This summer is on track to be among Texas’ most extreme
June was only the 16th-warmest on record in Texas, but a mid-month heatwave brought an unusually high number of 100-degree days. Full Story
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![TxDOT employee Brad Shepard sweeps the road shoulder clean of the asphalt cold mix he put down while doing edge repairs on Interstate 35 in Austin on August 19th, 2013.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for the Texas Tribune -
Almost two years since Kabul fell, a frayed refugee system creates obstacles for Afghans in Texas
The refugee system in Texas and nationally is still recovering from major cuts under the Trump administration. The latest casualty is Texas’ largest resettlement agency, Refugee Services of Texas. Full Story
![Afghan refugees Azita Jawady and her husband Hamid Sadra at their home in Austin on May 17, 2023. Jawady, a former social worker and employee at USAID and Sadra, an artist, fled to Texas from danger they faced from their previous jobs in Afghanistan.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas House. See how each representative voted.
Here’s a list of the representatives who voted for and against impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday. Full Story
![The electronic voting board in the House chamber on July 19, 2021]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune
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Attorney General Ken Paxton was impeached. Here’s how that process works in Texas.
Paxton is now suspended until the outcome of a trial in the Senate. Gov. Greg Abbott can now appoint someone to temporarily fill the vacancy. Full Story
![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to his supporters after being sworn into office on January 10, 2023. At left are state Sen. Angela Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Texas power struggle: How the nation’s top wind power state turned against renewable energy.
State lawmakers have pushed bills to support fossil fuel-burning power plants and restrict renewable energy development this legislative session. Full Story
![Lyford, TX - May 17, 2023: Industrial energy-producing wind turbines cover hundreds of acres of farmland in Lyford, TX. (Photo by Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
The regular 2023 legislative session is over. Here’s how the most consequential bills fared.
A look at which bills passed and which failed during the 2023 legislative session. Full Story
![Four squares with four icons: the top left icon is of the Texas capitol with a yellow question mark over it, the top right icon is of a bill with with a yellow question mark over it, the bottom left icon is of the Texas capitol with a red checkmark over it and the bottom right icon is of a bill with a green checkmark over it.]()
Credit: Illustration by Ben Hasson -
Search the newly updated Government Salaries Explorer
The Texas Tribune’s database of Texas state employees’ compensation is updated to represent salaries as of April 1. It includes detailed data for the 113 agencies in state government and positions at each of those agencies. Full Story
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Credit: Photo Illustration by Ben Hasson / Texas Tribune -
Texas’ water infrastructure is broken, jeopardizing quality and supply for a growing state
On a daily basis, water managers in cities across the state move from crisis to crisis hoping to keep the water flowing to residents. Full Story
![Tom Bailey flushes out a water line in Zavalla on April 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune -
Explore Texas public schools’ college readiness, demographics and teacher salaries
Use our database to learn about Texas public school districts and campuses, including hundreds of charter schools and alternative campuses. Data is current as of the 2021-2022 school year. Full Story
![Students work at their desks at Blanco Vista Elementary School in San Marcos on Monday August, 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for the Texas Tribune -
Toxic benzene lingered for weeks after shelter-in-place warnings ended following 2019 Houston-area chemical fire
The Texas Tribune analyzed previously unreported air monitoring data and records from the 2019 ITC chemical disaster near Houston and found that high benzene levels lingered in the air for two weeks after public health measures were lifted. Experts say more shelter-in-place advisories should have been issued. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune -
How could Texas spend its record $32.7 billion surplus?
If Texas’ budget surplus were distributed directly to Texans, it could pay for 12 years of school lunches, seven months of rent or 11,000 miles of travel. Here’s how to put the big number into perspective. Full Story
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Credit: Alex Ford/The Texas Tribune -
What you need to know about Texas’ complex — but important — electricity market reform plan
The idea, which still lacks some important details and could be changed by state lawmakers, would change how electricity is paid for in tight times. We explain it for everyday Texans. Full Story
![El Paso Electric's natural gas-powered Newman Generating Station in El Paso on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Look up your representatives in the Tribune’s elected officials directory
Look up information about every statewide elected official, every member of the Texas Legislature and every Texan in Congress and see who represents you. Full Story
![State Representatives and their families sit on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
As the share of white Texans continues to shrink, the Legislature remains mostly white and male
In the 2023 legislative session that convened Tuesday, 70% of lawmakers are men. More than half of the Senate and House members are white, and nearly half are white men. Full Story
![Opening Day of the 2023 Texas Legislature at the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Look up your representatives in the Tribune’s elected officials directory
Look up information about every statewide elected official, every member of the Texas Legislature and every Texan in Congress and see who represents you. Full Story
![The Texas House of Representatives on Jan. 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas voter turnout fell from 2018. It was still higher than other midterms.
In Texas, 45.7% of the 17.7 million registered voters cast ballots in the 2022 midterm election. That’s 7.3 percentage points lower than the state’s total turnout in 2018 but higher than in every other midterm election in the last 20 years. Full Story
![Eliza Smarr and her son Mason, 8, wait in line to cast their ballots on Election Day at the Blue Mound City Hall in Blue Mound on November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Election results: How Texas voted in the November 2022 midterms
Follow The Texas Tribune’s coverage of midterm election results for governor, attorney general, U.S. House and the Texas Legislature. Full Story
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Credit: Emily Albracht/Texas Tribune -
In Texas, where money has long dominated politics, Greg Abbott is in a league of his own
The two-term governor’s donors enjoy access, appointments to boards and commissions, and a chance to bend the ear of a politician who may harbor bigger ambitions. Full Story
![In an illustration, Greg Abbott overlooks the Texas Capitol and reflected buildings representing Texas cities.]()
Credit: Rebecca Mock for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s how to vote in Texas’ Nov. 8 midterm elections
The deadline to register to vote was Oct. 11. The last day to apply to vote by mail was Oct. 28. Early voting ran from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4. Full Story
![Graphic that reads, "Voter Guide" above a collection of voting stickers.]()
Credit: Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune -
High-poverty schools struggle to earn Texas’ highest rating. Some in the Rio Grande Valley break that trend.
The Texas Education Agency has dismissed the notion that the accountability ratings are a poverty rating. As evidence, they point to districts like those in the Rio Grande Valley, which have achieved high marks while serving a high number of economically disadvantaged students. Full Story
![A student follows along to a lesson about suffixes in English Language Arts Class on Dec. 3, 2020, at Perez Elementary School in Brownsville.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald
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