A natural gas pipeline fire leads to evacuations in the Houston area.
The University of North Texas Health Science Center suddenly suspends its business using unclaimed corpses.
Also, Texas voters approved $5 billion dollars to pay for upgrades and new power plants, but now there are concerns about one of the finalists for funding.
Plus, Texas is not a battleground state but there could still be some surprises at the ballot box. We’ll explain.
And a new book examines the role of motherhood on the border.
Border
Can you trust polls saying Texas could turn blue?
As immigration returns to center stage in American politics, a curious reversal in messaging in one of the state’s most closely watched races.
It’s happened before: polls show a statewide race tightening up, hopes rising among Texas Democrats, only to be dashed on Election Day. Do you trust polls that suggest Texas turning blue? A guide for optimists and pessimists.
The latest on a lawsuit brought by inmates and their supporters over intense heat in Texas prisons.
And the dedication of a new national historic site to help explain an era when Texas created separate schools for Hispanic children.
Biden administration bets on Texas Instruments in the chip manufacturing race
Another August day, another forecast for record-setting heat – and plenty of questions about whether the power grid can manage the strain. So far, so good, to the surprise of many who’ve been bracing for calls to conserve electricity. What different about the energy mix this go-round?
Texas Instruments recently received a $1.6 billion Department of Commerce grant for new chip-building facilities.
In the least populated county in Texas, where truly every vote counts, a judge has overturned an election. We’ll hear about a shakeup in Loving County.
Plus: A new pin on our growing Texas Museum Map, this time in the border town of Eagle Pass.
Federal COVID dollars for schools go away as Texas districts struggle
Texas educators are preparing for the start of a new school year as billions of dollars in federal support expires.
Houston ISD is preparing to go to taxpayers with a bond proposal – but the idea is not without controversy.
Wastewater from fracking is spewing out of abandoned wells. What we’ve learned from a new study that confirms what many living around the oil patch have long expected.
Plus: The new movie “Sing Sing” is a very different take on the prison film. A conversation with Texas-based producer Monique Walton and director Greg Kwedar.
Amazon expands Prime shipping to rural areas, challenging USPS
More than 400 people ended up in emergency rooms with carbon monoxide poisoning after Hurricane Beryl, many from generators.
Five years later, victims of a mass shooting in El Paso wait for the state to prosecute the gunman.
Why Texas ranks last when it comes to healthcare access and affordability, especially for women.
Is there a link between the rising number of teachers without certification in the state and declines in student achievement? New research seeks to answer that question.
And: Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping is moving into rural areas to boost sales – a direct challenge to the U.S. Postal Service.
Fifth Circuit rules Texas can keep buoys in the Rio Grande for now
Gov. Greg Abbott receives at least a temporary victory in a fight with the Biden administration over border buoys in the Rio Grande.
NPR’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán has the latest on the reduction in the numbers of people crossing the border from Mexico into Texas, and the political spin in a volatile election season.
As Texas senators hold hearings into the response to Hurricane Beryl, we’ll hear about a group of people especially vulnerable in those many days without power.
WF Strong has some ideas for a competition that would be open to all – the Texas Olympics.
And: Meet the two Brits taking Texas by storm on social media.
Massive disruption worldwide blamed on latest Microsoft update from Austin-based CrowdStrike
A massive disruption that knocked businesses and services offline worldwide – grounding planes, keeping bank customers from accessing their balances and more – was blamed on the latest Microsoft update from Austin-based cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.
The Justice Department has sued the Texas-based nonprofit Southwest Key Programs, alleging sexual abuse of migrant children in their care.
A new study sounds an alarm over the safety of tampons after finding found toxic metals, including arsenic and lead, in over a dozen popular brands. We’ll hear from the lead researcher.
Also: the week in politics with The Texas Tribune and poetry from the Typewriter Rodeo.
Folks cut off from a public Texas waterway take their case to court
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.
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.