As measles exploded, West Texas officials looked to CDC scientists. No one answered.
Emails show how overwhelmed West Texas officials were as they asked CDC for guidance on how to respond to the explosive outbreak. Full Story
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![As a measles outbreak exploded in Texas in February, local health officials struggled to reach CDC scientists who were grappling with changes under the new Trump administration, according to interviews and emails obtained by KFF Health News. The first three clips above are excerpts of emails from Katherine Wells, the public health director in Lubbock, Texas. The bottom clip is from Scott Milton, at the Texas Department of State Health Services. (KFF Health News illustration; 500Px Plus; photo of Lubbock, Texas, from Getty Images)]()
Credit: KFF Health News illustration; 500Px Plus; photo of Lubbock; Texas; from Getty Images -
Texas lawmakers to consider restoring limits on late voter registration changes
Legislation pushed by Gov. Greg Abbott would bar voters at the polls from immediately casting a ballot based on a last-minute update to their address. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses law enforcement officials during a Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalition event in Austin on April 29, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Proposed legislation would levy stricter penalties on Texas camps following the Hill Country flood
HB 256 would prevent camps from correcting violations on the spot to avoid state penalties and reduce the number of camps serving on a state panel to a maximum of two. Full Story
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![Campists' belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic, Hunt, on July 7, 2025.]()
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Texas House approves bill that would limit water exports from East Texas — for now
A Dallas businessman has proposed studying the aquifer to see if he can pump millions of gallons out of East Texas, a plan that residents distrust. Full Story
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![The Houston County Lake in Houston County, Texas on on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. (Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House approves bill aimed to limit city, county property taxes
Texas cities and counties have already had their budgets compressed by a variety of factors, including the state’s current property tax limits. Full Story
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![Cars drive on Intersate 35 East with the downtown Dallas skyline looming in the distance on Sunday, July 27, 2025.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
The Texas redistricting fight has been the backdrop for the Trump administration to test a new legal strategy
The administration has been testing a strategy of using the courts as leverage to force political outcomes. In Texas, the state’s leaders and conservative activists have been willing, if not eager, collaborators. Full Story
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![A photo collage showing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and President Donald Trump in red and black alongside bits of a letter mentioning “unconstitutional racial gerrymanders” and threatening to “seek legal action against the State.”]()
Credit: Photo illustration by Cengiz Yar/ProPublica. Source images: Reuters. -
Cruz, Paxton issue dueling endorsements in Texas attorney general GOP primary
Aaron Reitz and Chip Roy, positioning themselves as Paxton’s ideological heirs, have served as top aides for both the attorney general and Cruz. Full Story
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![Aaron Reitz, left, and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, right, are both running for Texas attorney general after previously serving as top aides to the outgoing incumbent, Ken Paxton.]()
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect and Julia Nikhinson for The Texas Tribune -
Champions of truth and democracy, the Tribune’s fall fellows are eager to represent and serve Texas
Student fellows support vital initiatives like the Texas Tribune Festival and provide in-depth coverage of key issues. Full Story
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Credit: The Texas Tribune -
State Ag employees told police they were wary of Sid Miller’s political consultant. Now he’s the agency’s chief of staff.
Todd Smith was Miller’s longtime political consultant when he admitted to soliciting bribes for licenses the agency typically issues for $100. Miller then put him on the payroll at $218,000 per year. Full Story
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![Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller speaks during a Make America Great Rally at the Burleson County Expo Center in Caldwell on Aug. 1, 2024.]()
Credit: Olivia Anderson/The Texas Tribune -
Only one restaurant in Texas sells lab-grown meat. Lawmakers banned it anyway.
Starting Sept. 1, cultured meat sales will be banned for the next two years even though the product isn’t ready to be sold at a large scale. Full Story
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![Cows feed on grass and food pellets at Powell's ranch in Cedar Creek, on March 28, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
For their walkout, Texas Democrats get national attention — and partisan retribution at home
Democrats said the walkout inspired a national protest against GOP redistricting. But it also greased the path for other bills they oppose and unified Texas Republicans. Full Story
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![State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Plano, rips up her "permission slip" in front of the Texas House vowing she will stay the night in the House Chamber in support of fellow Democrat Nicole Collier on August 19, 2025. At left is Rep. Rhetta Bowers, D-Garland, at right is Rep. Cassandra Hernandez, D-Farmer's Branch.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Fresh off Texas Senate’s approval, new congressional map is target of lawsuit
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 13 Texas residents, states that the redrawn districts in the new map — which Gov. Greg Abbott says he’ll “swiftly” sign into law — are racially discriminatory and violate voter protection laws. Full Story
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![A map of the proposed changes to Texas Congressional Districts sits on a representative’s desk in the House chamber in Austin on Aug. 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans revive effort to further restrict abortion pills
The legislative proposals would allow people to sue manufacturers and distributors of abortion pills. Full Story
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![A bottle and pills of Misoprostol, made by Lupin Pharmaceuticals, sit in a counting tray at a pharmacy on June 19, 2019, in Provo, Utah.]()
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“Bathroom bill” advances in Texas House days after tensions flared at hearing
Senate Bill 8, which now heads to the House floor, would restrict which bathrooms in government buildings transgender people would be allowed to use. Full Story
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![House Sergeant-At-Arms, l, and Texas DPS argue with a witness who was later removed from the hearing for rowdyness against HB 8 in THe House State Affairs Committee meeting on August 22, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves GOP congressional map, sending plan to Abbott’s desk
Republican lawmakers pushed the map through over fierce Democratic opposition, positioning the GOP to net up to five additional seats in Texas. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gathers the senators at his desk before the final vote on the mid-decade redistricting bill in the Texas Senate on Aug. 22, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers delay bill keeping unsubstantiated complaints against officers from the public
Senate Bill 15’s supporters say police shouldn’t be publicly maligned for unproven allegations. Critics say the bill disincentivizes agencies from properly investigating complaints. Full Story
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![Dallas police investigate a shooting at a South Dallas neighborhood on June 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Avi Adelman/ZUMA Press Wire via REUTERS -
In response to failures and grieving parents, Texas lawmakers advance flood bills
Here’s where the proposed laws to address camp safety, flood warnings and emergency response stand in the Legislature. Full Story
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![Parents of Camp Mystic girls lost during the Guadalupe River flooding of July 4, 2025 pack seats in the Senate Chamber to view passage of Senate Bill 1 which strengthens summer camp regulations to help prevent future tragedies.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Former Speaker Dade Phelan won’t seek reelection to Texas House
As speaker, Phelan oversaw passage of numerous conservative priorities, but he gave up the gavel under pressure from the far right over the House’s impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, speaks with other representatives on the House floor on May 19, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, Paxton aide turned foe, to run for Texas attorney general
It will be the first test of whether Roy’s at times frosty relationship with President Trump — and his turn against Paxton — can withstand scrutiny in a statewide primary. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, talks with reporters after a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Health insurance carriers request raising ACA premiums by more than 20% on average in Texas
Health insurers are hiking policy premiums in response to proposed federal cuts and rising costs in various parts of the health care sector. Full Story
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![Dr. Spencer R. Berthelsen, M.D., Chairman, Board of Directors at Kelsey-Seybold, who still sees patients two days a week, visits with patient Francisco Garcia (also a doctor at Kelsey Seybold) before his annual physical at their clinic in Sugar Land. Sept. 22, 2011.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune