“You can’t replace memories”: Volunteers seek to return personal items after Texas floods
Volunteers are hoping to find the owners of stuffed animals, photographs and other keepsakes salvaged from the debris.
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Most Texas prisoners don’t have AC access and it’s unclear when they will get it
Despite receiving substantial state funding to air-condition prisons in the last few years, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has stayed mum on when it will install cooling across the system.
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2026 Texas Elections
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Latest News
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Democrat Joe Jaworski to run for Texas attorney general again
The former Galveston mayor lost his party’s nomination in a 2022 runoff but says better preparation and a different political environment will work in his favor. Full Story
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![Joe Jaworski, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, speaks with Frank Ramirez at a campaign event in San Antonio on Oct. 31, 2021.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Appeals court orders release of Uvalde school shooting records
Eighteen news organizations including The Texas Tribune have been seeking the records since 2022, when 19 children and 2 teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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![Memorial crosses outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, on Jan. 18, 2024.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune
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Judge sets Robert Roberson’s execution date for Oct. 16
Wednesday’s decision affirms Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request for an October execution date for Roberson, whose case has divided the state’s Republicans. Full Story
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![Shackled and chained, Robert Roberson is led away from his lawyers by an Anderson Co. Sheriff’s Office deputy Wednesday morning after a new execution date of Oct. 16, 2025 was set by presiding Judge Austin Jackson of Smith County at the Anderson County Courthouse in Palestine.]()
Credit: Joel Andrews for the Texas Tribune -
Sen. John Cornyn outraises AG Ken Paxton by $1 million in first three months of Senate primary matchup — but there’s a catch
Cornyn will need to use his deep coffers to overcome an early polling deficit to Paxton, who is looking to deny the GOP incumbent’s bid for a fifth term. Full Story
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![from left: U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton is challenging Cornyn in the Republican primary.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune
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Announcing our next round of can’t-miss speakers for November’s TribFest
John Mulaney, Eric Johnson, Amy Klobuchar, Kara Swisher and Veronica Escobar are among the influential voices joining us in November Full Story
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Rio Grande Valley’s biggest free health clinic event of the year is canceled due to federal cuts
It’s the first time Operation Border Health has canceled in 26 years. More than 6,600 people received check-ups, dental services, diabetes screenings and more last year. Full Story
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![Pedestrians walk in downtown McAllen on Oct. 31, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Hill Country floods: What we know so far
With hundreds confirmed dead or still missing, questions remain about the local response to flood warnings. Meanwhile, lawmakers will weigh measures to mitigate future disasters. Full Story
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![Two men from an excavation company aiding in search and recovery look on to the debris left from the flood in Center Point on Tuesday July 8, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune
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Newly formed Texas disaster preparedness and flooding committee will visit Kerr County
The joint House and Senate committee will first meet in Austin next week, then in Kerrville on July 31 to hear from Hill Country residents about their concerns. Full Story
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![An excavator picks up items damaged in the flood to be discarded in Hunt on Friday July 11, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Texas’ redistricting gamble
The gang is joined by Kareem Crayton, from the Brennan Center for Justice, to discuss Texas’ mid-decade redistricting effort. Full Story
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![Hands holding tweezers manipulate a puzzle's pieces that represent Texas voting districts.]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Ken Paxton investigating “potential noncitizens” for voting in 2020 and 2022 election cycles
Most of those voters are in Harris County, home to Houston. Noncitizen voting is illegal and documented instances are rare. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fields questions at the Frisco Gun Club during a press conference announcing his intent to sue the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on May 1, 2024. This comes after the Justice Department announced a new rule requiring all gun sellers to conduct federal background checks on buyers, closing what is known as the “gun show loophole”.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune
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As Trump looks to net five GOP seats through Texas redistricting, Democrats grasp for response
President Donald Trump said he thinks Republicans could flip a handful of congressional districts in Texas next year through “just a very simple redrawing." Full Story
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![From left, U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, Greg Casar, D-Austin,and Al Green, D-Houston, attend a news conference with members of the Texas congressional delegation to discuss possible redistricting in the state at the Democratic National Committee offices on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.]()
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA vis REUTERS -
State Rep. Steve Toth to challenge Congressman Dan Crenshaw in Republican primary
Crenshaw’s sparring with fellow prominent conservatives has invited backlash from the right, but his past primary opponents have failed to capitalize at the ballot box. Full Story
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![From left: U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, and state Rep. Steve Toth, R-Conroe.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson announces run for attorney general
The third-term Democrat from Dallas faces long odds in a state that has only elected Republicans to statewide office for three decades. Full Story
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![Texas Senator Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, in action on the Senate floor on the second-to-the-last day of the 89th legislative session on June 1, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune
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How a small East Texas town turned a devastating tornado into funding for sirens
As the public scrutinizes parts of the Hill Country for a lack of sirens during the July 4 floods, Crockett turned its own tragedy into preparedness. Full Story
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![A siren alert system in Comfort on Thursday July 10, 2025. Across the state in East Texas, the city of Crockett has secured the funding and has embarked on installing its own auditory alarm system.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Officials say at least 100 people still missing after July Fourth floods; recovery efforts could take months
At least 132 people have died. State and local leaders say getting an exact figure of the missing is difficult because so many people were visiting the Guadalupe River on the holiday weekend. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officials and volunteers clear up mountains of debris deposited by the flood in Center Point on Tuesday July 8, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmaker proposes beefing up temporary worker program to ease farm labor shortages
The South Texas Republican's "Bracero 2.0" legislation — named after a 1940s temporary labor program — would raise wages for migrant farmers and simplify applications for employers, amid other changes. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, speaks at a press conference in Washington on Feb. 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Mattie Neretin/CNP/ABACAPRESS.COM via REUTERS
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Kerr County search and rescue operations paused again on Monday due to rain
Although a new round of floods elsewhere prompted emergency rescues Sunday, no injuries or deaths were reported. Full Story
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![Crosses honoring the victims of the flood were erected by artist Roberto Marquez next to the Guadalupe River in Guadalupe Park, seen on Friday July 11, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Attorney General Ken Paxton requests death row inmate Robert Roberson be executed Oct. 16
A court hearing on Wednesday will determine whether to proceed with Paxton’s request. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project -
Recovering from the floods will be a massive task. One Hill Country restaurant is focusing on the smaller picture.
As residents recover and rebuild, Grape Juice in downtown Kerrville is serving as a hub for people needing meals, supplies and other necessities. Full Story
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![People look towards the Guadalupe River at the Dallas Daughtry Memorial Pavilion in Kerrville on Friday, July 11, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune - More News