Weekly Roundup: Why Are So Many Tortoises on the Loose in Texas?

Plus, more Texas Monthly stories.   [TEXASMONTHLY.COM](   Oct 06, 2023 PRESENTED BY [Why Are So Many Tortoises on the Loose in Texas?]( Critters [Why Are So Many Tortoises on the Loose in Texas?]( They’re hard-shelled escape artists—and faster than you think. [READ STORY](   MORE FOR YOU Politics & Policy [James Reyos Has Always Been Innocent. After Forty Years, the Courts Agree.]( On Wednesday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared the 67-year-old Native American innocent of a 1981 murder. [READ STORY](   Sports [Another Gymnastics Skill Once Called Impossible Will Now Be Called Biles]( Houston-area native Simone Biles completed her long pursuit of the Yurchenko double pike at the world championships on Sunday. [READ STORY](   News & Politics [Are You There, God? It’s Me, ChatGPT.]( A pastor in Austin asked the artificial intelligence chatbot to write an entire Sunday service. It bombed. [READ STORY]( SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER   [Don't Miss Out!]( Stay up-to-date on everything Texas for [only $1 a month](. Limited-time, introductory offer. [SUBSCRIBE](   RECOMMENDED Travel & Outdoors [Barton Springs Pool Says Goodbye to a Longtime Regular Named Flo]( [READ STORY]( [Barton Springs Pool Says Goodbye to a Longtime Regular Named Flo](     Travel & Outdoors [Stopping to Smell the Moonflower, One of Texas’s Most Tenacious (and Poisonous) Plants]( [READ STORY]( [Stopping to Smell the Moonflower, One of Texas’s Most Tenacious (and Poisonous) Plants](     Music [ACL Fest Boasts 50-Plus Food and Drink Vendors. These Are the Ones We Don't Want to Miss.]( [READ STORY]( [ACL Fest Boasts 50-Plus Food and Drink Vendors. These Are the Ones We Don't Want to Miss.](     ADVERTISEMENT [More than 140,000 people signed a petition to relocate Benito, a male giraffe, from a park in Juárez, Mexico, to a ranch outside of Waco or a sanctuary outside of Fort Worth, where he could live among other wild animals and no longer be referred to as Benito the Lonely Giraffe.]( Meanwhile, in Texas [More than 140,000 people signed a petition to relocate Benito, a male giraffe, from a park in Juárez, Mexico, to a ranch outside of Waco or a sanctuary outside of Fort Worth, where he could live among other wild animals and no longer be referred to as Benito the Lonely Giraffe.]( [READ STORY]( [More than 140,000 people signed a petition to relocate Benito, a male giraffe, from a park in Juárez, Mexico, to a ranch outside of Waco or a sanctuary outside of Fort Worth, where he could live among other wild animals and no longer be referred to as Benito the Lonely Giraffe.]( Meanwhile, in Texas [More than 140,000 people signed a petition to relocate Benito, a male giraffe, from a park in Juárez, Mexico, to a ranch outside of Waco or a sanctuary outside of Fort Worth, where he could live among other wild animals and no longer be referred to as Benito the Lonely Giraffe.]( [READ STORY](   WEEKEND READS [Greg Abbott Failed to Persuade Lawmakers on School Vouchers. Now He’s Threatening Them.]( Politics & Policy [Greg Abbott Failed to Persuade Lawmakers on School Vouchers. Now He’s Threatening Them.]( [READ STORY](     [Can a Town of 3,500 Sustain Three Barbecue Joints?]( BBQ Joint Reviews [Can a Town of 3,500 Sustain Three Barbecue Joints?]( [READ STORY](     [Can Cohousing Work in Texas? These Houstonians Think So.]( Style & Design [Can Cohousing Work in Texas? These Houstonians Think So.]( [READ STORY](    [Subscribe to Texas Monthly]( [Join Our Community of Proud Texans](   Get the best of Texas, by Texans, for everyone. Save up to 87% on a Texas Monthly subscription when you order today. [SUBSCRIBE](   [Subscribe]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( You are receiving this message because you signed up for our newsletters. Want more? Check out [our other newsletters](.   P.O. Box 1569, Austin, TX 78767 [View Online]( [Unsubscribe](