Longtime Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards dies after battle with brain cancer
Richards, the eldest daughter of Gov. Ann Richards, forged her own path as a tireless advocate for women across Texas and the United States. Full Story
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![Former president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards speaks at a rally in Austin on Sept. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Trump heads back to the White House and he’s taking these Texans with him
Texans have been tapped to run the CIA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture. Full Story
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![Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on border security and immigration, in Austin, Texas, Oct. 25, 2024.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott wants to extend Texas’ DEI ban to K-12 schools
In 2023, Texas passed a DEI ban at the state’s public universities. Now Abbott wants the state to stop funding diversity programs in K-12 schools. Full Story
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![High school students between classes in the hallway at the high school in Buffalo on March 28, 2019.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats hope to benefit after boosting Dustin Burrows to House speaker
The Democrats’ short list of possible benefits: A leader who learned to keep promises, a chance at chairing committees, and what they see as more chances for a fairer playing field. Full Story
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![State Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, hugs fellow Reps. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, and David Cook, R-Mansfield, after Burrows won the vote for the next Speaker of the Texas House Of Representatives on the first day of the 2025 Texas Legislative Session in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
State employees suspected of stealing from low-income Texans' public assistance accounts
Seven human services employees were fired after a string of fraud and theft — and the largest data breach in agency history. Full Story
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![The fresh produce section of a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Buffalo, Texas, on June 29, 2023.]()
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Ken Paxton investigation could come to an end under Trump
Donald Trump and the Texas attorney general have forged a friendship over the years, one that has been cemented in their shared political and legal struggles and their willingness to come to each other’s aid at times of upheaval. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump, center, greets Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, right, at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Nov. 20, 2019.]()
Credit: Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
Feds refer Texas’ Harvey funding discrimination case to Justice Department
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development confirmed its finding that Texas unfairly favored white residents in rural areas when it distributed $1 billion in Harvey aid in 2021. Full Story
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![Texas Land commissioner George P. Bush speaks to Texas House of Representatives Committee on Urban Affairs hearing on Harvey in Houston Monday, October 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Scott Turner says HUD is failing its mission and outlines plan for more housing
Picked to lead HUD, the former Texas House member tells senators there is a housing crisis. Democrats question whether any plans will succeed without more spending. Full Story
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![Former Texas state Rep. Scott Turner, nominated to head Housing and Urban Affairs in the second Trump Administration, speaks during a discussion regarding school choice at the America First Policy Institute in Washington on January 28, 2022.]()
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Texas lawmakers eye sharing health care workers with other states to address provider shortages
Advocates say interstate compacts, which allow professionals to use their work licenses in multiple states, can solve Texas’ workforce shortage. Skeptics fear Texas would send more workers than it would receive. Full Story
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![Scenes from UT Health San Antonio’s NOW Clinic on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at the NOW Clinic in San Antonio, Tx. The New Opportunities for Wellness (NOW) Clinic provides San Antonio with quick and reliable behavioral health services from professionals.]()
Credit: Olivia Anderson/The Texas Tribune -
Winners and losers from the Texas House speaker’s race
The new speaker’s power over the budget and committee assignments is expected to bolster established Republican leaders and some Democrats who supported the winner. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, shakes hands with state Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, after winning the vote for the next House speaker on the first day of the 2025 Texas Legislature in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Power and influence under the pink dome
The Texas Tribune’s politics podcast digs into what the speaker’s race tells us about the next 140 days in Austin. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, is sworn in as speaker of the Texas House by Secretary Of State Jane Nelson at the Capitol in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court weighing constitutionality of Texas’ age-verification requirement for porn sites
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. Full Story
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![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.]()
Credit: Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP chair claims church-state separation is a myth as lawmakers, pastors prep for “spiritual battle”
Abraham George’s comments are the latest sign of the state GOP’s embrace of fundamentalist ideologies that seek to center public life around their faith. Full Story
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![Landon Schott, pastor of Mercy Culture, leads a worship service in the state Capitol extension auditorium on the first day of the 2025 state legislative session in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
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See how Texas House members voted in the speaker race
The race pitted state Reps. David Cook and Dustin Burrows against each other. Here’s how each representative voted. Full Story
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![A vote of 85 in favor of State Rep. Dustin Burrows decides the next Speaker of the Texas House Of Representatives on the first day of the 2025 Texas Legislature in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texans only Democrats in Congress to vote for bill restricting trans athletes
Republicans accused Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of supporting gender transitions for children throughout the 2024 election cycle, which he said took a political toll. Full Story
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![Demonstrators protest SB14, a bill to eradicate gender transition healthcare for trans kids in Texas, while the bill is heard in the House at the state Capitol on May 2, 2023.]()
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Rep. Dustin Burrows voted Texas House speaker in blow to insurgent GOP movement
Burrows defeated Rep. David Cook with a coalition of Republican and Democratic votes. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) shakes hands with Rep. Jeff Leach, R- Plano, during opening day ceremonies on the House floor on Tuesday, Jan. 14th, 2025.]()
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Texas House to pick new speaker, concluding brutal proxy war
The new speaker will have a dramatic impact on the direction of this year’s lawmaking — and potentially the future of the Legislature. Full Story
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![The House Chamber on June 21, 2021.]()
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Republican infighting flares after Burrows elected speaker
The Texas House kicked off the 2025 session by electing an establishment Republican to lead the chamber, drawing criticism from within the GOP. Full Story
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![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.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Legislature is back. Here’s what we’re watching.
From debating school vouchers and improving the state’s water supply to reining in property taxes, the GOP-led body will look to pass its conservative priorities amid fighting within the party. Full Story
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![State Representatives and their families gather on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
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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