https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/pooja-salhotra/The latest news by Pooja Salhotra.enTue, 12 Nov 2024 15:06:46 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/12/texas-legislature-bills-filing/Tuesday marked the first day lawmakers could file bills for next year’s legislative session.By Pooja Salhotra and Texas Tribune StaffTue, 12 Nov 2024 15:06:46 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/12/texas-legislature-bills-filing/Tuesday was the first day Texas lawmakers could file bills for next year's legislative session.Members vote to approve an anti-voucher amendment brought by state rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, during a marathon session on the House floor to approve HB-1 at the Capitol in Austin on April 06, 2023.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/12/texas-robert-roberson-separation-of-powers-subpoena/The state’s highest civil court ruled that legislators can’t use subpoenas to block death row inmates’ executions, but suggested there’s still time for Roberson to testify before a Texas House panel.By Pooja Salhotra and Terri LangfordTue, 12 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/12/texas-robert-roberson-separation-of-powers-subpoena/Former detective Brian Wharton testifies during a Texas Houst Criminal Jurisprudence Committee hearing about death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. Wharton was an investigator in the case of the death of Nikki Roberson and has expressed his doubts of Roberson's guilt.Former Detective Brian Wharton testifies during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin, TX. Wharton was an investigator in the case of the death of Nikki Roberson and has expressed his doubts of Roberson's guilt and agrees with stopping his execution. 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/2024/11/08/trump-cruz-2024-election-republicans/Cruz beat his challenger by 9 points, while Trump prevailed over his by 14 points. Still, Cruz performed better this year than he did in 2018By Carla Astudillo, Yuriko Schumacher and Pooja SalhotraFri, 08 Nov 2024 18:11:30 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/08/trump-cruz-2024-election-republicans/President-elect Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.From left: President-elect Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/texas-voter-turnout-election-2024-registration/A historic 18.6 million Texans were registered to vote in the 2024 election, and 61% cast ballots, a nearly 6% drop from the 2020 presidential race.By Pooja Salhotra, Data reporting by Yuriko SchumacherWed, 06 Nov 2024 16:44:28 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/texas-voter-turnout-election-2024-registration/Voters wait in line to cast their ballots in the 2024 general election at the Esperanza Acosta Memorial Library. Voters waited in line in upwards of two hours on Election Day.Voters wait in line to cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election at the Esperanza Acosta Memorial Library. Voters waited in line in upwards of two hours in El Paso, Texas on November 5, 2024.Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/texas-republicans-elections-2024-trump-cruz/Recent gains made by Democrats in past elections were wiped out, as Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and other Republicans won by wide margins.By Pooja SalhotraWed, 06 Nov 2024 01:30:12 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/06/texas-republicans-elections-2024-trump-cruz/Attendees celebrate poll results during a watch party for Ted Cruz on Tuesday in downtown Houston.Attendees celebrate poll results during a watch party for Ted Cruz on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in downtown Houston.Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/05/texas-election-day-trump-harris-allred-cruz-congress-legislature/Texas might not be a swing state, but many of its races will have major consequences to the national political landscape and on the lives of everyday Texans.By Texas Tribune Staff, James Barragán, Jasper Scherer, Matthew Choi, Robert Downen, Alejandro Serrano, Joshua Fechter, Kayla Guo, Pooja Salhotra and Terri LangfordTue, 05 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/05/texas-election-day-trump-harris-allred-cruz-congress-legislature/Voters wait in line at the Houston Community College Southeast voting location in Houston on Election Day.Voters wait in line at the Houston Community College Southeast voting location in Houston on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.Mark Felix for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/03/texas-ob-gyn-letter-abortion-laws/The group of 111 doctors cited recent ProPublica reporting on two pregnant women who died because doctors did not provide lifesaving care.By Pooja SalhotraSun, 03 Nov 2024 16:03:44 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/03/texas-ob-gyn-letter-abortion-laws/Thousands of people walk in a march in support of abortion rights near downtown San Antonio on June 24, 2022.Thousands of people walk in a pro-abortion protest march around downtown San Antonio on June 24, 2022.Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/31/voting-texas-jail-prison-convict/Texans serving time for misdemeanor offenses or who are in jail awaiting trial are eligible to vote but only two counties offer voting in jail.By Pooja SalhotraThu, 31 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/31/voting-texas-jail-prison-convict/The Linda Woodman State Jail in Gatesville in May 2018.The Linda Woodman State Jail in Gatesville in May 2018.Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/ken-paxton-jeff-leach-robert-roberson/The AG also said he’d make a criminal referral against the lawmaker, who apologized for texting a Court of Criminal Appeals judge about a new trial for the death row inmate.By Jasper Scherer, Kayla Guo and Pooja SalhotraTue, 29 Oct 2024 16:38:17 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/ken-paxton-jeff-leach-robert-roberson/“His conduct demonstrates that he is unfit to serve in any capacity overseeing our judicial system and unfit to serve as a member of the Texas House,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement seeking Rep. Jeff Leach's resignation Tuesday.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/robert-roberson-texas-testimony-attorney-general/Members of a Texas House committee say in a Texas Supreme Court filing that Paxton’s office is blocking the death row inmate from complying with a legislative subpoena.By Pooja SalhotraTue, 29 Oct 2024 15:42:20 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/29/robert-roberson-texas-testimony-attorney-general/The Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence meets to consider the death penalty imposed on Robert Roberson, who is on death row for the death of his daughter.The Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence meets to consider the death penalty imposed on Robert Roberson, on death row for the death of his daughter, on Oct. 21, 2024. At issue is Roberson's conviction based on a diagnosis of "shaken baby syndrome," now discredited as "junk science" and specifically rejected by Texas law.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/28/robert-roberson-jeff-leach-criminal-case/Leach, one of the driving forces behind the effort to stop Roberson’s execution, later apologized to the judge, who told the lawmaker there were still pending matters before the court.By Kayla Guo and Pooja SalhotraMon, 28 Oct 2024 16:30:26 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/28/robert-roberson-jeff-leach-criminal-case/State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, is a member of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence that intervened in the execution of Robert Roberson.From left: State Reps. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, listen to a testimony during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin.Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/10/2024-election-breakdown/A panel of Texas Tribune political journalists discussed the results of the 2024 elections, in which Republicans dominated statewide and local races.By Pooja SalhotraTue, 22 Oct 2024 12:29:57 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/10/2024-election-breakdown/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/21/robert-roberson-execution-subpoena-texas-house-testimony/The death row inmate was expected to testify before a Texas House committee, but those plans were scrapped amid a dispute over whether he should appear in person or virtually.By Kayla Guo and Pooja SalhotraMon, 21 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/21/robert-roberson-execution-subpoena-texas-house-testimony/A Texas House panel heard more than nine hours of testimony Monday from a range of people who support death row inmate Robert Roberson, seen at the TDCJ's Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023.Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Projecthttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/09/texas-film-incentive-program-senators/Directors, producers and actors say better incentives in other states pull projects away from Texas, which is losing out on millions of dollars.By Pooja SalhotraWed, 09 Oct 2024 16:37:50 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/09/texas-film-incentive-program-senators/Writer and director Taylor Sheridan at a Senate Finance Committee hearing at the Texas Capitol on Wednesday.Writer and director Taylor Sheridan at a Senate Finance Committee hearing at the Texas Capitol, in Austin, on Oct. 9, 2024.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/08/uvalde-school-shooting-videos-released-lawsuit/The new videos largely affirm prior reporting and investigations that detailed law enforcement’s failures to confront the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.By Lomi Kriel and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Zach Despart, Terri Langford and Pooja Salhotra, The Texas TribuneTue, 08 Oct 2024 11:36:54 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/08/uvalde-school-shooting-videos-released-lawsuit/Previously released video shows officers gathered in the hallway of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. A gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in May 2022.Previously released video shows officers gathered in the hallway of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.Obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/08/texas-legislature-gerontocracy-young-voters/The average age of Texans last year was 37, while the Legislature’s average age was 55. Hurdles to voting and the unique challenges young candidates encounter fuel the mismatch.By Pooja SalhotraTue, 08 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/08/texas-legislature-gerontocracy-young-voters/State Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, speaks with a student visiting her office in the Capitol in Austin on May 18, 2023.Days before SB17 and SB18, regarding higher education tenure and DEI, are heard on the house floor, Texas Students for DEI visit with House Representative Erin Zwiener to urge opposition to the bills in the state capitol on May 18, 2023.Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/03/ken-paxton-texas-lawsuit-tiktok/The attorney general argues that the popular short form video app has not complied with a new state law that seeks to protect children who are active online.By Pooja SalhotraThu, 03 Oct 2024 15:41:21 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/03/ken-paxton-texas-lawsuit-tiktok/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/01/texas-department-of-criminal-justice-sunset-report/A new state report says the prison population will outgrow capacity by the end of next year.By Pooja SalhotraTue, 01 Oct 2024 11:15:30 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/01/texas-department-of-criminal-justice-sunset-report/Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville in 2013.Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville on November 1, 2013. Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/20/texas-prisons-jails-high-school-recruitment-teenagers/Two counties house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers.By Pooja SalhotraFri, 20 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/20/texas-prisons-jails-high-school-recruitment-teenagers/Nineteen-year-old detention officer Justtice Taylor of the Smith County Sheriff's Office, at the Smith County Jail in Tyler on Sept. 10, 2024.19 year-old Detention Officer Justtice Taylor of the Smith County Sheriff's Office, on September 10, 2024, at the Smith County Jail in Tyler.Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/18/texas-venezuelan-gang-tren-de-aragua-abbott-crackdown/Gov. Greg Abbott has declared the Venezuelan gang a foreign terrorist organization and asked the Department of Public Safety to create a strike team targeting them.By Juan Salinas II and Pooja SalhotraWed, 18 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/18/texas-venezuelan-gang-tren-de-aragua-abbott-crackdown/