Texas Set to Execute First Man of 2012
Rodrigo Hernandez, who was convicted of the rape and murder of Susan Verstegen, a 38-year-old single mother and Frito-Lay employee, is set to die.
A native of Houston and a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Sonia Smith is a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly. She cut her teeth reporting on crime on the bayou for the Baton Rouge Advocate. She has also written for Slate, The New York Times Magazine, Roads & Kingdoms, and the Kyiv Post, and was a finalist for the 2008 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists for her reporting on sexual abuse at the Louisiana School for the Deaf. Her Texas Monthly profile of leading climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe was included in the anthology The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2017.
Rodrigo Hernandez, who was convicted of the rape and murder of Susan Verstegen, a 38-year-old single mother and Frito-Lay employee, is set to die.
By Sonia Smith
Rove said that if State of the Union watchers drink every time President Obama said the phrase "middle class," then "we're going to have a lot of drunk people in America." Was he right?
By Sonia Smith
When refugees from Myanmar moved to the small city to work for Pilgrim's Pride, residents practiced good Texas hospitality and made efforts to bridge the cross-cultural divide.
By Sonia Smith
Columbia Packing Co., a meatpacking plant in Dallas's Oak Cliff neighborhood, has been accused of dumping pig blood into Cedar Creek, which feeds into the Trinity River.
By Sonia Smith
More Americans are worried about tax fairness and "moral breakdown" than illegal immigration, a new national poll finds.
By Sonia Smith
NPR's John Burnett traveled to Colonia Juarez, Mexico, to explore a side of Romney’s biography that he doesn't stump about.
By Sonia Smith
In the latest issue of the New Yorker, Hendrik Hertzberg explains why Governor Perry's idea to give the Supreme Court term limits is a good one.
By Sonia Smith
An Australian scientist honored the singer by dubbing the "all time diva of flies" Scaptia beyonceae. Surprisingly, this isn't the only insect named after a Texan.
By Sonia Smith
Houston's own mini-Madoff, who is accused of orchestrating an international $7 billion Ponzi scheme, finally goes to court.
By Sonia Smith
A former NASA contractor allegedly killed her Air Force Colonel husband's mistress after learning of the affair.
By Sonia Smith
The former Fox News host takes fans on a virtual tour of his new Las Colinas production studio.
By Sonia Smith
Due to budget cuts, the federal agency plans to shutter the Kika de la Garza Subtropical Agricultural Research Center in Weslaco, the organization standing between us and invasive pests.
By Sonia Smith
Hero Builder, a toy company based in Connecticut, created two action figures of the governor complete with "Oops" sound bite.
By Sonia Smith
Demolition crews are razing the Hunstville stadium this week, where "The Wildest Show Behind Bars" took place for 35 years. The place may be gone, but its legacy will never be forgotten.
By Sonia Smith
Meet the Fellowship Church pastor who makes Joel Osteen look like the picture of restraint.
By Sonia Smith
Irving-based Hostess Brands, the maker of the indestructible snack cake, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time since 2004.
By Sonia Smith
Two new studies from Texas researchers focus on shedding the pounds and keeping them off.
By Sonia Smith
ESPN profiles the Texas-bred New Orleans Saints co-owner Rita Benson LeBlanc, who describes herself as having "Texas heart, Cajun blood."
By Sonia Smith
Baylor University President Ken Starr took to the op-ed pages of the Washington Post asking, "Can I vote for a Mormon?"
By Sonia Smith
It took less than twenty seconds to take down the sixty-year-old MD Anderson building, which was demolished to make way for new clinical space.
By Sonia Smith
The governor is "not a factor," according to the American Research Group president.
By Sonia Smith
A man suspected in the “Handsome Guy” bank robberies was found on the run after he allegedly left his car keys at the scene of his last heist.
By Sonia Smith
Authorities shipped Jakadrien Turner, a fourteen-year-old from Dallas, off to South America even though she's an American citizen who doesn't speak Spanish.
By Sonia Smith
How the Iowa caucases played out on the front pages of the big Texas papers after Ron Paul had a strong showing and Rick Perry, well, did not.
By Sonia Smith
Trey Scott Atwater, who is charged with attempting to take explosives on an airplane, was “surprised” that there was C-4 in his carry-on.
By Sonia Smith
The Texas Tech atmospheric climate scientist who wrote a chapter on climate change for Newt Gingrich's forthcoming book was shocked to learn the GOP hopeful had scrapped her contribution.
By Sonia Smith
The last YouTube videos of Austin teen Ben Breedlove, who died from a heart attack on Christmas night, have gained a worldwide following.
By Sonia Smith
Arellano, who was born and raised in McAllen, is the meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service forecast office in New Braunfels. His career, which began in 1976, has taken him all over Texas, as well as to Puerto Rico and Florida.There’s an old saying here in Texas: “Either you’re in
By Sonia Smith
The decision to bestow the honor to the SEAL Team Six commander took “just minutes and was a shutout,” according to Dallas Morning News editorial page editor Keven Ann Willey.
By Sonia Smith
A Houston Army veteran proved himself to be the city's most law abiding resident when he paid a 58-year-old parking ticket Wednesday.
By Sonia Smith
What we'd like to get Rick Perry, Warren Jeffs, Willie Nelson, and other prominent Texans for Christmas.
By Jason Cohen and Sonia Smith
The EPA announced new mercury emissions rules that please environmentalists, but the timeline and potential price tag worries industry officials.
By Sonia Smith
U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling advises colleagues to watch Schoolhouse Rock to learn about the conference committee process.
By Sonia Smith
Mother Jones writer Josh Harkinson traveled to 75205 and found it to be remarkably similar to Berkeley, CA.
By Sonia Smith
It was a bad year to be a tree in Texas. The drought alone claimed half a billion trees, and now eminent domain threatens a 100-year-old oak planted by one of the founders of League City.
By Sonia Smith
Texas shed roughly 600,000 cattle in 2011, record drop that threatens to reshape the industry.
By Sonia Smith
The stand-up comedian helped record another anti-texting PSA for the Alamo Drafthouse on a recent trip to the theater.
By Sonia Smith
The number of people Texas executes each year is steadily declining as public sentiment in America turns against the death penalty.
By Sonia Smith
Two reindeer ran out onto I-45 during rush hour in Webster.
By Sonia Smith
The Beaumont-raised country crooner, known for the number-one hit "Blanket on the Ground," died of lung cancer at her home in Vidor.
By Sonia Smith
Biologists are worried that the U.S.-Mexico border fence adversely impacts endangered species and other animals.
By Sonia Smith
A picture of fifteen Air Force members posing with a metal casket containing a seemingly lifeless corpse has led to an investigation at Lackland Air Force Base.
By Sonia Smith
Four strippers from Abilene are suing their employer in hopes of recouping overtime and unpaid wages they would have been entitled to if they were considered employees instead of contractors.
By Sonia Smith
A Tarrant County College adjunct professor resigned from his post after two Muslim students objected to his characterization of Islam in his Great Religions of the World class.
By Sonia Smith
After stray bullets hit two students at an Edinburg junior high, officials consider erecting a cinder-block wall around the property.
By Sonia Smith
Glenn Beck and Joe Scarborough said if Newt Gringrich wins the nomination, they would rather vote for the Texas Congressman.
By Sonia Smith
If you take your political cues from your favorite football stars, we may have the Senate candidate for you.
By Sonia Smith
In his latest ad, Perry tries to convince voters that he won’t engage in the “politically correct” ballet danced in D.C.
By Sonia Smith
Thirty feral hogs escaped from their pens at a local meatpacking plant and led animal control officers on a frantic chase.
By Sonia Smith
For many in this remote part of Texas, the crossing is convenient, but detractors fear the port entry could compromise security.
By Sonia Smith