The State of Texas: Everything we know about the killing of Jazmine Barnes

What Texas is talking about today No Images? [Click here]( [Give the gift of Texas Monthly]( [Texas Monthly]( January 4, 2019 QUOTE OF THE DAY "I’m really proud to be in the Legislature. I’m proud to show the world that LGBT families are just like them. We get married, we have kids, we celebrate the same losses and tragedies in our lives as everyone else." —Julie Johnson, [who made history]( as one of the first two openly gay lawmakers from Dallas County to be elected to the Legislature. Her wife, Susan Moster, also made history, as the first same-sex spouse to be invited to join the Legislative Ladies Club, a social group made up of the Texas House's better halves. THE LATEST [Everything We Know About the Shooting of Jazmine Barnes]( LEIF REIGSTAD Police say the seven-year-old was fatally shot in the parking lot of a Harris County Walmart by an unknown white male in a pickup truck, who is still at large. [Read more.]( #TMWANDERS READER PHOTOS Pflugerville by Tina L Heine • [@tinajoheine]( We love seeing how our readers enjoy Texas. Want to join the fun? Tag your best Texas photos #TMwanders on Instagram, and we'll reach out if yours is chosen! We'll feature a new reader post here each Friday. [Give the gift of Texas Monthly]( OUR TOP STORIES [Texans are Rallying Around the Family of Jazmine Barnes]( It won’t bring back the seven-year-old girl killed in a drive-by shooting on Sunday morning, but it might make it easier for her family to get through their mourning. [Read More]( [The 2019 Bum Steer Awards Are Here!]( Welcome back to our annual roundup of Texas’s most ridiculous and idiotic endeavors, featuring political personalities, flashy figures, and plenty of nameless ne’er-do-wells. [Read More]( [A Brief History of Bevo Behaving Badly]( The famed Longhorn met the Georgia Bulldog at the Sugar Bowl, and things almost got wild. [Read More]( THE STATE OF TEXAS RIP, Herb Kelleher Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher [died on Thursday]( at the age of 87. Under Kelleher's leadership, Dallas-based Southwest [evolved from a scrappy three-plane operation]( to the country's largest domestic airline based on his vision of a low-cost, low-fare model. "His vision for making air travel affordable for all revolutionized the industry, and you can still see that transformation taking place today,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement. “His legacy extends far beyond our industry and far beyond the world of entrepreneurship. He inspired people; he motivated people; he challenged people—and, he kept us laughing all the way.” Skewing the Numbers The Austin Police Department [improperly cleared]( nearly a third of the sexual assault cases examined by independent auditors, indicating that its rate of solved rape cases is much lower than the official reports. APD requested the audit after a joint investigation from Newsy, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, and ProPublica found that dozens of law enforcement agencies across the country, including Austin, reported rape cases solved when they had simply been closed without making an arrest. The audit examined 95 sexual assault cases processed by the Austin police in January, November, and December of 2017. Snowfall Parts of the Panhandle were [blanketed with snow]( Thursday, creating hazardous travel conditions. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Department of Transportation reported ice and snow on overpasses and bridges and black ice in at least ten counties around Abilene. The Abilene Police Department responded to more than 90 accidents between Wednesday and Thursday, but as of 5 p.m. Thursday the city had only officially recorded 0.1 inches of snow. Other parts of the Panhandle got heavier snow, with Memphis—southeast of Amarillo—reporting four inches by Thursday morning. Wichita Falls received an inch of snow, which prompted 70 accidents between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 10:45 a.m. Thursday. LONGFORM [Bachelorette Parties Have Overtaken Austin. What Does It Mean for the City?]( CHARLEY LOCKE Every weekend, scores of bachelorette parties flock to the Texas capital in search of cute murals, dressed-up cocktails, and the perfect Instagram. But the new tourism also reveals something deeper about the city’s socioeconomic reality. [Read more.]( [Texas' Best Beach]( [T]([exas' Best Beach]( Escape frigid winter temperatures for a tropical destination full of warmth and leisure at Texas's Best Beach. From wind and water sports to bay and offshore fishing, South Padre Island has it all. Discover your next holiday destination here. [Read More]( [Give the gift of Texas Monthly]( MORE FROM TEXAS MONTHLY [The Best Texas BBQ Bites of 2018]( DANIEL VAUGHN [Amy Gentry’s Last Woman Standing Evens the Score]( DOYIN OYENIYI [Bachelorette Parties Have Overtaken Austin. What Does It Mean for the City?]( CHARLEY LOCKE [Subscribe to Texas Monthly and save!]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Website]( Texas Monthly PO Box 1569 Austin, TX 78767 Texas Monthly has sent you this alert because you signed up to receive it either online at texasmonthly.com, at the website of one of our business partners, or when you filled out a reader response card. You may opt-out from Texas Monthly newsletters at any time. Please see our Privacy Policy. If you would like to manage which Texas Monthly Editorial newsletters you are receiving, click Preferences, below. To unsubscribe from our Editorial newsletters, click Unsubscribe. [Like]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](