Federal trial opens to determine whether Texas discriminated in redrawn redistricting maps
The trial in El Paso will hear a challenge over the redistricting maps drawn by the Legislature that are based on the 2020 census. Full Story
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![Salman Bhojani, a former candidate for Texas Senate District 9, shows where he lives on an updated map that now draws him out of District 9 and now into District 2, at his offices in Irving, on Oct. 17, 2021. Bhojani suspended his campaign after state legislature adopted new district maps which draws Bhojani's home out of District 9.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Stricter bail rules advance through Texas House, which had blocked an overhaul in previous sessions
The House advanced a measure that would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to tighten the state’s bail laws, setting up a major policy win for Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, urges his fellow representatives to vote for his bill regarding bail bonds in Texas on May 19, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Long-running lawsuit against Texas’ foster care system appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Lawyers representing foster children asked the high court to reinstate a contempt order against the state, and the judge who issued it. Full Story
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![Heart Galleries, portraits of adoptable children, on display at the Child Protective Services office at Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Juvenile detention, imported shrimp, forever chemicals among hundreds of bills cut off by House deadline
Some measures that made it through before midnight dealt with jail bonds, an unconstitutional ban on gay sex, and the liability of vaccine manufacturers. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dustin Burrows speaks at his dais as house members gather during a point of order on May 15, 2025. May 15 was the final day for the House to file bills.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House votes to repeal ban on “homosexual conduct”
An unlikely group of Republican allies joined Democrats to approve repealing the ban, which has been unenforced since 2003. It is the first time the bill has made it to the House floor since it was first proposed decades ago. Full Story
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![Activists and members of Austin's LGBTQ community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. These riots signify a key moment in the birth of the modern LGBT movement in America. June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House bill on lawsuits shelved after critics label it harmful to free speech
House Bill 2988 was centered on who pays the legal fees of those who successfully defend themselves against libel or defamation lawsuits. Full Story
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![The county courtroom in the Camp County Court House in Pittsburg on June 21, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Bill to ban child marriages in Texas advances in the House
Before the House takes a final vote on the bill, it could face a proposal that would allow adults and minors to marry if their age gap is three years or less. Full Story
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![The dome of the Texas State Capitol on Thursday, April 24, 2014.]()
Credit: Anneke Els Paterson for The Texas Tribune -
Proposals to require judges to deny bail more often advance through House panel, signaling a broader agreement
Amending the Texas Constitution to crack down on the state’s bail practices has been an elusive priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s for three consecutive sessions. Full Story
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![An Austin Bail Bonds II sign near Interstate 35 on Feb. 5, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton says Google will pay Texas $1.4 billion to settle privacy suit
The state attorney general sued Google in 2022, alleging it unlawfully tracked and collected users’ private data. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a press conference in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025.]()
Credit: Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton drops “critical race theory” lawsuit against Coppell ISD
The school district called the undercover videos that led to the accusations “heavily edited,” “manipulated” and “grossly misleading.” Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Republican Party of Texas convention on Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Lottery and billions in school funding in limbo as deadline nears at Capitol
Lawmakers must act on two bills in order to ensure the lottery continues past September, or find a way to make up the $2 billion for schools the game provides yearly. Full Story
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![A Texas Lottery billboard in El Paso, Texas on March 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Omar Ornelas/El Paso Times/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
University of Texas at Austin sued over arrests during 2024 pro-Palestinian protests
The two graduates and two current students who are also suing UT trustees and other officials say they were unlawfully targeted because they expressed pro-Palestinian views. Full Story
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![A crowd of protesting students march down Speedway at The University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024. State police officers march behind them.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribune -
Judge bars deportations of Venezuelans from South Texas under 18th Century wartime law
The federal judge is the first to rule that the Alien Enemies Act can’t be used against immigrants that the Trump administration claims are gang members invading the U.S. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump attends a Women's History Month event at the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 26, 2025.]()
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Courier’s lawsuit seeks to block Texas Lottery from banning its services
Lotto.com’s suit, which was filed Thursday, comes less than a week before the state agency votes to ban the third-party services. Full Story
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![Winners Corner TX LLC in Austin sold the winning $83.5 million Lotto Texas ticket.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
School districts stay quiet as lawmakers push to limit when they can sue the state
School leaders have privately criticized a bill that would make it harder to contest their performance ratings in court. But they did not testify against it to avoid lawmakers’ ire. Full Story
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![Tables are spaced out in a classroom at Ott Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 in San Antonio. The tables, which typically seat six to eight students, were arranged to seat four students and 16 total students in the classroom.]()
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Texas inmate executed for murder of ex-classmate
Moises Mendoza, who was convicted in 2005 of killing a Farmersville woman, became the third inmate Texas has put to death this year. Full Story
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![The Huntsville Unit Texas State Penitentiary houses the execution chamber of Texas and is located in Huntsville on Jan. 31, 2024.]()
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In act of forgiveness, woman hugs the El Paso Walmart mass shooter who killed her brother
A day after the shooter pleaded guilty to killing 23 people and wounding 22 others, Yolanda Tinajero gave the judge an unusual request. Full Story
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![Adriana Zandri, right, hugs the mass killer who murdered her husband, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, at the conclusion of the second day of victim impact statements in District Judge Sam Medrano’s courtroom. Crusius pleaded guilty Monday to capital murder and aggravated assault charges for killing 23 people and wounding 22 others at an El Paso Walmart on Aug. 3, 2019.]()
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Prosecutor cites anti-immigrant rhetoric as El Paso shooter is sentenced to 23 life terms
”This community will always remember those whose lives you stole … Their light will never fade,” the judge told the shackled shooter. “While you, your name and your hate, will be forgotten.” Full Story
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![Mass shooter Patrick Crusius, center, stands up to listen to the charges from Judge Sam Medrano in the 409th district Commissioners Courtroom at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse for his sentencing in El Paso, Texas, on April 21, 2025. Crusius was convicted of massacring 23 people in a racially motivated mass shooting nearly six years ago at a Walmart in the Cielo Vista area of East El Paso.]()
Credit: Omar Ornelas/USA Today Network via REUTERS -
Supreme Court blocks deportations of Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law
The high court acted in an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Full Story
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![The United States Supreme Court is seen on Saturday, May 18, 2024 in Washington, D.C..]()
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Court orders immigration officials to restore legal status of three people who came to Texas on student visas
The three former students went to UT-Arlington and UT-Dallas. While they have prevailed in court so far, many other international students’ education futures remain uncertain. Full Story
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![Students walk through campus on the first day of classes at the University of Texas at Arlington on Aug. 27, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune