Texas Senate to pursue ban on THC products next year, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says
Patrick contends retailers have exploited a law passed in 2019 to sell unregulated and potentially harmful consumable tetrahydrocannabinol products. Full Story
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Karen Brooks Harper
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Karen Brooks Harper reported on the state budget and health and human services from 2020 to 2024. An alumna of the Missouri School of Journalism, Karen arrived in Texas in 1995 to join the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, spent several years in Laredo and Mexico covering immigration and the drug war for Knight-Ridder newspapers, and has covered Texas politics for more than two decades for news organizations including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Dallas Morning News and Reuters.
Past Contributions
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![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
State’s move to bump federal judge from longtime foster care lawsuit caps years of battles
A federal judge has taken the Texas’ foster care system to task for 13 years. Reforms have been made. Now armed with private legal fire power, the state wants the judge off the case. Full Story
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![U.S. District Judge Janis Jack administers the U.S. oath of citizenship to more than 100 area residents representing 25 countries in 2008 aboard the USS Lexington. Jack was the first woman federal judge to serve in Texas south of San Antonio. July 5, 2008.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Todd Yates/Corpus Christi Caller-Times -
U.S. Supreme Court allows access to abortion pill, unanimously rejecting Texas challenge
In the high court’s first abortion-related ruling since it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the justices ruled unanimously to change nothing about mifepristone’s legal status. Full Story
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![A patient prepares to take mifepristone, the first pill given in a medical abortion, on Jan. 13, 2023.]()
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Dallas voters could get the chance to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana
Other cities have passed similar measures, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to block them from going into effect. Full Story
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![A view of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge from The Tower Club on the 48th floor of the Santander Tower in downtown Dallas, on Nov. 07, 2023. Texas metros have a glut of vacant offices space driven by the rise of remote work, overbuilding and other factors during the pandemic. One option companies are doing to combat the changes, is to convert office space into residential housing.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
State rejects health insurers' pleas to halt plan that will shake up coverage for 1.8 million Texans
Affected Texans who receive Medicaid coverage would be shifted to new insurers next year if the state health and human services agency sticks to its plan. It’s now up to the executive commissioner to make a final decision. Full Story
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![An empty emergency room at Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton on August 3, 2021.]()
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Strict rules over delta-8 and delta-9 likely for Texas’ booming hemp industry
Lawmakers are struggling to balance demands for medicinal cannabis products with a wildly growing market that is outpacing meaningful regulation. Full Story
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![A product containing Delta-8 at Oasis CBD Shop in Brownsville on Nov. 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas officials compromised ballot secrecy as they increased election transparency
In limited instances, the choices some Texas voters make can later be identified using public, legally available data. Full Story
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![Super Tuesday voting lines at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center near downtown Houston on March 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas leaders zero in on exploding hemp market
Thousands of hemp dispensaries have sprung up in Texas in the years since consumable hemp became legal. Full Story
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![Owner Shayda Torabi, poses for a photo inside of Restart CBD on Thursday, May 9, 2024 in Austin. Torabi, along with her two sisters, become curious about the properties of the plant after Torabi had an accident and started using CBD as a solution to manage her pain.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Families and schools must work together to tackle youth mental health crisis
The Texas Tribune hosted a panel conversation on the causes and challenges of the youth mental health crisis in the state. Full Story
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Legalized marijuana supporters hope voters in this Texas city will send a message to state lawmakers
There is no process in Texas for a voter-driven statewide referendum. So, supporters are going city by city to build statewide momentum. Full Story
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![A shirt promotes the legalization of marijuana in Lubbock at the South Plains Fair in Lubbock on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune