Lubbock celebrates native Dustin Burrows’ rise to Texas House speaker
Meanwhile in the Panhandle, Republicans were less excited that Burrows won the speaker contest thanks largely to Democrats. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, addresses the House after being sworn in as House speaker, on the first day of the 89th Texas Legislative Session at the capitol in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans in Congress propose bills to codify Trump executive orders
Ending birthright citizenship, increasing oil drilling, and leaving WHO are just a few bills the state’s Republicans pushed in Congress this month. Full Story
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![A U.S. Capitol Police officer stands guard at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 21, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Social media isn’t the only cause of mental health woes among Texas youth, advocates say
Social media’s danger on youth mental health has captured the attention of Texas lawmakers, at times, eclipsing focus on bigger threats — provider shortages and funding cuts to programs. Full Story
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![Social media appliations are seen grouped on a mobile device in this illustration photo taken in Warsaw, Poland on 16 January, 2025.]()
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Several bills filed to weaken vaccine mandates as more Texas families opt out of immunizations
Emboldened by Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s nomination and disdain for pandemic-era mandates, skeptics are pushing for bills to make it easier to opt out of vaccines. Full Story
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![A man carries a sign protesting Houston Methodist Hospital's COVID-19 vaccine mandate outside Houston Methodist Hospital in Baytown on June 7, 2021. Employees who chose not to inoculate themselves by the hospital's Monday deadline faced suspension without pay and job termination, a policy criticized by the protesters as unfair and unauthorized.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Feds drop charges against Texas doctor accused of leaking transgender care data
Dr. Eithan Haim of Dallas had faced four counts for wrongfully disclosing the individually identifiable health information of underage patients at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Full Story
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![Texas Children’s Hospital and other buildings in the Texas Medical Center in Houston on June 26, 2020.]()
Credit: May-Ying Lam for The Texas Tribune -
Watch top Texas business and political leaders discuss the state’s future under Donald Trump
Gov. Greg Abbott, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, business leaders and Texans tabbed for President Donald Trump’s cabinet gathered in Washington last weekend to discuss the new administration. Full Story
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Credit: Courtesy of The Texas Business Conference -
Texas Senate’s voucher proposal would give families $10,000 to fund students’ private school
Senate Bill 2 starts a new debate on a school voucher program in Texas. A funding proposal would allow up to 100,000 K-12 students who want to enroll to a private school to participate. Full Story
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![Students in Mrs. Hogan's kindergarten class on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary. Sept. 8, 2020 in Highland Village.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Gaza ceasefire brings bittersweet relief to Texans with ties to the war-torn region
Israeli and Palestinian supporters in Texas welcome the tenuous halt to the war sparked by a 2023 attack with cautious optimism. Full Story
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![Ayman Alafifi joins friends at Lakeline Park in Cedar Park, Texas on January 18, 2024.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
State lawmakers ask education agency for guidance on how Texas schools can respond to Trump’s immigration plans
More than two dozen Texas Democrats expressed concern about the elimination of a federal policy preventing immigration arrests at schools. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School students gather in the hallway outside of a classroom as they wait for a teacher between periods Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott seeks $11 billion in federal reimbursements for border security
In a letter to U.S. congressional leaders, the governor blamed previous border security policy for leaving Texas “defenseless,” forcing state officials to spend billions. Full Story
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![Then-former President Donald Trump greets and shakes hands with Gov. Greg Abbott at the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg, on Nov. 19, 2023, after the governor announced his endorsement of President Trump. “We need Donald J. Trump back as our president of the United States of America,” the governor proclaimed.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Conservatives clinch longtime goal of booting Democrats from leadership ranks in Texas House
Conservative activists in the GOP caucus called any power sharing with the minority party a betrayal of Republican voters. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, addresses the House after being sworn in as House Speaker, on the first day of the 89th Texas Legislative Session at the capitol in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Former Texas congressman John Ratcliffe confirmed as CIA director
Ratcliffe is a native of Heath, Texas, where he served as mayor from 2004 to 2012. Full Story
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![John Ratcliffe, Pres. Donald Trump's selection for director of the Central Intelligence Agency, testifies before a Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025.]()
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Texas Supreme Court tosses state bar case against Ken Paxton
The state bar had sought to sanction Paxton, which could have carried a punishment ranging from a private reprimand to disbarment. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, speaks to the media Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, during a press conference following arguments in the case “Free Speech Coalition, Inc., et al. v. Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas,” at the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to detain undocumented immigrants accused of even minor crimes passes with some Texas Democratic help
The bill, named for Laken Riley, a Georgia student killed by an immigrant, adds legislative muscle to President Trump’s immigration enforcement push. Full Story
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![U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers stand near an aircraft on which Venezuelan migrants will be repatriated as part of an immigration enforcement process, at the Valley International Airport, in Harlingen, on Oct. 18, 2023.]()
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Texas budgets pitch vouchers, teacher raises, border security
Both chambers set aside $1 billion for a voucher-like education savings account program — double what was on the table two years ago — in a sign that supporters are emboldened after recent electoral gains. Full Story
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![The Texas State Capitol on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Migrants at Texas border in shock after Trump canceled their asylum appointments
Hours after Trump’s inauguration, his administration canceled appointments allowing migrants to enter the U.S. to request asylum, leaving many of them stranded on the U.S.-Mexico border. Full Story
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![Margelis Tinoco Lopez was in line for her 1pm CBP One appointment when President Trump was sworn into office and issued an executive order that immediately canceled all CBP One appointments, including her own. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 21, 2025.]()
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Texas Ethics Commission dismisses complaint against state GOP chair, lawmaker says
Rep. Cody Harris had accused Abraham George of improperly threatening to send mailers and censure lawmakers who backed Rep. Dustin Burrows as House speaker. Full Story
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![Texas GOP Chair Abraham George holds a press conference on the states of the state capitolfollowing the vote for the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives on the first day of the 2025 Texas Legislative Session in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
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TribCast: Texas and the second Trump administration
Matthew Choi, our Washington correspondent, joins the gang to discuss what lies ahead with Trump back in the White House. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of his second presidential term, in Washington, U.S. January 20, 2025.]()
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More than 100 Texans active in the Jan. 6 insurrection among those pardoned
A Texan was the first to breach the Capitol and many others joined the assault. The presidential pardon helps cast all of them as folk heroes. Full Story
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Oil companies leaked less methane in West Texas, a new report says. Environmentalists are skeptical.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and is 80 times the potency of carbon dioxide. Full Story
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![An array of pumpjacks operate outside of Tarzan on Sept. 15, 2023. Tarzan is an unincorporated town north of Midland, about halfway between Andrews and Big Spring. in Martin County.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune
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