Texas Senate to ban reporters from chamber floor
The move to take news reporters off the Senate floor was implemented in 2021 as a COVID-19 precaution, but an official said Friday the measure would continue in the upcoming session. Full Story
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James Barragán is a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune with a focus on accountability reporting. Prior to joining the Tribune, James worked as a statehouse reporter for The Dallas Morning News and had previous stints at the Austin American-Statesman and the Los Angeles Times. In 2021, he was a finalist for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Reporting for his coverage of Texas politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. James was selected as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in 2023-24. A Southern California native, James received his bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA. He is based in Austin and is a native Spanish speaker.
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![A woman waits for the Senate to gavel in from the Senate gallery on Aug. 10, 2021.]()
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Ahead of El Paso visit, Biden says U.S. will allow 30,000 migrants from four countries to enter monthly
Migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela will be allowed entry and given work permits. The administration will also expand the use of Title 42 to expel more migrants to Mexico. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden speaks about U.S.-Mexico border security and enforcement during remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington on Jan. 5, 2023.]()
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Texas GOP lawmakers warming to opioid harm-reduction policies they once opposed
Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans have expressed support for legalizing fentanyl test strips, which help users identify whether the drugs they are planning on taking contain the deadly synthetic opioid. Full Story
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![A fentanyl test kit in a storage unit in Dallas on Aug. 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
More Texans give away campaign donations from Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX affiliates
In November, The Texas Tribune reported that Beto O’Rourke had given back a $1 million donation that Bankman-Fried had donated to his campaign. Full Story
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![U.S. Congressman-elect Greg Casar, D-TX, speaks to reporters after a press conference with other incoming CPC members at AFL-CIO Headquarters in Washington, DC, on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
After a Texas National Guard member died, his family got no financial payment. Lawmakers want to change that.
In April, Bishop Evans drowned after jumping into the Rio Grande to save two migrants being swept away by the current. His family members will receive no financial payment, but they would if he worked for DPS or was under federal deployment. Full Story
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![Jo Ann Johnson sits for a portrait on the bed that once belonged to her grandson, Bishop Evans, in her home in Arlington on Dec. 7, 2022. 22 year-old Bishop Evans, who was serving on the Texas Army National Guard and assigned to work on Operation Lone Star, died after jumping into the Rio Grande to save two migrants. “When they told me why, I understood, because he saw someone who needed help. That was who he was — he helped people.”]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Without evidence, Gov. Greg Abbott asks whether nonprofits are helping migrants enter Texas
A Fox News story described Mexican nonprofits aiding migrants, but did not allege any improper action by U.S.-based nonprofits. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference with Nuevo León Gov. Samuel Alejandro García Sepúlveda on April 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
National Guard member deployed for Operation Lone Star stabbed while off duty in Mexico
The service member is expected to recover. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas National Guard set up a shade structure while they guard a gate along the border wall in Del Rio on September 16, 2021.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott says he will nominate retiring state Sen. Jane Nelson to be secretary of state
Nelson planned to retire from the Senate after 30 years in office. But her nomination will give Abbott a clearer path to having his nominee confirmed by the Senate after his last three have gone unconfirmed. Full Story
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![Then-state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, in the Senate on May 27, 2019.]()
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John Scott, Texas’ top elections official, to step down at end of year
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Scott as secretary of state in October 2021, and he served in an interim capacity pending Senate confirmation. He is stepping down right before the legislative session, in which his appointment would have come up for debate. Full Story
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![John Scott speaks to a reporter during an interview inside his office at the Texas State Capitol on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 in Austin, TX. Scott was appointed last week by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and his appointment has been criticized by some after Scott's role in representing the Trump administration in a lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
To combat opioid overdoses, Gov. Greg Abbott says he supports decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips
The announcement signals a shift in Abbott’s approach to fighting the opioid epidemic. He had previously pushed back against bills calling for the decriminalization of fentanyl testing strips. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during at Texas Rally for Life at the Texas Capitol on Jan. 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune