In this East Texas town, a 45-foot tall oil pump is a holiday symbol and connection to the past
Rudolph the Red-Nose Pumping Unit has long been a holiday tradition in Lufkin. The machinery, now used worldwide to extract oil from the ground, was invented by a local businessman.
As offices sit empty and housing costs soar, some Texas developers are converting workspaces into apartments
Not every downtown high-rise is a good fit for an office-to-housing conversion, but some officials and developers see benefits in turning unused space into new residential units.
State abandons effort to take back Fairfield Lake State Park land
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will stop pursuing eminent domain to take over the former park property south of Dallas. A private developer plans to turn it into a luxury subdivision.
Texas woman asks judge to let her terminate pregnancy after lethal fetal diagnosis
In an emergency request, the Center for Reproductive Rights is asking a judge to allow Kate Cox to terminate her pregnancy after she received a lethal fetal diagnosis.
Texas House adjourns fourth special session — leaving vouchers, school safety and elections bills unfinished
The latest casualties were Senate Bill 5, which would spend $800 million on school safety measures through 2025, and Senate Bill 6, which would change the timeline of a trial after an election contest is filed by a citizen or group.
McKinney state Rep. Frederick Frazier pleads no contest to charges he impersonated a public servant
Frazier was indicted in June 2022 on two charges of impersonating a public servant, a felony offense. He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges as part of a plea agreement.
Why we’re publishing never-reported details of the Uvalde school shooting before state investigators
Over a year after the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the community still doesn’t know what went wrong. It’s a key reason we’re publishing findings based on a trove of raw materials investigators have yet to release.
“Someone tell me what to do”
Across the country, states require more training to prepare students and teachers for mass shootings than for those expected to protect them. The differences were clear in Uvalde, where children and officers waited on opposite sides of the door.
Judge considers holding state in contempt a third time over foster care conditions
U.S. District Judge Janis Jack on Monday considers whether state’s foster care agency has made progress caring for most vulnerable children or should be held in contempt for the third time in an ongoing 2011 lawsuit.
Senate confirms Texas Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez to 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Ramirez is currently a U.S. magistrate judge for the Northern District of Texas, serving in that role for over two decades.