EAST TEXAS

The killing of inmate Billy Chemirmir in the Coffield Unit occurred during a statewide lockdown of prisons, promoted by a rise in inmate homicides. A day before the lockdown, another incident at the same prison resulted in the firings of seven correctional officers and the resignations of another six.

Texas is one of 17 states that still permits hitting, spanking and paddling in schools. Republican lawmakers stood by the practice earlier this year in part because they say it was permitted in the Bible.

Kelly Hancock and Robert Nichols broke from the rest of their party, but longtime observers said they weren’t surprised.

As the state’s wildfire season continues, rural fire departments and their volunteers are strained to keep up with hundreds of fires.

Simmons talked with The Texas Tribune about “Up Home: One Girl’s Journey,” which depicts an era long gone but whose legacies of inequality still persist.

For decades, the Texas comptroller’s office has double-checked property valuations across the state, which help determine how much school districts can levy in property taxes. But when state and county appraisers disagree, districts can end up with big holes in their budgets.

Most Texas prisons lack air conditioning. At least 41 prisoners have died of heart-related or undetermined causes since the unrelenting heat wave began.

According to the Texarkana Police Department, the shooting happened at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday at an apartment complex.

Grant applicants are required to have a line of credit from a major bank and put up 25% of the project cost ahead of time. That will likely disqualify many small internet service providers in rural areas.

The federal agency has settled a lawsuit the Sierra Club brought over pollution from a coal-burning power plant. The agreement requires the EPA to weigh in on the state’s plan to improve air quality in Rusk and Panola counties.

In triple-digit temperatures, drinking water frequently and resting in the shade are minimum safety measures for avoiding injuries and deaths. But they are not applied to every job site.

A giraffe named Twiga who died over the weekend at an East Texas zoo at the age of 31 was among the oldest giraffes being cared for by humans.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management will decide how to use the money.

Some Texans may have to wait a week for their power to be restored during a period of extreme heat and humidity.

Texas Rural Funders hopes a one-stop resource for grant applications and writers could help small towns win money to fund innovation and capital needs.

On the eve of a historic investment in connecting the Lone Star State, advocates worry maps that will help establish which communities get funding have bad information.

Many Americans will be marking Juneteenth this month.

The quiet East Texas town of Jasper came together immediately after the racist murder of James Byrd Jr. Now, Texas is leading the nation in incidents of white supremacist propaganda.

An estimated 7 million Texans don’t have access to high-speed broadband internet access.

Water agencies have long resisted working together out of fear of losing their local powers. But an example from Florida could help save the Lone Star State’s water and infrastructure.

Texas has more than 7,000 water systems. A fraction of them self-reported that they lost 30 billion gallons of water due to broken pipes and leaks in 2021.

On a daily basis, water managers in cities across the state move from crisis to crisis hoping to keep the water flowing to residents.

The 150 districts didn’t change, but the vote ensured the House met its constitutional requirement to approve new maps in the first regular session following formal publication of the 2020 census results.

A sheriff's office in Texas says nine teenagers were shot at a prom after-party attended by hundreds.

A woman was found alive inside a submerged vehicle in a lake in east Texas Friday.

Gov. Greg Abbott and other conservatives say families need options to escape “woke” education in public schools. East Texas parents and school leaders say the national talking points are off base.

Ricardo Jose Prado Jr., 41, died at around 11:45 p.m. on April 1 at a state penitentiary located in Tennessee Colony, TX. He was serving a sentence of life without parole for the crime.

The Senate on Monday passed a bill that would create a new state fund tailored for large or long-shot water supply projects, including marine desalination. The bill will advance to the House.

East Texans worry they could miss out on federal dollars because a state map that will help determine where the money goes shows they already have access to broadband. Residents say their broadband is chronically unreliable.

Pregnancy forced Destiny Williams to quit her job. She almost died during childbirth. Now with a newborn in tow, she’s struggling to build a more stable life for her and her children.

A survey was commissioned by the nonprofit organization Texas Water Trade and included responses from households in both rural border communities and in urban areas across Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.

A cascade of issues including inflation and growing distrust in government aren’t helping local governments hire for critical positions in public safety and utilities.

Whittington, who was 95, was shot in 2006 during a quail-hunting trip near Corpus Christi. He quickly forgave Cheney.

Experts say local governments should prioritize extreme weather preparedness. Cost can be a deterring factor.

McBride Operating LLC and its owner, Joseph McBride, contributed to the political campaigns of the three commissioners on the Texas Railroad Commission now considering his request.

Close to 325,000 electricity customers statewide lacked power Thursday evening. Austin’s main power provider said it can no longer promise full restoration by 6 p.m. Friday.

Rural school leaders in Texas have been able to stave off the legislative priority of some of the state’s most prominent Republicans. But private school officials hope this year will be different.

The Texas Railroad Commission has rejected the proposal twice over water contamination concerns, but locals are dismayed that the commissioners keep giving the developer more chances to alter its application.

Two Houston-area men were sentenced to federal prison this week for multiple ATM burglaries that took place in Bowie County, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Brit Featherston said.

Two women have been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking in the Easter District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston on Wednesday.

So far there has been an average of six boil-water notices a day across Texas in 2023.

The leaders of the state’s six biggest university systems are seeking the money to fund instruction, university operations and employee health insurance and to cover a free tuition program for veterans and their children.

Women in Deep East Texas drive over an hour to give birth after the last obstetrics unit in the area closed in 2019. But if closing the unit was hard, reopening it is proving nearly impossible.

Nathaniel Moran, the former Smith County judge, has promised to be a staunch conservative who will pass legislation. That worries some of his constituents.

It was another historic, news-filled year. As you get ready for 2023, check out these memorable articles the Tribune published in 2022.

Fatal crashes in rural areas accounted for 51% of Texas’ 4,489 traffic fatalities in 2021, even though only about 10% of the state’s population lives in a rural area, according to data from the state’s department of transportation.

Today on Houston Life, actors Jeff McMorrough and Olivia Swasey stopped by to chat about A TEXAS CAROL, a festive Texan Christmas production running through December 23rd.

Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate state emergency response resources in anticipation of severe weather and potential flooding expected in the state beginning Tuesday through the evening.

Rural communities face compounding reasons they can’t improve their water infrastructure, including inflation and a lack of human resources.

The latest county to make a disaster declaration is an eight-hour drive away from the Texas-Mexico border, but local officials there say they’re under “invasion.”

Forecasters are warning of severe weather across several southern states.

Zavalla lost all water for several days. The Texas Department of Emergency Management has sent pallets of bottled water and a team to help.

Texas’ seven freshly elected members of Congress run the ideological gamut, from impassioned conservatives to some of the most progressive members ever sent from Texas.

Texas Tribune photographers spread out all over the state to document a momentous midterm election.

Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday with a wide variety of issues on their minds, including the state’s grid and the Uvalde shooting.

Downtowns are deserted, hospitals are closing, teachers are leaving. Every part of life in rural Texas is harder — but it’s worth saving.

An increase in fake active-shooter reports since the beginning of the school year has intensified parents’ anxieties and required an additional law enforcement response.

School leaders are offering more money and paid training for potential bus drivers. Some routes still go unserved.

The high turnout seen in 2018 may have been an anomaly rather than the start of a long-term trend.

Access to health care is limited in rural Texas. The mobile clinic operated by Beaumont-based TAN Healthcare aims to close that gap.

Formerly incarcerated Texans face numerous barriers to restart their lives. Without help from the state, the Next Chapter program in Lufkin is helping people released from prison get back on their feet.

Running elections in Texas has never been easy. But since 2020, the scrutiny elections administrators face has grown — even in small Republican-controlled counties that former President Donald Trump carried.

Other anti-abortion groups and Republicans said they will continue to support state Sen. Robert Nichols after his comments at The Texas Tribune Festival.

Local governments in Texas have spent the summer preparing their budgets for next year, wrestling with inflation and a law that prohibits them from raising property tax revenues beyond 3.5% without voter approval.

Texas lawmakers on both sides of the aisle talked schools, abortion and guns in advance of next year’s session in a range of panels at The Texas Tribune Festival.

One of the longest-serving Republican state senators, Robert Nichols is among the first to say publicly he’d support revising the state’s abortion prohibition. He spoke Friday at The Texas Tribune Festival.

Texas ranks last among states in access to health care and has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country. Two longtime doctors in rural Henderson County created a homegrown safety net to fill the gap.

Across the country, more books have been challenged and removed as religious and conservative groups target LGBTQ and race issues.

A recent analysis of Oath Keepers’ membership rolls leaked last year found that Texas had more members of the far-right extremist group than any other state — and the most who worked as elected officials, law enforcement officers or members of the military.

The Dallas Cowboys have signed free agent left tackle Jason Peters to a one-year contract.

“If it’s gonna rise by that much, I don’t think we’re prepared,” one South Texas mayor said of temperature increases.

Texas heat has killed prisoners and cost the state millions in wrongful death and civil rights lawsuits. Prison rights advocates hope a budget surplus next year will finally push lawmakers to invest in air conditioning.

A Washington man who was targeting innocent, unsuspecting seniors across East Texas was sentenced Tuesday to serve time in federal prison for fraud violations, U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston announced.

Texas had 3,866 water boil notices in 2021, the most in the last decade. Aging water systems threaten water supply and quality — and for many small towns across the state, they won’t be cheap to repair.

Pooja has worked at Chalkbeat, CNN and NPR. Based in Lufkin, she will report from a vast and diverse region that borders on three states.

A Mexican immigration official says that in the chaotic minutes after dozens of migrants were found dead inside a tractor-trailer sweltering in the Texas heat, the driver tried to slip away by pretending to be one of the survivors.

Authorities say five people were shot and injured during an outdoor event in East Texas that featured a trail ride.

The Texas prison system says it's temporarily stopped transporting inmates as it investigates how a convicted murderer escaped from a transport bus last month, later killing a man and his four grandsons.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and other Republicans argue that gunmen can be stopped by locking all but one door and posting guards at schools. School officials and safety experts say that’s not realistic.

After the Uvalde mass shooting, GOP leaders are again pushing to boost school security. But similar legislation after a 2018 school shooting has fallen short of its goals, and experts said there’s no evidence such tactics work.

A spokesperson for Abbott said he had previously committed to the event but all campaign-related activities are postponed until further notice.

Officials at Wiley College in East Texas say students graduating from the historically Black college were told at their commencement ceremony that an anonymous donor had paid their balances.

Take Texas by train on these sightseeing tours

Many Texas public universities have committed to accepting students who do not submit SAT or ACT standardized test scores, signaling that test-optional policies could be here to stay.

We’re hiring reporters to cover the Panhandle/South Plains and East Texas, along with a regional editor. We hope to also place staff in the Rio Grande Valley and the Permian Basin.

The Board of Regents backed. Gordon last year despite a vote of no confidence from faculty. Six months later, the board reversed course. It Sunday that it was in everyone’s “best interest” to part ways and appointed an interim president.

The number of rejected mail ballots in Texas soared to nearly 13% across most counties in the nation's first election of 2022.

As conservative parents become more frustrated with how school boards handled the pandemic, once-ignored school board elections are becoming better funded.

Texas Republicans spent much of Monday demanding nearly unfettered drilling and pipeline usage across North America — policies Biden officials refused to endorse.

Students are forming banned-book clubs and distribution drives to contest restrictions that focus mostly on LGBTQ and racial themes. ​

Ever since Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state’s child welfare agency to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children, LGBTQ-affirming family lawyers statewide have been deluged with calls.

Bush is the underdog in the race. He had fewer votes than Paxton in the primary, and Paxton carries the coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump. But the incumbent is still battling his felony indictment and a newer FBI investigation.

Twenty-five states, including California and New York, preceded Texas in getting federally backed programs up and running to help homeowners suffering financial hardship because of COVID-19.

It’s cutting time. Expect to see some political names you know among Tuesday’s primary election losers.

Land Commissioner George P. Bush and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman repeatedly criticized each other. U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert focused on the incumbent, who didn’t participate.

Here are things to know for Thursday, Feb. 3:

Authorities are accusing a 14-year-old East Texas boy of murder in the fatal shooting of his 8-year-old brother.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in letters to seven governors, is reaffirming the need for members of their states' Army and Air National Guards to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine or lose their Guard status.

Public health officials have played a crucial role in vaccination efforts and tracking the spread of the virus. But different needs from their communities and insufficient aid have complicated the work.