State News

Lawmakers Press National Guard Leaders after Soldier’s Death

byJill Ament

Texas lawmakers grilled the top brass in charge of the state’s border security operation Wednesday following the death of a National Guardsman who drowned trying to save migrants in the Rio Grande.  Spc. Bishop Evans, a 22-year-old from Arlington, went missing Friday at a border crossing near Eagle Pass, after he attempted to rescue two […]

‘The Cruelty is the Point,’ Planned Parenthood leader says in SXSW keynote targeting Texas abortion law

byKrissi Reeves

Hours after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s controversial Senate Bill 8 abortion law will remain in place, Planned Parenthood’s president delivered a searing rebuttal to the ruling Friday at South by Southwest.

As Texas Republicans Attack Gender-Affirming Health Care, Moms of Trans Children Say They’re Not Backing Down

byJill Ament

Parents of transgender children in Texas say they are “freaking out.” They are unnerved by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive on Feb. 22 telling the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate reports of transgender youth in Texas receiving gender-affirming health care. Abbott’s letter contends that procedures such as hormonal treatments, gender-aligning surgery or the use of puberty-blockers is child abuse under state law. 

On March 2, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said it had filed a lawsuit to block Abbott’s directive. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a DFPS employee who is a parent of a transgender teenager and has already had an investigator come to their home.

After Statements From Texas Leaders, Protesters Take to the Streets for Transgender Rights

byAlexa K. Haverlah 

A student-led march for transgender rights briefly turned violent Sunday when an Austin police officer slammed a protester to the ground.

Texas Ukrainians Pray for Peace as Ukraine-Russia Tensions Escalate

byJill Ament

Many Texans of Ukrainian descent are concerned with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troop buildup on the Ukrainian border and possible cyber attacks on Ukraine’s government, potentially signaling intentions to invade Ukraine.

On Jan. 23, the United States ordered Americans working at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and their families to leave the country. 

Protesters Rally Against Oil Company’s Gulf Coast Expansion on Karankawa Site

byCristela Jones

 Chanting “respect our existence or expect our resistance,” nearly 400 people protested outside an Austin bank Saturday to try to stop construction of an oil terminal on ancient Indigenous land near Corpus Christi.

“We are still here, and we are still fighting,” said protest organizer Chiara Sunshine Beaumont, a descendant of the Karankawa people who once lived on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Saturday’s protest followed months of efforts by Indigenous groups in support of the Karankawa’s objections to expansion of oil export terminals owned by Enbridge, a Canadian petrochemical pipeline company. Beaumont said her group chose to protest Saturday outside a Bank of America on South Congress Avenue because the bank is a large underwriter of Enbridge’s projects.

Texas’ Famed Bigtooth Maple Trees Are Being Loved to Death by Deer

byPaula Levihn-Coon

Since the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department opened Lost Maples State Natural Area to the public in 1979, thousands of people have enjoyed its colorful beauty in the Texas Hill Country. It has been particularly well-visited during the pandemic, with attendance reaching record highs.scientists have collected data indicating that the future of these trees and the pleasure many take from their color palette could be at risk. An overabundance of white-tailed deer has been killing young trees by browsing on them.

Amid Texas Debate Over Teaching About Racism, ‘Refusing to Forget’ Soldiers On

byAndrew Logan

Since 2014, Refusing to Forget, a Texas-based nonprofit, has worked to increase awareness of racial violence aimed at Latino Texans throughout the early 20th century. Their work comes as the state enacts new guidelines aimed at limiting classroom discussion of systemic racism.

Now, with fierce debate raging over how Texas schools teach about racism, Refusing to Forget’s leadership says its mission is more important than ever. In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that critics say bans honest discussions of racism.

“Even though we’re in the midst of a battle to tell the real history to our children, it’s important for me to keep fighting, not for this politically correct fiction, but for the truth. History is both pretty and ugly,” said the co-founder of Refusing to Forget.

Delta-8 Merchants Find Themselves in the Weeds as Legal Debate Blazes in Texas

byLauren Girgis

Texas’ delta-8 industry is caught in the midst of a legal battle after the Department of State Health Services posted a notice stating the cannabinoid is illegal.

Insulin Price Caps in Texas Provide Relief While Raising Questions About Costs

byKatie Berger

Dawn White, a nurse from Lumberton, Texas, told lawmakers this past summer she paid $500 for a one-month supply of insulin to treat her son’s type 1 diabetes. That was with insurance. If she lacked insurance, the cost would have been more than $1,000. “Texans are dying because they cannot afford their insulin,” White said. […]

Texas’ Student Newspapers Feel the Pinch

byCristela Jones

College newspapers in Texas are struggling for a variety of reasons, including decreased school funding, declining advertising revenue and COVID-19- related stresses.

Experts say the decline of student newspapers may have serious consequences — the lack of a popular training ground for future journalists and the loss of potentially powerful voices in holding college administrators to account.

After Initially Settling in Texas, Buhtanese Refugees Increasingly Leaving the State

byMadi Donham

About 85% of the more than 100,000 displaced Bhutanese refugees came to the U.S. since 2006, with Pennsylvania and Texas receiving the largest shares, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  But Bhutanese refugees and their advocates say many of them are leaving Texas due to lack of access to affordable health care, affordable housing and limited job advancement opportunities.