By Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune March 5, 2026 In May 2020, as a deadly pandemic raged across the world, Steve Toth decided he needed a haircut — and he was willing to go to jail over it. The state representative from The Woodlands, a conservative Houston suburb, went to Tune Up: The Manly Salon,…

By Ayden Runnels and Lomi Kriel, The Texas Tribune March 4, 2026 Camp East Montana, a hastily constructed immigration detention facility in El Paso currently experiencing a measles outbreak, is in the process of being closed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a report from the Washington Post. A document was distributed to…

By Emily Foxhall, The Texas Tribune March 4, 2026 Camp Mystic cannot alter its property by the Guadalupe River where 27 girls and the camp’s executive director died last summer, so that evidence can be preserved while a lawsuit proceeds, a judge in Austin ruled Wednesday. The camp cannot demolish, repair or reconstruct a number…

By Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune March 4, 2026 U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, admitted Wednesday to having an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, after initially denying the allegation. Speaking on conservative talk show host Joe Pags’ show the day after he was forced into a runoff in his primary,…

By Apurva Mahajan and Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune March 4, 2026 Nearly one in four registered voters in Texas cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primaries, a high-water mark for midterm elections in the state’s recent history, driven by electrifying momentum surrounding both parties’ races for U.S. Senate. In all, nearly 4.5 million Texans voted…

by Joshua Kaplan and Justin Elliottt Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem misled Congress on Tuesday about the powers of her controversial top aide Corey Lewandowski, according to records reviewed by ProPublica and four current and former DHS officials. Lewandowski has an unusual role at DHS, where he is not a paid government employee but is…

By Alex Nguyen, The Texas Tribune March 4, 2026 Former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed state Rep. James Talarico on Wednesday, hours after the Austin lawmaker won the widely watched Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, and called on the party to unite around the nominee after she previously backed his opponent U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.…

By Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune March 4, 2026 President Donald Trump said he would “soon” endorse a candidate in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate and, in doing so, call on whomever he does not endorse to drop out of the race — though he did not specify whether he would back Sen.…

By Jess Huff and Chris Essig, The Texas Tribune March 4, 2026 Nate Sheets promised to clean house at the Texas Department of Agriculture on Wednesday after he ousted Commissioner Sid Miller in the Republican primary.  “We’re going to fire every one of the cancerous people that were pro-Sid and clean house,” Sheets said in…

By Patrick Svitek and Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune March 4, 2026 The last time John Cornyn was in a primary runoff, it was 28 years ago and he easily won. Things have changed a bit since then. Texas is a far redder state, President Donald Trump is the undisputed kingmaker and primary voters are…