Na'Cole Thompson won Leander's special election and will finish the mayoral term through May 2027. The mayor‑elect says she will focus on traffic, parks and public safety amid rapid growth.

UT Austin will merge four ethnic and gender studies departments into a single unit by Sept. 2027, affecting more than 800 students and prompting faculty protests.

Texas regulators issued an emergency order against TEXITcoin and affiliates, saying 'mining packages' were sold without proper registration and with opaque payouts. The board warns investors to be cautious of recruitment‑driven offers.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Darling Ingredients after hundreds of odor complaints in Bastrop; the suit seeks H2S monitors, faster processing rules, and fines.

Lawmakers staged a tense hearing as experts warned aquifers are falling and a voter‑approved $1B‑a‑year water fund approaches. The interim will be decisive for who gets the money.

The Texas Tribune consolidated candidate Q&As, ballot lookup tools and short videos into a free vote hub to help Texans navigate new maps before early voting.

A clip from a late‑2024 interview of Houston Rep. Gene Wu has gone viral on X, prompting condemnations from national conservatives and renewed scrutiny of his leadership.

Leander ISD posted an internal superintendent vacancy Feb. 6 and invited Deputy Superintendent Chris Clark to apply as Dr. Bruce Gearing prepares to retire. The board will collect community feedback before naming a permanent leader.

About 100 Round Rock Early College students walked out Friday in a peaceful, student-organized protest against ICE. State officials and the TEA are now scrutinizing districts’ responses.

The Texas Medical Board has posted a required course that walks clinicians through when abortion is lawful to protect a patient’s life. Doctors say the slides may not resolve murky, real‑world cases.

A federal judge in Austin blocked Texas SB 664, ruling that forcing large disclaimers on plant-based meat packaging violated manufacturers' First Amendment rights.

A Hill Country lawmaker says newly adopted state camp-safety rules will saddle remote camps with costly upgrades and could force longtime programs to close. DSHS published the rules this week and operators are pressing for flexibility.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued CAIR‑Texas, seeking injunctions to bar land purchases and recruiting and escalating a legal fight after Gov. Abbott's designation.