In Pineland, a fresh batch of local elected officials and an expansion of the town’s biggest employer have created the conditions for an economic renaissance. A dearth of housing could slow growth.

Limits on who can be released without paying bail and difficulties hiring guards worsen the situation.

In conservative Sabine County, it’s hard for teens to access contraception or sex education beyond lessons on abstinence. The Deep East Texas region has one of the highest teen birth rates in the state.

On this date in 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia’s flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was cut short in the sky over Texas.