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IMMIGRATIONTexas May Study the Impact of Immigration Again, but Focus Only on Costs
The only time the state conducted such an assessment two decades ago, it found that undocumented Texans contributed more to the state’s economy than they cost the state.
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ENERGY SECURITYWind and Solar Power Opponents Make Headway in State Legislatures
In recent years, in Texas and other states, some Republicans have soured on renewable energy. Texas has loosened its political embrace of alternative energy, and for the second legislative session in a row, many Texas lawmakers are trying to derail or curb future renewable energy projects.
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WATER SECURITYStore, Harvest, Fix: How Texas Can Save Its Water Supply
State lawmakers are poised to devote billions to save the state’s water supply. These are some of the ways the state could spend the money.
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WATER SECURITY“Water Is the New Oil: As Texas Cities Square Off Over Aquifer Pipeline Plans
Fast-growing Georgetown plans to pump 89 million gallons a day from the Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer but the project is being fought by Bryan, College Station and Texas A&M University, which depend on the same water.
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PUBLIC HEALTHAfter COVID, Texas Is Less Prepared for the Next Pandemic
Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold.
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PUBLIC HEALTHWith Crumbling Public Health Infrastructure, Rural Texas Scrambles to Respond to Measles
The measles outbreak in rural Texas has exposed how hospital buildings are ill-equipped. Meanwhile, long distances between providers makes testing people and transporting samples difficult.
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NUCLEAR WASTEU.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Texas Nuclear Waste Disposal Case
The case could establish the nation’s first independent repository for spent nuclear fuel in West Texas, despite the objections of state leaders.
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WATER SECURITYTrump Says He’s Sending Water to LA. It’s Actually Going to Megafarms.
The president’s executive orders on California water will help irrigate Central Valley farms. They won’t do anything to fight wildfires.
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CYBERSECURITYResearchers Calculate Cyberattack Risk for All 50 States
Local governments are common victims of cyberattack, with economic damage often extending to the state and federal levels. Scholars aggregate threats to thousands of county governments to draw conclusions.
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NUCLEAR POWERA Michigan Nuclear Plant Is Slated to Restart, but Trump Could Complicate Things
The owners of a shuttered nuclear plant on the shores of Lake Michigan are still banking on its historic reopening later this year, despite the confusion of President Donald Trump’s first days.
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BORDER SECURITYGreg Abbott Seeks $11 Billion in Federal Reimbursements for Border Security
In a letter to U.S. congressional leaders, the governor blamed previous border security policy for leaving Texas “defenseless,” forcing state officials to spend billions.
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ENERGY SECURITYCalifornia Just Debunked a Big Myth About Renewable Energy
One of the biggest myths about renewable energy is that it isn’t reliable. clifornia went a record 98 of 116 days providing up to 10 hours of electricity with renewables alone.
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IMMIGRATION“Anything we can do to help”: This Texas County Is Poised to Play a Key Role in Deportations
As Trump moves closer to reclaiming residency at the White House on Jan. 20, the vast Texas acreage at the edge of the Rio Grande promises to become a centerpiece of the get-tough immigration policies he plans to unfurl under recently named “border czar” Tom Homan. Impoverished Starr County might be the site of a new federal deportation center.
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BORDER WALLWhy Were Border Wall Materials Put Up for Auction? Here's What You Should Know.
Some Texas lawmakers including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick slammed the Biden administration over the auction of wall materials. But the sale was directed by Congress —and Texas has already bought some of it.
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ELECTION INTEGRITYA North Carolina Supreme Court Candidate’s Bid to Overturn His Loss Is Based on Theory Election Deniers Deemed Extreme
Republican Jefferson Griffin narrowly lost his race for a seat on the state Supreme Court. Now he’s asking that 60,000 ballots be thrown out based on a theory that an election denier said amounted to “voter suppression.”
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The long view
CYBERSECURITYResearchers Calculate Cyberattack Risk for All 50 States
Local governments are common victims of cyberattack, with economic damage often extending to the state and federal levels. Scholars aggregate threats to thousands of county governments to draw conclusions.