Watch: Three Democratic challengers say there’s an outpouring of national support to flip the Texas House
Akilah Bacy, Joanna Cattanach and Celina Montoya are running for Texas House Districts 138, 108 and 121, respectively. Full Story
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Sami Sparber
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Sami Sparber was a reporting fellow at The Texas Tribune from 2020 to 2021. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, she has been a political unit intern at NBC News and a reporting intern at the Houston Chronicle. She has also worked as managing editor and projects editor at The Daily Texan.
Past Contributions
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Texas colleges offer free coronavirus tests. Why aren't more students getting tested?
Halfway through the semester, schools are reporting participation rates far below their goals, prompting at least one school to go so far as to offer prizes to students who volunteer to get a coronavirus test. Full Story
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![A COVID-19 testing site at the University of Texas at Austin. Sept. 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
“It’s like walking into a ghost town”: Under tight pandemic restrictions, college football returns to Austin
With just over 15,000 fans in a stadium that holds more than 100,000, the University of Texas kicked off the football season after requiring mandatory COVID-19 tests for students who attended the game. Full Story
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![Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium roughly 20 minutes before kickoff on Sept. 12, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas college football returns with thousands of fans in the stadiums as campus cases grow
The University of Texas at Austin will face off against The University of Texas at El Paso on Saturday with thousands of fans in the stadium and new safety precautions. Full Story
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![The University of Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin on August 31, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Daily Texan -
Student athletes get COVID-19 tests three times a week, while experts say testing for other university students is lagging
Public health experts say colleges need to dramatically ramp up testing in order to catch “silent spread” fueled by students who are infected but don’t have symptoms. Full Story
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![A nurse demonstrates to a student how to self-administer a COVID-19 test a at a testing location at the University of Texas at Austin. Sept. 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court rejects Republicans' attempt to remove 44 Libertarians from the November ballot
The GOP sued because the Libertarians didn't pay their filing fees. But the state Supreme Court said Republicans missed the deadline to kick them off the ballot. Full Story
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![Voters cast ballots in booths spread six feet apart at the Metropolitan Multiservices Center for the delayed primary runoff election in Houston on July 14, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Coronavirus cases postpone TCU-SMU game, the season's first college football matchup involving a Texas Big 12 team
The game had been scheduled for Sept. 11. Full Story
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![TCU Horned Frogs against the Texas Longhorns at the Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth on Oct. 26, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Daily Texan -
Texas colleges expect larger online summer classes as students lose jobs, internships
School officials, still reeling financially from shutting down their campuses mid-semester, are unclear what the summer surge signals for their fall enrollment. Full Story
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![Rising sophomores Macy Waldman, left, an Integrative Studies major at the University of North Texas and her sister, Barry Waldman, a pre-nursing student the University of Texas at Arlington, do not plan to return to campus out of concern for COVID-19. Portrait taken on June 2, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Former U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, a Vietnam War veteran, has died
Johnson, R-Richardson, was first elected to Congress in 1991 and gained a reputation as a strong conservative voice in the Texas delegation. He was a prisoner of war for nearly seven years. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson, R, Richardson.]()
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Texas will test all residents and staff in state-run homes for people with disabilities
The test kits for residents of state supported living centers have been ordered and are on their way. The agency is “working on a broader plan to get the test kits for staff," a state official said. Full Story
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![A State Supported Living Center located in Austin on April 21, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune