Families of Uvalde school shooting victims agree to $2 million settlement with city
The families of 19 of the victims in the Uvalde elementary school shooting in Texas have filed a $500 million federal lawsuit against 92 state police officers who were part of the botched law enforcement response.
Texas delegation urges Congress to withhold aid to Mexico over water treaty dispute
A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers are demanding appropriators withhold funds for the country until Mexico lives up to its end of a 1944 water treaty that requires it to send 1.75 million acre-feet to the U.S. every five years.
Former aide and consultant close to U.S. Rep. Cuellar plead guilty and agree to aid investigation
A top former aide to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and a political and business consultant have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to help the Democratic congressman from Texas launder more than $200,000 in bribes and to assist prosecutors in a federal criminal investigation.
Migrants lacking passports must now submit to facial recognition to board flights in US
The U.S. government has started requiring migrants without passports to submit to facial recognition technology to take domestic flights under a change that prompted confusion this week among immigrants and advocacy groups in Texas.
Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores accused of cribbing others’ pictures of Mexican food as her own cooking
Flores, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez for her old seat, is being accused of routinely stealing stylish photos of Mexican campfire cooking and passing them off as her own idyllic life on a ranch.
An early hurricane heads-up for Houston and Texas
For 20 years now, engineer Dale Link has issued a broad hurricane forecast for the United States (and all over the world) indicating not “how many” hurricanes we’ll have in a given season, but where those storms have a 50-50 chance of making landfall.
A Texas high school is piloting the state’s first-ever Asian American studies course. Could politics stand in its way?
The course highlights Asian Americans’ contributions in U.S. history. It also seeks to offer an honest look at the mistreatment, like the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Tropical Storm Harold makes landfall in South Texas, causing power outages in Corpus Christi
Thousands of homes and businesses in the small South Texas city of Corpus Christi are without power after the state’s first tropical storm of the hurricane season made landfall, bringing strong winds and welcome rain following months of dry weather.
On the Texas-Mexico border, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives an owl protected status, seeks to declare two mussel species endangered
Wildlife groups have long lobbied for increased protection for the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. The agency says the mussels species are threatened by reduced flow and poor water quality in the Rio Grande.
After historic drought, lawmakers agree on billion-dollar plan to expand water supplies, fix infrastructure
Following one of the hottest summers on record, lawmakers have set an ambitious target: By 2033, they want to bump up the state’s water supply by an amount equal to three of the largest reservoirs in the state.
'Risk it all': Migrant surge as US prepares for Title 42 end
A recent surge of migrants in the Brownsville, Texas, area of the U.S.-Mexico border is highlighting immigration challenges as the U.S. prepares for the end of a policy linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants.
State retirees struggle through inflation while budget plans leave them out
Budget proposals in the Texas Legislature include billions in raises for current and retired teachers, as well as current state employees. So far, retired state employees are not mentioned in the budget plans. The state’s former public servants haven’t had a pension raise in 20 years.
National Democrats will invest to retake South Texas congressional district in 2024
The U.S. House Democratic campaign arm will target the 15th Congressional District in next year’s elections, hoping to reclaim the seat from Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz, the first Republican ever to represent the district.
Thousands of pounds of “forever chemicals” have been injected into Texas oil and gas wells, study finds
A new report from a public health watchdog found that more than 40,000 pounds of PFAS has been injected into more than 1,000 wells across Texas — and warned that the chemicals could pose a risk to public health
Jill Biden invites Austin couple to State of the Union to highlight abortion access
Amanda Zurawski developed a life-threatening infection last year after her water broke when she was only 18 weeks pregnant. Citing the state’s abortion ban, her doctors refused to intervene to induce labor even though there was no way her baby would survive.
Beto O’Rourke’s campaign reflects on failed governor race
In a press call Monday, O’Rourke’s team reflected on its failures during the election, but said Gov. Greg Abbott had the advantage with his ability to attract media attention and rely on” established narratives” that historically favor Republicans.