Trump’s Texas Tycoons
Meet the Lone Star megadonors, think tankers, and politicians poised to play big roles in Trump’s comeback tour.
Featured Stories
The Latest
Is Mexico Prepared for Mass Deportations?
Border states brace themselves, while the president insists on an optimistic view.
Her Body Was 126 Degrees After She Died, Bexar County Medical Examiner Blames Drugs
Jessica Witzel’s autopsy report raises an important question: How many other heat-related deaths among unhoused residents are being erased by the failure to collect and report accurate data on climate-related mortality?
Culture ⋆
Lost in Transit: Russian Dissenters’ Perilous Path to America
Persecuted and unable to change anything, we were unwelcome in Russia. Then Mexican and U.S. policies brought more trouble.
Texas Foresees Strong Revenue, Full Rainy Day Fund. Who Will Benefit?
In his biennial budget projection, Comptroller Glenn Hegar says the state will have a healthy surplus, plus a full economic stabilization fund for the first time in history.
The Border Propagandist
Jaeson Jones, a former DPS captain-turned-MAGA influencer, is helping lay the groundwork for mass deportations and conflict with Mexico.
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Politics
‘They Bought a Legislature’: What the GOP’s Gains Mean for Vouchers in Texas
Republicans nearly ran the table in state House races, shoring up Governor Abbott’s school voucher majority for the 2025 session.
Texas House Dems Trip Over Their Own Low Bar
On Tuesday, the most modest of boasts became famous last words for the lower chamber’s dwindling Ds.
Border and Immigration
Texas Gave $1 Million in Expert Contracts to Defend Border Buoys in Court
Records reveal additional costs of the controversial Rio Grande barrier that the governor describes as “low-cost.”
Will Texas Finally Wind Down Border Security Spending?
Top state officials have already made promises that, under Trump, money can be shifted to education. But that didn’t happen last time.
How Texas Jails Built Migrant Incarceration
Following a 1925 investigation, immigrant detention in the Galveston County Jail was declared “a crime against humanity.”
Culture
From Houston to Lebanon, Seeking Truth and Music
Meet the DJ and journalist behind Houston’s Ice House Radio, who has mingled with jazz legends and reported abroad—and for whom recent violence in the Middle East is personal.
Uvalde’s Darkest Hour
A new book by the publisher of the Uvalde Leader-News illuminates events that forever altered lives in this small Texas city.
The Questions the Death Penalty Cannot Answer
“I Am Ready, Warden,” a new short documentary, exposes the unresolved pain on all sides of a Texas execution.
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