Publication
Concerns raised about puppy yoga
One white, scraggly mutt named Lambchop won over the crowd at a Northwest Austin puppy yoga class — until he relieved himself on someone’s sweater. Across the room, another puppy named Winston repeatedly interrupted the instructor, prancing around the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
OBAMA CENTER OPENS
Former President Barack Obama, joined by former Presidents Joe Biden, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, celebrated the opening of his presidential center in Chicago on Thursday in an event that brought together politicians, A-list celebrities, athletes...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Austin tech leader dies in jet crash
Capital Factory founder Joshua Baer, a visionary force in the Texas technology and startup ecosystem, died Tuesday night in a private plane crash near Laredo. The jet’s crew reported mechanical issues to Laredo International Airport and was attempting...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
AISD takeover risk grows as scores lag
Despite improvements in state test scores at three North Austin middle school campuses, the percentage of students on grade level remains far lower than state and district averages, escalating the threat of a state takeover of the entire school...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Delayed choices put district in hole
Rachel Preston became a teacher more than a decade ago, she fell in love with helping Austin students learn French. “Sometimes, I get to see the kids go from zero to conversant, almost fluent in the language,” said Preston, who teaches at the Liberal...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
IVF, election rules make GOP platform
Texas Republicans passed a platform Saturday that urges lawmakers to prioritize further tightening the state’s election rules, including laws to bar mail-in balloting for seniors, require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote and close the primary. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
What growth builds and what it erases
Long before Rainey Street became known for luxury towers and nightlife, it was a small residential neighborhood sitting at the edge of downtown Austin. Former Austin City Manager Toby Futrell says the change over the past two decades is striking....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
AISD deficit balloons again
With less than a month left in the financial year, the Austin Independent School District’s 2025-26 budget deficit has swelled to $95 million. The newly announced deficit will cause the district to dig into reserves, eating up more than half of its...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump cancels latest threat against Iran
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had called off new military strikes on Iran, citing a breakthrough in negotiations to end the war just hours after he threatened to escalate the conflict by seizing control of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
UT leads effort to fill semiconductor jobs
The University of Texas is leading a semiconductor project across 10 states that will prepare students to fill 29,000 new jobs by 2030, rising to meet the significant expansion of a high-demand industry. The project — the National Network for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Israel, Iran appear to pause after trading fire
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes Monday, hours after they traded fire for the first time since the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. Both countries warned that they were ready...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Relief limited for Texas ranchers
For the past five years, Texas ranchers have been struggling against drought. Now, those with cattle to sell are finding a bright spot — but it’s one causing pain for consumers and politicians. It’s not a clear win for ranchers, either. Despite...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Attacks are latest test for ceasefire
TWITTER: @Statesman LINKEDIN: Statesman INSTAGRAM: Statesman FACEBOOK: @Statesman Subscriber-only eNewspaper: The eNewspaper is an electronic copy of your print newspaper. Enjoy every page by going to statesman.com/enewspaper or scan this code on...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
TWICE AS NICE FOR LONGHORNS
Texas players including infielders Viviana Martinez, left, and Jaycie Nichols celebrate the Longhorns’ sweep of Texas Tech in the NCAA Women’s College World Series finals on Thursday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. With the Game 2 win, the Horns...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Groups aim for Dream Act’s survival
Thousands of college students across Texas lost access to instate tuition last June when a judge blocked a 25-year-old state law, immediately making noncitizen students responsible for significantly higher tuition bills.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Cornyn stands by criticism of Paxton
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn will support the “Republican ticket” in November, but he says he still believes Attorney General Ken Paxton is a lawbreaker unfit for office and will put the seat at risk in November. “I stand by everything I said during...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Austin moves to regulate e-motos
Austin and Travis County officials are moving to crack down on the use of electric motorcycles after reports of teens weaving through traffic on major roads and downtown streets. The Austin City Council on Thursday took the first steps toward...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
How 3 officers ended the Buford’s shooting
At 1:58 a.m. on March 1, Austin police officer Nicholas LaBarbera stood with about seven other officers at Sixth and Neches streets, waiting for thousands of Saturday night revelers to spill from downtown bars at closing time. Generally assigned to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Are Texas school police too rough on kids?
Agirl was fighting her classmates. A police officer at her school, near Houston, blinded her with pepper spray, then kneed her in the face. A boy threw a punch during a lunchroom brawl. A school officer in Irving yanked him off his feet and slammed...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Lighter days’
The Austin City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a record $35 million settlement with the three men — and the family of a fourth — who were wrongfully accused of murder in the 1991 yogurt shop killings. One of those men, Michael Scott, told...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Camp Mystic health chief barred from direct care
TWITTER: @Statesman LINKEDIN: Statesman INSTAGRAM: Statesman FACEBOOK: @Statesman Subscriber-only eNewspaper: The eNewspaper is an electronic copy of your print newspaper. Enjoy every page by going to statesman.com/enewspaper or scan this code on...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Paxton ousts Cornyn
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated veteran U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP runoff Tuesday, toppling the four-term incumbent in a fierce duel that centered on who was more loyal to President Donald Trump. Paxton will now face off against...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DOING A CIVIC DUTY
A man walks into the Williamson County Jester Annex in Round Rock on Tuesday to vote in the primary runoff election. There was no line when polls opened at 7 a.m. For live election results, visit Statesman.com, and look for election analysis of the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sheriffs weigh state immigration law
Texas is expected to play an even bigger role in the White House’s deportation efforts this year, as the state’s largest counties face a December deadline to begin collaborating with federal officials on immigration enforcement. A state law passed in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Pedaling their way to a dream
For nine months, the road has been their home. Three heavily loaded bicycles have carried them across mountains, jungles, deserts and borders in pursuit of a dream most people would never dare attempt. Their mission sounds almost impossible: ride...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Detention center is costing millions
The Trump administration’s politically divisive decision to detain and house immigrant families in Texas is costing at least $13.1 million per month, plus an additional $2.5 million for medical care, even as the population at the Dilley Immigration...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Medicinal cannabis program’s growth isn’t as fast as hoped
Texas’ medicinal cannabis program is growing at a steady clip after lawmakers expanded it last year to include more patient conditions and dispensaries. Roughly 22,000 new patients have enrolled between September and April, bringing the program’s...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Pease Park troll burns to the ground
The troll statue in Pease Park, named Malin, burned to the ground early Thursday morning, according to the Austin Fire Department. Austin Fire got a call reporting flames at the park just before 5:30 a.m., the department said. Fire crews arrived at...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tracking ICE, camera in hand
On a rural stretch of Texas 21, on the western edge of Caldwell County, Limon Verde’s silver car skirted across the lane of incoming traffic onto a gravel driveway, beginning a rushed three-point turn. An unmarked gray GMC Terrain was driving the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump endorses Paxton in heated race for Senate
President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Tuesday, dealing a blow to Sen. John Cornyn’s reelection bid just after early voting began in their high-stakes primary runoff. “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Suspect in shootings over weekend is ID’d
One of the teenagers arrested after a weekend of shootings, stolen vehicles and an hourslong manhunt across the Austin area has been identified as 17-year-old Cristian Mondragon, according to sources close to the investigation. Mondragon is charged...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Emergency declared over Ebola outbreak
ABUJA, Nigeria — The World Health Organization declared an Ebola disease outbreak caused by a rare virus in Congo and neighboring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, after more than 300 suspected cases and 88...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Immigrant media grow amid threat
On weekday mornings, Austin resident María Juárez pauses while making her children’s breakfast to anxiously pore over Facebook on her phone. She scrolls through Spanish-language pages tracking sightings of Texas state troopers and federal agents...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Watson downsizes I-35 caps proposal
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson on Thursday laid out a plan to significantly scale back the scope of the city’s long-debated plan to cap portions of Interstate 35 with public park space as officials struggle to find funding for the $104 million project. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Abbott targets Garza in plan for new office
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday unveiled a legislative priority that takes aim at Travis County District Attorney José Garza and other progressive prosecutors by creating a statewide prosecutorial office with authority to intervene in local...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Obama boosts Dems in Austin
Former President Barack Obama appeared alongside U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico and gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa in Austin on Tuesday as part of an attempt to boost a new crop of Democratic candidates ahead of this year’s midterm...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump claims ‘control’ over Iran
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait accused Iran of launching a failed attack earlier this month on an island where China is helping build a port in the Middle East nation. The accusation brought Tuesday came just before U.S. President Donald Trump...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Detained Austin student ‘the best of the best’
Weeks before Luis Fernando Cabrera is scheduled to walk across the graduation stage, friends, lawmakers and members of his church gathered Monday in front of Northeast Early College High School to advocate for his release. Earlier this month, U.S....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump criticizes Iran’s response to plan; drone attack tests truce
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal via Pakistani mediators and wants negotiations to focus on permanently ending the war, but President Donald Trump quickly rejected it as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Texas eyes windfall from defense budget
President Donald Trump’s controversial $1.5 trillion defense budget request stands to send billions of dollars to Texas military bases and defense contractors, including Joint Base San Antonio. But with congressional Republicans and Democrats alike...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
High school senior detained by ICE
D’marco Oliveros, an 18-yearold senior at Northeast Early College High School, remembers waking up for school last Friday to a 2:05 a.m. message from his friend and classmate Luis Fernando Cabrera. The photo Cabrera sent showed the cobalt blue lights...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Paxton again probing area ISDs
Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating how 29 school districts — including Austin, Dripping Springs and Lake Travis independent school districts — are following a state law that requires schools to hang posters of the Ten Commandments in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Austin ISD weighs deep cuts to budget
In a late Tuesday night announcement, Austin Independent School District proposed $108 million in cuts that include eliminating central office and campus positions, increasing some elementary class sizes, phasing out one of many teachers’ planning...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Short-term rental fixes lift revenue
Austin officials say a sweeping overhaul of the city’s shortterm rental regulations is beginning to show results, with higher compliance and a surge in hotel occupancy tax revenue as new enforcement tools come online. In a recent memo to the mayor and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Criminal inquiry into DA blocked
A Travis County district court judge rejected an effort Monday to pursue a criminal inquiry against Travis County District Attorney José Garza and his top deputies over allegations of hiding evidence in ongoing cases against three police officers while...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Computing the risks of data centers
Central Texas is bracing for more than 70 data centers that are being built or already operating from Temple to San Antonio. These centers, which house hundreds of servers to process data, including artificial intelligence, have been protested for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Pride and scrutiny
Sponsoring Austin High School’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance club has been the highlight of Kevin Gillion’s two decades teaching at the campus. The gregarious 54-year-old Spanish teacher often watched and listened as students gathered in his...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Plane crash kills 5 near Wimberley
Five people died in a small plane crash near Wimberley after the aircraft went down late Thursday, Hays County officials said Friday. The Cessna 421C was “traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of impact,” County Judge Ruben Becerra said in a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Iran issues vow of defiance
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader vowed Thursday in a defiant tone to protect the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile capabilities, which U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to curtail through airstrikes and as part of a wider...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Court weakens Voting Rights Act
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday hollowed out a landmark Civil Rights-era law that has increased minority representation in Congress and elsewhere, striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana and opening the door for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Camp Mystic owners defend safeguards
Family members who own and operate Camp Mystic expressed deep sorrow on Tuesday as they testified about their actions during last summer’s deadly floods, which left 25 campers and two counselors dead. But they also defended their work to better...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Expert: Camp Mystic gave no flood training
Several Camp Mystic cabins with girls as young as 8 were supervised by inexperienced teenage counselors during last year’s deadly floods, and some had expressed concerns to their parents about their lack of training for emergencies, an expert told the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
D.C. shooting suspect had railed against White House
WASHINGTON — The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” in writings sent to family members minutes before...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Austin’s big backlog of bond projects
For more than a decade, the intersection near Priscilla Glover’s Zilker home has been a hazard. As the neighborhood has grown, more drivers run the fourway stop. Glover has grown used to the sound of T-bone collisions — tires screeching, then an...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Black voters drawing Talarico’s attention
Democrat James Talarico knows he has a lot of work to do in the Black community if he’s going to win a U.S. Senate seat in Texas. He won his March primary against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, but lost both Harris and Dallas counties, and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Freight train derails
Austin police responded Thursday to a freight train derailment in downtown Austin just before 4:45 a.m. near Third and Bowie streets, officials said. No one was injured, and there is no threat to public safety, according to Matthew Nonweiler, a public...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
City at negotiating table over ICE
Austin officials were negotiating with state leaders Tuesday in an effort to avoid losing $2.5 million in state grant funding after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to revoke the money over new Austin Police Department policies that limit officer...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Dells donate $750 million to build UT medical center
The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation is giving the University of Texas more than $750 million to build the UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research and the UT Dell Medical Center on the university’s former West Pickle Research Campus in North Austin. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Mixed messages on Iran
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump offered mixed messages Monday about the path ahead for the U.S. war against Iran, declaring that he was in no rush to end the conflict while also expressing confidence that further negotiations with Tehran will soon...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Pflugerville pantry helps to stretch groceries
After Martin Bonner was laid off from his tech job last year, he needed a way to feed his wife and four children while looking for work. For the first time, the Cedar Park resident turned to food pantries. That’s when he found Food for All in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
TEA chief redefining education for a decade
When then-state Rep. Steve Allison sat down with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath for the first time in 2019, he didn’t ease into the conversation. The San Antonio Republican delivered a blunt critique of the state’s standardized testing...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Artemis astronauts readjust to Earth life
NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch woke up in bed after the Artemis II mission and thought she was still floating. She later put a shirt in the air, expecting it to hover, and was genuinely surprised to see it fall. The Artemis II astronauts were...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Thomas warns U.S. values under threat
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas this week praised the University of Texas as a national leader for its work to restore civic values and more closely focus on the study of Western civilization. The University of Texas School of Civic...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Camp Mystic rescue detailed
A night watchman who assisted with a chaotic, haphazard rescue effort at Camp Mystic during a catastrophic flash flood told a state district court Wednesday that more able-bodied adults could have helped evacuate campers and more children could have...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Camp officer says she didn’t see flood alerts
AUSTIN — The woman who serves as Camp Mystic’s chief health officer told a state district court Tuesday that she wasn’t aware the area was under a flash flood watch before water engulfed the Texas Hill Country retreat, killing 25 children and two...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
City plans to clear more homeless camps
Austin officials are preparing to significantly expand sweeps of homeless encampments across the city — a strategy that would scale up enforcement-driven cleanups even as advocates warn the plan risks outpacing outreach and coordination efforts meant...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
TACKLING THE 10K
TOP: Young, old, serious and not — more than 24,400 hit the pavement for the 49th annual Statesman Capitol 10,000 on Sunday. LEFT: Audrey Adams and Johnny Swan run toward the finish line in the state’s largest 10K. Some runners wore quirky costumes...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Financial toll of ICE deportations
BASTROP COUNTY — As an ice storm closed in on Central Texas in late January, Bricia, a 43-year-old mother battling endometrial cancer, moved deliberately through her Elgin home, deciding what to pack before the power went out. Pain radiated from her...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
War sends gas prices, inflation soaring
WASHINGTON — The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades caused a sharp spike in inflation last month, creating major challenges for the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve and heightening already substantial political hurdles for the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Israeli leader allows talks with Lebanon
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Iranianbacked...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Texas hemp industry sues to block new ban
A group of hemp companies in Texas sued the state on Wednesday to block a new ban on smokable THC products and stop hikes to licensing fees. The businesses have warned the changes, finalized last week by the Department of State Health Services, could...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump backs off on dire threats
TEHRAN, Iran — President Donald Trump says he’s pulling back on his threats to widen attacks in Iran to include an array of bridges, power plants and other civilian targets, subject to Iran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Gonzales seeks photos, sex in texts from 2020
Late on a June night in 2020, amid a nail-biter of a GOP primary runoff, then-congressional candidate Tony Gonzales quickly turned a conversation with his campaign’s political director from casual to intimate. Gonzales texted that she was a “smart...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Trump threatens Iran’s infrastructure
TEHRAN, Iran — President Donald Trump on Sunday made expletive-filled threats against Iran and its infrastructure if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline, after U.S. forces rescued a wounded aviator whose plane, shot down by...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Library attack renews scrutiny
Three weeks ago, a man with a documented history of severe mental illness allegedly carried out a sudden, near-fatal attack inside Austin’s Central Library — a case that has raised urgent questions about how the local criminal justice system handles...
Read Full Story (Page 1)