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The Latest Breaking News from Texas Observer

‘How Innocent Do They Have to Be?’: Texas’ First Scheduled Execution of 2025 Raises Thorny Questions

Steven Nelson says he was a lookout for a robbery that ended in a pastor’s death. He’s set to be killed by the state February 5.

Texas Observer

In Austin, a Rare Prosecution over Worker Death in Trench Collapse

Travis County’s progressive DA has secured indictments for the 2021 death of Juan José Galvan Batalla, remembered as a “cheerful” hard worker and beloved sibling.

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.

Texas Observer

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Is Mexico Prepared for Mass Deportations?

Border states brace themselves, while the president insists on an optimistic view.

Texas Observer

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?

Texas Observer

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 Observer

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.

Texas Observer

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The Border Propagandist

Jaeson Jones, a confidante of incoming federal border czar Tom Homan, is helping lay the groundwork for mass deportations and conflict with Mexico.

Texas Observer

Trump’s Texas Tycoons

Meet the Lone Star megadonors, think tankers, and politicians poised to play big roles in Trump’s comeback tour.

Texas Observer

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.

Texas Observer

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.”

Texas Observer

This Aspiring Social Worker Should Not Be Blacklisted

Imposing permanent punishments for old mistakes backfires by reducing the talent pool to address Texas’ social worker shortage.

Texas Observer

Texas’ War on Drug Users

A mass casualty event last spring lays bare the state’s backward approach to the ongoing crisis spurred by fentanyl and other super-potent substances.

Texas Observer

Editor’s Letter: Introducing Our January/February 2025 Issue

A note from the Editor-in-Chief

Texas Observer

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Texas Observer

Booked Up in 2024: What to Read from a Strong Year in Texas Letters

Some Texas nonfiction, novels, and poems to get through those long winter nights.

Texas Observer

Our Most-Read Stories of 2024

Online readership numbers are at least one tool to figure out what the Observer audience really loved.

Texas Observer

Our Best Longform Stories of 2024

This sort of nonfiction is designed to be started, finished, and actually leave you with something to show for it.

Texas Observer

Monopoly Tycoons in a Game of Jenga: The Censorship of Bodies, Protest, and Speech at UT-Austin

Faculty and students are experiencing profound disruption and distress, which starkly contrasts with the arrogant posture and detached demeanor of those perpetrating this harm.

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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 another legal hurdle.

Texas Observer

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.

Texas Observer

Editorial Moves at the Observer

A bit of good news: Two of our writers will be moving into new positions starting next year.

Texas Observer

Trans Children Are God’s Gifts

Without the support of our Christian church in the Houston suburbs, my daughter might not be with us today.

Texas Observer

Bearing Witness

Pogue has spent his career photographing fights for social justice. Along the way, he captured the history of the Observer, too.

Texas Observer

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.

Texas Observer

TEA Exoneration of Mike Miles’ Charter Schools Leaves Questions Unanswered, Raises New Ones

An agency report challenging media stories overlooks the charter schools’ compliance with federal tax and state business laws, on the watch of the now-HISD superintendent, while revealing new out-of-state payments.

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