The Texas Observer

‘Suicide by Cop’: How a Poorly Defined Term Shifts Accountability for Lost Lives

Austin officers killed an unarmed 17-year-old at a park last month in what the chief swiftly deemed "suicide by police." Some ...
The Texas Observer

Observer Masthead Additions and a Farewell

Last, I’m excited to welcome Jason Buch, another longtime contributor, to the masthead as a special investigative ...
The Texas Observer

Texas Maternal Mortality Committee’s Next Report Will Skip Post-‘Roe’ Deaths. Lawmakers Suspect Political Influence.

And one Texan says the body’s decision “retriggered” the pain of losing his wife, who counts among the preventable deaths ...
The Texas Observer

Strangest State: Skulls, Shells, Smugglers, and Sheriffs

The Observer brings you notes from across Texas.
The Texas Observer

Indigenous Group Sues to Stop Big Bend Border Wall on Religious Grounds

The People of La Junta for Preservation, a nonprofit founded in 2024 that works to preserve Indigenous sites, and two Indigenous worshippers of Lipan Apache lineage are suing the federal government to ...
The Texas Observer

What the Data Says About Electricity Shutoffs During Sweltering Texas Summers

The state's retail heat-advisory rule exempts municipal utilities or electric cooperatives. For those providers, federal data shows final notices continued through summer while actual disconnections ...
The Texas Observer

‘Cocks Not Glocks’ at 10

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The Texas Observer

The Takeover Tab: State-Imposed Superintendent Buyouts Cost School Districts Big Bucks

And, critics of TEA takeovers say, those costs are just the beginning of expenses that come with state intervention but without state recompense.
The Texas Observer

ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account

Fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids began to spread the day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time. Posts on social media and Reddit claimed that ICE had ...
The Texas Observer

Permian Basin Community Seeks Fix for Radium in Its Drinking Water

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. IMPERIAL, Texas ...