https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/ayden-runnels/The latest news by Ayden Runnels.enWed, 19 Mar 2025 18:13:48 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/19/texas-lottery-jackpot-win-withheld/The winning ticket, purchased online through the courier Jackpocket, is being scrutinized by lawmakers concerned about the legality of third-party services.By Ayden RunnelsWed, 19 Mar 2025 18:13:48 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/19/texas-lottery-jackpot-win-withheld/The Lotto Texas ticket that won an $83.5 million jackpot was purchased via a courier in February at Winner's Corner in Austin.Winners Corner TX LLC in Austin, on Feb. 20, 2025.Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/17/texas-lottery-commission-bingo-senate/A possible reassignment of the charitable games comes as 15 bills in the Legislature seek to either alter or abolish the troubled agency.By Ayden RunnelsMon, 17 Mar 2025 19:18:43 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/17/texas-lottery-commission-bingo-senate/Senate Bill 1721 would move bingo operations from the Texas Lottery Commission to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.A player keeps a collection of good luck charms among her cards, computer and other bingo supplies at Bingoland Evening Bingo Hall in Corpus Christi on May 12, 2021.Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/12/texas-tech-university-lubbock-explosion-closure/A day after the incident in which green flames could be seen coming out of manholes, 40% of the university in Lubbock remains without power.By Ayden RunnelsWed, 12 Mar 2025 23:11:57 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/12/texas-tech-university-lubbock-explosion-closure/Firefighters work the scene after an explosion at LP&L Brandon Power Station sparked a campus-wide power outage at Texas Tech University in Lubbock on March 12, 2025.Firefighters work the scene after an explosion at LP&L Brandon Power Station sparked a campus-wide power outage on March 12, 2025.Courtesy of Jacob Lujan/The Daily Toreadorhttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/11/texas-execution-stay-david-leonard-wood/The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did not clarify why it halted the execution of David Wood in its order granting the stay.By Ayden RunnelsTue, 11 Mar 2025 18:51:35 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/11/texas-execution-stay-david-leonard-wood/The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' brief order on Tuesday recognized the claims in death row inmate David Leonard Wood’s appeal and granted an indefinite stay of his execution.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020. Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/07/texas-capitol-house-transgender-staff/Mo Jenkins is one of only a few openly transgender staffers working in the Capitol as lawmakers are making headway in restricting rights for LGBTQ+ Texans.By Ayden RunnelsFri, 07 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/07/texas-capitol-house-transgender-staff/Mo Jenkins, center, walks with state Rep. Lauren A. Simmons, D-Houston, at left, ahead of a House session on Feb. 11. Jenkins works as Simmons’ chief of staff, a role she earned after working five years in the state Capitol.Mo Jenkins walks with State Rep. Lauren A. Simmons (D-Houston) ahead of a House meeting on Feb. 11, 2025.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/05/texas-house-bathroom-bill-transgender/House Bill 239, which echoes a bathroom bill that failed in 2017, includes new provisions for shelters and prisons.By Ayden RunnelsWed, 05 Mar 2025 20:34:23 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/05/texas-house-bathroom-bill-transgender/House Bill 239, which seeks to segregate the use of restrooms and other private spaces based on the state's definitions of sex, is authored by Rep. Valoree Swanson, R-Spring.Bathroom stalls at the Austin Convention Center in 2017.Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/27/texas-senate-lottery-tickets-couriers-ban/Unanimous passage in the Senate comes after top Texas officials say the third-party services undermine trust in the lottery.By Ayden RunnelsThu, 27 Feb 2025 12:56:08 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/27/texas-senate-lottery-tickets-couriers-ban/The bill passed by the Texas Senate would ban lottery ticket sales through third-party courier services.Texas Lottery stand at an Austin convenience store on Feb. 20, 2025.Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/26/texas-lottery-courier-ban-investigations/AG Ken Paxton’s office joins two other investigations by state officials into the commission as one service suspends operations due to the agency’s ban.By Ayden RunnelsWed, 26 Feb 2025 22:00:58 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/26/texas-lottery-courier-ban-investigations/Two major Lotto Texas jackpot wins that went to buyers who used courier services to obtain tickets have prompted investigations into the Texas Lottery by state officials.Texas Lottery stand at an Austin convenience store on Feb. 20, 2025.Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/25/texas-death-row-ruben-gutierrez-supreme-court/Ruben Gutierrez wants to be able to sue prosecutors to compel them to test evidence that he says will prove he did not kill a Brownsville woman in 1998.By Ayden RunnelsTue, 25 Feb 2025 01:01:29 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/25/texas-death-row-ruben-gutierrez-supreme-court/A ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on Texas death row inmate Ruben Gutierrez's case is expected to be delivered in the next few months.The Supreme Court building in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025.Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/24/texas-lottery-couriers/The policy shift was announced before state senators, skeptical of the move, grilled officials with the department and courier services in a hearing on SB 28.By Ayden Runnels and Jasper SchererMon, 24 Feb 2025 11:37:58 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/24/texas-lottery-couriers/A Texas Lottery stand at an Austin convenience store on Feb. 20, 2025.A Texas Lottery stand at an Austin convenience store on Feb. 20, 2025.Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/23/Texas-lottery-commission-resign/Clark Smith, one of five members of the commission, stepped down Friday as lawmakers have raised questions about the role of lottery couriers and agency governance.By Ayden RunnelsSun, 23 Feb 2025 21:36:36 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/23/Texas-lottery-commission-resign/A Texas Lottery display at Winners Corner, a board game lottery and gift store, in Austin on Feb. 20, 2025.A Texas Lottery display at Winners Corner, a board game, lottery and gift store, in Austin on Feb. 20, 2025.Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/21/texas-lottery-tickets-courier-services/While the Lottery Commission says it can’t regulate sales to couriers, lawmakers want changes after two major jackpots were won using those services.By Ayden Runnels and Jasper SchererFri, 21 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/21/texas-lottery-tickets-courier-services/Texas Lottery officials have come under fire recently over the sales of tickets to draw games via third-party services.Texas Lottery cards at an Austin convenience store on Feb. 20, 2025.Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/13/texas-execution-richard-tabler-2025/In his final statement, Richard Tabler asked for forgiveness from his victims’ family members, some of whom reportedly witnessed his death.By Ayden RunnelsThu, 13 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/13/texas-execution-richard-tabler-2025/Texas death row inmate Richard Tabler was executed Thursday evening in Huntsville. Tabler was the second man to be executed in Texas in 2025.The Huntsville Unit Texas State Penitentiary houses the execution chamber of Texas and is located in Huntsville on Jan. 31, 2024.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/12/texas-space-x-city-election-starbase/If a majority of the roughly 500 residents living around the South Texas site vote yes in May, Starbase will be the state’s newest city.By Ayden RunnelsWed, 12 Feb 2025 17:23:35 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/12/texas-space-x-city-election-starbase/Space X rockets at the launch pad at the company's South Texas site on Oct. 20, 2021. A May election will decide whether the site becomes the state's newest city.SpaceX rockets at the launch pad at the Brownsville facility on Oct. 20, 2021. On Oct. 22, Elon Musk said via Twitter the Starship rocket would be ready for an orbital launch by next month.Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/07/texas-scope-act-minors-social-media-restrictions/The new injunction prohibits advertising and age verification restrictions in the SCOPE Act, which aims to make social media safer for teenagers.By Ayden RunnelsFri, 07 Feb 2025 19:24:03 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/07/texas-scope-act-minors-social-media-restrictions/Three additional temporary blocks on provisions in Texas' SCOPE Act come as parents are becoming increasingly concerned about social media’s effects on childrens’ mental health.Sophomore Alexis Phan does her Algebra 2 homework remotely from her home in Pflugerville on Nov. 16, 2020.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/05/alice-texas-buses-students-citizenship-border-patrol/The chief’s comments came after Alice ISD sent a letter to parents Wednesday warning students may be detained and possibly deported if they can’t prove they’re in the country legally. The letter was later removed from the district’s website.By Uriel J. García and Ayden RunnelsWed, 05 Feb 2025 22:03:43 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/05/alice-texas-buses-students-citizenship-border-patrol/A school bus waits at an intersection while driving its morning pickup route before dawn on Sept. 12, 2023 in West Odessa.A school bus waits at an intersection while driving its morning pickup route before dawn on Sept. 12, 2023 in West Odessa.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/05/texas-execution-steven-nelson-2025/Steven Lawayne Nelson maintained that he unknowingly participated in the violent church robbery but didn’t harm anyone. His execution was the state’s first for 2025.By Ayden RunnelsWed, 05 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/05/texas-execution-steven-nelson-2025/Texas death row inmate Steve Lawayne Nelson, 37, was executed Wednesday in Huntsville.Huntsville, Texas: Exteriors of the Texas State Penitentiary “Walls Unit” August 20, 2020 in Huntsville, Texas.Mark Felix for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/30/trump-texas-death-penalty-executive-order/Trump’s new directive that aims to increase death sentences clashes with some Texas lawmakers’ efforts to add guardrails to capital punishment.By Ayden RunnelsThu, 30 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/30/trump-texas-death-penalty-executive-order/Dr. Jeffery Singer testifies during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing concerning death row inmate Robert Roberson on Oct. 16, 2024, in Austin. An executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office is seeking to increase executions in the United States.Dr. Jeffery Singer testifies during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin, TX. Dr. Singer testified that "shaken baby syndrome" has been called into question for years and and that there are many in healthcare who don't think the diagnosis should be used to sentence someone to death. With his scheduled execution drawing closer, a hearing debating the certainty of Robreson's guilt and there is a bipartisan push to stay his execution. Sergio Flores for The Texas TribuneSergio Flores for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/transgender-care-data-leak-texas-childrens-hospital/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.By Ayden RunnelsFri, 24 Jan 2025 19:13:22 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/transgender-care-data-leak-texas-childrens-hospital/Dr. Eithan Haim never contested that he leaked the records from Texas Children's Hospital, but maintained that no laws were broken because personally identifiable patient information was not disclosed.Texas Children’s Hospital and other buildings in the Texas Medical Center in Houston on June 26, 2020.May-Ying Lam for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/gaza-ceasefire-texas-reaction/Israeli and Palestinian supporters in Texas welcome the tenuous halt to the war sparked by a 2023 attack with cautious optimism.By Ayden RunnelsFri, 24 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/gaza-ceasefire-texas-reaction/Austin-area families who attend the same mosque gather at Lakeline Park in Cedar Park on Jan. 18, the day before the Gaza ceasefire began.Ayman Alafifi joins friends at Lakeline Park in Cedar Park, Texas on January 18, 2024.Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune