Earlier: “Having a judge that is attuned not just to keeping the public safe, but also safeguarding the defendant’s constitutional rights is really, really important. Public safety and constitutional rights are not mutually exclusive choices.”

A seemingly innocent amendment to an obscure 2025 law is being used to delay the release of a crucial report on maternal mortality in Texas. Advocates say it's a "political cover-up" to hide the harms caused by the end of Roe v. Wade.

“I’ve done larger events than this. I’ve never had this much pushback. I’ve never had this much security concerns.” Last week: Regardless of political affiliation, Hasan Piker's recent UT Austin appearance illustrates why essentially no one is happy with campus free speech restrictions.

Top story: "The 2010 Citizens United decision opened the floodgates to unlimited dark money in American politics, and the right has used it with devastating efficiency. And they do this not by writing treatises but by writing checks."

“It’s not that many of them have decided to become Democrats, although some will vote Democratic. They are disillusioned by Trump and are not motivated to turn out to vote for anyone this year.”

In books: Workaday encounters with fellow citizens, such as eating at a restaurant or filling up on gas, become freighted with mortal peril. In one darkly comic scene, an instructor demonstrates how he keeps his gun at the ready while sitting on a public toilet.

“I can’t come up with any rational, reasonable explanation that this [report] would be delayed, especially amid a midterm election, unless it was politically motivated.”

Covid is out of control in Texas right now, probably the worst surge in the U.S. although other states are feeling it. I caught it last weekend at a house party. Get your Covid booster ASAP. They have a new one out. Thanks to RFK, you may have to tell them you have a health condition to get one.

“We will all be more safe when ICE gets the hell out of Austin, Texas.” There's renewed opposition to Immigration & Customs Enforcement officials after the shooting of Wilber Garces Perez, but what can the city do against a fascist federal government?

A “Community Shrine” invites visitors to leave a photo of a deceased loved one. Below it sits a wooden chair with a sign: “Reserved. In memory of the millions of lives lost to genocide & violence by ICE & inhumane immigration policies.” No one is allowed to sit there.

There were always signs the 2024 South Texas swing could have been peculiar to that specific presidential context. And all that was before South Texas became ground zero for the harsh realities of Trump’s mass deportation project.

“Ultimately, we need [federal] comprehensive immigration reform. We can try to mitigate the ICE activity. We can try to do this. We can try to do that. But ultimately, we need comprehensive immigration reform.” --Austin City Council Member Chito Vela

Top story: "The Vatican holds an estimated $73 billion in assets. The Catholic Church commands the loyalty of nearly one in five American adults. That is not a church that needs to pass the plate."