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.]()
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Abbott wants to stop allowing federal benefits in Texas to be spent on unhealthy, high-processed food
Texas’ governor joins other Republican governors making similar requests to ban purchases of candy and soda through the SNAP program. Full Story
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![The fresh produce section of a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Buffalo on June 29, 2023.]()
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Houston midwife accused of illegal abortions appeals clinic closures
In an appeal filed this week, Maria Rojas’ attorneys accused Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office of a careless investigation. Full Story
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![A close-up of family planning pamphlets at Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring, Texas, on March 27, 2025. The clinic, part of Maria Margarita Rojas' network, remains closed after a Waller County judge granted a temporary injunction prohibiting the facility from providing medical services.]()
Credit: Hope Mora for The Texas Tribune -
Bill requiring Texas hospitals to report the citizenship status of patients killed in House
It is unclear whether the House bill could come back as an amendment to another measure before the legislative session ends June 2. Full Story
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![An Austin-Travis County EMS unit parked near a hospital's emergency entrance in Austin on July 7, 2020.]()
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Bill to expand Texas’ medical marijuana program heads to Senate
House Bill 46 would increase the number of health conditions eligible and would offer smokeable products under the state’s medical marijuana program. Full Story
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![Workers sort strawberry-passionfruit CBD gummies at the Texas Original facility on Sept. 26, 2024. Texas Original is Texas’ first licensed medical cannabis distributor.]()
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Texas lawmakers propose abortion pill bill that can’t be challenged in state courts
The bill contains many provisions legal experts say are likely unconstitutional, including one that says it can’t be challenged in state court. Full Story
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![State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, speaks on the Senate floor on March 25, 2025.]()
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Texas House votes to strictly define man and woman, excluding trans people from state records
If it becomes law, the bill would define sex based on reproductive organs and require state documents and policies to comply with that framework. Full Story
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![Over 300 activists and supporters marched from the Bexar County Courthouse to Crockett Park in “March for Us,” San Antonio's third annual celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility, on Saturday, March 29, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.]()
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Texas’ measles outbreak is nation’s largest since 2000
The outbreak that originated in Texas has spread into multiple states. And, the summer will be the real test of how much bigger this outbreak can grow. Full Story
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![Sherry Andrews, right, holds 13-month-old Jaqi Herrera’s hand after administering the first MMR vaccine dose to Herrera at the City of Lubbock Health Department in Lubbock on Feb. 27, 2025.]()
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Attempt to decriminalize fentanyl testing strips in Texas could stall in the Senate for a third time
Opponents fear that fentanyl test strips will increase the usage of the deadly drug. Full Story
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![The Texas Harm Reduction center distributes fentanyl test strips, classified as drug paraphernalia in Texas, on May 5, 2025.]()
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Bill that would make vaccine exemptions easier to obtain clears Texas House
The bill would allow a vaccine exemption form to be downloadable. Currently, a form must be requested from the state and mailed to the recipient. Full Story
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![A nurse administers a dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine at a clinic organized by the Travis County Mobile Vaccine Collaborative at Rodriguez Elementary School on July 28, 2021.]()
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Weary from COVID deaths, Hispanic Texans embraced vaccines. It saved their lives.
In the deadly summer of 2020, Hispanics in Texas were half of all COVID-19 deaths, spurring many to vaccinate. Today, in a startling flip, Hispanics make up less than a quarter of deaths from the disease. Full Story
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![Delia Ramos, center, holds a photo of her and her husband Ricardo with her daughter, right, and son tk. Ricardo died in July 2020. Brownsville on March 7, 2021.]()
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Fired state employees breached the personal data of 33,529 more Texans
So far, nine Texas Health and Human Services Commission employees have been fired for improperly accessing Texans’ data. Full Story
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![A Texas Health and Human Services client application on April 24, 2018.]()
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Texas lawmakers advancing bill to ban kids from social media
The Texas House passed onto the Senate a proposed ban Tuesday, alongside another bill that would require a social media warning label for minors. Full Story
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![Bonham Middle School students walk between classes Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
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Wide-ranging crackdown on abortion pills passes Texas Senate
The bill gives the state new tools to try to stop the flow of abortion pills, but critics say it’s legally dubious on several fronts. Full Story
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![A nurse drops Mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, into a patient's hand at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, on April 9, 2024.]()
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Bill clarifying when doctors can perform medically necessary abortions clears Senate
The bill, which must still go through the House, received unanimous approval from the upper chamber. Full Story
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![Dr. Franz Theard, looks at a patient's sonogram at his abortion clinic, Women's Reproductive Clinic of New Mexico in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on Jan. 13, 2023. Dr. Theard's abortion clinic, less than a mile from Texas, where abortion is illegal since the landmark legal case Roe v. Wade which protected a woman's constitutional right to an abortion was overturned, provides medical abortions for women who are flying and driving hundreds of miles across Texas.]()
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In visit to Texas, RFK Jr. said autism, diabetes deserve more attention than measles
During a visit to College Station, the U.S. health secretary said Europe has a worse track record with the virus, which gets too much media attention. Full Story
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![U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brook Rollins looks on as Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a press conference during a visit to the Texas A&M AgriLife Phenotyping Greenhouse in College Station on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.]()
Credit: Ishika Samant for The Texas Tribune -
Texas students say K-12 DEI ban and other anti-LGBTQ+ bills threaten their safety, voice and mental health
Students are concerned the legislation could silence supportive teachers, dismantle safe spaces, lead to overenforcement and prevent honest conversations about identity. Full Story
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![Marshall Romero, 16, poses for a portrait outside of Alief Early College High School in Houston on Friday, April 25, 2025.]()
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Texas poised to ask voters to approve $3 billion to study dementia
The measure was briefly delayed by Democrats’ efforts to block the voucher program, but eventually passed with bipartisan support. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a press conference at the Capitol in Austin on April 23, 2025.]()
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Experts cast doubt on state’s report that undocumented immigrants cost Texas hospitals $122M in a month
Policy experts say undocumented immigrants' cost to hospitals is a small fraction of the total cost from uninsured Texans. Full Story
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![Medical equipment lines the walls of a Central Texas hospital room on Mar. 13, 2024.]()
Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune