Long the subject of rhetoric, migrants have now become props in political theater
A long-reliable political playbook of highlighting immigration in election season has been escalated by Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis. Full Story
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![Dozens of migrants, including several family units, leave on a New York City-bound bus outside a shelter in El Paso on Aug. 31, 2022. The city and county of El Paso are sponsoring (to be reimbursed by FEMA) the voluntary trips to relieve pressure on local resources and shelters.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
EPA may try to block what could be the first seawater desalination plant built in Texas
Citing water quality concerns, the Environmental Protection Agency may refuse to recognize a permit that Texas approved Thursday for a marine desalination plant at the Port of Corpus Christi. Full Story
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![The inside of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant in El Paso on April 16, 2012.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
When Texas students campaigned for a more diverse history course, they got a lesson in politics
Students had been pushing for the State Board of Education to adopt a new, more inclusive social studies curriculum this year. Instead, the board delayed their scheduled update until at least 2025. Full Story
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![Round Rock ISD student Ayaan Moledina, 13, stands outside of Canyon Vista middle school. Moledina testified for more Asian American inclusion and accurate representation of Muslim Americans. Sept. 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune -
As fentanyl plagues Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott directs state police to focus on cartels
Abbott directed the Department of Public Safety to boost efforts to collect intelligence on cartels and investigate gangs in Texas that support drug and human smuggling. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton hosted 12 attorneys general from around the U.S. for a border security briefing at Texas DPS regional headquarters in Weslaco on Jan. 27, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
A free medical clinic opened in rural East Texas. Thousands poured in for help.
Texas ranks last among states in access to health care and has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country. Two longtime doctors in rural Henderson County created a homegrown safety net to fill the gap. Full Story
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![Doug Curran in his office at the East Texas Community Clinic in Athens last November. Curran helped open the safety-net clinic in 2020 after decades of practicing medicine in the rural area and seeing the fallout of Texas’ high uninsured rate. Credit: Blaine Young]()
Credit: Blaine Young/Public Health Watch -
How Texas’ abortion laws turned a heartbreaking fetal diagnosis into a cross-country journey
“It was just a matter of time before the baby died, or maybe I’d have to go through the trauma of carrying to term knowing I wasn’t bringing a baby home,” said 27-year-old Lauren Hall. “I couldn’t do that.” Full Story
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![Lauren Hall stands for a portrait in the room that would have been her child’s in her home on September 10, 2022. Hall had a non-viable pregnancy and had to leave the state in order to terminate, revealing gaps in the state's miscarriage exception after Roe v. Wade was overturned.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Watch: Candidates for statewide offices discuss disability issues
Tune in on Monday as candidates for statewide offices speak with Texas Tribune reporters Patrick Svitek and James Barragán at the 2022 Texas Disability Issues Forum. Full Story
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Texas has banned more books than any other state, new report shows
Across the country, more books have been challenged and removed as religious and conservative groups target LGBTQ and race issues. Full Story
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![Books at Vandegrift High School's library on March 2, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, prominent Trump ally, weighing U.S. Senate run in 2026
Jackson recently launched Spanish-language TV ads in his reelection campaign, which is not competitive, in an effort to raise his profile with Latino voters. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo, speaks during the CPAC Texas 2022 conference at Hilton Anatole in Dallas on Aug. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Lev Radin/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas social media “censorship” law goes into effect after federal court lifts block
The ruling Friday from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals likely means the case, which could have wide implications for online speech, will go before the U.S. Supreme Court again. Full Story
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![Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram icons displayed on a phone screen are seen in this illustration photo on April 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Jakub Porzycki via REUTERS -
Delayed: Mandatory maternal mortality rate data won’t be ready for Texas lawmakers in time for 2023 session
Lawmakers say they need the latest pregnancy-related death data to more precisely address the problem during the legislative session. But delays means they won’t see it until after the session ends. Full Story
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![Vanna Waldron, left, evaluates Erika Piñon at the Holy Family Birthing Center in Weslaco, Texas. Waldron is a Certified Nurse Midwife from Seattle, Washington, who is volunteering at the birthing center for a year.]()
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Texas’ child welfare agency blocked from investigating many more parents of trans teens
Friday’s injunction applies to all members of PFLAG, an LGBTQ advocacy group with more than 600 members in Texas. Full Story
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![Naia Fulton-Jones chants in front of the Texas Capitol to protest for transgender kids' rights on Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Texas board rejects posthumous pardon for George Floyd — after recommending one to Greg Abbott
The state’s parole board did not explain why it was denying the request to pardon Floyd, who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, for a minor 2004 drug conviction. Last year, the board recommended Abbott pardon Floyd, then rescinded that suggestion. Full Story
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![People gather at the mural for George Floyd in the Third Ward in Houston on June 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Website aims to make pollution permit information more accessible in Houston
Texas’ environmental regulators make it tricky for residents to track, or speak out against, industrial projects proposed near their homes. Advocates in Houston built a high-tech workaround. Full Story
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![An aerial photograph of the Stolthaven Oil Tanking facility along the Houston Ship Channel on Nov. 10, 2015. Shell's Deer Park facility can be seen in the upper right.]()
Credit: Edmund D. Fountain/ProPublica/Texas Tribune -
Comptroller, railroad commissioner, lieutenant governor: What do Texas state officials actually do?
For example, members of the Railroad Commission don’t deal with railroads. Here’s what the many officials elected statewide do with the power voters give them. Full Story
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![A graphic that reads, "Texas Office Glossary" above a collection of voting stickers.]()
Credit: Emily Albracht for the Texas Tribune -
Why does Texas have so many elections, and why do few people vote in them?
The high number of contests contributes to the state’s low voter turnout — but it’s not the only reason. Full Story
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![A voter casts their ballot at the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center in Austin on the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Voters are able to cast their ballots early until Oct. 30, 2020.]()
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Texas reduces National Guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star border mission
Abbott said there’s over 5,000 guard members still assigned to the border. He initially said he had deployed 10,000. Full Story
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![Asylum-seeking migrants walk as they are escorted by National Guard officers, after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico, at Eagle Pass on July 26, 2022.]()
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In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use water bottles and lunch trays for toilets
Gov. Greg Abbott largely remained silent as dangerous conditions caused by a lack of staff persisted at Texas juvenile facilities during the summer. Full Story
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![Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility, in Lee County on July 20, 2022.]()
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Along the Texas-Mexico border, GOP enthusiasm mounts as Democrats defect over immigration concerns
Among voters near the Texas-Mexico border, immigration and border security are a leading cause for flipping from Democrat to Republican. Full Story
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![Judge Dale Carruthers looks over the Rio Grande at the edge of her 17,000 acre property. Last year, a hunter stumbled upon the body of a migrant on her property.]()
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Tesla among surge of companies rushing to take advantage of Texas’ expiring tax incentive program
The Chapter 313 program was designed to draw business to the state, but critics say it lacks accountability and unduly burdens taxpayers. Tesla and other companies hope to take advantage of the tax incentive ahead of the program’s expiration at the end of the year. Full Story
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![Tesla's gallery and service center on Westheimer Road in Houston on Oct. 14, 2021.]()
Credit: Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto via REUTERS