Austin, Texas

Three years after winning a big legal battle, abortion providers still find themselves losing the ground war when it comes to keeping clinics open across the huge, populous state.

The Austin City Council is defying Texas state legislators, setting aside $150,000 in city funds to help local women who seek abortions pay for attendant costs, such as transportation or child care.

Legislation introduced in Texas this week would force the state's health care providers and health insurers to mediate payment disputes before they send bills to patients.

The water utility company is urging residents to cut back on consumption by at least 15 percent as the city's reserve reaches "minimal levels."

An insured Texas teacher, 44, faces a "balance bill" of almost twice his annual salary from an out-of-network hospital's treatment of his sudden heart attack.

Texas' 21st Congressional District has been solidly in Republican hands for decades, but an incumbent's retirement is sparking talk on the ground of a possible close race in a wave year.

Most electronic voting machines don't create a paper trail but voting officials in Austin are trying to marry the convenience of electronic machines with a paper trail that can be audited.

Cities like San Francisco and Austin are struggling to regulate a flood of new transportation options, from electric scooters to dock-less bikes. Residents are angry over sidewalk and safety concerns.

The string of attacks on the weirdness-loving Texas capital served to confirm that Austin rapidly has grown past the small town it once was, and surfaced memories of past dark incidents and attitudes.

The federal government has all but dropped out of marketing the Affordable Care Act, so states, corporations and private groups are stepping up. Some are going cute, while others get serious.