Featured story: The photos were dogged by controversy in the ’90s, and they still make some viewers uncomfortable today. But they have also become part of the mainstream canon of American #photography, admired by many as beacons of autobiographical art. https://www.texasobserver.org/fort-worth-sally-mann-dallas-express-photos-police/ #Texas #NorthTexas #politics #USpol #news #censorship #art #culture #children

The new IRS proposal doesn’t fulfill the Christian right’s desire to completely eliminate the Johnson Amendment, but it does deliver a key victory, one that will surely disrupt an important social compact in ways that may remake the religious and political landscape. https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-irs-texas-churches-johnson-amendment/ #religion #extremism #politics #USpol #Trump #economy #fascism

New today: Attorneys and family preservation and child welfare advocates told the Texas Observer they are increasingly alarmed that many #women in vulnerable situations are at risk of losing their #children to a privately run shadow foster and adoption system operating with little oversight or regulation. https://www.texasobserver.org/private-adoption-agencies-legal-custody-battles/ #Texas #HumanRights #news #politics #USpol #law #ReproductiveFreedom

It’s no surprise that OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank decided to build the first Stargate data center and power plant in Abilene. They needed a semi-rural community where pushback would be limited. https://www.texasobserver.org/abilene-texas-stargate-natural-gas-plant-harms/ #AI #tech #pollution #environment #NorthTexas #Texas #politics #USpol

“The whole system is premised on commodifying human beings.” From Sandy West in our magazine: In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, adoptions are on the rise in Texas. But some private foster care and adoption agencies may have crossed serious ethical lines. https://www.texasobserver.org/private-adoption-agencies-legal-custody-battles/

The #Texas Parks and Wildlife Department remarked that the company had done insufficient work to determine the impact on “important rare or protected species and their associated habitats”—including alligator snapping turtles and other creatures that live in or near the reservoir—along the more than 100-mile route proposal. https://www.texasobserver.org/locals-oppose-lake-livingston-proposed-power-line-project/ #environment #ClimateChange #pollution #politics #USpol #news #GulfCoast #Houston