Former President Donald Trump’s first 2024 campaign rally will be in Waco
In his third consecutive bid for the White House, the former president hopes “Trump Country” supporters in Texas will turn out next Saturday. Full Story
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William Melhado
Night General Assignment Reporter
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William Melhado is an Austin-based journalist and a 2022-23 Poynter-Koch media and journalism fellow. Originally from Boulder, Colorado, William graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in chemistry and taught science at a public high school in the Bronx, New York, while completing a master’s in secondary science education at CUNY Lehman College, also in the Bronx. William worked as an educator for five years, also teaching in international schools in Tanzania and Nepal, before changing careers to pursue journalism. He previously worked as a staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter, an alt-weekly newspaper in New Mexico.
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![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Conroe on Jan. 29, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Go Nakamura -
In rural counties, Texas law puts low-income defendants at a disadvantage
A two-tiered system gives less populated counties more time to provide court-appointed lawyers, requiring creative responses to a long-standing problem. Full Story
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![Chief Public Defender of the Concho Valley Public Defender's Office Joe Stephens looks out at the Tom Green County Courthouse in San Angelo on March 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas AG Ken Paxton pushes court to reconsider injunction halting investigations into affirming care
In the state’s final brief to appeal a September injunction that halted the investigation into Texas parents of transgender children, Paxton argued that individual families must provide evidence of harm from the actions of the Department of Family and Protective Services. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 26, 2022. Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Texas v. Texas, the enforcement of the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico as they waited for hearings in U.S. immigration court. (Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune).]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill requiring 10-year prison sentences for gun felonies faces opposition from criminal justice and firearm advocates
Under Senate Bill 23, all felonies involving a gun would incur a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. It’s meant to curb crime, despite the lack of correlation between harsher sentences and crime rates. Full Story
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![Assault-style weapons are laid on a table at a gun show in San Marcos on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s new priority bills focus on school safety, requiring districts to adopt active-shooter plans
More than nine months after the Uvalde school shooting, top GOP lawmakers maintain focus on school safety reforms and investments in mental health resources in hopes it will prevent future tragedies. Full Story
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![Mock weapons used to train educators in Harrold in 2018.]()
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Texas Republicans have filed dozens of bills affecting LGBTQ people. Here’s what they’d do.
Texas lawmakers this year will debate whether to block transgender kids’ access to transition-related health care, classify businesses that host drag shows as sexually oriented establishments and limit public school lessons on sexuality and gender identity. Full Story
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![Members of Austin's LGBT community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots on June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Debate over Texas drag shows intensifies
A lawmaker is accused of hypocrisy after it emerges that he once wore a dress. He says it wasn’t sexual. Full Story
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![State Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-HD93, gives a speech in recommendation of state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington for Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023. Tinderholt was defeated 145-3 to elect state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, as Speaker of the House.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Travis County DA drops domestic violence case against fired UT-Austin basketball coach
Chris Beard was arrested in December for allegedly strangling his fiancee. The university fired him last month. Full Story
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![Chris Beard, head coach of the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team, during the second half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs, at the Moody Center in Austin on Nov. 16, 2022.]()
Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports via REUTERS -
Biden rule reclassifying some pistols as short-barreled rifles draws Texas lawsuit
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives amended a rule that classifies guns with “stabilized braces” as rifles, which are subject to different regulations, triggering the objection of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gun Owners of America. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks after being re-elected, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 at the Haggard Party Barn in Plano, Texas. Paxton defeated Rochelle Garza.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
“Hunting for warm places to go”: Austinites cope as outages linger
While families search for warmth, light and distractions, line workers race to restore normal life. Full Story
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![On day four without power, Justin Havird and Vernon, 2, build with Lego bricks at the Austin Central Library on Feb. 4, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune