EAST TEXAS

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.

"We need to stop the bad guys."—Ted Cruz

In this edition: Lessons from all of May's primaries, redistricting madness drags into Memorial Day weekend, and the director of Justice Democrats lays out their new strategy to replace centrists.

According to ongoing research at UT Arlington, the Texas spiny lizard and prairie lizard have slipped into a quiet, statewide turf war.

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.

The photographer, author, and entrepreneur captures Texas pride

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

Bob Wills fans flock each spring to the tiny Panhandle town to “dance all night, dance a little longer.”

The 72-year-old Oscar winner and East Texas native takes her small-town ethos to the small screen—and across galaxies.

This 73-year-old physician is on a mission to make his clinic a refuge for women's health care on the border.

The estimated total for the balances owed to the historically black East Texas college by the graduating class of 2022 was about $300,000.

The college posted a video of the commencement ceremony with the students being told, "You are debt-free."

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.

Students graduating from a historically Black college in East Texas were told at their...

Take Texas by train on these sightseeing tours

Many Texas public universities have committed to accepting students who do not submit SAT...

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.

State and federal agencies have confirmed Texas’ first case of a “highly pathogenic” avian influenza, but commercial egg and poultry operations have so far avoided outbreaks and widespread losses seen in other regions.

Let’s pause to appreciate our leafy friends.

Green's sixth album, 'Baker Hotel,' takes inspiration from the long-abandoned hotel in Mineral Wells, which is now being renovated.

At the charming Hotel Ritual in small-town Jacksonville, you can tap into any frequency you wish.

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 deaths of two inmates at the federal facility in East Texas led to a dayslong lockdown of the country’s prison system.

Utility companies and key oil and gas transportation hubs are on high alert as Russian...

The seventh-generation Texan is roaming the state in her van, registering voters—and digging into her family's history in the long struggle for voting rights.

There are dozens of invasive species of plants, animals, insects, and shellfish in Texas that threaten native species and cause other environmental concerns.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the nation's first primary of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules that are part [San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

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 lawmakers back U.S. ban on Russian oil imports, call for domestic production boost

Texas students push back against book bans for censoring LGBTQ, racial justice issues

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...

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

A year after feds approve funds, Texas launches program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure because of COVID-19

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.

Twenty-five states, including California and New York, preceded Texas in getting...

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.

The two-term Republican agriculture commissioner Sid Miller will face Democrat Susan Hays, assuming his lead holds in the Republican primary.

Due to dry conditions, expect a patchy wildflower season in much of the state, but bountiful blooms in Central and South Texas

Analysis: Texas election day is a time to say goodbye to some well-known candidates

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

Revitalization brings new downtown offerings to a town rich in history

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.

Springtime is one of the best times of the year to visit Longview.

The campaign for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, usually a low-profile affair, is getting more attention—and that’s a good thing.

The nine-term congressman and right-wing firebrand from Tyler is staking his career on unseating the indicted attorney general.

The account pokes fun at the many misshapen depictions of the state, from tattoos and murals to pies and furniture.

The mysterious man had a rifle but did not threaten the couple or steal anything, the sheriff's office report says.

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.

Fermat’s last theorem went unsolved for more than 350 years—and the role of the Tyler oil heir who funded its 1994 solution was largely unknown until this week.

He’s facing prison time.

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.

Ken Paxton targets Louie Gohmert in hotly contested primary for attorney general

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.

Paxton’s attack ads suggest that he sees Gohmert as a bigger threat than the other two Republicans in the race — Land Commissioner George P. Bush and former state Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman.

LONGVIEW (AP) — An East Texas county commissioner and his wife have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor election fraud after reaching a plea deal that allows him to remain in office.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

An East Texas county commissioner and his wife have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor election fraud after reaching a plea deal that allows him to remain in office.

An East Texas county commissioner and his wife have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor election fraud after reaching a plea deal that allows him to remain in office. Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown and his wife Marlene Jackson entered their pleas Thursday before a state district judge in Longview.

School district leaders are desperately trying to fill vacant roles to stay open and some say they have no choice but to close.

Federal investigators say a helicopter rotated out of control before crashing in East Texas, killing a passenger and injuring the pilot and two other passengers.

Cod this story be any stranger?

The East Texas city of Texarkana experienced a rare weather event to close out the year: It rained fish.

The City of Texarcana explained to residents that the rare phenomenon can sometimes...

Texas’ housing crunch has spread outside of the state’s major metropolitan areas and into more rural parts of Texas. Smaller cities and towns saw steep increases in home prices as COVID-19 spread.

At the start of the pandemic, the need for the food Jaron Barganier’s nonprofit, Be a Champion, provides to kids throughout Texas exploded.

Texas born adoptees can’t access their original birth certificates until they’re 18. Even then, they have to already know the names of both of their birth parents. Otherwise, the adoptee will have to petition the court.

2021 was a year of weather extremes: fires and smoke out West, flooding and hurricanes in the Southeast, extreme heat in the Northwest, freezing temperatures in the Midwest, deadly tornadoes in December. Take a meteorological tour through these events to explore what was behind this anomalous year.

An A-to-Z list of 25 Lone Star State residents who disgraced themselves last January 6. An A-to-Z list of 25 Lone Star State residents who disgraced themselves last January 6.

The race to chair the Texas Democratic Party is heating up early as the state's Democrats contemplate their future after a disappointing 2020 election.

Current state party leader Gilberto Hinojosa has indicated he isn’t going anywhere. But that hasn’t stopped open discussion about leadership of the party with several months until convention delegates vote on the position.

Electronic giant Samsung announced last week that it will build a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in the Central Texas town of Taylor, about 40 miles northeast of Austin.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

An ambulance transported the girl 12 miles to a Longview hospital where she was...

An 11-year-old girl died Saturday after she was accidentally shot by her father while hunting in east Texas, authorities say.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Texas lowest in months, but other troubling signs arise

Retracing the trail that tamed the Texas wilderness—the Camino Real.

A surge in COVID-19 cases from the West is impacting El Paso.

U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert has joined the crowded field of Republicans mounting primary challenges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

O’Rourke joins the 2022 gubernatorial race as Texas’ best-known Democrat, but he carries considerably more baggage after a series of political failures, including his bids for U.S. Senate and president. This time, instead of riding a blue wave nationally, he’ll be fighting a red one.

Ready to commit murder most fowl?

An East Texas man has been charged with murder after authorities say he stabbed his 53-year-old father several times and slashed his throat.

The nation's most restrictive abortion law is driving many women from Texas to seek services as far away as Oklahoma and Kansas.

Defense attorneys have begun calling witnesses in the capital murder trial of a former nurse accused of killing four patients at an East Texas hospital.

Opal Lee’s dream of seeing Juneteenth become a federal holiday was finally realized over the summer, but the energetic woman who spent years rallying people to join her push for the day commemorating the end of slavery is hardly letting up on a lifetime of work teaching and helping others.

State Sen. Bryan Hughes authored the six-week abortion ban and the elections bill and carried other conservative priorities that grabbed national attention.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law an overhaul of the state’s election rules following months of protests by Democrats.

Brazos Bend State Park staff recently welcomed some snappy new bundles of joy into the world -- several tiny lil’ alligators.

The small districts aren’t fighting Gov. Greg Abbott’s mask rules, but fears for staff, students and local medical facilities are driving them to fight COVID-19 with temporary closures.

As the new school year begins for Texas students, at least four school districts have had to temporarily close campuses due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

48 years ago, Dean Corll, one of the country’s most prolific serial killers, was shot dead at his home in Pasadena, Texas. Texas EquuSearch announced Sunday it will soon begin searching for the remains of any additional victims.

There are two main groups within Texas’ unvaccinated population: white conservatives in rural areas, and Hispanic and Black people in big cities.

Texas Republican state leaders held their ground against allowing local schools and governments to require masks. The CDC guidelines are not mandates and have no weight of law.

Texas is home to many dangerous critters, both big and small. Here are nine of the most dangerous animals in the state. Oh, and it goes without saying, but we’re going to say it anyway -- Obviously, you want to steer clear of these creatures if you see them out in the wild or, heaven forbid, in your own home.

Here are things to know for Friday, July 2:

White, chairman of the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee, has served in the lower chamber since 2011.

Texas GOP Chairman Allen West is stepping down after a short but combative run of using the job to antagonize top Republicans in America’s biggest red state.