Five Congressmen from Texas are included in a new report released this week on sexual harassment in Congress, which has been rocked with recent sexual misconduct allegations against former U.S. Reps. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio and Eric Swalwell of California. The report by the National Women’s Defense League, a nonpartisan sexual harassment prevention organization, […]
Author Archives: Juliana Lightsey
Juliana is a senior at Rice University studying political science, social policy analysis, and English. She also works as managing editor of the Rice student newspaper, the Rice Thresher, and previously interned at the Houston Chronicle.
Posted inNews
‘Accusations of ‘Indoctrination’ Were Nothing but an Excuse’: Texas Tech Roiled by Axing of Programs, Free Speech Lawsuit
In recent days, Texas Tech University has come under fire by free speech advocates over its decision to cancel programs — and a first amendment lawsuit filed by a student after she was disciplined in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death. The university system will shutter its programs focusing on gender identity and sexuality, according […]
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How Texas College Students Are Helping Thousands of Undocumented Classmates
Obed Valencia wasted no time in his first two years of college. He joined several clubs, made friends, got an internship — he even won a “Most Involved” student award in his first year at Texas A&M San Antonio, he said. “I made the most of it just because I wasn’t sure when would be […]
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Elon Musk Wants to Turn 700 Acres of Texas Wildlife Refuge Into SpaceX Property
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is aiming to acquire 712 acres of land in the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, amid the protests of environmentalists and activist groups. The proposal would exchange the wildlife refuge land for 692 acres of land in Starbase, SpaceX’s headquarters on the southern tip of Texas. Starbase was officially designated […]
Posted inCulture
‘Life-Changing Money’: How the Houston Rodeo Is Leveling the Playing Field in Women’s Events
In the span of 2.8 seconds, Josie Goodrich exploded into the arena on her horse and wrapped her lasso around a fleeing calf. The maneuver landed the 24-year-old from Oregon first place in a preliminary round of breakaway roping at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Goodrich’s roping has won her $5,000 thus far, and […]
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Texas’ Senate Primary Race Is the Most Expensive on Record, Ad Tracking Report Says
Money’s always a hot topic in Texas elections — and this year it’s blazing. A staggering $128 million has been spent so far in Texas’ Senate primary, making the race the most expensive on record, according to AdImpact, a political advertisement tracking platform. Republican ad spending is responsible for the lion’s share of that amount […]
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ICE Has Considered Adding 20,000 Detention Center Beds in Secretive Expansion Across Texas, Reports Say
A group of buildings in El Paso, next to apartment complexes and a pediatrician’s office. A towering office building in the Woodlands, across from a preschool. A sprawling, vacant warehouse South of Dallas. Each could be transformed into mega detention centers or headquarters for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, according to an investigation by Wired. […]
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Ken Paxton Is No Stranger to Controversy. Here’s a Timeline of Nearly 20 Years of Scandals & Headlines.
Early voting in Texas begins on Tuesday, and one of the most competitive races in recent Texas Republican history is about to take shape. Ken Paxton, the current attorney general and MAGA Republican, is in full-swing campaign mode for a national role, gunning for the U.S. Senate in 2026 against incumbent John Cornyn and U.S. […]
Posted inImmigration
‘Political Prisoner’ Leqaa Kordia Has Been Hospitalized, DHS Says. After Calling 16 Hospitals, Her Lawyers Say They Can’t Find Her.
A Columbia University protester who has been deemed a political prisoner by Texas Democrats who’ve called for her release from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center was hospitalized over the weekend due to a seizure, according to The Dallas Morning News. Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old Palestinian woman, was taken to Prairieland Detention Center in […]
Posted inCrime
45-Year-Old Man Beaten Up By High Schoolers After Allegedly Attacking Them During ICE Walkout
A 45-year-old man has been charged with two counts of assault after getting into a fistfight with a group of Texas teenagers who were protesting Immigration Customs and Enforcement. On Monday, as the group of high schoolers carried signs and walked out of school in Buda to protest ICE, a man in his truck began […]