Josephine Lee

@josephinelee@texasobserver.social
940 Followers
23 Following
617 Posts
Reporter @TexasObserver
EMAILlee@texasobserver.org
Stories athttps://www.texasobserver.org/author/josephine-lee/
Josephine Lee2d ago
Houston Public Media2d ago

The Houston-to-Dallas bullet train project suffered a significant blow Monday as the federal government announced the abrupt termination of a planning grant for Amtrak -- just seven months after it was awarded.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/transportation/2025/04/14/518800/houston-to-dallas-high-speed-rail-loses-64-million-amtrak-grant-in-cost-cutting-measure-by-feds/

#Houston #Local #News #Politics #Texas #Transportation #Amtrak #HighSpeedRail #HoustonToDallasRail #Train #USDepartmentOfTransportation

Houston to Dallas high-speed rail loses $64 million Amtrak grant in cost-cutting measure by feds

The grant, which was awarded in September in the final months of the Biden administration, was to be used in planning efforts to get the project moving again. The Trump administration now says the Texas Central Railway work needs to occur without any taxpayer assistance.

Houston Public Media
Josephine Lee2d ago
Texas Observer3d ago

“This crazy wind ought to be worth something, right? It really blows down here, and so if we can capitalize on it, I’d love to see it.”

In our magazine: @josephinelee visits a farming community in the Rio Grande Valley that's been rejuvenated by harnessing the power of the weather. https://www.texasobserver.org/willacy-texas-largest-wind-farm/

#energy #wind #politics #environment #Green #SouthTexas

The Winds of Willacy: Inside Texas' Largest Wind Farm

The coastal gales of the Rio Grande Valley have helped rejuvenate this small farming community.

The Texas Observer
Josephine Lee3d ago
“If Trump’s order withstands the legal challenges against it, two-thirds of the federal workforce will lose union rights.” https://truthout.org/articles/trump-is-trying-to-axe-collective-bargaining-for-1-million-federal-employees/
Trump Is Trying to Axe Collective Bargaining for 1 Million Federal Employees

If Trump’s order withstands the legal challenges against it, two-thirds of the federal workforce will lose union rights.

Truthout
Josephine Lee4d ago
Weaponizing immigration for censorship: “At least 107 international students at Texas universities had visas terminated by United States government officials, according to university officials.” https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2025/04/09/texas-college-university-students-visas-revoked-trump-administration/
More than 100 Texas students had visas suddenly revoked by the Trump administration

The Texas college students are among hundreds across the country who reportedly had visas terminated in recent weeks.

The Dallas Morning News
Josephine Lee4d ago
“Under the bill, a judge could rule in the landlord’s favor without a hearing, the forum where tenants currently have an opportunity to present evidence in their defense.” https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/04/10/texas-senate-passes-bill-that-could-expedite-evictions-by-removing-hearing-requirement/
Texas Senate passes bill aimed at squatters but could speed evictions

Senate Bill 38, by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, was introduced on the Senate floor as a solution to the issue of squatting but could expedite evictions...

The Dallas Morning News
Josephine Lee4d ago
“Louisiana has four of the eight Republican-held congressional districts with the most Medicaid expansion enrollees. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s northwest Louisiana district is one of them.” @philgalewitz https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medicaid-cuts-gop-speaker-mike-johnson-louisiana-patients-hospitals/
The House Speaker’s Eyeing Big Cuts to Medicaid. In His Louisiana District, It’s a Lifeline. - KFF Health News

The GOP-controlled Congress is weighing cuts to Medicaid, the government health program that covers millions of Americans — including nearly 40% of Louisianans represented in the House by Speaker Mike Johnson.

KFF Health News
Josephine Lee4d ago
Rural Hospitals Question Whether They Can Afford Medicare Advantage Contracts https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/rural-hospitals-private-medicare-advantage-contracts-reimbursements/
Rural Hospitals Question Whether They Can Afford Medicare Advantage Contracts - KFF Health News

Some rural hospitals have canceled — or are considering ending — contracts with insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans, saying the private policies jeopardize their finances and impede patient care.

KFF Health News
Josephine Lee4d ago
“If SNAP benefits are cut … it will be harder for recipients to make ends meet … grocery stores will lose a sizable chunk of their revenue, likely forcing some to go out of business or cut back on their charitable donations to food banks. … quickly kick off a vicious cycle of poverty.” https://prospect.org/health/2025-04-11-republican-budget-plan-snatch-food-hungry-children-snap-food-stamps/
The Republican Budget Plan: Snatch Food From the Mouths of Hungry Children

SNAP cuts are ‘going to have a massive shock wave across the country, and everybody will feel it.’

The American Prospect
Josephine Lee4d ago
“The administration is taking drastic steps to pressure some of those immigrants and others who had legal status to “self-deport” by effectively canceling the Social Security numbers they had lawfully obtained.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/us/politics/migrants-deport-social-security-doge.html?unlocked_article_code=1._U4.UZqd.C1tfwoWiRuqU&smid=url-share
Social Security Lists Thousands of Migrants as Dead to Prompt Them to ‘Self-Deport’

By placing migrants in Social Security’s “death master file,” the Trump administration is seeking to cut off their access to credit cards, bank accounts and other financial services.

The New York Times
Josephine Lee4d ago
“Besides filing lawsuits and issuing angry statements, unions have done little to teach Trump that he has anything to fear from attempting to destroy them.” https://inthesetimes.com/article/unions-labor-strikes-afge-doge-trump-federal-workers
Unions Without Strikes

Today's labor movement has been built to rely on forms of power that are all going away.

In These Times