Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism
byRachel N. Madison
The morning of Sunday, January 24, 2026, looked much like that of January 31, 2023, and February 15, 2021. Snow coated fields. Ice buried streets. People shut their doors. Businesses closed.
Yet, most Texans noticed one key difference.
“We had power the entire time,” Northwest Hills resident Holly Eaton said.
This year, the state’s power grid remained intact with no systemwide blackouts, unlike in Winter Storm Uri which left 4.5 million homes without power and resulted in over 200 deaths across the state.
bySamantha Rubin
As Democrats look to energize young voters ahead of a competitive primary, U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico urged University of Texas at Austin students Wednesday to reject political division and to help mobilize voters on campus.
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.
