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The Latest Breaking News from Texas Observer

Editor’s Letter: Introducing Our May/June 2026 Issue

A note from the editor-in-chief

Texas Observer

As License Plate Readers Expand in Texas, Privacy Advocates Are Fighting Back

The Kyle City Council voted to apply for more state grant money for Flock Safety cameras despite a string of local-level contract cancellations of the booming surveillance company’s services.

Texas Observer

What Does the Allred-Johnson Runoff Tell Us About Texas Dems?

In a cycle rife with intraparty tension, a runoff in a newly gerrymandered district finds two mainstream Dems searching for an edge on the left.

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Texas’ Top Criminal Court Has Stymied the State’s ‘Junk Science’ Law. Will SCOTUS Intervene?

If the U.S. Supreme Court renders a decision in favor of Charles Flores and others, it would likely force the Court of Criminal Appeals to relax its extremely strict handling of appeals based on shoddy and outdated science.

Texas Observer

Trump’s New Tool to Speed Up Wall Construction May Be a Trap for Texas Landowners

The administration is using a new kind of “right-of-entry” request that allows building earlier in the legal process. Property owners could be signing away more than they realize, attorneys say.

Texas Observer

LATE SPRING ENDING WITH LUNAR ECLIPSE

Fine thread nearly invisible in the early light...

Texas Observer

A Looming Execution Raises Questions of Race, Responsibility, and Rap

James Broadnax is set to be executed April 30. But someone else has admitted to the crime.

Texas Observer

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When the AI Cloud Comes for Texas Water

Legislators are (sort of) beginning to grapple with the grim costs that come with the state’s data center boom.

Texas Observer

Making Coffee with a Candle—and Other Notes from a Cuba Gone Dark

The Cuban government has been blaming the United States for its problems since 1959—sometimes rightly, sometimes not. At this point, my only position comes from seeing a grandmother's coffee contraption and a 12-year-old rationing his phone battery.

Texas Observer

As Contract Negotiations Drag On, Texas Starbucks Workers Have Learned the Power of Organizing

“We have an in everywhere. It's not hard to talk to other people that do the same thing that you do on a daily basis, and oftentimes they have the same grievances that you do."

Texas Observer

‘La Gordiloca’ Lost at the Supreme Court but Won in Laredo

The citizen-journalist and social media provocateur's case against local officials was thrown out in a decision that horrified First Amendment advocates. But, at home, observers say arresting her proved more trouble for the government than it was worth.

Texas Observer

Mike Miles Cancels Moonlighting Contract with His Former Charter School Network

Houston ISD says its state-appointed superintendent has ended a paid agreement with Third Future Schools, after the Observer obtained the contract and requested comment. A 2025 state law restricts moonlighting by superintendents.

Texas Observer

Longtime Immigration Court Interpreter Arrested by ICE at South Texas Airport

The state’s only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years.

Texas Observer

Denton Promised Net Zero. Then It Kept Building Roads.

The booming city's transit predicament is not unique; it is a local expression of a statewide structural problem.

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Texas Observer

How Trump’s ‘God Squad’ Could Devastate Endangered Species Along Texas’ Gulf Coast

If left intact, the exemption for oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico could forever harm vulnerable species and their habitats.

Texas Observer

How Teach for America Helped Set Up James Talarico’s Political Rise

The prestigious education group is more than a shiny résumé item. For the Democratic Senate candidate, it was an incubator for his rapid political ascent.

Texas Observer

Who Accounts for Freedom?

The nascent "freedom accounts" program is, predictably, burdened by Republicans’ insistence on religious discrimination—and likely set to benefit those already outside the public school system.

Texas Observer

The Plight of the Monarch

All along their journey, from my hometown suburb to their winter home in Mexico, the iconic butterflies face human-made threats.

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Texas Observer

Mike Miles’ Former Charter School Network Expands Its Footprint in Texas

Some school district leaders say they believed they had only one option for a partnership to avoid state takeover.

Texas Observer

Corpus Christi Water Crisis Spurs Stampede on South Texas Aquifers

Cities, towns, and industrial complexes aim to quickly pump tens of millions of gallons per day in a bid to avert disaster.

Texas Observer

‘Gossip and Sleaze’: Dallas Express Smears State Rep’s Son Under Fake Byline

The right-wing news outlet published anonymously sourced allegations about a Houston minor by a supposed author whose name is likely an Ayn Rand reference.

Texas Observer

The Corpus Christi Water Crisis Isn’t Exceptional. It’s Early.

When drought cycles outpace infrastructure planning, a water emergency is not a surprise—it’s a forecast.

Texas Observer

Foster Care Repeats Rejection for LGBTQ+ Texans

State services should build community—and acceptance—for teens otherwise vulnerable to exploitation, homelessness, and isolation.

Texas Observer

‘Proudly Claiming Our Tears’: Fathers Stand Together for Their Trans and Nonbinary Kids

In “The Dads,” a new documentary that premiered at SXSW, men open up to each other about their hope, their fears, and their unconditional love for their children.

Texas Observer

East Texas Hit Hard by Gun-Related Suicides

Scarcity of mental health resources, prevalence of guns, and stigma all contribute to the region's high suicide rates.

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