Barricades are going up around the clock tower and I've seen some state troopers on motorcycles approaching the area. Activists are still chanting and holding space.

#Palestine #Austin #Texas #UTAustin

Here is the official dispersal order issued to students on the South Lawn of #UTAustin.

#Palestine #Austin #Texas

Activists are linking arms and have tables in the way to protect those putting up tents at the South Lawn of #UTAustin. Police are here but outnumbered.

#Austin #Texas #Palestine

Hundreds of people are here to support #Palestine and for a rally for educators and staff affected by the ban on #DEI at #UTAustin.

#Austin #Texas #news #activism

“When members of the public are engaged in a peaceful #protest in a public space—assuming they are not obstructing traffic, or disrupting campus activities—there is very little legal basis for law enforcement to demand they leave.”

From yesterday: A UT professor and expert on freedom of expression weighs in on the controversial arrests of 57 individuals on campus. https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-palestine-first-amendment/

#FreeSpeech #UTAustin #Palestine #activism #Austin #Texas #police #StudentSpring

Did Texas Police Violate First Amendment Rights of Pro-Palestine Protesters?

A UT professor and expert on freedom of expression weighs in on the controversial arrests of 57 individuals, including a journalist, at a campus demonstration.

^{Francesca D’Annunzio (The Texas Observer)}

Army National Guard soldiers stand in the background as Michel, 26, of Venezuela, protects her seven-year-old daughter Aranza from Mexican immigration authorities patrolling near the dry riverbed of the Rio Grande as the migrants search for entry into the United States from the international boundary between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas April 24. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

@photography
#migrants
#Mexico
#Texas
#women
#children

#Texas Appeals Court Throws Out Defamation Lawsuit Against ProPublica, Houston Chronicle
==

The news outlets’ 2018 investigation into famed #Houston heart surgeon Bud Frazier provided a “fair, true, and impartial account,” the court said in its ruling, potentially bringing a close to the nearly six-year legal battle.

#News #Law #Journalism

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-appeals-court-dismisses-defamation-suit-propublica-houston-chronicle-frazier

Appeals Court Dismisses Defamation Suit Against ProPublica, Houston Chronicle

The news outlets’ 2018 investigation into famed Houston heart surgeon Bud Frazier provided a “fair, true, and impartial account,” the court said in its ruling, potentially bringing a close to the nearly six-year legal battle.

^ProPublica

This is not Iran or China. It's Austin, Texas:

#texas #journalism #democracy #fediverse #usa #america #campusprotest #columbia #mit #police

Statements on today's #police violence against peaceful protesters at the UT #Austin campus. Ryan Alter is on Austin City Council. Jeremi Suri is Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and married to Austin City Council member Alison Alter.

#Palestine #Texas #activism #police

About 50 #Texas DPS State Troopers were sent out in response to a peaceful attempt to march and occupy a Plaza at UT #Austin today. Reportedly three arrests according to those on scene.

DPS troopers detain protest organizer at UT Austin pro-Palestine demonstration
https://cbsaustin.com/amp/news/local/dps-troopers-detain-protest-organizer-at-ut-austin-pro-palestine-demonstration

#Palestine #news #politics #USpol

Cops just arrested the Fox 7 reporter live on their own livestream. https://www.youtube.com/live/zDN8GEVSCxs?si=UXWSCyfDJpCbvUJy

#journalism #media #Palestine #Texas #Austin

Palestine college protest: Texas students walk out; state troopers on campus | FOX 7 Austin

Hundreds of University of Texas students walked out of class for a rally organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee. Hundreds of police officers are als...

^YouTube

From yesterday: Environmental advocates called it “a land grab of Boca Chica State Park land for a private space corporation that is clearly not in the public interest.” So why is the state parks agency seemingly so eager to work with #SpaceX? https://www.texasobserver.org/spacex-tpwd-park-land-musk/

#politics #ElonMusk #news #USpol #Texas #corruption #environment #pollution #SouthTexas

The SpaceX Land Swap Is Only the Latest Texas Public Park Giveaway

Does the state parks agency serve the people, or corporate interests?

^{Lise Olsen (The Texas Observer)}

I’m probably the last person on earth to learn this, or at least the last Texan to learn this: lady longhorns…have long horns. I just assumed big horns = bull. There’s two longhorn cows that live on land near my neighborhood, every time I drive by I say ‘I should take their photo’. Finally, on Sunday, I drove by & saw they were out. Went back to house, grabbed camera and swung back. Looking at the photos later I was udderly amazed to see…udders on them thar #longhorns.

#cows #photography #Texas

“It is likely that there are many more heat-related injuries and deaths than TDCJ has acknowledged because hyperthermia is known to be an underreported cause of #death...”

New plaintiffs have expanded a 2023 lawsuit against TDCJ, accusing the agency of “cooking [prisoners] to death”. From Staff Writer Michelle Pitcher: https://www.texasobserver.org/prison-heat-lawsuit-tdcj/

#news #politics #USpol #prison #HumanRights #Texas

'There Have to Be Limits': Lawsuit Urges Scorching Prisons to Cool Down ‘There Have to Be Limits’: Lawsuit Urges Scorching Prisons to Cool Down

^{Michelle Pitcher (The Texas Observer)}

Via Democracy Docket:

NEW: The Supreme Court won't take up a case challenging #Texas' age-based restrictions on mail-in voting. Voters who brought the case argue the lawsuit was wrongfully dismissed by lower courts. #SCOTUS

Utility-related fires are wreaking havoc across the United States. Since 2017, fires related to electricity transmission have burned at least 3 million acres.

New today: A closer look at the #Texas Panhandle fire, and why it's a grim preview of our near future. From our friends at Sierra Club magazine ... https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-panhandle-fire-climate-environment/

#wildfire #ClimateChange #environment #news #politics #USpol #weather #fire #drought #energy

The Epic Texas Panhandle Fire Is Just a Preview

Texas officials go to bat for oil and gas while the climate-fueled Smokehouse Creek Fire still rages.

^{Christopher Collins (The Texas Observer)}

Wut.

Via Kyle Cheney:

Apparently, in #Texas, state bar investigators did such a "scattershot" job putting together its complaint against #SidneyPowell for her role in the 2020 election that an appeals court has thrown the case out. #legal 🤦🏻‍♀️
https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=430b390e-0f80-43e2-9d6b-53a97caf9fb9&MediaID=e591d629-9c76-4d77-920d-f04faab58bf7&coa=%22%20+%20this.CurrentWebState.CurrentCourt%20+%20@%22&DT=Opinion

“We must have this national conversation. How are we going to deal with long #COVID?”

Featured post: Medical experts and those suffering from this challenging condition are demanding better—more research and healthier air to breathe. https://www.texasobserver.org/long-covid-texas-clearing-the-air/

(Edit: adjusted word choice based on reader feedback 🤠)

#LongCovid #Health #news #politics #USpol #science #healthcare #research #CovidIsNotOver #Austin #Texas

Clearing the Air: Long COVID Sufferers Call for a Healthier World

Even young, healthy Texans can suffer for years after COVID infections.

^{Kit O'Connell (The Texas Observer)}

Vermillion flycatcher, near Lake Travis, #Texas

#MondaysAreForTheBirds #birds #photography #birdphotography #naturephotography

Pipevine Swallowtail #butterfly on larkspur, taken near #Austin, #Texas.

#SilentSunday #flowers #bloomscrolling #insect #photography #naturephotography

Our top story: “The terms of iHeartMedia’s podcast agreement with Cruz are not public, and the company’s recent comments do not explain why it is sending money derived from ad sales associated with Cruz’s podcast to a super PAC supporting Cruz’s 2024 reelection campaign ...” https://www.texasobserver.org/ted-cruz-podcast-payoff-fec-complaint/

#news #politics #corruption #democracy #USpol #TedCruz #Congress #Republicans #Texas #podcast

Is Ted Cruz’s Podcast PAC Payoff Scheme Illegal?

The Texas senator’s iHeartMedia deal, which sent over $600,000 to an aligned super PAC, may have broken campaign finance laws—or exploited a new loophole.

^{Justin Miller (The Texas Observer)}

Previously: At Abbott's sprawling (and costly) #border base, National Guard soldiers deployed in Eagle Pass will enjoy “chef-driven meals,” a fitness center, a lounge, a sand volleyball court, and an arcade. https://www.texasobserver.org/abbott-border-military-base-millions/

#news #politics #USpol #Immigration #Mexico #Texas #GregAbbott #corruption #Republicans

Abbott’s Border Military Base Could Cost Texans $500 Million

Last Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott held a press conference in Eagle Pass, the border town he has turned into a militarized staging ground for his standoff with the feds. It was his third such press conference in as many weeks.

^{Justin Miller (The Texas Observer)}

So. That was impressive. Here’s a quick sample from the backyard. Of note: temperature drop from 79.3 to 74.8, #solar production from the panels dropped to 0 and the house draw from the grid was the usual constant 420 watts, once the sun started coming back out the panels ramped back up, the temperature continued to drop for a few minutes to 74.5 but finally started edging up, and the dog could give a shit and just wandered around sniffing like usual.

Wow. The pictures don’t do it justice. Jupiter was visible to the left and Venus to the right (not in picture).

#eclipse #totality #texas #eclipse2024

From the archives: While you're considering the dark skies today, let's look back at our visit to the subdivision of #Texas that's kept deliberately dim, every night, so residents and researchers can look at the stars. By former TXO Editor Gayle Reaves ... https://www.texasobserver.org/limpia-crossing-astronomy-stargazing/

#astronomy #eclipse #culture #Science #astronomy #WestTexas

A Subdivision for Stargazers: Limpia Crossing Residents Look Aloft

In this tiny subdivision in the Davis Mountains near McDonald Observatory, dark skies are a precious resource.

^{Gayle Reaves (The Texas Observer)}

An attorney defending #Texas’ controversial immigration law told a federal appeals court on Wednesday that state legislators may have gone “too far” when they passed a controversial immigration law last year.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/03/politics/texas-sb4-immigration-5th-circuit?cid=ios_app

"And though some may forget because of her proximity to the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, Beyoncé is a Black Texan.

In that context, her critics are misunderstanding Cowboy Carter’s lush symbolism. She’s striving to communicate many things, of course, while also simply reminding all of us that Black cowboys and rodeo performers have been part of the social fabric of Texas, the South and the US for a very long time."

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-03-26/beyonce-s-cowboy-carter-album-cover-makes-complete-sense-to-black-texans

#music #CountryMusic #UShistory #texas #CowboyCarter

Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Album Cover Makes Complete Sense to Black Texans

Many misunderstood why she would choose to hold an American Flag, but the reason is clear.

^{Taylor Crumpton (Bloomberg)}

Major Update: The #Texas Court of Appeals today upheld a lower court ruling blocking Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (aka CPS) from invasively investigating families with #trans children https://www.aclutx.org/en/press-releases/texas-appeals-court-upholds-rulings-blocking-state-investigating-trans-youth-and via ACLU of Texas

#ACLU #children #LGBTQIA #trans #transphobia #healthcare

Texas Appeals Court Upholds Rulings Blocking State from Investigating Trans Youth and Their Families

AUSTIN, Texas — Today the Texas Court of Appeals upheld two injunctions against the Texas DFPS and former Commissioner Jaime Masters, barring them from implementing the agency’s rule expanding the

^{ACLU of Texas}