HOUSTON - President Donald Trump has warned that Central American families are staging an 'invasion' at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has threatened to take migrants to Democratic strongholds t... Read more
Published 6:08 pm CDT, Thursday, April 18, 2019 ... Read more
Houston - Casper Ruud punched his ticket to the US Men's Clay Court Championship final on Saturday, holding off a stiff challenge from qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan to win their semi-final ma... Read more
The final of the US Men’s Clay Court Championships will be Christian Garin’s second opportunity of 2019 to win his first ATP career title. Christian Garin overcame eighth seed Sam Querrey in... Read more
REUTERS: Chilean Christian Garin powered past eighth seed Sam Querrey to make his second ATP Tour final at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston on Saturday.Garin, who beat Querr... Read more
Faced with a stalemate on his priority property tax proposal, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday that if no deal materializes over the weekend, he plans to take the “nuclear option” on Monday... Read more
Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 11:42 am CST Audio versions of Texas Observer stories, brought to you by Audm. An Observer investigation finds that unregulated dams across Texas are increasingly failin... Read more
Texas has a problem getting students of all kinds through postsecondary education: Graduation rates at four-year public universities, at community colleges, and in career and technical class... Read more
Texas Legislature 2019 The 86th Legislature runs from Jan. 8 to May 27. From the state budget to health care to education policy — and the politics behind it all — we focus on what Texans ne... Read more
In the past, Becky Amason rarely worried about making a trip to the doctor’s office — she was covered by her husband’s health insurance plan. But that isn’t the case anymore. Last year was t... Read more
Texas Senate approves two bills to override paid sick leave, local control over employment practices
After facing unexpected friction in Texas’ Republican-dominated Legislature, a pair of bills to override local rules mandating paid sick leave and standardize employment practices across the... Read more
On Monday, Texas State University's student senate passed a controversial resolution to bar the conservative group Turning Point USA from campus — a move shut down by the student body presid... Read more
Facing an investigation over the state’s botched efforts to screen its voter rolls for noncitizens, the Texas Attorney General’s Office is declining congressional leaders’ request for inform... Read more
Thursday was scheduled to be property tax day in the Texas House. Then it was rumored to be property tax day in the Texas Senate. And finally, it proved to be neither. Deliberations on a pro... Read more
The floundering of House Bill 316 shows that Republicans are still unwilling to stand up to the NRA and far-right primary voters. Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 1:57 pm CST The National Rifle Associat... Read more
The policies announced Thursday range from refusing to prosecute certain drug cases to reforming probation and changing how the office handles crimes related to poverty and homelessness. Thu... Read more
2020 Presidential Race We're tracking the Texas stories in the presidential contest, from the Texans in the race to all candidates' efforts to reach voters and raise money in the state. We'v... Read more
Texas Legislature 2019 The 86th Legislature runs from Jan. 8 to May 27. From the state budget to health care to education policy — and the politics behind it all — we focus on what Texans ne... Read more
WASHINGTON — Every member of Congress recently gained access to a pot of money to pay interns working in the nation's Capitol. For the 38-member Texas delegation – the second-largest in Cong... Read more
Rhonda Hart, a gun reform advocate whose daughter was killed in the Santa Fe High School shooting last May, is running for school board in her bright red Texas district. Tue, Apr 23, 2019 at... Read more
Wage theft is a quiet crisis in the Lone Star State. A bill that would publicly expose bad actors may have a chance at the Legislature. Tue, Apr 23, 2019 at 7:18 am CST The measure would onl... Read more
The “election integrity” bill that passed the Senate this week is only the latest entry into a long history of conservative-led voter suppression in Texas. Thu, Apr 18, 2019 at 1:53 pm CST R... Read more
“The aim of HB 16 is clear: further stigmatize abortion, misinform the public, intimidate physicians and interfere with women’s ability to seek medical care,” said state Representative Donna... Read more
Today’s targets of religious discrimination are members of the LGBTQ community. Not long ago they were African-Americans and women. Wed, Apr 17, 2019 at 6:30 am CST First Baptist Church in d... Read more
Lawmakers have been using Band-Aids to address the backlog of untested rape kits since 2011. This session could bring a real fix. Tue, Apr 16, 2019 at 5:33 pm CST State lawmakers have been t... Read more
The floundering of House Bill 316 shows that Republicans are still unwilling to stand up to the NRA and far-right primary voters. Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 1:57 pm CST The National Rifle Associat... Read more
From capping property taxes to banning paid sick leave ordinances, GOP lawmakers want to stomp out liberal policies in cities across the state. A progressive network is going on the offensiv... Read more
‘Democracy at its Best’: Texas Regulators Approve Gig Economy Rule Written by Unregistered Lobbyists
With more questions than answers about the gig economy giant Handy’s role in lobbying for a labor rule, state commissioners ignored concerns and voted to approve the rule instead. Tue, Apr 9... Read more
“I believe this is the legislative session that we come together, in bipartisan fashion, to pass a bill to prohibit this practice that can have life-altering consequences,” one lawmaker said... Read more
After reporting from the Observer, two Texas lobbyists updated years of disclosures that show they had worked for Handy, “the Uber for Home Services,” to change state labor regulations. Wed,... Read more
Doctors, child care providers, counselors and other state-licensed workers who refuse to provide services based on “a sincerely held religious belief” would be protected under Senate Bill 17... Read more
A congressional oversight committee is probing acting Secretary of State David Whitley’s flawed voter purge, as well as allegations of voter suppression in two other states. Thu, Mar 28, 201... Read more
An estimated 10 percent of college students don’t have permanent housing. One measure would exempt those students from paying tuition. Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 6:49 am CST The student unio... Read more
Convict leasing, which historians have called “slavery by another name,” was used to build the Capitol and earn profits for the state and private companies for decades. Tue, Mar... Read more
A former Secret Service agent pledges to do whatever it takes to secure schools in Texas City ISD — and he couldn’t care less what you think. Mon, Mar 25, 2019 at 10:00 am CST by... Read more
Former Heidi Group employees say a new effort by the group to secure family planning funding inflates the organization’s track record. Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 5:12 pm CST Carol Everett Ph... Read more
Jane Nelson, the Senate’s chief budget writer, praised the Legislature’s funding of women’s health programs despite state data and other research that shows they are not me... Read more
A coalition of civil rights groups warns that SB 9 would “sharply escalate an ongoing campaign of voter suppression.” Tue, Mar 19, 2019 at 5:46 pm CST The group's say SB 9 would... Read more
One-quarter of the state’s crisis centers, which provide free services to survivors of sexual assault, have waitlists between two and five months. Tue, Mar 19, 2019 at 7:30 am CST Sexu... Read more
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