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.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
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 -
Democratic Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos joins crowded Texas House speaker race
Rodríguez Ramos faces an uphill battle, as Democrats are the minority party with 64 seats in the 150-member Texas House. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ana-Maria Rodríguez Ramos, D-Richardson, speaks at a Texas House Progressive Caucus press conference at the Capitol on Sept. 20, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Amarillo Republican John Smithee joins Texas House speaker race
After Attorney General Ken Paxton’s failed impeachment trial, his allies touted Smithee, one of the House’s most senior members, as a speaker candidate. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, speaks on the House floor in 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton withdrew an opinion on gun bans weeks after suing Texas state fair for a similar restriction
Paxton sued Dallas and state fair officials last month, arguing the fair’s private organizer had violated state law by banning firearms on the fairgrounds. Full Story
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![The State Fair of Texas in 2016.]()
Credit: Allison V. Smith for The Texas Tribune -
At this West Texas church, “the Lord’s work” is helping the poor, not rewriting state law
Led by co-pastors Joe and Dawn Weaks, Connection Christian Church, a 118-year-old congregation in Odessa, has transformed while keeping true to its legacy of helping the community. Full Story
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![Pastor Dawn Weaks leads her congregation in prayer during a blessing of the backpacks ceremony for the start of the new school year at Connection Christian Church Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Odessa.]()
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Texas’ battle against deer disease threatens breeding industry
Texas has seen a record number of chronic wasting disease cases this year. The state is looking for new ways to contain the spread without driving deer breeders out of business. Full Story
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![Does at John True's breeding facility in Terrell, Texas on Sept. 9, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
GOP bid to remove polling sites from Tarrant County college campuses fails
County Judge Tim O’Hare said he proposed the cuts to save costs. Critics accused Republican leaders of suppressing the vote of young people who back Democrats. Full Story
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![ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 10, 2024: Makayla Ortega, 19, a student at University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), registers to vote at the UTA campus in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. CREDIT: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
Federal border agency report on Uvalde massacre recommends policy changes
The review of CBP agents’ response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting found that active shooting training was insufficient. Full Story
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![A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent speaks to a reporter near the scene Robb Elementary School, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Power plant expansion tied to Bitcoin mining faces backlash in rural Hood County
Granbury residents say a noisy Bitcoin mine keeps them up at night. Now a plan to expand the power plant that fuels the mine is drawing opposition over pollution concerns. Full Story
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![A view of the Wolf Hollow II power plant, owned by Constellation Energy, in Granbury, Texas.]()
Credit: Keaton Peters/Inside Climate News -
Odessa’s mayor ran to help the West Texas city “repent.” Now he wants a second term.
Under Javier Joven’s leadership, his critics say, the Odessa City Council has lost focus on municipal issues like roads and water infrastructure. Full Story
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![Javier Joven, Mayor of Odessa, poses for a photo at his childhood home Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Russian captive’s father blasts Ted Cruz in ad endorsing Colin Allred
Joey Reed said the Texas senator did not do enough to free his son Trevor who was held in Russia for three years until he was released in 2022. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed during a 2020 court hearing in Moscow on March 11, 2020.]()
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Texas leads push for faster certification of mental health professionals
Other states look to Texas as the state psychology board pushes against the new national licensing requirements. Full Story
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![Chair John Bielamowicz speaks during a a Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists meeting Thursday, April 11, 2024 in Austin. During the meeting, the state board met with the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards to discuss the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology.]()
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Texas school districts say upgrades to the state’s student data reporting system could hurt their funding
The Texas Education Agency says there’s time to fix problems before officially reported data is used to determine how much money districts get. Full Story
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![A school bus drives past the Texas Capitol Complex as State Board of Education members hold a meeting in the William B. Travis building on Nov. 17, 2023, in Austin.]()
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Texas’ highest criminal court declines to stop execution of man accused in shaken baby case
Lawyers for Robert Roberson say the science used to sentence him to death is questionable and that prior health issues could explain the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2002. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson in court for the review of his 2003 conviction in the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in Palestine on August 14, 2018. His attorneys are asking for a new trial based on new scientific evidence.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Affected by Texas’ high home prices and rents? We want to talk to you
The Texas Tribune is writing about the state’s housing affordability crisis. Help us tell the story. Full Story
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![A residential neighborhood seen Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Midland.]()
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Texas’ prison guard shortfall makes it harder for inmates to get reprieve from extreme indoor heat, critics say
About 25% of Texas’ correctional officer positions are unfilled. Inmates say the shortages make it harder for them to get respite during hot summer months. Full Story
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![Mountain View prison in Gatesville on September 19, 2019.]()
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Dallas juvenile detention center isolated kids and falsified documents, state investigation says
A Texas Juvenile Justice Department report says Dallas County officers kept kids in their sleeping quarters for days at a time and faked school attendance logs. Full Story
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![Detainees are moved from location to location within the Travis County Juvenile Detention Center in Austin, Texas, Monday, June 24, 2013. (FILE)]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
National Dems target Texas, but focus remains on protecting Senate incumbents
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz this November, but the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has vulnerable incumbents to defend first. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, addresses the crowd at a grassroots event in McAllen on Wed. Sept. 4, 2024.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott says potential power outages from Tropical Storm Francine will be restored within hours
Texas isn’t expected to take a direct hit when the storm makes landfall as a hurricane. But storm surge and dangerous winds are possible. Full Story
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![Governor Greg Abbott hosts a press conference about Tropical Storm Francine at the Texas Division of Emergency Management on Sept. 10, 2024 in Austin.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune