Texas Legislature Avoids Hot-Button Abortion Bills This Session

byClaire Allbright

Unlike Alabama, which just banned abortion except to save a mother’s life, or Georgia, with its fetal heartbeat bill, Texas anti-abortion forces are pursuing incremental steps this year.

As Hemp Bill Nears Passage, Expert Warns of Potential Pitfalls

byMIchael Minasi

Prohibition of the plant has made scientific work on best cultivation practices impossible, and taking market share from growers outside the state could be a challenge.

Answering Five Questions Texans Have About Hemp and Marijuana

byAndrea Tinning

They’re both illegal, for now, and they’re both cannabis, but the similarities just about end there.

Texas Tennis Fights Through Scandal to Win First National Title

byRobert Larkin

After losing their coach in the wake of a college admissions scandal, UT-Austin’s men’s tennis team won its first national championship.

Flying Through a ‘Junkyard’: Assessing the Risks of Space Debris

byAndrea Tinning

Professor who designed database that tracks satellites and assorted “space junk” discusses risks posed by space debris.

An Undergrad Astronomy Major Helps Revolutionize Her Field

bySahar Chmais

Anne Dattilo, 22-year-old physics and astronomy undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, discovered two exoplanets, or planets outside Earth’s solar system.

Mystified by Texas Politics? We’ve Got Answers

byShepard Price

Find out why Democrats disappeared and get a quick look at the state’s most notorious political scandals.

Rodeo Bullfighters Find Fulfillment and Friendship on a Long, Hard Road

byRobert Larkin

In a fast-moving and dangerous sport, the bullfighters develop a bond on and off the dirt.

Amid National Controversy, Austin For-Profit College Consulting Firm Going Strong

bySunny Kim

Hundreds students attend Berkeley2 Academy, a for-profit college consulting firm in Austin.

Texas Pundits Ponder the Importance of the BriLab Scandal 40 Years On

byShepard Price

Billy Wayne Clayton, the figure at the center of the scandal, remade the office of Texas House speaker.

Britain’s Brexit Imbroglio: ‘Nobody is Happy’

byShepard Price

Zeynep Somer-Topcu, associate professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin, makes sense of Brexit.

Civil War Battle Rises Again in East Texas

byAndrea Tinning

The annual Battle of Blackjack Grove, a mock Civil War battle, started in 2017 in the East Texas town of Groveton and has attracted more and more attendees each year.

Houston Toad Faces Uphill Battle but Refuses to Croak

byMichael Minasi

The tiny amphibian faces an existential threat from the torrid development around its remaining habitat in Bastrop County. (Story also appeared in the Austin American-Statesman.)

UT Dell Medical School’s Unconscious Bias Training Seeks to Improve Awareness in Healthcare

bySunny Kim

By eliminating bias, educators hope to improve dismal maternal mortality rates among African-American women.

North Lamar’s Long Road Toward Improvements

byAlyx Wilson

Austin is in the midst of developing a small area plan for what some residents consider a neglected pocket of Austin — the area around North Lamar Boulevard north of Highway 183 to Braker Lane.

Journalism Schools Look to Prepare Students to Confront Sexual Harassment

bySahar Chmais

Journalists say schools should prepare students to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace.

UT-Austin, Texas State Train Police, Students and Staff to Handle Active Shooters

byShepard Price

Training at UT-Austin and Texas State takes two tracks: one focusing on quick police response and a second on simple steps everyone else can take to defend themselves.

Estimating Texas Mountain Lion Population Is Like Herding Cats — Literally

byKayla Meyertons

The lions are so stealthy and range so widely, mostly on private land, that scientists have difficulty developing a good estimate of their numbers in Texas.

Texas’ Membership-only Card Clubs Circumvent Gambling Laws

byReid Jowers

Some gamblers have started using a loophole in state law to play cards for money at so-called card clubs.

Fighting Addiction, One Dank Meme at a Time

bySahar Chmais

An addict turned recovery counselor uses dark humor and social media to help users clean up.