“A sham”: Texas Republicans defend Trump after guilty verdict
Republicans across the party’s political spectrum denounced Trump’s guilty verdict on 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records. Full Story
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![Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the defense table as the jury in his criminal trial is scheduled to continue deliberations at New York State Supreme Court in New York, New York on May 30, 2024. Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.]()
Credit: Justin Lane/Pool via REUTERS -
Texas education leaders unveil Bible-infused elementary school curriculum
The proposed curriculum overhaul was released a week after the Texas GOP proposed requiring the Bible to be taught in public schools. School districts that opt to use them will get more funding. Full Story
![Mrs. Eden's fourth grade class practice reading tables during a lesson on April 24, 2024 at Jack Frost Elementary School in Georgetown.]()
Credit: Sara Diggins/American-Statesman via REUTERS -
Texas House runoffs bring wave of GOP incumbent defeats, give Abbott votes for school vouchers
Six of eight GOP incumbents lost their races. Gov. Greg Abbott declared he “now has enough votes to pass school choice.” Full Story
![Members vote to approve an anti-voucher amendment brought by state rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, during a marathon session on the House floor to approve HB-1 at the Capitol in Austin on April 06, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s what we’re watching in Tuesday’s runoff elections
Texans are heading to the polls Tuesday to make their final selections for which Democrats and Republicans will run for various seats in the November election. Full Story
![House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, surveys the chamber during a break in the action on deadline day May 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Trump, Abbott paint gun rights as imperiled at NRA convention
In their speeches, the former president and the Texas governor described the protection of Second Amendment rights as contingent on Trump’s presidential reelection. Full Story
![Former President Donald Trump speaks at the NRA Leadership Forum at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas on May 18, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for the Texas Tribune -
Muslim advocacy group sues Abbott, saying university executive order violates free speech
Abbott’s executive order directs Texas universities to “review and update free speech policies to address the sharp rise in antisemitic speech.” Full Story
![Gov. Greg Abbott makes an economic development announcement on Mar. 1, 2024. The press conference took place in front of the Governor's Mansion.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott pardons Daniel Perry, veteran who killed police brutality protester in 2020
A Travis County jury sentenced Perry to 25 years in prison last year, prompting Abbott to ask the state parole board to review his case. Full Story
![Daniel Perry leaves the courtroom after he was sentenced to 25 years for the murder of Garrett Foster, at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman -
Former far-right hard-liner says pro-voucher billionaires are using school board races to sow distrust in public education
The largesse from billionaires Tim Dunn and brothers Farris and Dan Wilks has made its way into local politics. Courtney Gore, a Republican school board member in Granbury, says it’s part of their strategy to build support for vouchers. Full Story
![Courtney Gore, vice president of the Granbury Independent School District Board of Trustees, listens to public comments during a February meeting.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune -
A GOP Texas school board member campaigned against schools indoctrinating kids. Then she read the curriculum.
Courtney Gore, a Granbury ISD school board member, has disavowed the far-right platform she campaigned on. Her defiance has brought her backlash. Full Story
![Courtney Gore has disavowed the far-right platform she campaigned on when she won election to the Granbury ISD school board.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune -
GOP leaders snubbed Katrina Pierson in her House primary. Now they need her to pass school vouchers.
Ahead of the primary, Pierson lacked endorsements from Gov. Greg Abbott, former President Donald Trump, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, each of whom backed pro-voucher challengers in a number of other House contests. Full Story
![President Donald Trump's 2020 Senior Campaign Adviser Katrina Pierson greets the crowd during a Women for Trump Holiday Celebration at the Holiday Inn Tyler Conference Center in Tyler. Dec. 10, 2019.]()
Credit: Cara Campbell for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s why UT and A&M are unlikely to divest from Israel
Protesting students and staff want to draw attention to public university investments in companies supporting Israel, even if divestment is unlikely in Texas. Full Story
![University of Texas at Austin students and other pro-Palestine supporters peacefully gather on the South lawn of UT campus following a heated demonstration where over 30 demonstrators were arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers and university police Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas, federal government will begin tallying damage from spring storms, Gov. Greg Abbott says
Abbott confirmed three deaths from the storms, none were recorded from flooded areas. Full Story
![Gov. Greg Abbott makes an economic deveoplemt announcement on Mar. 1, 2024. Gov. Abbott was surounded by the previous Governor Trophies he had earned in previous years.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Legalized marijuana supporters hope voters in this Texas city will send a message to state lawmakers
There is no process in Texas for a voter-driven statewide referendum. So, supporters are going city by city to build statewide momentum. Full Story
![A shirt promotes the legalization of marijuana in Lubbock at the South Plains Fair in Lubbock on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott and UT-Austin shift from championing free speech to policing protesters’ intentions
The arrest of dozens of Pro-Palestinian demonstrators since last week has left First Amendment advocates asking who gets to enjoy speech protections in Texas. Full Story
![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 -
After no contest plea, a Texas representative’s charges for impersonating a public servant are dismissed
In June 2022, state Rep. Frederick Frazier was indicted on two charges of impersonating a public servant. A Collin County district judge dismissed the misdemeanor charges as part of his deferred adjudication. Full Story
![State Rep. Frederick Frazier, R-McKinney, yields for a round of hazing questions as his colleagues gather to support his first House bill during session on the House floor at the state Capitol in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Campuses across Texas had pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Why did only UT-Austin crack down?
Dozens of people were arrested in Austin, while sit ins and demonstrations elsewhere happened mostly unobstructed. School officials say it’s because campus rules were broken. Full Story
![Pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza march through the outdoor corridors of UTSA on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Scott Ball/San Antonio Report -
Gov. Greg Abbott suggests he wants to bar transgender teachers from dressing in line with their gender identity
Abbott made the remarks as he recounted the story of a male teacher in North Texas who wore a pink dress for his school’s spirit day earlier this year. Full Story
![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during the opening keynote lunch at the Texas Public Policy Foundation Texas Policy Summit 2024 in Austin on March 20, 2024. Gov. Abbott spoke about border security and cartels, school choice for parents of Texas children and the ban of DEI at Texas universities.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott endorses U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales amid primary runoff attacks that he’s a RINO
Gonzales, 43, faces Brandon Herrera in the May primary runoff election for South Texas District 23. Full Story
![U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, gives an interview in his office at Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. on April 28, 2023. Gonzales is a member of the House Appropriations Committees.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas politics leave transgender foster youth isolated — during and after life in state care
Support once afforded LGBTQ+ foster kids has vanished and a culture of silence has blanketed the agency tasked with raising children growing up in the system. Full Story
![Isabella Morningstar asks Marcus Anthony, a case manager at Thrive Youth Center if they have received any updates on her new birth certificate. She looks over his shoulder as he navigates the shelter’s email for any information about Morningstar. She has had a difficult time updating her paperwork to her current legal name, since she left the foster care system.]()
Credit: Greta Díaz González Vázquez/The Texas Tribune -
Migrant apprehensions are down at the Texas border. Have state policies had an impact?
Abbott has credited his Operation Lone Star for a recent drop in migrant encounters on the Texas-Mexico border. Full Story
![Texas DPS special agents apprehend a group of five undocumented migrants from Honduras that were caught in private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville on Nov. 8, 2021. The owner of the property did not sign an affidavit for arrests of undocumented migrants to be taking place at their property so the group of Hondurans will be processed by Border Patrol instead.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune
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