Texas Tribune Brief

Natural gas powers the majority of electricity in Texas, especially during winter. Some power companies say the state's gas system is not ready for another deep freeze.

For two months, providers have had to work in a sort of limbo as they wait to see if the new law passes the Supreme Court's review.

The most severe scenario considered by the state's power grid operator for this winter — very high demand for power, extensive fossil fuel outages, and low renewable power production — does not capture the amount of power lost during February.

Gov. Greg Abbott says the wall of roughly 20 shipping containers will help prevent migrants from crossing the border.

The GOP slate for statewide office includes two high-profile Latinos and two Black candidates who have previously held state or federal office. Republicans are making a play to be more competitive with voters of color as the state's electorate grows more diverse.

The judge said the governor's order impedes children with disabilities from the benefits of public schools' programs, services and activities, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The funds will help advance existing plans, pay for much-needed repairs and launch other projects for roads, bridges, broadband access, electric vehicle charging stations and more.

The new state survey is the first time Texas health officials have been able to statistically measure the vaccine's true impact on the pandemic.

The ports of entry were closed for 19 months in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. Mexican nationals will need to present proof of vaccination to enter the U.S.

Republican Texas lawmakers passed sweeping legislation this year to further restrict the state's voting process and narrow local control of elections.

The migrants were arrested for trespassing, but court documents failed to specify what property they allegedly trespassed upon. It's the latest misstep in implementation of Greg Abbott's border initiative, which has seen frequent violations of state law and disregard for due process rights.

Texas voters decided on eight proposed changes to the state's Constitution. Voters in the San Antonio area chose a new Texas House member. And Austin voted down hiring more police officers.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday grilled attorneys for abortion providers, the federal government and Texas over the state's near-total abortion ban — and possibly hinted at support for allowing at least one legal challenge to the law to stand.

The high court's proceedings will focus on how Senate Bill 8 is enforced. It's hard to predict what the court could decide, but its ruling will likely determine the future of abortion in Texas and shape the legal battles to come.

Genetic testing allows Texans to find out early if their baby has a fatal condition. But often by the time they do find out, they will no longer have the right to terminate that pregnancy under the new state law.

In 2017, conservative lawmakers failed to pass legislation targeting transgender Texans. Things were different this year.

The move opens the door to emergency use approval by the FDA. In Texas, about 2.9 million children would be newly eligible if that happens.

Texas lawmakers drew new maps for the state House and Senate, congressional delegation and State Board of Education. Here's what Texans should know about the 2021 redistricting outcomes.

Many of Texas' higher learning institutions, which have collectively received billions of dollars in federal contracts, are trying to figure out whether they need to require employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. An executive order from President Joe Biden that requires all federal contractors to get a shot goes into effect soon but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already banned such directives in the state.

In their latest push to lift state-level voting restrictions, Senate Democrats failed to secure the 60 votes required to break a filibuster on the Freedom to Vote Act.

With partisan fervor, Republicans drew new maps for Congress and the Legislature that dilute the power of voters of color. Now the lawsuits begin, as groups that feel marginalized battle for representation in the halls of power.

Lawmakers approved new political maps and decided how to spend COVID-19 relief money. But they didn't pass bills about vaccine mandates or the criminal penalty for illegal voting.

Two proposed amendments — one regarding religious services and another related to nursing home visitors — stem from restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early voting begins Oct. 18.

Huffines has been the most vocal fellow Republican taking on Abbott, pressuring him over his COVID-19 response, the border and other hot-button issues.

The department says it's looking into whether the Texas Juvenile Justice Department provides “reasonable protection from physical and sexual abuse by staff and other residents, excessive use of chemical restraints and excessive use of isolation.”

Because of the way the law is written, it appears that clinics and doctors who performed abortions outlawed by the statute even while the block was in effect would now be vulnerable to lawsuits.

A University of Texas at Austin student who planned to apply to an Obama-era initiative for immigrants who came to America as children is stuck in limbo after a Texas judge halted the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The ruling late Wednesday from a U.S. District Judge doesn't protect providers who perform abortions while the Texas law makes its way through the courts.

It wasn't immediately clear how the order may affect access to abortions in the state. The law is constructed in a way that people who violate it could be liable to litigation if enforcement is reinstated.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Border Patrol insist the 11 men, arrested under Gov. Greg Abbott's border initiative, weren't set up for trespassing charges. But a county attorney decided the case was too muddled to prosecute.

Despite the objections of U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, a Senate committee voted out a redrawn congressional map Monday without addressing the overlap in their Houston districts. The map heads next to the full Senate for a vote.

Two months into this school year, districts have reported 172,275 cases in students. But state data on school cases is incomplete and likely an undercount.

The Texas Legislature is in the midst of its third special session, which is dedicated to redrawing political maps based on the latest census data that showed people of color fueled 95% of Texas' population growth over the past decade.

Adam Foltz, now on the Texas payroll, played a key role in Wisconsin's redistricting last decade. A federal court threw out some of the maps and called the effort Foltz was involved in "an all but shameful attempt to hide the redistricting process from public scrutiny."

The men were arrested by state troopers and held for weeks without facing formal charges, a violation of state law. It's the latest misfire in Abbott's hastily assembled effort to involve Texas in patrolling the border.

The proposed congressional map also increases the number of districts where Trump had a majority of voters over Biden in 2020 and protects Republican incumbents who might have been vulnerable by packing their districts with more Trump voters.

Defense attorneys have started asking courts to set migrants free because local justice systems, overwhelmed by arrests under Gov. Greg Abbott's border security push, are routinely violating state law and constitutional due process rights.

The Supreme Court had previously declined to block the law but didn't rule on its constitutionality.

Gov. Greg Abbott says the line of law enforcement and military vehicles is stopping migrants from crossing the Rio Grande into Del Rio, where the number of migrants camped under a bridge keeps dropping.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the inquiry days after the Texas Education Agency quietly updated its guidance to say school districts can't require masks.

The lawsuit comes after Dr. Alan Braid said he performed an abortion prohibited by the law earlier this month. Braid said he was motivated by a “duty of care.”

Lawmakers must redraw the state's political maps to account for a decade's worth of growth, but the process leaves enough room for political manipulation. Here's how it'll work.

Parents remain divided over whether to require masks in the classroom. For Carmen Campbell, there's just too much uncertainty right now to feel comfortable sending her son back. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast.

Abbott's announcements come as thousands of migrants — mostly from Haiti — have gathered under an international bridge in Del Rio.

The federal judge overseeing the decadelong lawsuit against Texas for conditions in its foster care system cut this week's hearing short. She proposed all parties involved, including the governor, “cut to the chase” to identify solutions.