At the Texas Tribune Festival, Hinojosa rejected the “progressive” label in favor of a populist branding in her race against Gov. Greg Abbott.

Fourteen cities and counties have dropped Flock contracts, and Laredo will ask voters to weigh in during a referendum in May.

Agriculture is the state's second largest industry. Here’s a look at the 2026 midterm candidates to oversee the agriculture department and where they stand on the issues.

A political mailer bearing Gov. Greg Abbott’s name left one Houston voter questioning whether it was legitimate. KPRC 2 verifies the campaign is sending vote-by-mail applications to eligible voters, but explains why receiving one does not automatically mean you qualify, and outlines the key deadlines for the Nov. 3 election.

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's relationship to the rich and powerful has surfaced in congressional contests across the country.

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was discharged after four hours into ICE custody and taken 135 miles to an immigration detention center.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to halt all permits sought by data centers until the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) completes an audit.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said in his ruling that he expects Republicans to succeed in restricting primaries to voters registered with the party during the next legislative session.

The grant program was created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which became law in July 2025.

A federal immigration officer is pleading not guilty to federal charges that he lied to the FBI about being attacked before he shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

The Railroad Commission candidate is under fire from fellow Republicans for a post that said a picture of college students celebrating a football victory shows “how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners.”

Three Harris County commissioners voted Tuesday to raise property taxes and immediately after the vote, they made clear who they believe is responsible.

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state Department of Transportation to stop issuing permits for automated license plate readers.

A federal immigration officer charged with shooting a Venezuelan man last winter and lying about the circumstances to investigators has appeared before a Minnesota judge.

The announcement ends a nearly year-long dispute with the Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services over the funding to Texas hospitals, which were slated to lose $27 million a day.

Minnesota prosecutors accused Christian Castro of injuring a Venezuelan man and lying about what led to the shooting. He also faces federal charges.

Democrat James Talarico is consistently leading in the polls over Ken Paxton, which is unheard of in recent decades. National forecasters are calling Texas a tie, or else giving the advantage to the Democrat.

Appointed a decade ago, the education commissioner insists that when he has direct oversight, academic gains follow. His critics await better student outcomes.

If you’re planning to vote in November, today is your last chance to register. You don’t want to show up at the polls and find out your name is on the suspended list!

Gov. Greg Abbott paused state funding for Flock cameras in Texas. Here’s how 16 Houston-area law enforcement agencies say they are handling the funding and their existing Flock systems.

Under previous law, operators could keep inactive wells up indefinitely.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is directing the Texas Water Development Board to take action against major water users, including data centers, that have failed to comply with state water-use reporting requirements.

Last year, less than 30% of data centers responded to a state-mandated water usage survey conducted by the Texas Water Development Board.

On a conservative radio show, Bo French suggested the politicians who criticized him were "less-conservative people."

Data centers are spreading across Texas. What does that mean for your power bill, water and neighborhood?

With high costs top of mind, GOP candidates in competitive races tested a tightrope act: Trump’s policies are helping, but Biden is still the culprit for your gas and grocery bills.

McKenna West has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying she does not trust that the biological parents have the child's best interest at heart.

The president used his winding, nearly two-hour keynote address to try to boost Republicans around the country, telling his supporters to “pretend that I’m on the ballot” this fall.

Democrats are descending on Donald Trump’s midterm convention in Texas and urging voters to consider the reality of his presidency rather than the spectacle of his made-for-TV event.

National Republicans branded their midterm convention as “Trumpapalooza,” with a clear goal of energizing GOP voters — and stocking their campaign coffers — during a difficult midterm environment.

On the campaign trail, the governor said dismantling city-owned utilities will save customers money by introducing competition.

The attorney general won a lawsuit against the feds for withholding a Medicaid funding stream three years ago. Texas faces the same cut, but Paxton has stayed quiet.

Law enforcement agencies from across the country search the DPS Flock database once every four seconds, on average. After the Tribune inquired, DPS said it will limit which agencies can access the network.

Texas has been approved for federal disaster assistance following severe storms and flooding that damaged communities across the state in July, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday.

If not carefully vetted, candidates’ proposals to lower costs could exacerbate future affordability issues, experts say.

Abbott’s spokesman reiterated that Texas is not doing anything wrong that would disqualify hospitals from receiving nearly $10 billion in Medicaid funding annually.

The announced funding will help 19 counties pay for infrastructure repairs, but Texas is still waiting for help for individuals in the affected counties.

Gov. Greg Abbott was quick to criticize a similar vote last year, when he said the state may need to “micromanage” the city to protect water availability in the region.

The former Tropical Storm Edouard weakened into a depression while unleashing heavy rains and strong winds on parts of Texas.

Starting Sept. 1, the Trump administration will withhold about $9.8 billion in extra funding that helps hospitals cover the difference between Medicaid payments and the actual cost of services.

Forecasters warned that the risk of flooding could continue in East Texas into Thursday as the tropical storm’s remnants move slowly north.

Governor Greg Abbott will be in Austin Monday afternoon to hold a briefing and press conference on Texas’ preparations for tropical weather expected to impact the state.

Islamic scholars and Muslim Texans say fear and political opportunism distort the meaning of sharia.

Gov. Greg Abbott will be in San Antonio Monday to participate in a roundtable discussion on Project Watershed 250, President Trumps scalable water cybersecurity pilot program.

Tropical Storm Edouard has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to gain strength before bringing potentially heavy rains and flooding into parts of Texas and Louisiana.

The final votes conclude years of debate over how social studies lessons should broach race and religion.

The higher fee, meant to combat catalytic converter theft, provided millions to expand the Flock network across Texas. Some lawmakers say that wasn’t the intent.

The order came as The Texas Tribune was preparing to publish an investigation detailing how a state agency has devoted at least $30 million to building the state’s Flock surveillance network.

The six-week wait for approval fits a pattern: On average, the Trump White House is taking longer than previous administrations to approve major disaster assistance, research shows.

Data centers and agriculture depend on many of the same resources, such as water, land and electricity, which has some in the industry worried about the future.

Legal experts say an immigration officer’s release from a Texas jail despite a request to return him to Minnesota for prosecution could create a dangerous precedent.

From school takeovers to college affordability, the Democrat and Republican are rolling out their education priorities ahead of November’s election.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered flags lowered to half-staff across the state in honor of Dolly Parton.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also speculated during their conversation that Gov. Greg Abbott also aspires for the White House.

Lawmakers gutted an old state law that required a city council supermajority to approve a new housing development if neighbors petitioned the proposal.

A federal judge has refused to order Texas to extradite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who is charged with shooting and wounding a man in Minneapolis.

The snowballing opposition to data center projects in communities across the United States has transformed the midterm election landscape.

In the small Nebraska village of Murdock, now-paused plans for two potential data centers have sparked the kinds of debates that have raged in cities and towns across the country.

Christian Castro was released a day after a federal judge rejected Minnesota’s bid to keep him jailed while Gov. Greg Abbott decides whether to sign extradition papers.

A federal judge reasserted his 2023 ruling that the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sent back for reconsideration. The law went into effect in March as the case proceeded.

A large wildfire which sparked Monday in North Texas has rapidly expanded, burning 50,000 acres in just 24 hours and sparking a large response from multiple agencies, including some from Southeast Texas.

The Texas governor said he has doubts Christian Castro is a fugitive subject to extradition, adding the state is still investigating. A hearing on keeping him in custody is Tuesday.

The state — which spent over $11 billion on Operation Lone Star — could receive more through a separate $3.5 billion reimbursement fund administered by the Department of Justice.

Energy regulators and industry experts warn that the state’s delays to major projects amid backlash from residents could create rolling blackouts and strangle growth of other industries that need power.

President Donald Trump has voiced strong support for AI and data centers, emphasizing their economic benefits and importance in the global AI race.

The growing backlash surrounding 765 kv lines, as well as data centers, was tackled at a nine-hour House hearing that included testimony and recommendations but no definitive answers.

Some districts use the temporary work permits to fill critical teacher shortages in roles such as bilingual education.

Texas’ first voucher data mirrors patterns seen in Florida, Arizona and Iowa, but broad demographic categories leave unanswered whether the program is expanding educational access for families who previously could not afford it.

Christian Castro, accused of assault and lying about the circumstance leading to the Jan. 14 shooting, was arrested in Cameron County in May.

More governors are shifting their stances or taking more steps to squeeze data centers, as the midterm elections near and public opinion sours on the energy-hungry behemoths.

Minnesota's attorney general is suing the governor of Texas, asking a federal judge to compel the extradition of a federal immigration agent charged with wounding a man and then lying about it during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

Lawmakers will review security rules for universities as Gov. Greg Abbott campaigns for a fourth term by targeting foreign influence in education.

Gov. Greg Abbott is directing a review of state grants connected to two of Texas’ largest airports, including George Bush Intercontinental Airport, over religious accommodations he argues may violate state and federal nondiscrimination laws.

Rising costs, slowing tax revenue and a sluggish economy have saddled some of Texas’ biggest cities with multimillion-dollar deficits.

DFW said late Friday that plans to install the religious washing station had been canceled.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a review of all state grants to entities that operate airports over what he says is “illegal religious discrimination.”

The state’s power grid operator had already planned on auditing several data center proposals, but Abbott’s directive reworks the timeline and adds new requirements.

A tribal nonprofit and an outdoor recreation company filed the federal lawsuit, arguing the work threatens archeological sites and sacred grounds.

Without key details on the audits but the eagerness to support them, policy watchers question how impactful these audits will be in curbing data center growth.

The governor’s proposal would eliminate probation and deferred adjudication, but one national advocate says Texas must do more to prevent abuse before it happens.

The Texas Broadband office made the announcement after facing scrutiny from lawmakers for changing the rules to seemingly favor companies such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Texas plaintiffs’ lawyers are bankrolling populist GOP insurgents. Tort reform groups like Texans for Lawsuit Reform are aghast.

In this week's episode, the TribCast crew is joined by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and economy reporter Paul Cobler. They discuss the anger in rural Texas over data centers and power lines, and ask Miller why he thinks it means Democrats could win a statewide race in November.

Data center developers can use nondisclosure agreements and shell companies to shield the details of their deals from the public. Even state officials also say they need more transparency from the industry.

The president’s comments to Punchbowl News come just days after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide pause of approval for data centers trying to connect to the power grid.

The Texas agriculture commissioner has openly criticized Gov. Greg Abbott for not taking a stronger stand against data center development. The governor has ignored him.

Clinics with better internet connections are now offering telehealth services to patients who can’t do it from their homes.

After hitting his GOP foe for voting under an address where he no longer lived, the Tribune and ProPublica found the Democratic Senate candidate also appears to have done so.

As artificial intelligence fuels a rapid expansion of data centers across Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott is ordering a closer review of proposed projects before they are allowed to connect to the state’s electric grid.

This is the second Texas university system sued over teaching restrictions in recent weeks.

On Monday, the governor ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to audit all data centers wanting to connect to the state’s power grid.

Gov. Greg Abbott is directing state regulators to conduct a comprehensive audit of data center projects seeking to connect to the Texas power grid, saying the review is necessary to protect the state’s electric reliability as demand continues to surge.

The number of Texas students using taxpayer money for private school or home-school could increase as more families accept invites.

Some cities are trying to make it more difficult to build apartments under a new housing law.

Dawn Buckingham said a contractor hired by U.S. Customs and Border Protection trespassed and significantly altered land in Presidio County without permission.

The request comes after Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and Electric Reliability Council of Texas to further regulate data centers’ use of the power grid.

Texas lawmakers accuse the state broadband office of favoritism and sweetheart deals after satellite internet providers received most of the funding.

Democrat James Talarico is challenging Republican Ken Paxton in a closely watched U.S. Senate race in Texas.

The victim was swept away while driving in Val Verde County, the governor said after assessing damage around Cotulla.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says a third person has been confirmed killed by catastrophic floods this month that prompted more than 500 rescues, damaged homes and businesses, and are still making some areas inaccessible.