Swaths of East Texas without power amid a heat wave after severe storms
Some Texans may have to wait a week for their power to be restored during a period of extreme heat and humidity. Full Story
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Sneha Dey is a general assignment reporter on the breaking news team. She joined The Texas Tribune full time in 2022 after working in our newsroom as a reporting fellow. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism, legal studies and creative writing. The New York native has previously worked for the Chicago Sun-Times, NPR and Chalkbeat. She has also served as editor in chief of The Daily Northwestern.
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![Longview High School - Earlier this year the 1970 federal segregation order was lifted for Longview ISD.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Across Texas, a slow and sputtered rollout of foster care privatization
Lawmakers were assured that outsourcing management of foster care services would fix the state’s troubled child welfare agency. But the rollout of the new model, set to be completed by 2029, has been complicated by setbacks. Full Story
![State Rep. James Frank R-Wichita Falls, answers a question from Rep. Armando Walle D-Houston regarding SB 11 on May 18, 2017]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
More Texans would qualify for food stamps under a bill heading to Gov. Greg Abbott
The value of a household’s vehicles disqualified nearly 55,000 people seeking federal food assistance in 2022. House Bill 1287 increases the threshold of car values that lead to SNAP applicants being denied aid. Full Story
![Volunteers from neighboring small towns divide, box-up, and load their trucks with food from the Amarillo-based High Plains Food Bank for monthly delivery to Quitaque on June 28, 2019.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers OK bill that aims to keep sexually explicit material out of school libraries
Approved by both chambers, the bill is now on its way to the governor. Unless he vetoes it, the bill will become law, which means book vendors will have to assign ratings to books based on depictions or references to sex. Full Story
![Vandegrift High School's library in Austin on March 2, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
After abuse accusations at The Refuge, Texas will create new reporting and screening requirements for foster care workers
The legislation came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing she had a history of sexual misconduct with children at a state juvenile facility. Coworkers also concealed evidence of the abuse, which further put the foster girls at harm. Full Story
![The Refuge in Bastrop on Apr. 12, 2022]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House approves bill to improve background checks on child-welfare workers
The action came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing her history of misconduct. Full Story
![The Refuge in Bastrop on Apr. 12, 2022]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Allen mall shooting alarms Asian Texans as authorities search for gunman’s motive
Four of the eight people killed in the North Texas attack were of Asian descent. Law enforcement officials said the gunman held neo-Nazi beliefs. Full Story
![Department of Public Safety officers block the entrance to the Allen Premium Outlets mall nearby a makeshift memorial for the shooting victims, on May 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Allen mall shooting victims include three kids and a couple who leave behind their 6-year-old son
A security guard, an engineer, and a child as young as three were among the eight victims of the shooting at the Allen outlet mall on Saturday. Full Story
![Erica Espinoza, a community member who knew one of the eight victims of the Allen Premium Outlets mall shooting, kneels beside a makeshift memorial for the victims with her sister on May 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
In surprise move days after Allen mall shooting, Texas House panel OKs bill raising age to buy semi-automatic rifles
The legislation would raise the minimum age for purchasing certain firearms but likely wouldn’t have been a hindrance to the Allen gunman obtaining a weapon. The bill still faces an uphill climb in the Legislature. Full Story
![Family members of the victims of the Uvalde shooting cry and hug each other after the House Safety Committee voted in favor of HB 2744, to raise the age requirement to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, at the state Capitol in Austin on May 8, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
“This can’t be happening”: Allen becomes latest U.S. town to grapple with a mass shooting
After mall shooting, residents of the Dallas suburb are experiencing familiar rituals: mourning, anger and despair. Full Story
![Community members pray during a vigil to mourn the lives of the eight victims of the Allen Premium Outlet mall shooting, at the Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen on May 7, 2023. Hundreds of people attended the vigil to pay their respects, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune
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