María Méndez | The Texas Tribune
María Méndez reports for Texas Public Radio from the border city of Laredo where she covers business issues from an area that is now the nation’s top trade hub. She knows Texas well. Méndez has reported on the state’s diverse communities and tumultuous politics through internships at the Austin American-Statesman, The Texas Tribune and The Dallas Morning News. She also participated in NPR’s Next Generation Radio program while studying at the University of Texas at Austin. At UT, she wrote for The Daily Texan and helped launch diversity initiatives, including two collaborative series on undocumented and first-generation college students. One of her stories for these series won an award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She spent the last year reporting for The Dallas Morning News as a summer breaking news intern and then as a fellow in the paper’s capital bureau in Austin. She is a native of Guanajuato in Central Mexico.
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Here’s a rundown of how legislation moves through the Capitol, the ways lawmakers operate and who the power players are. -
Officials warn of continued flooding and other risks as Beryl leaves. Groups are mobilizing to help affected Texans. -
Contraception options are available through most health insurance plans and government-funded clinics. -
From election equipment to ballot counting and storage, Texas elections officials follow a long list of laws and procedures to ensure free and fair elections. -
Early voting runs from Monday, Oct. 24, to Friday, Nov. 4. The last day to apply to vote by mail is Friday, Oct. 28. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. -
Medical professionals across the state have expressed confusion over what care they can provide amid Texas’ abortion ban, leading to some patients allegedly receiving delayed care or being turned away. -
Doctors and legal experts say Texas’ anti-abortion laws haven’t yet affected fertility treatments, and it appears an unlikely target for anti-abortion groups in the state. -
Officials have called for more armed officers on campuses in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. Experts and some parents, though, say more law enforcement on campus doesn’t necessarily make schools safer. -
Nineteen children and two adults were killed in the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Here are some ways people across the world can help the grieving community of Uvalde in the aftermath. -
Texas requires schools to have emergency plans and conduct safety drills. But a lot of decisions about safety are left to school districts and charter schools. -
Here’s a rundown of immigration and other news from the Texas border and beyond. -
'No Easy Answer': Biden Vows To Take In Migrant Children, But Says Most Families Will Be Turned AwayBiden announced plans to speed up the processing of migrant children traveling alone to the United States, but said his policy of returning most families to Mexico remains unchanged.
