Supreme Court extends access to abortion drug until Friday
The U.S. Supreme Court originally planned to weigh in on the abortion pill case by Wednesday night, but extended the hold on the Amarillo ruling until Friday at midnight. Full Story
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![Supreme Court police officers walk alongside protective barriers in Washington D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: A major Texas abortion case and a potential Gov. Greg Abbott pardon in a murder trial
In this week’s episode, we discuss an attempt to use the courts in Texas to restrict the use of an abortion drug and Gov. Greg Abbott’s potential pardon of an Army sergeant found guilty of murdering a protester in Austin. Full Story
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![Andrea Gallegos sorts through abortion pills that they’re now no longer able to administer at the Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services abortion clinic since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in San Antonio on June 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Biden to nominate Texas judge to be first Latina on federal appeals court
Both of Texas’ Republican senators voiced support for Irma Carrillo Ramirez’s nomination to the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Full Story
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![U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez gives opening remarks during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Sept. 7th, 2016.]()
Credit: US Senate Committee on the Judiciary -
Llano County library supporters declare victory as officials decide not to close all branches
Llano County commissioners had considered closing the three libraries in response to a ruling from a federal judge who ordered banned books returned to the shelves. Full Story
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![Amanda Starkes and her mother Brenda embrace Suzette Baker after the announcement that the Llano Public library will remain open outside the Llano County Sheriffs office on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Baker and Starke were both terminated from the library branch in Kingsland. The county ruled that the library will remain open after a vote on whether or not to close it due to disagreements over book banning. (Sergio Flores for the Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas billionaire Harlan Crow bought property from Clarence Thomas. The justice didn’t disclose the deal.
The transaction is the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice. The sale netted the GOP megadonor two vacant lots and the house where Thomas’ mother was living. Full Story
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![Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow.]()
Credit: George W. Bush Presidential Center -
Abortion drug remains approved, with restrictions, appeals court rules
Mifepristone will remain on the market, but approved only for use up to seven weeks of pregnancy, versus 10 weeks, and it cannot be prescribed by telehealth or mailed, which were already illegal in Texas. Full Story
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![Boxes of mifepristone, the first pill given in a medical abortion, are prepared for patients at a clinic in New Mexico on Jan. 13, 2023.]()
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Federal judge says Texas’ use of psychotropic drugs puts foster kids at serious risk
Residential facilities did not refill medications in a timely manner, failed to follow psychiatric orders and, in several instances, violated state guidelines, court monitors documented after site inspections. The lawyer representing the foster kids said it could be “the tip of the iceberg.” Full Story
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![Heart Galleries, portraits of adoptable children, on display at the Child Protective Services office at Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
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 -
Environmental groups sue EPA over water pollution standards
A coalition of environmental groups claims the EPA has failed for decades to update limits on the discharge of some dangerous chemicals into waterways. Most of the worst polluters are in Texas. Full Story
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![Barges float through the Houston Ship Channel on February 13, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
The Army increasingly allows soldiers charged with violent crimes to leave the military rather than face trial
A federal watchdog called for ending the practice nearly 50 years ago, but the military pushed back. Now, soldiers leave the Army with a negative discharge, avoiding possible federal conviction and with little record of the allegations against them. Full Story
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Credit: Joan Wong for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge in Texas suspends FDA approval of abortion pill
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo could potentially upend access to medication abortion nationwide. Full Story
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![Mifeprex, a drug that is used to end an early pregnancy, at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio on June 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Texas billionaire Harlan Crow treated Justice Clarence Thomas to luxury trips that weren’t disclosed
Island-hopping on a superyacht. Private jet rides around the world. The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court. Full Story
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![Associate Justice Clarence Thomas during the formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7, 2022.]()
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Texas Supreme Court chief justice calls for higher judicial salaries, business courts
In his biennial state of the judiciary, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht also warned against politics’ encroachment into the third branch of government. Full Story
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![Chief Justice Nathan Hecht delivers the State of the Judiciary speech at the Texas Supreme Court building in Austin on April 5, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Sutherland Springs shooting victims reach tentative $144.5 million settlement with U.S. government
The U.S. Department of Justice also agreed to drop its appeal of a lawsuit in which a judge found the military mostly at fault for the 2017 mass shooting at a church. Full Story
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![The Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church, where 26 churchgoers were killed in a mass shooting on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Bill intended to force Texas prosecutors to pursue abortion, election cases passes Senate
The bill, a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is part of a larger effort to limit the power of elected prosecutors, especially in Texas’ largest, left-leaning counties. Full Story
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![The Travis County Justice Complex on July 6, 2022.]()
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Nate Paul, real estate investor in Paxton corruption allegations, ordered to jail again after losing appeal
The Austin real estate developer is central to allegations that his friend, Attorney General Ken Paxton, abused his office to help Paul’s business affairs. Full Story
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![Nate Paul is the CEO of World Class, a real estate holding company.]()
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Watch a Texas Tribune conversation about efforts to address fentanyl abuse in Texas
Tribune politics reporter James Barragán moderated a panel on the drastic rise in opioid overdose deaths and what lawmakers and advocates can do to protect Texans. Full Story
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![From left: Texas Tribune politics reporter James Barragán moderates a discussion on drug harm reduction and the state Legislature with Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, Cate Graziani, executive director of the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, and Rep. James Talarico, D-Round Rock, at the Tribune's Studio 919 event space in Austin on April 11, 2023.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
Llano County officials must offer library books they’d removed, judge orders
Local officials are appealing the order in a lawsuit that drew national attention. Seven library patrons say the book removals infringed their First Amendment rights. Full Story
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![Cars pass by the the Llano County Courthouse in Llano on Monday, Dec. 14, 2021. The Commissioners Court for Llano County voted to close the public library to "inventory and catalog" their books after community pushback related to books that some deemed offensive. The pushback also led to a decision to immediately shut down an online library of thousands of books out of fears that children could access material not appropriate for children. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge in Texas strikes down key ACA provision regarding preventive care services
A federal judge in Texas found the appointment of the volunteer body issuing preventive care requirements, unlawful. Full Story
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![Francisco Garcia arrives at Kelsey-Seybold clinic in Sugar Land to see his doctor Spencer Berthelsen for annual physical. Sept. 22, 2011.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans, once allied with prosecutors, seek to rein them in
Some local district and county attorneys have said they will not pursue abortion-related cases, or prioritize certain drug, property and election crimes. Full Story
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![The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune