The Latest Breaking News from The Texas Tribune

Nearly three months after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of the 1,000-foot line of buoys and mesh in the Rio Grande, an Austin federal judge ordered the state to remove the barrier and stop building further obstructions in the river. One day later a higher court sided with Texas.

An investigation by ProPublica and TexasTribune found that the Attorney General forced taxpayers to pay for their defense instead.

Fellows play key roles in the most important work of the Tribune, helping with The Texas Tribune Festival and covering the biennial legislative sessions, education and the environment, among other important topics.

After senators rejected the suspended attorney general’s bid to dismiss all accusations against him, lawyers for both sides laid out their cases and impeachment managers called their first witness.

The pretrial motions required a majority vote. The most support a motion to dismiss received was 10 out of 30 senators.

Simmons talked with The Texas Tribune about “Up Home: One Girl’s Journey,” which depicts an era long gone but whose legacies of inequality still persist.

On the first day of the impeachment trial, senators rejected defense attorneys’ attempts to dismiss all 16 articles of impeachment. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also ruled that Ken Paxton couldn’t be forced to testify.

Records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune give deeper insight into how Paxton’s representation denials often pushed agencies to look for outside legal counsel that was ultimately funded by taxpayers.

Will the suspended attorney general testify, and will any — or all — articles of impeachment be dismissed before opening arguments? Answers are finally coming.

Under rules previously adopted by the Texas Senate, the trial will feature crucial votes on dismissing articles of impeachment as well as testimony under oath, private deliberations by senator-jurors and votes conducted without debate or discussion.

The impeachment trial that starts Tuesday is expected to center on Paxton’s infidelity, and could air out the sordid details of the staunch, Christian conservative’s life as he sits just yards away from his wife, and her 30 Senate colleagues.