At the Republican National Convention, speakers including Sen. Ted Cruz make claims about immigration and crime they hope will resonate at the polls in November. The Texas Newsroom’s Julián Aguilar has details.
Some in Congress want to create a new military branch, one without a physical domain, to specialize in cyber warfare.
The Standard’s Michael Marks has the latest on a battle for access to a beloved fishing spot in East Texas.
And: The New York Times Book Review has released its list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century – including works by several Texas authors.
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Hidalgo County election overturned after being decided by handful of votes
Some top politicos are sensing that, for the first time in decades, this could be the year Texas sends a Democrat to the U.S. Senate.
Texas lawmakers are lining up to clamp down on hemp-based products like Delta 8 and Delta 9 being sold statewide.
Last fall, Edinburg City Council Member David White won re-election by just 10 votes. His challenger contested the results – and this past week, White’s win was overturned when a judge ruled that several votes were placed illegally.
A new book explores some lesser-known stories of courage from the D-Day invasion of 80 years ago.
And: Vigilante groups are repelling migrants at the southern border. What does law enforcement think about that?
Simone Biles sets new records at Olympic qualifier
Mayors from South Texas are in DC today to join President Joe Biden as he announces a plan that would limit the number of people who could request asylum at the southern border. Is it more political, or practical?
It’s getting hot out there – and if you haven’t noticed, your pets certainly have. We’ll hear from an expert about how to keep them cool this summer.
And: Simone Biles’ sweep at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships brings her career U.S. medal count to 41, including 32 golds.
The buzz around the Bumble ad controversy
The border buoys case in court: Why the arguments surrounding Texas’ river barrier were not about immigration.
El Paso County residents are concerned a proposed highway expansion project could imperil the Rio Bosque – a marshy area along the Rio Grande that has been “re-wilded” to support native plants and wildlife.
What will soon be one of Texas’ biggest gas pipelines is raising both environmental and safety concerns from the residents along the path.
The new book “They Came for the Schools” takes us further into the story of the Carroll Independent School District’s battle over what’s on library shelves and in classrooms.
And: Austin-based dating app Bumble apologized this week for an ad campaign that some believed mocked the choice not to date, or to remain celibate. Tech expert Omar Gallaga shares more.
Effort to preserve Indigenous cemetery in Presidio is finally complete
A court says the foster care system in Texas is failing many vulnerable children. Why that’s especially true for trans kids.
A practically forgotten burial ground for Indigenous people in West Texas now has a proper memorial.
How a shortage of shipyard workers is contributing to delays for the Navy.
We’ll talk to author Jonny Garza Villa, whose new book “Canto Contigo” features a love story set to mariachi music.
Also: Why do so many bluebonnets pop up next to Texas highways?
With the eclipse days away, this small city is more prepared than most
A plan will cap co-pays for state subsidized child care – how much of a difference will it make in stemming a childcare crisis?
On Wednesday, a federal appeals court heard the latest arguments over SB 4, Texas’ controversial new immigration enforcement law. In the meantime, where does the legal back-and-forth leave migrants?
Ennis, a North Texas town that attracts 100,000 visitors each April to see its bluebonnets, has an extra draw for tourists this year: It’s in the eclipse’s path of totality.
And: Why the Judd Foundation, named for Marfa’s most famous modern artist, is taking on Kim Kardashian in court.
What you should know about polling going into election season
After a prolonged legal back-and-forth that ultimately saw it paused again, Texas Senate Bill 4 returned to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday. We’ll have the latest on where the immigration law stands.
You’ve likely heard the poll numbers in the presidential race. Do you trust them? Some tips on following the many surveys we’ll be hearing as November approaches.
How community colleges are likely to play a growing role in the future of work in Texas.
And: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to stop a light-rail initiative in Austin.
The Rio Grande is getting saltier. What’s that mean for agriculture?
The U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on SB4, the controversial Texas law that allows state and local police to arrest and prosecute migrants who enter the state, after delaying implementation of the law last week.
A lack of medical insurance and access to treatment is making life in rural Texas tougher than many might imagine.
Energy insider Matt Smith has the latest on rising gas prices as many Texans hit the road for Spring Break.
The Rio Grande, the body of water that outlines the border between Texas and Mexico, is becoming saltier – affecting people, farmland and livestock on both sides of the border.
And: Amid a statewide teacher shortage, one Central Texas school district is trying to turn things around by creating its own pipeline of new recruits.
Supreme Court puts Texas’ immigration enforcement bill on hold
Senate Bill 4, which would allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally, is currently on hold after a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Texas Newsroom’s Julián Aguilar has the latest.
Why researchers and teachers are raising red flags over the state’s fully online STAAR tests for public school students.
A one-of-its kind 10K – with half its course in the U.S. and the other half in Mexico – drew hundreds of runners to El Paso.
And: The best U.S. coin design of 2023 features Jovita Idar, a journalist and activist from Laredo.
How Mexico supplanted China as the nation’s top trade partner
A shooting at one of the most famous megachurches in Texas, Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, leaves one dead and a child in critical condition. We’ll have the latest.
For most of the past few decades, the title of “top trading partner to the U.S.” has belonged to China – but the U.S. Census Bureau reports that last year, the United States’ biggest trading partner was Mexico.
Civil rights groups have filed a federal complaint against Bonham ISD alleging disciplinary discrimination against Black and disabled students.
The latest on a mysterious listeria outbreak.
And Russian propagandists twisting the narrative over border standoff between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott.
Dr. Phil is back, and he’s broadcasting from the Metroplex
With a trial date fast approaching will securities fraud charges against Ken Paxton ever reach a jury? After years of delays, lawyers for the attorney general now say he’s been denied the right to a speedy trial, and that his prosecution is unconstitutional.
Amid a border security standoff between the Biden administration and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, many residents of Eagle Pass say they feel caught in the middle.
Also: Phil McGraw, aka Dr. Phil, plans to use Dallas as a launchpad for a new TV network.
Bitcoin miners came to rural Texas – and brought disruption with them
Critics say that Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against five Texas cities over marijuana enforcement is all politics – but what does the law say?
In rural Texas, neighbors of bitcoin miners say the noise is causing migraines, sleepless nights and the flight of wildlife.
Texas freelance journalist Tamir Kalifa has won a top national prize for coverage of the shooting in Uvalde. We’ll meet him and hear how he approaches his reporting.
And: How Tex-Mex has become the MVP of the Super Bowl.
Why the U.S. Senate’s immigration bill may be ‘dead on arrival’
Supporters say it’s the most significant bill on immigration in a generation, while opponents call it dead on arrival. Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post breaks down the provisions of the Senate’s $118 billion immigration and foreign aid bill: what’s in it and why the prognosis for passage isn’t good.
New insight on how Texas Republicans are leaning and the effect of endorsements as Texans prepare to cast primary ballots.
Houston halts commercial and residential development in a part of the city designated as a cancer cluster.
Also, a new facet in the hunt for Texas blue topaz, and rockhounds aren’t happy.
A report from Eagle Pass after a weekend of immigration protest
A bipartisan bill to address border security: one that mandates that President Biden shut down the border. David Martin Davies with more on the Senate bill on immigration and border security and an update on border protests over the weekend.
What appears to be the first human brain chip implant by Elon Musk’s Neuralink is raising concerns about safety, consent, and transparency. We’ll hear from a medical ethicist who’s been studying the implications.
In El Paso, a new exhibit that highlights a surprising relationship between humans and ducks.
And the thousandth PolitiFact check of Donald Trump – what the numbers say.
Texas frackers are going electric – but can the grid handle it?
With a push from Texas Republicans, the U.S. House moves a step closer toward a vote to impeach the head of Homeland Security.
Amid a shortage of teachers statewide, a move in Dallas to get more men of color in the classroom.
In the Texas oilfields, how a push for greener drilling has some worried about the effects on the power grid.
A browser update for the ages? Why new features in Google Chrome have one tech writer warning of the end of the human internet.
And Temu takeover? Why U.S. giants like Amazon and Walmart are rethinking their strategies as a China-based retailer turns up the heat.
Drilling down on the state takeover of Houston schools
Today, the Standard debuts “The Drill Down,” a new segment highlighting enterprise journalism from our partners across Texas. Today we’ll hear from Dominic Anthony Walsh of Houston Public Media on where things stand more than six months into the state’s takeover of the Houston Independent School District.
Democrats challenging Ted Cruz for his seat in the U.S. Senate debate for what may be the only time before the primaries. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of The Texas Newsroom shares more.
And: A 90-year-old program designed to help blind or visually impaired people find jobs is losing participants, with many leaving because they can’t make a living.
A national lab didn’t detect disease in Texas deer, but the state had already euthanized them
Missing mail and massive delays in postal delivery in the Houston area are sparking action from U.S. Rep. Al Green. We’ll hear what he plans to do about it.
A controversial law allowing Texas police to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally takes effect soon – but some rural sheriffs in the Big Bend region say they’re not eager to enforce it.
And: An entire herd of white-tailed deer at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area was euthanized amid concerns about the spread of a contagious disease. But the affected deer may not have had the disease after all, according to new test results.
State has seen rise in teen births since abortion ban was enacted
After Donald Trump’s win in the New Hampshire primary, what are the implications and ripple effects as Texas’ primary day approaches?
The Republican Party of Denton County has issued a resolution calling for Brent Hagenbuch to drop out of race for District 30 of the Texas Senate. At issue: allegations that Hagenbuch doesn’t live in the district.
A federal appeals court has given a second chance to Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit against gun manufacturers, one of the biggest potential setbacks for gun manufacturers in recent memory.
A new study from the University of Houston finds a rise in teen birth rates a year after Texas’ six-week abortion ban went into effect.
And: Analysis of the Supreme Court’s ruling on razor wire at the border.
Standoff between Texas and the feds continues over Rio Grande access
Tensions between Texas and the federal government intensify over Border Patrol access.
On the day after the release of the findings of a federal investigation into the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, what we’re learning and what it could mean for accountability.
With the intensification of winter weather this week, how advocates for people experiencing homelessness are trying to shelter and care for Texans left out in the cold.
A sneak peek at the Super Bowl prospects for the Houston Texans, facing a big playoff challenge this weekend.
And we’ll have the week in politics with Matthew Watkins of the Texas Tribune.
Supreme Court case pits Texas rancher against TxDOT’s highway renovations
A senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service offers a peek at what’s to come as much of Texas remains blanketed by bitter cold.
On South Padre Island, there’s a mission to rescue hundreds of sea turtles stunned by the cold.
A Houston-area rancher says his land is prone to serious floods because of renovations to Interstate 10, and he wants compensation from the state. Arguments are set for today before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A growing standoff between Texas and the federal government continues as the White House accuses Gov. Greg Abbott of blocking Border Patrol access, resulting in the drowning of three migrants.
We’re talking to state lawmaker Judith Zaffirini, the first woman to hold the role of dean of the Texas Senate.
And: re-examining the legacy of the space shuttle with astronaut and spacewalker Tom Jones.