June 25, 2012
Life By the Drop: How to Report on the Drought
KUT's Terrence Henry and Mose Buchele discuss the stories behind their research and reporting on the drought.
684 Articles
News & Politics
June 21, 2012
Crews Put Finishing Touches on Governor’s Mansion
The Perrys are expected to move back into the Greek Revival mansion, which was torched by arsonists in 2008, next month.
June 20, 2012
How Some Dino Bones Brought Mongolia and Texas Together
A seventy-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton finds itself at the center of a legal battle involving a Dallas auction house, a Houston lawyer, and the president of Mongolia.
Energy
June 20, 2012
The Case For Saving Old Offshore Oil Rigs
Should nonproducing oil rigs be demolished, or are the habitats marine life have built around them too valuable to compromise?
Sports
June 19, 2012
Carroll Shelby’s Body Still in Dallas Morgue
The wife and children of famed auto designer Carroll Shelby are fighting over control of his remains more than a month after his death.
June 18, 2012
Three Opinions on the Father Who Killed His Daughter’s Alleged Molester
A grand jury will decide whether to pursue criminal charges against the Shiner dad, but the public seems to favor his use of deadly force.
June 17, 2012
Parents Sue After School Nurse Makes “Smelly” Child Take Shower
What's more embarassing for an eight-year-old boy? School authorities forcing you to take a shower or your parents making a federal case out of the matter?
June 8, 2012
Texas Inmate Claims to be Vampire, Federal Court Disagrees
Courtney Royal had sued to practice his vampiric religious beliefs behind bars but the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals was unswayed by his arguments.
Politics & Policy
June 6, 2012
Two Texans Make List of Radical Right Wingers to Watch
David Barton and Alex Jones landed on the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of the thirty members of the radical right to watch.
June 5, 2012
AG’s Office Gives OK to Test DNA in Hank Skinner Case
A full 3,888 days after Hank Skinner first asked for testing of the DNA in the murder case that sent him to death row, the Texas Attorney General's Office finally relented.
Food & Drink
June 4, 2012
Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival Considered ‘Best of the South’
A writer for the Oxford American samples calf fries at Throckmorton's Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival for the magazine.
Sports
May 29, 2012
San Antonio Mayor Defends City Against Big, Mean Bully Charles Barkley
The basketball star repeatedly slammed San Antonio, driving Mayor Julián Castro to film a short video about the virtues of the Alamo City.
May 23, 2012
Juárez Back on the Map. Literally.
Juárez, which had been scrubbed from the free tourist maps distributed in El Paso, will be included on the 2013 set of maps put out by the El Paso Business Region Chamber of Commerce.
Food & Drink
May 22, 2012
Deep Fried Samoas to Join Pantheon of Deep Fried Things at State Fair
The cookies, known to most Texans as Caramel deLites, will be fried to mark the Girl Scout's 100th Anniversary.
May 16, 2012
Houston Dad Spends $1.5M to Send Daughters to College
Marc Ostrofsky, who wrote Get Rich Click!, estimates he'll spend $1.5 million on private college tuiton to educate his five daughters and stepdaughters.
May 16, 2012
Teacher Says She’s Married to God, School Says She Can’t Return to Teaching This Year
A public high school teacher from the Valley will not be returning to the classroom this school year after she told her ninth graders that she is "married to God."
Business
May 15, 2012
Imperial Sugar Site Development Angers Some Sugar Landers
Some Sugar Land residents are upset about a mixed-use development that would build 325 luxury apartments in the abandoned Imperial Sugar refinery.
Politics & Policy
May 14, 2012
Ron Paul Ends Active Presidential Bid
The Texas congressman announced in an e-mail to supporters Monday that he will not spend money campaigning in any of the remaining Republican primaries.
Health
May 10, 2012
ICYMI: Houston Hospital Live Tweets Brain Surgery
Memorial Hermann hospital gave the Twitterverse a play-by-play account of how to perform brain surgery.
The Culture
May 9, 2012
Annise Parker Cheers Obama’s Support of Marriage Equality
Houston's openly gay mayor had previously said Obama's views on gay marriage needed to "evolve" more quickly.
Politics & Policy
May 7, 2012
A Senatorial Spat
State senator Dan Patrick accuses fellow senator John Carona of spreading vicious rumors about the Patrick marriage, resulting in an email exchange that might make CW producers jealous.
May 2, 2012
From Hacks to Flacks
Jason Embry left the Austin American-Statesman to serve as Joe Straus's press secretary. But moving from political journalist to political flack is not unprecedented. Here are ten other Texas journalists who have made the jump.
May 1, 2012
Fightin’ Words: SMU Slams Student Newspaper
A Daily Campus story alleges the university improperly uses "secret hearings" to deal with sexual assault cases involving students, and SMU fires back.
Energy
May 1, 2012
Do Wind Farms Cause Global Warming?
A new study looking at West Texas wind farms found that local air temperatures rose 0.72 degrees Celsius. Is this something to worry about?
Web Exclusive
April 30, 2012
Texas Gets Prehistoric With Two New Fossil Halls
After years of exporting prized dinosaur fossils to some of the world’s best museums, the state will be getting two huge exhibit halls, in Dallas and Houston.
Border & Immigration
April 30, 2012
Caring for Children Stopped at the Border
Several temporary shelters have cropped up around Texas to house a recent unexplained influx of unaccompanied minors crossing into the United States.
April 24, 2012
Researchers Study Habits of Texting Teens
Millions of texts and e-mails from Texas teens who agreed to participate in a four year study could shed new light on the life of the American teenager.
Politics & Policy
April 23, 2012
Mom Buys Billboard to Support Daughter’s Prom Queen Bid
A Killeen mother recently took out a billboard to promote her daughter's prom queen bid. Has helicopter parenting jumped the shark?
Energy
April 20, 2012
How the State Could Lose $4.4 Billion in Revenue
If oil and gas drilling is considered "manufacturing" instead of "mining," the industry effectively receives a huge tax exemption.
Food & Drink
April 18, 2012
Texas’s Five Most Delicious Invasive Species
Could eating invasive species be the best way to get rid of them?
April 11, 2012
Creationism Among the Dinosaur Footprints in Glen Rose
Is Glen Rose, famed for its fossilized dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River, becoming a hotbed of creationism? A Texas Observer story says yes.
April 10, 2012
Where Do the Highest Paid Professors in Texas Work?
The Chronicle of Higher Education put together a list of the highest paid professors across the country.
The Culture
April 9, 2012
Museum Tower Proving an Unfriendly Neighbor in the Dallas Arts District
The shiny new building is far too shiny and is sending unwanted beams of sunshine into the Nasher Sculpture Center.
Politics & Policy
April 8, 2012
The Meeting of the Ricks
Erstwhile presidential candidate Rick Perry met with Rick Santorum in Austin, but the details of their discussion are unknown. Maybe Santorum hopes the state will switch to a winner-takes-all primary.
April 6, 2012
Special Goat’s Milk Could Vaccinate Against Malaria?
Texas researchers are doing their part to fight malaria by monitoring the spread of a drug-resistant strain of the parasite and breeding a genetically modified goat with malaria-vaccine in her milk.
April 6, 2012
Cartel Member Responsible for 1,500 Murders is Sentenced
Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, who admitted to ordering hits on more than 1,500 people—including a U.S. consulate employee—received a life sentence in federal court in El Paso.
The Culture
April 4, 2012
“Big Rich Texas:” Big Fat Lawsuit
A cast member of Big Rich Texas claims that a woman who did not make the show has launched a smear campaign against her.
Politics & Policy
April 4, 2012
No Expense too Small for Ron Paul
The Texas Republican congressman's campaign appears to report every expense—even a $0.22 purchase from FedEx—to the Federal Elections Commission.
Energy
April 3, 2012
Life in the Eagle Ford Boom
A dispatch on how the petrodollars from the Eagle Ford Shale boom are reshaping life in South Texas.
April 2, 2012
Could Spinach Save the Citrus Industry?
A Texas researcher is working to fight citrus greening by using bacteria-fighting genes found in spinach.
Critters
April 2, 2012
The Top Ten Most Rabid Counties in Texas
Give that skunk in your yard wide berth, because it might be rabid.
Politics & Policy
April 2, 2012
What if Texas Were to Actually Secede?
NPR explores what Texas would look like as an independent state in the modern era.
March 28, 2012
March Madness: Airline Edition
One year, three inappropriate rants abroad airplanes in Texas. What's in the air?
March 28, 2012
Feds Say Austin Nightclub Owners Have Alleged Hezbollah Ties
Mike and Steve Yassine and eight others are accused of a broad array of crimes, including money laundering, drug distribution, and sending money to the Lebanon-based Islamic militant group.
Style & Design
March 23, 2012
‘Vogue’ Shoots Spread at Cadillac Ranch
Renowned photographer Mario Sorrenti visited Cadillac Ranch with a band of models in December for a spread that ran in the magazine's March issue.
News & Politics
March 22, 2012
‘Wall Street Journal’ Snags Interview with Big Spender Harold Simmons
The press shy billionaire calls Karl Rove his "personal political muse" and reveals why he's bent on defeating President Barack Obama.
The Culture
March 21, 2012
James Franco: Texas ForNever
It's official: James Franco will not be getting his creative writing PhD from the University of Houston.
March 19, 2012
Sex, Love, and Lawrence v. Texas
A new book, Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas, explores the history of the men behind the landmark Supreme Court case and questions the conventional wisdom of the story.
Politics & Policy
March 12, 2012
Texas’ New Voter ID Law Rejected
The Justice Department slapped the hand of the Texas legislature by blocking the state's new voter ID law, saying it would likely disenfranchise Hispanic voters.
Politics & Policy
March 12, 2012
Could a Gingrich-Perry Ticket be in the Works?
The Republican presidential rumor mill is abuzz with whispers that Newt Gingrich may tap Rick Perry to be his vice president in a rare, pre-convention ticket.