Red State COVID vs. Blue State COVID
As the coronavirus reshapes daily life, two Reason editors crisscross the country and describe what they’ve seen.
Texas
In Texas, Wearing the Wrong Thing to the Polls Could Land You in Jail
A new lawsuit says the state's electioneering statutes violate the First Amendment.
A Federal Judge Just Blocked a Republican Effort To Disqualify 127,000 Votes in Texas
There was nothing remotely fraudulent about the 127,000 votes cast in Harris County's drive-thru voting station.
Republicans Are Trying To Cancel More Than 100,000 Votes in a Deep Blue Part of Texas
A lawsuit filed just days before the election asks federal courts to toss out all the votes already cast at drive-through polling stations in Harris County.
Efforts To Limit Ballot Drop-Off Boxes Are Cynical Electoral Gamesmanship
Across 14 states that track party affiliations of absentee-ballot-voters, 56 percent of mail-in votes have been cast by Democrats and only 23 percent have been cast by Republicans.
In April, She Was Jailed on a Probation Violation. By June, She Was Dead.
Holly Barlow-Austin suffered horrifying medical neglect at a Texarkana detention facility, according to video evidence in a new lawsuit.
Be Skeptical of Stories About TikTok 'Benadryl Challenge' Overdoses
One very sketchy story about an Oklahoma City teen’s tragic death has gone viral.
Do Legal Restrictions Account for the Downward Trend in New COVID-19 Cases?
The New York Times thinks so, but the data do not fit that hypothesis very well.
Why Is American Politics Unravelling? Boys State Film Looks for Answers
An interview with the directors behind the breakout political documentary about a Texas camp for aspiring leaders
Newly Identified COVID-19 Cases Are Falling in Sunbelt States Where They Spiked This Summer
The trend means we should see declining daily deaths in the coming weeks.
Grand Jury Indictments Paint a Picture of Deadly Deceit in Houston Narcotics Division
The charges, which grew out of a lethal 2019 raid based on a fraudulent search warrant affidavit, suggest that cops routinely built their cases on lies.
The Libertarian Party Mourns Garrett Foster, Activist Killed at a Black Lives Matter Protest
"Garrett Foster understood that libertarianism was about speaking on behalf of those who are the most acutely affected by the abuses perpetrated by an overly aggressive and unaccountable government."
Daily COVID-19 Deaths in the U.S. Continue to Rise
Meanwhile, the case fatality rate is still falling.
COVID-19 Deaths Are Now Rising in the U.S., but Case Fatality Rate Continues To Fall
We are starting to see the fatal consequences of the recent infection surge.
As COVID-19 Cases Surge, Daily Deaths and the Case Fatality Rate Continue To Fall
Expanded testing, a younger mix of patients, and improved treatment help explain the seemingly contradictory trends.
Were COVID-19 Lockdowns Worth the Cost?
The evidence suggests Americans are right to wonder.
CDC Antibody Studies Confirm Huge Gap Between COVID-19 Infections and Known Cases
The difference implies that the virus is much less deadly than it looks, but it also makes contact tracing a daunting challenge.
'Throw a Billion Dollars from the Helicopter' Is a Grand-Slam Attack on Publicly Financed Stadiums
A new documentary chronicles the defeat of a grassroots protest to halt the Texas Rangers' subsidized stadium deal.
As COVID-19 Infections Rise, Patients Are Getting Younger
The trend, which may reflect growing defiance of social distancing in some age groups, implies a lower death rate.
Daily COVID-19 Deaths in the U.S. Have Fallen Dramatically Since April
The downward trend continued after states began lifting their lockdowns.
What Do Recent COVID-19 Trends Tell Us About the Merits of Lockdowns?
New infections are down nationwide but rising in some places as people rebel against government-recommended precautions.
What Is Dexamethasone? A Potentially Life-Saving Treatment for Seriously Ill COVID-19 Patients
Plus: The U.S. Supreme Court stops an execution at the last minute, a senator argues that you shouldn't get HBO GO for free, and more...
State Supreme Courts Stand Up for Economic Liberty While SCOTUS Falls Down on the Job
"We have long interpreted the Georgia Constitution as protecting a right to work in one's chosen profession free from unreasonable government interference."
Texas Admitted It Can't Enforce Its COVID-19 Lockdown. More States Should Do The Same.
The sooner everyone else recognizes those limits, the sooner we can shift to policies that balance public health and economic freedom.
Texas Will No Longer Send People to Jail for Violating Strict Social Distancing
Gov. Greg Abbott made the change after a Dallas salon owner was jailed for reopening her salon.
Stop Blue Angel Flyovers Saluting COVID-19 Responders!
Empty displays of ritual militarism are always a waste of time, money, and goodwill, but especially during a pandemic.
'Feeding My Kids Isn't Selfish': Salon Owner Gets Jail Time for Reopening in Dallas
Texas salons are allowed to reopen on Friday. Shelley Luther will be sitting in jail.
Texas Is Allowing Restaurants To Reopen Starting Today. Many Restaurant Owners Fear It Won't Go Well.
"You can't exactly eat with a mask on, and I have a small space where people would be in close proximity to each other."
Undercover Cops Arrest 2 Women for Operating Home Beauty Businesses In Violation of Coronavirus Lockdown Order
Lockdown enforcement is becoming more authoritarian.
Abortion Providers Plead With Supreme Court To Allow Abortion Pills in Texas
"Delaying abortions by weeks does nothing to further the State's interest in combatting COVID-19," they say.
Texas Teen Booked on Terror Charge for COVID-19 Snapchat Video
She posted on social media about deliberately spreading the disease, but she's not actually sick.
Texas Inmates Sue for Access to Hand Sanitizer as Coronavirus Threatens Prisons
The ACLU is also suing Washington, D.C. jails.
Texas, Ohio Officials Use COVID-19 as an Excuse To Restrict Abortion
Plus: the pandemic in prisons, pushback on Trump's prescription for economic rebound, and more...
Fault Lines
The relics of terrible segregationist government policies are still felt in East Austin, an area that's quickly gentrifying
Judge Finds That the Houston Narcotics Officer Whose Lies Killed a Couple in 2019 Framed Another Suspect in 2008
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg says it's reasonable to presume that Gerald Goines also lied in other drug cases.
The Austin City Council Voted for Marijuana Reform. Austin's Police Chief Says He'll Keep Arresting People.
Council member Gregorio Casar: "I think the state of Texas should come out of the Stone Ages and not only decriminalize but legalize marijuana in the state."
Musician Sues Houston For His Right To Play His Accordion In Public
The city limits busking to its tiny Theater District, and it makes you jump through hoops even to play there.
Public Education as Public Indoctrination
A New York Times study describes how both red and blue states use public education to indoctrinate students in their preferred ideologies. This dynamic should dampen hopes that public education can fix the problem of widespread political ignorance.
How San Antonio's Worst Cops Get Their Jobs Back
Thanks to the police union, bad officers don't stay fired for long.
Nonprofit Sues Overzealous Texas Regulators To Protect Small Farmers
Texas is ignoring federal law to harass small farms.
A 'Good Guy With a Gun' Prevented a Texas Church Shooting From Becoming a Massacre
Two victims were killed at a church shooting in White Settlement, Texas. It would have been much worse had some parishioners not been armed.
The Police Officer Who Killed Atatiana Jefferson in Her Own Home Is Indicted for Murder
Body camera footage captured Aaron Dean fatally shooting Atatiana Jefferson without announcing that he was a police officer.
A Texas Deputy Is in Jail for Conducting Unlawful Strip Searches on Women
One woman alleged that Floyd Berry became aroused during an unlawful search.
