A task force at the University of Texas at Austin has recommended guns be prohibited in residence halls, at sporting events and in certain laboratories. But the suggestions do not call for banning handguns in classrooms.

Paul Chu, founding director and chief scientist at the University of Houston’s Texas Center for Superconductivity, said finding new ways to store excess energy could revolutionize the grid, and how Texas plays a role in advancing the technology.

Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats on Thursday endorsed Ted Cruz for president, giving the Texas senator's campaign one of its biggest boosts yet in the first-in-the-country caucus state.

Experts at the Public Utility Commission of Texas are urging its three commissioners to reject plans by a Dallas oilman and real estate tycoon to take over the state’s largest electric transmission company, a recommendation that could loom large for Texas' ratepayers and electric grid.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s second attempt to immediately block the arrival of additional Syrian refugees was even shorter-lived than the first. A federal judge on Wednesday quickly rejected his request.

A gun rights group plans to hold a fake mass shooting Saturday near UT-Austin to protest gun-free zones. The group decided to move it just off campus after the university said demonstrators could face criminal trespassing charges. The group, Come And Take It Texas, will have a presentation featuring cardboard guns, fake blood and fake gun shot noises.

As state officials consider licensing two private detention facilities as approved residential centers for undocumented children, they heard several hours of testimony in opposition to the move Wednesday.

Wendy Davis, the former Texas gubernatorial candidate and state senator, will campaign for Democrat Hillary Clinton in Iowa, the Clinton campaign announced Wednesday.

U.S. Supreme Court justices dissected UT-Austin's unusual admissions procedures on Wednesday, questioning whether Texas' flagship campus should keep using race as a factor when evaluating some of its applicants. The court's decision in Fisher v. the University of Texas at Austin, expected sometime next year, could have a transformative effect on how students get into college, in Texas and across the country.

One year after a federal judge heard evidence alleging that Texas Child Protective Services had violated foster children’s civil rights, lawyers for the state and the advocates who filed suit are awaiting a potentially sweeping legal decision. The class-action lawsuit, brought by the New York-based advocacy group Children’s Rights, Inc. on behalf of children currently in long-term foster care, argues that Texas caseworkers are assigned too many children for them to effectively monitor and that kids are placed too far away from home into settings where they do not get appropriate care.

The makeup of the Texas public school system has become less white and poorer in recent decades, according to the most recent data from the Texas Education Agency reflected in The Texas Tribune’s Texas Public Schools Explorer. It’s a change that’s largely attributable to massive growth in the state’s Hispanic and Asian populations.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday over a Texas case that sought to clarify what “one person, one vote” means in American politics, some justices questioned the argument that the state's current system diminishes the power of some voters. And others considered arguments that would upend how voters are sorted into legislative districts. The question before the high court was "who counts as a person?" when it comes to dividing up Americans in state legislative districts.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller faced pointed questions from lawmakers Tuesday over his plan to dramatically hike fees on a host of licenses, registrations and services that his agency provides.

The end of the widely reviled No Child Left Behind Act — and Texas’ standoff with the federal government over that 2002 law — is in sight, to the elation of the state education commissioner, superintendents and teachers. A rewrite of President George W. Bush’s signature education policy is poised to win final passage in Congress this week after winning preliminary approval in the Senate on Tuesday.

Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas teamed up Tuesday to push new curbs on Syrian refugees entering the United States, unveiling a new bill that would let states "opt out" of accepting refugees from certain countries.

A new breed of app-based moving companies has drawn the interest of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, which wants to ensure that companies with names like Buddytruk and PICKUP are following state laws.

Disclosure: The University of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Gov. Greg Abbott named Steve Cooper of El Campo to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Board of Directors for a term to expire on Feb. 1, 2017.

Abbott on Monday announced a set of appointments to the OneStar National Service Commission, first naming a chairman — Ronnie Hagerty of Houston — and vice chairwoman — Lisa Lucero of Austin — for the board. For terms expiring March 15, 2018, he appointed Sonal Bhuchar of Sugar Land, Laura Dixon of San Antonio, Roger O’Dell of El Paso, and reappointed Hagerty and Kirk Beckert of Richardson. For terms expiring March 16, 2016, he appointed Annette Juba of Austin and Kate Williamson of Midland. And for a term expiring March 15, 2017, he appointed James Senegal of Conroe.

Abbott named Loretta Bradley of Lubbock, Brenda Compagnone of San Antonio and Christopher Taylor of Dallas to the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors for terms to expire Feb. 1, 2021.

Longtime state Rep. Elliott Naishtat announced Thursday that would not seek re-election to the House seat he has held since 1991. The Austin Democrat had said earlier in the week that he would run for another term but he said he changed his mind because of "the caliber, quality and commitment" of potential candidates who would seek the office if he opted not to run.

Former Plainview state Rep. Jim Landtroop ended speculation about his political future on Monday, announcing that he will run for the HD-84 seat, based in Lubbock County. In opting to run in HD-84, he sets up a contested primary race with the incumbent, John Frullo of Lubbock.

Longtime Perry loyalist, Rob Johnson, has signed on with the Carly Fiorina presidential campaign as a senior adviser.

Austin-based Democratic consultant James Aldrete has signed on with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Aldrete, a veteran of Barack Obama's presidential bids, will lead Clinton's Spanish-language paid-media efforts. Aldrete will join a group of Latino staffers that includes another Texan: Xochitl Hinojosa, the daughter of Texas Democratic Party chief Gilberto Hinojosa.

Michelle Mitchell, who served as city finance director under past Mayor Bill White, announced support for Bill King ahead of Saturday's Houston mayoral runoff election.

U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-San Antonio, last week endorsed state Rep. Sylvester Turner ahead of Saturday's mayoral runoff election. On Wednesday, Turner won an endorsement from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

The Republican field for the SD-1 open seat thinned some on Monday. Carthage optometrist Dennis Golden dropped out of the race and endorsed state Rep. Bryan Hughes for the spot. The Texas State Association of Fire Fighters later in the week endorsed Hughes.

The Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC announced Monday that they are endorsing Justice Paul Green for re-election to the Supreme Court of Texas, Place 5. Said PAC Chairman Richard J. Trabulsi, Jr. on the contest, “His challenger is a person who has never been a judge and whose judicial philosophy and temperament cannot be known.” Former state Rep. Rick Green announced on Thursday that he's filed his paperwork to run for the seat.

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey has endorsed Lynn Stucky in the GOP race to succeed HD-64 state Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton.

Kevin Roberts’ HD-126 campaign has a new supporter: Alan Robertson, the oldest member of the group who together are the Duck Commanders on the A&E Network reality TV show, Duck Dynasty.

The Houston Police Retired Officer Association last week announced its endorsement of GOP HD-130 candidate Tom Oliverson, praising his commitment to public safety. On Tuesday, Oliverson received an endorsement on Tuesday from Texas Right to Life. He received further help on Thursday when Mike Wolfe announced that he was halting plans to run for the House seat and instead support Oliverson.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has named state Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, "Legislator of the Year," for his work on legislation requiring ignition interlocks in the cars of those who drive after being convicted of drunk driving.

Missouri Republican Congressman Sam Graves endorsed Ted Cruz for president on Monday, praising Cruz’s efforts to “to make this nation secure, while protecting our constitutional rights.” Cruz now has 12 congressional endorsements.

Deaths: Betty Horton, 64, who worked 19 legislative sessions at the Texas House from 1975 through 2013, passed away Nov. 29. She served on the staffs of Garland representatives Kenneth Vaughan (1975-77), Anita Hill (1977-93) and Joe Driver (1993-2009). In 2011 and 2013, she worked in the office of Round Rock state Rep. Larry Gonzales.

Disclosure: The Lower Colorado River Authority is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. Judy Trabulsi is a major donor to the Tribune. Elliott Naishtat is a donor to the Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.