Politics
Who Really Gets Government Benefits In Texas?
Governor Abbott’s Beef with Tree Ordinances Has Its Roots in a Pecan Tree He Destroyed to Build a New Home
In his haste to build a new home and swimming pool, Greg Abbott killed a protected pecan tree in violation of Austin’s rules.
In his haste to build a new home and swimming pool, Greg Abbott killed a protected pecan tree in violation of Austin’s rules....Read More
Both Sides of the U.S.-Mexico Border Want to Renegotiate NAFTA
President Donald Trump isn't alone in his desire to renegotiate the trade agreement, but his motives are skewed, critics say.
President Donald J. Trump has made no secret of his dislike for NAFTA, which he’s often pilloried as the “worst deal ever” and a “total disaster.” Man...Read More
Counter-Protest Derails ‘March Against Sharia’ in Austin
A protest organized by an anti-Islam group fizzled at the Texas Capitol.
Around 50 protesters showed up Saturday at the Texas Capitol as part of a nationwide “March against Sharia” organized by ACT for America — an Isla...Read More
30 Days of Horror: Greg Abbott Calls Texas Legislature Back for Summer Session
The governor announced the Legislature will reconvene on July 18 to address his grab-bag list of 20 issues.
At a press conference in which he took no questions, Governor Greg Abbott announced a July 18 special session that had a not-so-subtle undertone: I’m in charg...Read More
Attorneys Who Halted Trump’s Travel Ban Will Take on Senate Bill 4
The ACLU is sending in the lawyers who stopped Trump’s executive order to argue the constitutionality of Texas’ “sanctuary cities” ban.
On a cold January evening, Lee Gelernt emerged to a cheering crowd outside a Brooklyn courthouse after winning the first legal challenge against Trump’s trave...Read More
Texas’ Maternal Mortality Rate: Worst in Developed World, Shrugged off by Lawmakers
Lawmakers largely ignored the state's pregnancy-related death rate that doubled over a two-year period.
Courtesy/Shawn Thierry When she got pregnant four years ago, Representative Shawn Thierry knew she was at risk. She was 42 at the time, an age at which women ar...Read More
Worst. Legislature. Ever. How Did We Get Here?
The Republican Party of Texas, hostage to its own overreach and gerrymandered districts, will never fix itself.
Grind with me for a moment the gears of imagination, and consider a state not unlike our own — let’s call it Rexas — which has demonstrated an unusual deg...Read More
Attorney: Matt Rinaldi’s Call to ICE Will Likely Be Used Against SB 4 in Lawsuit
The Republican lawmaker’s call to ICE will “almost assuredly” be used to show ‘discriminatory intent,’ an attorney said.
A Texas lawmaker’s decision to report protesters to immigration police Monday could come back to haunt the state when it defends the law in court, an atto...Read More
Photos: SB 4 Protesters Flood Capitol to Jump-Start ‘Summer of Resistance’
From an overnight mariachi-themed protest at the governor’s mansion to more than 1,000 protesters flooding the Capitol, here’s what the Observer saw at the start of the “summer of resistance.”
When Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 into law, opponents of the anti-immigrant “show your papers” legislation answered with a promise. Two days af...Read More