD's school board until the state judge issues a final ruling on the lawsuit challenging the takeover.
It's still unclear if Abbott will join nearly 40 other governors who have decided to stay in the program.
A fatal stabbing near downtown Austin on Friday has reignited a social media squabble between Abbott and Austin leaders over the city's decision to overhaul its homeless policies.
The former U.S. housing secretary and San Antonio mayor says there's "one candidate I see who's unafraid to fight like hell to make sure America's promise will be there for everyone."
Over 3,000 people, including McKinney’s mayor and three members of the City Council, have signed a petition to recall La’Shadion Shemwell. He is the the lone black member on the council.
The new endorsements come a day after Castro, who ended his campaign last week, threw his support to one of Biden's opponents, Elizabeth Warren.
The president of the University of Texas at El Paso and the former Texas Tech University System chancellor were also on the short list for the top position at the University of Colorado System.
In a surprising vote, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rejected a staff-proposed penalty against TPC Group's Port Neches chemical plant — which was rocked by explosions last month — for a slew of 2018 pollution violations and asked that they be referred to the Texas Attorney General's Office.
Caught off guard by the increase in teen vaping, schools are grasping every tool at hand, including expulsions and suspensions. In some districts, students can face harsh discipline and jail time for having a vape pen in their backpack.
Dianne Hensley, who received a warning last month from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, will be represented by First Liberty Institute, a high-profile religious liberty law firm with close ties to the Texas Attorney General's Office.
The Houston region’s Community Health Choice and San Antonio’s Community First Health plans are suing the state, saying the law promises them a piece of roughly $10 billion in Medicaid contracts.
“You’ll be seeing a lot of me before now and November, God willing," the former vice president said at a rally in the hometown of fellow Democratic candidate Julián Castro.
The Texas billionaire wanted U.S. courts to throw out a hefty judgment won against him in Morocco. The law wasn’t on DeJoria’s side. So Texas legislators changed it.
A historically black college that was once on the brink of closure is combining work requirements and academics in hopes of discovering new solutions to poverty.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel rejected the district's argument that ousting the Houston school board would disenfranchise voters.
Abbott responded to criticism about his language by pointing to a decade's old Pace salsa ad. He told a critic to "lighten up."
After the Texas Ethics Commission received a sworn complaint about the omissions, Bush told The Texas Tribune last week that he took immediate steps to correct his disclosure forms.
In what promises to be a tumultuous and competitive election year, races for the Texas House are going to be a lot more interesting than those for the Texas Senate.
The Arlington Republican made the decision after filing to run for another term and after the filing deadline had passed.
The school's former police chief and his top deputy were accused of hiring unqualified officers to patrol the San Marcos campus — including one who allegedly slept with a sexual assault victim while investigating her case — university records show.
Recovery workers in the area say the Texas General Land Office owes hurricane victims more time to apply for assistance after losing their paperwork, but the agency says the claims are baseless.
Two Trump administration initiatives have driven down traffic, locals say: the “remain in Mexico” program requiring people to wait out their asylum cases south of the border, and the threat to slap tariffs on Mexico unless it cracked down on migrants crossing through it.
Acevedo accused U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of being too afraid of the NRA to pass a provision to the Violence Against Women Act that would close the so-called boyfriend loophole.
“Not running for senate,” O’Rourke told The Texas Tribune in a text message Thursday night, saying that nothing has changed regarding that decision.
The Southeast Texas chemical manufacturing plant, owned by Houston-based Texas Petroleum Chemical Group, has a long history of environmental violations and been out of compliance with federal clean air laws for years.
Last year, the Texas congressional delegation had six chairmanships in the U.S. House. Now it only has one.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler has become Pete Buttigieg’s most notable supporter in Texas, and one of the most prominent elected officials in America supporting the South Bend mayor.
Commissioner of Education Mike Morath wrote that Georgia Clark did not waive her First Amendment rights when she signed her contract with Fort Worth ISD.
President Donald Trump has set an aggressive goal: building more than 400 miles of new barrier by the end of 2020. That will require quickly seizing lots of private land in Texas.
Two University of Texas/Texas Tribune pollsters say top state officials edging into slightly tighter gun control laws are taking their cues from the changing electoral climate — not from changing attitudes among voters.
Abbott has set a Dec. 1 deadline for agencies to tell his office how they plan to limit regulations, reduce fees and, "where appropriate," remove licensing barriers for people with criminal records.
Some Democrats hoped U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, a moderate Republican, would defect from his colleagues in the House Intelligence Committee. He came close but made clear he's not ready to impeach.
A judge blocked an ordinance that would provide paid sick leave for employees who work in the city of San Antonio starting Dec. 1.
Trump toured a newly expanded Apple manufacturing plant in Austin and incorrectly tweeted afterward that he’d opened the plant. The plant has been open since before Trump's term began.
In Laredo, border landowners are receiving letters from the federal government, requesting permission to enter their land for surveying. "Hell no, we're not signing anything," one recipient said.
Gordon Sondland testified Wednesday that Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, pushed a quid pro quo between the American and Ukrainian leadership. The ambassador confirmed he worked closely with Perry, the outgoing energy secretary, on Ukrainian policy.
Bloomberg is the fourth person to file for the Democratic presidential primary in Texas.
The NCAA's proposed rule changes could let prominent athletes generate major endorsement money. But for most athletes, there won't likely be much of a windfall.
Straus' op-ed comes a month after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for three employment discrimination cases in which a person was fired for being gay or transgender.
Trump will tour a new Apple manufacturing plant in Austin on Wednesday with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Spending on each of the last two inaugurations eclipsed that of any other in Texas for at least 40 years, even when adjusted for inflation. A spokesman for the governor has said no state dollars were spent on the festivities.
When government officials want to spin a story about state finance, it helps to have control of the numbers — and to do the math properly.
The ruling came hours after the Texas parole board recommended that Gov. Greg Abbott delay Reed’s death for 120 days.
The document says that the envelope had Nevárez's official House seal and held “four small clear baggies” containing a substance found to include cocaine.
The Democratic presidential candidate now has easily the biggest organization devoted to the state of any primary campaign.
A lower court previously ruled that Texas was violating federal law by failing to register residents to vote when they updated their driver’s licenses online and ordered the state to implement its first system of online voter registration.
The store where a gunman killed nearly two dozen people and shot dozens more in August opened its doors Thursday, setting off a wave of mixed emotions in a community still grieving.
The Democratic presidential candidate is also getting support from another Texas state senator, Burlesonâs Beverly Powell.