Seeking to bolster their chronically sparse representation on the state's highest courts, seven Latino voters are suing Texas to challenge the state's longtime method of electing judges statewide.

Almost 7,000 individuals in Texas have died in police custody or behind bars over the past 10 years, according to an online report released Wednesday by a University of Texas at Austin research institute. Nearly 2,000 of them had not been convicted of a crime.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston rallied fellow Democrats against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, calling him a "man of fear" in a speech to the Democratic National Convention.

A special panel recommending changes to the state’s public school testing and accountability system has stopped short of proposing that Texas scrap the controversial assessment regime known as STAAR.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Wednesday morning used a thank-you speech to Texas delegates to sound the alarm about the Republican foe his party's nominee now faces: Donald Trump.

Texas health officials are revising a controversial booklet that doctors are required to give to women seeking abortions. Some medical experts say the new version contains even more misinformation than the old one.

Two women with Texas ties — one the daughter of a legend, the other a mother who lost her child in a Texas jail —pressed the case for Hillary Clinton's presidency at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday evening.

Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office assisted with a federal probe involving a major donor who gave the indicted Paxton a $100,000 gift last year to offset his growing legal bill.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro seemed to offer more definitive language than usual about a possible 2018 run for U.S. Senate during an interview with CBS News on Thursday.

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Gov. Greg Abbott has named four people to the State Board For Educator Certification, who will serve until February 2021: Rohanna Brooks-Sykes of Spring, Arturo J. “Art” Cavazos of Harlingen, Sandie Mullins Moger of Houston and Laurie J. Turner of Corpus Christi.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus named financial analyst Jeanie Wyatt of San Antonio, the CEO of South Texas Money Management, to the state Employees Retirement System's board of trustees. The board runs retirement trust fund investments and the administration of benefits to state employees, as well as dependents and retirees.

The University of Texas at Austin has named a new vice president for university development — Scott Rabenold, an administrator at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He starts on Sept. 1.

Annie's List, which supports “progressive, pro-choice women” seeking legislative office in Texas, has endorsed Harris County Board of Education Trustee Erica Lee Carter to replace Borris Miles in Houston's House District 146. Democrats recently tapped Miles to succeed Rodney Ellis in Senate District 13. They expect to choose a nominee to replace Miles in the House next month. Carter, a former teacher, is the daughter of U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston.

Lucy Nashed, former Gov. Rick Perry's press secretary, is joining the tort reform advocacy group, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, as its communications director. She was also the communications director for Perry's 2015 presidential campaign. Her first day is Aug. 1.

Zeph Capo, the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, has been elected to serve as a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers. Elected at the union's convention in Minneapolis last week, Capo will serve a two-year term on the organization's executive council as one of 43 elected vice presidents.

Attorneys Andy Taylor and George Hittner announced Thursday that they are teaming up to found a new firm, TaylorHittner. Taylor is a former first assistant attorney general under John Cornyn and later helped defend the state’s congressional map which was redrawn in 2003. He also was involved in the recent effort to repeal Houston’s HERO ordinance. Hittner has previous experience as general counsel and at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Disclosure: South Texas Money Management and the University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.