https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/pooja-salhotra/The latest news by Pooja Salhotra.enMon, 14 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/14/texas-law-enforcement-officer-suicides/Four people tied to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office committed suicide recently, calling attention to ongoing mental health struggles among law enforcement.By Pooja SalhotraMon, 14 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/14/texas-law-enforcement-officer-suicides/After losing two close friends to suicide within six months of each other, Dustin Schellenger, seen on April 6, 2025, in Coppell, found that there were not many resources for struggling law enforcement officers and sought to find an opportunity to help.Dustin Schellinger poses for a photo on Sunday, April 6, 2025 in Coppell, Texas. After loosing two close friends to suicide within six months of each other, Schellinger found that there were not many resources for law enforcement who were struggling and sought to find an opportunity to help.Maria Crane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/06/measles-texas-outbreak-death-unvaccinated/About 500 Texans, mostly young unvaccinated children, have contracted the disease. The U.S. health secretary was in West Texas to visit the family.By Pooja Salhotra and Jayme Lozano CarverSun, 06 Apr 2025 09:59:05 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/06/measles-texas-outbreak-death-unvaccinated/People stand outside of a Mennonite church in Seminole where funeral services for Daisy Hildebrand, the second Texas child to die from the measles this year, were held. Hildebrand was 8.People stand outside of a Mennonite church in Seminole after a funeral for an 8-year-old girl who died of measles on Sunday, April 6, 2025.Justin Rex for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/04/texas-prison-air-conditioning-bills/The five bills that would require complete air conditioning in state prisons haven’t had a hearing yet, and the money set for the upgrades falls short of the estimated cost.By Pooja SalhotraFri, 04 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/04/texas-prison-air-conditioning-bills/About two thirds of Texas’ prison inmates reside in facilities that are not fully air conditioned in housing areas, and indoor temperatures routinely top 100 degrees Fahrenheit.Mountain View prison in Gatesville on September 19, 2019.Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/03/texas-jail-inmate-deaths-outsourcing-jaleen-anderson/Lawmakers are pursuing legislative changes that would keep more people locked up in overcrowded county jails while awaiting resolution to their cases.By Pooja SalhotraThu, 03 Apr 2025 17:11:03 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/03/texas-jail-inmate-deaths-outsourcing-jaleen-anderson/Sarah Knight poses for a portrait at her home in Houston with a birthday card she made for her son Jaleen Anderson on May 13, 2024. Anderson died earlier in the year while being held in LaSalle Correctional Facility in Louisiana.Sarah Knight poses for a portrait at her home in Houston with a birthday card she made for her son Jaleen Anderson on May 13, 2024. Anderson died earlier in the year while being held in LaSalle Correctional Facility in Louisiana.Danielle Villasana for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/31/texas-film-television-incentive-fund/Senate Bill 22 would more than double the amount of money Texas spends to lure film and television projects and has the backing of Texas movie stars including Matthew McConaughey.By Pooja SalhotraMon, 31 Mar 2025 18:37:29 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/31/texas-film-television-incentive-fund/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/27/texas-abortion-pill-ban-senate-2880/Some health care providers in support of Senate Bill 2880 said people who are mailed abortion pills aren’t given instructions and do not receive follow-up care.By Pooja Salhotra and Eleanor KlibanoffThu, 27 Mar 2025 19:30:03 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/27/texas-abortion-pill-ban-senate-2880/An examination room in Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio on June 14, 2022.An examination room in Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio on June 14, 2022.Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/27/texas-abortion-bill-senate-31/Senate Bill 31 supporters say it would clarify when doctors should intervene to save a pregnant woman’s life, but critics say its vagueness and a measure to resurrect pre-Roe laws hamper it.By Pooja Salhotra and Eleanor KlibanoffThu, 27 Mar 2025 18:19:58 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/27/texas-abortion-bill-senate-31/Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a patient returns for a follow-up appointment to Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services abortion clinic in San Antonio on June 24, 2022.A patient returns for a follow up appointment to make sure her abortion treatment was successful hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade at the Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services abortion clinic in San Antonio on June 24, 2022.Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/26/texas-prison-air-conditioning-lawsuit/About two-thirds of Texas prisons are not fully air conditioned, and dozens of inmates have died in the sweltering heat.By Pooja SalhotraWed, 26 Mar 2025 21:50:35 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/26/texas-prison-air-conditioning-lawsuit/Prison staff and inmates move through the Darrington Unit's main hallway on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.Prison staff and inmates move through the Darrington Unit's main hallway on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/18/texas-covid-pandemic-readiness/Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold.By Terri Langford, Jayme Lozano Carver, Pooja Salhotra, Eleanor Klibanoff and Stephen Simpson, Graphics by Dan Keemahill and Yuriko SchumacherTue, 18 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/18/texas-covid-pandemic-readiness/Illustration by Diana Branzan for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/16/christian-menefee-congress-sylvester-turner/The district has been a Democratic stronghold, held for decades by Sheila Jackson Lee and most recently by former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who died March 5.By Kayla Guo and Pooja SalhotraSun, 16 Mar 2025 21:21:42 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/16/christian-menefee-congress-sylvester-turner/Christian Menefee speaks at the Texas Democratic Convention in El Paso on June 7, 2024.Harris Co. Attorney Christian Menefee speaks at the first general session at the Texas Democratic Convention in El Paso on June 7, 2024.Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/14/texas-criminal-enhancement-punishment-bills/Proposed legislation includes increased penalties for retail theft, car burglaries and forgery, among others.By Pooja SalhotraFri, 14 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/14/texas-criminal-enhancement-punishment-bills/Inmates are monitored at a security station at the Harris County Detention Center on April 16, 2024, in Houston.Inmates are monitored at a security station at the Harris County Detention Center on April 16, 2024, in Houston. Mark Felix for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/10/texas-death-row-case-reversed/Brittany Marlowe Holberg was convicted in 1998 of robbing and murdering an 80-year-old man in his Amarillo home. The appeals court said critical evidence was withheld.By Pooja SalhotraMon, 10 Mar 2025 14:28:53 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/10/texas-death-row-case-reversed/The Huntsville state penitentiary, pictured on Jan. 31, 2024, houses the state's execution chamber.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/2025/03/10/rural-texas-measles-outbreak-response/The measles outbreak in rural Texas has exposed how hospital buildings are ill-equipped. Meanwhile, long distances between providers makes testing people and transporting samples difficult.By Pooja SalhotraMon, 10 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/10/rural-texas-measles-outbreak-response/Signs let people know that measles vaccines are available at the old City Hall in Andrews on March 6, 2025. Andrews is about halfway between Seminole in Gaines County, where the outbreak originated, and Odessa.A sign lets people know that measles vaccines are available in the Old City Hall in Andrews, Tx.Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/05/texas-abbott-remote-work-from-home-policy/The directive comes as some state agencies have downsized their office spaces after the pandemic forced many employees to work remotely.By Pooja SalhotraWed, 05 Mar 2025 19:03:28 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/05/texas-abbott-remote-work-from-home-policy/The view of the state Capitol from the Sam Houston State Office Building in Austin on June 20, 2023.The state capitol seen from the Sam Houston State Office Building in Austin on June 20, 2023.Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/04/texas-juvenile-justice-department-report/Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu criticized the department for treating an August 2024 federal report as “nothing.”By Pooja SalhotraTue, 04 Mar 2025 18:15:35 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/04/texas-juvenile-justice-department-report/Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility, in Lee County on July 20, 2022.Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility, in Lee County on July 20, 2022.Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/28/texas-measles-abbott-lawmakers-response/Declining vaccination rates, decreasing trust in government and a political unwillingness to endorse vaccines is shaping Texas’ measles response.By Eleanor Klibanoff, Pooja Salhotra, Terri Langford and Jayme Lozano CarverFri, 28 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/28/texas-measles-abbott-lawmakers-response/Covenant Children's Hospital, pictured on Feb. 26, 2025, in Lubbock, has added a patient screening check before patients go to the children's emergency entrance.Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock on Feb. 26, 2025. Covenant has added a patient screening check before entering the children's emergency entrance.Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/27/texas-rural-public-defense-indigent/Texas’ indigent defense commission wants lawmakers to spend $35 million on public defender offices in rural areas, but some say that isn’t nearly enough to ensure compliance with the U.S. Constitution.By Pooja SalhotraThu, 27 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/27/texas-rural-public-defense-indigent/Scene from bond review docket in the Travis County courthouse in July 2019.Scene from bond review docket in the Travis County courthouse in July.Trevor Paulhus for The Texas Tribune and Texas Monthlyhttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/26/texas-measles-death/More than 120 people across nine counties have been infected during the largest Texas outbreak in 30 years.By Jayme Lozano Carver, Pooja Salhotra and Terri LangfordWed, 26 Feb 2025 09:28:05 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/26/texas-measles-death/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/19/texas-senate-bail-pretrial-bills/The package was fast-tracked after Gov. Greg Abbott declared “bail reform” an emergency item. The bills now head to the House for consideration.By Pooja SalhotraWed, 19 Feb 2025 15:09:06 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/19/texas-senate-bail-pretrial-bills/The Texas Senate on Wednesday passed onto the House multiple legislation that would change bail laws.A Bail Bonds and Free-Me Bail in San Marcos.Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/18/texas-measles-outbreak-climbs/El Paso was the most recent county to report measles cases and is one of the furthest counties from the outbreak zone, 261 miles away from Gaines County.By Terri Langford, Stephen Simpson, Eleanor Klibanoff and Pooja SalhotraTue, 18 Feb 2025 19:30:14 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/18/texas-measles-outbreak-climbs/Covenant Children's Hospital located in Lubbock on Feb. 26, 2025. The hospital has been treating patients who have fallen ill with measles.Covenant Childrens hospital located in Lubbock on Feb. 26, 2025. Covenant has addd a patient screening check before entering the children's emergency entrance.Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune