Energy
November 7, 2023
Should Texas Build More Nuclear Power Plants?
State leaders are bullish on new atom-splitting technologies, even as those same officials hobble wind and solar projects.
Politics & Policy
Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
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True Crime
November 7, 2023
The Great Cajun Turtle Heist
Alligator snapping turtle populations in Texas were dwindling. One family of smugglers had been poaching them from the state for years.
Politics & Policy
November 6, 2023
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry GOP
For a long time, Texas Republican chairman Matt Rinaldi couldn’t win elections. Now he wants to decide them—by exacting revenge on opponents within his party.
Politics & Policy
November 1, 2023
East of Houston, a Fight Over a Black Teenager’s Hair Takes Center Stage
After Hurricane Katrina, Darresha George moved her family to Texas. When school officials suspended her son for refusing to cut his hair, it unleashed a storm that shows no signs of easing.
Politics & Policy
October 31, 2023
Tony Buzbee Is More Famous Than Ever. So Why Is He Running for Houston City Council?
The wealthy trial lawyer just helped acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton. Now he wants to fix potholes and broken water lines.
Politics & Policy
October 31, 2023
Greg Abbott’s New Mexico Border Barrier Isn’t Doing Much—Besides Amusing Locals
Residents of El Paso and Sunland Park, New Mexico, agree illegal immigration is a problem, but the Texas governor’s newest effort is little more than a PR stunt.
Medicine
October 30, 2023
A Taller Border Wall Brings a Surge of Costly Injuries to El Paso
The city's University Medical Center is among the trauma centers dealing with many more migrants severely hurt in falls from the thirty-foot fence.
Border & Immigration
October 27, 2023
The Immigration Debate at the Texas Legislature Has Devolved
In the latest showdown over immigration restrictions, Texas representatives got into a heated confrontation on the floor.
Politics & Policy
October 20, 2023
The Texas Legislature Keeps Trying to Ban Vaccine Mandates for Private Businesses. This Time It Might Actually Be Successful.
Republicans need a win after a summer of infighting. But party leaders are ignoring several potential consequences in moving hastily on this issue.
Politics & Policy
October 16, 2023
What’s Behind the Fact-Challenged Freak-out Over Colony Ridge?
The Houston exurb offers cheap land to hardworking families. But some in the GOP see the benefit in demonizing the migrants who’ve moved there.
Books
October 16, 2023
How Two Texas Bookstores Are Leading the Fight Against Book Bans
When I wrote my YA novel, I hoped to inspire teens to figure out their beliefs around complicated political questions. But amid a wave of book bans, my book could get prohibited from school shelves.
Politics & Policy
October 12, 2023
First They Came for Those Who Met With Nazis
After right-wing activist Jonathan Stickland hosted Nick Fuentes in his office, many in the GOP have attacked Stickland’s critics.
Health
October 12, 2023
While We Were Sleeping: The Feds Say a Price-fixing Scheme Costs Texas Patients Tens of Millions
A New York financier’s scheme “rolled up” anesthesiology practices across the state, according to a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission.
Politics & Policy
October 11, 2023
Will Hurd Was Both Too Late and Too Early to Run as an Anti-Trump Moderate
Once a rising star in the Republican Party, the former congressman’s pitch as a “common-sense” Republican didn’t resonate with today’s GOP.
Politics & Policy
October 5, 2023
James Reyos Has Always Been Innocent. After Forty Years, the Courts Agree.
On Wednesday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared the 67-year-old Native American innocent of a 1981 murder.
Politics & Policy
October 4, 2023
Greg Abbott Failed to Persuade Lawmakers on School Vouchers. Now He’s Threatening Them.
Ahead of a special legislative session, the governor has implied there will be political consequences for those who get in his way.
Politics & Policy
September 28, 2023
Chip Roy Is Just Fine With a Federal Shutdown
The congressman joins a handful of House Republicans who insist they’ll fund the government only when they get deep spending cuts and harsh border-control measures that have no chance of passing the Senate.
Politics & Policy
September 22, 2023
Ken Paxton Is Finally Free to Talk. Cue the Falsehoods on Tucker Carlson’s Show.
The attorney general is going on a right-wing media tour to complain—with no evidence—about a bipartisan conspiracy against him.
Politics & Policy
September 22, 2023
Winners and Losers in the Ken Paxton Impeachment Saga
The attorney general’s acquittal affects an upcoming legislative session on school vouchers—and the civil war within the Texas GOP.
Politics & Policy
September 20, 2023
Are There Coincidences in Austin? A Texas Monthly Investigation
A defense attorney in Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial tried to twist an old conspiracy theorist line into a Texas truism. How does it hold up?
Politics & Policy
September 18, 2023
The Biblical Womanhood of Angela Paxton
Throughout the impeachment trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton, his wife, a state senator, shared her internal struggle one Bible verse at a time.
Politics & Policy
September 16, 2023
The Texas Senate Votes to Acquit Attorney General Ken Paxton
House managers couldn’t get more than 14 votes, below the needed 21 votes to convict, on any of the sixteen impeachment counts.
Politics & Policy
September 15, 2023
“The Most Important Choice You Have Ever Faced”: The Texas Senate Decides the Fate of Ken Paxton
After eight days of arguments and testimony, senators deliberate on whether to convict the embattled Texas attorney general.
Politics & Policy
September 15, 2023
The Science Used to Send Him to Death Row Has Changed. The Courts Haven’t Yet Caught Up.
Robert Roberson is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to examine “shaken baby syndrome” and the state of forensic science.
Politics & Policy
September 14, 2023
Highlights From Day Eight of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
And on the eighth day, the defense rested.
Politics & Policy
September 13, 2023
Here’s What You Missed on Day Seven of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
The mistress’s testimony that wasn’t, Rusty Hardin’s snafu, a dismissed motion to drop all the charges, and more.
Politics & Policy
September 13, 2023
Ted Cruz, John Cornyn, and Other Texans in D.C. Weigh In on Ken Paxton’s Impeachment Trial
Shouldn’t Paxton be present for the proceedings? Best guesses on the outcome? We posed these questions and more.
Politics & Policy
September 13, 2023
Why Is a Midland Billionaire Spending So Heavily to Support Ken Paxton?
Countless right wingers could do the attorney general's job more effectively, but none would so reliably serve the interests of one faction in the Texas GOP's civil war.
Politics & Policy
September 12, 2023
Here’s What You Missed on Day Six of the Paxton Impeachment Trial
The young personal-injury lawyer testified about an investigation allegedly launched for the benefit of Nate Paul.
Politics & Policy
September 12, 2023
Yes, George W. Bush Changed Texas. But Not the Way You Think.
His victory in the 1994 governor’s race wasn’t the election that really transformed the state.
Border & Immigration
September 12, 2023
Who Wore It Best? We Rate Politicians on Their Border Photo Ops
Rick Perry rides a gunboat. Ted Cruz goes militiaman. Ron DeSantis and George P. Bush try their best.
Politics & Policy
September 11, 2023
Here’s What You Missed on Day Five of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
The attorney general’s affair finally took center stage. Plus, testimony on a meeting at Galaxy Cafe, a red car, and a Bible verse.
Politics & Policy
September 11, 2023
Amber Alerts Are Often Ineffective. A New Law Gives Local Police More Control.
Delays in dispatching the alert system mean that some children fall between the cracks.
Politics & Policy
September 9, 2023
Who Is Carl Sherman, the Latest Democrat Trying to Unseat Ted Cruz?
The Texas state representative and Church of Christ pastor from DeSoto is the third prominent Democrat to enter the race.
Politics & Policy
September 8, 2023
My Brief Career as a Paid Pro-Paxton Propagandist
As the attorney general’s impeachment trial takes place, a shadowy group has mobilized an army of political influencers to support his acquittal. Our ethics laws aren’t keeping up.
Politics & Policy
September 7, 2023
Here’s What Happened on Day Three of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
Through anger, calm, and even some tears, former aides testified about the attorney general's alleged corruption.
TM Talks
September 6, 2023
What a Pulitzer Prize Winner Learned While Researching a Novel About Texas Politics
Lawrence Wright’s new book, ‘Mr. Texas,’ was inspired by what he discovered about corruption, political combat, and, yes, pig hunting.
Politics & Policy
September 6, 2023
Waiting in Line for Ken Paxton
Before sunrise, journalists and eager onlookers gathered at the gates of the Capitol grounds, awaiting the start of the attorney general's historic impeachment trial.
Politics & Policy
September 6, 2023
What We Learned on Day Two of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
We heard testimony on Paxton's affair and watched the defense make one of the prosecution's key witnesses squirm.
Energy
September 5, 2023
Hundreds of Abandoned Oil Wells Are Rotting Away in Texas Bays
Defunct companies have left behind energy facilities that leak toxins into fragile coastal ecosystems. And guess who has to clean them up?
Politics & Policy
September 5, 2023
Highlights From the First Day of the Ken Paxton Impeachment Trial
The Texas Senate did not dismiss any charges, Paxton will not have to testify, and more we learned from day one.
Politics & Policy
September 1, 2023
Republican and Democratic Cities Band Together to Blow Up the Death Star Bill
HB 2127, which strips municipalities of regulatory authority, was intended to target liberal cities. So why are conservative mayors so upset?
Politics & Policy
August 31, 2023
Your Cheat Sheet for Ken Paxton’s Impeachment Trial
Everything you need to know about the alleged adultery, bribery, and abuse of office. Plus: Big-time lawyers! Billionaire donors! And burner phones!
Politics & Policy
August 30, 2023
Big News: According to a New Documentary, the Texas House Is Secretly Run by Democrats!
The film by right-wing activist Michael Quinn Sullivan is a warning to Republicans who might vote for Ken Paxton's impeachment.
Politics & Policy
August 29, 2023
He’s Been Single for Years. Now He’s Marrying His House.
In far West Texas, where loneliness abounds, one man is on a quest to redefine the meaning of love and companionship.
Politics & Policy
August 28, 2023
Who’s Killing Jacob’s Well?
For the second year in a row, the iconic spring-fed swimming hole has stopped flowing, the consequence of drought and overpumping.
Politics & Policy
August 25, 2023
Would Nate Paul and Ken Paxton Still Be Friends Under Other Circumstances? A Texas Monthly Investigation
Unpacking the bromance between the 36-year-old nightclub owner and the 60-year-old evangelical Christian and career politician.
Politics & Policy
August 24, 2023
The Value of the Mexican Peso Is Soaring. What Does That Mean for Texans?
Will tequila and trucks get more expensive? Will exports of chemicals and plastics to Mexico boom? What will happen to immigration?
Politics & Policy
August 23, 2023
Greg Abbott Raised an Astonishing $15.6 Million in 23 Days
The governor attracted strong support from small-dollar donors, but a large chunk of his haul came from multimillionaires and billionaires who quietly cut six-figure checks.
Politics & Policy
August 18, 2023
Red Flags, Fast Cars, and Church’s Chicken: Highlights From the 4,000 Pages of Ken Paxton Impeachment Evidence
From his alleged dealings with Nate Paul to the attorney general’s seeming penchant for fast food, here’s what we learned from documents released late Thursday night.