It wasn't just Republicans in Texas who were celebrating big statehouse gains on Tuesday.

As the night lengthened on Tuesday, the real contest, it seemed, was to find a fitting description as to how thoroughly Democrats were taken to the woodshed both in Texas and nationally.

Gov. Rick Perry announced Tuesday he is recommending that the state should implement a new classification system for monitoring health care workers and others returning from West African nations dealing with the Ebola outbreak.

The raw number of voters is up slightly but is not keeping pace with population growth.

Questions continue to be raised about a giant water pipeline project that would pump roughly 16 billion gallons of groundwater annually from Burleson County to San Antonio.

The Tribune today launches its 15-part The Shale Life series, which tells in a variety of visual styles the stories of those who are living through the effects, both good and bad, of the shale boom in Texas.