The Texas Supreme Court remains firmly in Republican hands after the election. What that means for cases the court will decide.
For the first time, Michelin has awarded its coveted stars – along with other designations – to restaurants in the Lone Star State.
Texas is in the wake of a solar panel boom. But not everyone who’s had them installed on their roof is happy about the decision.
Amid soaring childcare costs, voters approved a tax rate increase to help pay for it in Central Texas.
And: A new research project at the International Space Station examines the impact of microgravity on human heart tissue.
Senate
What to watch on Election Day 2024
lection Day 2024 has arrived, and we’re checking in with reporters across the state as Texans cast their ballots. Plus, what to keep a close eye on tonight after the polls close.
A new survey predicts Dallas-Fort Worth is poised to become the hottest real estate market in the country in 2025. What it means for the people living there.
A new book, “A Natural History of Empty Lots” explores forgotten spaces. Author Christopher Brown discusses what he’s learned.
And: An update on plans for a new Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth.
San Antonio’s Institute of Texan Cultures eyed for demolition
It’s possible the most closely watched statewide race in Texas this election cycle could also be the closest once the ballots are counted. How Ted Cruz and Colin Allred are making a final push in the days before Nov. 5.
In San Antonio, plans to demolish a building once part of a World’s Fair might be put on hold because of its history. Jack Morgan of Texas Public Radio tells us more.
And: The new book “The Fall of Roe” explores the decade before the Dobbs decision and the political apparatus that made it possible.
Battleship Texas still in search of a new home after Galveston deal falls through
With early voting underway, reporters in Ted Cruz’s homebase of Houston and Colin Allred’s congressional seat in Dallas asked voters what they think of the candidates and what issues matter to them the most.
More than six months after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed avian flu cases in dairy cows in Texas, experts are still trying to determine the full scope of the outbreak.
Also: The only battleship to have been used in both world wars is looking for a new home. What’s to come of the U.S.S. Texas?
Digging into the business of predicting elections
It’s a state power struggle with life-and-death consequences: The latest on the Robert Roberson death penalty case.
The biggest statewide race on the ballot is the U.S. Senate race between Ted Cruz and Colin Allred. Today: A profile of Allred, a Democrat who has mounted a massive effort to unseat the incumbent Republican senator.
How the school voucher issue could decide some races in Texas.
The science and art of predicting elections and how the practice has evolved.
And: We’ll hear from voters across the state about why they turned out on the first day of early voting.
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?
The latest on the bird flu outbreak among dairy cows
Storms continue to wreak havoc with flooding in some places north of Houston, the worst they’ve seen since Hurricane Harvey.
A preview of a big election tomorrow to fill a seat that hasn’t been vacant since the early 80’s.
Efforts to curb property taxes. How well’s that actually going?
The United Methodist Church does a 180 on LGBTQ clergy. We’ll talk with the Bishop of the Rio Texas Conference.
A big night for Dallas sports fans on more than one front. We’ll hear why and what’s at stake.
Do’s and don’ts for Cinco de Mayo.
Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
What does the MLS referee lockout mean for the 2024 soccer season?
In a closely watched primary battle near the top of the statewide ballot, we’ll have more on the showdown between two Democrats with considerable name recognition hoping for a chance to take on Ted Cruz in the fall.
A question about Texas seceding from the U.S. was kept off the GOP primary ballot – but it was the closest the Texas Nationalist Movement has come to putting the so-called “Texit” up for a vote in its nearly two decades of trying.
Major League Soccer referees have been locked out ahead of the start of the 2024 season, after Professional Soccer Referees Association union members voted against a bargaining agreement.
And we’ll meet Jon Muq, a Texas-based artist bringing the sounds of his native Uganda to American music.
Is high school football on the decline in Texas?
A conversation with state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a self-described progressive Democrat who’s running to challenge Ted Cruz for his U.S. Senate seat.
Three years after the big freeze that plunged most of Texas into darkness, a new bill aims to connect the state to neighboring electric grids. Mose Buchele of KUT in Austin has more.
A big change for the Texas STAAR tests: student essays graded by computer. How does that work, and how fair is it?
And: Is football still king in Texas? A Washington Post analysis looks at the sport’s rise and fall across the country.
Is the industry ready for Beyoncé’s country music album?
As Texans prepare to cast their first ballots in 2024, a conversation with Colin Allred, one of the top Democratic challengers for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Ted Cruz.
Lubbock throws the switch to join Texas’ open electricity marketplace – for better, and some fear, for worse.
A new ‘queen’ of country music? Houston-born Beyoncé generates buzz with a stylistic shift.
Also: Commentator WF Strong on a notorious Texas partnership in crime, and a love story at the heart of it.
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.
How frontline workers fared during COVID and how best to protect them
A Texas senator wants to reopen impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton – but it’s unlikely to happen.
What have recent heavy rains done for drought conditions in Texas?
A plan to overhaul the way the U.S. Census Bureau counts people with disabilities has received so much pushback that the agency is rethinking the updated questions.
And: lessons learned from the pandemic about the impact on frontline workers.
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.
Examining Texas’ legacy of anti-LGBT laws
After seven months pushing a school voucher-like plan, Gov. Greg Abbott gets a firm pushback from fellow Republicans. Scott Braddock of the Quorum Report shares the latest.
Mexico plans to offer “know your rights” educational sessions in Texas as lawmakers send a wide-ranging border security bill to the governor.
Amid slowing sales of EV’s, one city in Texas seems to be leading the switch away from gas pumps to charging stations.
The past legislative session saw the filing of a historic number of bills impacting LGBT Texans – but that’s just the latest effort in what’s been a half-century of criminalizing these communities, according to a new investigation from KXAN TV.
Why bird watchers are flocking to Texas cemeteries
Early voting is now underway in Texas – but what’s on the ballot? We’ll get caught up on the 14 constitutional amendments Texans are being asked to weigh in on, ranging from property taxes to education, infrastructure and more.
First it’s Exxon mobil scooping up Pioneer, now Chevron acquiring Hess. Is it a new era of mergers and acquisitions in the oil field – and if so, why?
Final resting places are also surprisingly active sites for a certain group of hobbyists. The Standard’s Raul Alonzo has more with “Cemetery Birding” author Jennifer Bristol.
And the Texas Rangers are off to the World Series after defeating the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the ALCS.
What are the most haunted places in Texas?
With the U.S. House of Representatives still without a leader, two Texans drop out of the race for the speakership. What happens next?
The White House is launching a new program for Ecuadorians who are trying to migrate to the U.S. We’ll have details on the change is and why it’s happening.
Miles and miles of Texas are usually traversed by car – but one writer says the train is the ultimate way to go.
Also, with Halloween on the horizon, we have the backstory on some of the spookiest places to visit in Texas.
How a Texas constitutional amendment would aid childcare centers
With the House of Representatives on hold in the absence of a speaker, a possible vote today could be a turning point.
Texas voters are about to face a big decision: a constitutional amendment aimed at boosting the availability of child care options. Lina Ruiz of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells us more.
Two games in for the Astros and Rangers, what’s Major League Baseball’s first All-Texas league championship looking like?
More than 100 homes and businesses are on the fast track to demolition as the state moves to expand a portion Interstate 35.
Ken Paxton survived his impeachment trial. What’s next?
Ken Paxton has been acquitted on all impeachment charges by a jury of the Texas Senate. Supporters of the newly-reinstalled attorney general say it’s a victory for the rule of law and the constitution. Opponents called it a sham. It underscores a huge rift in the Republican Party of Texas almost certain to have echoes in the 2024 presidential race. We’ll have analysis of the historic trial and the Saturday vote.
More on the huge UAW labor action, and how Texas could be directly affected.
And we’ll go into the ring with the director of the new film “Cassandro.”
A budding pipeline fight highlights activists’ changing tactics
What does the first day of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s historic impeachment trial tell us about what remains ahead? The Texas Newsroom’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán joins us from the Capitol with a recap.
We’ll hear the latest on a new fight over a natural gas pipeline in West Texas – and how new strategies by opponents of such development are getting traction.
Among the new laws now in effect in Texas is a requirement for those who want to run for county sheriff.
The sister of Botham Jean, who was killed in Dallas five years ago, has written a new memoir, “After Botham: Healing from my Brother’s Murder by a Police Officer.”
Plus an update on wildfire dangers statewide.