Texas A&M System will provide free COVID-19 tests, but it’s a mixed bag for other schools
Up to 15,000 test kits will be available per month across its 11 universities. The system has set aside $16 million to pay for the testing program. Full Story
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![The Texas A&M University campus on June 15, 2020 in College Station.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the U.S. And during the pandemic, an estimated 659,000 Texans lost their health care.
The pandemic-driven economic downturn has left more than 5.4 million Americans with no job and no insurance. Texas has one of the largest shares of this increase. Full Story
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![A doctor cares for a patient at MedSpring Urgent Care clinic on South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Springs Road in Austin.]()
Credit: Martin do Nascimento for The Texas Tribune -
Joe Biden to air first general-election TV ads in Texas as polls show increasingly close race against President Donald Trump
The ads address the state's coronavirus surge, which has become dire as hospitals and morgues scramble to respond to the rising number of infections and deaths. Full Story
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![Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to supporters at a campaign event at Texas Southern University in Houston, on March 2, 2020.]()
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Texas hospitals are running out of drugs, beds, ventilators and even staff
Many Texas hospitals are no longer accepting transfer patients in order to maintain space for a surge that’s expected to come. In some parts of the state, it’s already here. Full Story
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6 things to watch in Texas’ primary runoff election
In the middle of a pandemic, voters will be weighing in on primary runoffs for U.S. Senate, nationally watched congressional races and a handful of seats in the Texas Legislature. Full Story
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![Connie Ford explains the curbside voting system to poll worker Jeremy Matthews at the Collin County Elections Department on June 23. The polling site included newly added signs to inform voters and employees on how to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 during the voting process.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Feeding tubes, hallucinations and numb toes: One Texan’s battle to survive COVID-19
When pharmacist Frank Arredondo was wheeled on a stretcher into a South Texas ward for coronavirus patients in early April, his wife wondered if they would ever see each other again. Full Story
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![Frank Arredondo had one of the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Rio Grande Valley and spent 10 days on a ventilator.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
A singular figure in Texas’ coronavirus response, Gov. Greg Abbott leads a state headed in an alarming direction
The coronavirus pandemic has proved a leadership test like no other for the second-term governor. He holds nearly all power over the state’s response as it careens toward crisis. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott adjusts his mask after giving an update on the categories of medical surge facilities at a press conference at the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
As Texas morgues fill up, refrigerator trucks are on the way in several counties
More than 3,000 Texans have died from the coronavirus and counties are preparing for even more deaths by expanding their capacities to store bodies. Full Story
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![A morgue trailer, currently not in use, at the Nueces County Medical Examiner's office in Corpus Christi on July 10, 2020.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott warns if spread of COVID-19 doesn’t slow, “the next step would have to be a lockdown”
Abbott has repeated that warning multiple times in local television interviews this week. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott gives an update on Texas hospital bed capacity and the state's strategy for fighting COVID-19 during a press conference at Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Houston hospitals are increasingly turning away new patients as coronavirus overwhelms emergency rooms
The busiest hospitals in Houston are increasingly telling emergency responders they cannot safely accept new patients as hundreds of coronavirus patients crowd emergency rooms, and hospitals scramble to open more intensive care space. Full Story
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![The emergency center at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston on June 26, 2020. (May-Ying Lam for the Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: May-Ying Lam for the Texas Tribune -
County Republican parties in Texas' GOP strongholds say Gov. Greg Abbott going too far in coronavirus response
The Republican parties in some of the state's biggest red counties are rebuking the governor over his use of executive authority during the pandemic. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott announced a strike force in charge of laying steps to re-open the Texas economy at a press conference in the capitol on April 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas bans elective surgeries in more than 100 counties as coronavirus hospitalizations keep climbing
Gov. Greg Abbott said the decision is meant to free up resources to address the pandemic. The attorney general's office has not said the order bans abortions, an assertion that sparked a legal battle over Abbott's earlier prohibition on elective procedures. Full Story
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Number of Texans filing unemployment claims increased for second week in a row as 117,244 sought benefits
The claims — an increase of 21.4% compared with the week before — come as coronavirus infections in the state continue surging and after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered bars to close and limited restaurant operations. Full Story
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![Workers begin boarding up bars on W. 6th St. in Austin after Gov. Greg Abbott closed bars in Texas for the second time in three months on June 26, 2020.]()
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signals support as Austin weighs fines for people not wearing face masks
In a letter to Austin's mayor, Abbott said the city's consideration of new enforcement measures "to ensure compliance with my Executive Orders is an important step toward reducing the spread" of the coronavirus. Full Story
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![Pedestrians on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake in Austin on June 24, 2020.]()
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Nearly 14% of new U.S. COVID-19 cases are recorded in Texas
Texas’ coronavirus cases now make up a significantly higher proportion than its 9% share of the nation’s population. Full Story
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Democrats zero in on health care and electability in final days of race to challenge U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul
Mike Siegel, who ran a surprisingly close race against McCaul in 2018, faces newcomer Pritesh Gandhi in a tense runoff centering on each candidate's suitability for the general election. Full Story
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![Candidate for Texas' 10th Congressional District Pritesh Gandhi and Mike Siegel.]()
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An increase in people dying at home suggests coronavirus deaths in Houston may be higher than reported
In Houston, one of the nation's fastest-growing coronavirus hot spots, more residents are dying before they can make it to a hospital. Medical examiner data shows that an increasing number of these deaths are the result of COVID-19. Full Story
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![Emergency workers walk past an ambulance parked at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston. June 22, 2020.]()
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Houston convention center operator cancels in-person Texas GOP meeting
The Republican Party of Texas' in-person convention was scheduled to happen in Houston next week. Chair James Dickey has said party leaders have worked on a contingency plan to host the convention online. Full Story
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![First day of the Texas Republican Convention at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio on June 14, 2018. .]()
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Supreme Court says employers may opt out of Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate over religious, moral objections
The court ruled on the Trump administration's decision to expand the types of organizations that could opt out of providing cost-free access to birth control. Full Story
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![The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 7, 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Tech tests the waters for fall semester by bringing 350 students to campus for summer classes
The 30 summer classes mark the first time in-person instruction has been offered at Texas Tech since the university closed its doors in the spring. Reopening gives campus leaders a look at what a large-scale collegiate return could look like this fall. Full Story
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![Aerial view of the Texas Tech University Provost Office in Lubbock.]()
Credit: Texas Tech University
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