Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism
byAJ Muonagolu
Weeks after the federal government announced new dietary guidelines, Texas schools and food assistance programs are studying how the changes might affect their services.School districts like Austin’s are waiting to see how the new guidelines will shape their programs – especially when it comes to costs and federal reimbursement rates for student meals.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in January released what it hailed as the biggest overhaul of dietary guidelines in 25 years. The guidelines provide advice for better personal eating habits, and they influence menus in schools and government-supported programs. Authors of the new guidelines say they will correct nutritional deficits in Americans’ diets and improper eating habits.
“I would like to see the administration put its back into implementing the policy so that we’re feeding people properly,” said J. Thomas Brenna, University of Texas professor of chemistry and nutritional sciences.
byNatalia Rodriguez
The University of Texas at Austin on Thursday announced plans to shutter seven departments in the College of Liberal Arts devoted to ethnicity, gender and international studies and to review curriculum related to those subjects. UT President Jim Davis said in a campus-wide email that Mexican-American and Latino Studies, African and African Diaspora Studies, Women’s, […]
bySamantha Rubin
Texans with dual citizenship are decrying the potential effects of a bill introduced by an Ohio senator that would force Americans who hold citizenship in another country to renounce one nationality or risk being treated as if they gave up their U.S. citizenship.
Legal experts said the proposal is unworkable. “There really is no good way to police this,” said Elissa Steglich, who teaches the immigration law clinic at the University of Texas law school. “There’s no actual benefit to the nation for people to relinquish citizenship to other countries.”
byErika Gonzalez
Thousands of Texans rely on medical cannabis to relieve chronic pain, anxiety, or PTSD. At the end of September 2025, Texas had more than 135,000 registered patients, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that around 4 million residents used cannabis for therapeutic purposes in the past year.
Access for these patients could change drastically. On Jan. 9, the Texas Department of State Health Services proposed raising licensing fees for the THC hemp industry.
