https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/pooja-salhotra/The latest news by Pooja Salhotra.enTue, 18 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://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/The West Texas outbreak has spread to one new county – Lamb – for a total of 15 affected counties, as of Tuesday.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 Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/14/texas-film-incentives-tax-credit/The Texas Senate has proposed injecting a staggering half a billion dollars into film production, as economists and fiscal hawks question the return on investment.By Pooja Salhotra and Dan KeemahillFri, 14 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/14/texas-film-incentives-tax-credit/The Hope Floats ice cream shop in downtown Smithville, pictured on Feb. 6, 2025, is named after the 1998 Sandra Bullock romance filmed there.An ice cream shop in downtown Smithville, Texas on Feb. 6, 2025. The town is the main setting of Hope Floats, a popular 1998 romance film, and the shop is named after it.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/12/texas-bail-bills-pretrial-detention-legislature/The package of bills would tighten the state's bail laws to keep more people in jail — including undocumented immigrants — while their criminal cases are pending.By Pooja Salhotra and Jasper SchererWed, 12 Feb 2025 16:13:08 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/12/texas-bail-bills-pretrial-detention-legislature/Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick holds a press conference on changes to the bail system, an emergency item this legislative session, on Feb. 12, 2025.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick holds a press conference on bail reform, an emergency item this legislative session, on Feb. 12, 2025.Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/06/texas-prison-reentry-rehabilitation-budget-strive/Faced with more immediate funding needs, state officials haven’t asked for more money for rehabilitation programs, such as STRIVE, next budget cycle.By Pooja SalhotraThu, 06 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/06/texas-prison-reentry-rehabilitation-budget-strive/STRIVE graduate Melyna Rodriguez wipes a tear during the graduation ceremony inside the chapel at the Patrick O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.STRIVE graduate Melyna Rodriguez wipes a tear during the graduation ceremony inside the chapel at the Patrick O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas on January 28, 2025.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/26/texas-immigration-deportation-ice-austin-san-antonio/Immigration authorities did not say how many people were detained or what kinds of offenses the people sought Sunday were suspected of doing.By Pooja SalhotraSun, 26 Jan 2025 19:18:31 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/26/texas-immigration-deportation-ice-austin-san-antonio/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/22/texas-budget-school-vouchers-teacher-raises-border-security/Both chambers set aside $1 billion for a voucher-like education savings account program — double what was on the table two years ago — in a sign that supporters are emboldened after recent electoral gains.By Pooja Salhotra and Jasper SchererWed, 22 Jan 2025 11:19:51 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/22/texas-budget-school-vouchers-teacher-raises-border-security/The Texas State Capitol on Dec. 5, 2024 in Austin.The Texas State Capitol on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Austin.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/15/texas-porn-site-ban-us-supreme-court/The Supreme Court’s decision on Texas’ law, which adult entertainment website attorneys said were the most overreaching in the country, could determine the fate of similar laws in more than a dozen other states.By Pooja SalhotraWed, 15 Jan 2025 10:40:45 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/15/texas-porn-site-ban-us-supreme-court/Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to the media on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, during a press conference following arguments in the case “Free Speech Coalition, Inc., et al. v. Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas,” at the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to the media on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, during a press conference following arguments in the case “Free Speech Coalition, Inc., et al. v. Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas,” at the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/14/texas-legislature-2025-speaker-race-live-updates/The Texas House kicked off the 2025 session by electing an establishment Republican to lead the chamber, drawing criticism from within the GOP.By James Barragán, Renzo Downey, Jasper Scherer, Pooja Salhotra and Robert DownenTue, 14 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/14/texas-legislature-2025-speaker-race-live-updates/Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George, right, speaks to the press on the steps of the state Capitol following the vote for House speaker on Jan. 14, 2025. Looking on are Republican freshman state Reps. Wes Virdell, David Lowe, Andy Hopper and Brent Money.Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George speaks to the press on the steps of the state Capitol following the vote for House speaker on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Looking on are Republican freshman state Reps. Wes Virdell, David Lowe, Andy Hopper and Brent Money.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/13/texas-budget-revenue-estimate-biennium/The estimate includes $23.8 billion leftover from the current budget cycle.By Pooja SalhotraMon, 13 Jan 2025 14:03:45 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/13/texas-budget-revenue-estimate-biennium/Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the biennial revenue estimate with audience members at Texas Tribune’s Studio 919 in Austin on Jan. 9, 2023.Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the biennial revenue estimate with audience members at Texas Tribune’s Studio 919 in Austin on Jan. 9, 2023.Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune