Texas

Students with special needs are being left behind.

English Learners Were Hurt The Most When Texas Limited Special Education

4:41pm May 31, 2017

by Laura Isensee

Texas has the lowest rate of children in special education in the country. A closer look at the numbers shows that English language learners are missing out the most.

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Orlando, whose nickname is the Wolf, is a human smuggler in Matamoros who says far fewer people want to employ his services and jump the border, with the Trump administration.

Illegal Border Crossings Are Down, And So Is Business For Smugglers

2:56pm May 31, 2017

by John Burnett

The complex business of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without papers is changing profoundly. One human smuggler tells NPR that his business is worse than he's ever seen it.

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Demonstrators march in the Texas Capitol in Austin on Monday, protesting the state's newly passed anti-sanctuary cities bill, which empowers police to inquire about people's immigration status during routine interactions such as traffic stops.

Texas Lawmakers Trade Assault Allegations After One Calls ICE On Protesters

6:56pm May 29, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

By the time the final day of Texas' legislative term had ended, Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been called and politicians on both sides of the aisle had accused each other of making threats.

The Goodwill Excel Center in Austin, TX.

Goodwill Helps 43-Year-Old Finally Get Her High School Diploma

5:21pm May 25, 2017

by Kate McGee

Most American adults have finished high school. For those who haven't, wages are rock bottom and the unemployment rate is more than 7 percent. That's why Goodwill opened a charter school for adults.

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The Texas state House has passed an amendment prohibiting transgender students from using public school bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity. A separate Legislature measure allowing religious exemptions for adoption and foster care is headed

Texas Lawmakers Revive 'Bathroom Bill,' OK Religious Refusal Of Adoptions

2:04pm May 22, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

A proposal governing bathroom use by transgender students in public schools has moved forward. A bill to allow adoption agencies to deny gay, unmarried or non-Christian would-be parents has passed.

Raul Reyes is mayor of El Cenizo, a small Texas border town with five volunteer police officers. For years, the city was an impoverished colonia, without running water, paved streets or electricity. It was finally incorporated in 1989.

National

Tiny And Defiant, Texas Town Launches Headfirst Into 'Show Me Your Papers' Debate

10:41am May 12, 2017

by John Burnett

El Cenizo, Texas is suing to overturn the new state law that allows local police officers to ask anyone they detain if they're in the country illegally. The city has a "safe haven" ordinance.

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Raymond Skiles, longtime wildlife biologist at Big Bend National Park, says that animals require free access to the Rio Grande as their primary water source.

In Big Bend, Texas, There's Bipartisan Consensus: No Border Wall

5:17pm May 03, 2017

by John Burnett

President Trump says he's forging ahead with his U.S.-Mexico border wall. But one place nearly everyone agrees it won't cross is the starkly beautiful Big Bend region of far west Texas.

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Kris Ingram, a DJ hired to perform at a prom at The Rustic Barn, looks through debris for his equipment after the event venue in Canton, Texas, sustained major tornado damage on Sunday.

National

Severe Weather Kills At Least 14 People Across 5 Southern States

2:10pm May 01, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

People are taking stock of the damage after heavy rain, flooding and tornadoes swept through over the weekend. The American Red Cross is calling it the deadliest start to tornado season in nine years.

Hilltop waitress Kayla Young serves up one of the Zagat-rated restaurant's dishes, chicken-fried steak.

Music & Culture

Both The Food And The Music Are Made From Scratch At This Texas Joint

1:45pm April 15, 2017

by John Burnett

For more than 35 years, the Hilltop Cafe has been serving up both seafood and the blues on a lonesome highway in Texas Hill Country. Patrons flock to hear owner Johnny Nicholas perform his tunes.

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U.S. artist Ryan Mendoza poses for a photo next to the former house of Afro-American human rights figure Rosa Parks on Mendoza's property on April 6, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. Mendoza bought the house, which was slated for demolition in Detroit, took it ap

This Week In Race: A House That Flew Over The Ocean And A Man Who Didn't Get To Fly

5:22am April 14, 2017

You could say it's been a pretty turbulent week on the race beat.