Lead Stories

Trump endorses Ken Paxton while also trashing his clothes, looks and TV presence

President Donald Trump went to bat for fellow Republican Ken Paxton on Wednesday, but not before taking a few vicious swings at the U.S. Senate candidate’s clothes, appearance and TV presence. Trump’s backhanded compliment, if you can even call it that, came during a meeting with GOP congressional candidates in Washington, D.C. Although Paxton wasn’t there, the Texas attorney general and his turbulent Senate campaign appeared to be on Trump’s mind. “Ken Paxton, you might not like the way he dresses,” Trump said. “And I say this, it’s so insulting to him, but I might as well say it. You might not … like the way he looks. You might not love his look. You might not love his television interviews. But he was the best attorney general in the country. He was one of the best in the entire country. And that speaks a lot louder than the suit he’s wearing that doesn’t look so great.”

Trump’s not the only one who’s taken aim at Paxton’s choice of attire lately. Last week, Paxton’s Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico, mocked him for flashing a $41,600 Hublot watch, an ill-fitting golf polo from the Four Seasons Orlando and shoes that appeared a couple of sizes too big during a San Antonio block walk. “Nothing says you understand the affordability crisis like wearing a $41,000 watch and a Four Seasons polo,” Talarico tweeted in response to clips of Paxton in his finery. Trump’s lukewarm praise for scandal-tarred Paxton comes as Republican operatives, including former Bush administration senior advisor Karl Rove, raise alarms about the possibility of a Talarico victory, which would give Dems their first statewide win in Texas since 1994. “[Paxton] was in Washington the week before the Fourth of July, on that weekend. No fundraiser that I can find,” Rove told Fox News on Wednesday. “And then on Tuesday, he was seen leaving for Iceland with his latest girlfriend, and then the two of them spent the Fourth of July celebrating in London, England … . If he wanted to go to London, he should have gone to London, Texas.” Rove continued: “If the president wants to have Paxton win, he needs to be tossing a lot of money Paxton’s way.” To that point, Talarico has out-fundraised Paxton 3-to-1, their latest campaign finance reports show. t Although Trump has said he’ll help pour millions into Paxton’s campaign, that pledge has yet to materialize. At the same time, Team Talarico has been spending freely on TV ads, last week dropping its first attack ad against Paxton. RealClearPolitics’ average polling shows Talarico leading Paxton by 2.4 points with just two months before the Nov. 3 election.

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Energy jobs fell in almost every sector last year

The energy industry’s workforce shrank last year. The energy sector lost roughly 86,000 workers — roughly 1% of its workforce — between 2024 and 2025, according to an annual report from the Department of Energy. The losses came from almost every part of the energy industry, the United States Energy and Employment Report said, amid increased automation and the Trump administration’s push away from green energy. Only the transmission, distribution and storage parts of the energy sector saw job growth in 2025, a trend DOE officials attributed to the expansion of data centers, growth in manufacturing and industrial activity and the increased adoption of electric vehicles and heat pumps. Enrollment in apprenticeship programs also increased.

The Trump administration’s efforts to increase coal- and nuclear-power generation led to employment bumps, with each of those industries adding about 2,500 workers. But as a whole, the power-generation sector lost about 15,000 workers from 2024 to 2025. Most of those losses were in the solar industry, with additional job losses in wind and hydroelectric power. Jobs in petroleum and natural gas also declined in 2025, dropping by 3% and 4%, respectively. Energy officials said that reflected a shift toward a “smaller, higher-paid workforce.” “Industry sources also point out the role of AI, automation, and digital technologies in improving operational efficiencies and reducing labor requirements,” the report said. About 50,000 jobs disappeared from the motor-vehicle industry in 2025, but wages in that sector also increased. Energy Department officials said “output-per-worker” increased over that time, too. The report found that higher-wage occupations added workers in 2025, while lower-wage occupations declined. The median salary in the energy sector in 2025 was $63,000, higher than the national median of $51,000. Across several energy industry sectors, employers reported having difficulty hiring workers and concerns about a lack of people available for technical positions like electric work or construction. Despite the drop in employment, the Energy Department report projected that demand for workers in the energy sector would increase as electricity demand rises and data centers expand.

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House GOP leadership cancels two weeks of votes ahead of the midterms

House Republican leadership canceled the last two weeks of September votes on Thursday, meaning that after members depart the Capitol later this month they will not return until after the November midterm election. “This is a change from House GOP leadership’s previously announced schedule,” Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Massachusetts) wrote in an update. House lawmakers are now set to leave Washington on Sept. 17 rather than Oct. 1 for their break before the midterm elections. The official House legislative calendar, maintained by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), shows that the House was supposed to be in session the week of Sept. 21 and Sept. 28.

When House lawmakers came back to Washington earlier this week after a monthlong August recess, they quickly passed a stopgap measure to keep federal agencies funded until mid-December. The funding bill averts the threat of a government shutdown ahead of the midterm elections. House Speaker Mike Johnson has frequently touted the 119th Congress as “one of the most productive Congresses in the history of the institution.” But last year under Johnson’s speakership, Congress set a 21st-century record for casting the least amount of votes, according to The Washington Post. The 362 votes the chamber held was half as many votes as in 2017, which was the first year of President Donald Trump’s first term in office with a Republican majority. With only a few months left of the year and more canceled in-session weeks on the horizon, the House has held less than 300 votes in 2026.

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Texas comptroller asks to double school voucher funding to $2B

The Texas comptroller is asking lawmakers for $2 billion to fund school vouchers for the next two years, which would double the program’s current biennial allotment. Don Huffines, who oversees the Texas Education Freedom Accounts, wants $916 million to continue funding participating students and $980 million to fund waitlisted students, according to the appropriations request for fiscal year 2028-29 filed this week. Lawmakers set aside $1 billion for the program's first two years. It offers families taxpayer money to offset private education costs. In its first year, nearly 110,000 students are participating, and 106,000 students remain on the waitlist.

“Comptroller Huffines recognizes the strong and growing demand from parents who are eager to have more options for their child’s education,” the request said. “The agency is requesting exceptional items that will further support greater choice in education.” So far, the office has handed out $270 million to participating students, according to the document. Private schools have received more than $127 million in tuition. Families have spent $36 million through the program’s online marketplace. The program is still awarding students on the waitlist, and families are still confirming their participation. More than 27,500 students have returned the voucher, according to records obtained by the Dallas Morning News through a request. In addition to the waitlist, Huffines wants to give participating students more money. The office anticipates 4,200 students will switch from homeschool to a private school, which would increase their award by at least $8,474.

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State Stories

Why Ken Paxton allies are attacking James Talarico on China

There’s one thing Republicans really want Texans to be thinking about as they prepare to cast their ballots for U.S. Senate – China. In the last week, several groups backing Attorney General Ken Paxton have dropped millions on broadcast advertisements that warn about the Chinese Communist Party buying land in the state. In an election where affordability has dominated voter’s concerns, the threat of Chinese land ownership may seem like a random topic. Even some Republican operatives think so, with one calling it the party’s “eighth best issue.” Others see it as an attempt to win back Republicans who aren’t sold on Paxton before the campaign enters its final stretch.

“It is pretty niche,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a former campaign manager for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. He said the message is definitely going for the core activist base, but that “Cornyn Republicans also care about this.” Republican enthusiasm dropped after the bruising primary between Paxton and Cornyn. A Fox News poll from July showed Paxton winning about 90% of Republicans when a candidate’s share of their own party is usually expected to be much higher. Paxton was only winning about 80% of Republicans in a Texas Politics Project poll from last month. These surveys also showed Talarico winning significantly more independent voters. “The most recent polling continues to indicate that Republican enthusiasm is lower than expected for Texas elections, and that not all Republicans have consolidated behind the top of the ticket candidate,” said Josh Blank, director of research at the Texas Politics Project. “What's going on right now is not a general election message. It's a message aimed squarely at Republican voters to get them reengaged and to get them mobilized.” Paxton’s PAC, Lone Star Liberty, dropped its first major TV ad buy last week in Dallas and Houston, and it, too, was focused on China. The PAC announced a new, even larger buy this week featuring two ads, one of which also centers on the country.

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Mike Miles' charter network Third Future Schools facing layoffs

One of Texas’ most high-profile charter school networks could soon begin laying off staff amid a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall, throwing its future into question just as more and more districts have turned to it to avoid a state takeover. The Texas branch of Third Future Schools, founded by Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles, is facing a $14 million deficit, forcing it to cut many of the 700 new employees it hired this year. The grim budget projection follows years of multimillion dollar deficits and a dire warning by its auditor — issues that might have forced other charter schools out of business. Instead, the nonprofit has seen its footprint more than triple this year, and state officials continue to allow school districts that hire Third Futures to avoid being taken over.

At a board meeting last month, its leaders said the nonprofit was experiencing the same problem as many of its traditional public school counterparts: fewer students. “As you guys know, districts across Texas are seeing a declining enrollment,” Third Future Schools Superintendent Zach Craddock told board members. “Some of that is passed on to us.” The Colorado-based nonprofit network is far from the state’s largest chain of charter schools, which are taxpayer-funded public schools operated by third parties. But it’s among the most scrutinized because of its ties to Miles, who was brought to Houston under a state takeover, and its unusual role. Rather than open its own campuses, school districts hire Third Future to turn around failing schools using a tool under state law that allows districts to avoid being taken over by the Texas Education Agency. To avoid takeover, districts have to have their plan approved by TEA, run by longtime education commissioner Mike Morath. Morath tapped Miles to lead Houston ISD in 2023, where he implemented Third Future’s rigorous learning model, which includes daily quizzes in core classes and requiring teachers to stick to provided curriculum rather than coming up with their own. The model employs high numbers of staff.

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ICE agent arrested in Texas federally charged with lying about Minneapolis shooting, AP reports

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who was arrested in Texas earlier this year has been federally charged with lying to investigators about a January shooting in Minneapolis, according to The Associated Press. ICE agent Christian Castro has been charged with making false statements to federal investigators, the AP reported Thursday, citing a person familiar with the investigation who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the case. The Texas Newsroom reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota on Thursday for confirmation and additional information but didn't immediately receive a response. Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, referred questions about the reported charge to the Justice Department.

"State law enforcement stands ready and willing to assist federal partners in facilitating Mr. Castro's arrest if needed," Mahaleris said on Thursday. The reported charge comes a week after Castro was released from a Texas jail amid an ongoing legal dispute between Minnesota and Gov. Abbott over whether Castro should be extradited to face separate state charges. Minnesota prosecutors charged Castro in May with assault and falsely reporting a crime over the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Prosecutors say evidence contradicted Castro's account that Sosa-Celis and others attacked him before he opened fire. Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg. Texas Rangers arrested Castro on May 29 after Minnesota issued a nationwide warrant. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz later requested his extradition, but Abbott hasn't approved or denied the request and has questioned whether Castro qualifies as a fugitive. Minnesota sued Abbott in an effort to force him to act, but a federal judge declined to intervene. Castro was released from jail last week after reaching Texas' 90-day detention limit for holding someone while awaiting extradition. The Minnesota charges and extradition request remain pending. The AP also reported Thursday that a federal prosecutor who worked on the case was fired. The prosecutor had previously told attorneys that Justice Department officials blocked an effort to pursue a more serious civil rights charge against Castro, according to previous reporting from ProPublica. But a person familiar with the investigation disputed that account and told the AP that the prosecutor is now under investigation for alleged obstruction of a grand jury investigation.

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Texas State Board of Education set to OK anti-Islam social studies curriculum

The 15-member Texas State Board of Education on Friday is expected to approve updated social studies and history lessons that portray Islam in a largely negative light, tying it to violence and slavery. Members have been meeting in Austin all week working through the last high school Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills updates, having completed K-8 changes earlier this summer. Over the course of hours public testimony, speakers praised and criticized the proposals, which also requires students to understand “that important tenets of Christianity during the time of the Roman empire influenced Western Civilization, America, and Texas.”

Speaker Chuck Allmon said he liked what the board had in mind, including references to Christianity’s role in the nation’s founding and rhetoric against Islam — among the largest faiths in the world. “This is a godly nation, the United States,” said Allmon. “The Supreme Court, 1892, proclaimed it as such. We don't need or want Islam teaching to indoctrinate our Texas school students. All they need to know is how evil Islam is.” Texas school lessons would mention radical Islam, not Al-Qaeda, as motivation for 9-11. They also depict Islam's founder as a warring, military and violent leader and require students to "explain early Islam in terms of the Prophet Mohammed's brutal military campaigns against Jewish and Christian tribes, the normalization of slavery, and the taking of female captives as harem slaves." High school sophomore Hanifa Nayeemuddin recommended the board stop “using a broad indoctrinating term like 'radical Islam’. and explain the history without making students associate an entire religion with terrorism.” She said students deserve to feel safe without getting the wrong idea about an entire group of people. Speaker Bahia Amawi simply called the curriculum discriminatory, saying the lessons are “written intentionally to portray one faith in a positive light while deliberately casting another in a negative one.” The board earlier this year removed a standard that would have taught about “Muslim contributions to algebra and astronomy.” Friday’s vote comes after the board approved a new statewide reading list that includes numerous Bible passages, curriculum Southern Methodist University professor Marc Chancey said “privilege[s]” Christianity over other religions. With 10 Republican members and 5 Democrats, the board is expected to pass the new social studies curriculum. The changes would go into effect in 2030.

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San Antonio's Greater Chamber taps interim CEO after leadership exodus

Former Frost Bank president Pat Frost is stepping in to lead the Greater Chamber of Commerce until it finds a new chief. The chamber’s current president and CEO, Jeff Webster, plans to retire Dec. 2. Webster announced his move last month, as two other top staffers were also leaving for other opportunities. The chamber’s board unanimously selected Frost to serve as an interim leader at its Aug. 31 board meeting. Frost is a previous Greater Chamber board chair, making an unusual transition to the frontlines of the organization’s policy efforts. He recently played a big role in the Spurs’ Win Together campaign last November, which secured the public funding for a new downtown NBA arena. Greater Chamber Chairman Kevin C. Dinnin said Frost will be volunteering his time while the chamber continues looking for a new permanent leader. “We owe a debt of gratitude to Pat,” Dinnin said in a statement Thursday. “I can’t think of anyone better to lead the organization during this transition.” Webster said he’d spend his remaining months helping help Frost navigate the new role. “As I prepare for my retirement, I am pleased to know that Pat will be assuming the interim leadership of this great organization,” Webster said.

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Independent Jason Wolff stays on Bexar County District Attorney ballot after failed GOP challenge

The Bexar County Republican Party and its nominee for district attorney Ashley Foster tried this week to remove independent candidate Jason Wolff from the November ballot, arguing that widespread problems with how his petitions were notarized should invalidate hundreds of the signatures he needed to qualify. After a daylong court fight that examined everything from Wolff’s TikTok videos to testimony from the people who collected his signatures, a Bexar County judge found that errors did in fact occur in the notarization process — but stopped short of removing Wolff from the ballot. The ruling leaves Wolff in a three-way race for Bexar County criminal district attorney against Foster and Democratic nominee Luz Elena Chapa, though Foster and the Bexar County Republican Party say their challenge isn’t over.

Foster and Bexar County GOP Chair Kris Coons sued late last month seeking to invalidate enough of Wolff’s petition signatures to disqualify him, while also requesting an emergency order preventing Bexar County Elections Administrator Michelle Carew from moving forward with his name on the ballot. Unlike candidates who secure a party’s nomination through a primary, Wolff had to collect signatures from at least 500 eligible Bexar County voters who did not participate in a party primary or runoff to qualify as an independent. Court records show Wolff submitted 1,147 signatures to the Texas Secretary of State’s Office. The state accepted 710 after checking whether signers met the eligibility requirements, placing Wolff on the statewide ballot certified last Friday. Foster testified that she began scrutinizing Wolff’s signature drive after seeing videos he posted to TikTok. In one, Wolff told supporters they could drive behind his law office and honk their horns for someone to come outside with a petition. In another, posted days before the filing deadline, he encouraged people circulating petitions to bring them to him so he could file them.

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Oxfam index puts Texas near bottom for working families, women

Texas ranked 45th among U.S. states for working families, according to a newly released index by global nonprofit Oxfam. For working women, it ranked even lower at 47. Released ahead of Labor Day, the 2026 Best States To Work Index scores and ranks all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico on how their policies support working families through wages, worker protections and the right to organize. Texas was one of five states that scored zero on workers’ right to organize and collectively bargain, bringing its overall score down to less than 15 out of 100. By contrast, California ranked first, earning a total score of over 80 and scoring over 90 on organizing rights.

For the seventh year in a row, North Carolina sat at the bottom of the index as the worst state for workers, preceded by Alabama and Mississippi. In the current affordability crisis, labor policies such as minimum wage, paid leave and collective bargaining rights are essential to address deepening inequality, according to Abby Maxman, president and CEO of Oxfam America. “All workers deserve robust protections that ensure they can thrive and lead dignified lives, no matter where they live,” Maxman wrote, adding, “The policies we track are essential to the well-being of not only workers and working families, but also to the well-being of our communities and our economy.” Oxfam research shows women and workers of color are overrepresented in agricultural work, domestic work and tipped jobs. This is how they remain disproportionately excluded from fundamental worker protections such as full minimum wage, overtime and the right to bargain collectively, according to the report. Recent “overlapping economic shocks” such as the U.S. war with Iran and federal policies such as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act have compounded the inequities, it added.

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The GOP’s game of chicken over Ken Paxton in Texas is getting testy

This spring’s Texas GOP Senate runoff was one of the costliest and ugliest Republican nominating contests in recent history. And more than three months after Attorney General Ken Paxton prevailed over Sen. John Cornyn with President Donald Trump’s backing, Republicans are still struggling mightily to move forward, despite how central the race is to the Senate majority. Pride appears to be winning out over common purpose, as the party engages in a high-stakes internal game of chicken. And things are getting increasingly testy. The big standoff, as CNN wrote over the weekend, is over who is going to help Paxton compete financially with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, who is raising significantly more money than the GOP nominee.

Senate Republicans have left Texas out of their ad spending reservations in an apparent ploy to force Trump’s political operation to bankroll Paxton. And the message to the president seems increasingly unsubtle: You defeated an incumbent with a less-electable, scandal-ridden alternative, now you get to make sure he holds this red state. But Trump’s operation has yet to comply. That’s left Paxton outgunned for weeks, with potentially major implications. With two months left, polls show Talarico benefitting from a significant image advantage and the state looking more competitive than it has been in decades. And if Democrats win Texas, they’ve moved themselves significantly close to a Senate majority. In recent days, we’ve seen something rather remarkable: Congressional Republicans have stepped forward to more overtly tell Trump’s operation that it needs to pony up. “We need help from the president,” Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told Fox News on Sunday. “The president says he has $850 million in his campaign accounts. That’s a lot of jack. I’m hoping that the president’s going to spend $100 or $200 million in Texas, but he hasn’t committed to it yet.”

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Ex-girlfriend of Fort Worth billionaire Sid Bass sues him for $400 million

A former girlfriend of billionaire oil heir Sid Bass claims he backed out of financial promises made to her after he married another woman, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week. The 98-page lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court by Oona O. Sperr, seeks at least $400 million in damages from Bass, and also names Bass’ wife, Althea Viafora Kress, as a defendant. Sperr, 64, and Bass, 84, were partners for roughly a decade starting in 2014, and during that time, Bass bought her a diamond ring worth $2.1 million and the couple frequently held themselves out as married, according to the lawsuit. They owned several expensive properties, including one in Fort Worth, traveled together and “spared no expense on the lavish life” they shared, attorneys wrote.

At the start of their relationship, Sperr verbally agreed to give up her interior design career in favor of managing the pair’s homes, overseeing renovations, caring for Bass and representing the couple socially, according to the lawsuit. In return, Bass allegedly agreed to provide lifetime financial support and maintenance to Sperr. The couple were so entwined with one another that they shared the same bank account and planned their wills and end-of-life care together, according to the lawsuit. But, as Bass’ cognition and judgment deteriorated due to “excessive consumption of alcohol and early signs of Parkinson’s,” Kress began to groom him with the aim of gaining access to his fortune, attorneys for Sperr wrote in the lawsuit. When the relationship between Sperr and Bass eventually ended, Bass committed to continue providing financial support, care and property to her even though they were separated, according to the suit. Ultimately, though, the promised support was altered “beyond recognition,” and some aspects were repudiated altogether, Sperr’s attorneys claim.

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Fort Worth man threatened to castrate Talarico, drag his corpse, authorities say

A Fort Worth man who appeared in August to be furious with the political issue of slavery reparations threatened in writing to kill state Rep. James Talarico, according to law enforcement authorities. Billy McFatridge, 29, has been charged in a state district court in Travis County with making a terroristic threat against a public servant. McFatridge is accused of writing two messages to Talarico, a Democrat who is running for a U.S. Senate seat. Talarico told a Texas Department of Public Safety special agent who is investigating the case that he felt the need to enhance security for future campaign events, especially one in the Fort Worth area on Aug. 21. On Aug. 3, Talarico received an email to his campaign account from a Gmail account of which McFatridge later admitted ownership, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

The email contained homophobic slurs and crude language. “I will slit your ... throat in front of the world and drag your body through the streets,” McFatridge wrote, according to the affidavit. On Aug. 11, McFatridge sent a direct message via Instagram to Talarico, according to the affidavit. “I will castrate your ... [expletive] and drag your corpse through the streets if you ever suggest such a weak minded idea again ...,” McFatridge wrote, according to the affidavit. McFatridge told DPS special agents that he had no intention of hurting anyone but wanted to scare the representative. In June 2018, McFatridge was accused of stabbing his mother with a spear, authorities have said. McFatridge was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A grand jury declined to indict McFatridge in the case. Talarico’s chief of staff reported the threatening messages to DPS.

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National Stories

Missouri Supreme Court blocks gerrymandered map in major loss for Republicans

The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the state’s gerrymandered congressional map from being used in the November election, a seismic ruling that halts a Republican attempt to force Kansas City’s longtime congressman out of office. The unanimous decision found that Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was wrong to reject a campaign seeking to strike down the map, called HB 1. The ruling also makes it explicitly clear that the new map cannot be used in November. “The secretary and all of those acting in concert with him are restrained and enjoined from implementing, using, or mandating the use of the congressional redistricting in HB 1 for the November 2026 general election,” Judge Ginger K. Gooch wrote in the opinion released Thursday.

The court ruled that the campaign seeking to strike down the map must appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. The map can only be used if voters approve it, the opinion said. The ruling hands a key loss to President Donald Trump amid a bitter fight for control of Congress this year. Missouri Republican lawmakers redrew the map last year under pressure from the Trump administration. But hundreds of thousands of Missourians fought back. A campaign called People Not Politicians used a referendum, a mechanism for direct democracy that allows citizens to challenge laws, and collected more than 305,000 signatures to force a statewide vote on the map. Thursday’s ruling marked the culmination of that fight, making Missouri the first state in the country to use a referendum to block a Trump-backed map. The campaign survived a series of attacks from state officials and months of court battles to reach the Nov. 3 ballot. “BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!,” Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for the referendum campaign, wrote on social media after the ruling came down. Now, the decision is poised to scramble the upcoming November election. Missouri already held primary elections using the new map. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican whose office defended the map in court, vowed to file an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the decision.

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Maryland Supreme Court says redistricting ballot question can go to voters

A proposed ballot question that could set new standards for the way congressional maps are drawn in Maryland will go to voters in November, the Supreme Court of Maryland ruled Thursday evening. The order from a divided high court overturned two lower courts that had sided with state Republicans who challenged the proposed amendment to the Maryland Constitution. The Thursday evening order came as an end-of-the-day deadline to finalize the ballot for printing approached.

The decision was anything but a full-throated victor for legislative Democrats who muscled the bill and a legally faulty question through a two-day special session. Even so, the end result is voters will be asked to weigh in on the proposed change this fall. In an eight-page order written for the majority, Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader agreed with judges in Anne Arundel and Dorchester counties who ruled that the ballot question as written by the Maryland General Assembly “is misleading and therefore violates due process requirements.” In particular, Fader said the majority found fault with the question’s reference to “applicable federal laws” as the criteria for determining congressional boundaries.

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Pentagon temporarily rescinds guidance on testosterone screening for US troops

The Pentagon ?is temporarily rescinding recently published clinical guidance for a new, mandatory testosterone deficiency screening policy for service members aged 30 and ?older, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Pentagon posted the "Clinical Guidance for Health and Human Performance Optimization" on its website. By Thursday, the memo and an accompanying statement from spokesperson Sean Parnell had been removed. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the award-winning Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. "The draft (document) published on September 2, 2026, has been temporarily rescinded to allow for updates," the official said, adding that interim guidance remains ?in effect.

Reuters was first to report the guidance being rescinded. The detailed clinical guidelines had laid out separate testosterone deficiency screening paths for ?men and women that were to happen during their annual health assessments. The guidance was set to take effect immediately, and ?the Pentagon said it is aimed at improving military readiness by identifying and managing hormonal and energy-availability issues. A "Page Not Found" banner appeared on ?websites for both the Pentagon and Defense Health Agency when clicking on the links for the memo and statement. Wednesday's guidance said men aged 30 and older ?would be screened through a questionnaire that could then trigger a blood test for testosterone levels and, if needed, testosterone hormone therapy. Women would also be screened through a questionnaire and could then move to treatment for conditions related to hormonal imbalance that can manifest as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, or REDs. Testosterone hormone therapy is advised only for ?Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, which is characterized by a distressing level of low sexual interest.

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Former Labor Secretary stoked dysfunction and toxicity, Department report finds

Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer violated department policy repeatedly, a report released on Thursday by the department’s internal watchdog said, including tolerating harassment, spending public money on personal travel and conducting an “inappropriate relationship” with a member of her security detail. The 40-page report revealed new details of the dysfunction and toxicity at the top of the Labor Department under Ms. Chavez-DeRemer, who resigned in April after one year in the job as scandals and investigations closed in. More than three dozen witnesses described working in the secretary’s office as “toxic, intimidating and humiliating,” the department’s inspector general, Anthony D’Esposito, wrote.

The report followed a monthslong investigation into a whistle-blower’s allegations of misconduct by Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and her aides. The claims included that she was having an affair with a member of her security team, that she and her aides abused younger women on the staff and that they flouted federal spending limits on trips that mixed business and pleasure, including on fancy hotels, S.U.V. rentals and strip clubs. Ms. Chavez-DeRemer did not respond to a message seeking comment. She recently started a national political action committee aimed at electing Republicans who support organized labor. The report closes an embarrassing chapter for the department. Its acting leader, Keith Sonderling, is awaiting Senate confirmation to become the next secretary. Ms. Chavez-DeRemer, 58, served in local government in Happy Valley, Ore., before being elected to the U.S. House in 2022. Her father was a Teamster, and she had support from organized labor. Ms. Chavez-DeRemer lost her re-election bid in November 2024. Sean O’Brien, president of the Teamsters union, who had spoken at the 2024 Republican National Convention, urged President Trump to choose her as labor secretary. She took office in March 2025.

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Southeastern Conference sues LSU, Lane Kiffin

The Southeastern Conference is suing Louisiana State University (LSU) and its head football coach Lane Kiffin for what it contends is an effort to bring former NFL players to the school and gain an unfair competitive advantage over other schools. The LSU Tigers waged what the conference says is “a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes to play football for LSU during the 2026-27 season, including players who had signed NFL contracts with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”

“Numerous reports have shown that at least two of these professional athletes are on campus and actively practicing with LSU’s football team,” the conference wrote as part of its suit, filed in Alabama and assigned to U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon, who was appointed by President Trump. “Defendants have also expressed their unequivocal intent to place those athletes on LSU’s official football roster and allow them to participate in football games during the upcoming season,” the conference added. The suit comes as a Louisiana judge was set to rule Thursday on a temporary injunction involving LSU’s football program that could clear the way for a number of players who were cut by NFL teams this fall to play for the Tigers this fall. The Southeastern Conference has previously said it would consider sanctioning LSU over the effort to recruit former professional players, floating options that included potentially expelling it from the conference. It also comes as Congress works to pass legislation that would grant the NCAA and its member schools antitrust protection and cap the amount of times an athlete can transfer between schools and earn through name, image and likeness endorsement money.

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Jaw-dropping reason Fox abruptly fired Maria Bartiromo revealed

Fox News fired one of its top stars due to a shady betrayal. Maria Bartiromo, 58, was fired from the network on Thursday because she had informed the White House about Fox’s secret instructions to not promote President Donald Trump’s election conspiracies on the air, according to Status. The particular incident happened in July following the president’s primetime address to the nation, in which he claimed that China had interfered in the 2020 presidential election. Status reported that Fox News had issued written instructions to senior employees to steer their coverage of Trump’s address away from his false claims, which the network largely abided by—to the White House’s surprise.

However, the outlet said Trump or a White House official pressed Bartiromo about the lack of coverage of Trump’s claims, and she revealed that her bosses had ordered the claims not to be covered. She even shared the text message that relayed the network’s guidance with the White House. Disclosing the network’s confidential information violated her employment agreement, Status reported. The Daily Beast has reached out to Fox News for comment. The bombshell update comes only hours after Fox announced Bartiromo’s departure from the network without explanation.

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Lead Stories

Edouard drenches parts of Texas and closes schools, roads

Texas authorities rescued dozens of people from stranded cars, homes surrounded by floodwaters and an assisted living facility Wednesday as former Tropical Storm Edouard lingered over rural parts of the state and dumped nearly 2 feet of rain in some places. Heavy rains from the storm, which weakened into a tropical depression after making landfall Tuesday, were expected to threaten the eastern part of the state through Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said. Meanwhile, a burst of tropical weather persisted in the Pacific Ocean, where three hurricanes were churning in open waters. In Texas’ hard-hit Hardin County, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) northeast of Houston, officials said flooding, downed trees and powerlines, debris, and power outages were still creating hazardous conditions.

Between 18 inches (45 centimeters) and 20 inches (51 centimeters) fell in parts of the county over the last two days, the weather service said. The average local monthly rainfall for September is just 5.51 inches (14 centimeters), said Nick Slaughter, a meteorologist with the weather service. Across the area close to the Louisiana border, schools and municipal offices were closed, and residents were told to stay home. Hardin County’s office of emergency management said Wednesday afternoon that 12 motorists had to be rescued after driving into flooded roadways, two people had to be rescued from a flooded home, about 10 structures were damaged by trees and thousands were still without power. In Jefferson County, located about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Houston, the main concern was restoring power after trees and limbs were brought down during the storm, which had wind gusts up to 90 mph (144 kph), said Robert Grimm, the county emergency management coordinator. About 22,000 customers in the county were without power as of late Wednesday afternoon, nearly half of the 50,000 utility customers affected statewide, according to poweroutage.com. Grady Leger said that as the storm moved through Hardin County on Tuesday evening, a powerline went down by his home near Lumberton, and he could feel the vibration coming up from the ground. “Some blue and yellow, white sparks caught part of my dead tree on fire,” Leger said. An assisted living facility was damaged in Hardin County, and 21 people were evacuated, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife, whose game wardens assisted. Photos from the agency showed some officials wading in thigh-deep water in parts of the county. Edouard is expected to dissipate Thursday.

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Ted Cruz is testing the waters for a 2028 run—and taking swipes at JD Vance

Ted Cruz isn’t hiding his presidential ambitions—and he is taking some digs at the presumptive front-runner along the way. The 2028 contest hasn’t started yet, and there is still a midterm election in November. Vice President JD Vance, who is leading in early polls of potential Republican nominees, is campaigning for candidates in tough races and fundraising for the party. But Cruz, the Texas senator and firebrand conservative, is already putting in the legwork in Iowa, hitting the podcast circuit and embarking on a book tour. He is also quietly asking people if they would be interested in working on his 2028 bid, according to people familiar with the requests. A spokeswoman for Cruz declined to comment.

Cruz told MSNOW that the party hasn’t coalesced around Vance. “I’ll certainly be part of the discussion,” he said. Several times this year, he has condemned rising antisemitism on the right, and specifically targeted Republicans who, like Vance, haven’t separated themselves from conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, who has hosted Holocaust deniers on his podcast. Vance’s allies have privately dismissed and scoffed at Cruz running, arguing he wouldn’t be a serious threat to the vice president if he chose to run. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are seen as President Trump’s 2028 favorites, and the president has been known to poll staff and donors about whom they would like to see at the top of the ticket. When asked if he will pursue the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, Vance is coy. Those close to Vance say he is focused on the midterms and not talking about a presidential campaign. Some say they aren’t sure the 42-year-old, whose wife just had a fourth child, will even run for president in a year that might be more favorable to Democrats. Senior GOP strategists expect Vance to have much of Trump’s seasoned political apparatus behind him should he decide to run for president.

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Ken Paxton went after gambling in Texas — but stays hands off on Kalshi

As Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton has pushed for strict enforcement of Texas gambling laws, especially for fantasy sports sites and gaming machines. But after Paxton and his PAC took thousands of dollars from Kalshi and its CEO, the attorney general declined to sign onto several nationwide efforts by Republican and Democratic state attorneys general to rein in the prediction market platform. In May 2025, Kalshi donated $5,000 to Paxton’s Lone Star Liberty PAC and a month later, on June 13, the Republican Senate candidate accepted $7,000 from Tarek Mansour, the CEO of Kalshi, according to FEC records. As Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton has pushed for strict enforcement of Texas gambling laws, especially for fantasy sports sites and gaming machines. But after Paxton and his PAC took thousands of dollars from Kalshi and its CEO, the attorney general declined to sign onto several nationwide efforts by Republican and Democratic state attorneys general to rein in the prediction market platform. In May 2025, Kalshi donated $5,000 to Paxton’s Lone Star Liberty PAC and a month later, on June 13, the Republican Senate candidate accepted $7,000 from Tarek Mansour, the CEO of Kalshi, according to FEC records. Four days later, 34 Republican and Democratic state attorneys general asked the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to allow states to regulate Kalshi. But Paxton didn’t join the bipartisan effort, which included Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Utah. Last December, Paxton also declined to team up on an amicus brief filed by 38 states and D.C., in a case between Kalshi and Maryland.

The decision to not sign on to these briefs was unusual, given Paxton’s position on fantasy sports a decade before when he was not running for office. At the time, he determined that operators of fantasy sports platforms DraftKings and FanDuel were taking illegal bets, which led to a fight in court between the DraftKings and Paxton that the company recently dropped. Texas is still one of the less than a dozen states that outlaw online sports betting. It also suggests that Paxton’s stance on the prediction markets — where users can wager on everything from sports and the temperature in Dallas to Paxton winning his Senate race this year — may be more aligned with that of President Donald Trump, a close Paxton ally, than of his fellow state attorneys general, who argue the platforms should be overseen by the states. Trump endorsed Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who lost the GOP Texas primary. Trump has said he wants prediction markets to “thrive.” Paxton’s position has put him at odds with other Texas GOP leaders, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has worked with Paxton on enforcing other anti-gambling laws. In March, Patrick urged the Texas Senate to look for ways to close loopholes in state laws that let prediction markets operate in the state.

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As midterms Loom, Democrats feud over defections

A single vote on a routine measure that will never become law has touched off a firestorm of recriminations among House Democrats on Capitol Hill, offering a glimpse of simmering tensions within the party weeks before midterm elections in which they are pressing to win control of Congress. The drama began Tuesday afternoon, when two of the most conservative Democrats in the House broke with their party to pave the way for votes on a slate of Republican bills. By Wednesday, it had mushroomed into a full-on furor featuring accusations of betrayal, demands for punishment for the defectors and a quiet but intense round of whispers about what the episode said about the leadership of Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, who is in line to be speaker should his party win the majority in November.

Mr. Jeffries said he had been blindsided by the decision by the two lawmakers, Representatives Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, to side with Republicans on a procedural measure, and suggested that it had been the job of the chief vote-counter and No. 2 Democrat to be aware of such things. “You’ll have to talk to Katherine,” he told reporters after the vote on Tuesday, referring to Representative Katherine M. Clark of Massachusetts. (Ms. Clark later said that she had not been apprised.) Top Democrats demanded that the renegades be disciplined for straying from the party line. “I think there should be a punishment,” said Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee. “I think there should be consequences.” Facing an outcry from their members, House Democratic leaders said in a sharp statement on Tuesday night that Mr. Golden and Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez had committed a “significant breach of trust” that required “a serious response.” Still, by Wednesday evening, no such action had come. Mr. Jeffries said that members were still debating whether and how to discipline Mr. Golden, who is leaving office at the end of the year, and Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez, who is running for re-election in a competitive district.

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State Stories

Middleton leads Johnson in race for Texas attorney general, but the contest is unusually close

Early voting for the general election begins in less than seven weeks, and while the U.S. Senate fight has drawn national attention, there's another contest on the ballot that's at least as consequential for Texans: the race to succeed Republican incumbent Ken Paxton as state attorney general, featuring state Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, and state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas. Texas' attorney general serves as the state's top law enforcement official. The attorney general's office oversees a range of critical programs affecting ordinary citizens, including child support collection and enforcement. However, the office is perhaps best known for its role in litigation involving the federal government, as well as lawsuits by the state of Texas against private industries.

"In strict political terms, attorneys general going back, particularly to Greg Abbott’s term as attorney general in the early 2010s, have become very active players in how states engage with national politics," said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. "The attorney general’s office is also being used as a springboard for higher office by a couple of generations of Texas leaders." The past two Texas attorneys general have mounted successful runs for higher office — John Cornyn for the U.S. Senate and Abbott for the governorship. Paxton is currently the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, having defeated Cornyn in a hard-fought primary runoff. The latest snapshot of the race comes from a poll conducted by the Texas Politics Project, released last week. According to the poll, some 40% of registered voters said they plan to support Middleton, compared to 35% who said they will vote for Johnson and 3% who back Libertarian candidate Tom Oxford. "This is a very dynamic race," Henson said. "At five points, it’s indicative of how the two parties are fairly competitive in this race and certainly more competitive than we usually expect them to be in Texas." A five-point lead is uncomfortably close for a Republican running statewide in Texas. Henson said that, ordinarily, a Republican candidate for statewide office should be leading the Democrat by between nine to 12 points. "I expect that this race will continue to poll pretty closely," Henson said. "And it’s a race that we’ll be watching as it unfolds, because we’ve got two very competitive candidates running for an office that's very important, and a lot of people that have not really started thinking about it yet, but they will have their attention drawn to it."

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As Republicans plan to gather in Bush's backyard, his influence is largely absent from the party

On Nov. 1, 2004, then-President George W. Bush stood onstage at Moody Coliseum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas for election eve rally as he sought a second term. Voting was hours away. “Ten years ago, when I first ran for governor, I had my last campaign rally in Dallas, and we won,” he told the cheering crowd. “Tonight, after six other stops, I’m having my last campaign rally in Dallas, and we’re gonna win.” Dallas helped give rise to the Bush political dynasty — first, to 41st President George H.W. Bush, and later to his son, George W. Bush, who served as Texas governor from 1995 until he was elected president. “The Bush family has left a tremendous legacy in both the nation's politics and specifically in Texas and Dallas,” said SMU political science professor Matthew Wilson.

“[George W. Bush] did a lot for the Republican Party in Texas. In many ways, when Bush was president, those were the good old days for the Dallas GOP. That was when Republicans were riding high in Dallas County.” More than 20 years later, as Republicans prepare to gather in Dallas for an unusual midterm convention, Bush — and many of the policies he and his late father championed — are largely absent from today’s Republican Party. Wilson said after Bush’s re-election victory in 2004, his views defined the GOP. Like his father, Bush embraced the so-called three-legged stool of Reagan conservativism. He used American military power abroad, believed in free, global markets with a liberal immigration policy, and a faith-based social morality. “What we have seen since, Trump and the MAGA movement seems ambivalent, at best, about all three of those,” Wilson said. Similar to his father — who had been vice president to Reagan — George W. Bush ran to lower taxes and reduce government. But he also launched No Child Left Behind, administered by the federal Department of Education. And he supported humanitarian efforts abroad like the global distribution of HIV and AIDS treatments that saved millions of lives.

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Texas post-Roe study of maternal deaths won't be ready by midterms

Health officials say they need more time to complete a report on maternal deaths — likely punting the fullest accounting of pregnancy-related deaths since the state’s abortion ban took effect until after the midterms. The biennial report has historically been released on Sept. 1, but lawmakers were informed last week that it would not be completed by then. The Department of State Health Services said the report will be finished by Dec. 1 under a new deadline the state Legislature approved last year. Advocates and Democrats say that will give lawmakers little time to craft bills for the next legislative session, which starts in January — and it will likely keep voters in the dark ahead of the high-stakes midterms. The Texas House Women’s Health Caucus wrote to acting health commissioner Imelda Garcia on Wednesday urging her to release the findings sooner.

“The Department knows that releasing this report by September 1 is essential to the Legislature’s ability to act,” state Rep. Ann Johnson, a Houston Democrat, said in a statement. “Any further delay is not merely bureaucratic; it is an unconscionable dereliction of duty to Texas mothers and families.” Democrats say the timing is suspicious, given the Dec. 1 deadline is after Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans who supported the state’s abortion ban are up for reelection. It is only the second time the report has not been released by Sept. 1. The last time was in 2022, when Abbott was last on the ballot. The governor appoints the state health commission members. That report, which only included data through 2020, showed a higher rate of life-threatening hemorrhaging among Black women during childbirth. This year’s report would look at 2024, the first full-year look since the state’s abortion ban took place in 2022. Advocates have expected maternal deaths to increase as more women carry pregnancies to term. “It’s rather suspect it’s occurring at this point in time in the election time,” said state Rep. Donna Howard, an Austin Democrat. “In 2022, the report was delayed at the time that Abbott was at the top of the ticket. Now it’s being delayed again with Abbott in a competitive race.”

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Ken Paxton vows to outwork James Talarico as GOP worries mount

Ken Paxton sought to calm Republican fears Tuesday about losing a long-held Texas Senate seat, promising victory while pressing supporters for votes and money. Paxton hammered Democrat James Talarico as a “socialist” who favors raising taxes, allowing girls to compete in boys’ sports and destroying the state’s oil and gas industry. “I want you to tell them about James Talarico ... that he is a socialist Democrat,” Paxton said at a Parker County campaign stop. “As Donald Trump said, they just skipped socialism and went straight to communism.” The appearance at Willow Park Baptist Church came as Talarico’s vast financial advantage and aggressive advertising efforts have stirred Republican concerns about a race once considered safely theirs.

Paxton said he was doing his part to win, including stepping up fundraising and mobilizing volunteers. “I’m going to spend 18 hours a day campaigning,” he said. “I’m literally all over the state because I believe in what we’re doing here in Texas.” The reference to his work ethic was likely a response to recent criticism from his former primary rival, Sen. John Cornyn, who branded Paxton a “lazy” candidate and said he would not help him against Talarico. Paxton, the attorney general, said the Senate race would not only determine the balance of power in the Senate but also the course of the nation. “If we lose Texas, we’ve lost the country,” Paxton said. “And if we lose Texas, we’re going to lose the U.S. Senate.” Talarico, a state representative, campaigned Tuesday in San Antonio, where he called for a new kind of politics that involved Texans coming together, caring for one another and holding the billionaire class in check.

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Dallas City Council signals support for keeping Flock cameras funded

The Dallas City Council wants to keep the cameras rolling. A majority of council members on Wednesday signaled they agreed with Dallas police that Flock Safety’s network of license-plate readers across the city has become a key tool for solving crimes and tracking down suspects — and one that’s too valuable to cut. The nonbinding vote rejecting council member Adam Bazaldua’s suggestion to cut $1.5 million for Flock came during a lengthy debate over amendments to the city manager’s proposed $5.6 billion budget. It comes as the company’s AI-powered cameras face scrutiny from Gov. Greg Abbott, other elected leaders and privacy advocates.

Dallas police announced Tuesday that they would deactivate 321 cameras later this month after the governor paused state funding for the technology. Several council members voiced opposition to the amendment, citing the cameras’ value to police investigations and public safety. Some echoed concerns about privacy and highlighted a need for safeguards. In proposing the amendment, Bazaldua raised concerns about the department retaining Flock data for one year and how Dallas' camera network could be accessed by outside agencies, including for immigration enforcement. One council member, Bill Roth, initially signaled he would vote for the amendment. But after nearly an hour of remarks from his colleagues and Dallas police, he said he would support keeping the technology. He acknowledged he didn't fully understand how the cameras were being used or what guardrails were in place.

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Ted Cruz says threat to Texas has never been greater at O’Hare campaign event

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz headlined the fall campaign kick-off for Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare’s run for re-election Wednesday night. He said the stakes are high for the November midterm election, and if Republicans don’t show up to vote, they will lose Tarrant County and Texas. O’Hare is up against Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons. He is running on the same campaign promises from his 2022 election of cutting property taxes, maintaining an efficient budget and prioritizing public safety. As Cruz said, O’Hare “did DOGE before DOGE was cool.” Though it was an event dedicated to O’Hare’s race for the county judge seat, Cruz spent the most time talking about Republican successes in Congress and the threat of the U.S. Senate Democratic candidate, James Talarico.

Democrats have “lost their ever-loving mind,” Cruz said. The threats against the nation have never been greater than they are in the midterm elections, he told the Grapevine Convention Center crowd of a few hundred. “This is no longer a contest between left and right,” Cruz said. “This is no longer a contest between liberal and conservative. This is a contest between crazy and common sense.” Talarico is a dangerous man, and the stakes of this election are massive, Cruz said. Though Cruz never instructed the audience to vote for Republican candidate Ken Paxton by name, he did urge them to vote Republican down the ballot. “The men and women who will save Tarrant County and the men and women who will save Texas are right here in this room,” Cruz said. “I want to ask every one of you to go out and vote for Tim O’Hare and vote for Republicans up and down the ballot 10 times … if you get nine other people who wouldn’t have voted to show up and vote, you just voted 10 times.” Earlier in the night, O’Hare and the elected officials introducing him had a similar message for his supporters.

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Tarrant County sheriff says Flock cameras are their most valuable asset

Sheriff Bill Waybourn lauded Flock Safety’s license plate readers as the best tool in the county’s law enforcement arsenal. Flock cameras have recently replaced data centers as the lightning rod of local government. In response, Republican Commissioner Matt Krause asked Waybourn to brief the Commissioners Court about how they are being used in Tarrant County. Invasion of privacy is the primary concern over Flock cameras collecting photos of license plates on public roads. A handful of people spoke in opposition to Flock cameras during public comment at Tuesday’s meeting.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas, which had a representative at the meeting, put out a statement saying the surveillance is a threat to constitutional liberties. The group was concerned with accuracy as well as privacy. Waybourn pushed back, citing legal decisions, and said Criminal Justice Information Services has far more personal information than Flock provides. “Courts have constantly recognized that there is a general no reasonable expectation of privacy in a license plate displayed on a vehicle traveling a public road,” Waybourn said early on in his presentation. Waybourn said technology like Flock’s has been around since 2000 and flourished after the 9/11 attacks. Tarrant County owns six cameras, but there are 949 total across the county owned by cities and homeowners associations. Any law enforcement agency using Flock Safety is able to access the database by searching for a specific license plate number with a valid reason for search.

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80,000 Entergy customers lose power in Wednesday storm

About 80,000 residents lost power Wednesday night in the Houston area following storms spawned by Tropical Depression Edouard, per Entergy Texas. In a news release, the company said it had restored electricity to 50% of its customers affected by heavy rain and thunderstorms, and that about 39,000 were still without power at 6 p.m. Entergy's service area covers 27 counties in the region, including Chambers, Liberty and Montgomery counties. "Some customers in the most heavily damaged or difficult-to-access locations may experience longer restoration times," the company said in a written statement. "Detailed estimated restoration times will be shared as assessments progress and crews gain safe access to impacted areas." Entergy said part of the challenge to restore power was working through severe weather conditions, especially with some residents living in heavily damaged or difficult-to-access locations. According to National Weather Service estimates, rainfall totals exceeded 10 inches across Tyler and Hardin counties.

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Somerset ISD cancels Friday classes due to 'severe' overnight storms

Somerset ISD canceled classes Friday after severe overnight storms caused power outages across the area, district officials announced early Friday. "The safety of our students and staff remains our top priority," the district said. "Due to power outages across the area caused by severe storms overnight, Somerset ISD classes are canceled today." All morning events and activities are also canceled. Coaches and staff will provide updates about activities scheduled for Friday afternoon, the district said. "Please stay safe and follow official Somerset ISD communication channels for updates."

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Dallas’ foster care system unraveled. Foster parents are living with the fallout.

(Editor’s note: To protect their identities, the names of the children in this story have been changed.) Shaking off the fog of exhaustion, Courtney Craig shuffled up the stairs of her condo and slowly opened the door to her bedroom. “Alexa,” she said, “play the 1978 Spider-Man theme song.” In seconds, her 3-year-old son, Elijah, was jumping on her bed, where he had slept a few restless hours with his hands clutching her hair to make sure she didn’t leave. As Elijah danced in his Spider-Man underwear and launched imaginary webs from his palms, Courtney’s 2-year-old daughter, Zoe, padded out of a bedroom down the hall and rubbed her eyes. “Good morning, bubby,” Courtney said. “Time to get dressed.” A logjam schedule of therapies, school drop-offs and pickups, work, and a few inevitable meltdowns awaited. Hair needed to be combed, milk poured, bags packed, and matching shoes located in the next 20 minutes to make it out the door on time, or as close to it as possible. Courtney has grown accustomed to the morning chaos and barrage of appointments since opening her 900-square-foot home to foster children in 2020.

On this July day, though, the 42-year-old shouldered it all not as a foster parent but a mother. A week earlier, Courtney stood in a Dallas courtroom before a judge who declared that the two small children clinging to her neck were forever hers to care for. Dressed in coordinated red outfits, Elijah and Zoe wriggled in Courtney’s arms as she took a vow of motherhood. “You do understand that the moment this paperwork is signed you have all the same rights and duties as any other parent, isn’t that right?” her attorney said, standing in front of Judge Cheryl Lee Shannon’s bench. “Yes,” said Courtney while she swayed to soothe the restless children on her hips. That court date came three and a half years after Elijah was placed in Courtney’s home as a malnourished baby who screamed most hours of the day and vomited the rest. His baby sister, weighing 6 pounds at 6 weeks old, joined them a little over a year later. The adoption hearing held the promise of a new beginning for Elijah and Zoe, who had been through much in their short, unsettled lives. For Courtney, it marked an end to what she said was a yearslong nightmare due to a system that failed to protect her children and shattered her well-being. Negligence on the part of Empower, the private contractor in charge of foster care cases in the Dallas area, led to the loss of their state benefits, Courtney said, and put Elijah and Zoe in dangerous situations that compounded their trauma.

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Texas A&M considers cuts to race, gender and climate courses

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents will consider cutting dozens of courses from the core curriculum across 11 universities on Thursday, in response to a state law requiring all general education classes to be “foundational.” Among the proposed deletions are various courses about women and gender; climate and the environment; as well as Black and Latino history, literature and culture. Texas colleges have historically decided what courses count toward the core curriculum for all their undergraduates, but state lawmakers have asserted more oversight of that process. Senate Bill 37, passed in 2025, required public colleges and universities to review almost 13,000 general education courses, emphasizing that they should prepare students for life and work. Some institutions, like the University of Houston, have already pared down what general courses count toward a college diploma.

A&M's suggested cuts would reduce the core by 30%, from 260 courses to 182, interim provost Jerry Strawser said in a Wednesday email to faculty and staff. A committee of 20 faculty members, administrators, community leaders and industry representatives helped make the recommendations. "The courses recommended for removal may be relevant within specific areas of study; however, they did not meet the committee’s threshold for remaining part of the core curriculum," Strawser wrote. Texas requires all undergraduates to take 42 credit hours across specific subjects and learning objectives, which are set by the state. SB37 doesn’t explicitly ban any topics from the core. However, courses about diverse populations have been a frequent casualty of the reviews. Some conservative lawmakers and administrators have framed those courses as too niche for a core that is supposed to indicate what every student should know. The law largely left it up to universities to define what meets the new state standards of "foundational" and "fundamental." Some administrators have also framed the cuts as an effort to reduce the size of a bloated course catalog. Last month, the University of Houston cut about 40% of its courses from the core, from 241 courses to 144.

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Investigators say Ross fire was 'human-caused'

State investigators have concluded that the Ross fire stemmed from equipment or vehicle use that was "associated with a roadside start," Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Lsaura Steven said Wednesday. The investigation was ongoing Wednesday, Stevens said, but investigators from the forest service and other local law enforcement agencies determined the fire was "human-caused." Generally, wildfires are started by nature, like lightning, or human activity, experts say. Earlier Wednesday, the forest service announced they concluded the Ross fire was started by a blown vehicle tire, but later, a spokesperson said information obtained by investigators determined that was no longer accurate. Stevens said in an email the wildfire could not "conclusively contributed to a tire blowout."

Investigators were searching for clues on how the blaze started for days. Officials previously said the wildfire started somewhere along Highway 180 in Palo Pinto County on Aug. 24 -- about 100 miles west of Dallas. The blaze grew and reached Jack County by the next day. It prompted evacuation orders for some residents in both counties, but those orders were lifted Friday. As of Wednesday evening, the fire scorched approximately 90,048 acres, making it one of the largest wildfires recorded in North Texas. Firefighters were working on increasing the containment, and they made some headway Wednesday. The fire was about 38% contained by the evening, which was an improvement from 31% reported earlier that day. No deaths or injuries have been reported, but the wildfire destroyed over 150 structures -- 18 of which were homes, according to the forest service. Another about 140 structures were damaged. Firefighters saved more than 450 structures, according to those same estimates. Throughout Wednesday, crews were constructing holding lines on the edge of the wildfire and putting out some areas of heat. Some of the efforts were focused on preventing the fire for growing toward Highway 16. Additional resources arrived to cover the emergency response and give rest to local firefighters ahead of the Labor Day Weekend, according to the forest service.

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National Stories

Why Washington’s ‘Economic D-Day’ against Iran faces steep odds

Last week, the Trump administration unveiled what it billed as an “Economic D-Day” aimed at forcing Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and return to the negotiating table. But the experience of Western sanctions and economic pressure on autocracies such as Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela and Syria shows the challenges facing Washington in trying to bend Tehran to its will. Indeed, the strongmen ruling such countries have historically used a mix of violence, economic adaptation and political suppression that enables them to withstand economic pain for years, if not decades. Autocratic countries adapt in various ways. Sanctions typically push activity underground, creating flourishing black markets for goods, services and even people. Dictators also use outside pressure to rally their populations, especially among elites. The government in Cuba has relied on the country’s diaspora to bring in food and medicine even as Washington raises pressure on Havana.

North Korea boosts its coffers by stealing cryptocurrency and even tricking Americans into working for them in U.S. companies. Russia has reoriented its trade flows toward China and other non-Western powers. Tehran, which has branded the U.S. campaign “economic terrorism,” has decades of experience adapting to sanctions. Its trade has grown with countries with which it shares a land border. Iran has also created an entire parallel financial system with China, bypassing the U.S.-led banking system and weakening Washington’s enforcement powers. “The fact that the U.S. can inflict pain is a given,” said Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, an economist at Virginia Tech. “My feeling is that these pressures aren’t going to result in more pressure on the Iranian government to compromise.” Sometimes it requires direct military action to unseat autocrats, as when U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s former leader Nicolás Maduro in January or rebel forces in Syria pushed former President Bashar al-Assad from power in December 2024.

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Elon Musk unleashes first wave of spending on key races in the midterms

Elon Musk’s super PAC disclosed its first independent expenditures of the 2026 general election in a filing released late Wednesday, detailing roughly $800,000 across key House and Senate races. Musk’s America PAC targeted several key Senate contests, including races in Texas, Maine, Ohio, New Hampshire, Iowa, Michigan and Alaska.

Elon Musk’s super PAC disclosed its first independent expenditures of the 2026 general election in a filing released late Wednesday, detailing roughly $800,000 across key House and Senate races. Musk’s America PAC targeted several key Senate contests, including races in Texas, Maine, Ohio, New Hampshire, Iowa, Michigan and Alaska. The largest amount went to Texas — over $247,000 — where Republicans are expected to deploy a wave of party resources to bolster Attorney General Ken Paxton against Democrat James Talarico. Musk’s super PAC also put nearly $90,000 into eight House races: Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin; Rep. Mike Lawler in New York; Rep. Jen Kiggans in Virginia; Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey; Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania; Rep. Rob Bresnahan in Pennsylvania; Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania; and Scott Singer in Florida. The independent expenditures — Musk’s first of the general election — were disclosed days after he met with Speaker Mike Johnson in Texas last week.

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Gloria Steinem, personification of the women’s movement, dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, the feminist crusader who, in galvanizing the modern women’s movement, helped millions of women develop a sense of self-worth and gain a measure of equality at home, at work and in society at large, died on Wednesday at her home in New York City. She was 92. Her death was announced in a post on social media, which did not give a cause. Calling herself “an entrepreneur of social change,” Ms. Steinem helped usher in sweeping cultural transformations across virtually every facet of American life, from the boardroom to the courtroom to the bedroom. For more than half a century, she personified the women’s movement and became its most enduring symbol; her tinted aviator glasses and curtain of streaked-blond hair parted in the center made her one of the most recognizable women in the world.

She was an unlikely revolutionary. Growing up a transient in the Midwest, she was 10 when her parents divorced and she was left to mother her mentally anguished mother — a formative experience that reverberated throughout her life. She had scant formal education until sixth grade; her big dream, as a budding tap dancer, was to become a Rockette. But she read voraciously, graduated from college with honors and believed fiercely that women should be able to live whatever life they chose. Her own feminist awakening didn’t come until her mid-30s, when, as a journalist in 1969, she attended a “speak out” of women discussing their illegal abortions. Charismatic, articulate, media savvy, deeply empathetic and a workaholic, she evolved into a political and cultural force. She led protests and consciousness-raising sessions, wrote essays and delivered speeches, delved into political organizing, helped establish rape crisis centers and shelters for battered women, founded numerous groups that promoted women and had the Midas touch when it came to raising money for their causes. And she and a cadre of feminists had the audacity to start a publication that flew in the face of traditional women’s magazines, examining topics like abortion, domestic violence and equal pay for equal work.

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The renegade college football coach going to war with the entire sport

From the moment Lane Kiffin arrived at LSU, one thing was certain: College football’s most controversial coach would start making enemies. But what nobody knew at the time was that Kiffin’s target in his first year in Baton Rouge wouldn’t be a rival coach or an opposing fan base. Kiffin would be going to war with college football itself. In recent weeks, Kiffin has enraged nearly every stakeholder in the sport with an audacious plan. He was going to bring players back from NFL training camps to fill out the Tigers’ roster. And on Thursday afternoon, just two days before LSU’s marquee season opener against Clemson, a Louisiana judge will determine whether the former pros will be allowed to suit up.

“This is the most emotion-packed, high-profile, dramatic legal battle in the history of college sports,” said Tom Mars, an attorney who specializes in tussling with the NCAA but isn’t involved in this case. The particular issue in question on Thursday is the legality of an SEC rule—a direct response to Kiffin’s ploy—that deems players who have gone through the pro draft process ineligible to compete. But the broader reality is that college football’s power brokers have drawn a line in the sand, with institutions and conferences across the country insisting that players swapping NFL helmets for college ones is a bridge too far. On the other side of that line stands Kiffin, boldly sticking by his plan while the rest of the college football world heaps scorn on him. “If you want to win at the highest level,” a graphic posted at LSU’s team facility this week read, “you have to become a villain in someone else’s story.” The standoff between Kiffin and just about everyone else in the sport began in earnest just last week, when LSU agreed to sign Dae’Quan Wright, a former Ole Miss tight end who joined the Cleveland Browns for training camp. Kiffin was emboldened to do so when a restraining order from a Louisiana judge said players denied a fifth year of eligibility could return to college, even if they’d suited up for NFL preseason games.

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Trump calls for boost to film, TV production with tax incentives

President Donald Trump is pushing for Congress to pass tax incentives for the entertainment industry to maintain production in the United States. Trump shared his thoughts in a post on Truth Social writing "I am going to ?suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America. Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create ?Entertainment Jobs in America." Trump reportedly met with actor John Voight, who has supported a federal tax credit to strengthen the film and television industry in the United States, during a meeting with Trump in February.

To prevent entertainment production from moving overseas, Voight is collaborating with a group that includes the Motion Picture Association, the Directors Guild of America and unions representing actors and writers. What they're saying: "We applaud ?President Trump’s ?support for this vital action, and we look forward to continuing to work with the White House and bipartisan leaders in Congress to enact a ?meaningful and ?effective national incentive into law," Charles Rivkin, ?Motion Picture Association chairman and CEO, said in a statement to Reuters.

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Bottom 90% of New Yorkers’ incomes stagnate as very richest see 58% gain since COVID

New York City’s richest earners have gotten richer since before the pandemic, while lower-income earners have struggled to keep up with high inflation, according to a new report on income inequality from the city comptroller. Wednesday’s report analyzed tax returns from 2019 to 2024, finding income inequality in the city increased over those years and New Yorkers face even more income disparity than the national rate. In 2024, the top 1% of city households held 37% of all income citywide, compared with 22% nationally. Comptroller Mark Levine’s report is the latest data point demonstrating what many New Yorkers have felt firsthand: In the city’s “K-shaped” economy, a few gain more every year, but most continue to struggle financially.

“New York City is generating enormous wealth, but the vast majority of that prosperity is flowing to those who already have the most,” Levine said in a statement. “We need policies that expand economic mobility, build the middle class, strengthen earnings and ensure more New Yorkers can share in the city’s growth.” New York’s wealthiest, like millionaires across the United States, tend to earn a larger portion of their income through means other than wages as they get wealthier. The report found those means — including capital gains, dividends, interest, rent and other profits — are the primary drivers of faster income growth at the top of the economic ladder. The city’s poorest residents, the comptroller said, are poorer than their peers in the rest of the country. In the wealthiest city in the world, New York’s bottom 90% of earners still made 9% less than the bottom 90% across the country in 2024, the most recent year in the analysis. The region’s cost of living is also steeper than elsewhere, with the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis estimating New York-area residents face prices 12.6% higher than the national average.

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The Trump administration is taking stakes in more companies — and progressives are taking notes

The Trump administration is shaking up federal involvement in the mining, tech, energy and defense sectors by making the government part-owner of dozens of U.S. companies -- and sparking a conversation among progressives about how a future Democratic president might reboot the party’s approach to climate and labor policy. Starting with Trump’s surprise moves to take a “golden share” in U.S. Steel and then a 10 percent share in Intel more than a year ago, the administration is approaching $30 billion in equity stakes, warrants or similar plans in U.S. companies by most estimates, a fairly radical departure from orthodoxy outside of times of financial crisis — like the massive government bailouts of 2008-2009 — or world war. The Trump administration is shaking up federal involvement in the mining, tech, energy and defense sectors by making the government part-owner of dozens of U.S. companies -- and sparking a conversation among progressives about how a future Democratic president might reboot the party’s approach to climate and labor policy. Starting with Trump’s surprise moves to take a “golden share” in U.S. Steel and then a 10 percent share in Intel more than a year ago, the administration is approaching $30 billion in equity stakes, warrants or similar plans in U.S. companies by most estimates, a fairly radical departure from orthodoxy outside of times of financial crisis — like the massive government bailouts of 2008-2009 — or world war. That’s not counting some international arrangements, like the Trump administration’s Aug. 28 announcement that it would take a stake in the Venezuelan oil industry, which it said will be engineered by the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital.

The new approach has sparked a mixture of support, criticism and confusion across both parties, with libertarian conservatives pointing out the irony of Trump’s attacks on Democrats as communists and some elected Democrats pledging to investigate equity stake arrangements involving ties to Trump family or allies if they win back power in the midterms. Critics dispute the administration’s authority to take equity stakes in private companies at all. But many Democrats, including some former Biden administration officials working outside the government, also see an opening, now that Trump has managed to cross what was long viewed as a political red line: Putting the government in business with specific companies, influencing their governance and literally letting taxpayers share in the upside — or the downside. They’re encouraging Democrats to explore what an equity-stakes approach might look like — albeit with more guardrails and coordination and transparency, they say – particularly as they grapple with the aftermath of Trump’s dismantling of large chunks of the Biden climate agenda, including the Inflation Reduction Act.

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Lead Stories

Despite outrage, Tarrant County approves 30% reduction in voting sites for November

Tarrant County will have 224 Election Day and 47 early voting polling locations for the November midterm election after numerous calls for more to be added to the original list. Last month, Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig presented a suggested list of polling locations that offered to use roughly half the number of sites that were used in the 2022 midterm election. The Commissioners Court entirely opposed the slash, saying it was far too drastic. In their marathon 10-hour meeting Tuesday, the commissioners voted along party lines to approve 29% fewer Election Day and 6% fewer early voting centers compared to the November 2022 lists.

In 2025, there was a record turnout of voters after the same Commissioners Court reduced the polling locations. A similar outcry happened then, but the average wait time was eight minutes on Election Day and just over a minute during early voting. While workshopping the polling list from Aug. 4, the elections administration reached out to each of the 479 locations that were used in November 2022 or 2024. Of those, there were 269 able and willing to host voters again this midterm. Ludwig said the team whittled down from that list to account for balance across the four precincts and reasonable proximity to another location. The approved list, Ludwig said, benefits Precincts 1 and 2 because they have fewer registered voters than the northern precincts but have just as many voting centers. It is not statutorily required to have equal numbers of polling locations across the four county precincts, though it was criteria given by a 2019 citizen advisory committee. Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons requested several sites be added to the early voting list and almost 150 be added to Election Day. The amendment was turned down because many of the early voting sites were unavailable or gave the southern precincts more locations than the northern precincts had.

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Trump wants Big Oil to build more refineries. That’s a tough sell.

President Trump urged a gathering of oil executives at the White House on Tuesday to build more refineries capable of pumping out fuel, part of his bid to bring down gasoline prices before the November midterms. That’s a tough argument to make. Owning an oil refinery is a profitable proposition in the U.S. right now. Building a new one? Not so much. The paradox helps explain why U.S. refinery operators that are making record profits in the midst of historic fuel supply disruptions in the Middle East, Russia and China have no plans to expand their fleet. Put simply, the oil companies don’t expect the boom times to last. At the meeting, the president and oil executives discussed other ways to expand the nation’s refining capacity, including cutting regulations, speeding up the permitting process and making additional investments.

“The President made clear that he wants lower gas prices at the pump for Americans. The refiners and distributors shared that goal and commitment,” a U.S. official said. The White House also said Trump’s surprise deal to take a direct stake in a large swath of Venezuela’s oil reserves means the country needs more refining capacity to absorb barrels as production comes online. Among those gathered were executives from Chevron, Valero Energy, Marathon Petroleum and PBF Energy, among others. ExxonMobil, the nation’s third-largest refiner, didn’t send a representative. Some companies were initially wary of attending, given Trump’s recent attacks on the industry for not cutting gasoline prices more quickly. Americans paid about $4.10 a gallon on average at the pump Tuesday, according to AAA, up from $2.98 before the start of the conflict in Iran. The problem: Much of what is driving fuel prices higher is beyond the control of both the president and what he has called his favorite industry.

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Hospitals say coming Trump administration rules are worse than GOP's Medicaid cuts

Hospitals thought losing hundreds of billions in Medicaid funding through GOP-led cuts last year was bad. But coming regulations from the Trump administration could slash their funding even deeper than Congress did. Two recently proposed rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would cost hospitals hundreds of billions of dollars more, hospital executives told POLITICO. The rules, which target taxes states use to get more federal Medicaid dollars — and which yield higher payments to hospitals — have prompted hospitals to launch another major lobbying blitz after record spending last year. Hospitals thought losing hundreds of billions in Medicaid funding through GOP-led cuts last year was bad. But coming regulations from the Trump administration could slash their funding even deeper than Congress did. Two recently proposed rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would cost hospitals hundreds of billions of dollars more, hospital executives told POLITICO. The rules, which target taxes states use to get more federal Medicaid dollars — and which yield higher payments to hospitals — have prompted hospitals to launch another major lobbying blitz after record spending last year. “Our core message to CMS is to stick to the statute. Congress cut enough,” said Robert Nelb, director of policy at America’s Essential Hospitals, which represents hospitals serving large Medicaid populations.

“There’s no need to cut any more out of the Medicaid system at a time when the safety net is really struggling,” Nelb added. If the rules are finalized and they lose hundreds of billions on top of Congress’ funding cuts, hospitals say they’ll be forced to reduce services, lay off workers, consolidate operations or shutter entirely. Some systems are already doing so, telling POLITICO they’ve cut staff, ended contracts and slashed hospital beds in response to predicted losses. States fund Medicaid by putting in some of their own money, which the federal government then matches. Congress cracked down on a practice in which states boost their federal matching funds by taxing hospitals to inflate the state portion of the Medicaid budget and then kick the money back to the hospitals in the form of higher payments. Congress also restricted how states directed payments to certain providers, such as boosting payments for those in rural areas. Hospitals say CMS’ rules restricting state taxes and payments go further than what Congress intended.

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ICE arrested 50,000 people in August, continuing record pace

ICE officers and agents arrested roughly 50,000 people in August, according to a senior Department of Homeland Security official familiar with the preliminary arrest data. That number is on par with July’s number, which was the highest single monthly arrest total during the second Trump administration. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is in the midst of a nationwide arrest surge that is not as visible as aggressive enforcement efforts from earlier in the year when Border Patrol was going city by city culminating in the shooting deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis. Arrests fell sharply in February and March but then began to rise in May. June and July both had record ICE arrests according to ICE arrest data.

In June, the Republican-controlled House narrowly passed a roughly $70 billion package to fund ICE and the Border Patrol through the end of President Donald Trump’s term. The sweeping tax and spending bill made ICE the wealthiest law enforcement agency in American history. That pool of money has been used to purchase new “turnkey” facilities for immigration detention, as well as the planned purchase of immigration enforcement tools such as electric gloves and robot dogs. ICE has also moved forward with some additional detention capacity including the recent signing of a new contractor to manage the operations of a new ICE warehouse in San Antonio, Texas, for $17 million, according to government contracting records.

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State Stories

Texas data centers broke law by not responding to water use inquiry

Scores of data center companies could face criminal investigations after most of the state’s known data centers failed to respond to state-mandated inquiries into their water usage. Information requests from state power and water regulators received responses from fewer than half of the data centers identified by the two state agencies. The dearth of information underlined a lack of transparency from data center developers that has fed growing public mistrust. Data centers' rapid emergence in Texas has become a potent issue in this year’s election cycle, especially in rural communities that tend to be Republican strongholds.

“There's not a bigger issue going on right now in Texas,” Rick Thompson, program director for the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas, said at a Texas Senate committee hearing Tuesday, adding that much of the information fueling discussions on the local level “is misleading, and in many cases not true.” Temple McKinnon, water supply planning director at the Texas Water Development Board, said 97 of the 324 facilities they contacted responded to their inquiry, or fewer than 30%. Public Utility Commission Director Connie Corona said fewer than half of the data centers her agency contacted responded. Companies that failed to respond to the Water Development Board could face criminal charges, McKinnon said. Enforcement would be up to local law enforcement agencies and district attorneys. It was unclear if any criminal investigations were underway. The state also does not maintain a complete inventory of all data centers in Texas, Corona said, raising the possibility that many data center operators were never contacted.

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4 in 10 Texas homeowners now pay no school property taxes, study finds

Nearly 40% of Texas homeowners paid nothing in school property taxes last year after a decade of incremental increases to homestead exemptions, according to a analysis presented Tuesday by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. The finding foreshadows a key focus for lawmakers in the coming months, as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in March directed the Senate Local Government Committee, which Bettencourt chairs, to assess the impact of the increased homestead exemptions with an eye toward raising them even further in the 2027 legislative session, which starts in January. Gov. Greg Abbott, meanwhile, has his own plan to eliminate homeowners' school taxes, leaving only businesses to foot that bill.

The Legislature last year raised the homestead exemption — the amount a homeowner can deduct from the taxable value of their residence — to $140,000 for most homeowners and to $200,000 for those over age 65 or with disabilities. It was the fourth time lawmakers have raised the homestead exemption since 2015, when it was just $15,000 for standard homeowners and $25,000 for seniors. Bettencourt's committee staff found that 39% of all homeowners did not pay any school property taxes following the latest hike to the homestead exemption, up from 28% in 2024. Among seniors and disabled Texans, 61% of homeowners paid no school taxes. These homeowners' school tax bills also have long been frozen at the amount they paid in the first year they qualified for either exemption. Property tax bills fell by about 14% for the most homeowners and 33% for seniors and disabled homeowners from 2024 to last year, according to the analysis Bettencourt presented. The average homeowner under 65 now pays $896 a year in school property taxes, the report states, while seniors and disabled homeowners pay an average of $380. "This is a hallmark of affordability," Bettencourt said at a Tuesday meeting of the Local Government Committee.

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‘Stop your b*tching!’ Ted Cruz slams Republicans who are ‘throwing rocks’ at Ken Paxton

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) had a blunt message Tuesday for fellow Republicans “throwing rocks” at Texas GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton: “Stop your b*tching!” Paxton, also the state’s attorney general, will face Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) in November. Yet as Cruz acknowledged on Tuesday’s edition of Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, “This race is a very real fight. It is serious. The polling that’s coming out all shows the race basically tied.” Not to mention, polling released last week from Texas Southern University shows the Democrat with a solid lead over the Republican in three congressional districts, notably ones that President Donald Trump carried by double digits in 2024.

“I spend a lot of time in Texas,” Fox News host Laura Ingraham continued. “I’ve talked to a lot of voters, some friends, and some people who, you know, like Paxton, don’t think he’s a great campaigner, wondering when he’s gonna start really campaigning, wondering when Republicans are really gonna put big money into this, and kinda just annoyed by the whole thing.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) even appeared on the network earlier on Tuesday to urge Trump to “do more” with his super PAC, MAGA Inc., to help Paxton. Thune, though, backed Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the state’s Senate Republican primary, as Paxton’s campaign has had no shortage of scandals. He’s faced questions about alleged voter fraud, lavish vacations with what some call his “mistress,” his office’s plea deal with child sex predator Adam Hoffman, and more. After Ingraham’s comments, Cruz launched into his attack, emphasizing: I’ve gotta say, some of the Republicans that are throwing rocks at Ken Paxton, my message to them is enough! Stop your b*tching! We had a $200 million primary, and Ken won. And one of the reasons the numbers are close is ’cause $200 million of attack ads were run against him, and that does damage. If you wanna complain, complain in the primary. It’s over, and by the way, I will say, every moderate Republican, when they win a primary, they tell conservatives, “Now shut up and support the nominee.” My answer to everyone whining — shut up and support the nominee, and don’t hand Texas over to a communist lunatic.

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Corpus Christi's Inner Harbor desalination project again struck down

Work will again cease on the Inner Harbor desalination project, following another Corpus Christi City Council vote striking down a contract to continue the plant’s design. That means the staff will no longer work on the project, City Manager Peter Zanoni told council members on Sept. 1. It was nearly a year to the day that the majority of the council rejected a similar contract — that one under a different firm — to move forward with the plant. The vote on the contract Sept. 1 nearly mirrored last year's. Supporting the contract were City Council members Everett Roy, Mark Scott and Roland Barrera, and voting in dissent were Carolyn Vaughn, Gil Hernandez, Sylvia Campos, Eric Cantu and Kaylynn Paxson. Mayor Paulette Guajardo was not present; she returns from a 30-day suspension next week.

What had been on the table was a roughly $78.6 million contract with Corpus Christi Desal Partners, which had picked up the mantle after the council dismissed continuing the design contract with Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. last September. The proposed contract with CCDP was to cover the costs to complete 60% of the plant’s design and develop a guaranteed maximum price for the project. The estimate for development of a plant capable of producing as much as 30 million gallons of treated water per day rang in at about $979 million. The positions of council members, disclosed for months, did not change, despite an amended proposal that would develop the project in two phases — in the latter phase, expanding its capacity and incorporating a pipeline to the gulf for brine discharge. Cost estimates to construct it under the two-phase proposal were quoted around $4 billion. Generally speaking, opponents have cited concerns of cost, the environment and its location adjacent to a neighborhood. Proponents have asserted that studies have shown it would be safe for the bay and cited the project as playing a role in potable water production needed to support economic growth. Despite the council turning down the contract, the project isn't necessarily dead. Its permits, at least for now, are intact. Staff will begin contacting state agencies about the decision, including the Texas Water Development Board, Zanoni told council members. The board had awarded the city $757 million in low-interest loans to support the initiative.

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Controversial posts spark rally to remove Cheryl Bean, board chair of Fort Worth charter school

A group of around 20 students and parents rallied in front of the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts on Monday to call for the resignation of Texas Center for Arts + Academics board chair Cheryl Bean, following a string of racially motivated social media posts. During the school board meeting that followed the rally, a dozen parents and community members spoke in support of, and against Bean. Superintendent Anika Perkins spoke for 15 minutes before public comment addressing Bean’s social media posts, which she said were “characterized as racist.” Perkins said that she received numerous racist threats for not releasing a public response to Bean’s social media posts.

Flyers handed out at the rally had 13 of Bean’s social media posts printed out. One depicted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a plane flying into the twin towers on 9/11. Another was an AI generated image of Jasmine Crockett that called her “The Queen of the ghetto frontier.” Another showed a picture of Osama bin Laden saying “I won” following the election of Mamdani. The post that brought the most controversy was an AI generated image of WNBA player Sophie Cunningham depicting the “Washington crossing the Delaware” image. In the image, the Black players wore floaties and the white players did not. The photo was captioned “IYKYK A little humor for the day.” Bean later deleted her post, and Perkins issued a statement that said the intent of the post was to show support for female athletes. At the time of publication, over 2,000 people signed an online petition calling for the removal of Bean from her position as board chair. Bean said she wishes that parents that are unhappy with the problems at the school would become “part of the solution.” “They obviously love it here because the same parents have been complaining for years, and they never leave,” Bean said.

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More than 300 Flock cameras to shut down as Texas halts funding, DPD confirms

More than 300 Flock cameras in the City of Dallas will be shut off this month, according to the Dallas Police Department. In a statement Tuesday, DPD says the department got an official notification regarding the impact on the State of Texas' directive on grant funding used to support Flock Safety cameras. On Aug. 28, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all state agencies to pause funding for Flock cameras. “To the extent that cities get any funding for those cameras, most of it comes from the federal government. To the extent any funding comes from Texas agencies, those agencies are clarifying that those funds cannot be used for Flock cameras,” Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement shared first with the Texas Tribune.

"As a result, 321 Flock cameras currently supported through affected state grant funding will no longer be eligible for that funding," the statement reads. "To ensure compliance with the Governor’s directive, the Department will cancel those cameras effective September 15, 2026." Police say, despite the loss, DPD will continue to have more than 300 Flock cameras operating throughout Dallas. The department says the cameras remain an important investigative tool and are used daily by detectives and officers to assist in solving crimes. In early August, Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux spoke with WFAA's Inside Texas Politics, where he expressed his support for Flock cameras. Records obtained by WFAA show that DPD queried the Flock database more than 63,000 times as they tracked down investigative leads, tried to find suspects' cars and looked for people with active warrants.

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Studies find 2 viable routes for passenger rail connecting Austin, San Antonio

There are two viable routes for the long-wanted passenger rail between Austin and San Antonio, but more work is needed to evaluate which is the best for the region. Recently, two studies on expanding passenger rail service between Austin and San Antonio were published. One study was commissioned by the Texas Department of Transportation that looked at improving the existing Union Pacific rail line that runs between the two cities, an idea that’s been looked at before. Another study, commissioned by Travis County, looked at the feasibility of building out a new passenger rail line that would roughly follow the same route as State Highway 130.

Both studies showed it’d be possible to create a passenger rail service along those routes. Travis County Judge Andy Brown said there is wide support for adding more passenger trains in Central Texas. He added that Austin, San Antonio and cities in between should put their resources together to get more passenger rail along one of these routes. “Nobody in these regions that I have talked to opposes it,” Brown said. “Everybody would like to see it. ... Every large company that I've talked to in this region loves this idea; the (San Antonio) Spurs love this idea.” Brown said his ultimate goal is for the region to add easily accessible passenger rail options from Williamson County all the way to San Antonio. That way, there can be solid mobility connections from the rest of the region to the massive Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. chipmaking factory that’s located in Taylor. “Passenger rail service between Williamson County, Travis County and Bexar County — and the regions in between — is very realistic,” Brown said. “Given our increase in populations and the fact that just having one highway, no matter how good it is in connecting people in this mega-region, it’s not going to be sufficient for people to get around quickly and reliably for commutes.”

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Abbott addresses Morgan Stanley speculation in Dallas

Gov. Greg Abbott loves to tout Y'all Street but he's staying mum on an expected huge addition to the state's financial sector. Asked on Aug. 27 whether Morgan Stanley planned to establish a major hub in Dallas, Abbott responded: "Only Morgan Stanley can make that announcement." The governor was speaking at a bell-ringing event for the New York Stock Exchange's Texas operation at Old Parkland. While it's been up and running for some time, NYSE Texas, a part of Intercontinental Exchange Inc., celebrated its progress at the prominent office campus with an event that drew scores if CEOs, investors and influencers from the world of high finance.

Whether Morgan is coming to Dallas has been the talk of the business world since Dallas Business Journal first reported in January that the company was considering a major office in the region. Morgan Stanley has declined to confirm those plans. But there has been plenty of evidence recently that the company has made a decision or is close to doing so. Dallas City Council authorized an $18.5 million incentives deal and additional tax breaks for Morgan in June — the biggest package of its type in city history. The firm also received approval from Dallas City Plan Commission in early August to set up signage at Fountain Place, where it would operate temporarily while awaiting completion of a planned $1.3 billion office tower in Uptown. Additionally, multiple publications recently reported that Morgan has signed a lease at Fountain Place. Morgan Stanley had been weighing Dallas and Alpharetta, Georgia for a hub. However, no incentives deals have been approved for the firm in Alpharetta.

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Fast-growing law firm Hogan Thompson Schuelke nearly doubles downtown Houston footprint

Houston-based Hogan Thompson Schuelke, a fast-growing energy litigation law firm, is preparing to nearly double its downtown footprint just a few years after moving. The firm inked a lease to add 6,506 square feet to its existing 7,541-square-foot space at 1001 Fannin St., bringing its total office to 13,957 square feet. As part of the expanded lease, Hogan Thompson Schuelke’s name will be added to 1001 Fannin’s exterior signage. “We’ve outgrown our original space in just three years, which is a great problem to have,” Managing Partner Christopher Hogan said in a statement. “Nearly doubling our office allows us to continue expanding our energy litigation team to accommodate a growing client roster and scale well into the future.” Hogan Thompson Schuelke is in the process of building out its new office space and expects to complete the project in early 2027. The firm’s expanded lease runs through July 2030.

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Texas sues Amazon over billions in alleged overcharges

Texas has filed a lawsuit against Amazon for allegedly deceiving businesses over the prices they pay for advertising on its platform. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office contends that Amazon rigged advertising auctions, overcharging businesses $4.5 billion in a single year, ultimately driving up consumer prices. The lawsuit was filed in Collin County. According to state officials, Amazon sells advertising space on its website through auctions that run in a fraction of a second each time a shopper searches, and advertisers were told they would pay only the lowest bid.

Paxton’s office contends that Amazon has stopped using the “second-price auction” model and instead has applied hidden surcharges and undisclosed soft reserve prices that push the winner’s cost toward its own maximum bid. “Amazon lied to Texas small businesses and charged them for an auction it never ran,” Paxton alleges. “Amazon must tell Texas job creators the truth about what they are buying and what they are paying for it.” Texas’ legal maneuver comes as the Federal Trade Commission and more than 20 other states filed a separate lawsuit against Amazon in federal court on Aug. 31 over similar concerns. Amazon disputes the claims. “The FTC today filed a misguided lawsuit claiming Amazon misled advertisers about its sponsored ads pricing and auction. Amazon strongly disagrees,” the company noted in a statement obtained by the Business Journal.

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Tina wanted another baby. She also needed an abortion. Texas made both harder.

Tina fixated on the tiny cross. She hated that she kept thinking about it. Months later, she’d hate that it made such an impression on her at all. But she couldn’t really blame herself. Tina, 35 at the time, was expecting her second child in five weeks. It had been more than four years of trying to complete her family: years marked by miscarriage, fertility treatment, another miscarriage, more fertility treatment and an ectopic pregnancy. She’d injected her body with hormones and undergone surgery to harvest her eggs for in vitro fertilization, hoping for an embryo to stick in her uterus. There had been a diagnosis, something called Asherman’s syndrome, in which repeated uterine scarring can make it difficult — in her case, maybe even impossible — to stay pregnant.

Tina, whom The 19th is referring to by a pseudonym to discuss her reproductive health history in detail, had enrolled in a clinical trial in Austin. She’d hoped fruitlessly for a drug that might help her stay pregnant long enough to have another child. Through all this, her doctor had been there. She prescribed medication and performed surgery to help Tina’s body expel the fetal tissue of her lost pregnancies. And she was there — offering support even if not literally present — when, after months of heartbreak, Tina’s sister-in-law offered a gift she still couldn’t quite comprehend: to carry a baby for Tina and her husband. He was a boy, the pregnancy now 34 weeks along and perfectly healthy. They bought a secondhand Snoo, the robotic bassinet supposed to help with baby sleep. They booked changeable tickets to California, where her sister-in-law would soon give birth. The couple never went too far from home. They wanted to be prepared in case the baby came early, in case they had to jump onto the four-and-a-half-hour flight it would take to be there when their son was born.

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Fort Worth council member owes Texas up to $1M, mismanaged food program: lawsuit

A ministry overseen by pastor and Fort Worth City Council member Chris Nettles is being sued by the state after officials alleged his ministry misused federal food program funding and owes more than $700,000 to the state. State officials filed a lawsuit Aug. 6 in Travis County District Court against Purpose Driven Ministries, alleging it owed the state $787,873 in “disallowed expenses” through the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Across Texas, there are 924 contract entities that participate in the program and provide meals at more than 9,900 sites, state data shows. At least 141 million breakfasts, lunches and snacks have been served in the program year.

The federal program — overseen by the Texas Department of Agriculture — reimburses the cost of nutritious meals and snacks provided to children at locations such as childcare centers and afterschool programs. The state is seeking monetary relief of $1 million or less, excluding interest, attorney fees and more. The state does not specify the “disallowed expenses” in its lawsuit. Nettles did not respond to multiple requests for comment Monday afternoon. State officials alleged in the lawsuit that Purpose Driven Ministries failed to pay “the amounts determined to be due” to the Department of Agriculture “despite demand for payment.” “As a result of Defendant Purpose Driven Ministries’ failure to pay the amount due, the Department has referred the debt to the Office of the Attorney General of Texas for collection,” the lawsuit states. Nettles signed an agreement with the Texas Department of Agriculture in 2018 to participate in the federal program designating that childcare centers would be served. Purpose Driven Ministries previously operated Haven of Purpose Child Care Center, at 3000 Vaughn Blvd., which opened the same year but closed in April.

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National Stories

Cost of a data breach reaches record $5 million on average

Artificial intelligence has “radically shifted” the cyber risk landscape, and the average cost of a data breach has reached a record of nearly $5 million. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report, cyberattackers are using AI and attacking AI. AI-driven attacks increased 56% over last year’s study, adding about $1 million to the cost of a breach to reach an average $4.99 million—a 12% increase. “What’s changing is the economics of cyberattacks. AI is making attacks faster and cheaper, while breaches keep getting more expensive,” said Suja Viswesan, vice president, IBM Security Software. “When organizations have an extended gap between discovery and remediation, that imbalance shows up directly in breach costs. The priority now is to eliminate that lag—building remediation into development workflows, securing identity at runtime, and fixing risks at the speed attackers are already moving.”

The research was conducted by Ponemon Institute and sponsored, analyzed and published by IBM. Ponemon studied 602 organizations impacted by data breaches from March 2025 through February 2026 and interviewed more than 3,550 security and C-suite leaders. The research found 92% of organization that suffered an AI-related breach did not have proper AI-access controls. However, 85% of breached organizations said they plan to increase spending on security tools and governance. “The new threats have also caused organizations to rethink the use of AI agents in security,” IBM said in the report. “Three quarters said they will deploy agents at higher rates in alert triage, vulnerability management, and scans and penetration testing.” IBM said average breach costs are worse in the U.S., reaching a record of about $11.5 million thanks to traditionally higher business costs and regulatory fines. The amount is about double the global average. The healthcare industry holds the distinction as most expensive average data breach at about $6.4 million, which is actually down from an average $7.4 million. Costs of a breach for the financial services and energy industries were an average $6.3 million and $5.2 million, respectively. Malicious or criminal attacks accounted for 55% of all data breaches, up almost 8% from last year, according to the report. These types of attacks more than doubled those caused by IT failures or human error.

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Democrats are fuming at two moderates who helped bail out Republicans

Two moderate Democrats bailed out House Republicans from an embarrassing loss on the floor thanks to a revolt from House conservatives, leaving their Democratic colleagues fuming. Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state voted alongside Republicans to move forward with debate on several bills, including a provision to condemn socialism that Republicans are expected to tout on the campaign trail. Their “yes” votes caught Democratic leadership completely by surprise. Members of Democratic leadership said in a statement Tuesday night that they plan to take quick action against the pair. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said they have asked the Committee on Caucus Rules — which recommends changes for how the party handles legislative priorities — to take up the issue.

“The decision by two of our colleagues to blindside the entire House Democratic Caucus and join with the Republican majority to pass a procedural rule on the brink of failing represents a significant breach of trust,” they wrote. “It is an action that necessitates a serious response.” Jeffries told reporters earlier in the day that he did not know that those Democrats, whose votes were decisive in advancing the procedural measure, were planning to vote with Republicans. A Democratic leadership aide told reporters that leadership does not whip votes on procedural rules as minority members. It’s extremely rare for a member to cross party lines to support the opposition’s agenda. “I am fucking livid,” another House Democratic aide, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told NOTUS. Golden is not running for reelection, while Gluesenkamp Perez is defending her seat in a race the Cook Political Report has deemed a “toss up.” Golden told reporters that he voted in favor of the rule in order to advance a bill he sponsored, the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act, that was part of the rule package.

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Case against suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing can proceed to trial, judge rules

The case against Tyler Robinson, the man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, can move to trial, a judge ruled, citing sufficient probable cause. Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted. Judge Tony Graf ruled Robinson will stand trial on all counts, including aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury. Robinson was arraigned and his attorney entered not guilty pleas on his behalf. Kirk’s family welcomed the ruling as an important step in the “pursuit of justice.” Erika Kirk, alongside her late husband’s parents, were in the courtroom today.

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Takeaways from Massachusetts, where generational challenges fizzled

The anti-incumbent mood that has ousted veteran Democrats across the country spared them in deep-blue Massachusetts on Tuesday night. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D), a 71-year-old former ironworker and senior member of the House Oversight Committee, fended off a younger, progressive challenger. He beat lawyer and voting rights advocate Patrick Roath, 39, who ran to Lynch’s left and outraised him, while urging voters to embrace generational change. Incumbents hold a profound advantage, but an unusual number of challengers have succeeded in ousting other Democrats this year. They have mostly been more progressive or, like Roath, younger and more progressive than the veterans they took on.

Across both parties, 11 House incumbents have lost reelection bids this year, the second-highest number since 2012, and an unusually high tally for an election that did not follow nationwide redistricting. But deep-blue Massachusetts tangled the narrative that voters were ready to reject older incumbents: Sen. Ed Markey, 80, similarly defeated a younger challenger, moderate Rep. Seth Moulton, 47, in a race in which voters prioritized left-leaning values over the candidates’ ages. With the primary season winding down, there are no more generational nominating battles for Democrats this year. The three remaining House members with primary challengers were elected within the past four years. Here are four key takeaways from the primaries in Massachusetts, where Democratic winners typically hold an overwhelming advantage in the general election. Roath and Markey were markedly more progressive than their opponents, and each ran campaigns that focused on affordability and issues that resonated with younger voters and the party’s more liberal wing.

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‘Slap in the face’: Wisconsin dairy farmers brace for impact with imported beef

Sydney Flick works on her family farm in Lodi, Wisconsin, which is north of Madison. She works with her dad, younger brother and a team of 14 additional people. “We milk about 700 Jersey cows and farm around 1300 acres,” Flick said. Flick says selling beef has been important for her farm, as the price of milk remains low. “We have animals that we raise specifically to finish out and sell as beef, but then as a dairy farm, we also have animals that reach their end of their career as a dairy cow who will then also get sold for beef,” Flick said. “As our price that we’re getting paid for milk has been lower, those increased beef prices have been really important on our farm to really help balance out our income and expenses a little bit.”

The Trump administration is importing 300,000 tons of ground beef from other countries over the next three months in an attempt to lower grocery costs, as affordability remains a top concern among Americans. “This is a very short-term fix from the president’s perspective that he believed necessary to get lower-cost beef onto American plates,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Spectrum News. Hans Breitenmoser, a dairy farmer in Merrill, Wisconsin, has 460 cows and raises crops to feed them. He said he sells, on average, nine cows per week for beef: Six dairy-beef crosses and three cull cows. “When a dairy cow outlives her usefulness as a milk-producing animal, then she is culled, and that cow goes into the beef stream [as ground beef],” explained Breitenmoser. “The other thing that has been happening… a lot of our cows on our farm, and certainly a lot of cows on other dairy farms—are bred to beef semen to produce a beef cross calf, and those calves do end up in the fed beef market. So those are the ones that end up ultimately as your steaks and your roast.”

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CBS News head Bari Weiss hit with furious staff backlash

CBS News boss Bari Weiss drew intense backlash from her own staff after intervening in a story to tie Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Current and former staffers blasted to Status the “shameful” story the now-Trump-friendly network wrote about El-Sayed, who is bidding to be the first Muslim elected to the Senate, as well as an accompanying social media post suggesting he may be “facing the risk of renewed scrutiny and fresh political attack” ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Monday’s article was about how the Michigan Democrat had deleted two posts on X that he wrote during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, noting that the virus had already killed more Americans than the 2001 terror attacks on New York City and the Pentagon.

In one since-deleted post, El-Sayed, a former epidemiologist and public health official, wrote that he hoped “we’ll spend the next ten years fighting a war for public health & against poverty ... like we launched a global #WaronTerror after 9/11.” In the other deleted post, which El-Sayed wrote on Sept. 11, 2021, he said, “Today, I mourn the 3K lives, 6K injuries, & infrastructural devastation in NYC, perpetuated ignorantly in the name of my faith. Tomorrow, I’ll mourn ~1M lives, millions of injuries, & infrastructural devastation in 3 countries, perpetuated ignorantly in the name of my country.” The Democratic Socialist deleted the posts after scrubbing his entire social media output from before July 2023, with his campaign telling Politico that he did not want the posts to be “taken out of context.” However, Weiss, who had no experience in television news production before Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison parachuted her into the role of editor-in-chief at CBS News, believed the deleted posts were scandalous enough to report on. Sources told Status that Weiss even personally directed that the story’s headline be changed to specifically mention that El-Sayed had deleted posts referencing the 9/11 attacks.

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Lead Stories

Texas hospitals expect to lose $27 million a day in Medicaid funding starting Tuesday

When the state’s new fiscal year begins on Tuesday, Texas hospitals expect to lose $27 million a day in additional Medicaid funding. The shortfall is the result of a decision by the Trump administration to withhold approval from Texas for about $9.8 billion in the next year from three programs, the bulk of which affects the Comprehensive Hospital Increase Reimbursement Program (CHIRP). This program gives hospitals additional funding to cover the difference between Medicaid rate payments and the actual costs that hospitals incur to provide services to Medicaid patients. Essentially, hospitals, which often are paid less than what they caspend on Medicaid patients due to outdated payment rates set by the state, are losing out on their additional reimbursement for 2027. Local governmental entities collect taxes from hospitals — about $4 billion a year, according to the Texas Hospital Association — and under CHIRP, the federal government matches those funds so that Texas hospitals can then use them to cover the actual costs of providing Medicaid services.

Hospitals say those CHIRP dollars are critical and if they lose that funding, they will likely have to cut services to patients. Four million low-income Texans are enrolled in Medicaid, most of them children. “It is impossible for a hospital to take a huge loss on a Medicaid side of their portfolio and not have that impact services across the board, regardless of what type of insurance a patient has,” said Sara González, a THA vice president of advocacy, public policy and political strategy. In Houston alone, the impact could mean at least $258 million less for the public healthcare system there known as Harris Health and as much as $1.4 billion less for the region overall next year. “The impacts would be catastrophic for Texas’ safety-net healthcare system,” said Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, president and CEO of Harris Health. “We are carefully monitoring every dollar and would be forced to make difficult decisions about maintaining critical services if this impasse continues.” The federal government is withholding these critical dollars because they are calling into question how local jurisdictions in Texas calculate the amount of taxes collected from hospitals. Robert Fries, the chief financial officer for Children’s Health in Dallas said in a statement that this type of funding is crucial for children’s hospitals like Children’s Medical Center. “Delays and uncertainty threaten access to critical pediatric specialty care, behavioral health services and the workforce needed to deliver that care,” Fries said. “If these delays continue, it will become increasingly difficult to maintain the health care safety net that Texas children and families depend on every day.”

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Texas prepares for severe weather as heavy rain, outages threaten region

State officials are warning Texans to prepare for dangerous weather from Tropical Storm Edouard that could bring heavy rain, damaging winds, flooding and widespread power outages. Gov. Greg Abbott and emergency officials say crews are on standby and ready to respond, but residents must also take steps now to protect themselves and their families. “This is a good time for everybody to go through both the mental and physical exercise of getting prepared for a storm like this.” Emergency management teams are forecasting heavy rain and high winds that could threaten lives and cause widespread power outages. However, officials tracking the storm say the state’s power grid is expected to hold. Texans from Brownsville to Beaumont are being urged to remain weather-aware, follow instructions from local officials and be prepared.

Residents should follow any local evacuation orders, monitor forecasts and review their family emergency plans in case of flooding or a power outage. Officials also encourage people to be prepared to assist relatives and neighbors who may need extra help. “This is our first big storm of the season, and I’ll tell you, Texas is prepared,” said Orlando Alaniz with the Texas Division of Emergency Management. CenterPoint says it is closely monitoring conditions across Houston and 12 surrounding counties. Nearly 3,000 workers are on standby and ready to respond, along with 100 gas line workers. CenterPoint says all of its substations have been inspected and are ready. “We’re ready, we’re focused and we’re mobilized. We’re going to be responding as quickly and as safely as possible to any type of outages that come,” said Nathan Brownell with CenterPoint. Officials anticipate this will be a relatively short weather event but say it is still important to remain prepared. One final reminder: Officials say to assume any downed power line is energized and stay at least 35 feet away. CenterPoint is expected to provide another weather update at 5 p.m. tomorrow.

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Trump says communities that oppose data centers will end up ‘backwards and poor’

President Donald Trump came out strongly in favor of data center construction across the country on Monday, writing on Truth Social that those speaking out against the expensive and resource-intensive projects must want to “end up being backwards and poor.” His post comes at a time when data center popularity is plummeting. According to a survey this year by the Pew Research Center, “more Americans say data centers have a negative effect on the environment, home energy costs and people’s quality of life nearby than say they have a positive effect.” And a Reuters-Ipsos poll in June found that 77% of Americans worry that artificial intelligence will raise their electricity bills. Trump, however, disagreed with that assessment.

“If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign,” he wrote Monday. “The good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them. If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.” Many lawmakers who support data centers have pitched their development as an existential struggle to defeat China, which is also working to create sophisticated AI technologies. Trump highlighted this framing in his message, saying that “China could not be happier” with the anti-data center stances that candidates for both parties have adopted, including some Republicans who previously championed the developments. For example, just last year Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared his state the “epicenter of AI development” — but this month, he abandoned the claim and halted approvals of about 1,800 new data centers, citing concerns that they use too much power and water. Nationally, progressive Democrats are pushing a moratorium on the construction of new AI data centers. A bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) had faced bipartisan pushback when it was introduced in March, with elected officials from both parties arguing the United States must continue to develop the technology to stay ahead of rival nations.

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GOP soul-searching for life after Trump is ramping up

Republicans say their party will need to do a lot of soul searching to find its direction before President Trump leaves office in 2029, something that is coming into sharper focus with the approaching midterm election and the realization that Trump will soon become a lame duck. GOP strategists and political experts say the discussion about what comes next will begin to ramp up considerably after the November election. It’s a discussion likely to be impacted by how effective the GOP is this fall in defending its House and Senate majorities. “There will be a serious debate about the policy, about what the direction of the party is,” said Vin Weber, a GOP strategist and former member of House GOP leadership.

That debate will center on whether the Trump revolution on a host of issues, such as trade, will live on with the GOP. Weber said Republicans have embraced tariffs in recent years because they “respect Donald Trump as the negotiator,” not because they’ve embraced the concept of tariffs generally. “The traditional position of the Republican Party is anti-tariff. Tariffs are anti-trade, tariffs are taxes. The Republican Party that I grew up in was never the party of tariffs. The Democrats were the party of tariffs,” Weber said. He said Republicans embraced Trump as a bold fighter who won’t back down, but he said not everyone in the party is thrilled about some of Trump’s policy positions, including tariffs and federal meddling in the private sector. “In my view, much of the appeal of Trump to the Republican Party was that he was able to rouse the faithful against the movement to the radical left that we experienced under Barack Obama,” he added.

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State Stories

Texas’ Medicaid application backlog grows to more than 210,000, state data shows

Texas’ backlog of Medicaid applications grew from about 1,600 in January to more than 210,000 in August. During the same period, the backlog for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, grew from about 3,700 to more than 150,000, according to data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, or HHSC, released by Texans Care for Children – a statewide research and advocacy organization. The group worries the backlog could continue to grow. “We’re very concerned that Texans are stuck waiting longer for healthcare and food,” said Diana Forester, director of health policy at Texans Care for Children. “We want to make sure pregnant women can start prenatal care quickly. We want to make sure that kids can see the doctor when they’re sick or need a checkup. We want to make sure people can eat.”

Forester’s group points to recent changes to SNAP as one of the key drivers of the increasing backlog. Last year, federal policymakers approved significant changes to SNAP as part of the massive federal tax and spending bill. Texas will already see millions of dollars in additional administrative costs later this year when states will have to take on more of the administrative costs of running SNAP – going from an even share with the federal government to covering 75%. In addition, Texas could be responsible for covering more than $700 million in benefits costs if it doesn’t improve the accuracy of its program. In order to avoid paying for part of the program, Texas would need an accuracy rate of 94%, but in fiscal year 2025, the state’s rate was 91%. In an email to KERA, HHSC said it continues to focus on helping eligible Texans receive food and healthcare benefits as quickly as possible. The agency issued a similar statement to KERA in May after Forester’s organization released data showing more than 40,000 pregnant people in Texas were waiting at least a month for their application to be processed.

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Matt Lanza: I’m a meteorologist who left Houston. Here's what the city needs.

(Matt Lanza, managing editor for Space City Weather and a former CenterPoint Energy meteorologist, will be leaving Houston for Connecticut after 15 years.) When the news came out this spring that I was leaving Houston, I thought it was interesting that some media reports framed it as a meteorologist fleeing climate change. That led people to ask, “If a meteorologist is leaving Houston because of climate change, what should I be doing?” It also produced humorous social media fodder. Everyone believes what they believe. But here’s the reality: Though I didn’t leave Houston because of climate change, it’s a reality that we need to build more resiliency in this city to manage the impacts. If anything, I’m bullish on Houston’s future more than most other Texas cities. Why? Houston works. It’s functional, and it has an attitude and culture to match. When I’m asked what I’ll miss most about Houston, I answer, “The people and the food.”

The people speak for themselves. Houstonians are some of the nicest, most charitable, coolest people in the country. Sadly, it often takes disasters for the world to see that. But living here, you get it. As for the food? I don’t care what magazine or website rankings say, Houston has the best food culture in America. I’ve gotten to know folks in the food and beverage industry in Houston, and I cannot profess my admiration for them enough. And when I think about the consequences of extreme weather, I think about the people who work in that industry, where margins matter so much. One storm can end it for them. When I write for Space City Weather, I think of a restaurant owner as my audience. They care deeply about weather impacts, and they just want to know what everything means to their business, employees and livelihood. When thinking about climate change and extreme weather, I don’t think of the politics or even the causes. What I think about is the impact. And outside of maybe Florida, Louisiana and California, I don’t think any place in the U.S. has seen more impact than Houston in the last 10 to 15 years. When we think about solutions, we need to think about mitigation and resilience. And yes, that stuff costs money. But you know what else costs money? People fleeing to other cities because they’ve flooded repeatedly. Amazing restaurateurs could well decide that though they love Houston, in order to function with fewer flood risks or power outages due to storms, they need to take their business to Austin or San Antonio or elsewhere. Maybe even a top-tier energy company could decide that to keep their operations functioning with fewer risks of disruption, they should set up shop in Austin or Dallas.

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Perry Fowler: Advancing Inner Harbor desal is responsible step for water

(Perry L. Fowler is the executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network.) (Editor's note: The Corpus Christi City Council is scheduled on Sept. 1 to vote on whether to award a design-build contract to Corpus Christi Desalination Partners LLC for 60% design services for the proposed Inner Harbor seawater desalination project, as well as design and construction of a demonstration plant and developing and verifying the guaranteed maximum price, at a cost of up to $78.6 million. The council had tabled the vote in June.) Recent rainfall has given Corpus Christi welcome relief. Reservoir levels have improved, restrictions have eased, and the immediate pressure on the region's water supply is lower than it was just months ago. That relief should be used to make long-term decisions from a position of stability, not crisis.

The underlying challenge hasn't changed. South Texas will see another severe drought. Population and economic growth will keep straining limited supplies. Corpus Christi still needs a diversified water portfolio, one built on groundwater, conservation, reuse, regional projects, and desalination that can deliver reliably through both wet and dry years. The question isn't whether any one option should replace the others. It's whether the city should keep advancing one of the most developed major water-supply projects it actually controls: one with an effectively unlimited raw-water source, existing permits, substantial engineering already complete, and significant state financing available. It should. The first phase of the Inner Harbor desalination project is designed to deliver roughly 30 million gallons a day of potable water from the Gulf of Mexico, a source that doesn't depend on rainfall or watershed inflows. Corpus Christi has spent years advancing it through engineering, environmental review, and state and federal permitting. The permits are in hand. The project has received substantial support from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas. It is significantly further along than most other large-scale alternatives now being discussed, and that head start matters.

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South Texas ranchers fear imported beef could drive more producers out of business

The price of ground beef has climbed sharply in recent years, but South Texas ranchers say they are not necessarily benefiting from the higher prices consumers are paying at the grocery store. Federal Reserve data shows the price of ground beef has increased by more than $3 per pound, or about 80%, since 2019. At the same time, ranchers are dealing with the lingering effects of severe drought and the New World screwworm outbreak. "We're struggling. If it ain't the cost of the fertilizer, the cost of the feed, the cost of the cattle meds is way up the roof," said Walter Mencias, division livestock foreman for Wyatt Ranches. Mencias said some ranchers have already been forced to sell their herds because of rising costs.

Now, ranchers are watching another potential challenge. President Donald Trump announced plans to bring more imported beef into the United States for 90 days in an effort to address high beef prices. The plan allows up to 661 million pounds of beef to enter the country tariff-free during that period. Mencias worries the additional imports could put even more pressure on cattle producers. "If this keeps up the way it's going, a lot of ranchers are gonna be forced to sell," Mencias said. "As it is, we're in a shortage of cattle." Mencias said if more ranchers are forced to sell their herds, it could make the nation's cattle shortage even worse. Consumer advocate John Breyault, vice president of public policy for the National Consumers League, agrees that the imports may not provide meaningful relief for shoppers. "Dropping tariffs on 661 million pounds of beef isn't going to fix those high prices," Breyault said. "It only represents a small percentage of the total amount of beef that we consume in the United States in a given year." Breyault also argues that a small group of large meatpacking companies, which he says make up over 80% American market, could benefit more than ranchers or consumers. "Who this really is going to help is the big meatpacking companies who control the industry," Breyault said.

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Here’s what you need to know about Texas’ voter suspense list

Multiple headlines recently have fueled confusion among Texas voters who have been placed on the state’s suspense list. Voters on the suspense list can still vote. Despite its name, being placed on the suspense list does not mean a voter’s registration was suspended, canceled, or that the voter was removed from the voter roll. The list is made up of registered voters whose local election officials have reason to believe they may no longer live at the address they used to register to vote. Texas voters move every day, and they often don’t update their address on their voter registration record. Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, said the number of voters on the suspense list now — 1.2 million out of more than 18 million registered voters — is consistent with what the state has seen in previous election cycles.

Voters on the suspense list can confirm their address by contacting their local voter registrar ahead of the Oct. 5 voter registration deadline and filling out a new voter registration form with their updated address. Voters can also update their address at the polls. What is the suspense list? It’s an address verification list. By law, if a county voter registrar “has reason to believe that a voter’s current residence is different from that indicated on the registration records,” the voter registrar “shall deliver to the voter a written confirmation notice requesting confirmation of the voter’s current residence,” according to the secretary of state’s office guidance. How are voters placed on it? Every two years, each county voter registrar mails a new voter registration certificate to all active voters, a move required by law to keep the voter roll up to date. If the U.S. Postal Service returns the certificate as nondeliverable, the voter registrar must then confirm that the voter still lives at that address. That’s when a voter is added to the suspense list. A voter registrar mails a notice of address confirmation to voters when: The voter’s registration certificate has been returned as nondeliverable. A jury summons or any mailing sent to the voter was returned as nondeliverable. The voter registrar has received information indicating the voter no longer resides at the address on file. For example, parents can notify their voter registrar if their children have moved, or a voter themselves can call the voter registrar to say they no longer live at that address.

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Secretive Texas housing group builds apartment empire 1,500 miles away

Earlier this year, residents of an upscale multi-family apartment complex in a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina, received an unusual letter. It advised them that their homes at the Otarre Pointe Apartments had been sold, recalled City of Cayce Mayor Pro-Tem Phil Carter. The new owners would be converting most of the 299-unit complex into affordable housing. The upshot: Residents who did not meet the new lower income requirements would have to leave when their lease was up. The demand struck Carter as odd. “It’s just wrong to put people out of their homes,” he said. Equally strange, he said, was the identity of the new owner: A mysterious nonprofit attached to El Paso HOME, a Texas public housing authority located more than 1,500 miles away. Carter said his attempts to reach officials there were met with silence.

Cayce isn’t the only distant place where the new entity, Sixteenth Floor Residential, has been scooping up property, either. Public records show that over the course of barely a year, the El Paso organization has acquired hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of multi-family real estate — about 2,000 apartments — in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. El Paso HOME’s foray into distant jurisdictions is unique, said Stuart Nicol, an S&P Global analyst who follows affordable housing. “This is the first public housing authority we’ve come across doing this,” he said. Why is a nonprofit operated by a far West Texas public agency, charged with providing affordable lodging for a mid-sized city, accumulating a large real estate portfolio on the other side of the country? Sixteenth Floor would prefer not to say. Executive Director Gerald Cichon declined several interview requests. In response to open records requests from the Houston Chronicle, Sixteenth Floor insisted that it is a separate nonprofit company that isn’t required to disclose financial details of its growing business.

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New Texas laws expand repair rights, regulate solar sellers and recognize gold as money

Texas laws taking effect Sept. 1 will change how consumers repair electronic devices, strengthen oversight of residential solar sales and allow certain forms of gold and silver to be used as legal tender. House Bill 2963 creates a limited “right to repair” for digital electronic equipment. It requires manufacturers to provide owners and independent repair businesses with the parts, tools and documentation available to authorized repair shops on “fair and reasonable terms.” “This law is a major step forward,” said Nathan Proctor, senior director of U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign. “It allows Texans to get access to parts, tools, and other things you need to fix modern electronics.”

The law covers consumer electronics with a wholesale price of at least $50 — but only equipment originally offered for sale in Texas on or after Sept. 1. Consequently, devices already on the market before that date are not covered. The measure also contains numerous exemptions, including many motor vehicles, farm equipment, medical devices, video-game consoles, large home appliances, heavy equipment and certain cybersecurity-related products. Small countertop appliances are not included in the home-appliance exemption. The Texas attorney general can enforce the law, but it does not create a private right for consumers to sue over violations. “We strongly advocate for the right to repair everything,” Proctor said. “In Texas, there was clear agreement on personal electronics.” He said Texas lawmakers could expand the right to repair, as in other states, if enough voters make it clear this is what they want. Another change arriving Sept. 1 is the registration requirement under Senate Bill 1036, the Residential Solar Retailer Regulatory Act. Residential solar systems salespeople must now register with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and work for a registered solar retailer. Retailers that employ or contract with salespeople must also register.

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What is sharia? Muslims and Texas Republicans have very different answers

In political campaigns and the party’s platform, Texas Republicans condemn “sharia law” as a dangerous system of extremist Islamic rules and restrictions that threaten democracy, religious freedom and personal liberty — an affront to American values that must be stamped out. But when Shaimaa Zayan considers what “sharia” means to her, the Austin resident doesn’t see a hot-button political issue or a legal code that undermines the U.S. Constitution. She sees a set of daily practices that gradually lead Muslims like her closer to paradise. Linguistically, she said, sharia means “a path to water.” Religiously, she added, the Arabic term describes “the path to success” or “how we should practice our faith.”

“It’s for Muslims, so thinking that this is something that Muslims are bringing for everyone is just so far from the understanding of sharia,” she said. As Texas Republicans escalate attacks on Islam based on opposition to what they call sharia law, Muslims are pushing back, saying the term has been distorted by ignorance, fear and political opportunism. It’s time, they say, to set the record straight on the meaning of sharia as a religious concept. State Rep. Salman Bhojani, the first Muslim elected to the Texas Legislature, said sharia is an “ethical and moral framework that governs your personal conduct.” It involves “giving, charity, praying consistently to God, being honest with your neighbors, with your friends, with everybody.” “It is a personal moral code, and not something that I can impose on anybody else,” said Bhojani, D-Euless. Republicans see a far different meaning, denouncing sharia law as an oppressive legal code that is incompatible with state and federal laws.

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Steve Sarkisian gives embarrassing explanation for Texas' College Football Playoff loss: 'We were tired'

Expectations for the Texas Longhorns football program have reached a fever pitch, with star quarterback Arch Manning heading into his second year as the starting quarterback. The Longhorns are expected to once again have one of the best defenses in college football, brought in a top six recruiting class, and some services believe Texas has the most talented roster in the sport. At least by recruiting rankings. They also finished out their 2025 season with wins over Texas A&M and Michigan, taking some momentum into a pivotal 2026. Unfortunately, despite all these factors aligning in their favor, the Longhorns also have arguably the toughest schedule in the country. They host Ohio State, play at Tennessee, have the traditional Red River Shootout against Oklahoma, host Ole Miss, play at LSU, and at Texas A&M. With that schedule, the Longhorns could be a significantly improved team from 2025 and still finish 9-3 without playing poorly.

But that might not be the biggest hurdle in head coach Steve Sarkisian's quest to bring a national title home to Austin. It's being mentally tired. Seriously. Sarkisian revealed on a recent podcast that their loss to Ohio State in the 2024-2025 College Football Playoff was due to the Longhorns being "tired." "I felt like the year we played Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, we were tired, and not necessarily physically tired," Sarkisian said. "We were mentally fatigued as well. That’s a long season. We had so many big games. So I think managing it this time around, how we manage their energy level, is as important as how we manage their legs and the physicality." Every team is tired at the end of a college football season. Every team deals with injuries and mental fatigue. And it's the job of a coach to prepare the players for each and every challenge. Specifically, if you can't overcome fatigue and being "tired" in the literal College Football Playoff semifinal, how can you ever? Not to mention, Ohio State was likely "tired" too. The Buckeyes finished their season with a top-5 Indiana team, rivalry game against Michigan, playing Tennessee in the first round, then the number one seed in the tournament, Oregon, in LA, then had to travel to Texas to play the Longhorns in what should have been an effective home game for Sarkisian just 200 miles from campus.

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Sand Branch has waited 41 years for clean water. Then the fires came.

It’s been 41 years since the unincorporated community of Sand Branch has had clean water, despite being 400 feet from the City of Dallas’s Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant. In the intervening years, residents have made do with bottled water and the tenacity born from being told “no” a lot. Last night, 10 acres of Sand Branch caught fire, and when advocates and the fire trucks from neighboring towns and cities arrived, residents were using those bottles of water to try to put the flames out. There are no fire hydrants in Sand Branch. As of Sunday afternoon, fire fighters were still working to put out hot spots that continue to crop up. Sand Branch is a freedman’s town that sits in unincorporated land in Dallas County near Seagoville, roughly 20 miles south of downtown. Established in the 1800s, it was a thriving community for years. Until the mid 1980s, residents received water through wells dug throughout the community, and sewage went to septic tanks. In the mid-80s, people began to get sick. Testing revealed the wells were contaminated with E.coli. The residents of Sand Branch have relied on bottled water ever since.

There have been many efforts to get clean drinking water running through the taps of Sand Branch homes for years. More recently, Derek Avery and the Water for Sand Branch Coalition has been working with the community to not only bring water to the area, but also improve the homes and properties there. Only last night and today, they are working to help residents survive yet another blow. A list of needs has been compiled, including a need for volunteers to help bring in water. Danielle Chambless worked social media channels to put fire blankets in every home, and continues to source fire extinguishers for each home. “How are we letting this happen right in our own backyard?” she asked Sunday. “These people are my friends. They deserve the basics. They deserve to be safe in their own homes. And we should be furious that they have been left without the basic infrastructure most of us never have to think twice about.” Long term, the Coalition hopes to convince the county and other officials to finally bring running water to Sand Branch. In the shorter term, Avery would like to install two large water tanks in the community that can be filled up frequently. Just like last year, the Coalition will be among the nonprofits hoping to attract donors during North Texas Giving Day. Giving Day opened last week, and will culminate on September 17. In 2022, we wrote about the weekly efforts to help the community that we encountered while on a bus tour of the county’s most notorious environmental hazards. In 1985, just as the environmental disaster was unfolding, Richard West wrote about Sand Branch. (Or Sandbranch, as it is sometimes called.) Incredibly, nothing has changed in regard to rectifying the situation.

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Elon Musk’s xAI sued over Grok child sexual abuse material

A woman repeatedly raped as a child by a man who put photos and videos of the crimes online says in a lawsuit that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence firm xAI allowed imagery of her abuse onto its X social media platform and that the company’s Grok chatbot generated additional child pornography from the images. The woman, identified as “Jane Doe,” is seeking class-action status for the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Jose, alleging Grok produced child porn from imagery of her and thousands of other victims of child sexual abuse. The lawsuit claims xAI, aiming to add users to X and Grok, designed the chatbot “to respond to prompts to create and distribute sexual content using an identifiable person’s real image or video.”

Doe, who is described only as living outside California, is seeking unspecified damages and a court order barring xAI from generating, possessing or sharing child pornography showing her or other alleged victims. Her lawsuit came as Palo Alto-based xAI — merged in February as a subsidiary into Musk’s Texas rocket company SpaceX — fights another lawsuit in the same court by three women and one man claiming Grok created sexualized “deep fake” images of them. Judge Casey Pitts in July shot down a bid by xAI to have the identities of the four plaintiffs — who are seeking class action status for their case — publicly revealed. The legal cases arose after Grok — embedded in X and also a stand-alone app — sparked worldwide outrage after xAI added an image-editing feature to the chatbot in December. The UK-based Center for Countering Digital Hate reported that Grok generated 3 million sexualized images in the 11 days after image editing went live. Users digitally stripped real women in images — plus more than 20,000 apparent children — manipulating many into sexual poses, the group found. Musk responded to the furor by reposting an AI-generated image of a toaster in a bikini that he said he “couldn’t stop laughing” about. Doe’s lawsuit, overseen by Judge Nathanael Cousins, claims “xAI and its founder Elon Musk chose to capitalize and profit from predators’ appetite for non-consensual sexual images and videos of real people, including children.”

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Republicans look to hold Texas turf as midterm convention looms

Congress will get top billing when President Donald Trump brings the GOP’s political roadshow to Dallas. But farther down the ballot, his party has plenty at stake in the convention’s backyard. Republicans are defending two state House seats in Dallas County, where their influence has steadily fallen. They also are working to preserve control of major offices in Tarrant County, targeting a Democratic lawmaker in Collin County and seeking to recapture a state Senate district lost in a special election this year.

For the candidates, the MAGA doubleheader Sept. 9-10 at the American Airlines Center could be a boost or a burden. Republicans hope to energize supporters who might skip a midterm election. Democrats aim to turn Trump’s unpopularity into votes in close races. Republican National Committee officials described the event last week as a “primetime showcase for President Trump’s success, candidates and causes that have propelled the 2026 midterms to unprecedented focus.” State Reps. Angie Chen Button of Garland and Morgan Meyer of University Park are the only Republican legislators who live in Dallas County, where Democrats have dominated countywide elections since 2006. Meyer, an attorney first elected in 2014 in District 108, is being challenged by Democrat Allison Mitchell, a small-business owner and children’s book author. A national Democratic group focused on state legislatures has made both districts priorities as it targets 12 Republican-held Texas House seats. Republicans hold an 88-62 majority in the chamber.

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National Stories

Army Secretary resigns after months of friction with Hegseth

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation to President Trump following months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the direction of the service and the ouster of numerous senior Army officers. He is expected to leave the Pentagon in coming days. With Driscoll’s departure, the Army will lack top Senate-confirmed civilian or military leaders. Gen. Christopher LaNeve has served as acting chief of the service since Hegseth fired his predecessor, Gen. Randy George. Mike Obadal, the Army undersecretary, would be the highest ranking civilian after Driscoll departs. Driscoll didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Driscoll had been expected to step down this year from his role as the civilian leader of the Army after clashing with Hegseth, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. “Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement. “The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War,” she added. Last week, Driscoll attended the retirement ceremony at Fort Bragg for Gen. Chris Donahue, who served as the top Army officer in Europe until Hegseth downgraded his position, effectively bringing an end to his military career. Donahue’s abrupt departure was presented as part of Hegseth’s broader push to shrink the number of generals and admirals by 10% overall, plus a 20% cut to the number of four-star positions, the Journal reported.

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Want an animal shelter? A lazy river? Cash? Data centers want to know.

In a few years, the city of Saline, Michigan, will have renovated its recreation center’s locker rooms, tiled the pool deck, expanded the children’s play area, installed a waterfall and constructed a lazy river. Down the road, part of OpenAI’s Project Stargate, a 2.2 million-square-foot, $43 billion data center, will hum away, churning out the next generation of artificial intelligence. As public sentiment on data centers has soured, AI companies are leveling up their efforts to sweeten the deal for communities that host them. In Saline, that included a $10 million donation from OpenAI, Oracle and other companies for a new and improved recreation center. In Richland Parish, Louisiana, teachers got $50,000 bonuses from Meta. Compass Datacenters forked over $15 million for a new animal shelter in Ellis County, Texas.

In Florida, developers for the failed Project Tango offered to hide their building from view with a small forest of pines, palms and native shrubs. NorthPoint Development has proposed giving $10,000 to every household in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, if it’s allowed to build a massive data center for Amazon — a dangling carrot some residents have characterized as a bribe. Politicians from both parties are pushing the deal sweeteners too. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s energy office told counties to make “wish lists” for data center developers, and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is pitching free electricity for towns willing to play host. This summer’s data center backlash has underlined a glaring lack of guidance from federal and state leaders on what tech companies owe the communities they’re building in; in Washington, a growing slate of proposals range from requiring developers to procure and pay for their own power, and taxing data centers to prepare for potential AI-related job losses.

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MAHA has arrived in Iowa — and Big Ag is reeling

There’s something in the water in Iowa. And Republican Zach Lahn has centered his gubernatorial campaign around it. Lahn is taking aim at fertilizers, pesticides and other farm chemicals seeping into drinking water supplies — and the agrochemical giants that make them. He believes Big Ag and Big Chemical are to blame for the state’s high cancer rates, a top issue for voters here. Once unimaginable for a politician of either party in Iowa, Lahn’s campaign is putting the state’s Republicans in the same bind that has bedeviled the Trump administration during its second term: stuck between the demands of Make America Healthy Again activists and the interests of agricultural and chemical companies that hold deep sway with the party.

“Many people in the primary said, ‘You can’t win an election in the Republican primary talking about the big agricultural conglomerates that are extorting our farmers, talking about clean water, and how we need to lower our cancer rates,’” Lahn said in a stump speech earlier this month at the Iowa State Fair, where the farm industry’s influence loomed large, in the form of corporate sponsorships, expansive exhibits and free swag. “We did talk about it, and we won,” Lahn said. It’s not the campaign the Republican establishment wanted in a state with some of this fall’s fiercest battleground elections, including an open Senate seat and three competitive House races. Lahn pulled off an upset in the June primary, besting President Donald Trump’s pick, conservative Rep. Randy Feenstra. Lahn won Trump’s endorsement a month after the primary election. Now, rank-and-file Republicans are left with little choice but to support a candidate running on ideas most don’t agree with, in a year where Democrats believe they have their best shot in two decades to reclaim the governor’s mansion.

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More mail ballots are arriving late this year, and they’re getting tossed

The rate at which mail votes have been rejected for arriving late has ticked up in primaries this year and general elections last year in roughly a dozen states, prompting election officials to worry that the U.S. Postal Service is ill-equipped to deliver ballots in the fall midterms. The states studied by The New York Times include some of the most critical battleground House and Senate seats where control of Congress will be determined, as well as key races for governor and secretary of state. The Times obtained data from California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington. In Wisconsin, which hosts an open race for governor, a competitive House election plus contests for both chambers of the state legislature, lateness accounted for about 5,000 rejected mail ballots in the spring primary this year, or 78 percent of all tossed ballots.

During the last spring election, in 2023, the figure was roughly 2,300, or 47 percent of all tossed votes. The increase is particularly striking when comparing primaries in 2024 and this year. In Michigan’s primary earlier this month, more than 10,000 mail ballots were rejected for arriving after the state’s deadline of 8 p.m. on Election Day. That is nearly double the number of ballots rejected in 2024. In Washington, the number of late-arriving mail ballots increased from about 16,000 to more than 20,000 in the same period. The rise in rejected ballots comes at a time of immense upheaval at the Postal Service, where a budget crisis has prompted widespread complaints about delivery delays. The increase also comes as President Trump and his allies are trying to transform the 251-year-old agency into a central player in their quest to restrict mail voting and otherwise overhaul the nation’s elections. Roughly two dozen states sued the government over the president’s executive order governing mail voting, which would require states to hand over voter information and would empower the Postal Service to block mail ballots from being sent or delivered in states that do not comply.

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Haitian immigrant in Ohio takes his own life after losing temporary protected status, family says

A Haitian immigrant who had grown increasingly distraught after losing his protection from deportation and being outfitted with an ankle monitor was run over and killed Monday in what his family believes was a suicide. Pierre Damas Bel, 20, parked on the shoulder of Interstate 70 in Springfield, Ohio, some time before 8:45 a.m., got out of his vehicle and walked into westbound traffic, the Ohio State Highway Patrol told local media outlets. He was hit by a tractor-trailer and pronounced dead at the scene. Like an estimated 350,000 Haitian immigrants, Bel had recently lost temporary protected status, which is given to people fleeing nations experiencing disaster. He had a pending asylum claim, but had been summoned to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with canceling the status for Haitian recipients.

Federal immigrant agents placed an electronic monitoring device on his ankle, which is one way the agency tracks immigrants it is seeking to remove from the country. “He felt like he was treated like an animal,” his father, Pierres Ronal Bel, 40, recounted in a handwritten statement. Ohio authorities said they are investigating the crash. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Trump administration has been calling Haitian immigrants into ICE offices in order to be equipped with ankle monitors and sent two deportation flights to Haiti since temporary protected status was canceled for people from the troubled Caribbean nation. Advocates for the immigrants say the U.S. government is sending people back to a country where criminal gangs are responsible for massacres, kidnapping and extortion. Haitian leaders in Springfield and beyond said Bel’s death is symptomatic of the extreme stress many immigrants are under as they fear being detained and sent back.

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Roberts says Trump's ballroom 'likely unlawful' in SCOTUS dissent backed by liberal justices

The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority, except for Chief Justice John Roberts, ruled Monday that the architectural historian who tried to block President Donald Trump from building a ballroom where the East Wing of the White House used to be didn't have standing to sue after all. Although the issuance of stay may not come as a surprise to those closely watching the Supreme Court's actions to this point and the proceedings in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, it nonetheless stood out that Roberts penned a dissent that, in a rare occurrence, was joined only by the court's liberal wing.

Roberts, the circuit justice for Washington, D.C., had issued an administrative stay of a lower court injunction 10 days ago as the high court considered the DOJ's request for a stay. Thereafter, the Trump administration argued that a stay was warranted because Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Leon and the D.C. Circuit wrongly found the National Trust for Historic Preservation and architectural historian Alison Hoagland had standing to sue on "aesthetic injury" grounds. A D.C. Circuit panel, in a 2-1 decision, earlier rejected the "bold assertion that the Executive can act with utter lawlessness, destroying treasured national landmarks and harming the interests of individuals, and that no court can stop it flouts our constitutional order." But the lone dissenting appellate judge in that case, a Trump appointee, forecast the road ahead. U.S. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao criticized the D.C. Circuit for appointing itself as supervisors of the president's construction project by signing off on Leon's "blatant abuse of discretion." Rao wrote that the majority "elevated the aesthetic displeasure of a single passerby" over Trump's determination that the "ballroom is necessary for the overall security of the White House as well as to provide a secure space for hosting large presidential events."

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Kalshi hands George Santos its first lifetime ban

Former Rep. George Santos received a permanent ban and a fine of more than $71,000 from the prediction market Kalshi after he placed wagers on his attendance at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address this year. The disgraced congressman publicly posted about plans to attend the annual address in February — even asking what kind of suit he should wear in a now-deleted post. From Feb. 2 to Feb. 25, Santos began placing large bets on his own presence at the address, and by the time he posted that he was watching it from an airport TV, the New York Republican had already allegedly switched his bet. “As a person capable of influencing the outcome of this underlying event, Santos was prohibited from trading in this market,” Kalshi wrote in a disciplinary notice released Monday.

Kalshi’s Compliance Department found that Santos had profited $17,839.57 from manipulating the “price of the Yes or No contracts that he intended to purchase.” The notice also cited Santos’ lack of cooperation with Kalshi’s investigation. A representative from Kalshi told NOTUS in an email that Santos “evaded discussions with our compliance dept[ment].” Santos is the first person to receive a lifetime ban from Kalshi, The Wall Street Journal reported. The ban went into effect Friday. The former congressman spoke out against his ban in a series of posts on X, calling Kalshi “an unserious company” that “violates its own notices and deadlines.” “On August 7th they gave us a 30 day notice and today they leaked/ announced once again their frivolous nonsense,” Santos wrote Monday. “Leaking and attention seeking seem to be the M/O of this organization. Pathetic!” Kalshi told NOTUS that Santos can appeal the ban and the monetary penalty against him to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent federal agency that’s charged with regulating the prediction market.

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Lead Stories

Cruz dismisses Cornyn’s warnings that Paxton is ‘lazy’ and a ‘poor campaigner’

Sen. Ted Cruz on Sunday dismissed fellow Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s increasingly dire warnings about Republican Ken Paxton’s campaign, saying the criticism came from “hurt feelings” over their bitter primary. Cruz predicted Paxton will defeat Democrat James Talarico in November, even as polls show a close race and Cornyn refuses to use his formidable fundraising network to help his former rival. “I understand their hurt feelings,” Cruz said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “That is human nature.”

The race could help determine control of the Senate, where Republicans are defending their majority. Cruz predicted his party would keep control, saying a Democratic-led Congress would bring investigations, subpoenas and “nonstop impeachment circus” targeting President Donald Trump. Cornyn, who lost the GOP primary runoff to Paxton by nearly 28 percentage points, said last week that Paxton has not built a strong general election campaign. Cornyn called the Senate race “close” and potentially “disastrous” for Republicans in November. “Paxton’s a poor campaigner,” Cornyn told The Texas Tribune. “He’s lazy and doesn’t raise money. And he basically is not offering a very compelling case for his election.” Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether he agreed with that assessment, Cruz said the remarks reflected lingering “hurt feelings.” “Primaries can often be bitter. …That’s part of the process,” Cruz said. He did not directly address Cornyn’s complaints about Paxton’s campaigning and fundraising. He instead described Paxton as “a strong conservative” who would support low taxes, fewer regulations, border security, law enforcement and constitutional rights. “This is not about how any one particular person feels about any one particular candidate,” Cruz said. “This is about the people of Texas.”

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‘This is an all-out war’: Inside the casino industry’s fight to stop prediction markets

It’s been a rough summer on the Strip. In addition to sizzling 115-degree days, Las Vegas’ famous resorts and casinos are plodding through a tourism slump. This year, a new and possibly existential threat has emerged: the meteoric rise of prediction markets. Prediction platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket – where users wager on sports, politics, culture, and the weather – have transformed from a niche space for superfans to a seemingly ubiquitous multibillion-dollar industry. With the Trump administration’s blessing, these startups are structured as financial markets for trading, not casinos or sportsbooks for gambling. Under this system, prediction companies bypass state gaming boards and instead get licensed by an obscure federal commodity regulator to offer “event contracts.”

This setup also means they aren’t taxed like gambling, which generated nearly $18 billion in revenue for states last year. Analysts blame Vegas’ slowdown on rising consumer costs, not prediction sites. But the casinos aren’t taking chances. They mobilized for “all-out war,” and have now become a driving force in the nationwide fight to rein in prediction markets, according to nearly 20 sources who spoke with CNN. “A couple nerds came up with this idea to avoid paying taxes,” says Derek Stevens, who owns three Vegas casinos and Circa Sports, with sportsbooks in seven states. “Just because they’re shrewd doesn’t mean they should be exempt from the law. These are thieves. They’re pirates. They’re marauders.” The anti-prediction campaign picked up momentum this summer. A casino-backed lawsuit secured the most consequential courtroom victory yet for prediction opponents. On Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that states can regulate prediction platforms as gambling, siding with Nevada officials and an association of Vegas casinos.

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How Trump’s policy agenda runs through one federal court, in Texas

President Trump’s Justice Department had a problem. Judge after judge was rejecting its demands that hospitals across the country turn over internal records of transgender care provided to children. By the end of April, federal judges in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Seattle had either quashed or substantially pared back the administration’s demands that hospitals send patient records to the federal government. But the administration did not give up. Instead, in April, it went to the Northern District of Texas’ Fort Worth courthouse, where nearly all cases go directly to the district’s chief judge, Reed O’Connor, or a second judge, Mark T. Pittman, who was appointed by Mr. Trump. There were no hospitals in Texas that offered the transgender care at issue — state lawmakers banned gender-affirming care for minors in Texas in 2023. But the Justice Department asked the Texas court to enforce a subpoena to the Rhode Island Hospital, arguing that its nationwide investigation of such medical care was “being carried out in the Northern District of Texas.”

That was enough for Judge O’Connor, an appointee of President George W. Bush who has built a reputation as a conservative stalwart and became the district’s chief judge last August. He granted the motion, clearing the way for the hospital to turn over a variety of personal data, including the names and Social Security numbers of minors who had received treatment. “The subpoena’s demands are reasonable,” he wrote. Most of the country’s 94 district courts assign cases randomly across all of their judges. Northern Texas, where Judge O’Connor sits, does things its own way. It assigns cases to judges based on the courthouse within the district where the lawsuit is initially filed. Some courthouses are staffed by just one or two judges, meaning litigants can easily engage in “judge shopping” — filing their case in a particular courthouse and knowing to a certainty or near-certainty which judge will decide it. In four of Northern Texas’ seven courthouses, one judge appointed by Mr. Trump hears all of the cases. In a fifth courthouse, all the cases go to Judge O’Connor. In a sixth — Fort Worth — 90 percent of the caseload is split between Judge O’Connor and Judge Pittman. Of the district’s nine active-status judges, eight were appointed by Republican presidents — six of them by Mr. Trump. There are other districts in the country where more of the judges are Trump appointees, but very few assign cases the way Northern Texas does. And most fall outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, widely considered to be the country’s most conservative appellate court, which hears appeals from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

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How Trump's beef plan, tariffs risk alienating farmers, GOP voters

Matt Ubel, a farmer based in rural Wheaton, Kansas, says that high diesel and fertilizer prices driven by the war in Iran were already hurting his bottom line. Now, he says he expects his profit margins will take another hit after President Donald Trump approved a temporary lift on tariffs for foreign inputs of 300,000 metric tons of beef to take effect in September. "This wasn't about making cheaper groceries for the American people," Ubel told ABC News. "They need to invest in their farmers -- not import beef from other countries. They need to make farming sustainable here in the United States."

Ubel, the vice president of the Kansas Farmers Union who is also running for Pottawatomie County commissioner, cares for some 120 cattle. His frustrations reflect the ways Trump's trade policies could complicate GOP messaging on affordability just months out from the November midterms as Republicans fight to maintain control of Congress. Ubel said he voted for former President Barack Obama in 2012, but went for Trump in the last three presidential elections. Some districts in agriculturally dominant states with the largest volume of cattle sales are the most competitive this election cycle, U.S. Department of Agriculture data from 2022 shows. Those include Kansas and Nebraska, but also Iowa -- home to a highly contested gubernatorial race and a slate of congressional races -- and Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, which could help determine control of Congress. The White House defended Trump's move, saying it's about both short-term and long-term needs. "The U.S. beef market is currently grappling with insufficient supply to meet consumer demand, and the President’s action is helping meet short-term beef needs while the Administration works with American ranchers to expand domestic production and grow the American cattle herd, which is currently at a multi-decade low," said Kush Desai, a spokesman for the White House.

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State Stories

Sandbranch fire supression continued after initial containment

Late Sunday afternoon, in sweltering 99 degree heat, firefighters were still working to suppress smoky hotspots and lingering flames from a brush fire that was initially contained the night before in Sandbranch, an unincorporated Dallas County community with no fire hydrants or water infrastructure. A massive fire burned for roughly three hours in a section behind the residential streets filled with two vacant trailers and other debris before it was contained around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, said Dallas County Fire Marshal assistant chief Michael Barber. Crews from about 15 volunteer, municipal and county fire departments responded to or hauled water into the area Saturday, including from hydrants two miles away near the Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant.

There were no injuries or fatalities in the blaze that covered 10 acres of land, said Jason Evans, spokesperson for Dallas Fire Rescue, which responded for the county as mutual aid but led in equipment and personnel. Sandbranch, a rural, impoverished pocket of roughly 80 residents in campers and aged homes, has never had running water, sewer or fire hydrants despite nonprofits and volunteers working on solutions for years. Residents were allowed back to their homes after being evacuated the night before, but the day-long ordeal underscored residents’ ongoing push for water. While Dallas Fire Rescue worked to quell lingering flames Sunday afternoon, resident Christina Parks stood in a neighbor’s backyard on Burns Drive and poured water from gallon jugs on a small, smoky flame threatening to creep up the tree line separating the fire scene and the residential block. “I didn’t sleep last night because of these hotspots,” Parks said. “My mind is distraught.”

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Talarico, Simmons speak against proposal to cut almost a 3rd of Tarrant County voting sites

Tarrant County could slash 92 voting sites for November's midterm Election Day, raising concerns from democratic county commissioners and state Rep. James Talarico. Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons and Talarico, the democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, held a press conference outside the University of Texas at Arlington's Mavericks Activity Center on Sunday, a former voting location. It comes as a proposed map for November's election includes 224 locations, cutting almost a third of the 316 sites used during the 2022 midterm elections. Three early voting sites would also be slashed. Talarico told reporters cutting these sites could cause longer commutes, longer lines and lower voter turnout on election day. "We're here fighting for the rights of everybody," Talarico said. "The problem is when we let voting rights become a partisan issue. That's when we walk down a very dangerous path in this country."

Simmons said county leaders should be figuring out how to make voting easier for a county as big as Tarrant County — the 3rd most populous county in Texas. "Dropping 92 Election Day polling places is crazy," Simmons said. "We should not compare this proposal to the worst proposal. We should compare it to access that Tarrant County voters actually had in 2022." The new proposed cuts come after commissioners unanimously agreed to table their vote on Election Day sites during this month's meeting. Nearly half of all voting sites were proposed to be cut, sparking outrage from several residents and disapproval from all commissioners during August's meeting. Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig, who proposed both maps, said during August's meeting the proposed map was made without any input from commissioners after residents accused Republican commissioners of coordinating the cuts and attempting to suppress voters, which they all denied.

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Penske Media acquires full ownership of SXSW

The South by Southwest festival is now fully corporate-owned. Penske Media Corp. announced on Aug. 28 that it acquired a 100% ownership stake in SXSW. Previously, the Los Angeles- and New York City-based media company owned a 50% stake in SXSW, which it acquired in 2021. That was after the festival faced significant financial pressure due to the 2020 iteration being cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Penske bought its initial stake from SXSW LLC, which was led by the festival's founders. Penske's full acquisition of SXSW marks the end of local ownership for the beloved and iconic festival that was founded in 1987 by Roland Swenson, Nick Barbaro, Louis Jay Meyers and Louis Black. It was born as a music festival and a way to provide a boost to Austin’s clubs and music scene during spring break, which used to be a slow period for the city.

“Premium live experiences are central to Penske Media’s future, and we are thrilled to increase our stake in SXSW, and provide the company with further backing and together write the most expansive chapter in its history,” Jay Penske, chairman and CEO of Penske Media, said in a statement. The announcement didn’t share how much Penske Media paid for the full ownership of SXSW. Penske Media didn’t immediately respond to questions on the announcement. The company also operates several other high-profile media brands, such as The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and Variety. Penske Media said SXSW’s headquarters will remain in Austin and the festival will “continue to be led from Austin, with a focus on preserving the deep community relationships that have long defined the event.” SXSW has been looking for a CEO for several months.

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Texas hemp businesses say new delta-8 rules leave them facing raids, uncertainty

Saying a decision could exceed her authority, a judge has delayed ruling on a request by four Texas companies for a restraining order to keep the state from enforcing new rules on the sale of hemp-derived products. State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said during an emergency hearing in Austin that she could not immediately decide whether the temporary restrictions would be appropriate given the technical nature of a consumable hemp market that already has been the subject of Texas Supreme Court rulings, state agency statements and law enforcement actions. “I don’t think a district court judge is allowed to do that,” she said Friday. “That sounds like I’m rulemaking. That’s my problem.”

The four companies that filed the suit — San Antonio, Dallas and Rio Grande Valley firms that produce, distribute and sell hemp products — said they are not trying to relitigate the law or earlier court decisions. Rather, they argue the state overstepped with rules that expanded the list of barred substances beyond what the Legislature intended. Their suit comes after the state in late March began enforcing new rules that changed how delta-9 THC is measured in hemp products. The state separately classifies concentrated manufactured delta-8 THC as a Schedule I controlled substance. The new schedule was challenged in court but eventually allowed by the Texas Supreme Court to go into effect July 31. The testing regimen and enforcement standard, the companies say, endanger their businesses. “People are being raided on a regular basis, including in Dallas and San Antonio, based on the term ‘trace amounts’ and no one knows what trace amounts mean,” attorney David Sergi said during Friday’s hearing. The confusion stems from the fact that while the state has barred delta-8 products, trace amounts of delta-8 occur naturally in other THC products that are still legal. The state says more than trace amounts of delta-8 THC can be considered illegal, and products and sellers can be referred to law enforcement.

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Corpus Christi withholds water to wetlands while lifting restrictions on lawns

Environmental regulators in Texas issued an emergency order on Tuesday evening suspending requirements for the drought-stricken city of Corpus Christi to release water from its reservoir system in support of coastal wetlands. On the same day, Corpus Christi lifted restrictions on watering lawns that had been in place since 2024, when its reservoirs remained below critical levels until a dramatic rebound in July. “The city has chosen lawns over the bay,” said Larry McKinney, a former senior director of aquatic resources for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department who lives in Corpus Christi. “Without freshwater inflows, the bay becomes basically a giant sewage treatment pond.” The emergency suspension of requirements for environmental flows is the latest episode in a fight over water that has consumed Corpus Christ, an industrial hub on the semi-arid South Texas coast, during years of intensifying drought.

Corpus Christi hasn’t released water into the Nueces River Delta and Nueces Bay since 2024 while its reservoirs remained below 30 percent full, the trigger point for environmental flows established in a 2001 administrative order by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Epic rainfall in July refilled the Nueces River reservoirs above 40 percent, but Corpus Christi delayed releasing water and requested a suspension of the rule. “Without emergency relief, Applicants could be required to release as much as [11.9 billion gallons] of inflows,” the city wrote. The TCEQ granted Corpus Christi’s request on Tuesday, suggesting that the region’s water crisis isn’t over yet. “Although the reservoir system is above recent lows, long-term data and weather forecasts suggest a return to critical levels is foreseeable,” wrote TCEQ Executive Director Kelly Keel in the Aug. 25 emergency order. “The region is not expected to experience relief from persistent drought conditions and drought conditions are expected to worsen.” If below-average rainfall continues, reservoirs could fall back below 30 percent in April next year, said Corpus Christi Water Chief Operating Officer Nick Winkelmann in a presentation to City Council on Tuesday. Regardless, the city opted to lift restrictions limiting automatic sprinkler system use to once weekly, which had been in place since March 2024. “Why do we have to let the residents suffer? They want to water their grass,” said City Council member Eric Cantu at a City Council meeting last week. “Let them water their grass.”

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Austin retains No. 5 ranking for tech talent as AI specialists reach 17% of workforce

When tech companies and venture firms talk about Austin, the city's pipeline of tech talent is almost always among the first attributes mentioned. And with good reason. Austin retained, for the third year in a row, its No. 5 ranking among cities in the U.S. and Canada, according to the 2026 CBRE Scoring Tech Talent report. The Bay Area, Seattle, Toronto and New York were ahead of us. Washington, D.C., took the No. 6 spot. The report showed the metro had about 103,000 tech workers in 2025, a roughly 10% increase since 2022. It also showed tech talent accounts for 8% of the city's total employment. That's an outsized share. The U.S. and Canada average is 5.5%. Of local tech workers, 17% specialize in AI, which puts us just behind the Bay Area (26%), Seattle (20%), Boston (17%) and New York (17%).

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County treasurers, tax assessors ask Texas lawmakers for guidance on the end of penny production

They can be found hidden between couch cushions, littered in car ashtrays, and if you’re lucky, one may even be facing heads up on the street. The penny — that bronze-colored coin emblazoned with the nation’s 16th President — will soon become a relic. Last year the U.S. Department of Treasury directed the U.S. Mint to suspend the production of new pennies indefinitely because of cost. It cost more than three times the worth of a penny to produce and distribute it, according to a 2024 report from the U.S. Mint. Soon pennies will drop in demand and fall out of circulation, no longer in cash registers across the country. Private companies have adapted to the change and are either rounding up or down to the nearest nickel when someone pays in cash at checkout.

But the suspension of penny production has produced a headache for local government officials who are dealing with cash transactions with Texans. Some county tax assessors and treasurers shared their concerns with Texas lawmakers during a sparsely-attended subcommittee hearing in mid-August. “It’s not necessarily a payment issue,” Ronnie Keister, the Lubbock County tax assessor, testified. “It’s a change issue.” Texans can still make cash payments to local government entities for things like car payments, fines and fees, and property taxes. But if you overpay, even by a penny, government entities in Texas must make change for you. For example, Keister, who said a taxpayer overpaying by even two cents can become a relatively expensive and drawn-out procedure. The Texas property tax code requires the county to send a letter to the taxpayer to notify them they are entitled to a refund. “Now for two pennies, we have to send a letter that’s going to cost us several dollars,” Keister said. “A surprisingly large number of residents still utilize cash transactions,” Travis County Treasurer Dolores Ortega Carter testified. According to Ortega Carter, 19% of all property tax payments made to her county last year were made in cash. The local government officials who testified to lawmakers said the Texas Constitution requires them to make exact change on cash transactions.

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Woman dies at Tarrant County Jail — the 6th jail death this year

A woman has died at the Tarrant County Jail this weekend — marking the 6th death at the county jail this year. Gemma Leigh Swingle, 36, died at the county jail Saturday at 2:19 a.m., according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's website. Her cause and manner of death were pending as of Sunday. KERA News reached out to the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and will update this story with any response. Swingle was booked into Tarrant County Jail Aug. 25 on a prostitution charge, court records show. The Haltom City Police Department is investigating her death, according to the medical examiner's website. There's been more than 80 jail deaths since 2017 when Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office. The county jail and sheriff's office have faced increased scrutiny over jail deaths this year, demanding more accountability and details surrounding other deaths this year.

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Third witness to fatal Houston ICE shooting released from federal custody

The third witness of the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at the hands of federal agents was released from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention Sunday morning, according to his attorney. Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, the deceased's brother, was in the passenger seat during the shooting and was detained the same day, July 7, alongside two other witnesses, Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego. Tirado and Pliego have already been released under orders from two federal judges.

"It’s just been so wonderful – a lot of different emotions when I first heard it might be happening," his attorney, Ruby Powers, said. "So I first didn’t believe it, and then when I received an email from ICE that I knew it was real, so then it was about making sure he got out physically as soon as possible." Ronaldo Salgado, Lorenzo’s son, shared on social media the family reunited with Victor just before noon. “Today is a key step in justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo,” Ronaldo wrote. Powers told Houston Public Media the exact reason behind Victor's release was unclear. "I don’t know what was the final thing that made it happen, but I don’t have a judge’s order or any definitive answer on what it was," Powers said. "I don’t have a definitive answer as to what was the final straw."

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Ed Kilgore: Plenty of states have flipped. Texas could too.

(Ed Kilgore has been a political columnist for Intelligencer since 2015.) For a data-driven number cruncher of the highest order, Nate Silver is refreshingly honest in admitting his skepticism about the Senate candidacy of Texas Democrat James Talarico is a “gut” hunch that may even reflect a bit of superstition. In a piece this week, Silver went through all the reasons his election model rates Talarico as a slight favorite over Republican Ken Paxton and refuted some misconceptions about the Texas Senate race (e.g., that recent Democratic Senate losers like Beto O’Rourke did just as well in polls as Talarico). “Would I still be surprised if Talarico carries Texas a few months from now? Absolutely,” Silver concluded. “I just don’t know that you ought to give that gut feeling much weight.” This is a common feeling among political observers and, particularly, Democrats. In recent years, the prospect of turning Texas blue has seemed tantalizingly close yet always just out of reach.

Democrats can’t help but keep hoping as the state is so large (with 40 electoral votes) and so significant both economically and culturally. And there are many aspects of Texas demography, with the state’s rapidly growing and very diverse big cities and suburbs, that suggest a brighter future for the Democratic Party. Recent Republican success among Texas Latinos probably isn’t sustainable. And the Texas GOP’s steady slide into extremism on issues like abortion and public education will alienate many swing voters. But the fact remains that no Democrat has won a governor’s race in Texas since 1990 or a Senate race there since 1988. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Texas since 1976, when a lot of white conservatives still identified as Democrats and were especially attracted to Southern Baptist Jimmy Carter of Georgia. Is this the year all that changes, and is James Talarico the candidate to push open a door long closed to members of his party? It’s good to remember that the political stereotypes we carry around in our heads about particular states can become out of date very quickly. Iowa and Ohio, for example, were among the preeminent dead-even swing states of the early 21st century. Then in 2016 Donald Trump carried Iowa by 9 percent and Ohio by 8, and we’ve come to see them as red states (albeit red states where Democrats could win some key races in 2026).

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San Antonio storm recovery: Two deaths investigated as outages and cleanup continue, some schools adjust Monday plans

San Antonio police said Sunday they are investigating two deaths related to Friday night’s severe storm. In one incident, two people were caught in rushing water in San Pedro Creek north of downtown. One made it out safely. The other, a 46-year-old woman, was found dead Saturday night after emergency crews searched the area. Acting Police Chief Jesse Salame said the medical examiner is reviewing the circumstances of her death, which is being investigated as a drowning. Police are also investigating a possible drowning involving a man in his 50s who was found at Woodlawn Park Sunday morning. Recovery efforts continued Sunday as crews cleared storm damage and CPS Energy worked to restore electricity.

As of 11:00 p.m. Sunday, 6,030 customers remained without power, down from tens of thousands on Saturday and 112,000 at the height of the storm. City and CPS Energy crews reported significant progress Sunday, including more than 100 downed wires repaired overnight, 290 fallen trees removed or picked up, and 82 traffic signals restored. City officials extended resilience hubs, which offer cooling, power, device charging, Wi-Fi, basic supplies, medication refrigeration and space for pets, until at least noon Monday. VIA continued offering free rides to the hubs. The city also announced extra garbage collection Monday in two storm-affected neighborhoods and extended its waiver of brush-disposal fees through Saturday, Sept. 5. Meals and cold water were being provided Sunday at the San Juan Brady Center, 2307 S. Calaveras St. Our Lady of the Lake University canceled Monday classes and closed its San Antonio campus because of storm-related outages, damage and cleanup. The university said it will announce by 3 p.m. Monday whether campus operations and classes will resume Tuesday. San Antonio College said it will be open Monday.

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As Texans’ electricity costs soar and temperatures rise, a public health crisis brews

When Alek Micklethwait received his electricity bill in May, he was stunned. It was $545, more than double what his family had been paying during cooler weather, since moving into a 1,600-square-foot home in Central Texas last September. It must be a mistake, he thought. But it wasn’t. Micklethwait, who lives with his fiancée and her grandmother, was left wondering how they would afford to pay it, along with their mortgage, car insurance, groceries, gas, and a growing pile of medical bills. But they would have to figure it out. Getting disconnected wasn’t an option. Micklethwait’s fiancée has a heart disease, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, a rare disorder that causes her heart rate to exceed 100 beats per minute while resting. When she gets too warm, her heart pumps faster, adding stress to an already racing organ. So they set the thermostat between 70 and 75 degrees.

Facing unaffordable electricity bills, yet needing consistent air conditioning, Micklethwait called their electricity provider, Chariot Energy, hoping the private company would work out a deal with them. “We were told they don’t offer any discounts,” he said, “not even for low-income, seniors, disabled or military customers — nothing.” Electricity costs are rising across the country, but in Texas, which leads the nation in disconnections for nonpayment, these costs have risen on average by 30% since 2020. It’s the sharpest rise in rates in the country and an upward trend that is expected to continue. Texas is unique in that it runs its own grid in a largely deregulated market that rewards scarcity, not reliability. Power companies make higher profits when supply is low and demand is high. And surging demand, largely driven by data centers and other industries, has left residential electric customers footing rising bills. On August 4, Gov. Greg Abbott blamed public utilities for rising electricity costs, calling out Austin and San Antonio’s. Abbott offered a solution: Invite private providers to compete with public utilities, of which there are 72 in Texas. Increased competition, he said, would lower costs. But an investigation by Public Health Watch found that Texans like Micklethwait and his family, who live in deregulated markets, paid more on average — sometimes significantly more.

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National Stories

The House is back in session. Many Republicans hope it won’t be for long.

House GOP leaders could also put a Senate-passed Russian sanctions bill on the floor before the end of the month, though it is unclear whether it can pass. Many House Democrats — including Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the party’s leader on the Foreign Affairs Committee — believe the bill would give too much authority to Trump. But with many other House priorities currently in Senate limbo, there could be little incentive for members to hang around to wait to see if the Senate will act once it returns Sept. 14 for a brief three-week session. House Republicans rushed before their summer recess to adopt a budget blueprint for a fresh party-line spending package, but it’s currently stuck across the Capitol amid competing demands from defense hawks, fiscal conservatives and some GOP senators who aren’t convinced another such bill is needed at all.

Senate Republicans don’t expect the budget measure to be brought to the floor before the election, according to five people granted anonymity to disclose private discussions. House Republicans appear to be acknowledging that reality. When asked if he was confident the Senate would take up a third reconciliation bill, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) told reporters this month that “‘confident’ is probably the wrong word.” Instead, the Senate is expected to focus in September on confirming Trump’s nominees and holding a vote on cryptocurrency legislation, as well as trying to advance a bill to overhaul college athletics and the Senate version of the farm bill. Some House Republicans, including Majority Whip Tom Emmer, have been trying to build public pressure on the Senate to pass the crypto bill known as the Clarity Act for months. But a mid-September vote on that measure is likely to fail. And while negotiations continue over the Senate’s college sports bill, a bill on the same topic in the House has stalled out, giving lawmakers little reason to stay to see if a Senate deal comes together. As for the farm bill, the House passed its version earlier this year largely along party lines, while the Senate version failed to advance in committee earlier this month due to GOP absences and Democratic opposition. Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.)said he plans to try again in September.

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Trump calls for NBC’s Kristen Welker to face ‘rebuke or punishment’ from the FCC

Treating the Federal Communications Commission like his own personal enforcer, President Donald Trump said on social media Sunday that NBC’s Kristen Welker would be “reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment” over a TV segment he didn’t like. In a separate post, Trump complained in all caps about “fake polls” and said “something must be done about it,” adding, “FCC to the rescue!” The posts were Trump’s most explicit efforts yet to direct the FCC to carry out his wishes. FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee and close ally, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the matter. Trump posted a long missive Sunday about what he described as mischaracterizations of his endorsement record in primaries.

He wrote: “Kristen Welker, the Unpopular ‘Hostess’ of the once great Meet the Press, now considered Meet the Fake Press, just stated that Donald Trump has ‘mixed results’ on his Endorsements of Candidates, when the recent WINS of Darline Graham and Mike Mazzei, stand at 100% for the U.S. Senate, and 98% for the U.S. House, recently and over the longterm. How can anyone be allowed to say this, working for freely given Public Airwaves?” The FCC has limited power over issues like this, and its own website states the agency “cannot prevent the broadcast of any particular point of view,” so the notion of “punishment” for Welker, the moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” would historically be a nonstarter. But Carr has been quick to respond to Trump’s requests to go after media organizations. And he has taken aggressive action against some FCC licensees, particularly ABC, whose parent company, Disney, filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the commission earlier this month.

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JD Vance set to address Jewish conservatives, as some Jews in GOP share concerns about his recent Israel remarks

Vice President JD Vance is set to address a major gathering of Jewish conservatives on Monday, with some Jews in the GOP raising concerns that the vice president is breaking with them on Israel -- and others saying his attendance at the event is a positive sign. Vance is set to speak at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) annual leadership summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, just hours after a campaign stop in Michigan. But while the RJC is staunchly supportive of Israel, the vice president has made sharp and skeptical comments toward Israel in recent months, contrasting with the party faithful's traditionally supportive line toward the Jewish state.

While delivering a press briefing in the White House in June, for instance, as the United States was working on a deal to pause the war started by the U.S. and Israel with Iran, Vance told reporters that he had seen Israeli Cabinet members criticize the deal and would tell them that "Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time ... If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world." In a later interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Vance also said that "there are some people" in the Israeli government "we know beyond a shadow of a doubt who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitel. ... what I would say to the Americans who sort of see this and are frustrated by it, my attitude would be: you should be frustrated at American leaders who are persuaded by this, affected by this." Vance also said other governments run similar influence campaigns. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later told ABC News he spoke with Vance about those comments "and I think we straightened that out because we're not. That's not our policy."

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Dolly Parton laid to rest in private Nashville burial

Dolly Parton was laid to rest in a private burial in Nashville on Friday, three days after the country music legend died at age 80. Parton's niece Lainey Mae Parton shared news of the burial Saturday in an emotional social media post remembering her aunt. "This is a really hard post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words," she wrote in an Instagram post alongside photos of Parton. "From the time I was little, my granny always had a way of making me feel like I was enough," she continued. "She believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself."

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Google Maps changes Lake Ontario's name to 'Lake America' for US users

Google has updated its maps application to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States, reflecting a recent order by President Donald Trump that changed the name of the lake, the global technology giant says. Ontario Premier Doug Ford answered President Donald Trump’s “Lake America” decree Saturday with a billboard-sized message on the Canadian shoreline — “Lake Ontario. Now and Always” — as Canadian leaders met the move with ridicule rather than outrage. The Google Maps update comes days after Trump’s order amid an escalating trade war with Canada that has led both countries to impose billions of dollars in added tariffs on each other’s goods. It echoes what Google did in 2025 when Trump issued an order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Google said in a blog post Saturday that the decision was based on its practice of using names assigned by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System, also known as GNIS. “People using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Lake America,’ those in Canada will continue to see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names,” Google said in a brief statement. “These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now.” Trump’s decision Thursday to rename the lake was met with mockery and indifference in both Canada and the United States. On Saturday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded to Trump’s order with a billboard-sized message on the Canadian shore: “Lake Ontario. Now and forever.” The White House, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ford’s office did not immediately comment Sunday ?on Google’s decision.

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Meet the ex-Republicans running as Democrats in the midterms

Democrats have struggled to win over Republican voters in recent elections. This year, some Democratic candidates argue they can change that — because they were once Republicans. These party switchers say that they have unique insight into the concerns of voters distrustful of party politics, as well as those who feel they have no real home in either party, and that this knowledge will give them an edge in the upcoming midterm elections. “It is a big tent, right?” said Nancy Lacore, who is looking to flip Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R) seat in South Carolina and who left the GOP for the Democrats a decade ago. “There is room … in there for everybody.” There are at least three Democratic House candidates running in this year’s general election that are former registered Republicans.

While the phenomenon isn’t new, in a midterm year where President Donald Trump’s popularity is slipping among some Republican and independent voters, it is indicative of what polling suggests is broader dissatisfaction with partisan politics. In past cycles, party switchers sometimes have struggled in general elections. But Democrats hope that Lacore and other ex-Republicans such as former TV anchor Janelle Stelson in Pennsylvania and Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey can help their party win in districts where the odds are against them — and perhaps, in the case of Florida gubernatorial candidate David Jolly, manage to find a way to take a statewide seat that has eluded them for decades. Part of the hope is that these party-switching candidates can reach Republicans who, like they did, have soured on Trump. Lacore, who left the GOP in 2016, said she constantly runs into voters at Democratic events who go up to her and say, “I [am] a former Republican, too.”

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Summer a ‘near lock’ to become warmest and most humid across U.S.

This summer has broken so many temperature records that each new one can feel almost routine. But the biggest record of all may be about to fall. Five out the 10 warmest summers on record in the contiguous United States have occurred in the past decade, pushed along by the tailwind of climate change. And summer 2026 is on track to not only join that list but to surpass the country’s average temperature record set during the notoriously hot Dust Bowl summer of 1936 — during a deadly, multiyear period of drought, dust storms and extreme heat that unfolded in the 1930s.

This year, average temperatures from June 1 to Aug. 29 have been around 2.05 degrees Fahrenheit above average across the contiguous states, nudging 2026 just beyond what was experienced in 1936 — and the highest, considering records dating back to 1895. “Remember that summer 1936 was fairly cool globally, even by the standards of the day. There was one notable exception,” said Alaska-based climate scientist Brian Brettschneider, who described it as a “near lock” that summer 2026 in the contiguous U.S. would finish as the warmest on record. Brettschneider also mentioned the scorching summer of 1976 in Britain — a benchmark against which hot, dry summers are measured there, including the current one — as an example of extreme regional heat that’s meaningful to the locals but that didn’t translate to extreme heat across the globe. In the U.S., one of this summer’s most consequential trends unfolded while most people slept. Nighttime temperatures smashed records, reaching their highest levels — 2.37 degrees above average — across the U.S. as a whole, on track to beat the previous record set in 2021 by almost half a degree.

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Lead Stories

Regulators approve routes for Texas' first 765-kV power lines

Plans for Texas’ first-ever 765-kilovolt transmission lines cleared a final regulatory hurdle Friday, but a top state official is trying to pause the project. The Public Utility Commission of Texas voted to approve two applications and final routes for ultrahigh voltage transmission lines west of Dallas-Fort Worth. This allows the utility company, Dallas-based Oncor, to begin surveying, securing necessary rights-of-way, and constructing the line. The PUC ordered Oncor to work with landowners on routing to avoid bisecting properties “when reasonable accommodations can be made.”

PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson filed memorandums late Thursday afternoon ahead of the meeting that said he suggested the commission approve the applications in the more than 200-mile Dinosaur Switch to Longshore Switch from Somervell County to Howard County and the estimated 160-mile Longshore Switch to Drill Hole Switch from Howard County to near the Culberson County-Reeves County line. The routes chosen were Route 559 and Route 476, respectively. “I know we heard from some that the feeling is the participation isn’t meaningful,” Gleeson said after the vote. “I want to tell everyone it is meaningful. Everyone who participates in this process and the people up here takes it seriously.” He said balancing all of the interests is difficult. In a written statement, Oncor officials said the company appreciates the commissioners’ thoughtful review of the 765-kV projects.

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Warsh makes the case for higher rates and raises the bar for standing pat

Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh put to rest some concerns raised about his inflation-fighting strategy but set up a potentially bigger test three weeks from now. If the Fed raises interest rates, he risks infuriating the White House weeks before the midterm elections. If he holds, he could revive the doubts that Friday’s speech here quieted. The central bankers gathered in the Tetons this weekend arrived unsure how much the Fed’s new chairman would tell them about how he reads the economy. Warsh had been criticized after last month’s meeting, including by several conference attendees, for not explaining how the Fed’s current stance would bring inflation down. He gave a fuller account on Friday. Two observations in particular from Warsh’s speech pointed toward raising rates next month, which investors now think more likely than not. One was that Warsh would be hard-pressed to call financial conditions restrictive.

The other was that the summer’s better inflation readings hadn’t convinced him the underlying trend was improving. Rates are supposed to bring inflation down by making borrowing costly. If borrowing isn’t costly and inflation isn’t falling, rates aren’t high enough. Before Friday, the Fed’s default was to hold unless the data made a case to move. Warsh’s speech reversed it, said Donald Kohn, a former Fed vice chairman. “He’s changed the presumption to they’ll raise rates unless the data suggests it’s not necessary,” said Kohn, whose reading was shared by others at the Kansas City Fed’s annual symposium. That means the decision will turn on developments before the Sept. 15-16 meeting, especially the August consumer-price index on Sept. 11. Warsh has said he doesn’t put much weight on any single reading, but cooler data could turn two prior encouraging months into a trend. A weak enough report would settle it, Kohn said. If the data say a move isn’t necessary, the Fed shouldn’t move, and investors shouldn’t object. A firm reading, on the other hand, could undercut the argument that inflation is on its way to the central bank’s 2% target. If the Fed held steady anyway, it would revive the doubts about Warsh’s willingness to act that Friday’s speech had quieted.

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Gov. Abbott blocks funding in Texas for Flock cameras as bipartisan fury brews

Republicans and Democrats once praised Flock Safety as a protection tool for American communities. Now politicians across the political spectrum are turning against the mass-surveillance technology. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) froze state spending this week on the shoebox-size cameras that have proliferated across the nation. The flow of taxpayer money halted just before the Texas Tribune published an investigation probing how one state agency poured at least $30 million into expanding the reach of the controversial automated license plate scanners. “There is a crackdown across Texas,” Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement.

Reports of authorities misusing the Flock network, which spans 120,000 cameras in every state except Alaska, have sparked an intense backlash, with critics asserting the crime-stopping devices too easily enable stalking or spying in the wrong hands. Abbott’s office highlighted a case in the East Texas city of Lufkin, where a police officer was indicted on felony charges after searching his ex-girlfriend’s license plate number thousands of times. Like energy-guzzling data centers, the robotic trackers have grown increasingly unpopular, sparking heated debate on the responsible use of AI in the United States as the midterm elections near. Protesters have vandalized Flock cameras they blast as “Big Brother,” and internet pranksters have danced in front of them in lighter-hearted viral mockery. Abbott’s office, meanwhile, said the technology is concentrated in densely populated areas and mainly funded by the federal government. “Almost all Flock cameras in Texas are used by cities, and those cities are increasingly canceling their contracts with Flock,” the governor’s press secretary said in a statement. The Democrat running against Abbott for governor, Gina Hinojosa, released an ad this month criticizing her opponent for allowing 10,000 of the monitors to trace Texans’ movements.

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James Talarico visits Fort Worth with Mark Cuban to discuss healthcare

Mark Cuban knows a good pitch. And after hearing Democrat James Talarico’s case for the U.S. Senate, Cuban appears ready to invest. The billionaire Dallas businessman and former Shark Tank star said Saturday that Talarico is offering the kind of ambitious ideas on healthcare, the economy and small businesses that Washington needs. “I believe in him,” Cuban said during a panel discussion with Talarico at a packed Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth. “We need people like James in the Senate helping to find solutions.”

Cuban, the former majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is no stranger to politics. He said he agreed to join the podcast event after Talarico called for breaking up healthcare monopolies to lower prescription drug prices and other medical costs. “James nailed it,” Cuban said. “So here I am.” Cuban never mentioned Republican Ken Paxton, Talarico’s opponent, by name. But he repeatedly contrasted Talarico’s character and ethics with those of the attorney general. “I believe very strongly that character is destiny,” Cuban said. “When people are tested, when it hits the fan, that’s when real character emerges. When you see somebody like James, who truly is ethical, you can believe in him. You can trust him.” Cuban also praised Talarico’s economic proposals, saying, “When we send him to Washington, he’s going to be looking out for those entrepreneurs.” Talarico and Paxton are locked in a tight race that could help determine the balance of power in the Senate. Cuban stopped short of formally endorsing Talarico, but he twice referred to “when Talarico is elected to the Senate” and said he was the leader Washington needs.

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A Texas banking billionaire and his children are locked in a bitter succession drama

A family battle over a billionaire’s fortune, from boats and a jet to Dallas Cowboys tickets, is rankling the board of a small regional bank in Texas. Texas banking veteran Gerald J. Ford is ensnarled in a legal fight with some of his adult children over a large stake in Hilltop Holdings, the $2.2 billion financial-services holding company he forged. Four of Ford’s children—including son Jeremy, who took over as chair from Ford in 2025—are suing to wrest away control of their father’s more-than-26% stake in Hilltop, worth some $600 million. At the core of the disagreement is family drama: The children claim Ford (no relation to the former president) is suffering from cognitive decline, and is being manipulated by his longtime second wife, Kelli O. Ford, and others. Ford’s camp, which includes children from his second marriage, rejects that and says it is simple greed and an attempt by his older children to gain millions on top of what they have already been gifted.

The disagreements over estate planning have now morphed into something that may belong more on an HBO dramedy than in a boardroom. In late July, Ford withheld his votes for the entire board at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, which would mean three directors didn’t get a majority of votes. The four children disputed his ability to vote the shares held by a family investment vehicle. The board chair and CEO is personally suing his largest individual shareholder, who is also his father. If Ford, 82 years old, were to die, it is unclear who would get voting control of his stake, leaving open questions about a major block of shares for the bank. “It is a war of attrition waged by a sitting Chairman and CEO against his own benevolent father, on the apparent theory that time and exhaustion will extract what negotiation could not,” Electra Ford, Ford’s 22-year-old daughter from his second marriage, wrote in a letter to Hilltop’s board of directors viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

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State Stories

Proposed state windstorm insurance change could leave many Galveston residences uninsurable

A proposed change to Texas Windstorm Insurance Association coverage could devastate the housing market in coastal communities such as Galveston County, state representatives, board members and business leaders told The Daily News ahead of the association’s meeting Tuesday. Association board member John Todd proposed eliminating coverage for secondary homes to reduce the association’s potential exposure by about $19 billion. Nearly 60% of the association’s secondary-home policies are in Galveston or Nueces counties, according to the association. Beyond vacation homes and coastal getaways, the proposal could also affect tenant-occupied properties, including short- and long-term rentals.

With no secondary private market for windstorm insurance in Galveston, losing association coverage could leave property owners with no alternative source of coverage. “It’s got bad implications all across the coast,” Rep. Terri Leo Wilson told The Daily News on Thursday. “It could have devastating consequences for coastal communities.” The Legislative and External Affairs Committee will consider whether to recommend the proposal to the association’s full board. The board would have to approve it before it could be included in the association’s report to the Texas Legislature as a proposed change to state law, association spokesman Aaron Taylor told The Daily News. “It would be premature for TWIA to comment on the proposal because at this point, it is still being discussed as a potential Committee recommendation to the Board,” Taylor said. “The Board must approve any recommendations put forth by the Committee before they are included in TWIA’s report to the Legislature as a recommended law change.” Todd couldn’t be reached for comment. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association covered about 280,000 residential policies in March, of which 20% were categorized as secondary homes, Anna Stafford, senior legislative and external affairs manager, told the board at its June 22 meeting. Galveston County has 18,178 homes with a policy in force, with an average building limit of $355,870, according to the association.

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Texas PUC delays Hill Country transmission line route decision

With opposition mounting, state regulators delayed a decision on the route of a massive transmission line that would run from San Antonio through the Hill Country to West Texas, but gave their approval to another from North Texas. Both lines are part of the $33 billion Permian Basin Reliability Plan designed to provide power to the energy-rich region of West Texas by building three massive 765-kilovolt transmission lines. But the way the Public Utility Commission, grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and utilities have carried out the plan has sparked public outrage from landowners concerned about what they say is a compressed timeline and lack of transparency. Hundreds of people have shown up to make their voices heard at House and Senate committee hearings, regulatory agency meetings and protests.

Shortly after Friday’s meeting, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a brief calling for the projects to be paused until the legislative session that begins in January, when a “full and thorough review” can be done. His action came after calls from lawmakers — who approved the plan in 2023 — to delay the project to give the state time to find a way to provide more transparency in the process and more time for public input. On Aug. 21, 31 Texas House members filed a request calling for utility regulators to pause the project until reforms to the permitting process can be made in the next legislative session. The request was made less than an hour before the commission met to discuss the North Texas transmission line. At that meeting, commissioners heard from Texans opposing the planned line, which has two segments. They delayed taking action on applications from Oncor to build the 235-mile Dinosaur-Longshore segment from Somervell County to Howard County and the 160-mile Longshore-Drill Hole segment from Howard County to a switch near the Culberson County-Reeves County line.

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North Central Texas Council of Governments leaves job

The executive director of an Arlington-based government organization is out of his job months after he fired an influential North Texas transportation director — a move that spurred legal action and led to the director’s reinstatement. Todd Little, a former Ellis County judge appointed to lead the North Central Texas Council of Governments in May 2025, left his position Thursday after a meeting of the group’s executive board, which now includes five Tarrant County leaders. During the meeting, the board “voted to approve a mutually agreed separation of Todd Little’s employment as executive director, effective immediately, with no finding of misconduct or cause,” Caroline Vandergriff, the organization’s spokesperson, said in a statement released late Thursday night. The vote was 8-6.

Little, also a former Red Oak mayor, could not be immediately reached for comment. The April firing of Michael Morris, transportation director for the 45-member Regional Transportation Council for 35 years, led to a monthslong regional dispute between the transportation body and the board. Morris, reinstated to his role days later by a judge, directs North Texas transportation projects and distributes millions of dollars to cities for road, rail, bus, bicycle and air quality projects. A settlement in the lawsuit by Denton County officials was approved by the transportation council on Aug. 13. Little previously told the Fort Worth Report that the organization is preparing for long-term mobility plans and looking for an eventual successor to marshal transportation projects needed to accommodate 4 million people expected to move to North Texas by 2050. “We’re planning for the future,” Little told the Report. Little was singled out by former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley at the Regional Transportation Council’s April 30 meeting.

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Manvel mayor reverses his support for city's participation with Flock

Manvel Mayor Dan Davis is calling for the city to end its contract with Flock Safety, citing concerns over privacy, data sharing and the costs of the company's controversial license plate readers. “In 2024, I voted for Flock based on the information we had at the time and my desire to give our officers effective tools to keep Manvel safe,” Davis told the Houston Chronicle. “Since then, I’ve learned much more about Flock’s expanding data ecosystem, including Nova, the contractual language surrounding data use, cybersecurity concerns, and the broader sharing and aggregation of information.” Nova is Flock's AI-powered public safety platform. Davis on Friday announced on social media that he could no longer support Manvel’s four-year, $137,000 contract with the company, though he added that he doesn't oppose license plate readers generally. The issue is expected to come before Manvel City Council at its Sept. 8 meeting.

In his post, the mayor said he asked questions about language in Manvel’s contract and how data collected by Flock is used. He said he was troubled when a Flock representative could not provide clear answers. “Good leadership requires being willing to reconsider a decision when new information comes to light,” Davis said. “Knowing what I know today, I would not cast the same vote. Public safety is essential, but so are privacy, local control and public trust.” His push comes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday directed state agencies to pause their funding for all Flock cameras amid the growing scrutiny of the technology. For his part, Davis said residents have complained to him about the license plate readers. Based on responses he has received, Davis estimated that more than 60% support ending the city’s relationship with Flock. He said some community members who disagree with removing the cameras appear to be supportive of law enforcement technology generally. “When I’ve explained my specific concerns with Flock, I’ve found there is actually significant common ground,” Davis said. Davis has also cited the cost of the system as Manvel works through what he described as a tight budget. He said the taxpayer money spent on Flock should be redirected to other public safety or infrastructure needs.

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Jonathan Levin: Texas’ Y'all Street won't mess with Wall Street

(Jonathan Levin is a columnist focused on US markets and economics. Previously, he worked as a Bloomberg journalist in the US, Brazil and Mexico. He is a CFA charterholder.) Second-tier US cities are always pitching themselves as “the next Wall Street.” During the penny stock frenzy of the 1970s and ‘80s, Denver adopted the Wall Street West moniker — until its boiler rooms got caught up in a wave of fraud. Charlotte, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa and West Palm Beach have all, at one time or another, laid claim to the Wall Street South nickname. And now Dallas is going all in on Y’all Street (the best coinage yet, by far). The slogans are frequently part of marketing campaigns pushed by residential and office developers and business development strategists, and they should be met with an appropriate amount of eyerolling. Often the language shows up in luxury real estate ads and on Time Square billboards. Hilariously, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County even went so far as to federally register the Wall Street South® trademark. Lately the attention has focused on Miami and Dallas. The former saw the opening of the MIAX Sapphire options trading floor in 2025, operated by Miami International Holdings Inc., and Dallas got TXSE Group Inc.’s (much more significant) Texas Stock Exchange this year.

In practical terms, these businesses have produced modest numbers of local jobs: Miami International, despite the name, is technically headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, and the Texas Stock Exchange is reportedly starting out with about 100 employees. For all the inroads, the buzzy narratives around these kinds of developments can quickly become hyperbolic. And they veer toward fantasy when boosters try to convince us that Miami or Dallas (or wherever the new finance hub du jour might be) can actually replace the real Wall Street. Having examined the numbers from my office here in Miami, I can confidently tell you that while the ever-booming investment business has been expanding into more diverse locales, New York will always be its home. Manhattan alone still has five times as many high-finance workers as Dallas, Miami and Palm Beach combined, and in the last five years it added twice as much headcount as the total increase in those cities. Finance and investing workers also earn considerably less in these locales than they do in New York, putting a damper on the thesis that cost-of-living arbitrage might greatly accelerate incipient trends. Astute observers may rightly point out that these regions all have different-sized populations and workforces.

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Report finds majority of the Valley’s unemployed are prime-working age

The majority of unemployed workers in the Rio Grande Valley are in “the region’s prime working-age population,” 25-44, according to an August labor analysis report prepared by Workforce Solutions Lower Rio Grande Valley. The report was intended to provide “a broader look at the region’s workforce ecosystem and labor market,” according to communications specialist Julio Salinas. The analysis was based on 8,388 unemployment claims filed between January and March. According to the report, the median age of claimants is 36, and 63% have a high school diploma “or less.” According to the report, educational attainment has been a reliable predictor of long-term economic mobility. The report calls “targeted up-skilling” — training designed to improve specific workforce needs — “an economic imperative.”

The report also points to the need for affordable child care options throughout the Rio Grande Valley, calling the support for parents “the difference between being able to work or not.” According to the claimant analysis, 5,500 parents were receiving childcare assistance, totaling 9,700 children supported each day. “Stable child care enables workforce participation, increasing household incomes and consumer spending,” the report reads. “Employers gain a more reliable, stable workforce when parents have dependable care arrangements.” According to the report, the top four occupational sectors with the most unemployment during the analysis period were construction, administrative and support services, healthcare and social assistance, and professional, scientific, and technical services. A wide margin is dominated by construction, with 2,652 claims, or 31.6%. With inherently project-based work, cycles of unemployment and unemployment are predominant. Workforce solutions pitches licensed trades, OSHA certifications, operator qualifications as a possible fix, allowing workers to move quickly between employers when a project ends. Unfortunately, according to the report, many workers lack access to these necessary credentials.

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Bexar GOP seeks to boot independent candidate from 3-way District Attorney race

Bexar County Republicans are trying to remove an independent candidate who was once a member of their party, and could potentially peel votes away from their nominee in a three-way district attorney race. Defense attorney Jason Wolff ran and served as a Republican for many years — elected as a judge under the party’s banner in 2010 and 2014. But the GOP hasn’t won a countywide election in more than a decade in Bexar County, and this year Wolff entered the race to replace retiring District Attorney Joe Gonzales without a party affiliation next to his name.

“People can’t have a civil conversation with one another if they think that they can identify what’s in your heart based on your party affiliation,” Wolff said in a July interview. “I think it’s dividing this country [and] this county, so that’s why I’m running as an independent.” Now more than a month after the Secretary of State accepted Wolff’s petition to appear on the ballot, a lawsuit that seeks to have him removed has been filed by the Republican Party of Bexar County, its chairwoman Kris Coons, and the GOP nominee for District Attorney, Ashley Foster. The parties are scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 1. Major party candidates are selected through the primary process, while independents collect and submit signatures to qualify. Foster said Thursday that it’s standard practice for campaigns to check the validity of an opponent’s petition signatures, and local GOP activist Marian Stanko sought to do that in a timely manner after Wolff qualified.

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Routines and relationships are critical to a successful school year explains Communities in Schools

Schools across North Texas are in full swing, and a non-profit focused on helping kids succeed explains why routines and relationships are critical for children. Communities in Schools of the Dallas Region started in 1985 and, over the last 41 years, has provided services to kids in grades Kindergarten through 12. The non-profit uses evidence-based interventions for its programs to supply trained staff on campuses every day at schools to provide intervention to high-need students and families to remove barriers. Dr. Summer Rose, Psy.D, CEO of Communities in Schools of the Dallas Region, explains why routines and relationships are critical for the start of the year.

"We're trying to get kids back in the habit of getting up early, you know, having all their things prepared, making it to their classes on time, and also building from relationships," said Rose. "They're learning their new teachers; they might have old friends from last year, but there also might be new friends from this year. We might be having transitions from elementary to middle or middle-to-high. And so we really are talking about the importance of being in class every day so that you can build those routines and relationships because those habits formed early really impact for the rest of the school year." Communities in Schools of the Dallas Region said it relies on the generosity of the community, which is why North Texas Giving Day is huge for them. "This is like our Super Bowl. We love North Texas Giving Day, especially as a nonprofit, because we do survive; we thrive off of the donations from the community. This support allows us to be able to place these trained staff, both site coordinators and we have licensed mental health workers that also travel between the campuses that we serve to provide much-needed intervention. And so, North Texas Giving Day allows us to reach more students and families through the generosity of the community," explained Rose.

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Ross Fire consumes 85,303 acres and is 31% contained

A wildfire that exploded in size in a matter of hours on Monday continues ripping through wide swaths of ranchland in rural North Texas west of DFW on Friday, threatening structures, closing roads and forcing evacuations. The Ross Fire, which began early Monday afternoon, burned more than 78 square miles in less than a day across lightly populated areas in Palo Pinto and Jack counties. Fueled by whipping winds and extremely hot, dry conditions, the fire jumped creeks and rivers, residents said. On Saturday morning, Texas A&M Fire Service Operations Section Chief Boe Adler said the fire had consumed 85,303 acres and was 31% contained.

Adler said Friday's operations included firefighters using bulldozers to create a fire break along the southwest side. Firefighters use bulldozers to strip away any vegetation that could fuel the fire, leaving only a swath of bare soil. Along the fire's western front, Adler said they expect to see more fire activity moving through the rocky, rugged and tough terrain. They'll use bulldozers there, too, to try to prevent the fire from moving closer to Possum Kingdom Lake. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said Thursday that the Ross Fire is the second-largest wildfire in our area's history, behind the PK Complex Fire, which burned roughly 127,000 acres in 2011.

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Brazoria County judge apologizes for using 'short bus' remark in reference to tax abatement opponents

Brazoria County's top elected official is apologizing after Eyewitness News asked about comments he made at Tuesday's commissioners court meeting. Commissioners were discussing whether to approve a seven-year tax abatement for the agricultural supply company NeuAg to expand its Clute fertilizer plant. Judge Matt Sebesta referenced emails he received from those opposed to the abatement, which he said were riddled with inaccuracies. "I'm gonna say it's kind of like the kid on the short bus that likes to eat boogers talks everybody else into eating boogers, and so they all copy the booger-eating champion on the short bus," Sebesta said.

Hours after Eyewitness News asked Sebesta about the comments Friday, he released a statement apologizing for the remarks. "I used a very poor analogy while discussing how quickly false information can be politicized and spread on social media," the statement read. "I deeply regret my choice of words and sincerely apologize to anyone I offended or hurt." The words still sting for Nicole Stayton, whose son has autism. "These kids go through a lot of scrutiny and for them to be scrutinized by a local official is not okay on any level ever," Stayton said. Commissioner David Linder said he was "shocked" and "disappointed" by the judge's comments. "I found the comments concerning members of the public to be inappropriate and offensive, and I understand the frustration and anger they have caused within our community," Commissioner Jay Burridge said in a statement. "I neither agree or condone the comments made about the citizens of Brazoria County and I will address it at our next meeting," a statement from Commissioner Stacy Adams reads. But Stayton says the response should have been immediate. "The people that were standing in that courtroom with him, the commissioners, should have said something and stood up and proclaimed for what was right," she said.

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Brownsville commissioners approve disannexation of future SpaceX property

City commissioners voted unanimously late Saturday night to voluntarily disannex more than 444 acres of land at the request of SpaceX after a tense, six-hour special meeting. At stake was a $220 million agreement with the trillion-dollar aerospace company that city leaders say will secure Brownsville’s ability to supply water to its residents for generations. The evening highlighted the lopsided power dynamics between the city and SpaceX, with a representative from SpaceX straightforwardly telling commissioners that the company would only provide money to the water infrastructure projects if commissioners passed an ordinance formalizing the disannexation the same night. Following the meeting, Mayor John Cowen Jr. told the Herald that the decision weighed heavily on commissioners.

He said the mood during the two executive sessions of the night was intense, with many in the room sharing concern that the process played out during special meetings. Ultimately, he said commissioners could not pass up the opportunity to secure the city’s water supply and “sustainability as a city for generations to come.” “We put the residents first tonight,” he told the Herald. “We look at this as a very historic moment for the city. Water is a huge issue in South Texas and around the state, and this decision today will ensure that Brownsville be a place for future generations to live, and for our continued growth as a city.” Commissioners heard from dozens of speakers during the public comment portion, both for and against the agreement and disannexation. Supporters extolled SpaceX’s economic contributions to the region while opponents expressed concern over environmental damage caused by the company and what some called bully tactics to push the disannexation forward. “Why are we rushing this? Why are we here on a Saturday?” said one resident. “Why can’t we know what they’re going to do with the land? They say Starbase is a company town, but I fear we are becoming one, too.”

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National Stories

USPS rule could bar millions from voting by mail

Voting by mail would become much more difficult, if not impossible, for tens of millions of Americans if the U.S. Postal Service is allowed to implement a restrictive rule governing mail voting that President Trump has demanded. The effects would likely be greater for Democratic voters, who vote by mail in higher numbers than Republicans, and in states where mail voting is universal or nearly so. Mail voting may not happen at all in states that resist the Trump administration’s demands for voter data. The rule would particularly affect people in rural areas and older voters, who tend to cast ballots by mail in greater numbers. It could also deeply affect states where some of the most competitive races for House, Senate and governor will determine control of Congress and state governments.

Michigan, where 37 percent of votes were cast by mail in 2022, would be one epicenter, with hard-fought statewide contests and multiple battleground House races. California, which mails ballots to all voters, is expected to be central to Democratic efforts to win a majority in the House. The rule is being challenged in several lawsuits, and it is on hold temporarily following a federal judge’s ruling on Thursday. The administration is appealing. Even if the Postal Service is permitted to proceed, it is unclear that it would have time to implement the plan ahead of an election that is fewer than 70 days away. For instance, the rule requires states to upload a list of voters to a federal mail ballot portal that is not yet online. Nearly two dozen Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., have sued to block the proposed rule and said they will not comply with it. If the agency were to move ahead, state and local officials would shoulder enormous costs in what would need to be a herculean effort to prepare election offices and educate voters in time for the midterm elections in November.

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Influencers have a lot to say about politics. Many are quietly paid for it.

Josh Greene is a rising left-wing social media star with his own podcast, nearly 800,000 followers and access to politicians like Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York. He has used that platform to support dozens of progressive candidates in the midterm elections, ranging from low-profile, down-ballot contests to some of the nation’s marquee Democratic primaries. In camera-facing videos, Mr. Greene informs his followers of his preferences, calling some candidates “the most viable” and, in other cases, declaring that “this is the candidate for you.” He does not always tell his viewers that he is being compensated for his support.

But records show that Mr. Greene, 26, has received money from at least seven politicians, or outside groups supporting them, in the current campaign cycle, including several congressional candidates in New York and a super PAC linked to Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Senate nominee in Michigan. Tom Steyer, the former candidate for governor in California, paid him $21,500. Mr. Greene, who lives in Southern California and is best known by his handle @joshtheprogressive, is among a growing number of influencers who, at a moment when campaigns are increasingly willing to pay for online attention, appear willing to put their mouth where the money is. In February, Mr. Greene said that Mr. Steyer “isn’t the progressive champion you might think” because of his investments in detention facilities. In May, around the same time that he received $21,500 from Mr. Steyer’s campaign, Mr. Greene shifted his support to Mr. Steyer. He called Mr. Steyer “the most progressive viable candidate in the race,” adding that it was “my opinion.” As more people spend time scrolling on their phones, campaigns view these shows of support from influencers as a vital way to reach voters. They are also significantly less expensive than traditional advertising. But unlike campaign mailers, billboards and television spots, these messages fall into a legal gray area.

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Minnesota high court rejects Lindell’s gubernatorial primary recount bid

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Saturday rejected MyPillow founder Mike Lindell’s (R) bid for a recount of the state’s gubernatorial primary election, effectively confirming an 11-point loss that he has defiantly challenged. Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson wrote in a six-page ruling that Lindell’s “claim fails on the merits.” “Lindell argues that he is entitled to a full recount for both the Democratic and Republican primary races for governor ‘to ensure that there are no anomalies in the ballots, whether the votes cast are for the Democratic or Republican primaries,’ and that this recount must include ‘the recording of votes for every candidate,'” she wrote. “But Lindell’s focus on alleged anomalies confused the purpose of a manual recount with an election contest,” she added, before citing legal precedent.

Hudson also wrote that the Minnesota secretary of state’s office and the State Canvassing Board were “not committing any wrongful act, omission, or error by following –– as the Secretary of State proposes –– the procedures set forth” in state election law. Lindell called for a recount after his primary loss to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R), who won the Aug. 11 primary by 45,000 votes. He told NBC News on Saturday that he plans to appeal the ruling, adding that his team requested election data from all 87 counties through the Freedom of Information Act to conduct an independent investigation of that data. “I’m willing to pay even more money,” Lindell told the outlet, having previously said he’ll cover a full recount with an estimated $825,000. “I don’t care what it costs.” Lindell refused to pay the money last Monday, the state’s deadline for a recount and audit of the race, after the recount would have solely been about counting the ballots cast for him or Demuth. Hudson wrote that Lindell, having missed the Monday deadline, “instead sent documentation to the Secretary of State to reflect wire transfer readiness, and he filed this section 204B.44 petition.”

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Medicare's pilot GLP-1 discount program has a catch. Some sick patients don't qualify

In January, Jeff La Marca got a prescription for the popular weight loss drug Zepbound. But he couldn't afford the $750 monthly price tag. Then Medicare launched an 18-month pilot program that offers GLP-1 medications to some enrollees for only $50 a month. La Marca thought he might finally be able to afford the drug. "I thought, 'Thank God, there's a path,'" said La Marca, who lives in Basking Ridge, N.J., and has tried numerous diets and exercise regimes. But the 68-year-old's celebration was short-lived. His application to the pilot program was denied. La Marca has severe obstructive sleep apnea, one of several diagnoses that exclude patients from the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program's $50 monthly price. The notification didn't say why he was rejected. He thinks that if he didn't have that diagnosis, he would qualify due to his weight.

About 1 in 5 American adults has taken a GLP-1 medication, and most of them, including those with health insurance, say the drugs are difficult to afford. Federal law has long barred Medicare from covering drugs prescribed solely for weight loss, which is why the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program made a big splash when it launched in July. It's a short-term pilot program in which Medicare is offering coverage of three GLP-1s for weight loss and management, to see whether that would save Medicare money later. Eligible patients must be enrolled in Medicare Part D, a prescription drug coverage add-on to Medicare. Even though people must have Part D insurance to qualify, the preauthorization request doesn't go through the insurer; it's instead submitted to a separate system run by a contractor for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The pilot includes Wegovy, the KwikPen formulation of Zepbound and the oral medication Foundayo. Under the pilot, many Medicare beneficiaries with a body mass index of 35 or higher — the upper range of obesity — qualify for coverage of one of those drugs, if prescribed. Those otherwise eligible who have a BMI of 27 to 34 can qualify if they also have certain health conditions, such as prediabetes or cardiovascular disease.

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Trump administration begins deportations of Haitians — slowly

The Trump administration has slowly begun removing Haitians who are illegally residing in the United States following the expiration of the temporary protected status program. But some conservatives say that isn’t enough to fulfill President Donald Trump‘s campaign promises. In the wake of the courts allowing the Trump administration to strike down TPS, roughly 350,000 Haitian illegal immigrants are no longer permitted to work in the U.S. and have lost protection from deportation, making them prime targets for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Hundreds of Haitians residing in the Springfield, Ohio, region were contacted by ICE in late July and told to check in with immigration authorities at a local federal office, where many reported being outfitted with ankle monitors, according to lawyers who spoke with the Haitian Times.

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At the FBI, a history of hiring prostitutes or stealing from employer may no longer be a barrier to being hired

The FBI previously refused to hire job applicants if they admitted to hiring sex workers or stealing from an employer — or engaging in acts of bestiality. Today, those acts, which are mostly illegal across the country, are no longer automatic deal breakers for applicants to the nation's top law enforcement agency. In June, the FBI quietly lowered some of the standards it uses when it conducts background checks on would-be federal agents and other personnel. According to multiple sources briefed on the matter, the FBI did so to facilitate hiring in some cases, even if candidates acknowledged they engaged in sexually deviant activities or stole from an employer. The move comes as the FBI has lost scores of employees through firings, retirements and resignations since the start of the Trump administration.

Under specific circumstances, the FBI is willing to give candidates a pass on prostitution, as long as they have not hired sex workers three or more times, the sources told CBS News. And the hiring of the sex workers must not have taken place within the last 10 years, several of the sources added. On this part of the guidance, the FBI spokesperson pointed out that a person may have hired a sex worker in a location where prostitution is legal. A person who was in a position of "trust" who solicited sex would still be automatically disqualified from FBI employment, one of the sources with direct knowledge of the changes told CBS News. Examples of positions of trust, according to the FBI's new policy, are those who work in the fields of public safety, education, health, social work, finance or law. Being a member of the military was not among the listed categories, and it was not clear if they would be treated as such. Under the new eligibility rules, a person who stole from an employer is not automatically disqualified as long as the incident occurred more than three years ago, one of the sources with direct knowledge said.

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USDA cyclospora research projects shelved amid funding cuts and relocations

USDA is directing blame to Congress for zeroing out funds for two of the projects once housed at the agency’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center just outside Washington. But the department’s broader relocation effort is also raising questions about the Trump administration’s work to overhaul vital research amid public health threats like cyclospora, salmonella and E. coli. “We know so little, and I think that that’s been very frustrating to consumers,” said Kalmia Kniel, who studied with the BARC parasite scientists before becoming a professor researching cyclospora at the University of Delaware. Without BARC, “no one can work very fast. We don’t have the models, we don’t have these surrogates like we would want to have them, and we want to be able to do the research.”

More than 17,000 people have been sickened by cyclospora this summer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FDA is investigating multiple outbreaks of the parasite, including one that has sickened more than 11,000 people across 20 states. While scientific research couldn’t prevent the current outbreak, it could help investigators find the culprit faster next time — or prevent an outbreak in the first place. The Trump administration has said that BARC, a 6,500-acre complex where researchers study nutrition, animal health and food safety, is too expensive to keep open. USDA officials have also said that the goal of the reorganization is to move the department’s employees closer to the people they serve, and that research, like that in the labs that conduct cyclospora research, will be uninterrupted. A USDA spokesperson blamed Congress for the funding cuts, and said, “None of the research has been disrupted, and research will continue without disruption.” “Congress did not appropriate funding for the two BARC research projects referenced in the FY2026 Agriculture Appropriations Act,” the USDA spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service “is working with research leaders to ensure an orderly transition of programs.” Spokespeople for Republican and Democratic appropriators in the House and Senate who oversee the funding for the parasite research did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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Lead Stories

NDAs are hiding data center deals, drawing ire from locals — and attention from lawmakers

By fields of cotton and soybeans where his bees forage and pollinate, Foster Hensel pries open the lid of one of his beehives, setting off a rising hum from inside. "You hear the difference in the sound?" he asks, pumping the bellows of a small smoker to try and settle the bees. "They're getting a little aggravated." What has Hensel concerned is a few miles down the road. In Boyce, a small town in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana, construction is starting on a 300-acre data center site. The beekeeper worries the new warehouse-like facilities will raise his utility bills or change the local environment. And he asks why there's not more information. "Let me quote a good writer, Shakespeare — there's something rotten in Denmark," Hensel said. "There's something wrong with that." The negotiations between the data center developer — Dallas-based Applied Digital Corp. — and local officials were shielded under nondisclosure agreements (NDAs).

In Rapides Parish, the secrecy left residents with unanswered questions and distrust of their local leaders. But the use of NDAs for negotiations on data centers is common across the country, according to experts and those in the industry. And the practice has faced opposition from the public and some lawmakers. Bills to ban NDAs for data centers have been introduced in several states, including Michigan, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Ohio. Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro banned their use on data center projects by agencies he oversees. Eric Bonds is a professor and environmental sociologist at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. He and his research partner found that NDAs were used in at least 25 of 31 data center projects they surveyed there last year. He said NDAs seem to be "standard practice." "After we published our research," Bonds said, "we heard back from reporters and activists kind of around the country from Arizona, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania." Companies and local officials who sign nondisclosure agreements say they're needed to protect corporate secrets and to negotiate freely. But experts say they also give data center developers an edge as they move from county to county — in this case, parish to parish — seeking the best deals. "Information is power, and these folks, they're powerful, and they want to make a lot of money, so they're going to control information as closely as they can so they have an advantage," said David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida.

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ICE officer's release escalates fight between states over extradition

The release of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer from a Texas jail on Thursday despite Minnesota’s request for his return could set a dangerous precedent, increasing friction between states and helping criminal defendants avoid justice, legal experts said. Christian Castro was released from a detention center in Brownsville after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declined to immediately sign his extradition warrant. A federal judge also declined to block Castro’s release or order Abbott to sign the warrant. Minnesota officials say they believe Castro could flee to Mexico to avoid prosecution on charges he shot a man and lied about it during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January. Extradition from Mexico would require action by the Trump administration, which opened an investigation into Castro’s actions but also has argued ICE agents have “absolute immunity” for their actions on duty.

The standoff between the two states is highly unusual. Under federal law, states have little discretion to reject extradition requests from fellow states. Thousands of fugitives are sent to other states each year as a matter of routine. But Abbott, a Republican, said last week he would not respond to Minnesota’s extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in the state, which President Donald Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there. The decision is alarming because it injects politics into the extradition process, said Marsh Halberg, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor in Minnesota. “Something that’s been a routine process may now turn into a political card,” he said in a phone interview. In recent months, California and New York have rejected extradition requests from Louisiana for doctors accused of mailing abortion pills. But legal scholars say those cases are different because the doctors weren’t in Louisiana and never fled the state and became fugitives. Under federal law, the New York and California governors had no duty to turn over the doctors, Georgetown University law professor Stephen Vladeck wrote on Substack. “Abbott is just refusing to perform his,” he said.

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Texas Senate hopeful Talarico teams with Mark Cuban on plan to break up healthcare 'monopolies'

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is out with a new plan, first shared with CNBC, to break up what he says are healthcare monopolies and bring down the cost of prescription drugs. And he’s teaming up with entrepreneur Mark Cuban to launch it. Talarico, a member of the Texas House of Representatives who is running against state Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of the most closely-watched Senate races of the 2026 election cycle, will appear with Cuban for a live event and podcast recording in Fort Worth on Saturday to discuss the plan.

“Mark and I agree it’s time to break up the Big Medicine monopolies that control our broken healthcare system,” Talarico said in a statement to CNBC. “Healthcare corporations are ripping us off — jacking up premiums and profiting off our pain. This plan will break up monopolies, lower medical debt, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, and ensure doctors decide what medication their patients need — not insurance companies.” Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat elected statewide in Texas since 1994, in a seat that would be key for the party if they want to win control of the Senate from Republicans. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates the race a “toss-up,” and recent polling shows Talarico and Paxton neck-and-neck. Democrats across the country have hammered home a cost-of-living message heading into the November election, criticizing President Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled House and Senate for enacting policies they say have hurt the economy and raised prices.

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Trump visits Houston for GOP fundraiser and NASA ceremony

President Donald Trump touched down in Houston Thursday afternoon ahead of a private fundraiser before a Friday ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center on his third visit to Texas since returning to the White House. The two-day trip puts Trump at the center of two consequential Texas stories: Republicans’ effort to hold a U.S. Senate seat in an unexpectedly competitive election and NASA’s push to return astronauts to the moon through the Artemis program. After arriving at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Trump was scheduled to headline a Republican National Committee reception to raise money ahead of the midterm elections. He is also scheduled to visit NASA Johnson Space Center on Friday.

Trump's visit to help raise money for Republicans in Texas come as his endorsed candidate, Ken Paxton, is neck and neck with James Talarico in the race for U.S. Senate. The RNC Chair previously told the Houston Chronicle that Texas is a "treasure trove" for finding Republican conservative donors. According to a copy of the invitation for Thursday's event obtained by a New York Times reporter, donors must pay $10,000 to attend the reception and more than $88,000 for a photo opportunity. At NASA, Trump will honor the Artemis II crew and award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch. Only 30 astronauts have received the honor, according to NASA. Experts said Trump has shown a particular interest in space policy over his two terms in office. “He's certainly, particularly among modern presidents, one of the more energetic and impactful drivers of national space policy,” said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy for the Planetary Society, a space advocacy organization. He redirected NASA to the moon with the Artemis Program and created the U.S. Space Force during his first term. In his second term, Trump worked to streamline regulatory paperwork required by companies seeking to launch rockets. Many presidents have enjoyed the symbolic power of NASA and human spaceflight, Dreier said. Trump seems to understand that returning NASA astronauts to the moon is a “very potent symbol of American capability,” he said. “He understands the power of symbolism and of a story and narrative,” Dreier said of Trump. “One of his great strengths is understanding how to sell an idea.”

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State Stories

Enbridge to buy Houston pipeline co.'s crude oil business in $600M Permian deal

Canada-based Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB), which has its U.S. headquarters in Houston, is acquiring pipeline assets for $600 million. Houston-based Salt Creek Midstream LLC is selling its crude oil gathering business — including 100% of the Orla and Wink North systems and a 50% interest in the Delaware Crossing system — to Enbridge. The business has about 500 miles of crude oil gathering infrastructure in the Delaware Basin portion of the Permian Basin. It serves more than 20 producers and has about 320,000 net dedicated acres under long-term commercial agreements with an average remaining contract life of about 10 years. The assets have a combined 420,000 barrels per day of throughput capacity and 350,000 barrels of storage capacity with access to Enbridge’s majority-owned Gray Oak Pipeline.

"These assets will strengthen our value chain in the Permian Basin and Enbridge can now offer customers full wellhead to water integration via Gray Oak, Cactus II and the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center,” Colin Gruending, Enbridge’s executive vice president of liquids pipelines, said in a news release. The deal is expected to close in 2026. RBC Capital Markets acted as financial adviser to Enbridge. Sidley Austin LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP were legal advisers to Enbridge. Salt Creek Midstream was formed in 2018 by Houston-based Arm Energy Holdings LLC and funds managed by Los Angeles-based Ares Management LP (NYSE: ARES). Aside from the crude oil gathering business, Salt Creek also has natural gas and water infrastructure in the Permian Basin. Enbridge is working on several other pipeline projects that come out of the Permian Basin. A joint venture is developing the 450-mile Eiger Express Pipeline, which will run from the Permian to Katy with a capacity of 3.7 billion cubic feet per day. A separate joint venture reached a final investment decision with Houston-based Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) last year to develop a 160-mile, bidirectional natural gas pipeline between the Corpus Christi area and Katy.

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Prominent general contractor's Texas offices raided by federal authorities

Federal authorities raided a general contractor's Austin, San Antonio and Plano offices on Aug. 26. More than a half-dozen eyewitnesses told the Austin Business Journal they spotted around 15 federal and state officers enter Three Barton Skyway, which is located at 1221 South MoPac Expressway, in the morning. The officers were circling in on the office of Plano-based Cadence McShane Construction Co. LLC and left with several boxes and confiscated cell phones, sources said. Srinath Kasturi, Cadence's executive vice president over the Austin office, on Aug. 27 confirmed the activity at the Austin office, along with offices in San Antonio and the Plano headquarters.

Kasturi said the incident "involved a government agency obtaining records related to a previous project," and added that Cadence fully cooperated and provided the requested information. He identified that agency as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and said no arrests or detainments were made. Cadence McShane is a prominent general contractor in the area and has worked on some of the region's most notable projects, including the massive NFM-anchored shopping center in Cedar Park. It ranked No. 11 on ABJ's list of largest area general contractors, based on $315.3 million in construction billings in 2025. It reported 79 local employees at the time. Representatives from the Texas Department of Public Safety on Aug. 27 confirmed they were at the scene assisting HUD, and deferred questions to HUD. HUD officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Austin Police Department confirmed it was not involved.

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‘The whole enchilada’: House Speaker Mike Johnson says all eyes are on San Antonio’s new district

A new congressional district on San Antonio’s South Side is ground zero in Republicans’ efforts to save a narrow U.S. House majority this November. On Wednesday evening, that brought U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), U.S. Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Florida) and Rudy Yakam (R-Indiana) to a VFW near the Mission Marquee Plaza, where they mingled with veterans and local officials at a campaign event for first-time congressional hopeful Carlos De La Cruz. “I just want to tell you that leaders from across Congress and across the country are all watching what happens right here in this district,” Johnson told the crowd of roughly 200 people. “This district is the whole enchilada — did I say that right?”

Texas’ 35th Congressional District was drawn to give the GOP a leg up in an election that party leaders worry could be brutal. Johnson can only afford to lose a few seats and still hold onto the speaker’s gavel, so his party placed a gamble on a part of the country that swung toward President Donald Trump two years ago. Last year, Trump got Texas to redraw its congressional districts outside of the census cycle, creating the new San Antonio-area district and reshaping several others south of here that are currently held by Democrats. “2024 was a bellwether election,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “We had a true demographic shift. We had a record number of Hispanic and Latino voters — we had a record number of Black and African American voters — coming to the Republican Party.”

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Free speech lawsuits against Tarrant County judge awaiting decision from US appeals court

A U.S. appeals court will determine whether two lawsuits alleging First Amendment violations move forward against Tarrant County and Judge Tim O’Hare. The lawsuit Bishop Mark Kirkland filed against the county and O’Hare in January is paused until the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether to reconsider a lawsuit Kirkland’s attorney, CJ Grisham, filed against the county judge last year. Both men allege that O’Hare violated their constitutional right to freedom of speech when he had them removed from public meetings of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. A magistrate judge canceled the Aug. 28 hearing to settle Kirkland’s lawsuit, citing U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman’s decision to wait on the appeals court before further judgment.

“The related case before the Fifth Circuit is substantially similar in posture and involves the constitutionality of precisely the same county rules of decorum,” Pittman wrote in an Aug. 6 court filing. The cancellation issued Aug. 7 came three days after O’Hare earned state headlines for ordering all attendees to leave the commissioners courtroom when some of them clapped after he told them not to during a public meeting. A former Tarrant County state lawmaker was arrested and carried out of the courtroom by sheriff deputies after continuing to speak when O’Hare cut off his public comments. Grisham, an attorney and gun rights activist from Temple, alleges that O’Hare violated the First Amendment when the county judge had him removed from a commissioners court meeting for using profanity in January 2025. U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means dismissed the lawsuit in April, and Grisham is appealing that decision. Kirkland, a Fort Worth pastor, sued O’Hare days after the county judge had him removed from a commissioners court meeting in December — then refiled the suit in January after it was tossed out for logistical errors. O’Hare had cut Kirkland’s speaking time short when the pastor commented on the county judge ordering attendees not to clap during the meeting.

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Houston ethics proposal targets late, missing campaign finance reports

Political candidates seeking office at Houston City Hall could soon face stiffer penalties for some campaign finance violations under a new proposal being considered by city officials. Filing campaign fundraising reports late — or failing to file them at all — is a criminal offense under state and city laws and can be subject to hefty fines. But in practice, the city doesn’t enforce those rules, leading to routine violations from officeholders and their challengers alike. A new proposal filed by Council Member Julian Ramirez seeks to encourage more timely reports by requiring the city secretary to file a sworn complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission anytime a candidate misses a deadline.

“With no penalty assessed for not meeting the deadline, filers can ignore the requirement with impunity,” the proposal reads. “Because violators are not held accountable, the public’s confidence and trust in its government is undermined.” Ramirez is pushing the idea through Proposition A, which allows any three City Council to place an item on the city council agenda. The proposal, which is also supported by Council Members Amy Peck, Sallie Alcorn and Joaquin Martinez, must pass a legal review before being scheduled for a vote. Ramirez and other council members have engaged in more than a year of talks at City Hall over ethics reforms. Mayor John Whitmire campaigned on rooting out waste, corruption and conflicts of interest in city government, but various proposals, from reviving the city ethics commission to reforming the Office of the Inspector General, have not advanced. Ramirez’s proposal also would require City Secretary Troy Lemon to post the names of delinquent filers on a city website within 24 hours after each filing deadline. Under state law, contenders for Houston mayor, controller, and city council seats are required to post reports with donations and spending twice a year, with extra reports due before each election day.

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Houston ICE shooting could go before grand jury soon, Sean Teare says

Harris County prosecutors plan to bring witnesses to the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo before a grand jury “very soon,” District Attorney Sean Teare said in an interview Thursday. Teare’s announcement comes less than 24 hours after a second witness, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, was released from federal custody. The investigation into Salgado’s fatal shooting July 7 by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has entered “a tipping point,” Teare said in an appearance on Hello Houston. “Physically, when you’re talking the evidence from before it occurred and what happened that day, I think we’ve gotten just about all we’re going to get,” Teare said. “There are still pieces of evidence we need from the federal government that we are waiting on. But we are much more moving into the evaluation phase and determining what, if any, charge we’re going to present to a grand jury.”

Officials with Teare’s office declined to provide a more precise timeline in the case. Two witnesses in the van the day Salgado was fatally shot in Magnolia Park have been released from federal custody, but Teare said a third was still fighting his detention in court as of Thursday. The third witness, Victor Salgado Araujo, is Lorenzo Salgado’s brother. Ruby Powers, the Houston-based immigration attorney who represents Victor Salgado, told the Houston Chronicle Thursday that there has been movement recently in her client’s case, but a timeline on when a federal judge might rule on Salgado’s petition for release is unclear. Local prosecutors have interviewed all three of the men at some point in federal custody, Teare said. Teare said investigators with his office have compiled witness accounts and surveillance video that provide a compelling picture of events leading up to and immediately following Salgado’s shooting, but no one has yet provided video of the incident itself. The lack of evidence of the shooting itself suggests ICE has changed its tactics, Teare said, and is moving toward more surreptitious enforcement. “The agency has adapted from Minnesota and now you’re doing these operations at 7 a.m. on a side street,” he said. The name of the ICE agent who killed Salgado has not been released.

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Austin City Council begins process of banning large-scale data centers

It’s the perfect moment for an easy vote. The Austin City Council just came through a tough budget-writing process. It’s only weeks removed from the controversial decision on the Dog’s Head development. Taking a vote to ban large-scale data centers must feel quite comfortable by comparison. And banning large-scale data centers is definitely the plan. As Mayor Kirk Watson said at Tuesday’s work session, “It’s pretty clear what we’re hoping to see.” Watson opened the conversation by referring to recent Council message board posts, including one of his own, stressing that data center approvals in Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction should be frozen until Council finalizes a policy on their development. A post from Council members Vanessa Fuentes, Ryan Alter, José Velásquez, Zo Qadri, and Mike Siegel took the sentiment further, stating they are “committed to ensuring that Austin does not allow a single large, ‘hyperscale’ data center within the City limits.”

State law forbids Austin from simply banning data centers overnight, however. Joi Harden of the Austin Planning Department told Council that a data center ban will need to be executed through the city’s zoning process. That process would allow opportunities for public comment and conclude with Council amending the city’s Land Development Code, which currently does not even define the term “data center.” Council pushes the proposal forward today, Aug. 27, with a vote directing City Manager T.C. Broadnax to begin crafting amendments to the LDC for Council consideration. Harden told the CMs the process could be complete by spring of next year. Harden also ran through a presentation with the now-familiar reasons that large-scale data centers are causing such an emetic backlash – they consume obscene amounts of energy and water, give off sound and light pollution, and are housed in ugly industrial buildings. She and Austin Energy’s Stuart Reilly said the city is currently providing electricity to a handful of small data centers of 20 megawatts or less. These are not to be confused with large wholesale data centers, those using between 20 and 100 MW, Harden said, or the hyperscale data centers, the thousand-acre facilities consuming more than 100 MW. With the presentation complete, the Council members offered comments. Alter noted that the increased electricity use would increase the state regulatory fees that are a portion of everyone’s utility bill.

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Dallas knew of ICE flights as operator sought privacy at Love Field

Dallas officials were explicitly told a private aviation company was taking over ICE deportation flights at Love Field Airport, email records show, even as the city publicly described that message only as an "irregular operations courtesy notice." The emails don’t show that Dallas controlled federal immigration decisions or had authority to stop the flights. But they give a more detailed picture of what city officials knew about the operations and how they responded behind the scenes. The records also show Signature Aviation asked Dallas aviation department officials to approve black mesh being installed along fencing beside a public observation area, saying it wanted greater privacy and sought to “prevent further media scrutiny.” A senior city aviation official separately asked in a later email that the operations be conducted “more discreetly” away from the observation area.

The information comes from more than 100 pages of emails among Dallas aviation officials and Signature employees obtained by The Dallas Morning News through a public records request. Dallas aviation officials confirmed to The News in July that flights connected to federal immigration operations had occurred at the city-owned Dallas Love Field. Officials with the city and Signature told The News they had no authority to stop lawful flights conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. City officials also said the information they normally received from private aviation companies was generally limited to operational details like flight times and aircraft type. But on June 29, Signature General Manager Brett Langsdorf emailed Dallas airport and police officials a more explicit notice. “Starting tomorrow, we will be taking over all ICE deportation flights that Atlantic once had,” Langsdorf wrote. He said the planes, buses and support vehicles for the operations would use Signature’s Terminal 3.

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Here's why MD Anderson Cancer Center President Peter Pisters is retiring and what's next

Dr. Peter Pisters’ career has been divided into 10-year chapters, and the outgoing president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is turning the page on another one. “I was an academic surgeon for a period of time, then I was a mid-level administrator. I've been a healthcare CEO in two countries, and now I'm going to go on to something else,” Pisters told the Houston Business Journal in an interview. Pisters announced his retirement as president this week after nine years in the role. He’s handing over the reins to Dr. Jeffrey Lee, the cancer center’s chief physician executive, who now serves as interim president. Pisters told the HBJ that his and Lee’s working relationship is so good that they could “finish each other’s sentences.”

Pisters said he’d been thinking about the decision to leave for some time, but his ultimate call was aided by the institution’s strong financial position and improvement in several care and research metrics. After Pisters’ last day on Sept. 30, he plans to take some time before jumping into his next venture. His wife, also a physician, is retiring, and he’s welcoming a grandchild. But leaving the day-to-day demands of one of Houston’s biggest academic medical centers will also give Pisters time to reflect on what he described as “the societal factors that are going to impact us decades into the future,” like artificial intelligence in healthcare. Pisters also said his time as MD Anderson’s president and previously as a healthcare CEO in Toronto shaped his thinking on healthcare accessibility in the U.S., especially given what he described as an “epidemic of chronic disease.” “We're going to really want to think about how we really deal with that and how can some of the new technologies influence our ability to even out gaps in healthcare across society at this point in time,” Pisters said. “I think lots of opportunities will open, and those will be created by a confluence of factors and positive changes in the way that we approach medical student education, the ways in which AI is used to benefit society and to improve healthcare in rural areas and in underserved areas.”

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Expect road closures, enhanced security in downtown Dallas during GOP convention

All roads surrounding the American Airlines Center will be closed during the upcoming Republican midterm convention in Dallas. That includes Houston Street, Victory Avenue and Nowitzki Way. That’s part of the city's traffic and safety plan for the convention, which runs Sept. 9 through 10 at the arena. “Our teams are planning for the expected while also preparing for the unexpected,” said city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, who added that security measures will begin Sept. 7 and conclude Sept. 11. The plan was developed in partnership with the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, Dallas Police, Dallas Fire-Rescue and DART Police.

Secret Service Special Agent in charge Christina Foley said the public should expect “visible and non-visible” security measures around the arena, including checkpoints, vehicle barriers and temporary fencing. Deputy Dallas Police Chief Devon Palk said there will be temporary and rolling road closures around the convention, along with motorcades and other security operations. “The most significant traffic impacts are gonna be expected around the American Airlines Center and Victory Park," he said at a news conference Thursday. "Other areas of the city may experience temporary closures as security needs arise. Some of these closures could happen with little to no notice." Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Victory station will also be closed during the convention beginning Sept. 8 through 10. Dallas will pay nearly $2 million on police to provide security for a midterm Republican convention in September, officials said Monday. Security and traffic preparations for the convention are estimated to cost the city $1.8 million, the Office of Emergency Management and Crisis Response shared at a committee meeting on Monday.

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Wylie is getting 'DeFlocked' after city council votes against renewing traffic camera contract

Wylie City Council voted unanimously to end its contract with Flock, marking the Texas city to move away from the controversial traffic surveillance technology. After almost two hours of discussion Tuesday the council voted 7-0 to end its automatic contract renewal, with the possibility of revisiting a new contract in the future. Wylie's contract with Flock will expire on Oct. 31. Mayor Matthew Porter acknowledged what he saw as the technology's successes in solving cases, but added his concerns are not with the Wylie Police Department. Porter said his main concerns stem from how Flock stores and shares the data. “My concerns are not with Wiley,” Porter said. “My concerns are that we continue to see misuse by other departments, some of which are partners that we share data with within the state.”

The city had deployed six license plate reader cameras since August 2024 at an annual cost of roughly $27,000. At least one of those cameras was recently vandalized — a trend seen across the nation. Residents in some Flock coverage areas say they are concerned over the privacy and data management of information collected by Flock Safety's automated license plate readers, or ALPR. Most recently, the Hood County Commissioners Court shut down three Flock cameras after residents raised concerns. Wylie Assistant Police Chief Tommy Walters said the tools were helpful in solving crimes, but he also said the department put additional internal regulations to try and prevent misuse. “I was a critic of this kind of technology when it first started coming out, " Walters said. “So there was a group of people that sat around and discussed the safeguards that can be put in place from implementation. These weren't knee-jerk reactions.” Local residents remained focused on who ultimately holds access to their information. Throughout public comment, speakers like Austin Gregory, founder of DeFlock Wylie, voiced concerns about misused information.

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National Stories

Years late, billions over budget: California’s high-speed rail hasn’t laid a track

Some 18 years after California voted to launch a bullet train that would travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours, the project now costs billions more than planned, is years behind schedule and has yet to lay its first track. The 2008 ballot measure passed narrowly, 52.7% to 47.3%, kick-starting America’s largest active infrastructure project. A legislative bill said it should be completed by 2020, and the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s initial business plan estimated a cost of $33 billion. After years of legal battles, cost overruns, leadership changes and political fights, the price tag is up to $126 billion, with a high estimate of $231 billion, and it isn’t expected to be fully operational until 2040. Since 2008, the authority has spent about $15 billion, purchasing thousands of land parcels and building giant overpasses, rail beds, walls and other concrete structures that now rise over California’s Central Valley. The work has generated thousands of jobs.

But the Authority’s inspector general estimated the project will “exhaust its current funding resources” as early as next year, according to its July report. “This is a disaster,” Democratic state Sen. Catherine Blakespear said at a Transportation Committee meeting in April to review the project’s 2026 business plan. “I am such an enthusiast for rail and I really want this to be successful and just hearing these things makes it seem like we’re proceeding on a wing and a prayer.” The authority is currently focused on completing an initial segment through the Central Valley, then connecting it to San Francisco and Los Angeles later. The topic is polarizing in the valley. “You can’t really talk about it too loudly until you know where people stand. I’m pro-train, but it’s a divisive issue,” said Constance Peters, a shift leader at The 18hundred restaurant in Bakersfield who grew up in the area. Before that, she worked for a concrete company that helped build some structures for the rail project. “Californians have money. We want to travel,” Peters said.

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New coalition fights Trump’s efforts to weaken protections for historic sites

A coalition of more than 600 historic preservation groups, architectural associations, tribal governments and other organizations is urging Congress to block President Donald Trump’s efforts to weaken or evade laws intended to protect historic sites. Members of the new coalition say that they are seeking to safeguard sites in every congressional district — and that they intend to pursue legal action if Congress does not act. “Our coalition did not exist six weeks ago. Today it brings together constituencies who have rarely spoken with one voice,” the groups wrote in letters that were set to be sent to all members of Congress on Thursday. The signatories want lawmakers to reject the administration’s revisions to a 60-year-old federal law that governs changes to landmarks such as the National Mall, sites that are significant to Indian tribes and other properties eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The proposed changes would allow federal agencies to undertake their own projects or permit construction by private developers without public input, breaking with long-standing requirements for public participation. Some members of Congress are also considering similar changes to the review process, which is required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The administration can enact regulatory revisions to Section 106 without congressional approval, but the coalition is asking lawmakers to help oppose such changes. The coalition also wants Congress to block legislation that would separately allow similar revisions to take effect. The coalition says it is also responding to Trump’s attempts to unilaterally change historic sites, such as demolishing the White House’s East Wing to build a planned ballroom. Administration lawyers have argued in court that they do not need to seek congressional approval for Trump’s projects, such as the ballroom and his planned triumphal arch. “The burden of standing up for congressional authority is falling heavily to civil society organizations, law firms, and individual Americans when Congress itself should be taking the lead,” the coalition wrote in a letter shared with The Washington Post.

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What a fake poll reveals about worries around prediction markets and the midterms

Earlier this month, after news broke that a phony company had released fake election polls, it prompted immediate speculation that the stunt was an attempt to manipulate prediction markets — fears especially pronounced with midterms right around the corner. The 21-year old man behind the fake polls posted a statement saying the bogus polls were "a short-term social experiment" to see just how fast the fabricated figures would circulate in news stories and social media. He said he was not trying to profit off the attention the polls attracted. But the suspicion was understandable, considering the spate of high-profile market manipulators uncovered in recent months on the surging prediction market sites Kalshi and Polymarket, where billions of dollars of bets flow in every week on everything from baseball games to the future of the Trump administration's policies.

While the poll stunt may not have been an effort to rig prediction markets, concerns are growing ahead of the midterms two months away about other attempts to influence the betting sites with ginned-up polls, viral social media campaigns, or other misinformation. "These markets are very easily manipulated, and the platforms say they invest in surveillance and catch people after the fact, but when it comes to elections, the consequences are really grave," said Amanda Fischer, chief policy officer at Better Markets, a financial reform group that studies prediction markets. Fischer added that since this is about to be the first major election cycle with Kalshi and Polymarket having gone mainstream, "some folks will be looking for ways to game prediction markets, partisan interests, and worse, perhaps even foreign actors." This year, prediction market operators have caught traders trying to make a buck through various types of insider trading, from a special forces soldier betting on the operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to former Congressman George Santos betting against his own attendance at the State of the Union address to President Trump's teleprompter operator profiting off the president's prepared remarks.

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Fauci contempt push stalls as Trump administration questions legal path

A Republican push to prosecute Dr. Anthony Fauci for contempt of Congress has stalled as the Trump administration questions whether the legal approach supports an indictment by the Justice Department. Three weeks after a GOP-led Senate committee voted to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, some administration officials are skeptical that the current approach is procedurally sound enough to indict him for failing to answer questions before lawmakers, according to people familiar with the matter. The Aug. 6 contempt vote was brought by Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), a longtime Fauci critic. He sought to bypass the Senate’s customary full-floor vote by having Vice President JD Vance certify the resolution, allowing him to refer it directly to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.

Paul, who has said Fauci should go to prison, pushed a contempt vote against the 85-year-old former public-health official after he declined to answer questions before Paul’s committee over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The contempt resolution, which passed on a party-line vote, would traditionally be considered by the full Senate. Given his resolution would almost certainly fail to meet a 60-vote threshold to pass, Paul’s measure called on Vance to certify it in his capacity as Senate president. But as of early Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said that Vance’s office had yet to receive a document to certify. Paul’s office sent the report to the vice president late Tuesday, according to people familiar with the process, following repeated inquiries from The Wall Street Journal about its status. The Justice Department, which received a letter from Paul the day of the vote laying out the committee’s case against Fauci, has yet to receive a formal referral, a person familiar with the matter said. And President Trump hasn’t determined whether he wants the Justice Department to act on the referral, according to people familiar with the discussions, who say the issue hasn’t been a high priority for the president.

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Federal judge again blocks Trump's mail ballot executive order

A federal judge on Thursday halted — at least for now — attempts to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting. The move stalled the directive for a second time only about a week before the first mail ballots are due to be sent out for the rapidly approaching midterm elections. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked the government from implementing the order for two weeks. The case could soon be appealed back to the Supreme Court, days after the justices handed down a procedural decision that allowed the the administration to move ahead. The ruling Thursday came after Democrats and voting rights groups refiled their lawsuits to comply with the recent Supreme Court decision. The high court’s conservative majority did not rule on the legality of Trump’s executive order, instead saying Talwani had acted too soon.

Now the administration has issued a formal rule governing whether the U.S. Postal Service will deliver states’ mail ballots, effectively restarting the legal fight. The whipsawing legal battle has major ramifications for the midterms. Nearly one-third of Americans vote by mail and election officials contend there isn’t enough time to revise their systems to comply with the new Postal Service directives. The Postal Service says it won’t deliver mail ballots unless states provide a list of voters who should receive them and format the envelopes in a certain way. “Plaintiff states have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order production of mail ballots, update their own election management systems, train election officials to use the USPS portal and upload citizen data to the portal, all before the midterms,” Talwani wrote Thursday. The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A hearing in the case is set for Sept. 3. “This rule is a clear attempt by the federal government to interfere in elections it has no power to control. Today, a federal court halted it before this administration could wreak havoc on our elections,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of two dozen Democratic attorneys general who filed one of the suits, said in a statement after the order.

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Trump’s quietly working to give part of Yosemite to a private developer

For more than a year, the National Park Service has been quietly working to fulfill an unprecedented directive from Trump officials: Parcel off a corner of Yosemite National Park to give to a private developer. National Park Service staff in California and Washington, D.C., are trying to arrange a land exchange between a Nevada-based company and the federal government, according to four people directly familiar with discussions, as well as agency documents reviewed by NOTUS. Since the spring of 2025, the Trump administration has been looking into ways it could cede a roughly quarter-mile strip of land inside Yosemite to a company that, through a web of limited-liability companies, is operated by real-estate developer and investment firm Kingsbarn Realty Capital. Officials are proposing the Park Service give up the land or “interest” in the land in the form of an easement, and in return receive land of equal value somewhere in California that has yet to be decided.

The private developers own an 83-acre plot of land just outside the western boundaries of Yosemite, about five miles from one of the park’s defining ancient sequoia groves. Jeff Pori, the CEO of Kingsbarn, wants to build a short road connecting the property to one of Yosemite’s central thoroughfares. The new road would give the land exceptionally rare private access to a park that is otherwise almost entirely buffered by national forests. The property’s current access road is more than 10 miles from an entrance to the park, and much further from Yosemite’s most iconic sights. Without a new road, visitors to the property — whether it be developed into a hotel, resort or private residence — would need to drive an hour and a half in a circuitous route to reach the popular Yosemite Valley. The planning process has created a tense environment inside the National Park Service for the people involved; Kingsbarn’s proposal is backed by the full weight of the Interior Department’s top political leadership, sources said. “They want us to be responsive to the property owner and their lobbyists or people, and they want us to work with these folks,” said one person familiar with the conversations.

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Copyright September 04, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved