Texas imprisoned Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. when he was 11, purportedly for his own good. Five years later, he returned home in a casket.
“They didn’t try to fix the brokenness,” his mother says. “They just broke him more.” Full Story
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![Long time friend Robin Anderson, left, stands alongside mother Amnisty Freelen and her husband Aarin Freelen, during a funeral service for their son Joshua Keith Beasley Jr., 17, on April 1, 2023 at the McCrury Cemetery in Bogota, Texas.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Watch: Texas immigrants “shocked” by bill that would have prevented them from buying homes
Initially, Senate Bill 147 would have prevented legal Texas residents from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from buying land. Pushback from immigrant groups persuaded senators to soften the proposal. Full Story
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![Protesters gathered in Houston on Feb. 10, 2023 against SB 147, which at the time would have prevented citizens from China and other countries from purchasing land in Texas.]()
Credit: Fabiana Chaparro/The Texas Tribune -
Illegal voting in Texas likely to be a felony again after state House vote
The Texas Senate has passed similar legislation. But a key policy separates the two chambers. Full Story
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![A voter casts her ballot at the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center during Election Day in Houston on Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
New Biden plan will let people in Latin American countries apply to legally enter U.S., Canada or Spain
As it prepares for the end of Title 42, which lets U.S. officials rapidly expel migrants, the Biden administration said it will open centers in Guatemala and Colombia where people can apply to legally enter the three participating nations. Full Story
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![A migrant family embraces each other moments after crossing the Rio Grande and ino El Paso from Ciudad Juárez on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House OKs $5 billion for broadband, if voters give thumbs up
The legislation — which falls short of the $10 billion needed to ensure all Texans have reliable internet access — must still win approval in the state Senate. Full Story
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![A splice can that contains 432 fiber cables in Louisville, Kentucky on April 19, 2021.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Amira Karaoud -
Texas House advances $4.5 billion school funding bill
Lawmakers have already proposed directing billions of dollars to schools so they can lower property taxes and pay for safety upgrades. But House Bill 100 would be the first to increase the amount of money districts receive to raise teacher pay and cover the actual costs of educating students. Full Story
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![Students learn about Martin Luther King Jr. in Rosa Ramirez's second grade class at Linder Elementary School in Austin on Jan. 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Miranda Lipton for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers hope an investment in teacher training will help keep new educators in the classroom longer
A bill passed by the Texas House on Wednesday would also help schools rehire retired teachers and offer other incentives in an effort to fight the state’s teacher shortage. Full Story
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![Jessica Lemmer went over a fraction problem with her third grade math class Jan. 14, 2018 at Edward Titche Elementary School in the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Two Texas “Trump Train” participants settle lawsuit claiming they harassed 2020 Biden campaign bus
Hannah Ceh and Kyle Kruger wrote in their settlement that they apologized for participating in the October 2020 incident in which dozens of Trump supporters surrounded and harassed a Joe Biden campaign bus driving down a Central Texas highway. Full Story
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![The Biden-Harris campaign bus arrives in Abilene on Oct. 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Ronald W. Erdrich/Abilene Reporter-News via REUTERS -
Tarrant County’s daunting task: hiring a new elections chief to run the 2024 elections in Texas’ largest swing county
County Judge Tim O’Hare wouldn’t rule out hiring someone who questions the legitimacy of the 2020 election results, calling it “not an automatic disqualifier.” Full Story
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![Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare listens to comments over the electronic pollbook system in place during a Commissioners Court meeting in Fort Worth on April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Toxic benzene lingered for weeks after shelter-in-place warnings ended following 2019 Houston-area chemical fire
The Texas Tribune analyzed previously unreported air monitoring data and records from the 2019 ITC chemical disaster near Houston and found that high benzene levels lingered in the air for two weeks after public health measures were lifted. Experts say more shelter-in-place advisories should have been issued. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune -
Proposed ban on corporal punishment in Texas schools fails again
Texas public schools can allow corporal punishment, which includes hitting, spanking, paddling or deliberately inflicting physical pain to discipline students. Full Story
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![Lawmakers on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate passes bill limiting farmland sales to China, other countries
The amended bill is a dramatically watered-down version of an earlier proposal that sought to ban land and home purchases by citizens of China and three other countries. Full Story
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![Attendees in opposition to SB 147 hold signs during a press conference in opposition to Senate Bill 147 outside of City Hall on Jan. 23, 2023, in downtown Houston.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Transgender Texans of all ages could lose access to transition-related care under Senate bill
The Senate advanced a bill that could create such high financial risks for doctors and health insurers that they’d stop providing or covering gender-affirming care — even for adults. Full Story
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![Demonstrators march for Trans Day of Visibility in San Antonio on March 31, 2023.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
Journalists fear Texas Legislature could weaken law designed to protect free speech
News publications and First Amendment advocates are fighting a bill to revise a state law meant to prevent litigants from weaponizing the legal system to punish people for speech they don’t like. Full Story
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After months of struggle, Korean language access advocates find their voice at a legislative hearing
In a key step on their quest to make state services more easily available to non-English speakers, advocates from Houston’s Woori Juntos community group testified before a panel of lawmakers. Full Story
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![Woori Juntos Service Coordinator Si Hwa Gi hands out information packets about speaking with lawmakers on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House reaffirms the political maps it drew in 2021
The 150 districts didn’t change, but the vote ensured the House met its constitutional requirement to approve new maps in the first regular session following formal publication of the 2020 census results. Full Story
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![A map of Tarrant County shows Hispanics' voting age population on the House floor on Oct. 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
For migrant children who cross the border alone, a new set of challenges getting health care awaits
A report from the Migration Policy Institute and the American Academy of Pediatrics details the barriers undocumented children face in the United States. Full Story
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![Migrant children in the courtyard of the Our Lady-Guadalupe Catholic Church School in Mission on July 27, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats rally around Joe Biden as he announces reelection bid
Texas Democrats are hopeful Biden can run a competitive race in the historically red state — especially if the GOP nominee is Donald Trump again. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden descends from Air Force One at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York on Oct. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Tom Brenner -
T-Squared: Matt Adams, Dan Keemahill and Carlos Nogueras join The Texas Tribune
Adams will oversee audience growth and engagement. Keemahill is a data journalist working on investigative stories. Nogueras will be our first Permian Basin reporter, based in Midland-Odessa. Full Story
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![From left: Matt Adams, Dan Keemahill and Carlos Nogueras.]()
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House-Senate animosity bubbles over with clashes on property taxes, education
With threats of a special session and a derisive moniker, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tries to pressure the House speaker into acting on his conservative priorities. Full Story
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![From left: Outgoing House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune
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