The Latest Breaking News from The Texas Tribune

Syphilis rates in Texas continue to climb, alarming healthcare workers who see the highest increases among pregnant people and newborns. A shortage of treatment is complicating efforts to combat it.

As the state’s wildfire season continues, rural fire departments and their volunteers are strained to keep up with hundreds of fires.

Darren McCarty said the attorney general, his former boss, approached the Mitte Foundation lawsuit with “urgency and anxiety” — and a focus on helping his friend and political donor.

TEA said it needs to make adjustments to account for changes in students’ academic performance after the pandemic. The delay comes after several school districts sued to stop the agency from releasing school rankings produced under a new rating system.

Houston lawyer Brandon Cammack said he was excited to help the attorney general’s office with a criminal investigation. But after a whirlwind month, he was fired without payment and felt he’d “gotten the rug pulled out from me.”

Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced his plans Tuesday to launch an impeachment inquiry, saying it was the “logical next step” after months of probing by House Republicans into the Biden family. The investigations have so far yet to turn up evidence that the president violated the law.

Republicans were not in agreement about whether they supported suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

This summer, industrial scale batteries have helped boost the energy supply during critical evening hours. Battery storage represents a small fraction of Texas’ energy mix now, but it’s expected to rise sharply in coming years.

A Paxton whistleblower testified that the attorney general took an unusual interest in Nate Paul’s litigation against a charity in 2020. Another said Paul benefited from an opinion on foreclosures.

The prosecution and the defense were each given 24 hours to present their case and cross examine witnesses.

“My heart broke for her,” Katherine “Missy” Cary said of Sen. Angela Paxton, Ken Paxton’s wife. Angela Paxton is disqualified from voting but has to attend the trial.