NADIA LATHAN/Report for America, Author at The Rapid City Post

Empty chairs belonging to Texas House Representatives remain empty as House Republicans conduct business on the floor of the Texas Capitol, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez)

How Texas Democrats’ walkout has launched a fight across the US over political maps

August 8, 2025

Texas Republicans have escalated the penalties against Democrats as they enter a second week camped out in states across the country to block new U.S. House maps pushed for by President Donald Trump to win more seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit to remove 13 members from office, and Gov. Greg Abbott has moved to vacate the chair of the House Democratic Caucus leader. Democrats face increasing fines and civil arrests as Abbott has threatened to call another special session after lawmakers adjourn on Aug. 19.

FILE - Rain falls as Irene Valdez visits a make-shift memorial for flood victims along the Guadalupe River, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Search for answers after Texas’ deadly floods brings lawmakers to devastated Hill Country

July 30, 2025

Texas lawmakers are expected to question local Kerr County officials on Thursday over their preparedness and response to the deadly July 4 floods that killed at least 136 people. Lawmakers have filed bills to address improving emergency communications and providing additional funding for affected areas. Republican lawmakers have been careful not to scrutinize the state’s response while emergency officials faced scrutiny from Democrats at a hearing last week. Lawmakers are also considering a highly partisan effort to redistrict the state’s congressional maps, making for a busy 30-day special session that has resulted in Democrats fleeing the state in protest.

Democrats slam rush to redraw US House maps at first hearing in Texas

July 24, 2025

Texas Democrats on Thursday slammed the GOP’s unusual push to redraw the state’s House maps to win more seats ahead of the 2026 elections. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott pulled lawmakers back to the Capitol for a 30-day special session to create new maps after receiving pressure from the Trump administration, creating a lengthy legislative agenda that also includes addressing the deadly Texas Hill Country floods. Democrats have vowed to block the new maps, characterizing it as a naked power grab, and they have said they would not engage in other legislation until flood relief is addressed.

FILE - An American flag is placed on a stump flies in Kerrville, Texas on July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, file)

Texas lawmakers scrutinize state’s response to catastrophic floods

July 23, 2025

Texas lawmakers are scrutinizing the state’s emergency response to the July 4 floods that killed at least 136 people. A top Republican lawmaker stressed on Wednesday that legislators have no intention of criticizing or assigning blame. Some Democratic officials are questioning if the state provided enough funding to affected localities before the disaster. Emergency response officials are testifying, but no officials from Kerr County, the hardest-hit area, to avoid pulling them from their work. Also on the agenda for this summer’s special legislative session is a partisan redrawing of U.S. House maps to give Republicans more winnable seats.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick shows products containing THC while calling for a ban on the consumables on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at the state Capitol in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jim Vertuno)

Texas governor vetoes bill that would ban all THC products

June 22, 2025

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed a bill to ban all THC products. The Republican waited until the final moment Sunday to veto the measure that would have hampered a booming industry flush with THC-infused gummies, vapes and other goods found at stores across the state. The bill would have made it a misdemeanor to own, sell or manufacture THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol. A 2018 federal law allowing states to regulate hemp led to the proliferation of THC goods, which can be synthetically processed from hemp. This has led residents in states where marijuana is strictly prohibited, like Texas, to access goods that give a similar high.

Texas stops providing new funding for border wall construction

June 17, 2025

Texas has stopped providing new funding toward building a U.S.-Mexico border wall after lawmakers quietly approved a new budget that does not include funding for the project. It’s a shift in course after the state allocated billions of dollars to install hundreds of miles of barrier that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott set out to construct four years ago. The state has since completed only about 65 miles of the border wall to date. Abbott’s office said that efforts by President Trump to crack down on immigration allowed the state to adjust its spending. The number of migrant crossings has fallen dramatically this year.

Norman Harris, executive director of JMF Corporation that puts on a Juneteenth celebration in Denver, is shown on the light-rail track running through the neighborhood where the event is staged Friday, June 13, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Juneteenth celebrations adapt after corporate sponsors pull support

June 16, 2025

Juneteenth celebrations have been scaled back this year due to funding shortfalls as companies and municipalities across the country reconsider their support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. More than a dozen companies dropped out of sponsoring one of Denver’s biggest Juneteenth festivals, canceled federal grants and businesses moving away from so-called brand activism have hit the bottom line of parades and other events heading into Thursday’s federal holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. The shrinking financial support coincides with many companies severing ties with LGBTQ celebrations for Pride this year and President Donald Trump’s efforts to squash DEI programs throughout the federal government.

Employee Savannah Gavlik displays THC products at the Dope Daughters dispensary that Texas lawmakers are seeking to ban, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Texas considers banning products infused with THC derived from hemp, and retailers are worried

June 3, 2025

Texas lawmakers have approved banning gummies, drinks and vapes infused with THC, the compound that gives marijuana its psychoactive properties. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott hasn’t said whether he will sign the bill. If he does, opponents say a ban would threaten a multibillion-dollar industry and the income of thousands of retailers. Texas has some of the nation’s most restrictive marijuana laws. Other states, including California, have imposed restrictions in recent years that include banning underage use and limits on the potency of the products, which are often marketed as legal even in states where marijuana is not.

Dr. Austin Dennard holds her son as she poses for a portrait at her home in Dallas, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A Texas effort to clarify abortion ban reaches a key vote, but doubts remain

May 20, 2025

Several states with near-total abortion bans have introduced legislation seeking to make their medical exceptions clearer. In Texas, a similar bill would specify doctors cannot face criminal charges for performing an abortion in a medical emergency. It’s the first abortion bill to receive bipartisan support from lawmakers since the state ban took effect. Yet it has divided abortion rights advocates who say similar bills do not make bans easier to understand. Efforts by Republican lawmakers to introduce bills seeking to clarify medical exceptions for abortions have risen since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

NADIA LATHAN/Report for America.