This week one of the country’s largest Latino advocacy organizations released a new election survey about Texas that showed some unexpected findings. With less than fifty days until the election, 52 percent of Latinos in Texas report they have not been contacted by either the Republican nor Democratic party
This week Democratic State Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos announced she was running for Texas Speaker of the House, joining a crowded field that already includes several Republicans looking to challenge embattled current Speaker Dade Phelan. An attorney, Ramos entered the legislature after flipping a north Texas district in 2018. In an
In his capacity as Texas Attorney General, nobody could accuse Ken Paxton of keeping a light schedule. In this last month he has filed a flurry of lawsuits: ranging from attempts to stop Texas counties from sending out voter registration applications; to suing the Biden Administration over a federal rule
Late one evening in February 2022, Chinar Sediqi touched down at San Antonio International Airport for the first time. He was with his wife, Noorafshan, and their five children, the youngest only one year old. The older children gathered their backpacks and the family retrieved three boxes filled with belongings
As he is running for re-election in a race that many polls are predicting could come down to the single digits, Ted Cruz keeps trying to tout bipartisan credentials. He specifically has repeated a claim that the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 is the one hundredth piece of legislation he
In July Ted Cruz’s re-election campaign launched a major ad blitz focused on Hispanic voters in Texas. Axios reported the buy would include both broadcast and digital ads targeting Latino voters in Texas. As the ads have started rolling out, though, it’s clear the authentic portrait of Texas
The fervent belief in rampant voter fraud has been a motivating factor for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for years. That idea that elections in Texas and across the country have been compromised was on display last year when Paxton spoke at an event for the conservative Heritage Foundation in
The ferry ride to Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County is the first time in months I’ve stepped out in the daylight and not immediately made a rude gesture at the oppressive sun. The air over Galveston Bay is a good ten degrees cooler than the asphalt oven of Houston,
On Monday morning, several leaders with the Latino civil rights organization LULAC called upon the Civil Rights division of the Department of Justice to investigate the actions of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Their call comes days after several members and volunteers reported that their homes were raided by an
While Texas isn’t considered one of the major battleground states this year (although a recent poll suggests that indeed it is a state race where both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are leading by single digits), many Texans left their mark at the DNC Convention. On Monday night, a
For many families in Texas, this week has been dominated by the excitement and jitters of the first days back to school. Even though the temperature is hovering in the triple digits throughout the state, school districts are back in Fall form. For many educators and school employees, this year
Contrary to its name, The Railroad Commission of Texas has nothing to do with trains (at least not anymore). Instead, this state agency is critically important as it oversees the oil and gas industry. The Commission is comprised of three members, which were initially appointed by the governor, but now
On Monday, the Center for Reproductive Rights announced they were filing federal complaints with the Biden Administration on behalf of two women who were denied treatment for ectopic pregnancies in Texas. The two women allege they were denied abortion care, the only treatment for an ectopic pregnancy, and because of
According to the Ka 'Imi Na'auao O Hawai'i Nei Institute and The Bishop Museum, Queen Ka'ahumanu attempted to ban the islands’ traditional dance, hula, in 1830. It didn’t take. However, colonists and missionaries continued to actively discourage and suppress the art form,
Last month, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was once again suing the Biden administration. This latest lawsuit concerns a program known as Title X that offers family-planning services for low-income Americans, including contraception for teenagers. The Title X program that offers free contraception for teenagers was previously targeted by
On Monday, August 5 Texans in the greater San Antonio area will start seeing four large billboards with a shocking message: “Everything’s bigger in Texas: including our infant mortality rate.” The infant mortality rate in Texas has indeed increased since the near-total abortion ban Senate Bill 8 went into
I needed a wing transplant for my tooth fairy, and that’s how I met Ashley Worhol for the first time in a decade. We were both vending at the night market at the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston this past summer. I was hawking my horror story
On Monday, a six-week abortion ban went into effect in Iowa. The Midwest state is now the 22nd to enact some form of an abortion ban since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Following the newest state abortion ban, the Democratic National Committee convened a press call to discuss
In June, Greg Abbott released a semi-annual campaign finance report that showed eye-popping figures from two school voucher advocates: Jeff Yass and Jim Walton. The donations, totaling $4.2 million, are a continuing saga in Abbott’s overtures towards school choice backers. Texas is the largest red state that has
Walking up the steps to the 134-year-old RavenWolf Manor, I start thinking about Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour. One of the protagonists, Michael Curry, would stare through the fence every day at a New Orleans mansion rumored to be the home of witches. If I had to pick one
The last couple of days for Vice President Kamala Harris have been a whirlwind, but as she takes on her first events as the presumptive Democratic nominee for President it’s clearly emerging that she is delivering a distinct communicative style that leans into some of the salient issues concerning
On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that he was ending his re-election bid in a statement published to social media. He quickly followed up the stunning announcement with his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President. The Chair of the Texas Democratic Party, Gilberto Hinojosa,
On Wednesday, the Republican National Convention formally introduced its Vice-Presidential nominee J.D. Vance. The Ohio Senator is a 39-year-old former venture capitalist who rose to prominence thanks to his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which offered a harshly critical lens on his upbringing. A one-time critic of Trump, Vance changed his
On the second day of the GOP Convention in Milwaukee, the Republican Party hammered a message centered on immigration. The day of programming, known as “Make America Safe Once Again,” featured a series of speeches promoting anti-immigrant talking points, many of which are factually untrue. Ahead of the day’s
While the drama surrounding President Biden appears to have reached a fever-pitch, with no clear sign of what’s to come, Donald Trump’s campaign churns along. And as the former president looks to reclaim his past position, Project 2025 has emerged as a visceral siren for what another Trump
On Tuesday July 9, Texans in the wake of Hurricane Beryl had their first full day to assess the damage of the Category 1 storm. Millions of customers remain without power as temperatures are expected to rise to a heat index of 105 degrees. Beryl made landfall near the small
With the runoff elections in Texas over, Greg Abbott has been touting school vouchers as a major priority for the state. Earlier this year, the pro-voucher agenda received a boost after several rural Republicans lost to school choice candidates. Before that Abbott had called four special elections to try and
On Saturday, June 29 the Afiya Center will be hosting their eleventh annual “Get Tested, Grab A Bite” at Glendale Park in Dallas. The yearly HIV testing event has been a hallmark feature for the Afiya Center, which is the only reproductive justice organization in North Texas founded by, and
According to a new study, the Dobbs decision which reversed Roe v. Wade has had ramifications well beyond abortion restrictions and bans in red states like Texas. It’s also led to vast declines in prescriptions for birth control pills and emergency contraceptives. The study, led by lead author Dima
It’s the third Saturday of the month at the Hardy & Nance Studios. Nominally, the crowd is here for the Portraits in June show, one of the many themed gallery events that Hardy & Nance host twice monthly. While that part of the gallery certainly draws a crowd thanks
It’s a scary time to be LGBTQ+ in Texas, but the state’s horror authors are using their voices to make sure the terror is felt both ways. Gabrielle Faust is among the loudest queer horror voices in Texas. Since 2008, she has released twelve novels and anthologies. Her
At twenty, Maleeha found herself with an unplanned pregnancy. She had come to America just a year before and was a college student in north Texas. Maleeha had been on birth control and didn’t think it was possible for her to be pregnant. After eight pregnancy tests, though, she