Founder of Black Lives Matter Houston: "They don't have a choice but to hear us"
In the weekend edition of The Brief podcast, Ashton P. Woods says this moment stands out because “no one can look away" from what happened to George Floyd. Full Story
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Alana Rocha
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Alana Rocha was the director of news partnerships for The Texas Tribune until June 2022. She was previously a multimedia reporter, after working in television and radio news for eight years. Alana covered politics for stations in Florida, Kansas and Texas and traveled the country reporting from the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaign trails. She was the lead reporter on several award-winning projects and launched “The Brief,” a daily audio update. A native of Tampa, Florida, Alana received bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Spanish from the University of Florida.
Past Contributions
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![Ashton P. Woods, founder of Black Lives Matter Houston, leads protesters in Houston on May, 29 2020.]()
Credit: Ashton P. Woods -
She worries voting in person could put her grandmother at risk of contracting coronavirus
Sara Sullivan wishes every Texan who wanted a mail-in ballot could get one, especially during the pandemic. Listen to her story in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![Sara Sullivan, right, is worried that voting in person in the upcoming elections could expose her 92-year-old grandmother Dorothy Sullivan to COVID-19.]()
Credit: Courtesy Sara Sullivan -
As day cares reopen, a Texas parent weighs the risks of sending her kids back
Latonya Stott is excited to return to work full time, but she wants to wait a couple of weeks before sending her two youngest children to day care again. She explains why in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![Latonya Stott plans to wait a couple of weeks before sending her two youngest children back to day care.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Latonya Stott -
As Texas reopens for business, this San Antonio teen is scared about the risks of working as a restaurant hostess
In the weekend edition of The Brief podcast, listen to the 17-year-old describe the backlash she says she faced from customers when enforcing the governor's social distancing guidelines. Full Story
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![The Yellow Jacket is one of many businesses in Austin offering take-out during the COVID-19 pandemic. May 8, 2020.]()
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He's used to oil booms and busts. But this pandemic has destroyed his livelihood.
Odessa native Erik Mancha says this latest downturn in crude prices is unlike any other, largely because of the coronavirus pandemic. Listen to his account in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![Looking west, a lone pump jack sees the sun dip below the horizon Saturday April 11, 2020 as oil prices continue to drop, causing residents of the Permian Basin to look at the future with uncertainty.]()
Credit: Ben Powell for The Texas Tribune -
She tried to get her at-risk brother out of a nursing home. Now he has COVID-19.
Listen to Karen Jones' story in this weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![Karen Jones' brother Aliss Jones is COVID-19 positive in a nursing home.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Karen Jones -
Texas: How has coronavirus changed your life?
Our multimedia team is asking Texans to send in a brief video telling us about the day-to-day changes in your life since society essentially shut down last month to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Full Story
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![A positive message is spray painted on a business on Sixth Street in Austin. Many businesses have closed their doors on the strip as a result of the recent coronavirus outbreak. March 25, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
She says she needs an abortion. Texas is citing coronavirus to stop her.
Heather Artrip is one of hundreds of Texans whose plans regarding reproductive health have been cast into uncertainty in the wake of an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott barring any procedures that are not “immediately medically necessary.” Full Story
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![An ultrasound machine at women’s health clinic in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Watch Gov. Greg Abbott give an update on Texas' efforts to combat coronavirus
Watch a livestream of the Texas governor discussing everything the state is doing to limit the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The address is scheduled to start at noon Central Time. Full Story
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![Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announces the activation of the Texas National Guard in response the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement was made from the Governor's Conference Room in the Texas Department of Emergency Management Command Center. Abbott was joined by Chief Nim Kidd, head of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar/POOL via The Texas Tribune -
UT-Austin researcher explains lab's key role in coronavirus vaccine development
We visited the University of Texas at Austin's McLellan Lab, where scientists have made a critical breakthrough toward developing a vaccine for the 2019 novel coronavirus. Full Story
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![Graduate research assistant Jake Fink, left, biology junior Morgane Hale, and research associate John Ludes-Meyers, Ph. D. research viral proteins at the McLellan Lab at The University of Texas at Austin on March 11, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune