James Talarico raises over $30 million in second quarter, campaign says, more than triple Ken Paxton’s sum

Sons of man killed by ICE in Houston demand investigation: “My father would have complied." “To have been killed by our own federal government, aided by federal policies that are deliberate choices, just makes me so angry,” another said. www.texastribune.org/2026/07/08/t...

Ken Paxton tops $9 million in a personal best fundraising quarter, campaign says

Houston Mayor John Whitmire on Wednesday cast doubt that the city’s police department could open a criminal investigation into the shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was killed a day earlier by a federal immigration agent.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s son on Wednesday said that his father would not have tried to flee a law enforcement stop: “Had my father seen an emblem of ICE, or an emblem that says anything about law enforcement agency, my father would have complied."

Faculty groups sued Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton and the university system’s regents Wednesday, asking a federal judge to block classroom restrictions they say have censored professors and intentionally discriminated against Black faculty.

Texas A&M University’s new president could earn more than $1.7 million a year under a five-year contract as the state’s largest public university tries to steady itself after years of political scrutiny and leadership turmoil. bit.ly/3T8kKK6

From investment fraud to sophisticated schemes involving hard-to-trace digital currency, Texans lost more than $1 billion to cryptocurrency scams in 2025. Here’s what to know. bit.ly/4p7d6LU

A man identifying himself as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's son posted on Facebook that his father lived in the United States for nearly 35 years and worked in construction to help provide for his family. “My father did not deserve this,” Ronaldo Salgado said.

Texas Democrats recently gathered to determine their party platform and game out the chances of winning a statewide seat for the first time in decades. Politics reporter Alejandro Serrano and Renzo Downey, lead writer of the Blast, unpack what it means for November and beyond. bit.ly/4eZc5Cx

A Texas Senate panel laid the groundwork for a renewed push to ban THC products at a public hearing, examining THC’s effects on issues ranging from homelessness to mental health. bit.ly/4glIrbz

Breaking: An ICE agent fatally shot a man in Houston on Tuesday after he allegedly tried to run over the agent bit.ly/44iwlst

New: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appears to have used an address where he did not live while voting in six elections in the past two years — despite his warning voters that “it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records.”

New: U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune will be a special guest at an upcoming fundraiser for Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Texas community colleges have made small but steady gains in enrollment since the pandemic, researchers with the Federal Reserve of Dallas found.

Last month, the Texas Republican Party included in its platform a ban on foreigners using American surrogates, arguing the practice allows children born under these circumstances to obtain U.S. citizenship.

Thank you to our #TribFest26 media partner, @fortworthreport.bsky.social! We’re grateful for your partnership. 🌟 Join us at TribFest Sept. 24–26. Get your tickets today: trib.it/tribfest2026...

Business owners across the state are grappling with rising health insurance costs, as lawmakers pin the blame on health companies for consolidating and creating less competition. bit.ly/4wlLjd8

Democratic congressional candidate and Tejano musician Bobby Pulido has been dogged by a series of headlines regarding his former accordionist, a registered sex offender. Pulido has insisted he did not know about the man’s rap sheet. bit.ly/4f2q7SD

NEW: The Trump administration asked a small Texas agency to represent immigrant kids as it seeks to end that aid in court & slashed other protections. Some worry it signals an attempt to move kids to Texas, from where it is easier to quickly deport them. www.texastribune.org/2026/07/03/t...

Four years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, just 2% of Texas voters named abortion as the most important problem facing the state. Some Texas women continue to advocate for abortion rights, but not everyone in Washington is receptive. bit.ly/3T517CJ

I'm thinking today about the people I've met and the stories they've shared since the July 4 floods. What happened that day -- and the grief and loss and rebuilding and resilience -- will certainly stay with me. Here are some of their stories:

A year after deadly floods, Texas lawmakers haven’t addressed training for emergency coordinators.

Trump administration asks Texas for help providing legal services to immigrant kids facing deportation.

Texas Stock Exchange to launch trading on Monday in test of upstart’s challenge to Wall Street. The exchange represents the most well-funded challenge to the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ duopoly of U.S. stock trading.

Border wall through Big Bend state park in “planning stages” as updated map includes 2-mile barrier

New: The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled the federal government can’t hold undocumented immigrants for more than 90 days without a bond hearing, rejecting a Trump administration policy that requires immigration agents to hold immigrants until they are deported.

State Rep. Nate Schatzline resigned from the Texas House Thursday to take a new position as Gov. Greg Abbott’s senior adviser on election policy. bit.ly/4y2Zg18

New: Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Don Huffines, a former Republican state senator, to be Texas Comptroller for the rest of the year. Huffines won the GOP nomination for the role in March, and will replace Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, who announced his resignation Wednesday. bit.ly/4fbQ5El

Corpus Christi faces another setback in the midst of an ongoing water crisis: Design work has halted on a water pipeline that’s supposed to reach communities across the state. bit.ly/4weFXR0

Measles vaccination rates for Texas kindergarteners increased slightly this school year, following a deadly 2025 outbreak. However, state data also shows exemptions on all vaccines for schoolchildren rose after the release of a downloadable exemption form. bit.ly/44GPuV7

Vaccination rates in Texas schools have been dropping. See the latest vaccination rates in your district using our database. bit.ly/3SDgzWB

Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock will step down from his post as Texas’ chief financial officer at the end of July, according to a resignation letter he submitted to Gov. Greg Abbott Wednesday.

Texas is poised to lead the nation in power plants to fuel data centers, according to a new report from an environmental watchdog group. The report warns the plants could emit tons of greenhouse gases and air pollution, causing significant climate impacts and health risks. bit.ly/4auZ9S2

Watch live: Texas schools are shaped by a long chain of decision-makers. Panelists discuss where meaningful change can actually happen, and how educators can build community relationships, communicate their school’s story and grow into impactful leadership.

In 2008, Hurricane Ike snapped pipes in an oil and gas facility east of Galveston, releasing thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf. Nearly two decades later, many petrochemical facilities on Texas' coast still may not be prepared for fierce storms. bit.ly/3QRcIo8

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision loosening campaign finance rules means national Republican committees can use their flush war chests to help candidates like Paxton close fundraising deficits. bit.ly/3Rdlr4g

Watch live: Schools have absorbed roles that other agencies were built to handle, asking teachers to provide care they were never trained for. Panelists discuss how schools can ensure students get the support they need while positioning educators to focus on teaching and learning.

Crider’s dance hall is back. Homes are rebuilt. Kids swim in the river. But there’s also deep grief in Kerr County after last year's flood killed 119 people and traumatized more.

Watch live: Throughout the day, The Texas Tribune is convening public school educators from around the state to explore the realities shaping schools today.

Thank you to our #TribFest26 student media partner, Texas Tech student newspaper, the Daily Toreador! We’re grateful for your partnership. 📚✨ Join us at TribFest Sept. 24–26. Student and educator tickets are only $65! Get your tickets today: trib.it/tribfest2026...

Bo French, the GOP nominee for the state’s oil and gas commission, called the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold birthright citizenship “traitorous,” saying Texas should not recognize babies born to undocumented parents as citizens.

The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville is working to gather information on Sunday’s arrest of a nun as she was walking to church in McAllen, calling circumstances behind the actions by federal immigration agents “wildly disturbing.”

Breaking: Breaking: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday shut down President Trump’s attempt to reverse a 170-year-old constitutional right that gives American citizenship to babies born to undocumented immigrants.

As cases of the New World screwworm increase, so do rumors about the parasitic fly. Here are some of the biggest myths.

San Marcos is testing a novel approach to outright ban data centers by exerting its home rule powers, which gives certain bigger cities the right to create their own zoning codes and control development, land law experts say.

Of the more than 200 rural counties in Texas, about 70% have no hospital at all or have hospitals that don’t have facilities for delivering babies.

States that already ran voter rolls through the revamped federal SAVE immigration database can continue ongoing investigations of the estimated 24,000 voters it flagged.

Forced to remove rainbow crosswalks, some Texas cities are channeling support for LGBTQ+ residents into murals, lighting and rainbow-decorated sidewalks and stairs.

Black elected officials said state Rep. James Talarico still needed to do more to connect with voters in their communities, though they emphasized he has time before November to build those relationships.