Unsealed evidence shows racist comments, threats of violence made by Daniel Perry before killing of Austin protester
Gov. Greg Abbott has said he wants to pardon Perry, who was convicted by a Travis County jury last week. Full Story
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![Daniel Perry and his family walk to the 147th District Courtroom at the Travis County Blackwell Thurman Criminal Justice Complex on Thursday Mar. 23, 2023 in Austin. Perry is on trial for shooting and killing protester Garrett Foster during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Austin.]()
Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
With tweet about a pardon, Gov. Greg Abbott injects politics into Texas’ criminal justice system
In an unprecedented use of his power, the Republican governor moved to pardon Daniel Perry less than a day after an Austin jury convicted him in the murder of protester Garrett Foster. Full Story
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![Daniel Perry during his first day of trial in the 147th District Courtroom at the Travis County Justice Center on March 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
Lawmakers’ attempts to tighten drug laws could saddle crime labs with an unsustainable workload
Texas lawmakers want tougher criminal penalties for possession of delta-8 and fentanyl. But that would mean much more work for the crime labs handling most of the drug testing for the state’s 254 counties. Full Story
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![Angelica Noyola, a forensic analyst in the seized drugs lab, prepares a tray of pills, which likely contain oxycodone, for a chemical spot test as the state grapples with the effects of the nation's growing opioid epidemic at the Houston Forensic Science Center in Houston on March 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
How Republicans’ threats to tenure and diversity might undercut their own efforts to advance Texas’ universities
Texas lawmakers are poised to create a new multibillion-dollar endowment to boost emerging research universities in national rankings. But faculty members say banning diversity offices and tenure would stymie those efforts. Full Story
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![Nearly 40 protestors with Texas Students for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion join in chants against HB1 Rider No. 186, which would defund DEI initiatives at public universities, at the State Capitol rotunda on Mar. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott backs call for pardon for Daniel Perry, who killed Austin protester in 2020
The governor says he asked the Board of Pardons and Paroles to expedite review, recommend clemency one day after Perry was convicted of murder. Full Story
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![Daniel Perry is escorted to the 147th District Courtroom at the Travis County Blackwell Thurman Criminal Justice Complex in Austin on March 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
After House vote signaling opposition to school choice, Gov. Greg Abbott says the fight isn’t over
The House voted 86-52 on Thursday to amend the budget to ban state funding for “school vouchers or other similar programs.” Abbott has spent the past two months touring the state to build support for the proposal, spending tremendous political capital on trying to break through the rural Republican opposition to it. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at Parent Empowerment Night at Annapolis Christian Academy in Corpus Christi on Jan. 31, 2023 to discuss parent empowerment and choice in their child's education.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Is the school choice bill dead in the Texas House?
In this week’s episode, we discuss whether the House’s recent vote to ban school vouchers means a top Gov. Greg Abbott priority is doomed. Full Story
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![Students sit in art class at Lufkin High School in Lufkin, Texas, U.S., on Friday, January 29, 2023. Public school officials in rural areas like Lufkin face budget challenges because of proposed school choice legislation, which provides taxpayer-funded alternatives to sending a child to a local public school.]()
Credit: Callghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
In East Texas, skepticism over private school tuition assistance persists despite push from conservative leaders
Gov. Greg Abbott and other conservatives say families need options to escape “woke” education in public schools. East Texas parents and school leaders say the national talking points are off base. Full Story
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![The Grace Community campus in Tyler on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.]()
Credit: Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Limited trans athlete bans in competitive sports would be allowed under proposed Biden administration policy
The proposal was met with mixed reaction from transgender rights activists, with some saying that it provided a welcome set of protections for trans students and others saying the regulations could offer a roadmap for those who want to discriminate. Full Story
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![A basketball going through the hoop prior to the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Missouri Tigers at Reed Arena in College Station on Jan. 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports via REUTERS -
Texas Senate approves education savings account bill — but House signals a tough road ahead
A Texas House vote earlier in the day suggests Senate Bill 8 might be short of the votes needed to pass in the lower chamber. Senators also passed a bill on Thursday that would give teachers a one-time bonus. Full Story
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![Elementary students learn about amphibians at REACH Homeschool Co-op in Clear Lake, TX on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Family of dead National Guardsman urges Legislature to make bill named for him retroactive
While the state guarantees law enforcement officers, like Department of Public Safety troopers, a $500,000 death benefit for their families if they die on duty, National Guard troops who stand shoulder to shoulder with those DPS officers on Operation Lone Star don’t have the same benefit. Full Story
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![Jo Ann Johnson sits for a portrait with a photo of her grandson, Bishop Evans, in her home in Arlington, TX on Dec. 7, 2022. 22-year-old Bishop Evans, who was serving on the Texas Army National Guard and assigned to work on Operation Lone Star, died after jumping into the Rio Grande to save two migrants. “When they told me why, I understood, because he saw someone who needed help. That was who he was — he helped people.”]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott is turning up the pressure on passing school choice. Will it pay off?
Passage of a school choice measure is anything but a sure bet, as there is little evidence that the governor has been able to convince rural Republicans in the Texas House — who have for years been a reliable firewall — to drop their opposition. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at Parent Empowerment Night at Annapolis Christian Academy in Corpus Christi on Jan. 31, 2023 to discuss parent empowerment and choice in their child's education.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Weighing Donald Trump’s support among Texas Republicans
In this week’s episode, we discuss the Texas reaction to the indictment of Donald Trump and check in on how the leaders of the Legislature are getting along. Full Story
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![Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends his first campaign rally after announcing his candidacy for president in the 2024 election at an event in Waco, on March 25, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Leah Millis -
State troopers will help Austin with police patrols as the city struggles with an officer shortage
Austin officials view the partnership as a stopgap measure as they try to fill the city’s more than 200 police vacancies. Full Story
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![The Austin Police Department building with the Austin skyline in the background on March 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate budget writers propose billions for teacher raises, lower property taxes and water projects
The Senate Finance Committee’s proposals won’t be voted on and sent to the full chamber until April. Full Story
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![The Senate chamber at the Texas Capitol on Aug. 16, 2017, the morning after the end of the special session.]()
Credit: Austin Price/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott organizes “school choice” rally at the Capitol
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has embraced Senate Bill 8, which will get its first committee hearing Wednesday. But House Speaker Dade Phelan hasn’t made school choice legislation a priority. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott high fives a young supporter after delivering a speech at a Parent Empowerment Day event at the Capitol on March 21, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
“He has a battle rifle”: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15
In previously unreleased interviews, police who responded to the Robb Elementary shooting told investigators they were cowed by the shooter’s military-style rifle. This drove their decision to wait for a Border Patrol SWAT team to engage him, which took more than an hour. Full Story
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![The gunman's AR-15 style rifle lays in a supply closet of Room 111 at Robb Elementary School.]()
Credit: Law enforcement photo -
Former President Donald Trump’s first 2024 campaign rally will be in Waco
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
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![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Conroe on Jan. 29, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Go Nakamura -
This rancher doesn’t want a border wall on his land. He fears Texas will build it anyway.
Anti-border wall activists are racing to find landowners along the Rio Grande before they sign contracts with the state. Full Story
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![Joseph Hein at his 580-acre ranch on the Webb and Zapata county lines on Feb. 15, 2023. Hein breeds horses at his ranch, but fears that if the border wall is built through a portion of his land, it will restrict access to the Rio Grande River and he will likely have to sell his horses.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
“We just want parity”: Military groups call on lawmakers to give Operation Lone Star troops death benefits
Law enforcement officers who serve on Operation Lone Star get a $500,000 death benefit for their survivors if they die on duty. But National Guard troops on the same mission don’t get a dime from the state for their families if they die. Full Story
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![Jo Ann Johnson goes through awards given to her grandson Bishop Evans, who died while working on Operation Lone Star, inside of her home in Arlington, TX on December 7, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune