Texas

Ketamine Clinics for Treating Mental Health Issues Are Booming. But Is the Drug Effective?

byAJ Muonagolu

With around 13 clinics in Austin alone, ketamine clinics are rising as an alternative to traditional psychotherapy. Increasingly, Texans are exploring psychedelic therapy in hopes of treating depression, anxiety or other chronic mental health issues. But experts worry about ketamine being used as a one-size-fits-all approach to psychiatric care because of concerns over safety and […]

ICE Raids Disrupt Workforce and Construction Projects Across Texas

byErika Gonzalez

Early in the morning, Benny Meléndez, owner of the residential construction company BM3, called one of his workers who hadn’t arrived at the job site in the Rio Grande Valley, where they were supposed to pour concrete that day.
“Come. ICE just took him,” the worker’s wife said.
Contractors across South Texas have reported immigration operations near construction sites, with workers being detained while arriving or leaving. And the fear is spreading.

UT System Plans to Boost Space Research as Federal Funding Skyrockets

byRachel N. Madison

NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center and the University of Texas System are developing plans to expand their collaboration under a new Space Act Agreement signed in January. Archie Holmes, UT System executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, led the latest round of conversations this month as the partners map out the research collaboration, student […]

Faith Under Fire: How ICE Raids Affect Religious Practice in Texas

byErika Gonzalez

In immigrant congregations across Texas and other states, faith leaders report declining attendance and rising anxiety since the elimination of the federal government’s policy of not conducting enforcement in “sensitive locations.”

Even as Silicon Valley Booms, Venture Capitalists See Unique Opportunities in Texas

bySheldon Munroe

Technology venture capitalists from around the world who converged in Austin recently say the Texas tech ecosystem is still young and creating distinctive investment opportunities in a rapidly expanding digital economy. “What I found in Texas in the last few days, I felt these venture capitalists are so patient and they are looking for solutions […]

Undocumented Immigrants are the Backbone of Texas Agriculture. An Abbott-Endorsed Agriculture Commissioner Candidate Wants to Change That.

byMax Mazoch

Immigration raids have caused unrest in Texas agriculture, the state’s second largest industry. Now, Gov. Greg Abbott’s preferred candidate for agriculture commissioner, the chief advocate for the state’s 230,000 farms, has made stricter immigration enforcement a key tenet of his campaign. “If I was king for a day, and I got to go in and […]

Stricter Auto Registration Rule Hurts Texas’ Economy And Leaves Cars Uninsured: Critics

byNoemi Castanon

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles board voted unanimously to implement its new identification requirement for vehicle renewal and registration despite criticism that it is hurting car sales and vehicle registrations. The new rules, proposed in November, require anyone registering a vehicle to provide Real ID-compliant driver’s license, a U.S. passport, a military ID or […]

Dual Citizens in Texas Critical of Effort to Make Them Choose One Nationality

bySamantha Rubin

Texans with dual citizenship are decrying the potential effects of a  bill introduced by an Ohio senator that would force Americans who hold citizenship in another country to renounce one nationality or risk being treated as if they gave up their U.S. citizenship. 
Legal experts said the proposal is unworkable.  “There really is no good way to police this,” said Elissa Steglich, who teaches the immigration law clinic at the University of Texas law school. “There’s no actual benefit to the nation for people to relinquish citizenship to other countries.” 

Feat or Fortune? How the Texas Grid Withstood This Year’s Winter Storm and Why It Felt Different

byRachel N. Madison

The morning of Sunday, January 24, 2026, looked much like that of January 31, 2023, and February 15, 2021. Snow coated fields. Ice buried streets. People shut their doors. Businesses closed. 
Yet, most Texans noticed one key difference. 
“We had power the entire time,” Northwest Hills resident Holly Eaton said.
This year, the state’s power grid remained intact with no systemwide blackouts, unlike in Winter Storm Uri which left 4.5 million homes without power and resulted in over 200 deaths across the state.

THC Fee Increase in Texas Could Push Patients to the Black Market and Impact Local Businesses

byErika Gonzalez

Thousands of Texans rely on medical cannabis to relieve chronic pain, anxiety, or PTSD. At the end of September 2025, Texas had more than 135,000 registered patients, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that around 4 million residents used cannabis for therapeutic purposes in the past year.
Access for these patients could change drastically. On Jan. 9, the Texas Department of State Health Services proposed raising licensing fees for the THC hemp industry.

Nurses Rally Against ICE after Slaying of One of Their Own

byNoemi Castanon

Over 100 people, many of them nurses, moved by the death of one of their own, gathered outside Ascension Seton Medical Center for a candlelight vigil to honor Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis nurse killed by federal immigration officers.

Months After ICE Raid, Valley Flea Market Still Largely Deserted

byNatalia Rodriguez

Hallways full of families. Vendors in stalls scrambling to attend to every customer. Dance floors full of laughter and community. For decades, these scenes would play out at the Mercadome Flea Market in the Rio Grande Valley town of Alamo.
Today, those same hallways are empty. Many stalls in the flea market, or “pulga” in Spanish, are closed, and the dance floor is occupied by only a few clinging to maintain the energy that existed before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the market last June.
“There’s no one here because everyone is scared,” one vendor said.