Gov. Greg Abbott appoints Democrat-turned-Republican Rep. Shawn Thierry to juvenile justice board
Thierry became a Republican cause celebré for breaking with Democrats over her views on transgender rights. Full Story
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![State Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, speaks to press after her legislation, aimed at reducing pregnancy-related deaths, passed to second reading on Juy 31, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott directs DPS to bolster anti-terrorism efforts after New Orleans attack
The governor is calling for an expansion of in-state anti-terrorism programs and an increase in federal partnerships. Full Story
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![Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Harris County law enforcement officials surround a residence in an armored vehicle in north Houston, on Jan. 1, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Adrees Latif -
Texas bases tighten security after unrelated attacks tied to vet, soldier
After separate attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas, officials ordered the suspension of the Trusted Traveler policy. Full Story
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![Front view of the Chapman Training Annex, a part of Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland, in San Antonio on Aug. 17, 2024.]()
Credit: Carlos Kosienski/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas man identified as suspect in deadly New Orleans truck attack
FBI officials said Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran, drove the pickup truck that fatally rammed into a crowd on Bourbon Street. Full Story
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![A view down Bourbon Street in New Orleans showing a crashed white pickup truck (R) after an apparent attack during New Year's Eve celebrations in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2025.]()
Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
Clemency given to seven Texans facing execution, four others
On the same day that President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of seven Texans, Gov. Greg Abbott issued his own set of pardons. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Department of Labor for an event honoring the nation's labor history and Frances Perkins, longest serving U.S Secretary of Labor, in Washington on Dec. 16, 2024.]()
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Ken Paxton sues NCAA over transgender athletes’ participation in women’s college sports
The attorney general is accusing the organization of misleading fans by allowing transgender college athletes in women’s sports. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to delegates at the Texas Republican Convention in San Antonio on June 15, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House panel may never hear Robert Roberson’s testimony after new legal move
Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to delay legal proceedings until Jan. 13 — the day before the committee disbands — even as lawmakers vowed to continue fighting to hear from Roberson. Full Story
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![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.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project -
Cartels turn to social media to lure Americans into human smuggling as Texas enforces stricter laws
Thousands of people have been arrested under Texas’ human smuggling law. Now they face at least a decade in prison under sentencing guidelines that took effect this year. Full Story
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Credit: Tara Anand for The Texas Tribune -
Attorney General Ken Paxton files motion to block death row inmate Robert Roberson from testifying
The motion escalates a tense standoff between Paxton and a bipartisan Texas House committee, which had subpoenaed Roberson to testify at the Capitol on Friday. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House panel subpoenas death row inmate Robert Roberson a second time
The new subpoena comes after lawmakers say Ken Paxton’s office stalled a previous effort to get Roberson’s legislative testimony about his conviction in “shaken baby” case. Full Story
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![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.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project -
“The best time to prepare”: Migrant rights group warns undocumented Texans to plan for deportations
Groups are urging the state’s estimated 1.6 million undocumented migrants to prepare financially and make plans for their loved ones if they’re detained. Full Story
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![Attendees listen to LUPE staff members during an information session to prepare people for the incoming Trump administration's deportation plans on Dec. 6, 2024, in San Juan.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
A South Texas lawmaker's 15-year fight for a Rio Grande Valley law school
Advocates say a law school in one of the state's poorest regions would exponentially help communities with legal aid. Full Story
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![Armando Martinez speaks during the Inside the Interim with RGV Lawmakers Event in Edinburg on Aug. 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Handshakes, murals and ministry: A reopened Texas prison focuses on rehabilitation
The Bartlett Unit in Williamson County will house 1,049 male inmates who will participate in educational programs aimed to help them secure a job after they’ve served their time. Full Story
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![Men incarcerated at the Bartlett Innovation Unit sit in a dormitory-style room on Nov. 21, 2024 in Bartlett.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Trial judge in Robert Roberson’s death row case agrees to recusal
Senior District Judge Deborah Oakes Evans recused herself after a challenge to her impartiality over longtime relationships with case prosecutors and judges. Full Story
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![Judge Deborah Oakes Evans presides over a hearing in Palestine on Aug. 14, 2018 as Robert Roberson's attorneys seek a new trial. Roberson was convicted and sentenced to death in 2003 for the murder of the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Houstonian Mark Swidan to be released from Chinese imprisonment
The Texan has been imprisoned in China for 12 years on charges of drug trafficking. Full Story
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![Mark Swidan.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Swidan Family Free Mark Campaign -
Texas House committee demands that attorney general allow Roberson to testify
The Criminal Jurisprudence Committee plans to issue a new subpoena to the death row inmate for a Dec. 20 hearing if Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office does not cooperate. Full Story
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![From left: Texas Tribune reporter Kayla Guo moderates a conversation with State Reps. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Joe Moody, D-El Paso, in Austin on Dec. 6, 2024. Moody, who is chairman, serves with Leach on the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
Inside the only college class in Texas to help prepare inmates for life after prison
More than 250 Texas prisoners are on the waitlist to join the Lee College reentry class. Programs like these prepare students to find jobs and help lower recidivism. Full Story
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![Women who are incarcerated participate in a Lee College course that focuses on reentry at Lucile Plane State Jail in Dayton, Texas, US, on Monday October 28, 2024.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde newspaper publisher turned journal entries after Robb Elementary shooting into book about town’s tragedy
Craig Garnett, author of “Uvalde’s Darkest Hour,” believes healing will take time but the the city is on the right path. Full Story
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Tribune news quiz: What happened in Texas this week?
How closely did you follow the news in Texas this week? Take The Texas Tribune’s news quiz to find out! Full Story
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Freeman Martin selected to lead the Texas Department of Public Safety
Martin, a senior official, takes the helm of the agency on Dec. 1, replacing retiring director Steve McCraw. Full Story
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![Freeman F. Martin.]()
Credit: Department of Public Safety website