Area News

Distracted Driving Still Deadly: AAA Texas Calls on Drivers to Put the Phone Down Safety advocates warn one moment of distraction can cost a life April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and AAA Texas is urging drivers to eliminate distractions behind the wheel as thousands of lives continue to be lost each year to…

No outdoor project is too big or too small to call 811 before you dig   Using the free 811 service can help keep everyone safe and minimize service disruptions to friends and neighbors   TEXAS— April 1, 2026 — With spring in full swing and outdoor projects underway, CenterPoint Energy reminds customers and community…

By Matthew Watkins, The Texas Tribune March 31, 2026 Tuesday was the deadline for Texas families to apply for the state’s first school vouchers. In this week’s episode of the TribCast, hosts Matthew and Eleanor speak with Jaden Edison, the Tribune’s education reporter, about who signed up, the future of the program and why Muslim…

By Olivia Borgula, The Texas Tribune April 1, 2026 WASHINGTON — In an ad that aired ahead of the March primary, Republican congressional candidate Chris Gober was promoted to voters as a “Trump conservative” and “MAGA warrior” who “knows how to win a fight.” The ad didn’t include explicit references to artificial intelligence, only referencing…

By Samantha Liss and Rachana Pradhan March 31, 2026 States are paying contractors such as Deloitte, Accenture, and Optum millions of dollars to help them comply with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a law that will strip safety-net health and food benefits from millions. State governments rely on such companies to design and…

By Phil Galewitz, KFF Health News April 1, 2026 Bluestem Health, a clinic that serves low-income and uninsured patients in Lincoln, Nebraska, has lost money for the last two years. And CEO Brad Meyer fears times will soon get worse for the clinic and its 21,000 patients. That’s because Nebraska is set to become the…

  Accounting for in-soil nitrogen can offset some high crop production expenses Farmers should consider deep soil testing for residual nitrogen and other nutrients, especially when rising fertilizer prices impact profit potential, according to a team of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomy team members take deep soil samples in stubble…

By Stephen Simpson, The Texas Tribune March 31, 2026 Texas is launching its own research program into a psychedelic called ibogaine after state officials couldn’t find a company to help develop it into a drug for FDA approval. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced on Tuesday that Texas will use $50…

By Alex Nguyen, The Texas Tribune March 31, 2026 To cool the state’s entire prison system, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has said it would cost more than $1 billion. But so far, TDCJ has not asked the Legislature for the full funding, even as more than 80,000 inmates in its facilities endure the…

By Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune March 31, 2026 A federal judge in Tyler dismissed a lawsuit on Tuesday that sought to allow churches to endorse political candidates without losing their tax-exempt status, dealing a blow to the Trump administration and other conservatives who have worked to eliminate the decades-old law barring nonprofits from supporting…