TribCast: Measles, COVID and the state of our public health system
On the fifth anniversary of the start of the COVID pandemic, we discuss the measles outbreak and the state’s ability to respond to health crises.
University of Texas System bans drag shows in campus facilities
The move comes a few weeks after the Texas A&M System issued a similar ban, which is being challenged in court.
After COVID, Texas is less prepared for the next pandemic
Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold.
An abandoned West Texas oil well has created a 200-foot-wide sinkhole
The rapidly-growing sinkhole in Upton County is the latest of many problems caused by old wells in the Permian Basin.
Lawmakers weigh moving bingo operations out of Texas Lottery’s purview amid agency’s uncertain future
A possible reassignment of the charitable games comes as 15 bills in the Legislature seek to either alter or abolish the troubled agency.
Texas lawmakers seek to transfer University of Houston-Victoria to Texas A&M system
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said Texas A&M is better positioned to grow the Victoria school and serve the region’s petrochemical and agriculture industries.
As Trump vows mass deportations, Texas lawmakers want to require sheriffs to work with ICE
Some sheriffs worried that Senate Bill 8 could create an unfunded mandate, while civil rights advocates warned about possible racial profiling.
Houston-area midwife arrested for allegedly providing illegal abortions
This represents the first criminal charges under Texas’ near-total abortion ban.
National Republicans target South Texas Democrats for 2026 election
Reps. Cuellar and Gonzalez are moderate Democrats who represent border districts that increasingly vote Republican.
Texas to close border site used to process arrested migrants
The state opened the facility in Jim Hogg County in 2022.