Ken Paxton could be deposed after Texas judge’s ruling in whistleblower lawsuit
The attorney general accused the judge of “recklessly disregarding legal precedent” after he attempted to end the long-running lawsuit from former staffers. Full Story
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Pooja Salhotra joined the Tribune in 2022 as its first-ever East Texas reporter based in Lufkin, where she covered a vast region that borders three states and stretches north to Texarkana and south to Beaumont. In late 2023, she relocated to Austin as a general assignment reporter to cover issues ranging from breaking news to developments in state agencies. Pooja was born and raised in the Houston area and graduated from Yale University. She also holds a master’s in fine arts from NYU’s journalism school.
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sits alone at the defense table during the morning of day nine of Paxton's impeachment trial in the Texas Senate on September 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
An East Texas school district’s flagpole raises questions about America’s separation of church and state
The LaPoynor school district frequently flies a Christian flag, but may not be running afoul of the Constitution because it says students are choosing to raise it. Full Story
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![A solid purple flag flies alongside the U.S. and Texas flags outside of LaPoynor School, part of LaPoynor ISD, in LaRue on Jan. 18, 2024.]()
Credit: Leslie Nemec for The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde victims’ families get an official acknowledgement of botched shooting response — but some want criminal charges
Some relatives of the 21 people killed in Texas’ deadliest school shooting are demanding criminal charges after federal officials say delayed police response cost lives. Full Story
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![Kimberly Mata-Rubio, mother of Alexandria Rubio, one of the children killed in the 2022 Uvalde mass shooting, speaks to media after DOJ officials detailed failures in the law enforcement response to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Twenty months after deadly Uvalde school shooting, multiple investigations have yet to be released
The U.S. Department of Justice just released its investigation into law enforcement’s response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School. But at least three other investigations have not yet been released to the public. Full Story
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![Police hold a press conference on Thursday, May 26, 2022 in Uvalde, TX. Twenty one people were killed after a gunman after a high school student opened fire inside Robb Elementary School on Tuesday where two teachers and 19 students were killed. (Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Legal challenge to Dallas County’s cash bail system ends after U.S. Supreme Court declines to step in
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously held that federal courts can’t weigh in on the constitutionality of the county’s pre-trial processes. Full Story
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![Magistrate Judge Hal Turley sets bail for defendants in Dallas County's Lew Sterrett Justice Center in July.]()
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Six years after Hurricane Harvey, the city of Houston still hasn’t allocated $200 million in relief funds
Both the state and the city of Houston say they want to work together to help pay down the remaining funds. Full Story
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![Workers sort through piles of flooded belongings at an apartment complex near Greens Bayou in the Greenspoint area of Houston on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, days after Tropical Storm Harvey dissipated.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Black Democratic trailblazer, dies at 89
Johnson, the first Black woman elected to any seat in Dallas and the first Black Dallasite to serve in Congress, was a towering figure in Texas politics. Full Story
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![Rep. Ernie Bernice Johnson, D-TX 30th District, has been a Congresswoman since 1993. Photographed at her office in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2019.]()
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Far-right activist blasts Speaker Phelan for being "pro-Muslim" in political mailer
The card insinuates that Phelan wants to wish his constituents a happy Ramadan instead of a merry Christmas. Muslim Texans say it’s Islamophobic and some Republicans say it doesn't reflect Christian values. Full Story
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![Cary Cheshire outside of the offices of Pale Horse Strategies in Fort Worth on Oct. 6, 2023. Cheshire is the executive director of Texans For Strong Borders and a longtime employee of Defend Texas Liberty-linked groups.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for the Texas Tribune -
Texas’ statewide poverty rate declines, but several rural counties see increase in poor residents
An influx of highly educated people from other states helped shift the state’s economic fortune. But in many parts of Texas, residents are struggling as jobs dry up. Full Story
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![Yuchih Choy loads boxes of food into a pickup. West Texas Food Bank employees and volunteers load donated food into customer's cars during their weekly pick up outside of the food bank in Odessa, TX. Oct. 5, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Year after year, most Texas police departments report zero hate crimes. Here’s why.
A Texas Tribune analysis of hate crime data found that 82% of Texas law enforcement agencies that report to the FBI tracked no hate crimes last year. However, one suburban North Texas police agency is creating a new model of collecting hate crime data. Full Story
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![Bertha Germany at her home in Texarkana, Texas on Friday November 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Lawrence Jenkins for The Texas Tribune