POLITICS
Federal DEI funding cuts threaten the work of the few remaining Black farmers in East Texas
| July 18, 2025
It has embroiled the federal government in disputes with colleges and universities. Big cities are reevaluating programs to ensure they don’t lose grants. And Fortune 500 companies seeking favor from the new administration have ended their DEI practices. And it has frozen cash flow for Black farmers, many of whom live in East Texas.
Most Texas prisoners don’t have AC access and it’s unclear when they will get it
| July 18, 2025
Two thirds of people incarcerated in Texas’ prisons face another summer without air conditioning after lawmakers again declined to pass legislation that would mandate a timeline for installing climate control in state facilities.
Central Texas officials asked the state for flood alarm funding. It never came.
| July 17, 2025
EXCO-Player | natural disaster | old texas | politics | SAFETY | TEXAS | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | weather | youtube
Over the last decade, state officials repeatedly refused to fund a flood warning system in Central Texas.
Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients’ personal data, including addresses, to ICE
| July 17, 2025
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States, according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press.
Dallas lawmaker speaks about deadly floods
| July 15, 2025
CLIMATE CHANGE | EXCO-Player | flood | old texas | politics | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | weather | youtube
Rep. Mihaela Plesa (D-Dallas) urges state lawmakers to focus on “proactive” solutions to natural disasters when the special session starts on July 21.
Gov. Greg Abbott said the state’s response to natural disasters will be a top priority during the session. The floods that surged through Central Texas during the Fourth of July weekend killed over 120 people.