“Cecile Richards has created generations of troublemakers who will never stop fighting for the Texas we deserve and the communities we love.” Richards, who passed away Tuesday at 67, was interviewed for the current print issue of the Texas Observer.
The Texas Observer
Cecile Richards Isn’t Giving Up the Fight
Despite a brain cancer diagnosis and political setbacks, the Texas native is investing in a new strategy: abortion storytelling for the TikTok age.
 #abortion #activism #politics #USpol #news #Texas #history #health #HumanRights
Donald Trump can order all federal agencies—even the National Hurricane Center—to use the new name in documents, websites, and future maps. But state and local officials are another matter—to say nothing of other countries.
The Texas Observer
Name Games: Trump’s ‘Gulf of America’ Move Flouts History, International Cooperation
The president could just as logically rename the body of water the “Chinese Sea,” one historian argues.
 #GulfCoast #water #politics #USpol #news #DonaldTrump #Trump #Mexico #history
“There’s more than one way to get the voice of the people amplified. It’s not always at the ballot box. If we get such an overwhelming cry against this policy, I think you’re going to see House members tell the speaker not to let the policy come to the [House] floor.”
The Texas Observer
'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.
 #TXlege #news #education #vouchers #Republicans #GregAbbott #schools #Texas #politics #USpol
“Cecile Richards has created generations of troublemakers who will never stop fighting for the #Texas we deserve and the communities we love. Her passing is a devastating loss to our movement, but the echo of her life will live on in every rally we hold, testimony we deliver, and vote we cast.”
The Texas Observer
Cecile Richards Isn’t Giving Up the Fight
Despite a brain cancer diagnosis and political setbacks, the Texas native is investing in a new strategy: abortion storytelling for the TikTok age.
 #history #women #abortion #activism #politics #USpol #news #HumanRights
From our magazine: After nearly 30 years in law enforcement, he retired in 2016. Then, alongside an increasing number of former cops and federal agents, he sought stardom as a right-wing influencer while cultivating ties with Donald Trump. It worked.
The Texas Observer
The State Policeman-Turned-Propagandist Pushing Trump’s Extreme Border Agenda
Jaeson Jones, a confidante of incoming federal border czar Tom Homan, is helping lay the groundwork for mass deportations and conflict with Mexico.
 #Republicans #Trump #police #CriminalJustice #Texas #politics #USpol #news
Featured story: Even before the estrogen had time to actually alter my figure, I felt overcome with a sense of wholeness. I laugh more, and when I laugh, my heart rises. I’m more present to my family. Even my eyes are different. I am alive.
The Texas Observer
My Happy, Normal, Trans Life in the Heart of Texas
Trans people are a gift to the world. They show us how creative God can be, and they are the embodiment of a fundamental journey that every Christi...
 #LGBTQIA #trans #news #politics #USpol #SouthTexas #Texas #culture #Uvalde
NEW: Jaeson Jones, a former DPS captain-turned-MAGA influencer, is helping lay the groundwork for mass deportations and conflict with #Mexico. This ex-DPS captain has the ears of millions of Americans—including incoming border czar Tom Homan.
The Texas Observer
The State Policeman-Turned-Propagandist Pushing Trump’s Extreme Border Agenda
Jaeson Jones, a confidante of incoming federal border czar Tom Homan, is helping lay the groundwork for mass deportations and conflict with Mexico.
 #border #politics #Trump #immigration #police #extremism #USpol #news #media
Featured story: The LNG plant is replacing 984 acres of wetlands northeast of Brownsville in the sensitive Laguna Madre area, a crucial habitat for migratory birds and ocelots separated from the Gulf by the Padre barrier island.
The Texas Observer
Brownsville Elected Officials Are Doing PR for Embattled LNG Megaproject
The mayor, county judge, and others are parroting talking points provided by liquefied natural gas developer NextDecade, as the company faces anoth...
 #politics #USpol #environment #OilAndGas #GulfCoast #water #pollution #energy #ClimateChange #news #Texas
Our top story, by Jason Buch: A small, inexpensive item might have averted some of these deaths. Fentanyl testing strips can be used to check for the presence of the synthetic opioid. But such testing strips are illegal in Texas. They’re considered paraphernalia, and possessing one is a Class C misdemeanor.
The Texas Observer
How Texas’ War on Drug Users Fueled an Austin Overdose Disaster
A mass casualty event last spring lays bare the state’s backward approach to the ongoing crisis spurred by fentanyl and other super-potent substa...
 #WarOnDrugs #drugs #Austin #Texas #TXlege #law #CriminalJustice #politics #USpol #news #health #Police
Houston’s history as a whole is criminally understudied. Perhaps this is because, as a swampy backwater-turned-transport hub, the city’s greatest historical virtue was always that it could deliver you—or cotton, lumber, sugar, and eventually oil—someplace else.
The Texas Observer
Why Houston’s Urbanist Movement Is Doomed
The unexpected fate of Houston's Northside holds lessons that the city’s boosters may not wish to hear.
 #Houston #books #culture #urban #transit #racism #GulfCoast #Texas #politics #USpol #history