Texas prisons and jails are recruiting more teenagers to shore up guard shortage

Two counties house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers.
A new personalized way to read The Texas Tribune

We’re partnering with aLayer, a research organization, to test a tool that will help Tribune readers customize their reading experience.
Judge allows Texas State Fair’s gun ban to stand for now

Texas AG Ken Paxton says the fair’s gun ban violates state law, which bars most government bodies from prohibiting weapons.
At this South Texas political convention, everyone has a voice, regardless of legal status

Inspired by the work of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, the biennial “cumbre” helps South Texans organize for political change.
Doug Emhoff to lead San Antonio rally for Texas Democrats
The second gentleman’s visit will focus on voting rights.
Even as state mental health spending rises, private psychiatric hospitals struggle to stay open

Texas hasn’t increased Medicaid rates for inpatient health care at private hospitals in 16 years, falling behind other states.
Maternal deaths surged in Texas in 2020, 2021

Even excluding deaths related to COVID, Texas’ maternal mortality rate spiked, reversing two years of improvement.
Texas education commissioner calls for student cellphone ban in schools

Mike Morath made the recommendation as concerns rise that phones are harmful to students’ mental health and distract them from learning.
What you need to know about the Venezuelan gang that Texas is targeting
Gov. Greg Abbott has declared the Venezuelan gang a foreign terrorist organization and asked the Department of Public Safety to create a strike team targeting them.
Tarrant County GOP sought an election advantage with failed effort to shutter college voting locations

In a resolution signed Friday, the party blasted two Republicans who voted against the measure and accused them of undermining its electoral chances.