The Health Penalty
At a North Texas prison, one nurse practitioner racked up more than 20 federal lawsuits over alleged medical mistreatment. The patients’ stories illuminate a healthcare system that often seems like another form of punishment.
Featured Stories
The Latest
News ⋆
News Orgs Fight to Unseal Records in the Paxtons’ Divorce Case
The media outlets, including the Texas Observer, argue that Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state Senator Angela Paxton, are elected officials subject to public scrutiny.
How Texas Localities Have (and Haven’t) Spent Settlement Funds to Fight the Opioid Crisis
Experts say that how the opioid funds are used in these early years could set the tone for the next nearly two decades that Texas receives settlement dollars.
‘Never Again’ at the Texas Border
Fighting for immigrant justice is a Jewish religious and cultural obligation.
Books ⋆
Life in the Time of Hurricanes
So late in the season, this was likely a bad one, if it came this way…
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Politics
🎶It’s His Party and He’ll…🎶
… try to efficiently administer the primary process and persuade people to fill empty precinct chair positions, among other duties.
New Texas Map Starts Game of Political Musical Chairs
GOP’s Trumped-up redrawing took a wrecking ball to congressional districts. Now comes the mad dash for seats.
West Texas Congressman’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Cuts Could Harm Rural Hospitals in His District
Jodey Arrington was the House architect of Trump’s massive tax-and-spend bill that includes steep healthcare cuts.
Border and Immigration
Dems in Congress Are Being Denied Access to ICE Facilities. Now They’re Suing.
As immigration enforcement spending ramps up, oversight mechanisms have been stifled—including for members of Congress.
A Venezuelan Was Detained as a ‘Documented’ Gang Member by ICE, Which Refused to Provide Proof
The Venezuelan immigrant, who has no criminal record, previously worked for a multinational corporation that sells snacks, food, and soft drinks.
U.S.-Mexico Border Militarization Fails to Stop Modern Drug Smuggling Industry
Efforts by Trump and Mexico don’t address root causes or measure up to an evolving, international fentanyl market, experts say.
Culture
The Arc Doesn’t Bend Itself
A new memoir traces the evolution of a trailblazing civil rights group in Texas.
Recovering Suzanne Césaire’s Legacy
A Fort Worth modern art exhibition and a new experimental film are part of a renaissance of work about an influential Caribbean writer.
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September/October 2025
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