Alex Nguyen | The Texas Tribune

The Austin lawmaker, first elected in 2004, chaired the influential House Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees. He is the second Texas Republican this week to bow out of Congress.

Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, said Texas has no authority to “impose its cruel abortion ban here.”

New laws range from school vouchers and water infrastructure funding to a ban on city and county-funded abortion travel funds.

A second special session that has made approving the map a priority started Friday, shortly after the first one ended.

The bill no longer targets drag performers, but LGBTQ advocates say the legislation’s vague language could still be used to criminalize such shows.

If Senate Bill 14 becomes law, the ban would take effect on Sept. 1. This would also make Texas one of over a dozen states that restrict transition-related care for transgender minors.

Senate Bill 14 would prohibit trans youth from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapy — treatments medical groups say can be life-saving. Tuesday’s expected House vote could push Texas closer to joining other states in banning such care for kids.

As Texas House members could soon vote to ban transition-related care for minors, many lives are in limbo, and trans kids like 16-year-old Randell are grappling with difficult decisions.

Since Jacoby Pillow’s death last month, at least three others have died at Harris County Jail. And the year before, the jail hit a record high of 27 in-custody deaths.

Despite worries of a national recession, Texas’ robust labor force and strong energy sector could help it fare relatively well in a potential 2023 slowdown.

School closures and hazardous road conditions are expected throughout a large swath of Texas, according to forecasts. State officials caution Texans about local power outages but expect the grid to stay up.

The state set a record for the number of employed people for 14 consecutive months.