TEXAS LEGISLATURE

The card game company crowd-funded money to buy the land in an attempt to block a portion of Donald Trump’s border wall.

Four GOP state representatives suspended their bids to challenge Phelan and 48 Republicans backed Cook, which could threaten Phelan’s shot at a third term.

La fecha límite para registrarse para votar es el 7 de octubre. El último día para solicitar una boleta para votar por correo es el 25 de octubre. El periodo de votación anticipada será del 21 de octubre al 1 de noviembre.

The small business owner featured in the ad previously shared memes calling 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic inside jobs and mocking U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw.

The Oct. 15 debate will mark the first time the nominees will face each other onstage before the November election.

The smell of oil wells has long permeated Caldwell County, near Austin and San Antonio. Now researchers have documented wells releasing dangerous amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas.

Two counties house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers.

Texas AG Ken Paxton says the fair's gun ban violates state law, which bars most government bodies from prohibiting weapons.

Inspired by the work of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, the biennial “cumbre” helps South Texans organize for political change.

Texas hasn’t increased Medicaid rates for inpatient health care at private hospitals in 16 years, falling behind other states.

Even excluding deaths related to COVID, Texas’ maternal mortality rate spiked, reversing two years of improvement.

Mike Morath made the recommendation as concerns rise that phones are harmful to students’ mental health and distract them from learning.

In a resolution signed Friday, the party blasted two Republicans who voted against the measure and accused them of undermining its electoral chances.

Lawmakers cite new scientific evidence that they say proves Robert Roberson, who is set for execution on Oct. 17, did not kill his daughter.

The superintendents said they haven’t received enough support from the state or time to fix errors the system generated.

The first-term Republican defending her seat said a private school voucher program will help her community, especially students from low-income families.

The current threshold is 6%. The change comes after the university received a record-breaking 73,000 undergraduate applications for this fall.

The county told a state district court judge that the applications were already mailed out and any ruling would be moot.

Several local party officials have signed an open letter warning that “grave and deteriorating” fundraising and voter outreach efforts could leave some candidates vulnerable.

Abbott signed a proclamation declaring Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization and directed Texas DPS to create strike teams targeting the gang.

Lawmakers tasked the Public Utility Commission with overseeing the Texas Energy Fund, though the agency has no experience running a loan program.

The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 7. The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and Votebeat want to hear from people removed from voter rolls.

Rodríguez Ramos faces an uphill battle, as Democrats are the minority party with 64 seats in the 150-member Texas House.

After Attorney General Ken Paxton’s failed impeachment trial, his allies touted Smithee, one of the House’s most senior members, as a speaker candidate.

Jolt, which advocates for more Latino voting participation, says the attorney general’s probe has spurred threatening comments online.

Paxton sued Dallas and state fair officials last month, arguing the fair’s private organizer had violated state law by banning firearms on the fairgrounds.

Led by co-pastors Joe and Dawn Weaks, Connection Christian Church, a 118-year-old congregation in Odessa, has transformed while keeping true to its legacy of helping the community.

Texas has seen a record number of chronic wasting disease cases this year. The state is looking for new ways to contain the spread without driving deer breeders out of business.

County Judge Tim O’Hare said he proposed the cuts to save costs. Critics accused Republican leaders of suppressing the vote of young people who back Democrats.

The review of CBP agents’ response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting found that active shooting training was insufficient.

Under Javier Joven’s leadership, his critics say, the Odessa City Council has lost focus on municipal issues like roads and water infrastructure.

Other states look to Texas as the state psychology board pushes against the new national licensing requirements.

About 25% of Texas’ correctional officer positions are unfilled. Inmates say the shortages make it harder for them to get respite during hot summer months.

The Texas Tribune is writing about the state’s housing affordability crisis. Help us tell the story.

A Texas Juvenile Justice Department report says Dallas County officers kept kids in their sleeping quarters for days at a time and faked school attendance logs.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz this November, but the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has vulnerable incumbents to defend first.

Texas isn’t expected to take a direct hit when the storm makes landfall as a hurricane. But storm surge and dangerous winds are possible.

The new list includes many right-wing priorities, and would escalate Republicans’ wars against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and review laws to keep noncitizens off voter rolls.

Frank said he would work to bring better communication, member empowerment and management of the flow of legislation if he became the chamber’s leader.

The Texas Education Agency says there’s time to fix problems before officially reported data is used to determine how much money districts get.

While environmentalists say the new rules don’t do enough to protect groundwater, oil and gas operators are contesting stricter requirements for waste pits near wells.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee, which U.S Rep. Michael McCaul chairs, accused Biden of ignoring warnings from his staffers and allies, leaving American interests vulnerable to the Taliban takeover.

Politicians broke news and took tough questions during the three-day festival.

Allred has run a more traditional campaign in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, focusing on targeted ads and moderate policy.

The U.S. Homeland Security Secretary specifically called out the state’s policy of busing migrants to cities in other parts of the country.

Pete Arredondo’s lawyers tell the court that the shooter, not the police, was to blame for the school violence.

Reps. Tom Oliverson and Shelby Slawson, both members of House Republican leadership, became the first two candidates to challenge Phelan’s speakership.

Liz Cheney endorsed Allred at The Texas Tribune Festival Friday.

The Texas attorney general filed a similar lawsuit earlier this week against Bexar County, which includes San Antonio.

After identifying flaws in the state’s air monitoring, the Tribune hosted workshops to inform Houston Ship Channel communities.

Gonazales, who represents a Texas border district, tells a Tribune Festival audience that his own party will be to blame for defeats in the November election.

Speaking at The Texas Tribune Festival, the Michigan governor discussed her new book and the challenges she has faced.

Perry was the longest-serving governor in Texas history.

A state Medicaid program pays caregivers of intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals living in community-based homes. Families, advocates and providers want lawmakers to increase that hourly pay.

The U.S. Homeland Security secretary will be interviewed by Laura Barrón-López of PBS NewsHour. The conversation starts at 5:15 p.m. Friday.

Among independents, men lean toward Trump and women to Harris, according to polling. We talk to independents about the candidates they favor and the issues that matter to them.

Texas Republicans have been trying to reduce the state’s high property taxes for years, but some acknowledge eliminating them would be too expensive.

The Republican governor of Virginia spent 25 years in the private equity industry before successfully running for office in 2021.

The U.S. House speaker emerita spoke Saturday for a recording of the “On With Kara Swisher” podcast.

MSNBC host Katie Phang will moderate a conversation with three leading progressives: U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. The conversation starts at 1:15 p.m. Saturday.

In a conversation starting at 11 a.m. Saturday, four of the digital news organization’s sharpest minds will discuss the politics of 2024 and beyond.

Allred will be interviewed by The Bulwark’s Tim Miller about his race against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. The conversation starts at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Allred, who had previously gotten the Chamber’s endorsement in his House races, had long used the endorsement as proof of his bipartisan credentials.

Schools are hiring instructors with different types of backgrounds to deal with critical staff shortages.

A federal agency has paused some of SpaceX's plans amid concerns over the environment.

The Texas House speaker race is becoming increasingly crowded. Phelan, who is under fire from his right, says he plans to seek the leadership position again.

The move escalates Texas Republicans’ brewing fight with urban counties over initiatives to proactively send applications to unregistered voters.

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro will speak with Maria Teresa Kumar, Mike Madrid and Luis Miranda Jr. The conversation starts at 3:15 p.m. Friday.

The former Wyoming congresswoman will speak at 1:15 p.m. Friday in Austin.

The U.S. senator from Pennsylvania will speak at 11 a.m. Saturday from Austin.

In a conversation Friday, the Maryland governor discussed his first two years leading the Old Line State and the sprint to Nov. 5.

Texas officials have launched investigations into voting fraud allegations, but assisting other voters isn’t automatically illegal.

In Italy, as in Texas, funding hospitals over primary care leaves many feeling “medically homeless.” Italy’s post-COVID plans show another way.

September isn’t just marked by meteorological fall or Labor Day, it’s also when an array of state laws goes into effect.

The request by the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus in a letter to the Department of Justice follows a similar request by a Latino civil rights organization.

The Houston Democrat lost her seat amid backlash from primary voters over her support for a GOP bill barring transition-related care for minors.

View and easily share in-depth voter guides by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization.

Texas voters will elect officials in the presidential, congressional, statewide and legislative races.

While many other states limit hunting of the apex predator, Texas is only now introducing rules to ban canned hunts and require regular checking of traps.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, argues that the 2021 so-called “anti-ESG” law discriminates against specific political views.

The AG’s office sought to depose the leader of Team Brownsville, which provides water, shelter and basic necessities to asylum-seeking migrants.

With the State Fair opening in less than a month, the Attorney General is asking a Dallas County judge to overturn the ban on guns.

Ammer Qaddumi alleges UT-Austin violated his First Amendment rights. He still faces potential disciplinary action from the school.

The county plans to ID eligible voters and send them registration forms. GOP officials say it’s an end-run around state law.

“It’s like time passes, but it also freezes,” said Rosie Granados, whose twin sister was killed during the shooting.

Allred’s sharp divergence from Beto O’Rourke’s more active campaign style has stirred dissent among some Democrats. His allies say it’s working.

New group plans to support policy goals of the conservative Senate majority.

Since the 2020 election, Texas Republicans have dramatically rewritten the state’s voting laws, which have made some long-standing practices illegal.

A Senate committee discussed the potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence — and overregulating it.

Federal and state law already required voter roll maintenance. Experts warn the governor’s framing of this routine process could be used to undermine trust in elections.

Texas needs hundreds of thousands more homes than it has, per one estimate. That shortage has driven up home prices and rents.

Two years after a harrowing pregnancy where she was denied an abortion, the Texan has catapulted to being one of Democrats’ biggest messengers on reproductive rights.

To help raise money the Lubbock-area food bank recruited a Michelin-recognized chef.

Biden announced the program in June and Republicans in 16 states filed suit. The federal judge issued an order that puts the program on hold for at least two weeks.

At a news conference, Texas House candidate Cecilia Castellano did not address any of the allegations Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office laid out in search warrant affidavits.

The Fox News host who shared the allegation online has previously shared election misinformation.

The Texas attorney general’s office searched the home of Cecilia Castellano and a Democratic legislative aide. It said it’s investigating vote harvesting. Activists called it “intimidation.”

The group said that searches the attorney general’s office carried out this week targeted at least six Latinos, including a Democrat running for the Texas House.

An audit by the Texas Secretary of State’s Office found improved elections procedures, but the office is sending monitors because of past problems.

Paxton’s office claimed the group broke rules prohibiting political activity by nonprofits, but the judge rejected the case outright.