Texas GOP Rejects Ban on Association with Nazis
It’s the latest instance of the state party’s right-wing officialdom embracing extremism, and vengeance, above all else.
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Going Extinct in Texas
Declaring an endangered species officially gone can take decades.
Strangest State: Eclipses and Flying Snakes
A young teen reporter covers the Ken Paxton impeachment on typewriter, serpents fall from the sky and more dispatches from far-flung Texas.
Texas Rangers Investigation Sheds Light on Dallas Judge’s ‘Bizarre’ Behavior
Dallas County Judge Amber Givens was accused of having her court coordinator impersonate her during a 2021 Zoom bond hearing, prompting a Rangers inquiry.
The Fish Whisperer
Half of the fish in the Mission-Aransas Estuary vocalize. One scientist is dedicated to recording and decoding their thumps, pops, and other sounds.
Culture ⋆
Beyond the Refrigerator Door
Multifaceted, multidimensional, Meow Wolf is “art for everybody.”
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Politics
Mistrial: Austin Police Officer’s Landmark Murder Trial Gets No Resolution
A grand jury indicted Christopher Taylor after the 2020 shooting of Michael Ramos in South Austin. He is believed to be the first Austin officer ever prosecuted for murder after an on-duty killing.
These Are the Right-Wing Ideologues Taking Over School Boards
Conservative consultants and PACs are turning Texas school boards into partisan battlegrounds.
Right-Wing Pastor Arrested for ‘No-Islam’ Graffiti in Downtown Brownsville
Genovevo Izaguirre’s social media accounts feature anti-LGBTQ+ and Islamophobic propaganda.
Environment
Court: Lone Star State Violated Emissions Limits on Gulf Coast
Judges argued that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality illegally enabled Port Arthur LNG to avoid air pollution control requirements.
Disaster Declared for Texas Shrimp
The U.S. market—and seafood processors’ freezers—are overflowing with cheap farm-raised imports.
Republicans Target ‘Woke’ Climate Change Topics in Science Textbooks
Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian wants the Board of Education to reject accurate descriptions of environmental science in school books.
Culture
Loon Star State: Whacked
“A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.”—Vito Corleone
Protect and Serve
How Black women and men cover, decorate, and celebrate their locks to embrace their pride.
The Tower Sniper’s Wife
A new book from UT Press provides a troubling twist on the vow “until death do us part.”
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November/December 2023
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