Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism
byNoemi Castanon
Over 100 people, many of them nurses, moved by the death of one of their own, gathered outside Ascension Seton Medical Center for a candlelight vigil to honor Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis nurse killed by federal immigration officers.
“Tonight, we gather not only to mourn Alex but to stand together and say clearly we demand care, not cruelty,” said Kristine Kittleson, chief nurse of National Nurses United and registered nurse at Ascension Seton Medical Center.
The nurses’ group organized the vigil as part of a nationwide week of action in response to the shooting of Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
byDestiny Lewis
Students rallied near the Tower on Wednesday to oppose the University of Texas at Austin’s decision to consolidate academic departments and eliminate several teaching and research support centers.
byErika Gonzalez
Thousands of Texans rely on medical cannabis to relieve chronic pain, anxiety, or PTSD. At the end of September 2025, Texas had more than 135,000 registered patients, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that around 4 million residents used cannabis for therapeutic purposes in the past year.
Access for these patients could change drastically. On Jan. 9, the Texas Department of State Health Services proposed raising licensing fees for the THC hemp industry.
byNatalia Rodriguez
Hallways full of families. Vendors in stalls scrambling to attend to every customer. Dance floors full of laughter and community. For decades, these scenes would play out at the Mercadome Flea Market in the Rio Grande Valley town of Alamo.
Today, those same hallways are empty. Many stalls in the flea market, or “pulga” in Spanish, are closed, and the dance floor is occupied by only a few clinging to maintain the energy that existed before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the market last June.
“There’s no one here because everyone is scared,” one vendor said.
