Gov. Greg Abbott pardons Daniel Perry, veteran who killed police brutality protester in 2020
A Travis County jury sentenced Perry to 25 years in prison last year, prompting Abbott to ask the state parole board to review his case. Full Story
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William Melhado
Night General Assignment Reporter
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William Melhado is an Austin-based general assignment reporter. He originally joined the Tribune in 2022 as a Poynter-Koch fellow. He previously worked as a staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter, an alt-weekly newspaper in New Mexico. Before pursuing a career in journalism, William worked as an educator for five years and taught science at a public high school in the Bronx, New York and taught at international schools in Tanzania and Nepal. A native of Boulder, Colorado, William graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and earned a master’s in secondary science education at CUNY Lehman College.
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![Daniel Perry leaves the courtroom after he was sentenced to 25 years for the murder of Garrett Foster, at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman -
Two years later, judge orders new election for Harris County judicial seat
Democratic Judge DaSean Jones beat out Tami Pierce by 449 votes in 2022, prompting one of several election challenges filed by unsuccessful Republican candidates. Many other election challenges were dismissed. Full Story
![Voters cast their ballots at the West Gray Multiservice Center during Election Day on Nov. 7, 2023, in Houston.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Galveston County redistricting case draws divide among federal appeals court judges
The 5th Circuit expressed skepticism about arguments from both sides in considering whether a coalition of Black and Latino voters should be granted the same protections as a single racial group under the Voting Rights Act. Full Story
![A statue of a returning Confederate soldier on Thursday, April 21, 2022 in Galveston, TX. Known as The “Dignified Resignation,” the monument has stood in front of the Galveston County Courthouse since 1911. Commissioner Stephen Holmes made a motion to have the statue removed in 2020 but it was not supported by any other commissioners.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Houston woman is third guilty plea in Henry Cuellar bribery case
Irada Akhoundova pleaded guilty to facilitating a $60,000 payment to Imelda Cuellar, the congressman’s wife, that she believed would benefit Azerbaijan and its state-run oil company. Full Story
![Sandi Villarreal, deputy editor for digital at Texas Monthly, moderates a panel with US Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and former speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 24, 2022 in Austin, TX.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Feds accuse Texas prison agency of discriminating against employee for wearing a headscarf
A federal lawsuit asserts that the Texas agency terminated a state prison clerk who refused to remove a head covering in line with her Ifa faith. Full Story
Credit: Martin do Nascimento for The Texas Tribune -
79 arrested amid second crackdown on UT-Austin campus
Authorities and protesters clashed during the latest pro-Palestinian demonstration at the university on Monday. Full Story
![Protestors chant “Off our campus” to law enforcement at the University of Texas on Apr. 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Dozens more arrested at UT-Austin as police use pepper spray, flash bangs to break up protests
The arrests mark the second time in less than a week that police have broken up a pro-Palestinian demonstration. This time protesters tried to set up an encampment on campus. Full Story
![Texas department of Public Safety troopers surround a pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Monday, April 29, 2024.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribune -
Appeals court considers whether West Texas A&M drag show was unconstitutionally banned
University President Walter Wendler canceled a drag performance last year, claiming such shows “denigrate and demean women.” Full Story
![Clock tower on campus at West Texas A&M University on March 23, 2023.]()
Credit: David Bowser for The Texas Tribune -
After no contest plea, a Texas representative’s charges for impersonating a public servant are dismissed
In June 2022, state Rep. Frederick Frazier was indicted on two charges of impersonating a public servant. A Collin County district judge dismissed the misdemeanor charges as part of his deferred adjudication. Full Story
![State Rep. Frederick Frazier, R-McKinney, yields for a round of hazing questions as his colleagues gather to support his first House bill during session on the House floor at the state Capitol in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Misdemeanor charges filed against photojournalist arrested at UT-Austin protest
The FOX 7 employee is accused of hitting a trooper with his camera, but the arrested man told reporters he was pushed and didn’t hit any officer. Full Story
![Carlos, a FOX 7 Austin photojournalist, on the ground as he is arrested while covering a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribune
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