Texas prisons and jails are recruiting more teenagers to shore up guard shortage
Two counties house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers. Full Story
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![19 year-old Detention Officer Justtice Taylor of the Smith County Sheriff's Office, on September 10, 2024, at the Smith County Jail in Tyler.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
Tarrant County GOP sought an election advantage with failed effort to shutter college voting locations
In a resolution signed Friday, the party blasted two Republicans who voted against the measure and accused them of undermining its electoral chances. Full Story
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![Cases of ballots and equipment at the Tarrant County Elections Administration building in Fort Worth, Texas. on May 6, 2023.]()
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Bipartisan Texas House majority urges clemency for man facing execution in shaken baby case
Lawmakers cite new scientific evidence that they say proves Robert Roberson, who is set for execution on Oct. 17, did not kill his daughter. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson seeks a new trial for the 2003 conviction of the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in Palestine, Texas on August 14, 2018.]()
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Judge allows Texas State Fair’s gun ban to stand for now
Texas AG Ken Paxton says the fair's gun ban violates state law, which bars most government bodies from prohibiting weapons. Full Story
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![The State Fair of Texas in Dallas on Oct. 20, 2016.]()
Credit: Allison V. Smith for The Texas Tribune -
At this South Texas political convention, everyone has a voice, regardless of legal status
Inspired by the work of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, the biennial “cumbre” helps South Texans organize for political change. Full Story
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![People cast their votes for the topics that they are interested in LUPE focusing on for the next two years during the Cumbre de Miembros 2024 in San Juan, Texas on Sept. 14, 2024.
Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
How Texas counts ballots and keeps elections secure
From election equipment to ballot counting and storage, Texas elections officials follow a long list of laws and procedures to ensure free and fair elections. Full Story
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![Harris County Elections Staff members sort ballot bags at the Elections Technology Center in northwest Houston on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Doug Emhoff to lead San Antonio rally for Texas Democrats
The second gentleman’s visit will focus on voting rights. Full Story
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![Doug Emhoff, second gentleman of the United States, walks on stage to speak with supporters for his wife, Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in The Villages, Florida, on Sept. 13, 2024.]()
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Even as state mental health spending rises, private psychiatric hospitals struggle to stay open
Texas hasn’t increased Medicaid rates for inpatient health care at private hospitals in 16 years, falling behind other states. Full Story
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![The Nix Health behavioral health center in San Antonio closed in 2019.]()
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Maternal deaths surged in Texas in 2020, 2021
Even excluding deaths related to COVID, Texas’ maternal mortality rate spiked, reversing two years of improvement. Full Story
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![A woman gets a sonogram in an Austin clinic.]()
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Texas education commissioner calls for student cellphone ban in schools
Mike Morath made the recommendation as concerns rise that phones are harmful to students’ mental health and distract them from learning. Full Story
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![High school students walk to their next class after the bell rings at Elsik Ninth Grade Center in Houston on March 28, 2018.]()
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Republicans pour money into attacking Texas Democrats on LGBTQ+ issues ahead of Election Day
In his largest ad buy to date, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz attacks U.S. Rep. Colin Allred for his support of the Equality Act. It would have prohibited gender discrimination in public places. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Texas Unconstitutional Abortion Ban and the Role of the Shadow Docket", in Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on Sept. 29, 2021.]()
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What you need to know about the Venezuelan gang that Texas is targeting
Gov. Greg Abbott has declared the Venezuelan gang a foreign terrorist organization and asked the Department of Public Safety to create a strike team targeting them. Full Story
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![Members of the Chilean Armed Forces participate in a security operation against suspects with links to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, on May 29, 2024.]()
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Dozens of Texas school districts press state to suspend new student data reporting system
The superintendents said they haven’t received enough support from the state or time to fix errors the system generated. Full Story
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![TEA Commissioner Mike Morath addresses the State Board of Education on June 26, 2024, at the William B. Travis Building in Austin.]()
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Travis County sues top Texas officials, accusing them of violating National Voter Registration Act
Attorney General Ken Paxton and Secretary of State Jane Nelson are targeted in the new suit, escalating a pre-election war over voter registration efforts. Full Story
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![Travis County Judge Andy Brown speaks during a press conference and reviews the details related to accidental drug overdoses, in Austin, on June 27, 2023.]()
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Democrats hope anti-voucher campaign will help win back South Texas House seat
The first-term Republican defending her seat said a private school voucher program will help her community, especially students from low-income families. Full Story
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![From left: Democrat Jonathan Gracia is challenging Republican incumbent Janie Lopez in state House District 37, which covers part of the Rio Grande Valley, which includes Harlingen and part of Brownsville.]()
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Judge tosses Ken Paxton’s lawsuit targeting Bexar County’s voter registration effort
The county told a state district court judge that the applications were already mailed out and any ruling would be moot. Full Story
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![People wait outside the Bexar County Elections Department in San Antonio to drop off their mail-in ballots, their voter registration applications or to be trained as poll workers on Oct. 5, 2020.]()
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UT-Austin tightens automatic admission threshold to 5% of Texas’ top high schoolers
The current threshold is 6%. The change comes after the university received a record-breaking 73,000 undergraduate applications for this fall. Full Story
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![The University of Texas at Austin tower on July 16, 2020.]()
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Texas GOP investing in South Texas races as some Republicans worry about party's performance in November
Several local party officials have signed an open letter warning that “grave and deteriorating” fundraising and voter outreach efforts could leave some candidates vulnerable. Full Story
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![Newly elected Republican Party of Texas Vice-Chair D’rinda Randall, left, and Chair Abraham George and speak during the Texas GOP Convention Saturday, May 25, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott announces crackdown on Venezuelan gang
Abbott signed a proclamation declaring Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization and directed Texas DPS to create strike teams targeting the gang. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott arrives at a press conference with several other states leadership at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass on Feb. 04, 2024.]()
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Texas lawmakers question agency's ability to oversee $5 billion energy loan program after initial glitch
Lawmakers tasked the Public Utility Commission with overseeing the Texas Energy Fund, though the agency has no experience running a loan program. Full Story
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![Public Utilities Commission Chairman Thomas Gleeson speaks during a meeting on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Leaders of various energy companies spoke to the committee about the status of their companies in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. (Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune