The Texas Observer2d
New DEA Chief’s Background Includes Surveillance Tech and Border Misinformation
Derek Maltz formerly worked at PenLink, a Nebraska-based tech firm that has sold software that can track phone locations ...
The Texas Observer7d
Public Education Bills: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Conservative state lawmakers have filed hundreds of bills targeting the school finance system, LGBTQ+ students, undocumented ...
The Texas Observer3d
The ‘Texas Three-Step’: Defund, Demonize, and Privatize Public Schools
Vouchers become subsidies for families who had already decided to pay for private school, at the expense of public schools ...
The Texas Observer4d
Abbott’s Familiar Priorities Include Property Taxes, Vouchers, Cracking Down on Bail
Abbott’s emergency items include property tax relief, improving water infrastructure, creating a universal school voucher ...
The Texas Observer9d
ICE Agents in Churches ‘Does Not Bode Well for the Future of Religion’ in America
They’re de facto endorsing government interference with the church—the very government interference with the church that they ...
The Texas Observer4d
Who Really Benefits from School Vouchers?
I do not pretend to know the motivation of Jeff Yass. But I do know that Mr. Yass is not a Texan, and I also know that Texas ...
The Texas Observer9d
‘Drill Baby Drill’: Arlington Approves New Site for Fracking Near Daycare and Schools
Arlington has opened new land for fracking for the first time in 12 years, allowing TotalEnergies to drill 10 new gas wells ...
The Texas Observer10d
Cartels Are Not ‘Foreign Terrorist Organizations,’ but Terror in Mexico Is Real
It is difficult to determine how these heterogeneous crime groups target the United States, but Mexican authorities need to ...
The Texas Observer12d
Death in the Desert
When I moved to El Paso in 2016, there were fewer than 10 migrant deaths in what U.S. immigration officials call the El Paso ...
The Texas Observer3d
Counting Hate: At Least 61 Anti-LGBTQ+ Incidents in Texas Last Year
A national project tracking anti-LGBTQ+ hate found dozens of homophobic and transphobic incidents in Texas during 2024, ranging from physical assaults to stolen Pride flags, though the most common ...
The Texas Observer5d
Trans Children Are God’s Gifts
A version of this story ran in the January / February 2025 issue. Editor’s Note: The following is by Molly Carnes, as told to Nico Lang, the author of American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are ...