DEI efforts have become a lightning rod for debate in American higher education. At the private Houston university, officials admit impact is hard to measure — but they also see progress from their work.
October 2023
Texans Pete Sessions, Roger Williams both out in whirlwind day to pick U.S. speaker
Sessions dropped out of the race after a first round of voting within the Republican conference. Williams entered the race after the apparent front-runner, Tom Emmer of Minnesota, failed to reach the 217-vote threshold, but later on Tuesday evening and the Texas lawmaker was also out.
Lubbock County becomes latest to approve “abortion travel ban” while Amarillo City Council balks
Lubbock is now the fourth, and largest, county to pass the ordinance which would punish people through civil lawsuits for aiding pregnant women seeking abortions outside of Texas.
Texas sues to stop Border Patrol agents from cutting state’s razor wire at the border
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s latest lawsuit against the federal government claims Border Patrol agents cut through concertina wire purchased and deployed at the border by the state.
5,000 Texas GM auto workers join nationwide strike
The factory in North Texas is considered one of General Motors’ most profitable.
Nick Fuentes is just the latest white supremacist embraced by Defend Texas Liberty
While Fuentes’ unapologetic hate mongering has made him one of the nation’s best-known white supremacists, he was merely the latest in a long line of people who have been embraced by Defend Texas Liberty and its close allies.
Sheila Jackson Lee expresses regret after audio leaks of her berating, demeaning staffers
Jackson Lee is running for Houston mayor, and the recording of her expletive-laden rant toward an employee was sent from an anonymous email account to multiple news organizations, three days before the start of early voting.
Texas proposition lets voters decide whether to cut property taxes for homeowners and businesses
Proposition 4 could usher in a bevy of property tax changes. That includes using $12.7 billion from a record state budget surplus to lower school district taxes.
Dan Patrick to use $3 million from Defend Texas Liberty to buy Israeli bonds
More than two weeks after the influential PAC’s leader met with a Hitler admirer, Lt. Gov. Patrick said the GOP must ”root out” antisemitism. Patrick had initially said he’d keep the PAC’s money.
Texas lawmakers weigh spending $1.5 billion on more border barriers. Experts say walls alone won’t stop migrants.
The House Appropriations Committee passed House Bill 6 on Monday. If it becomes law, the bill would fund an estimated 50 miles of new barriers at the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border.


