Emily Topping

1 week ago | lonestarlive.com | Emily Topping

When Jackie Medcalf read the report naming a 250-square-mile stretch of East Harris County a cancer cluster, it confirmed what her body already knew. The findings, released in February by Texas state health officials, show alarmingly high rates of leukemia, lung cancer, lymphoma, and cervical cancer across 65 census tracts along the San Jacinto River — the place Medcalf lived as a teenager, and has spent years fighting to protect.

1 week ago | lonestarlive.com | Emily Topping

On a typical workday in Anna, Texas, Sandra Larson might inform a client that their recently-passed golden retriever is at peace, or that their elderly tabby cat (the one who’s been hissing more than usual) is actually just an introvert. Some people call Larson a pet psychic, but she prefers the term “animal communicator.”“I’ve moved away from the word ‘pet’ out of respect for the animals,” Larson says.

3 weeks ago | lonestarlive.com | Emily Topping

Elon Musk is doubting the paternity of his alleged thirteenth child — prompting an expert in the field of questionable parenthood to offer his help. Maury Povich, host of the long-running tabloid show “Maury,” is prepared to confirm: “You are (not) the father!”The "trash TV" star joined the conversation regarding Musk’s most-recent reported baby after the billionaire publicly questioned whether the child is actually his.

4 weeks ago | lonestarlive.com | Emily Topping

Fed up with dodging Goldendoodles in the produce aisle? You’re not alone. H-E-B employees and shoppers are taking to social media to demand an end to the parade of pets strolling through Texas grocery stores. “Pretty much weekly now, every time I go to HEB at the Sugar Land location, there is always, and I mean always someone with a pet dog or cat in the store,” wrote one frustrated customer.

4 weeks ago | lonestarlive.com | Emily Topping

A federal judge in Austin, Texas has ruled that the extreme heat levels in the state’s prisons — where temperatures regularly soar above 100 degrees Fahrenheit — are “plainly unconstitutional.”However, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman stopped short of ordering the immediate installation of air conditioning across the prison system, which could cost billions. That means prison advocates will likely need to continue their lawsuit in a trial.