The Brief: A Consensus on School Finance, Blow it Up
Witnesses at a Senate Education hearing on Wednesday agree the current system of funding schools doesn't work but the hard part is finding a replacement. Full Story
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![Dr. Ray Freeman is the deputy executive director at the Equity Center.]()
Credit: Texas Senate Screenshot -
After Shooting, Dallas Police Recruits Say They're More Committed Than Ever
It’s been almost a month since a gunman opened fire on police officers in downtown Dallas. Since then, the department has been sorting through a deluge of job applications. Full Story
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![Dallas police academy recruits line up in formation. They’ll complete a nine-month training course before going out on patrol.]()
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Texas Health Officials to Hear Concerns About Fetal Remains Rule
Health care providers, funeral operators and women's rights activists on Thursday are expected to tell Texas health officials that a rule requiring the cremation or burial of fetal remains will do little to improve public health and could be burdensome to women. Full Story
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![A hallway at the Whole Woman's Health clinic in Austin.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Resignation Leaves Dallas County GOP Broke and Feuding
After less than two months on the job Dallas County's Republican chairman has quit, leaving behind an organization in financial distress and setting off a breakneck race to replace him, with a state senator's twin brother deep in the fray. Full Story
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![Phillip Huffines is the twin brother and business partner of state Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas.]()
Credit: Huffines Communities Website -
School Finance Dividing Lines Emerge at Hearing
The fault lines that will define efforts to improve the state's system of funding education came into sharp focus Wednesday as a Senate panel began studying how to improve the "efficiency" of public schools in Texas. Full Story
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![Sen. Larry Taylor R-Friendswood and Sen. Eddie Lucio D-Brownsville during an Aug 3, 2016 Senate Education Committee hearing]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Texas Agrees to Weaken Voter ID Law For November Election
Texas agreed Wednesday to terms that will weaken its voter ID law and that lawyers suing the state say will make it easier for minorities to cast a ballot in the November general election. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Cheryl Gerber -
Campus Carry, Trump vs. Khan and an Independent Lawmaker (Podcast)
On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Matthew about the anniversary of the UT Tower shooting and the rollout of campus carry, Gov. Greg Abbott's comments on Donald Trump's takedown of a Gold Star family and Texas' first Independent lawmaker in four decades. Full Story
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To Fight Zika, Texas Medicaid Will Pay for Mosquito Repellent
Texas officials announced on Wednesday they would allow Medicaid to pay for mosquito repellent for women in the hopes of preventing the Zika virus. Full Story
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Credit: US Department of Health and Human Services -
The Brief: Paxton Keeps Up Fight Against Securities Fraud Charges
Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to fight the securities fraud charges against him, with his attorneys filing an appeal with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during a May 25, 2016, press conference.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Lawmakers Look at Tying School Funding to Performance
Should Texas fund public schools based on their academic performance rather than just giving them a certain amount of money per student? State lawmakers are beginning to explore that idea. Full Story
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![Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Texas Prisons Ponder Cutting $250 Million
With the 2017 state budget dance approaching, the Texas prison system is following instructions to cut 4 percent from its spending. Will that mean closing prisons and releasing more nonviolent inmates? Full Story
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![Texas Department of Criminal Justice Central Prison Unit in Sugar Land, TX. Amid budget cuts, Texas is closing a prison unit for the first time. The historic Central Unit will close at the end of August.]()
Credit: Justin Dehn -
Analysis: Texas Voters Take Hit While Judges Ponder Election Laws
The evidence is piling up: If the law allows Texas and other states to discriminate, they will discriminate. Full Story
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Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Independent Wins Race to Temporarily Fill McClendon Seat
Independent Laura Thompson has won the special election runoff to temporarily fill the seat of former state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio. Full Story
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Tiny Nordheim Sues State Over Drilling Waste Dump
A tiny South Texas town is continuing its fight against an oil and gas waste site half its size, even after regulators gave its developer the go-ahead. Residents of Nordheim, population 316, are suing the Texas Railroad Commission. Full Story
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![Paul Baumann's property, owned by his family for generations, is directly next to a proposed drilling waste dump in the small town of Nordheim. He, along with other concerned citizens, are protesting the dump as they fear it will pollute and ruin their way of life.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Tim Kaine Heading to Texas for Hillary Clinton Fundraisers
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine is coming to Texas next week to raise money for Hillary Clinton's campaign for the White House. Full Story
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Attorney General Paxton Launches Final Appeal in Securities Fraud Case
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is appealing the securities fraud charges against him to the state's highest criminal court, in one last bid to dismiss the case before it goes to trial. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, accompanied by his wife, Angela, left, speaks to the media after leaving the Fifth Court of Appeals on May 12, 2016 in Dallas.]()
Credit: Robert Hart for The Texas Tribune -
Paxton Says "Frivolous" Campus Carry Lawsuit Has No Merit
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday called a lawsuit brought by three University of Texas at Austin professors against the state’s campus carry law “frivolous” and said the professors have no valid reasons for opposing guns on campus. Full Story
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![Stephanie Odam of Austin marches in a campus carry protest in Austin, Jan 8, 2015.]()
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Texplainer: What Are Your Rights at Border Patrol Checkpoints?
Under federal law, checkpoints are legal. But officers do have limits in what they can ask you. What questions do you have about the U.S.-Mexico border? Share it with our reporters. Full Story
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![A U.S. Army soldier of the Texas Army National Guard and U.S. Border Patrol Agent Chad Wamsley observe as Ricky I, a Belgian Malinois detection dog, checks a tractor-trailer for indications of drugs or concealed people at the U.S. Border Patrol's Interstate 35 checkpoint north of Laredo, Texas, on July 14, 2006.]()
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New in Trib+Health: First U.S. Case of Zika Appears
In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: First reported domestic case of Zika infection appears in Florida, the quest to find a malaria cure and an interview with Margaret Phillips of UT Southwestern. Full Story
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The Brief: UT Remembers Shooting as Campus Carry Takes Effect
On Monday, a memorial service marked the 50th anniversary of the tower shooting at the University of Texas at Austin and the carry of concealed handguns becomes allowed in school classrooms. Full Story
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![Students walk to class on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune