DEMOGRAPHICS

The report blames an “alarming rise in extremist ideology and activity” on white supremacist and anti-LGBTQ+ groups that are active or headquartered in Texas.

Texas is still the state with the highest percentage of uninsured residents, at nearly 17 percent, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau survey released Thursday.

Syphilis rates in Texas continue to climb, alarming healthcare workers who see the highest increases among pregnant people and newborns. A shortage of treatment is complicating efforts to combat it.

A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas researchers say that economic growth, low taxes and big cities all can keep residents in their home states.

The state attorney general’s office appealed a state district court injunction that said the new prohibitions deprive trans kids of “necessary, safe, and effective medical treatment.”

The emerging technology, paid for by a grant established during the 2023 legislative session, will help emergency health care workers talk with doctors in emergency rooms to better care for critical patients.

Descendants of a prominent white family and a formerly enslaved couple are fighting over ownership — and the oil and gas royalties that would come with it — of an 147.5-acre tract that has bound and divided generations of their families.

Some queer Texans may fear disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity to neighbors or the government. The lack of accurate numbers makes it more difficult to provide appropriate health care, especially in rural areas.

The coastal county faces a drawn-out trial over claims of intentional discrimination in its 2021 redistricting of commissioners court precincts. The only district in which Black and Latino voters could meaningfully influence elections was dismantled.

State officials backing Senate Bill 12 have said they want to protect children from seeing sexually explicit performances. But new legal challenges say the law is so broad and vague that it criminalizes constitutionally protected expression.

A new federal complaint comes as the city updates its zoning laws for the first time since the 1970s.

Senate Bill 14, which is set to take effect on Sept. 1, bans transition-related care for minors. Parents of transgender kids say it blocks their ability to support their children.

The families argue the new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, violates their parental rights by stopping them from providing medical care for their children and discriminates against transgender teens.

Black and Latino students make up about two-thirds of Texas’ public schools. But they are vastly underrepresented at its top universities, and Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling will shake up an already complicated application process.

In the conservative High Plains city, LGBTQ leaders and activists say they feel unseen and unsupported by their elected officials.

The U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for major civil rights victories for queer Americans in the 2003 decision that decriminalized homosexuality. But progress for LGBTQ+ people has been uneven.

Texas Department of Public Safety officers were criticized for the disparate number of Latino and Black residents arrested during the first iteration of a partnership to help Austin with policing duties.

White people had been the state’s largest population group since at least 1850. Sometime in 2022, the Hispanic population surpassed them, new data shows.

Organizers across Texas are balancing a focus on security and a celebration of community after state lawmakers pushed scores of bills that threatened to upend the lives of LGBTQ+ Texans.

The high court left intact a key provision of the federal Voting Rights Act in a case many feared would go the other way. The decision’s importance in ongoing litigation over Texas’ political maps will largely be felt in what didn’t happen.

Houston has seen eviction rates soar since pandemic protections for renters lapsed. At one apartment complex, ejecting people from their homes is a ritual part of the business model.

The quiet East Texas town of Jasper came together immediately after the racist murder of James Byrd Jr. Now, Texas is leading the nation in incidents of white supremacist propaganda.

Their dream of passing a bill to improve access to state services for Texans who don’t speak English or Spanish was dashed. Woori Juntos activists fought until the end seeking at least a study of their ideas.

Now that Texas has a near-total ban on abortion, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are trying to make sure colleges are serving students who are pregnant or have children.

Gov. Greg Abbott over the weekend signed into law a bill prohibiting race-based hair discrimination in Texas workplaces, schools and housing policies. It goes into effect in September.

Originally pitched as an effort to restrict children from seeing certain drag shows, the House and Senate agreed on a version of the bill that could still ensnare LGBTQ performers.

The full House and Senate still must approve the final bill language before sending the legislation to Gov. Greg Abbott. If it becomes law, Texas will become the second state in the country to ban DEI offices at public universities.

The bill no longer targets drag performers, but LGBTQ advocates say the legislation’s vague language could still be used to criminalize such shows.

Texas took four of the 10 top spots among the nation’s fastest-growing cities, with the Austin metro area overall seeing some of the most significant growth.

Currently, more than 80% of Texas voters can vote anywhere in their home county, a model that originated in Lubbock County. If lawmakers approve new legislation, that would change.

Attorney General Ken Paxton previously announced an investigation into “potentially illegal” activity. Parents are scrambling to find transition-related care for their kids as the Legislature appears poised to ban it altogether.

Senate Bill 14 spurred protests that led to altercations with state police last week. A majority of Texas House members support the legislation, and the Senate has already passed a version of the bill.

There are more than 60 open federal civil rights investigations into Texas schools.

Senate Bill 14 spurred protests that led to altercations with state police earlier this week. Bill supporters and opponents again showed up at the Capitol for an expected vote Friday.

In the months leading up to their committee hearing, Woori Juntos community members trained on how to share their personal stories with legislators — in their own language.

Texas state police detained and handcuffed people protesting legislation that would prohibit transgender kids from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The House separately delayed a vote on Senate Bill 14 until later this week.

As Texas House members could soon vote to ban transition-related care for minors, many lives are in limbo, and trans kids like 16-year-old Randell are grappling with difficult decisions.

Initially, Senate Bill 147 would have prevented legal Texas residents from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from buying land. Pushback from immigrant groups persuaded senators to soften the proposal.

In a key step on their quest to make state services more easily available to non-English speakers, advocates from Houston’s Woori Juntos community group testified before a panel of lawmakers.

The 150 districts didn’t change, but the vote ensured the House met its constitutional requirement to approve new maps in the first regular session following formal publication of the 2020 census results.

During a Texas Tribune event marking one year since the shooting at Robb Elementary School, parents, mental health experts and faith leaders talked about how the path to recovery isn’t the same for everybody.

The policy comes as LGBTQ advocates are fighting a wave of hostile legislation at the Capitol, including proposals to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender children.

The window is closing for Woori Juntos in its pursuit of legislation to improve language access to state health programs.

Under the legislation, minors currently receiving certain gender-affirming care would have to taper off their treatments. A majority of Texas lawmakers in each chamber has supported previous versions of the legislation.

Spurred by a groundswell of far-right support, the Texas Senate has passed all of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority LGBTQ bills — and then some. What the House does next will impact queer Texans’ lives and could determine Speaker Phelan’s future.

The bill seeks to ban discrimination based on certain hairstyles — like braids, dreadlocks and twists — in schools, workplaces and housing.

The Senate expanded the bill targeting drag queen story hours to target all public funding for libraries. The upper chamber also approved a bill limiting other drag performances kids can see.

The vote ensured the Senate met its constitutional requirement to redraw districts in the first regular session after publication of the 2020 census results.

Among the fastest-growing segments of the Texas population, Chinese Americans fear their rights are becoming collateral damage as Texas officials seek to limit investment from China and ban a popular app that many rely on to keep in touch with family.

Senate Bill 14 would now allow trans children who are already receiving some transition-related treatments to continue getting that care. The Senate gave initial approval to the reworked legislation Wednesday.

The proposal would remove sales tax on diapers, baby wipes and bottles; feminine hygiene products including tampons, sanitary pads and menstrual cups; maternity clothing; and products for pumping breast milk.

Some Republicans want to block transgender kids’ access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies. Here’s what medical experts and trans Texans say about transition-related care.

Senate Bill 8 supporters say the legislation protects the rights of parents who don’t want their kids to learn about gender identity and sexual orientation. Critics say it could force schools to ignore the existence of LGBTQ people.

Students and First Amendment lawyers say President Walter Wendler’s portrayal of drag shows is off base and the cancellation violates free-speech rights.

Senate Bill 14 would ban doctors from providing kids with transition-related treatments that medical groups recommend for children with gender dysphoria.

Bigger cities like Lubbock can unintentionally suck health care resources and professionals from smaller towns, creating what one local expert calls the “doughnut effect.”

Woori Juntos began the legislative session hoping to win over a majority of legislators to their cause — making it easier for Texans who speak no or limited English to communicate with state agencies and access crucial services. First, they needed a lawmaker to file their bill.

House Bill 20 by state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would test the boundaries of the state’s ability to enforce immigration law, which courts have historically ruled falls under federal purview

The bill, which has the blessing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, will create new rules on how gender and sexual orientation is taught. It will face a tougher test in the House.

Incidents increased by 61% in Texas and 38% nationally last year, driven by what experts say is an increasing normalization of extremism in political discourse.

Texas largely conducts its state business in English and Spanish. It falls to interpreters like Terry Yun to help people scale the wall dividing them from crucial government services.

The Texas Legislature has nine lawmakers who are openly LGBTQ, all Democrats. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a slate of bills aimed at drag queens, transgender children and how sexuality is discussed in schools.

Texas lawmakers this year are debating whether to block transgender kids’ access to transition-related health care, classify businesses that host drag shows as sexually oriented establishments and limit public school lessons on sexuality and gender identity.

A lawmaker is accused of hypocrisy after it emerges that he once wore a dress. He says it wasn’t sexual.

The measure, endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott, originally would have banned citizens of China, Iran, Russia or North Korea from buying land in Texas. Under a new version considered Thursday, the ban wouldn’t apply to dual citizens or lawful permanent residents.

The Tribune analyzed more than two dozen anti-drag protests. Opponents frequently characterized the drag events as catering to children, even when businesses advertised them as adults-only or provided warnings about the potential for explicit material.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already short supply of therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers.

A survey was commissioned by the nonprofit organization Texas Water Trade and included responses from households in both rural border communities and in urban areas across Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Community organizations and individuals helped many Texans weather this month’s ice storm. Extreme weather heightens demand for their help — but it can also stress their resources.

In a memo written Monday and obtained by The Texas Tribune, Abbott’s chief of staff Gardner Pate told agency leaders that using diversity, equity and inclusion policies in hiring violates federal and state employment laws, and hiring cannot be based on factors “other than merit.”

Millie Thompson Williams was elected the tribe’s first female second chief, a lifetime appointment, last year. For the first time, her accession comes as women make up the majority of the tribe’s council.

Riding the success of his historic congressional session last year where he helped pass the first gun safety bill signed into law in a generation, Cornyn is hopeful that his ability to strike deals across the aisle will help Congress achieve another elusive legislative goal: an immigration deal.

New Texas House members were sworn into office Tuesday, including some who have already made history.

The legislation closely mirrors a Florida bill passed last year, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which detractors say would further isolate LGBTQ students and open teachers and school districts to legal risks.

Republicans are backing legislation targeting gender-affirming care for children, classroom lessons about sexuality and drag shows.

Texas has joined California as the only other state in the nation with a population of more than 30 million, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, hired Jake Neidert, 22, last month as his office’s legislative director amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ violence and rhetoric and ahead of an impending legislative session that is expected to focus heavily on anti-trans bills.

School leaders have said they don’t tolerate racism and that they regularly train teachers how to deal with bullying. But parents say inaction by officials tells a different story.

LGBTQ Texans say lawmakers and right-wing figures are misrepresenting what happens at all-ages performances to propagate hate and violence against queer people.

Born of segregation and redlining, the near West Side has long been mostly Latino, mostly low-income. Redevelopment pressures are closing in, and neighbors are working to keep it affordable for some of the city’s poorest residents.

The League of United Latin American Citizens sued the city Monday, asking a federal court to halt its practice of electing five of its 16 council members through at-large elections.

Those leaving are frustrated that the church has taken positions they feel are too liberal.

Extremism experts and historians sound alarms as politicians, media personalities and celebrities amplify antisemitic conspiracies that have historically led to the killing of Jews.

In this week’s episode, Texas Tribune regional editor Nic Garcia guest-hosts from Texas Tech University for a discussion about the issues facing the rural residents of the state.

In the days since Abbott was reelected for a third term, he has embraced the word like never before, using it in a letter to President Joe Biden, echoing the intensifying language many Republicans have adopted in recent years.

Thousands of bills are expected to be filed for the legislative session that begins in January. Lawmakers are expected to have a budget surplus when they return to Austin.

After seeing Democrats gain momentum in suburbs of Houston and Dallas, Republicans succeeded in reclaiming ground this election. But the GOP is still a long way from returning to pre-Trump support, even in ruby red counties.

Voters elected Christian Manuel Hayes to House District 22 in Beaumont, Venton Jones to HD-100 in Dallas, Salman Bhojani to HD-92 in Tarrant County and Suleman Lalani to HD-76 in Fort Bend County.

Downtowns are deserted, hospitals are closing, teachers are leaving. Every part of life in rural Texas is harder — but it’s worth saving.

The Texas Tribune spoke with LGBTQ voters, the parents of queer youth and advocates from across the state about what’s at stake for them this November.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus bylaws explicitly block Republicans from joining due to major policy differences between members in the past.

Access to health care is limited in rural Texas. The mobile clinic operated by Beaumont-based TAN Healthcare aims to close that gap.

Fellowships will be available in spring, summer and fall for Texas graduate and undergraduate students at historically Black colleges and universities.

Nearly half of Hispanic Texans live in the state’s five largest counties, a voting bloc Democrats cannot afford to lose as they struggle to compete in the state’s vast rural areas.

Asian American and Pacific Islander voters said that candidates don’t often reach out — and that their elected officials don’t adequately represent their interests.

The event came as a younger, more diverse generation of Americans increasingly flocks to the left of the Democratic Party.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin accepted the Naming Commission’s change and announced it would take place by Jan. 1, 2024.

In these historically Democratic border areas, some voters are turning to the Republican party, while others remain unmoved.

Texas lawmakers on both sides of the aisle talked schools, abortion and guns in advance of next year’s session in a range of panels at The Texas Tribune Festival.

Born from the Chicano movement of the 1960s, La Raza Unida helped coalesce Texas Latino power and briefly formed the state’s third political party. Although the organization is long gone, its imprint on the state is unmistakable.