The Brief: Dec. 3, 2014
An execution planned for Wednesday evening is focusing attention on the use of the death penalty on those with serious mental illness. Full Story
The latest environment news from The Texas Tribune.
An execution planned for Wednesday evening is focusing attention on the use of the death penalty on those with serious mental illness. Full Story
A rule change will allow the Texas Department of Transportation to move more quickly in lowering speed limits on particularly dangerous roads in the state's drilling regions in West and South Texas. Full Story
A Ted Cruz for president Super PAC is up and running, while others doubt his ability to win over his party's big donors. Full Story
The first city in Texas to ban hydraulic fracturing tells a court it has every right to do so, calling the oil and gas extraction technique a “public nuisance” with "offensive results." Full Story
As shrubs and seedlings take hold in the scorched Bastrop State Park, park officials face a new quandary: An abundance of whitetail deer is threatening the new growth. Full Story
A story published over the weekend gave details on Gov. Rick Perry's prep work this week and month for a possible second run for the White House in 2016. Full Story
About 23,000 pounds of a flammable, foul-smelling toxic gas leaked from the DuPont chemical plant in La Porte where four workers died earlier this month, the company said Saturday. Full Story
The challenges the oil and gas boom present for communities across South and West Texas are immense. Revisit our 15-part multimedia series to see how surging energy production is changing lives and fortunes across Texas. Full Story
Texas leaders weren't always so skeptical about climate change. But the state's rightward shift, coupled with a booming oil and gas economy, have changed the tenor of the debate. This story was produced in collaboration with The World. Full Story
Over the objections of Texas officials, the Obama administration on Wednesday proposed a long-delayed rule to slash levels of ozone – a smog-forming pollutant known to worsen asthma, lung disease and heart conditions. Full Story
College students foiled the will of permanent residents in Denton's vote to ban hydraulic fracking, the losing side maintains. The Tribune crunched the numbers. Full Story
Rapidly falling oil prices might have drivers grateful at the gas pump, but indicators continue to grow that this lower price per barrel will soon have a significant impact on oil production. Full Story
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott indicated on Monday that Texas could soon file suit over the Obama administration's executive order intended to protect up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from the threat of immediate deportation. Full Story
Over the last two weeks, we've shared our 15-part multimedia series on how the state's explosive oil and gas growth is changing lives and fortunes across Texas. Take a look back at the Shale Life project in its entirety. Full Story
While drilling for oil and gas has exploded across Texas, residents and environmental advocates allege that state regulators haven't kept up with complaints about negative health effects. This story is part of our Shale Life project. Full Story
Texas will feel more of the effects of Obama's action while a proposed overhaul of the Secure Communities programs draws bipartisan criticism. Full Story
Since 2009, Texas manufacturers have reported at least 19 other unauthorized releases of methyl mercaptan, the lethal chemical that killed four at a Port Arthur DuPont plant, according to a Tribune analysis of state data. Full Story
Want an oil and gas job? Head to West Texas. Energy companies are sending recruiters to weekly job fairs, in search of qualified workers to fill a seemingly endless list of positions. This video is part of our Shale Life project. Full Story
State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte will run for mayor of her hometown of San Antonio, she confirmed Wednesday night. Full Story
As state regulators fret about how President Obama’s effort to combat climate change would affect the Texas power grid, a new study says the rules would save the state billions of gallons of water annually. Full Story