https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/eleanor-klibanoff/The latest news by Eleanor Klibanoff.enWed, 15 Jan 2025 13:11:46 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/15/podcast-texas-house-speaker/The Texas Tribune’s politics podcast digs into what the speaker’s race tells us about the next 140 days in Austin.By Eleanor KlibanoffWed, 15 Jan 2025 13:11:46 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/15/podcast-texas-house-speaker/State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, is sworn in as speaker of the Texas House by Secretary Of State Jane Nelson at the Capitol in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/08/texas-medical-board-robert-bredt-retire-planned-parenthood/Conservative lawmakers claimed credit for Dr. Robert Bredt’s retirement after it came out he also worked at a Planned Parenthood-affiliated lab.By Eleanor KlibanoffWed, 08 Jan 2025 15:02:09 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/08/texas-medical-board-robert-bredt-retire-planned-parenthood/The Texas Medical Board held a meeting at the George H.W. Bush Building in Austin on March 22, 2024.Members of the public and media listen during the Texas Medical Board Full Board Meeting in the George H.W. Bush Building in Austin, Texas on Mar. 22, 2024. All the seats in the room were filled as many wait for an agenda item at the bottom of the agenda.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/07/texas-abortion-pill-mail-order-ban/More than 2,800 Texans are getting abortion pills through the mail from out-of-state every month, prompting a lawsuit and legislation seeking to end the practice.By Eleanor KlibanoffTue, 07 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/07/texas-abortion-pill-mail-order-ban/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/06/texas-supreme-court-chief-justice-jimmy-blacklock/Blacklock replaces Nathan Hecht, the longest serving justice on the high court. Gov. Greg Abbott also appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to the bench.By Eleanor KlibanoffMon, 06 Jan 2025 16:35:14 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/06/texas-supreme-court-chief-justice-jimmy-blacklock/Gov. Greg Abbott elevated Texas Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Blacklock to chief justice on Jan. 6, 2025. Abbott then appointed his general counsel James Sullivan to the Supreme Court.Texas Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Blacklock laughs while hearing questions during a Q & A after hearing two a civil cases at the University of Houston Law Center at in the Danny M. Sheena Courtroom at the John. M. O’Quinn Law Building, Tuesday, October 29, 2024, in Houston. The Court travels twice per year to hold oral arguments in different areas of the state.Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/23/texas-supreme-court-chief-justice-nathan-hecht-retires/Over 35 years, Hecht modernized the court, increased access to justice for the poor and saw his conservative views come to dominate the bench.By Eleanor KlibanoffMon, 23 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/23/texas-supreme-court-chief-justice-nathan-hecht-retires/Chief Justice Nathan Hecht delivers his State of the Judiciary speech at the Texas Supreme Court in Austin on April 5, 2023.Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht delivers his State of the Judiciary speech at the Supreme Court in Austin on Apr. 5, 2023.Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/19/texas-congress-maternal-mortality/U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas led a letter calling for a briefing on why the state won’t review 2022 and 2023 deaths.By Eleanor KlibanoffThu, 19 Dec 2024 12:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/19/texas-congress-maternal-mortality/U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, speaks at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 7, 2024.U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, speaks with Errin Haines, editor at large at The 19th*, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 7, 2024.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/13/texas-paxton-abortion-pill-mail-lawsuit/This case sets up a legal battle between Texas’ near-total abortion ban and New York’s shield law that protects doctors from out-of-state prosecution.By Eleanor KlibanoffFri, 13 Dec 2024 13:19:27 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/13/texas-paxton-abortion-pill-mail-lawsuit/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/06/texas-maternal-mortality-committee-deaths/Committee members said it was necessary to skip the two years after Texas passed its restrictive abortion laws to offer more timely recommendations.By Eleanor KlibanoffFri, 06 Dec 2024 13:54:48 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/06/texas-maternal-mortality-committee-deaths/The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee in Austin on Sept. 27, 2024. Many Texans at Friday's meeting questioned the committee's decision not to review maternal deaths for the first two years after Texas passed new abortion restrictions.The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee meets in Austin on Sept. 27, 2024.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/04/texas-trans-adult-care-diminishing/As limitations on trans teens increase, doctors have left the state, weakening an already threadbare system for trans adults.By Eleanor KlibanoffWed, 04 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/04/texas-trans-adult-care-diminishing/Colin Zicko, a trans adult who temporarily lost gender-affirming care after Texas banned hormone therapy for minors, pictured on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol on Nov. 20, 2024.Colin Zicko on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas on November 20, 2024.Jack Myer for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/04/texas-transgender-restrictions-legislative-session/Emboldened by the recent election, some Texas lawmakers are already filing bills that would dictate bathroom use, limit gender identity markers on documents and restrict funding for surgeries.By Eleanor KlibanoffWed, 04 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/04/texas-transgender-restrictions-legislative-session/People hold signs in front of the Texas Capitol during a protest for transgender kids' rights on March 1, 2022.People hold signs in front of the Texas Capitol during a protest for transgender kids' rights on Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2022.Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/03/texas-rural-maternal-health-plan/Almost half of Texas counties have nowhere to get prenatal care, let alone deliver a baby. This plan offers legislative proposals to shore up what’s left.By Eleanor KlibanoffTue, 03 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/03/texas-rural-maternal-health-plan/CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Jasper Memorial Hospital, pictured here on Jan 3, 2023, closed its labor and delivery unit in 2019.CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Jasper Memorial hospital in Jasper on Jan. 3, 2023.Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/25/abortion-texas-pills-controlled-substance/The bill is modeled after a Louisiana law that doctors say has created chaos for other gynecological issues best treated by these drugs.By Eleanor KlibanoffMon, 25 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/25/abortion-texas-pills-controlled-substance/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/14/abortion-fails-to-turn-texas-voters/Texas’ strict abortion bans made it “ground zero” for Democrats hoping to rile up their base, but voters prioritized economic issues.By Eleanor KlibanoffThu, 14 Nov 2024 12:44:53 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/14/abortion-fails-to-turn-texas-voters/Protesters marched from the federal courthouse in Austin to the Texas Capitol in opposition to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022.Protesters marched from the federal courthouse to the Texas Capitol in opposition to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, in Austin.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/08/transgender-ads-motivate-texas-republicans/The barrage of ads focused on trans kids playing youth sports motivated the Republican base as Democrats struggled to respond.By Eleanor KlibanoffFri, 08 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/08/transgender-ads-motivate-texas-republicans/People wave signs, lining the railing on all three levels of the outdoor rotunda of the state Capitol in Austin during the "Fight for our Lives" rally in opposition of anti-LGBTQ bills on March 27, 2023.People line the railing on all three levels of the outdoor rotunda of the state Capitol in Austin, and wave signs during the "Fight for our Lives" rally in opposition of anti-LGBTQ bills on March 27, 2023.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/court-of-criminal-appeals-2024-election-results/Three new faces will join the bench, but the political balance of power will remain the same on the Court of Criminal Appeals.By Eleanor KlibanoffWed, 06 Nov 2024 00:29:41 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/court-of-criminal-appeals-2024-election-results/The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/01/texans-trump-administration/Donald Trump has built close ties to many Texas Republicans, from judges to elected officials to policy experts.By Matthew Choi, Robert Downen, Eleanor Klibanoff, James Barragán and Jasper SchererFri, 01 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/01/texans-trump-administration/Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Million Air in Austin, Texas on Oct. 25, 2024.Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Million Air in Austin, Texas on Oct. 25, 2024.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/30/paxton-sues-El-Paso-doctor-transgender/These are the first cases under a law prohibiting doctors from providing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to help minors transition.By Eleanor KlibanoffWed, 30 Oct 2024 12:55:24 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/30/paxton-sues-El-Paso-doctor-transgender/Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the 2024 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 23, 2024.Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the 2024 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 23, 2024.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/18/texas-court-criminal-appeals-election-roberson/Three of the five judges who allowed Robert Roberson’s execution to proceed will be leaving the court after Paxton-backed primary challenges.By Eleanor KlibanoffFri, 18 Oct 2024 17:07:28 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/18/texas-court-criminal-appeals-election-roberson/The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has repeatedly ruled in favor of Robert Roberson's execution, but Election Day could change that outcome if the court chooses to take up the case again in the future.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020. Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/17/robert-roberson-shaken-baby-controversy/The American Academy of Pediatrics embraces the diagnosis, but courts have thrown out some cases, calling it “junk science.”By Eleanor KlibanoffThu, 17 Oct 2024 15:03:53 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/17/robert-roberson-shaken-baby-controversy/Experts are divided on the use of shaken baby syndrome diagnoses in criminal cases.A midwife cares for a newborn baby.Natalia Ojewska for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/texas-abortion-assistance-lawsuit-dropped/Marcus Silva and the women agreed to drop lawsuits against each other just days before they were set to go to trial.By Eleanor KlibanoffFri, 11 Oct 2024 08:58:20 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/11/texas-abortion-assistance-lawsuit-dropped/A pharmacist shows pills of Misoprostol at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on June 19, 2019.A pharmacist poses with pills of Misoprostol, made by Lupin Pharmaceuticals, at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on June 19, 2019.REUTERS/George Frey