Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Orange river buoys deployed by Governor Abbott and Operation Lone Star are modified with razor-sharp circular saw blades: https://theweek.com/greg-abbott/1025651/circular-saw-blades-divide-controversial-rio-grande-buoys-installed-by-texas

Texas officials at the border have defied warnings about breaking international and Federal law for months: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/08/08/docs-show-rio-grande-agency-warned-texas-for-months-on-border-buoys-before-turning-to-doj/

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro isn't buying DPS claims of "working well" with U.S. Border Patrol: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/border-eagle-pass-democrats-18284715.php

A Texas A&M professor says all this cruelty at the border won't work anyway: https://theeagle.com/opinion/column/abbotts-barrels-wire-fences-wont-work/article_d9a953be-34c3-11ee-ab39-17dc6a41f352.html

Texas gets another national black eye, this time from Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/texas-abortion-bounty-law-ruling-1234802301

Texas abortion ban, lifted for a few hours last week, now heads on appeal to the Texas Supreme Court: https://www.npr.org/2023/08/08/1192750247/what-just-happened-when-texas-abortion-bans-briefly-lifted-and-what-comes-next

Watch Ted Cruz squirm as he explains voting against a wave of funding for Dallas-area microchip manufacturing: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/texas-politics/sen-ted-cruz-explains-vote-against-chips-act-after-tour-of-dallas-county-inland-port/3312776/

Patriot Front finds itself on opposing ends of two lawsuits: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2023/08/08/texas-extremist-group-patriot-front-sued-over-boston-attack-of-black-man/

Texas judge orders Southwest Airlines lawyers to undergo training...by an extremist hate group: https://newrepublic.com/post/174906/texas-judge-orders-airline-lawyers-take-training-far-right-hate-group-adf

A climate change-related migration OUT of Texas may be on the horizon: https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/heat-climate-change-migration-texas-south-southwest/

Before you flee, plant a tree! Free fruit trees offered in San Antonio this weekend: https://www.mysanantonio.com/lifestyle/outdoors/article/free-trees-san-antonio-parks-18285502.php

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