The Texas Institute of Letters recognized Dylan Baddour's article, “Forgotten Keepers of the Rio Grande Delta,” as the best short nonfiction of 2024.
Congratulations Dylan! 
We are proud to have published this important story, and so many others you've contributed. https://www.texasobserver.org/forgotten-keepers-of-the-rio-grande-delta/
“We’re just hoping kids with disabilities aren’t going to have nothing left for them.”
From the archives, by @josephinelee in 2023: Before Texas, there was #Arizona. A look at how their voucher program used vulnerable students to attack public schools. https://www.texasobserver.org/voucher-program-arizona-privitization-public-schools-disabilities/
“Now what we’re seeing is a full-on assault on our state’s immunization program. Activists felt like they could take advantage of the [COVID-19 pandemic] and exploit it and start going after laws that have been on the books for decades.” https://www.texasobserver.org/measles-outbreak-anti-vax-legislation/
#ICYMI: A transgender prisoner held in solitary confinement reports on the growing usage of Tasers against the most vulnerable of the incarcerated in #Texas. https://www.texasobserver.org/an-inside-look-at-taser-use-in-texas-prison/
“It’s more government, more bureaucracy, more money, and there’s no oversight. And it’s taxation without representation,. The taxpayers don’t get to pick who these private companies are that our tax dollars are going into. So that is not a free market.” https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/
60 Minutes - Newsmakers
What musicians did after an executive order on DEI led to the cancellation of U.S. Marine Band collaboration
"...I just felt like, well, there's usually two responses to something. You can complain about it, or you could do something about it. I chose the latter within seconds. And it was the easiest decision ever.....
With the active-duty Marines ordered to stand down, Equity Arc reached out to retirees who answered the call from everywhere, former band members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Westpoint, the Naval Academy and the Marines....The original Marine Band concert would have been seen by hundreds. Here, tonight, these musicians are being heard by millions...."
This feels like an alien invasion of the United States.
"NIH officials have urged scientists to remove all references to mRNA vaccine technology from their grant applications, two researchers said, in a move that signaled the agency might abandon a promising field of medical research.
'Kennedy’s war on vaccines has started,' the scientist told his colleague.
"
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/nih-grants-mrna-vaccines-trump-administration-hhs-rfk/
#Politics #Science
1/n
Under Trump, AI Scientists Are Told to Remove ‘Ideological Bias’ From Powerful Models
A directive from the National Institute of Standards and Technology eliminates mention of “AI safety” and “AI fairness.”
https://www.wired.com/story/ai-safety-institute-new-directive-america-first/
Dispatch from the inside: A prisoner in solitary watches as guards use Tasers on a naked, mentally-ill woman in a shower, and reflects on their increasingly brutal use in the #Texas correctional system. https://www.texasobserver.org/an-inside-look-at-taser-use-in-texas-prison/
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Our top story: If the voucher bill were to pass, select private companies could soon be reeling in tens and even hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars per year. We took a closer look at who stands to gain the most. https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/
Barking mad.
TSA Says Its Credit Cards for Bomb-Sniffing Dogs Are Cut Off
#politics #Dogs
https://www.404media.co/tsa-k9-bomb-sniffing-dogs-funding/
“This is the Trump administration desperate to meet the goals that it’s set to carry out its mass deportation agenda. But he’s having trouble reaching those numbers, because he doesn’t have the manpower and the infrastructure to actually rip away people who have years and years of life in our communities and are deeply entwined.” https://www.texasobserver.org/local-state-police-ice-287g-task-force/
Previously: The committee, made up of seven Republicans and four Democrats, unanimously passed an amended version of the bill on Thursday, setting it up for a vote on the Senate floor. https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-bitcoin-strategic-reserve-senate-bill-21/
Recently, a bloc of self-proclaimed conservative reformers invoked the Sharpstown debacle in their crusade to take down the speaker of the house and root out an alleged cabal of corrupted “RINOs” who they claim have conspired with lobbyists and #Democrats to control the chamber. https://www.texasobserver.org/ethics-reform-texas-house-legislature/
As Greg Abbott aims to force vouchers through the Texas Legislature during the 89th session, private companies like 'ClassWallet' have descended on the capitol, after the lucrative contracts which could result if they're support of the governor's policies pays off. https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/
“If you get $10,000, you’re still $17,000 short. And for most of these families that are poor families, that creates, you know, a mirage that they can now access it.” https://www.texasobserver.org/house-hearing-2025-school-vouchers/
“In solitary confinement, many prisoners suffer from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar, and psychosis that are exacerbated by prolonged isolation. Those suffering from schizophrenia and other mental diseases are target practice for the Tasers on a daily basis.” https://www.texasobserver.org/an-inside-look-at-taser-use-in-texas-prison/
"Trump allies are blaming Lutnick for Trump’s tariff turmoil. There is a growing consensus that Lutnick could be forced to take the fall for the economic chaos generated by the president’s unsteady tariff policies":
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/11/trump-allies-lutnick-tariff-turmoil-00225137
#IBlameTrump #politics #economy
