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.
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.
byNatalia Rodriguez
Hallways full of families. Vendors in stalls scrambling to attend to every customer. Dance floors full of laughter and community. For decades, these scenes would play out at the Mercadome Flea Market in the Rio Grande Valley town of Alamo.
Today, those same hallways are empty. Many stalls in the flea market, or “pulga” in Spanish, are closed, and the dance floor is occupied by only a few clinging to maintain the energy that existed before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the market last June.
“There’s no one here because everyone is scared,” one vendor said.
