/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/William_Melhado_2x3.jpg)
William Melhado was an Austin-based general assignment reporter until 2024. He originally joined the Tribune in 2022 as a Poynter-Koch fellow. Before his time at the Tribune, William worked as a staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter, an alt-weekly newspaper in New Mexico, and he also worked as an educator for five years at a public high school in the Bronx, New York and at international schools in Tanzania and Nepal. A native of Boulder, Colorado, William graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and earned a master’s in secondary science education at CUNY Lehman College.
Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, in his case over alleged hush money payments made to an adult film star. Many of his fellow Republicans in Texas lambasted the legal development. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5198143f0b788e5262242ada41aa3713/0325%20Trump%20Waco%20QkFlp%20LS%2002.jpg)
Senate Bill 14 would now allow trans children who are already receiving some transition-related treatments to continue getting that care. The Senate gave initial approval to the reworked legislation Wednesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f6d9116e72b5d3128e82d52088c5dd71/Trans%20Rights%20Rally%20LW%20TT%2020.jpg)
Opponents of the bill call it a “power play aimed at making the lives of transgender children as difficult as possible.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6809d622b6e7bf5d0ffa1afc577882b1/UNT%20Kelly%20Neidert%20EL%20TT%2033.jpg)
Former president focuses his ire on political enemies and says he will have the back of supporters who have been wronged or betrayed. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4954ffd24f1d15cceeef877567ede0f0/Trump%20Waco%20REUTERS%20TT%2001.jpg)
Trump’s first major rally of the 2024 campaign came days after he said he was to be arrested by New York authorities as part of an investigation into alleged hush payments to a former adult film star. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2140918f8b57ab95d31f6f57d3560d54/0325%20Trump%20Waco%20QkFlp%20LS%2003.jpg)
Uvalde officials said U.S. Border Patrol responded to a 911 call alerting them about a group of people who were trapped for hours inside of a shipping container. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/44e8a33cd3bb92792e31df3aec95a935/TT%20KSAT%20Knippe%20Migrant%20Train%20TT.jpeg)
In 2021, a bill that would block transgender kids’ access to transition-related care passed the Senate but died in the Texas House. This year, a majority of House members back such a ban. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/371f4d928001ec5d0bc036462f57bdfe/Transgender%20protest%20SG%20TT.jpg)
Proposed legislation from Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, would criminalize explicit performances where children are present and strip libraries of state funding for hosting any event featuring performers in drag. Critics say the bill is discriminatory and unconstitutional. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2ea5eb6dbca62d6faca86a1667c901de/0323%20Drag%20Testimony%20LS%20TT%2001.jpg)
In his third consecutive bid for the White House, the former president hopes “Trump Country” supporters in Texas will turn out next Saturday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/074c0b0e166dc7817fc89d42e0b366c9/Trump%20Conroe%20REUTERS.jpg)
A two-tiered system gives less populated counties more time to provide court-appointed lawyers, requiring creative responses to a long-standing problem. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bc5a5bc8b3beb99544fa863e66cfbc0f/0312%20Rural%20Defendants%20EH%20TT%2003.jpg)