The stories Texans are living — gathered, checked, and told straight. Our newsroom covers the politics, money, power, and people shaping the state, from the Capitol to campus to the county line.
News
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Texas state Rep. James Talarico faced off in a debate on Saturday, giving Texas voters their first true glimpse at the U.S. Senate candidates’ policy proposals — and contrasting political styles — ahead of the March 3 primary election. During Saturday’s debate, moderators Daniel
Crime & Justice
We’ve got an update on the Texas inmate who was thrown in solitary confinement after her daughter raised money to help a sick cat (yes, really): She’s finally back in regular housing. Texas prison officials confirmed that Sonya Reed, 53, is no longer in administrative segregation, which is
News
A federal judge handed down a ruling in a contentious case over drag shows at West Texas A&M University this weekend. U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk found that the university can ban drag shows on its campus in a 46-page finding of fact that focused
Health
Just days after a fundraiser to save a sick stray cat at a Central Texas women’s prison raised nearly $11,000, Texas prison officials placed the incarcerated woman who cared for the cat into solitary confinement — despite the fact that she did not organize the fundraiser or receive any
Immigration
In a viral post on Instagram, 5-year-old Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos smiles brightly in front of iconic Austin street art. She’s wearing purple sneakers with pink laces. In big yellow lettering, the post reads: “URGENT: 5-YEAR-OLD US CITIZEN DISAPPEARED BY ICE.” Before dawn on Jan.
Crime & Justice
Thirty years ago, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was riding her bike in an Arlington parking lot with her 5-year-old brother Ricky when she was kidnapped by a man in a pickup truck. Four days later, her body was found six miles away in a creek. Today, more
News
In a place defined by razor wire, locked doors, and long sentences, a stray cat named OJ became something rare: a constant, living comfort for women who have access to very little else. And recently when OJ fell seriously ill inside a Central Texas prison, his survival came down to
Culture
This may be the sweetest GoFundMe ever created: The daughter of an incarcerated woman in Texas is trying to raise money to save a very sick orange cat who’s been keeping one of them going. Orange Julius, or OJ, is a cat suffering from a kidney infection and urgently
Immigration
EXCLUSIVE Yamirla Chavez’s last two months at the Refugee & Immigrant Center for Education & Legal Services, or RAICES, are a blur to her now. She’d been a senior staff attorney for the nonprofit organization’s Unaccompanied Children’s Program, fighting in court on behalf of children who
News
Just past 11:30 a.m. on May 24, 2022, four Uvalde school district police officers entered Robb Elementary School. Officers Adrian Gonzales and Donald Page stepped in first, followed by Police Chief Pete Arredondo and Sergeant Daniel Coronado. They heard gunshots coming from two fourth grade classrooms. Over the
News
Texas parents must be caregivers, advocates, experts and therapists for their kids with autism as they battle years-long waitlists, delays in care, and insurance.
Health
When Nayeli Calderon’s son Sebastian was 2 years old, a daycare teacher suggested she get him tested for autism. That’s when she said the work, and the waiting, began. Sebastian joined a month-long waitlist for a neurologist, who saw him for a few months and then diagnosed