Political Intelligence
When Prison Reform Goes Bad
How Climate Change Is Driving Central American Migrants to the United States
In the poor, violent Northern Triangle of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, worsening floods, drought and storms are pushing a growing number of migrants north.
Donald Trump thinks there’s an immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has no idea what’s coming. Thousands of Central American migrants arrive at ...Read More
Trump’s Sabotage of ACA Enrollment Is Particularly Dangerous in Texas
The attacks on enrollment outreach come as Texas’ uninsured rate increased last year to more than 17 percent — the highest since 2014.
Illustration/Sunny Sone On a dreary day in late September, Ana Maria Garza Cortez stood in front of a hotel conference room full of worn-out community health wo...Read More
Why Environmental Groups Are Salty on Corpus Christi’s Pricey Desalination Plan
Despite the cost, logistical challenges and environmental side effects, city officials are moving forward on their plan to bolster Corpus Christi's water supply.
Having tried little else to save its water supply, Corpus Christi is considering an option that no other Texas city has embraced: seawater desalination. The str...Read More
After the Flood, the Political Storm?
Democrats in Greater Houston are hoping to tap into the frustrations of residents who are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey.
It’s been more than a year since Hurricane Harvey descended upon southeast Texas, damaging more than 200,000 homes and killing at least 88 people. Now, Democr...Read More
Inside the Coordinated Attack on a North Texas Wind Farm
Conservative lawmakers, an oil investor and other activists did all they could to stop a wind project in rural Texas, even as the state has increasingly embraced renewable energy.
Earlier this year, a Canadian energy producer was poised to build two large wind farms in Clay County, a mostly featureless stretch of plains at the Texas-Oklah...Read More
How Anti-Abortion Activists are Training Their ‘Next Generation of Pro-Life Leaders’
College students descended on Houston to learn how to "convert" their peers to oppose abortion and how to "dismantle" Roe v. Wade.
This summer, nearly 30 college students gathered in Houston for a weeklong summit on how they could be the generation to end abortion in America. One day, after...Read More
On Gun Safety, Democrats are Steeled
Texas Democrats are becoming more sure-footed in their call for gun reform legislation.
For years, the Gun Owners Caucus had a regular presence at Texas Democratic Party conventions. The group’s message: “Texas Democrats do not want your guns; ...Read More
In Texas, 3 Out of 4 County Jail Inmates Haven’t Been Convicted of a Crime
Pretrial detainees — legally innocent people who have been charged but not convicted of a crime — now occupy more beds in jails than any other group.
Three years after a Texas state trooper ripped her out of her car and slammed her to the ground over a traffic violation, Sandra Bland’s name still evokes ima...Read More
Fringe Factor: CJ Grisham and the Paranoid Heart of Texas’ Gun Rights Movement
After video of Grisham getting slammed against a police car went viral in 2013, he took the lead in Texas’ gun deregulation movement. Now, he’s aiming for constitutional carry.
With the far right ascendant in Texas politics, once-marginal ideas and people have found a place in the political mainstream. Fringe Factor is an introduction ...Read More