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What You Need to Know About the Venezuelan Gang That Texas Is Targeting
Gov. Greg Abbott has declared the Venezuelan gang a foreign terrorist organization and asked the Department of Public Safety to create a strike team targeting them.
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Planning for Impacts of Floods and Clouds on Power
On the heels of a Northeastern rainstorm that flooded towns on Long Island and claimed at least two lives in Connecticut, teams of scientists, engineers, and representatives of local power and transportation utilities met to discuss the increasing frequency of severe weather and its impacts on crucial infrastructure.
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Election Experts Cautious as Abbott Touts Voter Roll Purge
Federal and state law already required voter roll maintenance. Experts warn the governor’s framing of this routine process could be used to undermine trust in elections.
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Texas Election Officials Are Dealing with a Flood of Challenges to Voter Registrations
Conservative groups and individual activists have targeted tens of thousands of Texans over their eligibility. But state and federal protections are in place.
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Election Deniers Secretly Pushed Rule That Would Make It Easier to Delay Certification of Georgia’s Election Results
On Monday, the GOP-controlled State Election Board is poised to adopt the rule, which would potentially allow county officials, including one who secretly backed the rule, to throw the election results of the swing state into chaos this fall.
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Despite Recent Water Supply Improvement, More Cuts Expected for Colorado River, Feds Say
After Lake Mead hit an all-time low two years ago, the Colorado River’s water supply is in a much better position this summer, but it hasn’t improved enough to prevent further cuts this year.
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How the Marshall Fire Sparked a Political Transformation in Colorado
After the fire destroyed his town in 2021, a state rep took on insurance companies, mortgage lenders, and landlords — and beat them all.
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State Lawmakers Eye Promise, Pitfalls of AI Ahead of November Elections
This presidential election cycle is the first since generative AI — a form of artificial intelligence that can create new images, audio and video — became widely available. Artificial intelligence proved the ‘topic du jour’ at the largest annual meeting of state lawmakers this week in Kentucky.
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Implementing Secure Firearm Storage Program for Illinois Parents
Firearm injury and mortality are the leading cause of death among youth in the U.S. From 2013-2020, firearms contributed to a staggering cumulative loss of 1.3 million years of life for young people.
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Can Florida’s Orange Growers Survive Another Hurricane Season?
Oranges are synonymous with Florida, but a perfect storm of hurricanes, diseases, and water scarcity threatens to wipe out the state’s famed citrus industry.
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Reviving the Los Angeles River: Engineering Alongside Nature and Society
Reviving the LA River is a prime example of a large-scale infrastructure project that requires engineers to work alongside nature and society. A revived LA River can again serve as habitat for native vegetation and wildlife, improve water quality, aid water management, and contribute to cultural renewal.
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Biden Administration Gives Up on Texas Border Suit, Ordered to Finish Wall
Texas has won another lawsuit against the Biden administration, this time one that requires it to finish building the border wall. The ruling was issued May 29, with a 60-day window for appeal. Because the Biden administration didn’t appeal by July 29, the court’s order remains in full effect.
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Texas Water Board Details How It Will Spend $1 Billion for Water Infrastructure Projects
About $45 million will go to Texas towns with fewer than 1,000 residents — a boon for municipalities without a viable tax base.
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Fifth Circuit Hands Texas major Win on Rio Grande River Buoy Lawsuit
One year after Texas installed marine barriers in the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass, Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Texas has the legal right to do so.
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As the Rio Grande Runs Dry, South Texas Cities Look to Alternatives for Water
Many of the solutions are costly, putting them out of reach for small towns. But the region’s most populous cities are getting innovative.
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The long view
Researchers 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.