Texas Lawmakers Push ‘Massive Secrecy Grab’ to Shield Police Files
As public attention has shifted away from policing reform, legislators attempt to shove information into the dark.
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The Innocent and the Executed: James Beathard’s Long-Forgotten Story
Beathard was put to death in 1999 for murders that his co-defendant claimed to have committed without him. A new documentary-in-progress seeks to bring his case to light.
Is a Strong Latino Candidate Texas Democrats’ Only Hope?
The party is long-overdue for such a leader at the top of the ballot.
Texas GOP Says Flood Relief Is Priority. Here’s the Climate Policy They Won’t Pass.
Republican lawmakers have for years refused to engage with precautionary climate-resilience and disaster-response measures.
Abortion Funds See Dwindling Donations as Demand and Cost Rise
A flood of cash following Roe’s fall has dried up, leaving Texas nonprofits struggling to keep pace with the state’s abortion access crisis.
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Politics
Will a STAAR-Crossed Legislature Finally Enact Real Testing Reform?
It’s on the agenda at the Texas Capitol, but advocates worry heavy-handed “accountability” will remain intact.
The Texas GOP’s ‘Unprecedented,’ Risky Gerrymandering Scheme
A redistricting expert discusses Tom Delay, ‘dummymanders,’ and the long history of racial gerrymandering in the state.
How Trump’s IRS May Unshackle Churches from Their Political Restraints
As if everyday life in these United States wasn’t politicized enough, your local house of worship could soon become a part of the campaign battlefield.
Border and Immigration
U.S.-Mexico Border Militarization Fails to Stop Modern Drug Smuggling Industry
Efforts by Trump and Mexico don’t address root causes or measure up to an evolving, international fentanyl market, experts say.
‘With What Water?’
The shrinking of a mighty Mexican river has hollowed out the economy of Chihuahua’s Conchos Valley and bred civil unrest as South Texas demands the water it’s owed.
Texas Quietly Downsizes Border Security Spending
But outlays remain far above state funding prior to the Operation Lone Star era.
Culture
Recovering Suzanne Césaire’s Legacy
A Fort Worth modern art exhibition and a new experimental film are part of a renaissance of work about an influential Caribbean writer.
‘Shaky’ Audio Series Is a Messy, Real Look at Disabled Life
Texas writer and director Katherine Craft’s Audible comedy depicts a musician’s tumultuous return to Plano as she adjusts to new limitations.
Penned Poetry: A Formerly Incarcerated Activist’s Turn to Verse
Longtime advocate Jorge Antonio Renaud lyricizes the grit of prison life in his first published collection of poems, The Restlessness of Bound Wrists.
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