TARRANT COUNTY

A jury found Aaron Dean guilty of manslaughter last week for the fatal shooting of Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, while she was babysitting her nephew in a family home.

A jury deciding the sentence for a former Texas police officer who was convicted of manslaughter last week for fatally shooting Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window in her home in 2019 deliberated for over seven hours Monday.

Under Texas law, homeowners can claim a homestead exemption only on their primary residence. The GOP Senate candidate registered to vote in Georgia last year.

Barbee, convicted in the 2005 murders of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her child, was unable to straighten his arms, which caused the delay. Courts allowed Barbee’s execution despite concerns from his lawyer that his disability would make the process “torture.”

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

In three key local elections, the Austin mayoral race will be decided in a runoff, Republican Tim O’Hare won the Tarrant County judge race and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins won reelection.

Democrats hope population growth and Republican infighting will help them win in the state’s third-most-populous county — and finally break through in statewide races.

Nearly half of Hispanic Texans live in the state’s five largest counties, a voting bloc Democrats cannot afford to lose as they struggle to compete in the state’s vast rural areas.

Critics say state District Judge Alex Kim is sending too many children to the state’s failing youth prison system. The longtime GOP politician points to a rise in teen gang violence.

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

Both Republicans have been at odds with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and neither of them are running for reelection.

A day before school began, Keller Independent School District announced a last-minute sweep of scores of books — including an adaptation of Anne Frank's diary and the Bible.

Former Arlington Police Officer Robert Phillips was indicted on a charge of murder.

Texas' top criminal appeals court on Wednesday ordered a man convicted of killing an 11-year-old Fort Worth girl be removed from the state's death row. In a three-page opinion, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled by a 6-3 vote that Juan Ramon Meza Segundo does not qualify for execution because of intellectual disability under a recent Supreme Court standard. The appeals court reformed his death sentence to life imprisonment with parole possible, the only alternative sentence for capital murder available at Segundo’s 2006 sentencing by a Tarrant County jury.

The man confessed to killing five people, including three whose dismembered bodies were...

Mason said she didn’t know she was ineligible to vote when she cast a provisional ballot in 2016, but she was sentenced to five years in prison. Now, the Court of Criminal Appeals says an appellate court that affirmed her conviction must look again at the evidence of Mason’s intent.

All but one of the 11 Tarrant County conservative school board candidates, who were backed this year by several high-profile donors and big-money PACs, defeated their opponents during Saturday’s local elections, according to unofficial results.

In Tarrant County, conservative PACs animated about the teaching of race and sexuality are flooding school board races with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In some voting locations where a party’s appointed polling judge didn’t show up, election officials allowed the other party’s judge to operate both parties’ voting machines in an effort to keep the polling place running.

Voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to choose party nominees for the general election. Here’s the latest.

The redrawn state Senate District 10 splits Black and Hispanic voters in Tarrant County. A full trial on whether GOP lawmakers intentionally discriminated against voters of color is expected later this year.

A three-judge federal panel is hearing arguments in a lawsuit claiming that Texas Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act when they redrew state Senate District 10 in Tarrant County to lessen Black and Hispanic voting power.

A three-judge federal panel is hearing arguments in a lawsuit claiming that Texas Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act when they redrew state Senate District 10 in Tarrant County to lessen Black and Hispanic voting power.

Most local officials insist they still have testing capacity at their public testing sites, but Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said demand has outpaced supply.

A 23-year-old woman was killed in May 2019 at an Arlington apartment just days after arriving in Texas from Jordan.

Krause had been among the primary challengers to Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose legal problems have made him a target for both parties next year.

Man found guilty in slayings of his wife, baby in Texas[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said the maps were drawn “race-blind.” But Democratic Sen. Beverly Powell, whose district would be turned into a majority-Republican district, said they’re an attempt to deny voters of color their voice in elections.

A child has died after being infected by a rare, brain-eating amoeba which was detected at a splash pad he visited in Arlington, Texas.

Officials in some counties targeted by audits accuse Republican Texas leaders of pandering to conspiracy theorists and undermining faith in elections. They also say the secretary of state’s office hasn’t provided details on what the audits entail.

Joe Biden won three of the four, including one that usually goes for Republicans. There was no word on any link between Trump's request and the decision to conduct the audits.

The first draft of the Senate map was authored by a Republican who chairs the Senate redistricting committee. It immediately drew fire from a Democratic member who said her district was being redrawn to dilute voting power of people of color.

Keep up with the number of coronavirus cases and deaths across the state with an interactive experience created by the Texas Health Department.

A ruling on how the 6-year-old River Oaks girl died is pending, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The mother of the 15-year-old also was punched in the back of the head during the fight and suffered an injury, according to a judge.

The Census Bureau is due to release new data on the changing U.S. population.

Public hospitals need the ability to require employees to get the vaccine, but the governor’s sweeping order doesn’t allow it. [Opinion]

Not only do we have to save ourselves and our families. We also have to protect our hospitals. [Opinion]

Now we know who sent those “verify my voting” postcards. Hint: They’re allies of General Flynn and Sidney Powell.

Herschel Walker did not cast a presidential vote in 2016 despite talking up the eventual winner, Donald Trump. And with the exception of 2020, Walker has not pulled the lever in any election since at least 2003, according to records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.

Crystal Mason was sentenced to five years in prison after she was convicted of voter fraud in what the ACLU called “one of the most important voting rights cases in modern Texas history.”

The bill calls on the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker to appoint a third party to perform the audit.

The father and son were able to break free from their zip-ties and fight back against the intruders, leading to a shoot-out.

Health experts are warning that the county is experiencing a COVID-19 surge, paralleling the rise of the delta variant across the country.

Forty kids have drowned in Texas in 2021 as of July 9, according to a state agency.

What is the poverty data in your city? Census information is helping Tarrant County address large concerns.

Instead of a drug bust or theft leading to a shocking immediate consequence, defendants can stuff a citation into their pockets and plan dinner, talk host Mark Davis writes.

At an event at the U.S.-Mexico border with Trump, Sheriff Bill Waybourn described what he believes should be the “number one enemy of American law enforcement, plain and simple.”

The man was found on East Lancaster Avenue in Fort Worth and died at a hospital.

The shooting left a 13-year-old girl dead in March.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the fatal crash.

The Tarrant County Commissioners Court will have two seats in contention: county judge and precinct 4. Both can be an opportunity for Democrats.

Here are some resources for those affected by federal COVID-19 unemployment benefits coming to an end, including help for North Texas job-seekers.

More than 30,000 Arlington kids go to school near a drilling site, and thousands more toddlers and infants go to daycare within a half-mile of one, according to new data.

The dispute, which occurred at Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting, caused deputies to escort protesters out and prompted Judge Glen Whitley to ask for citations.

Johnson has served on the Commissioners Court since 1987 and will finish his term with 36 years of leading Precinct 4, which covers west Fort Worth and northwest Tarrant County.

Burial and cremation assistance available to certain Tarrant County residents while funeral costs increase across the country.

Rep. Chris Turner, Rep. Nicole Collier and Sen. Beverly Powell are among the Texas Democrats to meet with Harris.

Her intent to runs comes days after current County Judge Glen Whitley announced he would not seek reelection in 2022. Whitley has been in the seat since 2007 and on the Commissioners Court since 1997.

One of the last remaining Republican mayors of a big city is jumping back into the political arena after not seeking reelection.

The four-term Republican wasn’t afraid to buck his own party, especially on property taxes.

Deputies responded to a shooting call Saturday night in south Tarrant County.

Parker, the former chief of staff to retiring Mayor Betsy Price, declared victory in the runoff against Deborah Peoples, who recently stepped down as chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party.

Mattie Parker took an early lead over Deborah Peoples in the race for Fort Worth mayor.

After their second DFW groundbreaking in as many days, H-E-B officials remained coy about when Tarrant County residents might see the Texas-based grocery chain move in their communities.

Isolated storms in North Texas could produce as much as five inches of rain.

Listening and answering their concerns is crucial, a leader with the UNT Health Science Center writes.

The Fort Worth Fire Department rescued a woman who was swept away after getting out of her stalled car Monday night.

Voters in some urban, Democratic areas of Harris and Tarrant counties would see a drastic drop in polling places under the Senate version of Senate Bill 7, a Texas Tribune analysis shows.

On Wednesday, the state executed Quintin Jones, 41, for the Tarrant County murder of his great-aunt in 1999.

County and federal authorities arrested two people accused of sexual offenses.

The Senate opted not to accept the House changes to Senate Bill 7, prompting the formation of a conference committee to iron out the differences.

Jones was sentenced to death in 2001 in Tarrant County after he fatally beat his great-aunt, 83-year-old Berthena Bryant, with a baseball bat. But two relatives say they’ve forgiven him and want his sentence commuted to life in prison.

The federal funds are part of $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden in March.

Big conventions, events and general tourism would take a hit in Texas as companies and people don’t like to do business in states that have laws that seem discriminatory.

Tarrant County may even start advertising on TikTok

The decision to focus on pop-up and mobile clinics was motivated by the low demand for large vaccine sites, officials said.

Officials with the Texas Workforce Commission report an increase in false claims.

Local elections are happening across Texas on Saturday, some of which have drawn statewide — and even national — attention. Here are the four that we are watching most closely, plus a few other contests to keep in mind.

But Tarrant County prosecutors pressed forward with charges, arguing Mason’s case came down to intent. The all-Republican court’s decision to review Mason’s case is notable. The Court of Criminal Appeals isn’t required to review non-death penalty convictions, and it rarely grants requests to do so. Mason turned to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals late last year after a state appeals court panel affirmed the trial court’s judgement. In her petition to the court, Mason’s lawyers argued the appeals court erred in upholding her conviction because the state’s illegal voting statute requires a person to know they are ineligible to vote and Mason did not.

Medical Assistants with Mi Doctor operate a testing clinic at the La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas TribuneTarrant County reported a pandemic high of more than 2100 new cases and nearly 800 hospitalizations Wednesday, the same day Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price tested positive for COVID-19. Price’s husband had tested positive for the virus just hours earlier. Public health officials are alarmed at the trends. On Tuesday, Vinny Taneja, the county’s public health director, issued a “public health warning” asking residents to help flatten the curve.

Almost 7,000 COVID-19 patients were in Texas hospitals Thursday, the most in almost three months, as infections of the coronavirus that causes the disease continue statewide, nationwide and worldwide. The 6,925 hospitalizations are the most Texas has counted since Aug. 12, according to reports by the Texas Department of State Health Services. However, state figures appear to be lagging indicators of the present COVID-19 outbreak in Texas when compared with statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The state coronavirus count for the pandemic that began in March was 993,841, while the Johns Hopkins count for Texas topped 1 million earlier this week. Overall, 62,525 new coronavirus infections and 698 new COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Texas in this past week alone, according to Johns Hopkins statistics.

Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas TribuneAlthough they didn’t get the blue wave they expected, Democrats narrowed the gap with Republicans in five of the most competitive and populous suburban counties in Texas. Meanwhile, Democrats won over many voters like 28-year-old Rachel Copeland, who said she voted for Libertarian Gary Johnson in 2016. Not all suburban counties became as competitive as Tarrant. “I think we need to rethink how we talk about the blue wave,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at the University of Houston. It’s certainly changing, we saw it with how close Beto came in 2016, and the demographics have changed drastically,” Cross said.

More than 9.7 million Texans cast ballots during early voting. Nearly 127,000 Harris County voters cast drive-thru ballots during the early voting period at 10 polling sites across the county, a safer option for some voters during the coronavirus pandemic. A federal judge earlier Monday denied that group's attempt to have the drive-thru ballots cast during early voting tossed out, but continued to file appellate challenges over drive-thru voting late Monday. At least 9,718,648 voters cast early ballots, according to preliminary final numbers released Sunday by the Texas secretary of state. Early voting, which Gov.

In the nearby Tarrant County, county officials worry there could be delayed counts due to staffing shortages. Tarrant County officials are warning that coronavirus-related staffing shortages mean elections workers are unlikely to finish counting mail-in ballots on Tuesday night, potentially leaving the county’s tightest races undecided until later this week. Tarrant County, the largest Republican-controlled county in the state, is home to a number of state legislative races and at least one congressional race that are expected to be tight. While both parties and the county government say they hope winners will be declared Tuesday night, Whitley was more cautious. Greg Abbott on Monday took notice of the staffing concerns and called on Tarrant County Republicans to volunteer as poll watchers and poll workers.

Kamala Harris’ trip to Texas on Friday will include three stops across the state, including in the Rio Grande Valley, according to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign. Fort Worth’s Tarrant County was the state’s most populous county that Republican President Donald Trump won in 2016. Harris will be the highest-profile Biden surrogate to come to Texas in the general election yet, following visits in recent weeks by Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, and Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff. Harris’ visit is not the only notable activity by the Biden campaign this week in Texas. Sign up for The Brief, the Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

But it’s also thanks to a surge of 1.8 million new registered voters since the 2016 election. But looking at where the new registered voters are can help us understand how the balance of voting power is subtly shifting in the state. Since 2016, they saw an increase of 630,796 registered voters, according to data collected by the Texas Secretary of State. These counties have had huge turnout and huge increases in registered voters this year, adding 533,098 new voters since 2016. They have gained 522,972 registered voters in total, and show no sign of turning blue.

FORT WORTH, Texas – A judge in Texas has tentatively set an August trial date for a white former police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, a Black woman who was fatally shot through a window. Judge David Hagerman on Tuesday said the scheduling may be fluid but that the case of former Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean “needs to be tried next year,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Dean resigned after he was charged with murder in the Oct. 12, 2019, shooting death of Jefferson. Jefferson had been babysitting her 8-year-old nephew at her mother's home when a neighbor called a non-emergency police line to report that a door was ajar. At Tuesday’s pretrial proceedings, Hagerman said he would likely consider a motion to change the venue of the trial from Tarrant County, which is home to Fort Worth.

FORT WORTH, Texas Officials in two North Texas counties voted Tuesday to remove Confederate monuments from their courthouse grounds. Commissioners of Tarrant and Denton counties voted Tuesday to remove the monuments. The Tarrant County monument had been erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1953. The Denton County monument was erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1918. Both counties said their monuments would be placed in storage until alternate sites could be found.