Bringing this one back ... just because! From Justin Miller in 2024: Ken and Angela Paxton have ties to a jet-setting lobbyist-turned-CEO caught in a tangled web of alleged fraud involving a powerful business clan and a commercial shipping giant.
The Texas Observer
A Jet-Setting CEO, the Paxtons, and an Alleged Massive Fraud
Ken and Angela Paxton have ties to a corporate honcho caught in a tangled web of alleged fraud involving a powerful business clan and a commercial ...
 #corruption #fraud #Texas #KenPaxton #AngelaPaxton #politics #USpol #TXlege #news #law
Earlier: Without any announcement or open debate, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature passed a biennial state budget that will effectively halve the amount dedicated to its multi-billion-dollar #border security operations—from a proposed $6.5B down to about $3.4B.
The Texas Observer
Texas Quietly Downsizes Border Security Spending
But outlays remain far above state funding prior to the Operation Lone Star era.
 #immigration #police #security #HumanRights #Texas #politics #USpol #TXlege #news
“Climate change loads the dice toward more frequent and more intense #floods. The flash flood that tore through Camp Mystic at night, when people were most vulnerable, shows the deadly cost of underestimating this shift.”
The Texas Observer
Climate Change Helped Fuel Heavy Rains that Led to Devastating Hill Country Flood
Officials are reporting more than 100 fatalities in Kerr County, including 28 children.
 #KerrCounty #Kerrville #CentralTexas #politics #USpol #politics #environment #ClimateChange #news
"I want you to imagine a toddler appearing in court to face off against a government-trained attorney trying to deport them. Think of their terror as they take their seat in the courtroom, legs swinging because they’re not long enough to reach the floor."
The Texas Observer
How Republicans Are Willfully Endangering Immigrant Kids
GOP lawmakers often claim they want to protect children, but their policy decisions tell a different story.
 #ICE #politics #USpol #news #Trump #HumanRights #immigration #fascism
Previously: Texas lawmakers ordered sheriffs in all counties to enter into cooperation agreements with #ICE, that may be limited to jailhouses—or may convert deputies into roving immigration agents.
The Texas Observer
Legislature Mandates Sheriff-ICE Cooperation in Jails or Streets
Texas lawmakers are ordering nearly all counties to seek federal agreements that may be limited to jailhouses—or may convert deputies into roving...
 #politics #USpol #news #Texas #immigration #police #TXlege #HumanRights
Earlier: What does it say about us when we tolerate—or even support—policies that traumatize, neglect, and abuse children? How much cruelty will we inflict—or passively allow our nation’s leaders, laws, & institutions to inflict on our behalf—on #children?
The Texas Observer
How Republicans Are Willfully Endangering Immigrant Kids
GOP lawmakers often claim they want to protect children, but their policy decisions tell a different story.
 #HumanRights #immigration #ICE #Republicans #politics #USpol #news #fascism
Featured story: “Right now ... we’re seeing what authoritarianism is about in its ugliest way. We’re seeing people being stopped on the street being picked up at their workplace, thrown into vans and taken God knows where without due process.”
The Texas Observer
Can Economic Populism Win Back the Rio Grande Valley?
A Vermont U.S. senator and an Austin congressman make the case in McAllen.
 #ICE #immigration #HumanRights #fascism #politics #USpol #Texas #border #SouthTexas #news
"Many told me they would fight for their water to the very last drop. Others, however, have already begun asking the existential question: Where will we go when the river runs dry?"
The Texas Observer
‘With What Water?’: Texas, Mexico, and the Disappearing Rio Conchos
Drought has hollowed out Chihuahua’s Conchos Valley and bred civil unrest as South Texas demands the water it’s owed.
 #water #politics #USpol #news #environment #Mexico #Texas #border #ClimateChange
Featured story: Across the country, Afghan children—mostly boys—are diving into American sports. Wrestling is popular partly because it’s similar to traditional Afghan wrestling, which involves more upper-body throws but requires similar body control and mental toughness.
The Texas Observer
Afghan Refugees Find a Home on a San Antonio High School Wrestling Team
Traditional Afghan wrestling—known as Pehlwani—is a popular pastime for boys in the south-central Asian nation.
 #sports #photography #politics #USpol #culture #refugees #immigration #Texas #photography
“It’s a safe space to be yourself regardless of who that is. I don’t understand why people want to smother that.” From 2022: Drag Queen Story Hour? Over 150 people crowded into a West Texas cafe for this small town's first such event.
The Texas Observer
West Texas Town Comes Out for Drag Queens
Despite the presence of anti-LGBTQ+ protesters, over 150 people attended the first story time event in Wolfforth, a small suburb of Lubbock.
 #drag #pride #politics #culture #USpol #news #Texas #WestTexas #children