INSANE: 24 - The Real Truth

When Summer Heat Hits My Texas Prison

High temperatures and scarce air conditioning cause tempers to flare for prisoners and guards alike.

Texas Observer · Aug 8, 2024

A Legal Fight over Legacy Oil Industry Pollution Heats Up in West Texas

A “first of its kind” lawsuit contends that oil companies including Chevron failed to properly plug and decommission wells on private property, challenging common assumptions about plugged wells.

Texas Observer · Aug 7, 2024

A Rancher Who Leads a Paramilitary-Style Group Sues Biden over Border Policies

The rancher is joined by a rural Texas sheriff, who has collaborated with vigilantes, in the legal challenge to federal immigration policies.

Texas Observer · Aug 6, 2024

This State Program Collects Money from the Deceased. Families Pay the Price.

For nearly two decades, the state’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program has filed repayment claims against Medicaid recipients after they die, threatening the inheritances of vulnerable Texans.

Texas Observer · Jul 29, 2024

Waiting Out the Storm in Prison

Incarcerated Texans describe conditions in prison following Hurricane Beryl.

Texas Observer · Jul 26, 2024

Greg Abbott Compares Hamas Attacks to Texas Border Crossings at Sheriffs’ Conference

The governor’s comments followed a screening of raw October 7 footage for Texas lawmen.

Texas Observer · Jul 24, 2024

The Banality of Border Evil

What a long-dead, cartoonishly corrupt Texas bureaucrat can tell us about the nature of immigration enforcement and the U.S.-Mexico divide

Texas Observer · Jul 23, 2024

Their Laws. Our Bodies.

Two years after the constitutional right to abortion was eliminated, what’s left of Texans’ reproductive rights is ambiguous.

Texas Observer · Jul 22, 2024

The Wages of Inequality—Behind Bars

Because the state refuses to pay us for our labor, incarcerated women rely on money from the outside to get by.

Texas Observer · Jul 18, 2024

Hunger Was Already Bad Enough. Then Beryl Hit.

Food spoils when the power goes out, exposing more people to hunger and food insecurity. But the crisis goes deeper than that.

Texas Observer · Jul 17, 2024