The Lede
Winning Isn't Enough. The Next President Needs to be a Doer.
So far, the Democratic field is fairly strong. But there are certain qualities we should be looking for in the party’s next presidential nominee, Christopher Hooks writes in his latest column.
They have to win, so electability is important. They need to be in tune with the party’s priorities and beliefs: what issues are most important, and how to address them. If you don’t check those boxes, the rest doesn’t matter.
We think what it takes to shake up Washington is an outsider with new ideas, Hooks writes, but what’s needed is an insider with strong convictions, a redeemed demon — Mitch McConnell, but not evil.
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Texas leads the nation in unsolved serial highway homicides. Could interstate cooperation deliver closure?
From Alex Hannaford’s 2012 feature: “The picture shown to the jurors was enough to haunt them for a lifetime: a young girl with jet-black hair and pale skin, standing amid the tumbledown ruins of a wooden barn in rural Illinois. She wears a dress that reaches to just above her knees and patent leather heels. She is staring at the camera, her hands held up like she’s fending off an attacker. Sometime after the photo was taken, 14-year-old Regina Walters, a runaway from Pasadena, Texas, was strangled with baling wire and her body abandoned in that same barn.”
What’s Happening at the Observer
For the past 18 months, rural reporter Christopher Collins has run all over the state in an effort to bring untold stories from uncovered communities to light. He’s reported on a total lapse of care brought on by the closure of rural hospitals. He’s detailed the battle between ranchers and frackers over precious water rights. He’s reported on the positive impacts of immigration on a community in the Panhandle. And we want him to keep doing it. So, for the next three weeks, the Observer is looking for your help. We’ve got a Kickstarter up and running. It’s got a $10,000 goal. We need your help to keep Collins doing what he does.
We’re now accepting applications for summer 2019 internships! Two positions are available: one digital intern and one editorial intern (for cultural coverage). The deadline to apply is March 29.
We’re also hiring an editorial fellow for summer 2019. The fellowship program is designed to open up working opportunities for those whose economic circumstances might otherwise limit their ability to pursue a career in investigative journalism. The deadline to apply is March 22.
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