Texas Observer

New from @josephineklee: Districts across the state are arresting young children children for common misbehavior, leaving lasting trauma as the Legislature rejects bills to raise the age of criminal responsibility and floods schools with even more police. texasobserver.org/texas-school-a…

Advocacy groups including @texasappleseed, @DisRightsTx, and @TXCivilRights shed light in our cover story on the dire consequences of arresting and criminally citing students as young as 10 across Texas: texasobserver.org/texas-school-a…

Out today: "I cover the flaws of the criminal justice system, but even I was shocked by the apparent bad faith of state actors and the heel-digging of prosecutors in the face of clear injustice." texasobserver.org/review-colloff…

New from @josephineklee: Districts across the state are arresting young children children for common misbehavior, leaving lasting trauma as the Legislature rejects bills to raise the age of criminal responsibility and floods schools with even more police. texasobserver.org/texas-school-a…

“The people we’re finding now dying on the U.S. side of the border are the people who could not wait.” texasobserver.org/deaths-laredo-…

Featured story: The media has been full of headlines congratulating Big Bend residents for defeating Donald Trump's border wall. But the truth is far uglier and more complicated, and victory is far from secure. texasobserver.org/state-of-play-…

“School is supposed to be a safe, nurturing environment,” said Renuka Rege, a senior staff attorney with @TexasAppleseed. “Instead, schools are exposing young children to arrests—one of the most traumatic experiences a child can have.” texasobserver.org/texas-school-a…

New, from @MichellePitcher in our magazine: In the long-awaited debut from a legend of Texas magazine journalism, Pamela Colloff reveals how the actions of one conman had life-or-death consequences and illuminate the flaws in our justice system. texasobserver.org/review-colloff…

#ICYMI, the latest from Texas Observer cartoonist Ben Sargent. Read more Loon Star State: texasobserver.org/topics/loon-st…

“To ban books simply because they have a hardcover or they’re used is just trying to solve a problem that may exist in prison by finding the easiest target. And the easiest target they can find is to change the rules for what books can come in.” texasobserver.org/prison-crackdo…

Featured story: To spend so much on these barriers—around $2.4M per annual Border Patrol “apprehension” in the region—is beyond confusing, particularly in a region where both law enforcement and civilians have expressed near-unanimous opposition. texasobserver.org/state-of-play-…

“The vast majority of crimes that are being filed on kids under 12 are almost on the extreme end of petty,” @GeneforTexas told the Observer. “Basically nonsense stuff that you would expect [from little kids].” texasobserver.org/texas-school-a…

“Politicians vie for state and national office with stadium-sized prayer rallies. … God and churches and pastors and moral politics and Christian nationalism all drown the state—and much of America—in an ocean of religion.” texasobserver.org/one-state-unde…

Our July/August cover story today, a major investigation from @josephineklee into arrests and criminal citations of Texas students as young as 10. The state can absolutely raise the age of criminal responsibility to mitigate this. texasobserver.org/texas-school-a…

Catch up with everything we've published from the July/August 2026 issue of Texas Observer magazine: texasobserver.org/issues/july-au…

In photos: "The state is increasingly transphobic—but so is our country. Trans people represent a sense of possibility and self-determination that undermines the colonial project that is America." texasobserver.org/a-mirror-and-a…

Featured story: Observer analysis of injuries at SpaceX’s Starbase in 2025, using publicly available data, shows the company had an injury rate that’s more than 5 times the national average for comparable space vehicle manufacturing facilities in the U.S. texasobserver.org/worker-death-s…

From @lisedigger in our magazine: The departing creatures create their own wind, their wings beating out a collective nocturnal staccato.Their speed is astonishing. These are the world’s fastest bats, able to fly up to 100 miles per hour. texasobserver.org/the-bats-of-br…

In books: The shiny yellow stage empty at home protesting the pairing of Chicanos and Blacks Mothers march up and down at home protesting in signs “hell no, no vamos” texasobserver.org/inside-houston…

The media has been full of headlines congratulating Big Bend residents for defeating Donald Trump's border wall. But the truth is far uglier and more complicated, and victory is far from secure. texasobserver.org/state-of-play-…