How COVID-19 cases have grown in Texas' 11 most populous counties
New cases in Texas are approaching 6,000 per day, and nearly two-thirds of them have been recorded in 11 counties over the past two weeks. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the categories of medical surge facilities during a press conference at the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Early voting starts Monday for the primary runoff in Texas. Here’s what you need to know.
Texans will be voting in the middle of a pandemic on congressional, legislative and state board seats. Full Story
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![Super Tuesday voting lines at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center near downtown Houston on March 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Some Texas cities revive plans to add hospital bed capacity at convention centers if coronavirus cases climb
“The setting will be similar to a Medical-Surgical Unit with a capability of treating critical care patients," reads a description for a 100-bed site in Austin, according to an email obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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![A look inside an intensive care unit during a media tour of a medical shelter at NRG Park in Houston on April 11, 2020. The facility was built in less than a week for a possible overflow of COVID-19 in the greater Houston area.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will return to his native Collin County, judge rules
Paxton, a Republican, was indicted in 2015 on felony securities fraud charges, but the case has yet to go to trial as side battles persist over the venue where he will be tried and the amount the special prosecutors will be paid. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott keeps businesses open despite surging coronavirus cases and rising deaths in Texas
“We can protect Texans’ lives while also restoring their livelihoods,” Abbott said this week. As cases surge, the question has become: How many Texans’ lives? Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott gives an update on Texas hospital bed capacity and state's strategy for fighting COVID-19 during a press conference at Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Analysis: A persistent coronavirus thriving against an inconsistent Texas government
It's a déjà vu moment, with the Texas government making some of the same moves to curb the spread of the coronavirus that it adopted in March — and started to get rid of a month later. The virus is spreading, and the remedies are back. Full Story
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![A line of close to 100 cars formed at Hancock Center in Austin while waiting for COVID-19 tests at the Community Care clinic. Some patients reported four hour wait times. June 25, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott pauses Texas’ reopening, bans elective surgeries in four counties
For a second time since the start of the pandemic, Abbott banned elective surgeries to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients. But this time the hold on the nonessential procedures is only in effect for Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties. Full Story
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![The Baylor Scott and White Medical Center Hillcrest hospital in Waco on March 25, 2020.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
He removed labels that said “medical use prohibited,” then tried to sell thousands of masks to officials who distribute to hospitals
Using TaskRabbit and Venmo, a Silicon Valley investor and his business partner had workers repackage nonmedical KN95 masks so he could sell them to Texas emergency workers. Full Story
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![Jaime Rivera, a TaskRabbit worker, said the warning "medical use prohibited" was omitted when masks were moved from their original packaging, shown at left in an image shared by Rivera, into new packaging, right. A mask broker tried to sell them to the Texas Division of Emergency Management.]()
Credit: Right: Courtesy of Texas Division of Emergency Management -
Federal court tosses suit brought by Texas Democrats seeking to revive straight-ticket voting
Siding with the state, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo found that Democrats lacked standing to overturn Texas Republicans’ decision to kill straight-ticket voting ahead of the November general election. Full Story
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![Super Tuesday voting lines at the Metropolitan Multi Service Center near downtown Houston on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
New York imposes travel restrictions on visitors from Texas, the latest coronavirus hot spot
The tables have turned: Texas previously had similar self-quarantining requirements for hot spots like New York and Louisiana. Now that Texas is the latest hot spot, states are imposing restrictions against travelers from the Lone Star State. Full Story
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![Delta Air Lines' new Airbus A220 jet rests between flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in April of 2019.]()
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Analysis: An accidental lesson on public health and politics in a pandemic
Texas government is going in two directions at once, with Gov. Greg Abbott blowing a whistle on rising COVID-19 numbers while top education officials detail plans to open public schools for in-person classes this fall. Full Story
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![Instructor's Aid, Nicole Johnson, walks JoAnn Zavala's pre-K students down the hall to music class, their first "specials" visit for the day, on Sept. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Coronavirus patients crowd some Texas ICUs as Gov. Greg Abbott touts "abundant" hospital capacity
Regionally, some hospital officials are reporting that intensive care units are near or over capacity, and local leaders have warned that hospitals could get overwhelmed if the number of infections keeps climbing. Full Story
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![One of two surgical suites at Eastland Memorial Hospital.]()
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Running for Congress while responding to a pandemic, these three Texans say they’re uniquely equipped for the job
Three Texas doctors didn’t know about the coronavirus when they filed to run for Congress this year, but now the pandemic has upended their professional and political lives. Full Story
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar calls Gov. Greg Abbott's leadership during coronavirus "a total failure"
During an interview with The Texas Tribune, Escobar, D-El Paso, said the state's leadership missed an opportunity to implement robust testing when an emergency was declared. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, speaks during a House Judiciary Committee markup of Articles of Impeachment against President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 12, 2019.]()
Credit: Matt McClain/Pool via REUTERS -
Texas is heading down a dangerous path, local leaders warn as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations surge
When Gov. Greg Abbott let businesses start reopening, he pointed to two metrics as encouraging signs: the hospitalization rate and the infection rate. Both of those metrics are on the rise in Texas. Full Story
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![COVID-19 test samples are organized into coolers at a mobile testing site at Uhland Elementary School in Uhland on June 18, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Masking the real problem — a deadly virus
More people are out and about, and coronavirus cases are rising in Texas. But there's an easy way to limit the spread of the virus, if people will set their politics aside: masks. Full Story
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![A protestor with a 'Don't Tread On Me' flag tied to his rilfe at the 'Re-Open America' protest at the state Capitol.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Empower Texans opponents rush to exact revenge over anti-Abbott tirade
The release last week of audio of two Empower Texans staffers disparaging Gov. Greg Abbott with profanity and jokes about his disability became nearly instant fodder in the fast-approaching runoffs. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott gives an update on Texas hospital bed capacity and the state's strategy for fighting COVID-19 during a press conference at Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Pool via Austin American-Statesman -
Gov. Greg Abbott says he supports making to-go alcohol sales permanent in Texas
State Rep. Tan Parker said he will file a bill in the upcoming legislative session to extend to-go alcohol sales past the coronavirus pandemic. The Texas Restaurant Association also has asked Abbott to expand the waiver to allow mixed drinks with liquor to be prepared, resealed and sold. Full Story
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![Customers, one wearing a mask, enjoy drinks and dinner at B.D. Riley's Irish Pub on West 6th Street as Texas bars reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. May 22, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Houston mayor calls for more funding for social services to take pressure off police officers
During a Houston policing roundtable organized by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, several local leaders emphasized the need for social services funding. Full Story
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![Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks during the funeral for George Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church in Houston on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Godofredo A. Vasquez/Pool via REUTERS -
Analysis: A government of, by and for — but without the people
The Texas Legislature is supposed to convene in January — and would ordinarily be holding public hearings on various issues between now and then. That begs a question: Is there a safe way to open the Texas Capitol to lawmakers and the public? Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on Feb. 10, 2015.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune
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