DEMOGRAPHICS

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.

On this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Alexa and James about Hispanics becoming the largest ethnic demographic in Texas and what that means for the state’s politics.

For years, the state’s Hispanic population has grown significantly faster than the white population. The new census data is the first to reflect Texas passing a milestone in its cultural and political evolution.

UT-Austin professor Richard Lowery is represented by America First Legal — a group created by Stephen Miller, a policy adviser for former President Donald Trump, and Jonathan Mitchell, a former solicitor general for Texas and the legal architect of the state’s six-week abortion ban.

Despite its dwindling population, rural Texas has consistently helped protect GOP dominance in statewide races, even as Democratic support grows in the state’s populous metro centers and suburbs.

The Republican-drawn maps largely serve to bolster the party’s dominance. The maps are being challenged based on various claims, including intentional discrimination, vote dilution and racial gerrymandering.

In interviews, Black Texans expressed frustration over uneven progress, restrictions on teaching about racism in public schools and limitations on their political representation and voting access.

Las clínicas privadas en la Ciudad de México ofrecen abortos a una fracción del precio en Estados Unidos. También hay clínicas y hospitales públicos que ofrecen acceso gratuito al aborto, incluso para personas extranjeras.

Before abortion was legal in parts of Mexico, an extensive “accompaniment” system grew to help women safely terminate pregnancies on their own. Its organizers are now moving abortion-inducing medication across the border and helping replicate the system in the United States.

Private clinics offer abortions at a fraction of the cost in the United States. City public health clinics may be more difficult to navigate but offer abortions free of charge, including for noncitizens.

Antes de que el aborto fuera legal en algunos estados de México, los grupos de “acompañamiento” establecieron un sistema de apoyo para que las mujeres interrumpieran sus embarazos en casa. Ahora, estos grupos están ayudando a trasladar al norte de la frontera medicamento para abortar y a replicar este modelo en los Estados Unidos.

A six-year newsroom veteran, Audience Director Bobby Blanchard is now our chief audience officer and a member of the Tribune’s senior management team.

About 40% of women who get abortions in the U.S. are Black, and advocates say abortion bans like Texas’ will increase their health and financial risks.

Amid a rise in conservative efforts opposed to teaching the lingering impacts of slavery and racism, the descendants of formerly enslaved people are using the Juneteenth holiday to educate younger generations.

After the May 24 school shooting, mental health help is now pouring into Uvalde, where a fourth of residents are uninsured and counseling options are few and far between.

Residents of Uvalde, a deeply religious community, prayed, cried and embraced each other on the first Sunday since a gunman killed 21 people at an elementary school.

Residents of this town, which is nicknamed “the Crossroads of America,” grapple with the horror of losing 21 lives.

Republicans dismantled the only Galveston County commissioners precinct in which voters of color held political clout. It’s a major blow for Black and Hispanic voters who had been building political momentum.

Immigrants, people living in poverty and non-English speakers were among the most likely to be missed, yet the crucial count received lackluster promotion by Texas state government.

She will cover the Panhandle and South Plains through Report for America. She previously reported for Texas Tech Public Media.

Texas political leaders usually settle for caution. The big stuff is risky, but it’s also possible — and even inspiring — to see leaders ignoring the small stuff and aiming higher.